mother's day

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than with a huge window mosaic of post-it notes with personal messages written on them, not only wishing a Happy Mother's Day, but also reflecting just how multicultural Auckland really is.

lest we forget

ANZAC Projection: Heroes of Gallipoli at the Auckland War Memorial Museum

louis vuitton auckland

Window display for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland

MacBook Pro

pippa blake: journey

Image: Pippa Blake, Hibernia Prow I, 2006, oil, pencil and pastel on canvas

Pippa Blake embarked on possibly the most significant journey of her life following the tragic and untimely death of her husband, Sir Peter Blake. Pippa Blake's paintings embody both physical journeys, often water borne, and the metaphorical journey she herself is on.

Given the long association of Sir Peter and Pippa Blake with Louis Vuitton, Pippa Blake's exhibition is a natural partner event for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (9-21 March 2010). With its spectacular waterfront, Auckland will provide an excellent platform to showcase the Louis Vuitton Trophy, inspired by the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series held in Auckland 2009. The inaugural Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta was held in Nice last November and following its success, the second regatta commences on 9 March 2010. This duel will see eight international teams battle over a fortnight and is set to be the main attraction of the Auckland Festival of Sails.

The Pippa Blake: Journey exhibition will be open from 5-28 March at Louis Vuitton Queen Street from 10am-6pm daily.

a beautiful sunrise means a beautiful day

weekend away in cairns

After having my offer accepted in the Air New Zealand Grabaseat Silent Auction which closed last week, I flew to Cairns this morning for a weekend getaway. After a 5½ hour flight and some issues at customs, I arrived to 32°C weather and it was only 9am!

The Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina, was the perfect location to stay at with a view of the marina as well as the being under the flight path of flights arriving and departing Cairns.

if you wait for something long enough, you may just get it

Louis Vuitton Stephen Sprouse Graffiti Brooch (Fuschia)

I have waited for the Louis Vuitton Stephen Sprouse Graffiti Brooch for a long time. New Zealand didn't get many of the Graffiti SLG's, so when I went to Sydney I had to choose between the Graffiti Tie or the brooch. I ended up with the tie and said goodbye to the brooch forever.

By chance, I was looking at the Graffiti items on the Louis Vuitton website and noticed that the Graffiti Brooch was still available for purchase online. I immediately emailed a friend in LA to check the availability in stores, only to find that the only store with stock was in New York.

As my NZ issued credit card wouldn't work on the Louis Vuitton website, I was offered the chance to get my brooch by having my friend order it online and for me to meet up with her when I was in LA to collect and pay for it! Of course I jumped at the chance and now I am the proud owner of, what could possibly the only one in New Zealand, the Louis Vuitton Stephen Sprouse Graffiti Brooch.

While I was at Rodeo Drive to collect my brooch, I picked up the 2010 refill for my Agenda which will hopefully be my last purchase for a while!

union square at night

i (heart) san francisco

in hollywood where anything can happen, even "snow" in LA

merry christmas to me!

landed in the U. S of LA

I love flying to Los Angeles because the descent into LAX takes you across all the thousands of houses all laid out in rows that seem to go on forever and ever.

early christmas present

I bought myself the Louis Vuitton 2010 Los Angeles City Guide as an early Christmas present. Flying out to Los Angeles tonight at 11:00pm, after an hour in the sky it will be Christmas Day in New Zealand. Because of the time difference, I will be landing in Los Angeles at 2:00pm on Christmas Eve!

Los Angeles is one of the cities that was added to the already collectable Louis Vuitton City Guide books for 2010. It includes the usual 500+ addresses of places around Los Angeles worth a visit, under headings such as Restaurants, Good Things, Designer Fashion, Bars, Nightlife, Galleries and Excursions.

Also included are "My Los Angeles" pages from well known residents. One of particular interest to me is the one by actor Alan Dale as he was born in New Zealand and grew up in the area where I live; we both went to the same school, not at the same time obviously although he was there around the same time as my Aunty!

Another little book to add to my Louis Vuitton travel collection. I have the Tokyo City Guide from my trip last Christmas, and Carnet de Voyage notebooks for Sydney, Tokyo, New York, London, Paris and Beijing.

gingerbread fire station

america's next top model runway show

Exclusive America's Next Top Model Runway Show held tonight at the Auckland Museum to finish the 2 weeks of filming the show in New Zealand. Of course we are sworn to secrecy as to who the final models are until it finishes screening in America. You will have to wait and see when it screens on TV!

this years' gingerbread house