SUMMER LIFE

In the early hours of a cold dark winter morning, I would awake telling myself that soon I would be waking up to paradise.

Whenever summer finally comes around after a what seems to be an eternity of winter, everything becomes so much easier, happier and brighter. However, New Zealand summers are a hard nut to crack. It comes when it sees fit. When your body can no longer bear the monstrous layers of clothing or the fear of leaving a warm bed, summer still remains hidden away, giving us only glimpses of what she could be. One word...Annoying. My tolerance for cold weather has taken such a dive that if someone left a free chocolate cake outside I wouldn't even take a second glance.

Instead of waiting a 100years for summer to come along. I went to it. Actually, I went to a place where summer doesn't exist, where sun, easiness, happiness and brightness is everyday, all day. My home, Fiji.

I envisoned my time home to be adventourous and thrill-seeking. Doing things I've never done before like:

Jumping out of a plane


Crusin' over some postcard islands


Catching some game fish


Trying to not drown on some waves


Climb an epic mountain

© Alisi Bulouvou Sheehy

I accomplished 1/5. Pretty sure that's a fail in school.

HOWEVER, I did have some amazingly beautiful times that made up for all those missed marks. I saw a side of home I had not seen before. Serene, untouched beaches, valleys and forest. Miles of clear blue water and scorching hot sun that left me dark as night. It wasn't just these mighty lands, but it's mighty people. Reunited with family that I had not seen in years. There is a peace in seeing a long lost familiar face. As if time had wrapped us up and whisked us away and wherever we would be free of it, we would be sure to find each other at the same place we began.

This is how I made up for the 1/5:

I walked along rainbow colored sunsets...

Looked out into deep and clear seas...

Swam all morning, afternoon and night in crystal hot water...

Enjoyed down time with family...

Walked on Untouched and serene beaches...

Climbed to see the first sunrise of 2013...

And yeeepp, I still got to climb that epic mountain...

Watched my dear cousin get married...

 

 

And spend lots of time playing cards with lots of cousins...

 

I really don't think anything else could be more thrilling. God planned it pefectly.

Color shhmullerr

I have probably been told a trillion times by my good friends that I need to wear more color, to the point where one of them actually asked me whether it had to do with some deeper brewing emotional issue. I am not a goth. I did make it a new years resolution (9 months ago now) that I would wear more color, but that plan failed as soon as I thought it. Though, I think it is safe to say that people tend to gravitate toward the darker, dull, gloomy colors and shades come the long months of winter. But, dark, dull and gloomy is in no way anti-style, nor is it  an ostracized phenomena. Like all things fashion, the more unique, strange and second look worthy a garment is the more "in-style" it becomes. Therefore, I embrace it all! Proof that dark & dull can still be cool? 

      

Photos by Fur Insider
Top Left: Dior F/W 12, Rick Owens F/W 12 & Gareth Pugh F/W 12

Despite the fur overload and face wraps/masks...is it just me or are designers setting us up for careers in robbery? Joking, anyway. Head to toe in the dark & dull, but look at these girls don't their faces just scream "I don't need no color, because I can't actually see any color with this head mask on, this is great!" And with this I am able to justify why my closet looks like I pulled the entire thing out of an oil spill. 

NZ saw a winter of bright colored denim, from canary, burgundy, teal, deep blues to pink, blue and green pastels. As well as mammoth amounts of floral prints on every second pair of legs that walked past. It was a bright Winter to say the least. Knits were/are the necessity and will most definitely be again next season. They say Winter is going to be crazy colored and patterned again next season. I really need to get back to Fiji and out of winter before painting rainbows and flowers on your face becomes a fad. Though, if next seasons winter looked like this and I won the lottery I may tear up my passport...

From top to bottom: Jil Sander F/W 13, Prozenza Schouler F/W 13, Haider Ackerman F/W 13

Quick by Colin Kennedy

Skate boarding, A sport, a lifestyle I really know nothing about, though the appreciation I have for it is great. I really enjoyed this short film by Colin Kennedy. I loved the wide constant and consistent shots of the skating. No fancy zooms or grind close-ups. The ordinary backdrop of communal spaces and everyday coming and goings of regular passers bys, made for a spectacular canvas. And even more the music seemed to effortlessly attach itself to the speed of the skating and vice versa.

              

H U F F E R

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything about fashion or style, not that I have any. But still necessary nonetheless. Tis the season to speak fashion! Milan, London, New York all the major fashionista cities have just wrapped up their anticipated fashion weeks (pretty sure I just used fashion 3 times in this sentence). Even little ol' NZ just wrapped their fashion week last week. Guttered I couldn't attend this year because LIFE got in the way. Even more guttered that I missed the Huffer show. I have heard a million and one things about how amazing it was, mainly because it was a big party and the guys behind Huffer scrapped the traditional runway show, instead having their models interact and mingle with guests all in new season Huffer. Huffer designer Steve Dunstan said that they wanted to reflect what Huffer was really about, which is a lifestyle, fun and interaction and not a structured type of show. Awesome idea Dunstan, spot on.

Photo by Cobra Snake
Palm tree prints, orange!? Please Sir, can I have some more?

Photos by Cobra Snake

 



Speaking of, I just copped me some prettttaayyyy rad Huffer polka dot denim. This isn't my "thing" really, but the fit was BEYOND and I thought why not, I should probably wear more interesting things. Striped Tee also by Huffer.

 

                    


Item next on the list. Super simple, perfectly shaded dress by Huffer, duh.

Fiji Trip

Almost 4 weeks ago now I took a wee last minute trip to my island home Fiji to take care of a few bits and bobs. I stepped into warm, humid air painfully expectant. And I left knowing I would and was never the same person that I arrived.

On a beautifully moonlit Friday evening I found myself on a slice of paradise. Little did I know that from the moment I would step out of that airport God’s perfect plan had already been laid, before the beginning of time.  Saturday morning would be the start of my perfect adventure with Him and those who He handpicked for me to share it with. It all began to unfold on that Saturday evening, at my cousin’s 21^st, WHICH I just so happened to time.

I’ve never witnessed anything so beautiful my entire life. There was an unmistakeable feeling of perpetual relentlessness in the room. A space filled to the brim with broken hearts & spirits poured out in complete awe of a love that could shake a young man to his core. I sat there trying my hardest to take everything in. Never letting a single word slip from memory. My cousin, my friend, my brother, my superstar stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath before he honoured a list of people he held before him. I cannot help but see greatness and impossibility bow before his feet when I look into his eyes. His tears showed briefly as he honored the first person on his list. And like a sword swirling with fire, his words cut & burned into the hearts and minds of every person exposed to it. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. I don’t deserve to know such a person like him, but by grace…

He ended the night by washing the feet of 6 of his best friends. My heart sank. A birthday, a day we celebrate ourselves? Should we not instead celebrate those that made those very years possible? This night I would never forget. If ever I saw Jesus walk amongst us, it was this night.

I later found out that one of my best friends was in the country. Seeing her was like finding sunshine on a cold day, warm and never wanting it to leave. Sharing our stories, laughs, food and gyming like time had never past us by. And through her I reconnected with a long lost high school friend who’s smile ignites me with joy and who’s stories are like gems that I secretly packed away for safe keeping. I also managed to spend time with a great friend that I share a soon becoming unhealthy Brooke Fraser obsession with. And imagine all this stemmed from that warm Saturday evening. I am not perfect but His plans always are and for some strange reason I still fit in them perfectly.

These four pictures sums up all we did together, eat, gym, smile & laugh.

 

 

I cannot forget to mention one more thing that continued to prove just how perfect this trip was. Family. I stayed with my aunt and uncle who I look up to as perfect examples of a couple who yearn and seek God's love more than anything else. I was also able to see both my grandmothers and cousins. Each time I see them, with deepened marks of wisdom on their faces and fading color on their heads I am reminded that I cannot for a second forget that with them is where I started, where I am from.

visiting my grandmother from my father's side. They gave me a little special graduation honor :)

                          

Kimbra

4 hours of waiting. We dared not move from position as time grew closer. Darkness fell on thousands of anticipating faces. Chants of a single name began to brew from behind us and powerfully come alive when glimpses of a possible beginning was seen amongst moving shadows. "KIMBRA, KIMBRA, KIMBRA." Four figures appear in swift but careful fashion. They begin on their instruments, sending the crowd deep into roaring excitement. No sign yet of the one to whom the single name belongs. Then as if out of nowhere she runs out blazing with a rainbow colored flapping and moving dress with a black jewelled corset and black boots. Her infamous dark as night crop bounced as she flashed a bedazzling smile at the crowd. The spotlight hit her exposing mesmerizing beauty. As she kicked off her first song, everyone just stood there unmoved, paralyzed and transfixed trying to take in her energy. All I could hear around me was astonished gasps and exchanged comments of "she's so amazing, what the hek!?", "are you serious, shes so beautiful!" Waves of disbelief swept the arena. When she dropped the beat for "Warrior" we all seemed to snap out of our hypnotic state and straight into some serious fist pump and head bumping action. This has been one song that's been on replay on my Ipod and I tell you, hearing it live was just another level of excitment for me.

Kimbra's live voice is powerful, soaring and without blemish. She grips the crowd with the emotions and stories in her songs. When she sang "Call Me", I felt the giddy confidence that the song imbued, it was crazy to see her acting out it's very words. She danced, jumped and head pounded like no tomorrow, all with pink tambourine in hand. She also played a rendition of "Settle Down", using an iPad to create loops of her live voice. I've only seen her do that on Youtube (see below), but as I said it before seeing it live is when you really appreciate that kind of skill and talent. She is one of the best, if not the best live performances I've seen so far. Seriously, if you ever get the chance, you cannot miss her!

Metal Birds

I took a wee trip down under to celebrate a long 3yr degree that took about 6 months longer than expected. But finally that square piece of hat swag found it's way onto my head with a great black gown to match.

Being away from home means altered routines, subtle & not so subtle adjustments to an environment different from your own. It also means going without particular time slots that you've spent months crafting to suit your own needs and enviornment. Put simply, it's a time out of your comfort zone. Saying goodbye to that well indented body cave you've created on your couch or bed and saying hello to a barely touched or marked one. What happens when we encounter the unfamiliar? Do we maintain habits distinct to our usual environments? Or do our actions and thoughts become dictated by new surroundings. In Romans it teaches us not to be conformed to this world. There is always a good and a bad aspect to adaptation. This trip reminded me how important is to never let your environment, no matter how much it may change to dictate who you are in Christ. I found myself in situations where my usual practices needed to be deterred for the sake of adaptation. That is fine. Just never allow yourself to lose the heart of God in processes of change, small or big.

On the plane over, I sat there spiritually unmoved and unusually oblivious to how far I had come to be able to sit in this very seat. A momentary dry state perhaps. The only way to find water is to step out and FIND IT. So, I fumbled through my bag for writing material. Pen, yes. Paper, no. Napkin, YES. I know alot of people will agree with me when I say that, sometimes you just need to write things down to make more sense of them. So I penned a short poem that kept this trip in perspective for me.

"your grace is sufficient for me

it will carry me across the seas

into a land I once labored

it will grant me glory

under bright lights and tearful eyes.

It will strengthen bonds

and remind me of a love I cannot hide.

It will provide.

It will not cease.

I am grace-full."