Oh Christmas Trees

I LOVE putting up my Christmas Tree on the first of December, & admiring its prettiness for the rest of the month. I usually buy a couple of decorations every year to add to my collection. These pics are far from great, but this is what my tree looks like. Pretty, sparkly, with lots of snowflakes and hearts, silver and mirrors.

One of this years new acquisitions, bought at a Christmas shop in Palmerston North.

Gifts.

These little kete were table favours at a friend's wedding.

Another new decoration from the Palmerston North Christmas shop.

Tinkerbell was a gift. The beaded heart (yes, that's a heart on the right) I bought years ago.

Mirrored snowflake bought last year at Just Good Stuff, the annual Christmas craft market at Thistle Hall. The marbled ball was a gift from my sister years and years ago. I think she bought it at The Gathering.

Bought last year at a jewellery store on Cuba Street.

Star on the top, bought at Borders.

And here's the Evil Genius tree, decorated by the clever Rosie and Ben. It smells divine.

Yep, that's Stevie Wonder at the top.

Gold painted 7" records.

Do you put up a tree? Real or fake? My tradition is to put it up on December first while watching Love Actually.

Stay Wilder,

GemXXXXXX

What's in my bag ~ 2 Dec 2011

Bag ~ Hand-me-down from my friend Lisa
Jandals ~ Cos I'm breaking in a new pair of sandals & I needed these for when the blisters got too sore
Cell Phone ~ Hand-me-down from my sister
Scrapbook ~ Bought today to put baby stuff in
Inhalers ~ For to keep me breathing
Cowboy tin of band aids ~ Again because of the new sandals
Book ~ We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. I just finished this. It was brilliant, if a little terrifying.
The Best Love Songs Ever! coin purse
My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes & The Girls of the Kapa Haka ~ Bought today with a voucher I was given at my baby shower

Wilder Wish List

It's the first of December! This is the day where I put up my christmas tree while watching Love Actually, while Apa makes fun of me for being corny. I love it.

Here's my dream christmas wish list.

NAIL POLISH

Revlon's scented nail polish in Coconut Crush.

OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

SHOES

Kathryn Wilson Minty sandals in gold.

A pair of mean as high tops.

BOOKS

SMELLIES

The entire Candied Ginger range from The Body Shop. Yes please.

ART

Kris Atomic's Chronic Bitchface print.

MUSIC

CLOTHES

A kimono style summer jacket.

A pair of black skinny jeans that fit me perfectly.

OTHER

A 2012 diary.

There is thunder in our hearts tote bag.

So those are my current materialistic yearnings. What do you want to find under the tree on Christmas morning?

Stay Wilder,

GemXXXXXX

Wilder Women

Here are some amazing Wilder Women to rock your day:

Erykah Badu ~ Window Seat

Tanya Stephens ~ It's a Pity

Destiny's Child ~ Bootylicious

Stay Wilder XXXXXX

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ Strawberries. Oh yum! I also enjoyed the strawberry riot at the Pak'n'Save sale bins yesterday as shoppers clamoured to stock up on 99c punnets of deliciousness.
~ My best friends. My 4 best Wilder Women all live in different cities/countries from me at the moment, but I'm feeling the love from afar this week. And super especially excited that Lisa is flying into town for the weekend to attend my baby shower. That woman rules!
~ Chow's Blue Cheese & Peanut wontons.
~ Edward Scissorhands.
~ Lady Mondays at Evil Genius. And this fantastic poster that Oscar designed for us:

~ Getting called Aunty by a middle-aged man.

TAMER

~ Wellington's Spring winds. Again.
~ Third Trimester pregnancy issues. Baby is getting heavier, sleepless nights...
~ Heavy rain on the day I want to hang my sheets out on the washing line.
~ John Key.

A Wilder Shade of Nail

Today I'm wearing Maybelline Express Finish in Berry Boucle.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a pic of this before it started to chip.

I imagine this shade should be worn with a pretty floral dress and white lace fingerless gloves to a picnic at a rose garden, with a soundtrack of Ragamuffin Children, Rosy Tin Teacaddy & Ella Fitzgerald. There would also be the feeding of ducks at this picnic.

Wilder Wardrobe

 This is what I wore to the Island Bay School Fair. And then to stand on some random pole/log in.

Jandals ~ The Warehouse
Tights ~ Columbine
Dress ~ Bought from an outlet store in Otaki

Belt ~ Farmers (Gift)
Bag ~ Gift

 T-Shirt ~ Max (Gift)
Sunglasses ~ Op-Shopped
Yeah, I totally put my sunglasses on inside so I could get a pic of them. I'm a badass.

Necklace ~ Made by a friend of my Mama's. You maybe can't see very well here, but those are little Tiki on the medallions.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a Special Guest!!!

Apa wore:

Hat ~ from a men's clothing store in Nelson
Sunglasses ~ The $2 Shop
T-Shirt ~ Evil Genius
Shorts ~ Op-Shopped
Bare Feet & Silly Faces ~ 100% his own making

Wilder Wardrobe

Skirt ~ Marks & Spencer (Op-shopped)
Shoes ~ From some Asian mini-mart type store in Napier

T-Shirt ~ Gift

Amber ring ~ Gift from my sister who bought it at a market in Poland
Earrings ~ Gift from another sister who bought them at an antique shop in Napier

Completely random coincidence that 2 of the items I am wearing here were purchased in Napier.

I wore this out for lunch with Apa, then to my friends' place to visit their brand new one day old beautiful baby girl.

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ Fish & Chips at Princess Bay while watching seals frolic.
~ Watching Poppies open.
~ Having fresh flowers in the house.
~ Brand new babies.
~ Apa - the most wonderful man in the world.
~ Winning Pub Quizzes.

TAMER

~ Wellington's wilder (& not in a good way) spring winds.
~ The boredom, ennui & loneliness of unemployment.
~ Young men who wear their jeans low so you can see their underpants, which are full of holes.

A Wilder Shade of Nail

I have a not so secret obsession with nail polish. I even paint nails occassionally at a monthly market stall. Here's what I'm wearing today:

That's Revlon's Amethyst Smoke. Pretty. And after 4 days it is only just barely starting to chip. That's a miracle for me. Usually my nails look a mess the day after a manicure.

Wilder Wardrobe

Here's my first attempt at an outfit post. Yeah, so the photography and posing needs a little work, but you get the idea.

Here's what I wore:

Dress ~ Farmers
Spencer ~ The Warehouse
Cardigan ~ Gift
Tights ~ Columbine
Shoes ~ Number One Shoe Warehouse
Bag ~ Vintage
Ring ~ Equip
Hair Clips ~ Farmers
Earrings ~ Gift
Scarf ~ Op-shopped

I call this outfit the clash of a thousand reds. Not my best effort at colour coordination.

Here's a close up of my pretty ring:

And a close up of my hair clips and earrings:

I wore this outfit to the Diwali celebrations, where I had my hands hennaed. (That spelling looks wrong. I don't even know if hennaed is a word.) Here's an after pic:

And that evening I added a few layers and Apa and I headed to the Wellington fanzone to watch the NZ vs. Australia Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Please excuse our silly faces. I felt I should document the moment, since we're most definitely not rugby people.

At half time we headed further around the waterfront to see the Diwali fireworks display.

Taking photos of fireworks is hard. And I stashed my camera pretty soon after these in order to hold back Apa from getting into a fight with a security guard. Long story, but it involved the dickhead guard punching a teenager in the face.

And in other news, I'm sooo excited to be going to this:

I LOVE John Waters. And I was so keen to go to this, but couldn't afford the ticket. Then my lovely sisters came to my rescue, and pitched in to buy me a ticket for my birthday. Yay!