Christchurch Chinese Lantern Festival

Christchurch hosts this lovely Chinese lantern festival every year. And although I've only been twice it's fair to say that I love it! I love busy atmosphere, and the different lanterns you see as you walk through the park.

It's so special to be able to see people reactions to the beautiful lit up scenes as you walk along the path of the park. I especially love seeing the children laugh and smile at the precious lanterns.

We bought some pork dumplings and green tea to share as we we walked from scene to scene, and they had a massive stage so you could sit and watch some Chinese performances, and learn about the culture.

It was such a lovely experience, and I'm looking forward to next years festival!

Amesmames xx

Lush Valentines Products!

Hello everybody, welcome back to my blog. As you all know, a couple of weeks ago it was valentines day, and with every valentines day comes valentines lush products! This year I was counting down the days till I could rush down to lush and try some of their lovely new products.  While I was surprised with what I got, I was definitely not disappointed!

 The two products I bought were called Unicorn Horn, and Lover Lamp.

Unicorn Horn was out last year, but I could only try out two last year, and I didn't like the smell of the unicorn horn, so I didn't buy it. I did go for it this year because there were only two bath products from the valentines range, and I wanted to try them both.
I really wasn't sure if I would like this bubble bar, I thought the scent was too fresh to be for valentines day, and I thought it would be too plain. I was so wrong!
I think that it suited valentines perfectly! It's lovely fresh scent was actually very romantic, and far more enjoyable than the floral scents of last years valentines range. It turned the bath a delicate shade of pink, and created mountains of bubbles, which I loved.

I added the Lover Lamp bath bomb, which was a new product brought out this year, into the bath after a few minutes, and once again I was pleasantly surprised. It's chocolate-y orange-y scent blended perfectly with the Unicorn Horn, and the red hearts you can see in the picture below melted into the bath, slowly turning the pink bah into a slightly deeper orange-y red colour, creating the most luxurious bath I have ever had! I loved every second, and sat I sat in the bath for ages before my fingers started wrinkling up like prunes.

I am literally praying they will bring these two back next year, because they are so amazing! I can easily say that these are my favourite lush products, and they make the most enjoyable bath you will ever have! I would definitely recommend these to people, as they are so magical, and would probably rate them both 9/10.

Unicorn Horn                                 Lover Lamp

Did you try any of the valentines products? I'd love to know what you thought, leave a comment down below. Hope you enjoyed this post.

Amesmames xx

I Chopped off all my Hair!! - Life lately

Hello everybody, welcome back to my blog. I hope that wherever you are in the world you have been having a great week. Mine has been a little stressful, since I made a rather spontaneous decision to cut my hair to my collarbones (My hair was almost down to my waist before I got the chop!).

I have to admit, I was super nervous walking in to the hairdresser, and even more nervous when she got out her scissors. The only other time I've cut my hair short was when I was 10, I cut it to my shoulders and HATED it with a passion. I so desperately wanted my hair to be long again, and it didn't help that all my friends at school had lovely, long, flowing hair. 

I think the reason I hated it was because I didn't find it girly enough. I was and still am a very girly person, and I felt like my hair didn't portray the right 'image'.

Before /// After

However this time around, almost exactly 5 years later, I've really love it. I don't find it says anything bad about me, it looks healthy, and its a lot easier to maintain, i also love how bouncy it is now, I feel like that shows my bubbly, and energetic character.

I'm not going to lie though, I have had a few mini freak outs throughout the week as I realize what I've done, I almost died when I found out I couldn't do a bun, but I'm going to make the most of short hair, and embrace it before I grow it out again.

In other news, we went stationary shopping today, and it was not a happy reminder that school starts in a week. I can't believe how quickly these holidays have gone, it feels like the last day of school was just yesterday! It will be nice to see all my school friends again, but I am so not ready for all the exams and projects that are sure to come my way this year. I've never been all that good at getting organized and doing homework, and there'll be so much more pressure this year, I don't know how I'm going to handle it. I'm sure there will be plenty of posts about that for you in the next couple of months.

My younger siblings go back to school two days before me, so It'll just be me, Mum, and my older sister who is going to uni this year. It'll be nice to have a catch up with them, because although we live in the same house, I hardly get to have a proper chat with them in between entertaining my crazy siblings and entertaining myself via social media, you know what I mean? I'm hoping for a couple of coffee dates just to talk.

What was meant to be a wee recap of the past week turned into a massive essay, but I hope you enjoyed this post, see you next time.

Amesmames xx

Lush Review: Intergalactic Bath Bomb

Its been so long since I have done a lush review, in fact I think my last review was back in October. So this post is long overdue.

I actually bought this bath bomb on boxing day, when everything was half price. This particular bath bomb could only be bought in a gift box, as it is from the Oxford St range, which can normally only be bought from the Oxford St shop.

I was extremely excited to try it once I saw the bright colours, and was not disappointed when I dropped it into the bath. This is by far the most beautiful bath bomb I have ever used. As you can imagine it fizzes away blue, pink and yellow, and it leaves the bath a lovely deep blue. It really does make you feel like you're in space!
I interested in the smell of the bath bomb as well, because instead of your classic sweet or floral lush product, this bomb had an incredibly strong minty scent. This scent was so strong, I think it could clear up someones sinus in minutes! Before i popped it in the bath i swore i would hate the smell, it was just too strong, but I actually really like it. I wouldn't be able to use it everyday, but every now and again this would be a lovely and refreshing treat.

While I do love this bath bomb and the beautiful colours it makes in the bath, I wouldn't recommend to just anyone because of its strong scent, it would have to be someone I know can handle stuff like this.
I'm now really keen to try out some other Oxford St products, and see if they are as different  and amazing as the intergalactic bomb. Who knows when I'll be able to get my hands on something, but I'll let you know when I do!

Have you tried any of the Oxford St products? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Amesmames xx

Thanksgiving

This post is a bit late, but thanksgiving was yesterday, yay! You might be wondering why a young kiwi girl would be celebrating thanksgiving, well we have lots of american families in our church, so we do a small gathering of families from church, and all enjoy turkey, and pecan pie together.

Right before i went to thanksgiving, I had my schools big fair, and although I tried super hard not to buy food while I was there, I ended up getting stuff anyway. So by the time I got to thanksgiving, I had already eaten a bit, making it super hard to finish my meal. By the time I got my dessert, I was SUPER full, so each mouthful was a mission! My favourite foods this year was the chicken dressing, pretzel salad, and chocolate pie.

So what was I thankful for this year? This year has gone crazy fast, but at the same time, it feels like it's been forever. I've learned a lot this year, and had plenty of different experiences. But i have to say this year I am really thankful for:

-Branching out more, with friends, with school, with church. I've done lots more this year, and gotten myself involved in heaps of different things. It's helped me feel more confident, and less anxious when I am put in different situations. 

-Family. I've come to truly appreciate my family, and our family dynamic this year. I suppose it's because we've had a few interruptions this year, whether it was home stays, or grandparents, there seemed to always be someone there, so those few moments when its just me, my parents, and my siblings, we all relax, and its such a refreshing feeling to just sit down and laugh with family.

-School. As I come closer to NCEA, and exams, I also realize that school actually isn't a bad thing. My class has become it's on, fun, little community, and we can be completely comfortable, joking around, performing, or even mucking up in front of each other. In school you become friends with people, who are completely different to you, and it can really help put you on track. I've loved seeing, and hearing different peoples opinions, and reactions in class, because it reminds me that I'm not always right, and sometimes I need to take a step back and really think about what I'm doing.

-Older people in the church. I used to really dislike older people, cause they always seemed so condescending, and there's nothing I hate more than condescension. But I've started to realize that they are wiser, and more experienced, and maybe I should listen to them instead of rolling my eyes every time they talk. (I'm still working on the not rolling eyes thing)

-Jesus Christ! I've started understanding the bible more, and started praying more this year, and its just the best thing. It's amazing how I can be stressed out and anxious, but the second I pray, the Lord calms me right down. My love for him has really grown this year, and I know that it will keep growing in years to come.

Obviously there's a lot more to be thankful for; a roof over my head, clothes, shoes, dinner every night and all those little things we take for granted, but I wanted to list some of the bigger things for me.

Thanks for reading, I'm also thankful for you!

Amesmames xx

Mt Heron - Weekend Getaway

 I'm not usually one for camping, or fishing, or anything super outdoorsey, and I never have the time or the equipment to do anything anyway. But since this weekend was show week, and we had Friday off, my church organised a simple, fishing camp, and although my usual long weekends are spent curled up in bed with a good book or movie, I decided to go along with my family.

It was only a couple of hours away, and luckily for me, we've had plenty of experience when it comes to road trips, so the drive was actually pretty fun and relaxing. It was already pretty dark when we got there, so we had to set up our tents, and get ready for bed pretty quickly. Since it was dark when we arrived, I had no idea what type of view to expect in the morning, so I went to bed excited for the morning (and the good photo opportunities it would bring with it). I was not disappointed the next morning, when I woke up to the glittering lake, with the gorgeous, snow capped mountains behind them.
I spent the morning out on the kayak, giving the younger kids rides around the lake (My arms are now still sore from the exercise) and soaking up the warm sun. I even took a wee dip in the lake, despite everyone saying it was a crazy idea. After drying off, myself and a few other kids went down to the lake to do some actual fishing. It was beautiful and relaxing our in the warm, fresh, mountain air fishing with the spectacular view of the mountains.
Around 2 pm i had an extreme energy slump, and spent the rest of the afternoon either lying in the shade, or in my tent reading and sleeping. I did go out for a bit more fishing in the evening, but I didn't end up catching any fish, instead I got my hook stuck in a tree. So that was it for me, I stayed in the tent chatting with some other families from church, nibbling on marshmallows.

I woke up pretty early the next morning, when the wind almost blew my tent down the hill we were perched on. Turned out being woken up wasn't such a bad thing though, as I was able to witness an amazing sunrise, and even get a few pictures. It was much colder that morning, so only a few people went out to fish again, and the rest of us started to pack up and get ready to go.
It didn't take us long to get all packed up, and soon we were on our way back home. It was a short, but sweet trip, and a very nice step back from our social media crazed society. The only thing I was sorry to miss, was the new, one direction  album release.

 Amesmames xx

P.s. My favourite songs from Made in the A.M. are:

Infinity

I want to write you a song,

Temporary fix

If I could fly

and Love you goodbye

Although I really do love all of their new songs!

Lush So White Bath Bomb Review (Christmas)

Lush has their Christmas stuff in yay! Unfortunately for me, my funds are a little low, as I am saving for Christmas presents and travel, so I was only able to buy one thing when I was there.
I was tied between this bath bomb, and the 'shoot for the stars' bath bomb, in the end I went with the 'so white' bomb because I've heard lots of good things about it.

Now in every review I've ever seen on this bomb, people always say it smells like fresh apples. So when I sniffed this I was expecting something like the head and shoulders apple shampoo. It wasn't quite as fresh as that, I think it was a lot more festive, and rich smelling than I was expecting. That being said, I did love the scent. I couldn't stop sniffing it all the way home. It's not as sweet as the other Christmas products, but still festive which I loved.

It also does something completely unexpected when you put it in the bath, it turns pink! Big win for me, as I love almost anything pink. As it fizzes away, it loses the white shell, and reveals its true, rosy pink, self.It also has some yummy bath oils to make your skin nice and soft which I loved. The bath oils were also pink fitting in very well with the theme.
It was very pretty to watch as it fizzed away, and turned the water pink.

I loved the scent, the colour, and the oils. It was one of my favourite Christmas products. It doesn't quite beat my ultimate favourite bomb, the blackberry bath bomb (Which is available all year round), but it came awfully close!
I would definitely recommend this to people, especially someone who is new to lush since it isn't overly sweet or strong smelling. Next time your near your local lush, be sure to pop in and get this one!

Amesmames

p.s.If all goes well in the way of money, then hopefully there will be a lot more of these posts to come!

School Dance

Hello, this is very late, as my school dance was like a month ago, but here it is.

Every year my school has its year 9&10 dance, and there is always a massive hype about it the weeks leading up to it. Girls are talking about where they bought their dresses from, and who has the the same dress as who.
There's also who is going with who. We don't actually do dates at the dance and have couple pictures or anything, but there's still a massive hype.
I personally love the hype before, during, and after the dance. It helps you get through term 3, which I find is often the most boring term of the year, because it gives you something to look forward too.
Sadly this was my last year for the dance, as I am in year 10. Now I have to wait two years for formal :(

My dress was $30 from Trendz. I absolutely LOVED it. I was however a little nervous about wearing it since it's a lot longer than most dance dresses, and I thought the pattern was quite out there. It turned out fine, and I got multiple complements, which was unexpected.

My shoes were $20 from No. 1 shoe warehouse. It took quite a long time to find a shoe that would look good with my dress, luckily we found these baby blue heels. I loved these as well, they matched the dress well, made my feel pretty, and showed my personality. (That sounds so cheesy)

All in all it came to $50. I was expecting to spend more like $150, so of course I was extremely happy with that outcome. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to wearing the dress, or the shoes again, which may seem like a waste of $50, but compared to the amounts other girls spent on their dresses, I think it was alright.

Amesmames xx

Spring/ Summer

This post is a little delayed considering its been spring for around a month (at least in the southern hemisphere is has), but whatever. Spring has Sprung! And with now spring here I can't help but get excited for summer. Summer is probably my favourite time of year. I just love the long, warm evenings sitting outside chatting with my family. Not to mention holidays, that's always a bonus.

I also love the spring/summer fashion. You no longer have to spend $100 on a coat, instead you could by 3 or 4 light singlets. Everything is much more affordable, and casual. I feel like there is a lot less pressure when it comes to summer fashion as well.

I recently had a wee shop on boohoo, and now already have some things ready for summer which has made me even more excited for summer!

This summer me and my best friend are planning a trip up to the Gisborne to visit my grandparents, and I cannot wait. We will most likely spend each day taking long walks up the many great beaches Gisborne has too offer, swimming, shopping, and just generally relaxing. This will also lead to lots of photos which I will probably share with you when the time comes.

What are your plans for the summer? And what are your thoughts on summer fashion? I would love to hear in the comments.

Amesmames xx

P.s. I am in love with the new One Direction song Infinity! It's such a cute one, make sure you listen to it. :)

The blogging feels

Hey hey, a couple of things have happened recently which have made me really think about blogging and the effect its had on me.
For one, I accidentally shared an Instagram photo from  on my personal/private Facebook account. That may not sound like a massive deal to most people, but this is anonymous blog, it's more personal, and I prefer to keep it just to myself, and others who I don't personally know from around the world. So when all these people I knew from school and things suddenly started following me and liking my pictures on my blog account I freaked out, and deactivated the account.

As well as deactivating the Instagram account, I deleted a lot of my past posts, because I suddenly got very insecure about people I know reading my blog posts.

I was tempted to delete this blog completely, but the thought of not having this blog really upset me. It seems really silly since I don't get many page views, and next to no comments, but this blog has been something I could work for. After each blog post I feel very happy with myself and like I've actually accomplished something, which is way better than wasting my time on Instagram or Facebook.

It's a small little outlet for me which I love and enjoy. I will probably make another Instagram account in the future, and possibly even an account on Twitter or Facebook. We'll just have to wait and see.
Thank you to those people who take the time to read my probably boring blog posts. it won't seem like much to anyone else, but those couple of page views a day really do make me feel accomplished and valued.

Amesmames xx

Psalm 121:1-2 - I lift my eyes up to the mountains- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth.

Summer Bucket List

Hey, for those of you in the northern hemisphere summer is almost over, but for the rest of us in the southern hemisphere, summer is just about here! I am so ready for summer, winter's been a drag with no snow.
The other day my best friend (I think I called her lala in a previous post?) sat down and wrote a wee bucket list. We're going to try our hardest to get all of these done, but even if we don't it's just nice to have something to look forward to right now.

So here it is, our summer bucket list:

-Make Homemade Ice Cream
I've never actually done this before, but I really want too. I think it would be super fun to make, and can't wait to give it a shot

-Use travels to glorify God

-Spend an entire day watching Disney movies
I'm thinking this will be perfect for a rainy day.

-Sleep on a trampoline (soo fun!)

-Read romantic novels
Pride and Prejudice, Girl Online, Redemption. Whatever it is, there will be so much free time to get reading. Why not?

-Go on a road trip with friends

-Participate in a colour run

-Stay up all Night

-Go a day without cellphones
Not sure if I can actually do this, haha, but I'll try.

-Dress up one day for no reason
I'm sure there will be plenty of selfies taken on this day. It's nice to dress up and feel pretty every now and again.

-Have amazing Christmas decorations
Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year, and I love getting the lights out and decorating the tree.

-Make a summer SQUAD
Who doesn't love a good squad? I want to be extra social this summer, and a squad is the perfect way to do so.

-Get in touch with old friends
This is a bit more personal, but for us it's old camp friends who live in other cities. We spent so much time with all of them, and now hardly ever talk, I think it will be lovely to talk to them all again, and maybe even meet up.

-Write a song
This isn't for everyone, but we love doing covers and things, so we thought we'd try it out. This doesn't have to be restricted to a song. Do some painting, photography, dance, writing etc. We want to do something creative and productive and this is it for us.

-Go stargazing in the middle of nowhere
Driving out into the country, with pillows and blankets, and bundling up under stars, maybe bring along some M&M's and it's perfect.

-Go to Hanmer at least twice
Hanmer is a small town with really popular hot pools and hydro slides. Since not everyone lives close to Hanmer, I'd suggest the nearest water park or public pools.

-Get a decent tan
Lets be honest, this is everyone's summer goal.

-Watch fireworks

-Make a campfire
S'MORES!!! Seriously though, campfires are the best.

-Make some new friends
Whether it's through church, or just through a friend, Summer is the perfect time to get social and meet new people.

-Buy a whole watermelon and eat it
I love watermelon, and this will bring some pretty cool Instagram photos.

-Have a water fight
Because no summer is complete without one.

-Donate money to charity
We have this awesome organisation that allows us to buy presents for children in third world countries to receive on Christmas day, but getting involved with any charity would be super cool. It also makes you much happier than only doing stuff for yourself.

That's it. There's a few ideas for the up and coming summer.I cannot wait for summer to start! I'd love to hear your summer plans in the comments.

Amesmames xx

P.s. The photo is of me and lala last summer