30 By 30

Ever since my 23rd birthday in January I have had this post in the back of my mind and finally committed to writing it up and making myself accountable for these goals. Some people write bucket lists and come up with things they want to do before they die but I wanted to be a little different and share 30 things I want to do before turning 30. I am giving myself seven years so let’s see how many of these I can achieve!

1. Own an item of makeup from Chanel

2. Hold my full driver’s license

3. Travel outside of New Zealand

4. Write a book – (doesn’t have to be published, right?!)

5. Find my perfect foundation

6. Watch all of the Harry Potter movies

7. Take a hot air balloon ride

8. Add a lock to the Love Lock Bridge in Paris

9. Go skinny dipping

10. Learn how to curl my lashes with an eyelash curler

11. Stay in a hotel and have a romantic weekend away

12. Learn how to do French/Dutch braids

13. Get married – (this doesn’t have to happen before 30 but it seems these days a lot of people marry before 30).

14. Have a spa day with a massage and manicure

15. Send a postcard

16. Solve a Rubik’s Cube

17. Go to the races and bet money on a horse

18. Watch every episode of Poirot (the TV series running from 1989 to 2013 starring David Suchet)

19. Play pool (billiards)

20. Get invited to a hen party – (I don’t have many friends so this could be a challenge and I wouldn’t know what to expect but they seem like fun).

21. Meet someone famous

22. Ride on a double decker bus in London

23. Go for a bra fitting and get properly measured

24. Expand my cooking knowledge

25. Explore my own city

26. Attempt to make homemade pizza dough – (I always get bases from the supermarket and add my own toppings so I’d like to try making my own dough at least once).

27. Finish a book series 

28. See snow – (I have seen snow in New Zealand but we don’t get much and I’d like to experience proper snowfall).

29. Visit a castle

30. Go on a picnic – (I probably went on one when I was little but it would be nice to go on one as an adult and make the most of the weather and the day out).

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Do you have a bucket list or something similar? Let me know one thing you’d like to achieve within the next year in the comments below!

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Places I’d Like To Visit

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now and seeing other bloggers share similar posts has given me the push I needed to crack on with my own list. I haven’t ever been out of New Zealand or had a proper holiday and surprisingly my travel list is quite small. Maybe some of these choices will surprise you!

1. England/The UK

I thought I’d start with the obvious one! I am slightly obsessed with The UK and when I was a teenager I even wanted to move there. Now that I’m a bit older I figure it would make sense to visit first before committing to a move. I’d love to travel all over, big cities like London and Manchester but smaller, quaint towns too. I’d have to visit Yorkshire as that’s where my boyfriend is from. His dad was giving me a tour of York using Google Maps and everything looked so beautiful. I’d like to travel to Scotland and Ireland, with my hair they might think I was a local!

2. Paris

The romantic in me would love to travel to Paris. People seem to either love or hate Paris but I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to go. To eat proper French pastries and bread and see the Eiffel Tower would be magical. It would be logical to visit Paris for a couple of days during my visit to The UK, the countries are so close together and if I didn’t like it I haven’t committed to a whole trip on it’s own.

3. Bermuda

I will admit until earlier this year I barely knew anything about Bermuda. I watched some races in the Amercia’s Cup that was held in Bermuda and thought how nice the water and scenery looked on screen. The population is roughly 65,000 and the temperatures aren’t hot and tropical – I don’t like heat. The best part of all is that there is a beach with pink sand; Elbow Beach. British singer Louise Redknapp called her third album Elbow Beach after the place she married her husband.

4. Bora Bora

In the tiny bit of research I did for this post I discovered Bora Bora is like the Maldives but cheaper. Bora Bora has some of the clearest water and gorgeous beaches and seems to have a lovely relaxing, resort feel. I imagine it would be very peaceful and good for escaping. The only slight deterrent would be temperature but there is all that water and I’m sure there’s air conditioning right?!

5. Belgium

When searching for pictures of Belgium online the first thing that struck me was how beautiful they looked. I don’t know a lot about Belgium apart from they’re good at making chocolate and it’s where Hercule Poirot is from. The country seems intriguing and I assume it wouldn’t be the typical place for people to visit.

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What does your travel wishlist look like? Do you have a favourite place you’ve traveled to?

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Boyfriend’s Birthday Surprise!

This past weekend it was my boyfriend’s 25th birthday! I was super excited to celebrate and spend the entire day with him. I had plans for his birthday for a long time (that he didn’t know about) and I finally got to put them in place. A few times I mentioned a secret project on the blog and his birthday surprise was it. As he was turning 25 the first idea that came to mind was to give him 25 presents. I combined sentimental handmade gifts, with humorous ones as well as some of his favourite sweet treats. The gifts are unique and not what you’d automatically think to buy. I had so much fun buying all of these gifts and putting everything together and I wanted to share how things turned out!

Each present was numbered from 1 – 25 and given a sticker. There was no particular order apart from a few presents; #1 was a birthday card and #25 was a list of ’25 Reasons You’re Amazing’.

I blew up 25 silver balloons and tied them into bunches of 5. They were present #2.

Most of the presents are in this collage. The consumable presents hadn’t been purchased yet. They included Skittles, chocolate and fizzy drink.

All wrapped and boxed up!

I wrote a list of reasons why I chose each present which was the final thing I gifted to my boyfriend after he opened the presents.

The presents all unwrapped and my boyfriend opening a gift from his parents.

My outfit and makeup of the day.

Outfit Details:

• Jacket – Postie
• Top – Glassons
• Jeans – Dannii For Target

Makeup Products Used:

• Simple Radiance Brightening Moisturiser
• Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in 002 Hazel
• Max Factor Lasting Performance Foundation in 101 Ivory Beige
• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer – 1 Fair
• Maybelline ‘The Nudes’
• Max Factor Excess Shimmer – Copper
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara
• Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – Opal
• MAC – Show Orchid

We went for an outing to Orakei Korako which is a geothermal area roughly an hour from where we live. There is a short boat ride which takes you to the guided path area where you can walk around the geysers and hot springs. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful. The temperature was warm without being too hot and it was also the first time I’d been on a boat. I only wish the boat ride had been longer.

After the trip we drove back and I had fish and chips for lunch – they were delicious! My boyfriend had Subway using the gift card I got him as one of his presents. After lunch I had a nap and we chilled for the rest of the evening.

It was such a lovely day and my boyfriend was very grateful for all the effort I had gone to to surprise him. I almost made him cry after reading the card and that was only present #1!

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What did you buy your significant other for their last birthday?

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What I Did With My Time Off

By the time you’re reading this I will have already been back at work a week. I took a week off at the start of June and it was a much needed break. It’s my first real time off in almost a year and it was bliss! Prior to my time off I made a list of what I wanted to achieve and I managed to complete all of it… almost. Hope you enjoy the post!

Haircut

The last time I had my hair cut was October 2016, so a tidy up was long overdue. The salon I normally go to hasn’t impressed me the past couple of times so I went back to a salon I’d tried a few years ago. I got layers put in rather than have my hair one length how it usually is. The hairdresser did a lovely job and although my hair seems short at the moment it will grow back soon enough, plus, I really like it. I did share my new hair on Instagram and I’ve attached an image in case you don’t follow me/haven’t seen it. My instagram name is chanellehayley_ – follow me and I might just follow you back! 😉

Tidy Up Loose Ends

I’d been meaning to clean windows for my mum for a little while and I wanted to do it on the very first day to get it over and done with. The weather was wet and gloomy and the rain provided a nice backdrop for the cleaning.

One of the items in my latest ASOS order was a wrong send so I had to pop to the post office and send it back. The return service is done online and it’s really easy. It’s also free which is even better! The parcel is tracked and you can view progress online so you know exactly where it is. I’m gutted I didn’t receive the correct jumper and my size is out of stock so I can’t re-order, perhaps it’s not meant to be?

The zip pouch in my handbag where I keep my phone has had a rip in it for months and I finally got around to fixing it. Now nothing can fall through.

Shopping

I only went shopping once during my time away from work and I didn’t splurge at all (I hardly ever do!) I was on the hunt for B vitamins as I have been feeling stressed/tired lately and so far they are working wonders! I bought shampoo and conditioner minis to keep at my boyfriend’s and they smell divine. I’ve wanted to try OGX’s shampoo/conditioner for ages but the big bottles are so expensive at the supermarket. I also bought some underwear and socks, (essentials right?!) and a couple of books to take to work to read.

Motion Entertainment Centre

Late last year an entertainment centre opened about 5 minutes from where I live and my boyfriend and I made plans to go along and try out a couple of activities. We did Escape Masters and ten pin bowling. Escape Masters involves being locked in a themed room and using clues and brainteasers to open locks and ultimately escape from the room. There is a time limit of 60 minutes. My boyfriend and I took 70 minutes but that was on medium difficulty and we wasted the first 10 minutes figuring out what to do. I was absolutely hopeless at ten pin bowling, I scored less than 50 points for the whole game but I did manage to get an 8 and a 2 in one round. We want to go back and try mini golf next.

trip to the snow (sort of)

My boyfriend’s parents thought it would be nice to take me on a trip to see some ‘proper’ snow. I was wrapped up in my puffa jacket and warm clothes, we set off early and the weather looked promising but on arrival mist and cloud had set in and there was no snow to be seen. Hopefully we’ll go again soon and be more successful.

Chill

As well as planning out the things I wanted to do I also took time to chill out and take it easy. I had a few sleeps ins and lazy days. I caught up on a bunch of YouTube videos in my ‘Watch Later’ list, started a jigsaw puzzle and sang/listened to music.

Overall, I had a wonderful time and the weather (apart from the snow day outing) was just as wonderful, there was lots of sunshine which made me happy.

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Is there anything you like to do when you have extra time off work? How do you spend your days?

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Quick Catch Up

First off, let me apologise for not having a proper blog post for you today! I had a few options to run with but I didn’t want them to be half-hearted so I’ve put them off until next week. Today, I want to address a few things and let you know what I’ve been up to this crazy, busy week!

As some of you might know, on Sunday I flew up to stay with my brother for a few days and it was my first ever time flying by myself. I wasn’t scared to do it at all and I’m really proud of myself because a couple of years ago, I never would have done that. The flight is only 40 minutes so it was nice and quick and it made sense for me to fly up because I couldn’t drive and flying is so much quicker than driving. My brother took some time off work and the main reason I flew up was to go and see Alan Carr live. I’m so glad I went, Alan was hilarious and he was also my first comedy show.

Everyday we did something different and it was nice to explore and just wander around as we pleased. I also got to go on a train for the first time which was a lot of fun and I definitely reached my quota of 10,000 steps a day with all the walking we did! I did some shopping, not a lot because I wanted everything to fit in my suitcase and you will be able to see what I bought next week. It was good to get away for a few days and I’m looking forward to it again when I go up for the Ellie Goulding concert in October.

I’m sorry I wasn’t as active at reading posts and commenting as I usually am but I didn’t want to have my head buried in my phone all the time. I wanted to experience things and just take time out from technology. I will have a busy weekend getting up to speed and organising next week’s posts no doubt!

Some more exciting news is that I now have a part-time job. It’s not as many hours as I worked before but who knows where it could lead to and it’s good to be out there meeting people and getting experience. I’ve got something new to focus on and everyone I’ve met seems really lovely. I had my first day on Thursday (yesterday).

I hope you’ve all had a lovely week and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

What’s In My Suitcase?

Happy Monday! As you’re reading this, it’s my second day in Auckland and I will be getting ready to see Alan Carr! I don’t travel and go away and take breaks very often which means I don’t get to take lots of beautiful scenic pictures or share posts about travel. Today, I’m going to be sharing the contents of my suitcase as well as a few tips and tricks when it comes to packing.

The Suitcase

At the end of March I purchased a new suitcase and this is my first chance to use it. My suitcase is made by IT Luggage and features an embossed Paris design. I love the bright pink colour and the cute design! IT Luggage have other trolleycases with cities on them as well. I have seen a London one which I did want but there were none left and I thought being white, it would mark more easily. This range of cases comes in three sizes and I have the smallest, which has a 44 litre capacity. A huge selling point of this case is the 10 year warranty, if it breaks or anything else happens, I’m covered.

Features:

• H 49cm x W 37.5 cm x D 24cm
• Ultra strong ABS shell
• Soft touch ergonomic handles
• 360 degree 4 wheel spinner
• Smooth and silent 50mm wheels
• Fully lined interior

Contents of My Suitcase

The Outfits:

I have planned out my outfits for each of the four days I’m away and I’ve gone for a mix of casual, stylish and practical pieces. It’s easier to show you what I plan to wear each day instead of trying to explain it. In addition to the pieces shown above I have: a puffa jacket, a parka, 3/4 sleeve tops for days 2 and 3, Skechers and Diana Ferrari boots. (Can we also just take a minute to note the bulk of these outfits are made up of pieces from Dannii Minogue’s Petites range). *grins*

In addition to clothing:

• My Zoella beauty pouch will be used as a little medicine bag and have my asthma inhalers, antihistamines, ibuprofen, plasters etc. in case of emergencies.
• A box of Tetley tea bags as a present for my brother. I am renowned for my tea making skills and these made me giggle when I bought them.
• Panda pyjamas.
• Toiletries.
• Headphones and phone charger.
• Last but not least, my makeup bag. (Wednesday’s post will be a What’s In My Makeup Bag?)

Packing Tips & Tricks

1. Book flights as early as possible. Ticket prices are generally cheaper a couple of months before you fly. You may even be able to save more money if you get an early morning flight.
2. Think about transport and how you’re going to get around where you’re going. For example, I purchased a transport card that can be used on buses and trains and will come in handy when I visit Auckland in the future too.
3. Purchase a padlock for your luggage so people won’t be able to get into it. There are padlocks with number combinations but you don’t want to forget the combination or have someone else figure it out so my advice would be to get one that opens with a key. Keep the keys in separate places in case you lose one.
4. Make a list of everything you need. Vivianna Does Makeup even has a PDF to guide you!
5. Put a luggage tag on your bag or suitcase so if someone has the same luggage as you, you will be able to identify yours easily.
6. Think how your bag is going to be positioned (upright or lying flat) and try to place items so they won’t leak, break, smash or get squashed.
7. Wear bulky clothing items on the flight so you have more room inside your suitcase.
8. Leave room in your suitcase/hand luggage in case you do any shopping – you don’t want to run out of space.

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Do you have any packing tips? Is there something you always travel with? Perhaps you’ve had a travel disaster? Leave a comment below!