Remember Met? My memories of Met are pretty seedy with creepy guys getting all up in your personal space, sticky floors, a really odd vibe. I was never really a fan but I always loved the space, always thought it could be so much better.

Yesterday, Katie and I went to No. 1 High St for lunch, aka Met made better. It’s no longer a night club but a restaurant/ bar following the Mac Brew Bars with book shelf decorations and a bar that reminds me of The Old Church. (Look here for better interior photos). We’d received a copy of the menu and a complimentary drink voucher at work and it looked so good we had to go have a try.

It was a really bizarre experience, we spent the whole time trying to reconnect our memories with the beautiful venue that it has become.

As for the food? Fantastic. Like Tyler St Garage they offer a range of small plates, in addition to mains and salads. You can create your own platter of four small plates for $45 or six for $60. We got a platter of the Sour dough with three dips, Croquettes with smoked mozarella and thyme, Chicken schnitzel, caper mayo and lemon and Hand cut chips with Brava Mayo to share. We were a bit concerned at first that we’d be left hungry but by the end of it, I had a food baby to boot and was fit to have a nice nap.

I’d love to go there for a big meal though – it’s definitely on the cards. Get a selection of small plates and mains and enjoy the oral stimulation. The salads particularly stand out for me – they offer a choice between Caesar salad, Mediterranean salad, Greek Salad and Walnut and rocket salad. You can then choose to add Chicken, Garlic Prawns or Grilled beef. Yum.

No. 1 High St is great for a casual quiet lunch but could also serve nicely for a big long lunch or dinner, a girl I know even had her 21st there. It’s well worth a look in!

“The circus arrives without warning.
No announcements precede it…
It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”

You know when you read a book that is so good, so incredibly good that you read it in a day? Read would be the wrong word, consume maybe better, devour even best. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is one of these books. At first glance you wonder, is this a children’s book? For teens maybe? But no, it doesn’t have an age limit like that, it’s just a book, as magical to read as the story inside.

I don’t want to give away too much, I’m scared that if I even begin I’ll get carried away, but for those of you who have seen it, imagine a world that faintly reminds you of The Prestige. A world so completely real and tangible but based upon magic, not magic though – that’s a dirty word, they prefer manipulation or enchantment. Imagine those people who have the glass balls at fairs and allow them to flow from hand to hand, as fluid as water.

To put it as simply as possible, it’s about a Circus, Le Cirque des Reves, and a Challenge or Competition that cannot be simply abandoned or forgotten no matter what the cost or situation.

The magic of the book is woven into how it is structured. It is separated into five parts, each prefaced with commentary from a man called Frederick Thiessen. Occasionally there are other quotes, like this beautiful one from Oscar Wilde,

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

Which make it seem like maybe this world is real, maybe this Circus once was. The chapters are divided by location and year as the Circus travels the world – a miraculous feat for the time (the 1890s primarily) and occasionally you are indulged in an account of what it is to experience one of the rooms of the Circus. It makes it real, an actual experience, a dream.

This book completely absorbed me, it was a book that ended but the world within could keep going on indefinitely and made me feel lucky to have spent a little time within it. I would highly recommend reading this book. It is incredible. Full stop.

You can buy this book online here

No matter what you’re doing at uni/ school, you’re going to need a bag. What kind of bag is more dependent on your style and what you’re going to be carrying around. For me this usually is an iPad, cellphone, camera, book, notebook and various random make up supplies and snacks. I wanted a big and colourful handbag, and so I’ve ordered the Bright Bowler Bag from ASOS (see no.7 below), but on the way to deciding on this bag I went through a lot of other ideas, some cheap, some more expensive.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 

After looking at all of these I may have to look into that ALDO floral back pack as well though. Eek.

Another big aspect of your life this year will be your electronic items, if you’re anything like me, you’re going to want something that pops out and gives you something to smile about over the course of the day. I don’t carry my actual lap top around with me very often so I’ve purchased the Fiorelli leather lap top case (no. 13). But I think that the Toffee Satchel (no. 15) is quite a cool little laptop bag and the Forever New iPad Case (no. 1) also has a pen and note pad inside it – handy.

I’ve heard amazing things about the logitech iPad keyboards (no. 12) and how cute is that key chain (it’s also a usb!)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Finally stationary, an accessory that so many people seem to completely ignore meaning that they’re the ones who have to borrow paper and pens in class, are constantly buying pens at UBS when they’ve forgotten them and never being able to take notes during class. Personally, I love stationary, so this is my favourite part. One of my favourite stores is Kikki. K, they’re an Australian company, designed by a woman of Swedish origin making their products clean and attractive. I find their note taking post its (no. 1) indispensable and their pens (no. 4) are fantastic to write with (and you can buy ink refills). A moleskine is also a must. I know they’re kind of expensive but trust me, you’ll be itching to take notes with one of these babies. I’m waiting for the lego one below to come out in stores. Isn’t it awesome?

Also, something to note is that Gordon Harris does student discounts, but you have to ask and have your id ready. There’s a store on Symonds St, but the Newmarket store is so so so much better. And sign up to Kikki. K’s mailing list, they have quite frequent secret sales.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Finally don’t buy all your books straight away, go to the classes and gauge how much you’ll actually be using them, because in many cases it’s much cheaper to just get it out from the library for that one time you use it. Also, don’t buy your books from UBS or similar if you can possibly help it. The Book Depository tends to have amazing prices and does free shipping, but it’s worth while cross referencing between UBS, The Book Depository and Amazon etc.

With a few new bits and pieces starting a new year becomes all the more exciting and if you buy online that means packages! (And who doesn’t love door step surprises.)

Enjoy!

]]> http://madicattt.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/back-to-school/feed/ 2 madicattt bags computer stuff stationary http://madicattt.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/fluid-like-water/ http://madicattt.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/fluid-like-water/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:04:07 +0000 madicattt http://madicattt.wordpress.com/?p=648 Continue reading →]]>

I don’t know about you fullas, but for me summer is never complete without some Music in Parks. Music in Parks has been running for some time now and gets wicked kiwi musicians to play for free in some of Auckland’s local parks. Over the years I’ve seen bands like the Naked and Famous, Katchafire, Fat Freddy’s Drop and many others playing in the most casual cruisy locations. Yesterday afternoon I headed up to Nixon Park in Kingsland to see Ladi. 6 play with Ruby Frost.

Ladi. 6 is probably one of the most talented musicians in New Zealand. This isn’t an overstatement, I’m not going to change my mind, she is pure and simply brilliant. I decided that she’s kind of a pacific version of Amy Winehouse with all the awesome beats that go with that. Playing with her partner DJ Parks her set played most of the tracks off her latest album, The Liberation Of but in a really free style with one of the tracks being a bit of a mash up of ideas with lots of audience participation. She was so good that we had to buy her album which meant for lots of grooving whilst I cooked dinner last night.

Ruby Frost was pretty cool too, I would love to see her in a more party orientated mood though, maybe at O Week or similar? I love the fact that she is fully a part of her music making process, not just a pretty voice over some tracks that have been made by someone else. She is ridiculously tiny and gorgeous though. She reminded me of a sugar plum princess fairy.

Music in Parks still has some events left for the Summer, check out the programme here. It’s definitely worth a look at, I suggest taking a picnic blanket, some nibbles and something to drink – quite often they lift the liquor bans in parks, but if you’re not being rowdy or causing issues they’ll let you to it.

As I mentioned on Thursday, I made a Dark Mage Wheatie for my boyfriend for Valentines Day. For those of you who are a bit confused, a wheatie is like a firm hottie – you heat it up in the microwave and then there’s something nice and warm to either hug, warm your feet or relieve a sore muscle. Dark Mage‘s of course are a character from the Final Fantasy series of games. I got the idea from here originally but thought I’d share my version with you too!

To make the wheatie above it’s pretty easy.

You will need:

•  Fabric – you want it to be quite hard wearing and preferably heat proof. I had wanted to use felt but on failing to find some I used a thick cheeseclothesque fabric.
• Wheat and Rice for your filling, you can use one or the other but I liked the texture of the two together.
• Pattern – I googled Dark Mages on google images and found this image which I then printed out. You can do this with any image you want.
• Sewing Machine – you can hand stitch it, but it is far easier if you can just whip around it.
• Pins, they’re a life saver.

P.s. You may have noticed that I’m trying something new, expect a bit of this as I try to figure out exactly what I want the ~’look’~ of my blog to be. I’d love to get feedback on whether or not you guys like it or whether I should go back to plain photos.

From L-R: Heart nails, Roses, Lip Cupcakes, Yummy dinner at Mecca, the boys’ gifts, Cosmo, the extremely fitting dress, the boyfriend’s present – Dark Mage Wheatie and Skyrim Cards. 

This year I had a really fantastic Valentines Day. I was taken very good care of by my amazing boyfriend, did some pampering for myself and got some smiles from my best man friends with pink kiss cupcakes and those pick a number fortune teller things from primary school.

I started the day by surprising my parents with chocolate and cards made by my little sisters who were then in turn surprised by the cupcakes that had made their way into their lunchboxes. Tuesday’s just happen to be my day off so I had the whole day to do my own thing – this meant lots of Boardwalk Empire, exercise and pampering. I had a voucher for an eye lash/brow tint and shape and got some new false single lashes. Earlier in the day I’d sent out a text to all my man friends and left some cupcakes for them to pick up from Adam’s. It was really nice getting happy texts back.

Later in the evening I crushed myself into this amazing but very tight breasted dress and went off for dinner with the boyfriend. I’d made him a Dark Mage wheatie (Tutorial will be up in the coming days) and Skyrim Valentines card (from here but with extras) so I was very popular. We had dinner at Mecca Chancery, which was incredible until the nightclub next door started pumping up the dub step. (It was a seriously wtf moment – it’s really not a clubbing type location). After dinner we went home to the boys who were getting on it and had some great chats. All in all it was an awesome day/night. (Until this morning when I blinded myself with cleanser! Ouch.)

Welcome to another episode in cellphone photo taking – it’s all good until the sun goes down. My camera is still away getting fixed (fingers crossed) but last weekend the boyfriend, best friend and I went to More Fm’s Summer Vineyard Tour at Turanga Creek. (Turanga Creek is in Whitford, meaning it’s miles away.)

Headlining were Aloe Blacc and John Butler Trio, supported by Tikki Taane and Annabel Fay. It was a bit of an odd coincidence as last year I bought Adam and I tickets to Aloe Blacc as a surprise, spirit of the moment Valentines Day gift. What’s more appropriate than this post hitting the web on that same day then?

Due to the crazy distance the venue was we caught a chartered bus from the city, it was a bit lame because we got separated from Ivana but it was okay because it had air conditioning and a toilet. When we got there all became okay though with a visit to the bar for wine, beer and cider and finding Gareth and Greg.

Now I’m not going to say much about Annabel Fay, I don’t rate her music and hearing her live wasn’t any improvement. Tikki Taane however was awesome, playing his song ‘Freedom to Sing’ with a bit of backstory (remember back when he got arrested for disturbing the peace?) and a few old school crowd favorites.

Aloe was of course my highlight though. After managing to wrangle Adam into dancing with me we ran to the front as Aloe started grooving ‘Greenlights.’ It was an awesome set with ‘I Need A Dollar’ getting the crowd truly participating (as can only be expected) and ‘You Make Me Smile’ bringing on a bit of romance. We were a bit disappointed at the length of the set (an hour) but I nearly lost it when Maya Jupiter bounded on stage – she supported Aloe last year and was possibly even wearing the same jumpsuit?

John Butler Trio rounded it up in wild fashion. There’s something incredibly infectious and happy making when you see a few thousand people dancing in a field like mad people. I don’t know his music quite so well but he’s one of those great performers that can never disappoint.

We ended the day getting a ride back to Gareth’s in Ararimu, having toasted sandwiches and singing at the top of our lungs in the car back into the city.

Did anyone else go? Music outdoors in summer is possibly the best thing ever.

Once a year, Auckland’s Albert Park lights up with lanterns in honour of Chinese New Year. The park and area directly surrounding it become swamped with lights, food, music and most importantly, people thronging to take in the atmosphere and enjoy what is on offer. The Lantern Festival is a great part of the social year in Auckland drawing thousands.

On Friday I went with my mother and sisters. It’s a surreal experience, almost like being in Spirited Away as the Lanterns glow orange amongst the tree growth. My favourite lanterns this year would have been the Pandas and the curtain of fairy lights. The fairy lights reminded me a bit of Avatar, glowing on and off.

And of course the biggest highlight this year was this Chinese Reggae band, complete with dreads.

The next night I went with friends to Canton for dinner. This was another triumph of the shared meal. Between us we got Lemon Chicken, Combination Fried Rice, Vegetables with Noodles, Pork with Egg Noodles and Wontons. Canton is great because while the decor isn’t anything special. The food is amazing and it’s a great place to go with friends for a really raucous loud meal. When we went it was someone’s birthday and the whole restaurant joined in bellowing Happy Birthday. It’s also BYO, which I quite like – restaurant mark ups always suck.

Canton – Another big thumbs up.

Canton can be found in the Kingsland Shops (09) 846 7888

Last Friday I was taken out for lunch with my workmates at Tyler St Garage. My first impressions were that whilst the decor was very nice, the menu was a bit disappointing. I’d expected that we’d be going to Rakinos (Which is amazing) and the idea of a ‘light meal’ was not at all what I was wanting at the time. But then our waiter arrived. Quickly he swerved us from trying to decide on meals for ourselves to getting food for the table as a whole and sharing. This was a total win, do you ever get food envy when you eat out? I do, so what better than just eliminating that idea full stop?

What we ended up with was a selection of nearly everything, a couple of the platters (Which have Tempura Soft Shell Crab, Salmon Pate, Broad Bean Pesto, Prosicutto, Capsicum and Olives), Fried Chicken with Japanese Mayo, Fries with Smoked Potato Aioli, Edamame Beans, Beetroot, Asparagus and Goats Cheese Salad with a Walnut Vinagrette, and a few pizzas – Chicken & Porcini Sausage, Artichoke, Truffle and Feta; Gorgonzola, Raddichio, Potato, Garlic and Rosemary and Veal Meatballs, Prosciutto, Cream and Sage. For dessert we finished off with Apple Doughnuts and to wash it all down I drank the Punch, made up of 42 Below, Seasonal Fruit, Elderflower, and Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc.

It was like my taste buds had died and gone to heaven. It was one of those great meals out where you leave full but not uncomfortable and not in the slightest bit disappointed. I think that if you were to go there you definitely have to try the Soft Shell Crab, Fried Chicken and Beetroot Salad but whatever you have will be amazing.

It was the service that really made the meal though. I was entirely happy to be led by our waiters decisions and would jump to do so again yet without that service I’m not sure how well the whole thing would go.

The real deal maker however, for if you wish to go there yourself is that for twelve people it came to around $40 each.

As our waiter suggested it’s a great place to have a birthday dinner, or celebratory meal with friends. I would definitely recommend it.

Tyler St Garage
127 Quay St, Auckland
(09) 300 5279
http://www.tylerstreetgarage.co.nz/

January on Instagram: The races, amazing weather, bad weather, a beautiful holiday, pear mojitos, steak sandwiches for breakfast, lunch on the roof at work, naked watermelon breakfast, griff in the sink, big day out, healthy fish and chips care of the Londoner’s recipes, nautical nails, avocado, tomato and chicken on vogels, laneway.

January Highs: Big Day Out, The Old Church, Laneway, Spending quality time with the family.

January Lows: Big Day Out Ending, Having very little money, My camera breaking, The lack of summer.

Looking Forward To: Aloe Blacc + John Butler Trio, Lunch at Vilagrad, Courses being confirmed.

Best buys/discoveries: Morroccan Oil, Cream Silk Dress from Witchery, Tortoiseshell and Gold Link Necklace from Karen Walker.

Album of the Month: Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine.