On Aro Valley

I absolutely adore this area of Wellington, it's one of the oldest parts of Wellington City (I think Brooklyn is the oldest suburb? Wikipedia told me it is) and I love the feel of this suburb. There's not a supermarket, but there is a park, a cinema AND a zipline place. What more could I need? a supermarket. i'd like a supermarket.

On Living So Far From Home

This year in New Zealand will have been the longest (and furthest) I've ever been away from home, and the fact that I am closer to the end of the year, than anything else, is really weird. For the next 3 months, I know I'm going to be swinging back and forth between "oh my god i love this country it's so beautiful i don't want to leave" and "oh my god i miss home so much i am excited to go back". Times be tough, yo.

I have absolutely no regrets in choosing to move here when I did, I have gotten to experience so much and see so many incredible things this year. And as much as I absolutely love and adore everything about living in New Zealand, I don't think I could ever actually settle here. It's too far away from 90% of the people I know and I'm pretty sure the part of me that yells any time I'm minorly inconvenienced by store hours (bank/library hours continue to baffle me) or the lack of Target-type stores won't be going anywhere any time soon. The closer I get to going back to the states, the more excited I get at the prospect of going to Target. I just really miss it, y'all. I also miss my family and friends but I figure that basically goes without saying

Another part of why I don't think I could settle here is that I feel like I would never have to actually grow up if I stayed - New Zealand is my own never never land. And I definitely know I have some Growing Up to do; and, for the first time since starting college, I am not terrified of the idea. I want to move back to the states and get started on my life.

While living here hasn't been 100% work or 100% holiday, it has felt like a stopgap between the end of one era (childhood) and the beginning of another (adulthood) and being away has allowed me to actually pause and think about what I want to do and where I want to do it while letting me get used to life after college. I know that I am very lucky to have even gotten the opportunity to do this, but I suggest everyone should do it before making any decision ever. Spend most of a year thinking vaguely about it, then make an informed decision and do that thing. It'll take a bit longer to get things done, but you'll be happy with whatever you end up with. 

On Rainy Days

Summer is definitely over in Wellington, friends. With temperatures hovering at about 55 F with lots of wind and rain, it's been hard to convince myself to leave the flat, let alone look semi-fashionable. On rainy days (most often when I don't have to work) I've been trying to come up with ways to spruce up outfits/convince myself that going out in sweatpants is unacceptable. This is what I have so far:

How I Spruce:

1. Add a bright color. I'm not sure if jewel tones are still "in", but i don't care i LOVE this cardigan.
2. Braids! Braids make everything fancier. They're also an excellent way to keep your hair out of your face/hide that you need to wash your hair. Not that I ever do that.
   
3. Ankle boots! I looooooooove ankle boots. They go with everything and I can even wear these bad boys to work.
4. Red Lipstick. Were I able to get away with wearing red lipstick to work, I would probably be rockin it every day. 

On Romance

Recently, I've had several people ask me about my love life. While I'm tremendously pleased that they seem to think that I'm together enough to have a semi-functioning adult type relationship with another human, it's a bit disheartening that there is no news on that front, and hasn't really been any news since coming to New Zealand.
Sure, I've been hit on at a few bars, but aside from that there really hasn't been much happening in that ...department.
I'm sure it's because most of the men I spend time with are under the age of 5, and while I enjoy hanging out with kids as much as the next person (actually, probably more than most people. It is my job after all) I just can't really see myself dating any of them... predominately because I am not attracted to children and also it is illegal and I'd probably get super fired.
Ok this went in a weird direction, let's backtrack a bit.
I've never been great at putting myself out there. In the past, when I've dated it's generally been a situation of "Oh Hello Friend We Are In School Together Let Us Smash Our Faces Together Thank You Please", but since I've left school - and don't really like going to bars/clubs/outside - I've found it is really difficult to meet people.
It's hard not to feel like I'm bad at being 23, but that scene just ain't for me. And with the added pressure of a lot of my friends getting married/engaged/babied, it's hard to not think that there's something wrong with what I'm doing, and not that it is 100% perfectly fine for me to not having any of those things.
Everyone has their own timeline and I am having to accept that mine is just a little behind in the romance department.

About Bits:

Some basics:

• my name is Kate
• I am 23 and 3/4
• I'm an American living in New Zealand until the end of July
• I work with children
• I like taking pictures, fashion blogs, reading, and the internet.

You'll see here:

• bits of life (predominately photos)
• bits of stories (predominately words)
• bits of fashion (a mix of both words and photos)

I'm going to try to post twice a week, so check back soon!