Coral and Coast

Beach Photoshoot Sneak Peek

2012-03-06T06:58:00.000+13:00

I have a little sneak peek to share today of the beach photo shoot I shot this past Sunday with my sister out on the rugged West Coast of New Zealand! It's so much fun having her back from New York and we went wild, running (and umm, skipping) along the beach finding the best photo locations. Big sis was my lovely model and I was the photographer and it was an awesome day for it, not a cloud in the sky and hardly a soul on the beach!

I'm working my way through all the photos at the moment and my husband is teaching me the very basics of Photoshop so of course I've used at least one of their effects in all the shots! It really adds something I think...once I'm done editing the rest there will be lots more of the west coast beach we spent the day on and my sis rocking some summer beach-fashion while we still have summer sunshine here in NZ...here is a little look at my photo's...

Motorbike tracks in the black sand and striking a pose...

Love the misty haze coming off the ocean...such a gorgeous day I can't believe it's Autumn already!

Turquoise, silver and sea shells by the sea shore...

Right, I'm off to finish up the rest of those photos, have a great Tuesday!!

xo K

Linking up to:
Coastal Charm
Life, Love & Hiccups
Between Naps on the Porch

Lemon Butter Scallops with Pesto Fettuccine

2012-03-05T07:12:00.000+13:00

Another weekend gone, another busy week ahead, I hope everyone had a lovely one! I have lots to share but will start with a recipe this morning! Today is a summery little dish that I'm loving right now, yummy Lemon Butter Scallops served with Pesto Fettuccine. I tried out this dish for the first time on Valentines Day and it was so easy and delicious I thought I had better share it with all you seafood lovers!

So here is my super easy and tasty recipe for...

Lemon Butter Scallops with Pesto Fettuccine

For a dinner for two, you'll need...

Scallops (as many as you can eat - fresh or frozen!)

1/4 cup of Lemon Juice

1/2 cup of Butter

2 cups Spinach Fettuccine

Small jar of Pesto

1. Boil a saucepan of water for the pasta. Put a large skillet onto a heated element (medium heat) and add the butter. Once melted pour in the lemon juice and allow to simmer. Drop you pasta in the boiling saucepan and cook for 10-12 mins.

2. Add your scallops to your simmering lemon butter sauce and cook for around two minutes each side. Don't overcook, the centre should still be slightly translucent when removed from the heat, the scallops will continue to cook for a few mins once removed from the heat.

3. Drain your cooked pasta in a colander and toss through a few tablespoons of the pesto, I added about three! Serve your pasta onto plates and add your scallops to the top. Ladle over some of that yummy lemon butter sauce and enjoy!

xo K

Linking up to:

DIY Home Sweet Home

Boogieboard Cottage

Photography Friday: My First Portrait Shoot

2012-03-02T07:57:00.001+13:00

Happy Friday girls, it's my favourite day of the week and another Photography Friday...

Today is really special to me because I'm going to share with you my first ever portrait shoot that I shot with my gorgeous little niece and sister-in-law two weekends ago! Huge thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for allowing me to photograph their family and for being so encouraging, I'm sure there will be more photo's of them in the future! :)

This shoot was the first opportunity for me to put into practise some of the skills my husband has been teaching us and I found out that photographing people (children) is definitely a lot more challenging than landscapes or interiors but I also found out that I LOVE it soo much! I loved everything about it from composing the shot to editing, so much fun!

Here are some of my favourite images from the impromptu shoot, I'll talk a bit more about what I learnt from this shoot at the bottom for those that are interested...

What I learnt:

Every single time you pick up that camera you are going to learn something new and improve in leaps and bounds, theory is good but doing is definitely best! :)

The light in our living room is ideal for photos, I always wondered why images taken in this room looked so nice and it's because it's north facing - apparently a north facing window is best for photos as it's not harsh 'direct light'

The kit lens that came with my camera (and probably yours) the 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 is not a great 'portrait lens' as I have to get really close to my subjects (and sometimes chop off little baby fingers/toes) to get a blurred background and even then it's not as blurry as I'd like!

Following on from the above point, I went straight out and bought Canon's 50mm 1.8 'portrait lens', at just $150 every Canon girl needs this lens, the sharpness and clarity is just incredible! I took my first shots with it in this post here

This is a simple one: be more prepared next time! This was a spur of the moment shoot so the background was a little messy, nappy bags in the background etc. Next time I will clean things up first

Finally and most importantly I learnt that I LOVE photographing people! I'm hoping to shoot some more portraits in the coming months so I can keep improving, those of you with kids of your own, you are lucky, you have so many opportunities to practice and improve! :)

Thanks so much for checking out my first photoshoot today, I promise the shooting in Shutter Priority tutorial will be back on the agenda for next Friday! Have yourselves a great weekend and don't forget to get that camera out!!

xo K

Beach Luxe

2012-03-01T07:08:00.001+13:00

Well, it's finally here, the first day of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and I'm surprised I'm not too upset about it yet! But I suppose we do tend to have warm temps until well into April so I'm going to enjoy every last drop of sunshine that we have left!

Today I'm dreaming of an endless Summer along with an all expenses paid ultra-luxurious beach getaway (told you I was dreaming!) the kind of holiday where there is an unlimited budget, a crazy glamorous wardrobe to strut around in each day and an endless supply of delicous gourmet meals, fruity cocktails and dreamy massages to be had poolside...oh yes, let's see how the other half live...

Welcome to my dream destination...

Will this place do?? ;)

Ooh gorgeous!!

Your luggage has arrived...

Glad you didn't forget the Chanel for those A-list pool parties...

...or a cute swimsuit in the perfect shade of coral pink...

The cabana is waiting and the drinks are on ice...

...thank you Sir! ;)

Perfect for lounging, how comfy does this look?!

Heaven is a swing over the sea...

Ocean breezes and beachy waves...

Plenty of beach time so you can look fabulous in your new swimsuits...

Time for favourite beachy past-times...

Even the sandcastles are luxe!! Wow!

There's plenty of time to kick back and relax...

Why not take the yacht out to play??

Is there anything better than sunsets over the ocean??

Such a romantic set up...

Beachside dining is always one of the best thing about a tropical holiday isn't it!

Best holiday ever?? I think so!

Can you even imagine stumbling across this on the beach?! I would put dibs on it straight away hehe..it's all mine girls!! ;)

Hot tub, cool evening air, champagne on ice = perfection!

Cheers!

Oh my goodness can we go there right now?! I've been telling my hubby that we need to go away somewhere fun and exotic for out next holiday, so we're talking about going to Hawaii early next year and I'm already ridiculously excited!

Is anyone else planning a beach getaway? How about if money were no object, what would be your dream holiday destination??

Have a great Thursday and thank goodness the weekend's almost here, it's been a bit of a crazy week! Don't forget we have Photography Friday tomorrow, I was meant to be talking about Shutter Priority but there was a much more fun change of plan! See you tomorrow for my first ever 'photoshoot' with a very cute and sweet little 'model'!! :)

xo K

Images via Tumblr

Rain, rain, go away!

2012-02-29T07:02:00.004+13:00

It's been a bit of a wet week so far and the fur-kids have not been impressed in the mornings when we leave for work! Luckily they have plenty of shelter outside and a lovely dog kennel that they seem more interested in chewing on than sleeping in *sigh* I got home tonight and the waterproof bedding inside the kennel had been pulled out onto the driveway and chewed, fabulous!

Those dogs are just so darn cute that they get away with far too much and isn't Nala a little diva!? Check out the look on her face the other day as she 'miserably' watched the rain fall outside the window, she's so dramatic...

Noooo! Nala is a dirt and mud magnet in a way that Harley with his shorter fur just isn't! Keeping those fluffy legs and paws dry in wet weather is quite a job and one I don't look forward to each Winter...how many more months till we're back to Summer again?!

xo K

Our Local Coastline

2012-02-28T07:03:00.001+13:00

This past Sunday was one of the most gorgeous days we've had all Summer so hubby and I took off down to one of the many gorgeous local beaches for some much needed rest and relaxation!

Of course no beach trip is complete without lots of photos! If you're following the Photography Tutorials each Friday, I was shooting in Aperture Priority mode as usual, using the basic Exposure info I've gathered in the three Tut's so far - see they work!! :)

I wanted to be able to show you how lovely it is where we live, but having lived on this coastline for all of my life it's so easy to take things for granted, which I never want to do! So I tried to capture the small details that I would usually miss and tell the story of what a day is like for us at our little Kiwi beach!

Here's a look at our favourite bay just down the road with some guest appearances by my lovely 'model' a.k.a hubby, hehe isn't he a good sport?! So get comfy and let the warm, lazy Summer days start right here...

Golden sandstone cliffs you can walk around on are a gorgeous feature of this local beach...

You can barely see the sand for all the little cockle shells...

Pottering around the cliffs seeing plants growing in funny places and glistening rock pools...trying not to drop the camera in said rock pools...

Someone was very brave (or crazy!) and carved this '2012' high up on the cliff face...more pottering around the rocks, it was so pretty on Sunday...

Hello handsome! Oh yes and I do love some yummy shallow depth of field!!

I was using my brand spanking new super-low aperture lens on Sunday too, the Canon 'portrait lens' 50mm f 1.8 - it's amazing, I'm obsessed, tell you all about it soon, if you're a Canon girl you NEED one!! :)

Cruising around on boats...hubby practising his best pose - Blue Steel anyone? ;)

Lots of gorgeous detail! Cockles on the beach, driftwood,
pohutukawa leaves and a toi-toi frond hitting the light just so...

My two favourite shots of the day, taken under the enormous old, gnarled Pohutukawa Tree! It's such a great spot for photos, the filtered light is incredible...

Takes my breath away and reminds me that OMG, I LIVE HERE!

It all looks so heavenly that I wish I was there right now instead of at my computer listening to the rain...yep, after Sunday's brilliant sunshine it's back to raining again! Just another crazy New Zealand summer, gorgeous one minute wet and wild the next, at least when the weather is 'on' it's really 'on', best to count our blessings right?!

Have a lovely Tuesday!!

xo K

Linking up to:

Coastal Charm

Northern Cottage
Between Naps on the Porch

Savvy Southern Style
Project Alicia
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Brambleberry Cottage
2805
At the Picket Fence
Serenity Now

Hampton's Classic

2012-02-27T06:57:00.002+13:00

Hello Monday!! After such a great weekend spent welcoming my sister home from NYC (welcome home sis!) and spending most of yesterday enjoying the beach, I'm feeling in need of a little dream home inspiration this morning to get me going!

Here is a classic Hampton's stunner to help start the week off on the right note, she's a real beauty...

Yes please!!

In love with the blue and white and those ceilings!

We have this paint colour in our home office, so pretty...

Love the pendants...

So fresh and airy...

The windows and light in this bathroom are gorgeous!

Love the colonial influences here, very India Hicks...

Gorgeous tongue and groove walls in this sweet bedroom...

Wow!

This is my dream pool and view, right here...

Definitely dream-home worthy...

I'm feeling much better already, have a lovely start to your week girls!

xo K

Images via Home Bunch

Gone to the Beach

2012-02-26T10:27:00.001+13:00

Good Sunday Morning!! It's an incredible end of Summer day here in Auckland, sun is shining, birds are singing and we're off to the beach! I have lots of great stuff that I can't wait to share in the coming week so be back soon...

xo K

Photography Friday: Shooting in Aperture Priority

2012-02-24T07:01:00.001+13:00

Today is our third Photography Friday tutorial and I hope you have all learnt a lot so far like I have!! I'm having so much fun learning my camera and today we will be teaching you how to set up your camera to shoot in Aperture Priority mode!

Aperture Priority is the most widely used and 'useful' of all the modes on your camera! Basically there will be no Auto or Pre-set modes needed once you have mastered this, so if you want to learn some more and improve your photography to no end just keep reading, it's much easier than you think...

So what is this 'Aperture Priority' mode anyway??

Aperture Priority is one of the settings on the Mode Dial of your camera (labelled #2 in the diagram below) - it'll be labelled as either 'AV' for Canon's or 'A' for Nikon's. If you turn your dial to this setting you are in control of the Aperture (depth of field) for any images you shoot and your camera will then calculate the appropriate Shutter Speed and ISO setting for you, fab!!

You want to select 'AV' ('A' if you have a Nikon) on your Mode Dial for Aperture Priority mode!

Why would I want to control the Aperture of my camera? Why not just stick with Auto or Pre-set modes??

Shooting in Aperture Priority mode allows you to be truly in control of the depth of field in an image. So with some shots you might want a deep depth of field (a landscape with everything in focus) and other times you might want a very shallow depth of field (just one flower out of a bouquet in focus). Aperture Priority mode is pretty fabulous as it allows you to choose, you can really 'create' a shot using this method and it's really quite simple to master!

So I really want to learn about this Aperture Priority stuff! What else do I need to know??

For a quick recap of Aperture theory, in last week's tutorial we learned all about the Exposure Triangle and how different Aperture or f-stop numbers affect your Shutter Speed by speeding it up or slowing it down, we learnt that:

The higher your f-stop number (the more closed the aperture is) and the slower your shutter speed.

The lower you f-stop number (the more open your aperture is) and the higher the shutter speed.

Here is a great image I found of what your aperture looks like at each f-stop setting - pretty cool! I tend to picture this in my mind as I'm shooting and it really helps...

via

The f-stop range goes both higher and lower than the numbers shown but it gives you some idea of what effect each Aperture will have on Shutter Speed as it's opened or closed.

Last week we also learned that the lower the f-stop or Aperture the less that is in focus in your image and the higher the f-stop the more that is in focus.

For a little more reinforcement, the following images were taken at a variety of f-stop settings on the scale:

You can see that at the lower f-stop numbers of f 4.5 and f 5.6 very few of the lemons are in focus and that at the higher end of the scale f 8 and f 20 most of the lemons are in focus!

Got it! So how do I actually change the Aperture or f -stop setting on my camera??
Every DSLR camera will have a dial either on the back or top of the camera's body that you can roll backwards and forwards to change the Aperture up or down while in AV mode, easy huh?! Just check your manual if you can't find it and have a good play around with it - I promise it doesn't bite and it's so fun to play with! :)

My husband's advice is to take shots at every setting your camera and lens allows you to, you will soon notice that at different levels of zoom and in differing light conditions the aperture you can achieve will change slightly, oooh!

I'm trying out all the f-stops on my camera but the f-stop number won't go lower than f-3.5, why??

I hear ya, I had the exact same problem and here's why; your lowest aperture or f-stop will be determined by the lens on your camera.

So, I currently use the kit lens that came with my camera it is an 18-55mm f 3.5 - f 5.6 lens and most of you will probably have something similar if you bought your camera with a kit lens. The numbers on your lens are key to the kinds of apertures you will be able to achieve and that's why there are so many different lenses you can buy - some of them at exorbitant prices!

Basically, the f-stop number on your lens is the minimum aperture your lens can achieve. So when my kit lens is zoomed all the way out it can reach f 3.5 and when it is zoomed all the way in it can reach f 5.6 so it's called an f 3.5 - f 5.6 lens. So the kit lens I (and probably you) own will never get lower than f 3.5, boo!!

To be able to get to the lowest f-stop number available on the scale, around the f 1.4 mark (which would give tons of that gorgeous background blur everyone loves) I would need to buy a different lens, but for everyday purposes your 3.5 -5.6 kit lens will do just fine!

So, what do images shot in AV mode with a standard kit lens really look like??

Well, I'll show you some of mine! Below are some shots I've taken in Aperture Priority mode as a complete beginner with my kit lens with the Aperture setting chosen by me and the ISO and Shutter Speed determined by my camera...

While in 'AV' mode I chose:
Aperture: f 5.6 (I just wanted the door in focus)
So the camera chose: Shutter Speed: 1/60 (fast)
ISO 160 (low as it's daylight outside and already very bright!)

I chose: f 5.6 (my fave aperture setting with the kit lens)
Camera chose: Shutter Speed: 1/2000 (super fast as we're outdoors)
ISO 100 (very low as it's extremely bright already)

This photograph used the exact same settings as the one above at f 5.6.
Do you see now how you don't need to do much at all in 'AV' mode to get a good shot?

I chose: f 10 (since I wanted all of the image in focus)
Camera chose: Shutter Speed: 1/500 (still very fast as it was so bright outside)
ISO 100

I chose: f 5.6
Camera chose: Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO 100

So can you see how you're only changing one factor (Aperture) and the camera is doing the rest??

TIP: While shooting in Aperture Priority while you are primarily controlling the Aperture do keep an eye on your Shutter Speed in your viewfinder. You should be able to see it in the lower section of your viewfinder as you shoot (consult your manual if you're not sure which of the numbers in your view finder is Shutter Speed).

You can see in the viewfinder image below the Shutter Speed is sitting at 1000, this stands for 1/1000th of a second - a very fast shutter speed to capture the birds in flight:

via

So if you ever find that the Shutter Speed the camera is choosing is too slow for you (say you are photographing your kids and they are moving too much and looking a little blurry) you will need to adjust your ISO sensitivity as Shutter Speed cannot be controlled directly in Aperture Priority mode.

Hmm, okay so what is ISO again??

Do you remember how we learnt last week that ISO is the third principal of exposure?Well, your ISO control can be found in your 'Menu' and on my camera, as per the first tutorial, there is an ISO shortcut button that can be pressed (it's right on top of the camera), check to see if you have something similar, it's pretty handy!

So by choosing a higher ISO number you can cause your camera to become more sensitive to light which means your shutter speed will increase, eliminating any motion blur once you get the right number (I found that ISO 500 gives the perfect Shutter Speed for capturing my dogs running around without any blur so an ISO around there would be great for shooting the kids too!)

The golden rule of thumb with ISO is that if you double your ISO you will double your Shutter Speed. So just keep increasing that ISO until your shots are no longer blurry!

CAUTION: Be mindful that a high ISO may create some 'noise' in your image. For my camera anything over ISO 1600 can do this but it will vary by camera so make sure you check yours as you increase your ISO, older camera's may not go anywhere near as high without noise.

Here is an example of what 'noise' looks like in an image, you've probably seen it before, it looks all grainy - the noise show up as tiny coloured 'spots' in your photo...

So just keep an eye out for it in darker shots and adjust your ISO accordingly! With time you will find out your camera's limits and when you can push it that little bit further.

Right, so that's it for today girls!

I hope we've given you a good jumping off point to begin shooting in Aperture Priority mode! If you have any questions or run into any problems, ask away, I've probably run into the same thing at some point over the last three weeks of DSLR camera ownership and if not, my husband is great at trouble shooting!

Next week we will be talking about shooting in Shutter Priority mode ('TV' on the Canon mode dial) - in this mode you control the Shutter Speed and the camera chooses the ISO and Aperture for you, the opposite of AV mode! You definitely won't use this mode anywhere near as often as Aperture Priority but it's good to understand it just in case!

Oh and as usual, today's tutorial will be filed under the Photography Friday tab for future reference and the previous tutorials are there too if you missed them or are just catching up now!

Enjoy your photography this weekend girls, I'd love to hear how you're getting on and I'll share some more of my photo's soon so you can see my progress, maybe a photography link party is in order too! Talk soon...

xo K

Linking up to:
The Charm of Home
My Romantic Home
At the Picket Fence

Serenity Now

Boogieboard Cottage
DIY Home Sweet Home

Fete Magazine

2012-02-23T06:55:00.000+13:00

There is another very stylish new kid on the block in the online magazine world! The very first issue of Australian mag 'Fete' is here and I'm loving every page!!

If you're into entertaining and stylish living within a real world budget then this is the mag for you! There's tons of inspiration for special events from recipes to table settings and the most stunning photography I've seen in awhile!

For even more stylish eye candy from 'Fete' check out the brand new online mag absolutely free here...

Welcome to Fete - Issue One...

Photography and styling to drool over...

Yummy recipes to try...

Romantic style for the month of love...

Party planning...

Cheap and chic ideas for your table...

Gorgeously styled interiors...

Pre-dinner appetizers to try...

...and some cheerful end of Summer style!

The first issue is just jam packed full of the most gorgeous, covetable things and I'm sure you'll love it just as much as I do...run, don't walk to Fete!!

xo K

Cape Cod Goes Kiwi

2012-02-22T07:00:00.002+13:00

We're a long way from Cape Cod here in New Zealand but that doesn't stop that classic American beach-house style from making its way into our hearts and homes!

This simple and airy beach house on Auckland's Waiheke Island has been decorated with a nod to Cape Cod style from the white on white furnishings to the subway tiled kitchen, it's just gorgeous! Take a peek...

Views for days from the little living area...

A lovely comfy sofa to relax on at the end of a long
day in the surf...

I love the subway tiles and the 'Kiwi' touches with the flower arrangement and Paua shell bowl in this cute and compact kitchen...

A simple and functional bathroom, perfect for easy beach
house living...

Calm neutrals in the master bedroom...

Love the nautical rope and dinghy in the front garden!

I could definitely spend my weekends in this lovely little beach house, relaxing on that gorgeous front deck and enjoying the sea breeze, how about you?!

xo K

Beauty and the Beach

2012-02-21T06:59:00.000+13:00

I have fallen in love with these gorgeous editorial images over on Fashion Gone Rogue - the beach location, the classically feminine styling, the tousled beach hair and gorgeous make up, oh my goodness, so divine!

I'm feeling so inspired and can't wait to start taking some fashion-style shots with my own camera! It'll definitely be a challenge but I'm so excited to learn, I'm just waiting for my gorgeous older sister to come home from New York (this Saturday morning!!) after four long months of living and working in the Big Apple she'll finally be home! At 5'8 she will be the perfect model for this kind of thing and if we could take something even close to these beautiful images I would be so thrilled...

The light here is amazing! So is the hair and make up...

I love the dream-like feel here...

Love the contrast of black and white, such a classic shot...

That winged liner is gorgeous and that beach hair!!

Love this one at the waters edge...

Beautiful...

Love how the yellow and accessories really pop in this shot!

Such gorgeous images and the perfect inspiration for the Northern Hemisphere's Spring. I wish we weren't coming to the end of Summer here in NZ, but it's still warm and the evenings are bright so we can keep Summer dreaming for just a little while longer!

xo K

House Update & Photo Dump

2012-02-20T07:04:00.000+13:00

Happy Monday girls!! I had a thought over the weekend that I hadn't shown any new photo's of our house recently and since there have been a few changes - and I never need an excuse to play photographer with my new ~~soul-mate~~ camera - I got out there and took some shots!

So the most exciting recent change to our little beach house is that we finally replaced two of the original exterior doors with shiny new ones! It's made a big difference to the street appeal of the house and the new aluminium back door is so much nicer than our old wooden one that came complete with broken down cat-door! It's nice to not have the dogs poking their heads through the cat door whenever they want to come in! ;)

The dogs are quite confused about the new door and just sit in silence on the back door step until one of us remembers they're there - oops!

Here is a 'Before' of our old sliding door on the front of the house, it was about 35 years old, poorly constructed and noisy! I'm so glad it's gone...

And now here is the brand new door, I love it! It's so much sturdier and glides shut so softly...I never knew I could be so excited about a door! Welcome to home ownership ;)

Do you notice there is a dog a.k.a Nala in all these photo's?? Dog owner's will understand that when you have a dog who is very attached to you, it's like being the Pied Piper! Since we have two dogs, everywhere I go there is at the minimum one dog following me! At least I'm never lonely... ;)

I think Nala approves of the new door, it's her favourite vantage point to survey the neighbourhood! Both of the dogs got right in my shot for those photos so I just went with it...Harley obviously wanted to strike a regal pose for the camera and any passing lady-dogs. Thank you Harley, you can move along now... ;)

That tree you can see through the sliding door is a little Olive tree, it's just getting some little green olives...any ideas what I'm meant to do with them?? Are they meant to go black before you pick them or are they meant to stay green? I have no idea but the dogs have been eating them (seriously!) so maybe they're ready...

So next I took some shots of a few new bits and pieces in the living room, I haven't done much shopping since Christmas what with the new doors and the DSLR camera on the agenda, but hopefully I'll be back shopping up a storm soon, I really need some new clothes - just don't tell my hubby, he thinks I have too many!

I never mentioned it but I finally chose a light fitting for the living room! Here's a close up:

It wasn't what I thought I wanted but I saw it in Freedom one day and liked the texture the cut-outs had and the way the light shone through them. It's a close enough match to the walls to not clash and so far I'm liking it! I'm notorious with light fittings though, so in 6 months there could be a new one ;)

I love having happy pink and red flowers in our neutral living area, it adds a bit of much needed life! The little white coastal lantern on the coffee table is new, I was picking up the dog-food one day and saw it at the shops for less than $10 - sold!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you probably know that my bookcase is my most loved item of furniture here at the beach house. I love it's whiteness, it's coastal-ness and the fact that it's a complete black canvas. I love putting little vignettes together and changing things up with the seasons...

How sweet is that little striped ribbon?? I was at the cash register of Bed Bath N Table and I saw these little reels of coloured ribbon so I picked up this one up (it came with two other colours) for less than $7, bargain! Perfect for gift wrapping too.

Ah, now we move on to my ultimate bargain, this little beach bag also from Bed Bath N Table...

I saw this little gem on the shelves for $29.95 - about what you'd expect in a store like that. Then I saw the '40% off beach towels and bags' sign, so I had to have it!

It's a good size, lined and well made. Then I got to the register and was told it was only $10 as they were clearing all their Summer stock! I was so happy with this bargain buy, it's perfect for storing our spare throws and things, love it!

So next I have a little progress update on our Laundry Room. We started the makeover late last year with new tiles and we had the walls completely replastered. I painted the ceilings and walls (still love the colour - Resene Sea Glass) and we have been waiting for the new back door ever since! Yay, it's finally here...

I don't have a picture of the old door but it wasn't pretty! The new aluminium door is so much more secure and has lovely frosted glass that still lets all the light in. Hubby has been painting all the trim a bright white this weekend since the door got a whole new frame when it was installed and now everything looks brand new again.

We still need to mount the dryer to the wall above the washing machine and get a big white storage cupboard and to add some personal touches - I really l want a cute laundry room! But we'll get there hopefully over the next month or so, we also still need to tile our kitchen and do a bunch of other stuff before Winter, the to-do list is never ending!

The last thing I hadn't shared yet was a peek at our Valentine's Day last week! My husband surprised me by turning up to my office with a single red rose and a box of Belgian liqueur chocolates then he took me out for a lovely lunch!

For Valentines night I made us a yummy seafood dinner at home and it turned out surprisingly well! I might even share the recipe sometime...maybe...some of the quantities I just eyeballed so I'm not quite sure how much of certain things I used!

Our Romantic Dinner for Two! The raw linen 'placemats' are napkins that I bought recently from Wallace Cotton. I really wanted the matching linen tablecloth but at over $100 I couldn't justify it, loving the napkins though...

Dinner is served...Spinach Fettuccine with fresh Pesto and Lemon Butter Scallops, yummmm!

Phew, thanks for making it all the way to the end of my Photo Dump and if you have any Olive tree tips let me know, I'd love to try them before the greedy dogs get them all! ;)

xo K

Linking up to:
Life, Love & Hiccups
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Boogieboard Cottage
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
House in Roses
Get Outta My Head Please
Coastal Charm
Northern Cottage
A Stroll Thru Life
Savvy Southern Style
The Inspired Room
No Minimalist Here
The Brambleberry Cottage
The Shabby Creek Cottage
From My Front Porch to Yours
2805
At the Picket Fence
Tatertots & Jello
Embracing Change

Photography Friday: The Exposure Triangle

2012-02-17T06:59:00.001+13:00

Hi everyone! How did you get on last week finding all your camera's buttons and settings??

I hope you're ready to learn some more this week because we're talking about The Exposure Triangle, so let's get right into it...

Exposure in photography simply describes the amount of light that your camera captures.

You're probably pretty familiar with this concept no matter what kind of camera you own and like me, you've probably experienced plenty of shots that came out too dark or too bright!

But just in case you need a quick visual here are some examples of similar shots at different Exposure levels from under to overexposed:

In the first shot my husband is completely dark, not what I wanted! The second shot isn't perfect but it's closer to being correctly exposed with both hubby and the beach visible. The third shot is way too bright, hubby is well lit but see how all the detail in the background is now gone? Yuck!

So it's pretty clear which is correctly exposed right? So now we all need to find out how the right setting is actually achieved, since we all hate when a great shot is ruined by being too dark or light!

To understand how to get the correct Exposure, it's important to know that your camera uses both Shutter Speed and Aperture to control the Exposure and there is also a third way to influence exposure which is ISO.

Before we all get completely overwhelmed, here's another simple visual! This is the photographic Exposure Triangle that shows how these three basic principals are related when it comes to capturing an image:

So we can see straight away from the diagram that one of the three key principals of Exposure is Aperture but what is it aside from the depth of field in an image??

Aperture really describes the size of the opening that lets the light into the camera and it is measured in something called f-stops.

If you're wondering what the heck an f-stop is and how it works, a simple explanation is that the lower the f-stop number the bigger the opening and the more light is reaching your camera and the higher the f-stop number the smaller the opening and the less light reaching your camera. Much more about this in a later tutorial, so don't worry too much if you don't get it right now!

This leads us into the next principal of Exposure from the diagram which is Shutter Speed.

Shutter Speed is pretty easy, it's simply the length of time that the camera's shutter is open for. The shutter is like the 'eyelid' of the lens it can open quickly or slowly just like your eye!

So, for instance you would use a fast shutter speed (e.g 1/1000 of a second) for action shots to capture a tiny split second of a scene without any motion blur and you would use a slow shutter speed (e.g 1/30 of a second) for poorly lit or night time shots so your camera has more time to capture the light. There will be a full tutorial on Shutter Speed later, so don't worry if you're still unclear.

So let's put some of this Exposure business together as if we actually wanted to photograph something! Yeah!

When you are a beginner preparing to take a photo, you are best to start off by shooting in Aperture Priority or AV mode (A mode if you have a Nikon) it's the easiest mode to get right even as a beginner and it's the mode my husband and I use 90% of the time - even the Pro's use this a lot of the time!

In this mode you will only need to choose your f-stop number (Aperture) and your camera will very cleverly figure out the rest (the ISO and shutter speed) which is great! :)

In order to choose the right f-stop or Aperture for the image you want to take you will firstly need to understand the following:

As the F-stop number you choose goes down your lens will open wider so your shutter speed will increase as it doesn't need as long to capture the appropriate amount of light to take your photo at the correct exposure

As your F-stop number you choose goes up your lens will close up so your shutter speed will decrease as more time is needed to capture the correct exposure. Hmm, got it? It's tricky isn't it! But wait there's more...

The lower the f-stop number you choose, the shallower your depth of field will be also, therefore with a low f-stop setting less will be in focus in your photo (I'm finding that a low Aperture or f-stop is great for photographing food, faces close up and any small details around the house I want to shoot, like flowers, decor items etc)

So this then means that the higher the f-stop number you choose, the wider your depth of field will be and the more that will be in focus (a high Aperture of f-stop is great for photographing landscapes, large groups, entire rooms in your home and any other time you want the whole shot to be in focus!)

So the main take away from all of that is that at a low f-stop (anything from f-1.8 to around f-7) means less is in focus and for a high f-stop (anything from f-8 to f-36) means more is in focus! It's basically just a scale that's measured in 'stops', so the smaller the number or 'stop' the less in focus and vice versa, it's best to just try the settings out and see which you like best! I tend to sit at around f-5.6 to get the background 'blur' look as that's about as low as my kit lens will go, if you buy a better lens you will be able to get to lower f-stops and get much more background blur, but more on lenses another time! :)

So back to Aperture! To give you some visual examples of f-stop settings, here we photographed the same images while in AV mode with both high and low Apertures (and Shutter Speeds, which the camera automatically choses in AV mode) this will show you what you looks you can achieve with different Apertures:

You can see that the lower aperture of f 5.6 on the left hand sides resulted in a shallow depth of field (less in focus) and a very fast shutter speed at 1/60 and 1/80 of a second as the aperture at low f-stops is wide open and catching lots of glorious light!

While the much higher aperture of f 36 on the right hand sides resulted in a deeper depth of field (more in focus). But if you look at the shutter speed numbers on the right hand photo's you can see the camera took much longer to capture the same correctly exposed image at 0.8 and 1/2 of a second. This is because at those high f-stop numbers the aperture is so closed up it needs more time to capture the light to exposure the shot correctly!

Does that make it any clearer?! I will do a whole other post on shooting in AV or A mode next week so if you're still not quite sure, that's totally fine! You'll get there! :)

So now we're moving on to the third and final principal of Exposure which is ISO.

I haven't yet needed to use the ISO function on my camera so I will give a very brief explanation:

ISO simply describes the sensitivity of the camera. The higher the ISO level (e.g. ISO 1600) the more sensitive the camera will be and the lower the ISO level (e.g. ISO 100) the less sensitive the camera will be. The more sensitive the camera is (higher ISO) the faster the shutter speed of the camera. So ISO is generally used in low light situations to help increase light, but there are cons to it (mainly that it produces 'noise') which we'll talk more about in a later tutorial!

Okay, so that's it for today girls, it's a lot to take in, I know!

Next week will be all about shooting in Aperture Priority/AV or A mode on the mode dial of your camera. We'll be putting into practise all of this Aperture and f-stop theory and it should start to become much clearer!

It wasn't until I started turning my own camera's dial up and down to change the Aperture and looked at my photos to see the effect that it really clicked for me! So I know you're all going to get it next week too, my husband kept saying to me "It's really not that hard, you'll have a light bulb moment and you'll get it!" and I didn't really believe him, but he's 100% right, it's not until you start using your camera and adjusting your Aperture settings that shooting in AV mode becomes second nature in a matter of hours! :)

Just look! The shots below were from my second day ever of using my camera in Aperture Priority mode, all I did was turn my camera on, switch my mode dial to AV, set my f-stop number low (around f-5.6 so only the foreground was in focus), found a nice angle and took the shot! AV or A mode is really that easy! I'm slightly obsessed with it...

So homework for this week is to try to wrap your head around some of this info but if you don't have the time before next Friday, don't worry too much, we'll cover some of it again next week and then put it into practise!

Yep, next Photography Friday you'll all be shooting like the pro's in Aperture Priority mode! Just wait till you see the kind of shots you can achieve, it's pretty cool and you will be so proud of yourself once you get the hang of it!

I'll see you all next time...leave a comment if you're confused about anything or drop me an e-mail coralandcoast@gmail.com, I'm always happy to help!

Oh, and you can find all the tutorials to date under my Photography Fridays tab, so they're always going to be handy if you ever need to go back and read anything or you just want a quick reference. Hope that helps!

xo K

Our Kiwi Road Trip - Day Three

2012-02-16T07:03:00.002+13:00

So today is the third day of our Summer Road Trip! if you're just tuning in now, my husband and I started our trip north out of the city with a beach day (here) and some adventure when we discovered a lovely new beach while driving around without a map (see it here) and today I'll be showing you around one of my favourite parts of New Zealand, it's a beautiful place where the country meets the coast...

Day Three of our trip dawned bright and clear so off we went again, this time we were headed north-east to a little rural area called Matakana. We first visited the area three years ago, just before we were married and we fell in love with it! It's not too far to travel from Auckland City and so many town people have beach houses here and drive up each weekend! With it being quite far north, the climate is pretty mild so there are plenty of vineyards and olive groves to visit, not to mention a lovely stretch of white sand coastline!

Here's a peek at what we got up to while we were there...

Our accommodation was down this glorious driveway so I was in heaven long before I even saw the guest cottage!

Such a charming little place, our host was just as lovely and so was the four legged 'welcome party'...

...this sweet little pup belonged to the property's owner, 'Honey' came to hang out with us and escorted us down to the private jetty at the back of the property, so cute!

I couldn't believe we had such a pretty spot all to ourselves, I think I need to live here!!
What do you think hubby?? ;)

The river on the property leads straight out to the ocean and it was completely still and so peaceful...

We eventually dragged ourselves away for a tour of the nearby tuscan-style Ascension Vineyard, my favourite of the many wineries in the area. We did a little wine tasting and stocked up on a few bottles for family and friends!

We popped back later on for dinner and I went for my favourite summer cocktail, a frozen Strawberry Daiquiri, yum!!

The next day we had adventure in mind!
Here we were on our way to that stretch of coastline way off in the distance...

...for some beach-style Horseback riding on gorgeous Pakiri Beach!! Woohoo!
The fact that my husband is even on a horse in this picture is huge, it's one of his biggest fears, but he's gone riding with me a few times now because he knows that I love it more than almost anything! He did so well too, even went for a little gallop - I was so impressed!! :)

Back at the river for a lazy afternoon...happy days...

Enjoying a relaxing meal at a casual cafe-restaurant on the main stretch of Matakana. There were paddocks of horses all around so I was thrilled! We ate here a few times, so I could look at all the cute animals some more! :)

There are so many lovely spots to discover in this part of the country and I can't wait to go back again soon and explore some more!

Thanks so much for checking out our Road Trip and have a lovely Thursday girls, the weekend's almost here and I'll be posting the second Photography Friday tutorial tomorrow morning for those of you that are wanting to learn some more about Photography and using your digital camera's, see you then!!

xo K

Linking up to:
5 Days, 5 Ways
At the Picket Fence

Country Weekender

2012-02-15T07:07:00.000+13:00

If there is one place I could live other than on the coast it would have to be out in the country side under the big blue sky! The beautiful home I'm sharing today is owned by one very lucky Australian family who spend their weekdays in the city and the weekends in their own little slice of paradise!

I adore everything about their charming country home, the light, the tranquil setting, the sweet farm animals, it's amazing, take a look...

Love the Wellies on the deck, so essential for

country living!

The simplicity and airiness of this entry way takes my

breath away...

White and natural elements with touches of blue, love it!

How hard would it be to leave this glorious bedroom each morning?!

The perfect country bathroom...

In love with the open shelving in this little kitchen...

Charming little vignettes create a special moment
in every corner...

What an amazing shower room!

I think I would spend a lot of time out here with a glass
of wine and a good book!

How much fun would it be to grow up somewhere like this!

There's even room for their daughter's sweet little pony,
so beautiful!

Isn't it a dream? I keep telling my hubby that someday we'll have the best of both worlds, and have our own little country cottage escape near the sea! And I'll be showing you just where I'd love to live tomorrow with Part Three of Our Kiwi Road Trip (if you missed them, here are Part One and Two!)

I'll be showing you around one of my very favourite spots in northern New Zealand, it's a little bit coastal and a little bit country and I can't wait to share it with you!

xo K

Images via The Design Files

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T07:04:00.000+13:00

I just want to wish you all a very happy Valentines Day today!

I'm planning a special home-cooked meal by candlelight for my husband and I tonight, it's a new seafood dish I'm trying out so I have my fingers crossed it doesn't all go horribly wrong - which is always a possibility when I cook! Hopefully the wine and chocolatey dessert will save me if that happens! ;)

If you're lucky enough to be spending the day with someone you love I hope you have the most wonderful of romantic days!

I'm dreaming of bouquets of roses, pretty summer dresses, a morning coffee date with my husband, pretty lingerie, chocolate desserts and stolen kisses...what are you dreaming of this Valentines Day?

xo K

Images via Pinterest & Tumblr

Valentines Tablescape & Red Velvet Cupcakes

2012-02-13T07:25:00.001+13:00

Valentines Day is tomorrow and love is in the air!! My husband and I have always enjoyed V-Day, it's never anything extravagant for us but a simple gesture is always nice, maybe a small bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates, it's really just another fun excuse to celebrate love!

I've had a recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes that I've wanted to try for a while so I thought what better excuse than as a special Valentines treat?? I'm not hugely into cooking and baking, though I do enjoy the eating part and these were a little time consuming to make but really worth the hassle! Rich, moist, chocolatey and the cream cheese icing is the perfect touch!

To show off these deep red cupcakes I pulled a little romantic tablescape together - I have to say I much preferred creating that and photographing it all to the baking part, maybe I can rope in my mum or sister to do some fancy baking for me next time?! ;)

So here is my red, white and blue Valentines Tablescape, the Red Velvet recipe I used is right at the bottom too and worth a look...Happy Valentines Day for tomorrow!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

2 1/3 cups flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tablespoons red food colouring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Icing:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup cream cheese, room temperature

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

3. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food colouring.

4. Add 1/4 of the dry ingredients and mix, then add 1/3 of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.

5. Scoop into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking.

6. Allow to cool for one minute in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together.
2. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3. Add the icing sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness*. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

*After mixing I added a couple of drops of red food colouring to get the pink icing.

xo K

Linking up to:
Life Love & Hiccups
Boogieboard Cottage
The Tablescaper
DIY Home Sweet Home
Alderberry Hill
Homemaker on a Dime
Get Outta My Head Please
Between Naps on the Porch
Northern Cottage
Coastal Charm
A Stroll Thru Life
Ruby Jean
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Brambleberry Cottage
Between You & Me
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My Romantic Home
Mom 4 Real
Tatertots and Jello
Serenity Now
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Cherished Treasures
Country Momma Cooks

Wonderful Weekends (by the Fur-Kids)

2012-02-12T15:05:00.001+13:00

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and a big extra-special hello to my lovely new followers, so glad to have you here!!

If you're in need of some weekend ideas here are some quick tips on how to make the most of those lovely 48 hours away from the hustle and bustle, courtesy of our two sweet Fur-kids, Harley and Nala! They both do weekends so well, I'm sure we can all learn a thing or two... ;)

Fur-kid Weekend Rule #1

Take time to sleep in! If you can't spend the morning in bed, an afternoon nap is always a good idea! Just find yourself a comfy spot on the sofa to slumber the hours away...

Yes, Harley does prefer to use a pillow! He even arranges them nicely
under his head...cute!

Fur-kid Weekend Rule #2

After your refreshing nap, make sure there's time to play and explore! Be social, chat to your neighbours over the fence (you never know what treats they might have for you!) and a good, rowdy play fight is a great game to take part in if you enjoy some exercise! You'll be pretty pooped by the end of it so be sure to finish things off with some more sleeping...*yawn*

Fur-kid Weekend Rule #3

Don't worry, be happy and smile!! Leave those week-day worries behind, chill out, relax, take some special time just for you...you'll feel all the better for it and ready to tackle the coming week...take it from us! We dogs know how to chill better than anyone...just look at us!

Enjoy your weekend!!

Love from K, Nala and Harley xo

Linking up to:
Cherished Treasures

Photography Friday: Getting Familiar with your DSLR

2012-02-10T07:37:00.000+13:00

Hi everyone and welcome to our very first Photography Friday tutorial! I'm so excited to be learning all of this from my talented husband and to be able to share my new found knowledge with anyone who wants to improve their photography and editing skills, whether for your blog or just to improve your everyday shots!

We'll be using every Friday for the next little while to take you through all the basics of how to get the best out of your digital camera, whether it's a basic 'point and shoot' you've owned for years or a brand spanking new DSLR! :)

By the end of these tutorials you will have grasped all the camera terminology you'll ever need to know and will be able to choose the right settings to create that perfect image you have in your head, how fabulous will that be!

Today is our very first lesson and it's all about finding our way around our digital cameras, we'll be using our own Canon 60D DSLR to show you where you might find the main buttons and settings. So grab your camera's and let's get started!

We've numbered the important buttons from 1 - 12 and labelled a few other basic things, the diagrams show where you might find them on your camera and at the bottom you'll find out what they all do! If it's clear as mud right now, don't fret, we'll go through them in much more depth as we go along!

Front View

Top View

Rear View

So now we know what these buttons are called what do they actually do?!

1. Shutter Button - This button controls the auto focus when held down half way and shoots your photo when pressed down all the way, I think we all know this one! :)

2. Mode Dial - This little dial controls your shooting modes (Auto, Program, Aperture and Shutter Priority, Manual mode, video mode and a range of preset 'scene' modes e.g landscape, portrait etc)...but no more Preset or Auto modes for us very soon!

Buttons 3 - 6 are shortcut buttons; if you don't have these buttons on the top or rear of your camera you will definitely find them in your Camera's 'Menu' press your 'Menu' button and scroll through the options or check your manual to locate them!

3. AF - controls the auto-focus mode e.g one fixed focus point vs a moving focus point (so me sitting still vs me walking across a room)

4. Drive Button - this controls whether you shoot one frame/photo at a time or two or more in sequence (this is a cool little button for action shots!)

5. ISO - this sets the ISO speed or 'sensitivity' of your camera - just like with old film cameras when you had to buy a different speed of film depending on what you were shooting

6. Metering Mode Button - this controls what method the camera uses to set the brightness or exposure of the photo, useful in tricky lighting situations!

7. Zoom Ring - on a DSLR you will manually 'zoom' by rotating the zoom ring on the lens with your hand. With a 'point and shoot' you may find the zoom lever integrated with the shutter button it will have the letter T (telephoto) and W (wide) to show you where it is

8. Flash Button - at the front of the camera near the flash mechanism you will see your flash button, it looks like a lightning bolt! Press to activate flash function

9. Play Button - press this button to review your photos, then press the shutter button down to go back to shooting mode

10. Focus Mode Switch - (DSLR only) this button toggles between auto and manual focus modes it will have the letters 'AF - MF' to show you where it is

11. Stabiliser Button - keep this button switched to 'On' to prevent handshakes affecting your photos

12. Live View Button - this is a recent feature to DSLR's. This button allows you to view the image you are shooting on the screen instead of through the view finder. It's much slower to focus/use though and my husband doesn't recommend shooting with it too often!

So now we've been introduced to the common buttons and settings on our camera's make sure you find them all and consult you manual if you get stuck with finding anything on your particular camera.

Have a good play around with them this week to see how they work, so that we're ready to learn about The Exposure Triangle next Friday! This is the main principal of Photography we'll need to grasp so I'm looking forward to learning all about it with you! :)

xo K

Our Kiwi Roadtrip - Day Two

2012-02-09T07:09:00.001+13:00

I hope you guys enjoyed checking out Part One of our little Kiwi road trip yesterday! I have lots of photos to share today so we'll jump right into it!

So after our first day spent in Orewa Beach we headed a little further North to the little rural area of Wenderholm and Puhoi. These are both great scenic spots and there's a fantastic river kayaking tour you can do in Wenderholm, hubby and I tackled it together a few years ago, but didn't have time for it this Summer, what we did have time for though was some very good eating!

Enter the brand new Puhoi Cafe and Cheese Store! They make all their lovely cheeses on site and the premises have recently been given a million dollar upgrade, the new landscaping and interior design of the building is great and really suits the rustic rural surrounds. It's definitely worth a stop if you're ever in our part of the world!

As for me, I got all excited once I saw the place and got a little snap-happy with the camera, no one seemed to mind though! We were served a beautiful lunch on the patio and there were gorgeous handmade cheeses, yoghurt's and ice creams to tempt us too...

The sun came out so we sat at one of the little outdoor tables for lunch...

The Cheese Cellar is amazing, there are all kinds of cheeses that you can view maturing behind the glass!

Such a lovely outlook and how delicious does the handmade ice cream and frozen yoghurt look?! We went for the smooth and rich Dutch Chocolate flavour, yum!

There's a little pond on the grounds complete with very friendly ducks and fountains, gorgeous!

After our lovely relaxing lunch we decided to drive around without a map and see what we could find! I knew there were a few great regional parks nearby but I didn't expect to follow a tiny little country road, come to the crest of a hill and see this...

I literally gasped out loud, told hubby to 'Pull Over!!" and ~~ran~~ walked to the lookout point armed with my trusty camera a.k.a inseparable appendage...and it was completely drop dead gorgeous in every direction!!

Hello, New Zealand, have we met?! ;)

Thank you nature, thank you God! Everywhere I turned there was something even more beautiful to see and I knew we just had to make our way down to one of the beaches for a closer look (once i was done exclaiming over the view of course...which took umm, quite a while!)

I have never seen water this shade of blue before! It was a true azure like you see in postcards of the Greek Islands...it was a true slice of heaven right there! I think we all need more of this blue in our lives :)

We headed down to the little sandy bay to the south, I think the sign said it was called 'Sullivan's Bay', but the words were so faded it was hard to tell. Whatever it was called it was amazing and the water was even prettier close up!

I was obsessed with this piece of driftwood so artfully standing up in the sand. It reminded me of someone dancing, or maybe I just thought that because that's what I felt like doing while I was there! There were about ten other people on the whole beach, so it's probably a bit of a local secret...I'm not surprised, I am IN LOVE with it too now!

I wanted to capture some special details from this beautiful beach to remember it by, so hubby volunteered his hands for the photo shoot and I love how the sand looks running through his fingers and holding my little beach treasures...and oh my goodness I LOVE Photography and being able to capture moments like this! I think I well and truly have the photo-bug and I couldn't be happier about it!!

That's all I have for you for Day Two! There are some more photos in my stash so I'll share them at some point in the future so you don't get too sick of staring at my photos all at once! Have yourselves a wonderful Thursday, we have two very long awaited, new exterior doors being installed at our house this morning so I will have to take some shots of the new ones as they go in! Any excuse to get the camera out right?! ;)

xo K

Linking up to:
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Brambleberry Cottage
No Minimalist Here
From my Front Porch to Yours
2805
At the Picket Fence
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
5 Days, 5 Ways
Simply Klassic Home
The Sasse Life
Project Alicia

Our Kiwi Roadtrip - Day One

2012-02-08T07:07:00.000+13:00

Hi girls, I hope everyone's having a good week so far! We had the best day yesterday at a new beach we discovered while driving around the East Coast. I am well and truly in LOVE with this little spot and will definitely be back...it's amazing!

I really wanted to share the photos of the little gem right away but thought I really should start with the photos from the very beginning of our holiday first! There will definitely be lots more photos to come (especially from the gorgeous new beach *sigh*) but we'll start right at the beginning shall we??

I'm actually really proud to say that so far all of our holiday shots have been taken by me, which never normally happens! My husband has given me an absolute crash course in photography this week and he's pretty darn good cos' I'm already getting the hang of it! Make sure you stay tuned for the Beginner's Photography Tutorials starting right here on Friday, it's gonna be great and a real help! :)

Anyway, enough chit-chat from me, check out our little Kiwi Road Trip through my eyes (and lens!) and see what a holiday 'down under' is all about...

We'll start with Day One!

The sun is shining, the car is packed and we're leaving the City of Sails behind in search of pastures new...

Mt. Rangitoto is a familiar sight as you leave the city and it doesn't take long to reach the countryside! Auckland is not a big place and I love that :)

Our first stop was not long outside of Auckland in the little seaside town of Orewa. My husband works nearby (lucky thing!) so suggested we go and check out the beach and I'm so glad we did! I hadn't been there in awhile and it was so lovely and peaceful, the perfect place to practise my photography skills without an audience...

No one but us and the occasional surfer on the sand...

Is there anything prettier than the sparkle of the Pacific Ocean in the sun?

Surfer dudes in action!

I love the little ripples the tide leaves on the shoreline...

A true Kiwi 'bach' or beach house with it's own private stairway access...

Footprints in the sand...

Stairway to heaven...I practised for over half an hour around these rocks, getting my Aperture and Composition sorted, thanks hubby!! My makeshift camera bag ending up sitting on the rocks to keep dry but I thought it looked kind of cool up there against the vivid blue sky, so I took a photo, why not?! :)

The twisted trunk of a native Pohutakawa Tree never fails to make me smile!
The vibrant red flowers spell Summer to us Kiwi's :)

We spent lots of time on the sandy beach at Orewa and it's such a charming little town! My parents are always saying how they'd love to retire there and I can see why, it's got a relaxed resort vibe while still being less than an hour's drive from the Central City. It was a great spot to start our road trip North!

I'll be updating you on Day Two soon with some very pretty NZ vacation spots to come and of course I can't wait to show you 'the beach'!!

xo K

Linking up to:
A Beach Cottage
Savvy Southern Style
Project Alicia
Boogieboard Cottage
Serenity Now

Classic Nautical Chic

2012-02-07T07:03:00.000+13:00

I love that fashion has been having a nautical moment for a while now! Red, white, blue and anything with classic stripes has been in vogue for quite a few seasons and there's no sign of it going anywhere just yet!

I popped into Forever New a few days ago after a long clothes shopping hiatus and literally could have taken half the shop home with me!! Racks of perfect tan leather bags and belts with shiny hardware, stripey little ballet flats, slim line navy blazers with brass buttons, red and blue striped tops and belted dresses, turquoise jewellery and chunky gold bracelets...it was like shopping heaven! I looked at my husband with a twinkle in my eye and told him that a full on shopping spree is going to be happening there very soon! ;)

In the mean time I'm having to satisfy myself with some nautical-inspired fashion images, it's so chic and works for any season, take a look at my current favourites...

Weekend chic - cute bag, cute hat, cute dress!

I love wearing fitting tanks with high waisted skirts, very flattering on an hourglass figure!

Love the stripes with the quilted Chanel bag...

Slouchy, nautical scarf, love!!

This would make quite a good camera bag...hmmm...

Atlantic Pacific rocks the red stripe, love her hat!

Polka dots in navy and white add sweetness...

Love these jewel toned bags, what a great touch they'd bring to a simple outfit!

Ladylike and oh so chic...

I think I need this iPhone cover...

Muted stripes glammed up with sequins and a tan Chanel bag...

Over sized seaside inspired jewellery is still popular for Spring...

Oh Louis, how I love thee! From the new Spring Collection...

Red, white and tan can be just as classic as blue and white...

How to work some new season yellow into your stripes!
I love the lightweight trench coat too...

Are you enjoying fashion's nautical moment or are you ready for something new?? I'm kind of hoping it'll be around for another few seasons, I really can't get enough of this classic style!

xo K

Images via Tumblr and Atlantic Pacific

Turquoise Cottage Dreaming

2012-02-06T07:00:00.002+13:00

How sweet is this pastel hued coastal cottage by the sea! The soothing palette of white and turquoise blues are just perfect for a coastal cottage feel. I'm sure it must be such a breath of fresh air every time the owners come home from a long day at the office and relax into one of those lovely poolside loungers...bliss!

The restrained white and grey exterior is punctuated by
the prettiest of blues...

Such a gorgeous breakfast area! Love the built in bench
seating and the sandy tiles with the pastel chairs...

A turquoise accented chandelier adds a bit of glam...

I love the wood plank coffee table and the pink striped
bucket filled with hydrangea...

Just step out to the pool area after breakfast for a
refreshing dip...

I love this tile, it would be amazing in the right
bathroom as a feature!

Could this entry way be anymore charming??
It's like something out of a fairytale!

The sweet little turquoise kitchen - in love with the
retro little blender on the bench top!

Blues and greens on a whitewashed shelf...so beachy!

This little cottage makes we want to run out and buy some blue paint! I've always loved the calmness of blues and greens in the right room and our pale blue-green office and laundry rooms are by far my favourite paint colours in the house!

How about you, have you ever painted with sea greens or blues?? Do you like these coastal hues on the walls or do you prefer them used as an accent colour? I just can't get enough of them right now!

xo K

Images via Better Home & Gardens

Linky Followers, Facebook & Twitter, oh my!

2012-02-05T17:26:00.003+13:00

Happy Sunday! I hope you've all had a great weekend and that all is good in your neck of the woods! We're all good here, enjoying our time off, chilling out and not doing too much, I must post some holiday shots soon for you actually...oh alright here are a few...I still need to have a look at the others to make sure I don't look too awful in any of them! Do you do that too? Censor the holiday photos?? Maybe it's just me...

That top right photo was taken from the car window while hubby was driving up a very steep, windy mountain, no whiplash to report but it wasn't ideal having my arm hanging out taking photos!

Anyway, I just wanted to talk about a few things today, I'm sure you've all heard that Google Friend Connect is going to be gone very soon (although it will be sticking around on Blogger blogs for now, there are rumours about it going there too) which means that for now, bloggers using other platforms, like Wordpress, are going to lose all their 'GFC' followers unless they subscribe another way!

Even though I (and lots of you) are on Blogger I decided to add the Linky Followers widget anyway since non-blogger gals won't be able to follow us that way anymore (I think? It's all a bit confusing!)

If you have already set up your Linky Followers widget on your blog, make sure you click on mine to follow it and I will follow right back, I don't want to miss anybody out and not realise it!

On that note, last week I finally set up a Facebook page for Coral and Coast. I'm pretty excited about it and just finding my way around at the moment, so if you are on Facebook click the Facebook widget in my sidebar to 'Like' my page and go check it out...

Click to visit my Facebook profile!

I'm planning on having some extra stuff on Facebook that won't always make it onto the blog and I think it will come in handy for all of us to be able to share our photos there when the photography tutorials get started on Friday. I'd also love to 'Like' all my followers Facebook pages so let me know if you have one!

Finally, I'm also on Twitter if you prefer tweeting! You can find me here, it's a fun way to catch up with you all while I'm on the run!

Phew, all this social media, widgetty business is a bit stressful but I hope to see your lovely faces on some of them soon since you're the ones that make it all worthwhile!! :)

Chat tomorrow!

xo K