SAKURA CHERRY BLOSSOM TREES // AT WUHAN UNIVERSITY - CHINA

Rose Tinted Photography

Spring has officially sprung in Wuhan, China and my husband and I took the opportunity to go on a special date to see the Japanese Sakura blossoms in full bloom at the Wuhan University. These splendid trees line an entire street near the traditional style buildings of the University grounds in an area which used to be occupied by the Japanese. They are a renowned attraction in China bringing thousands, if not millions of people to see them for the few short weeks they are in bloom. I was sure to wear my new blush & rose kimono style top that I recently bought on sale at H&M.

Seeing these cherry blossoms me makes me reminisce to one of my favourite photo shoots which you can see here.

I WOKE UP NEAR THE SEA // CHRISTMAS IN XIAMEN - CHINA

Rose Tinted Photography

For our Christmas break, my love (Ludwig) and I decided to do a little travelling. Our hearts settled on Xiamen, which is an island in the South East of China.. Being from New Zealand, we wanted to be by the sea as that feels more homely at a time where we really miss our families.

Christmas day was spent visiting a temple and hiking a mountain, followed by a hot chocolate / brewed coffee at the biggest Starbucks in China. We are not major café goers in NZ but there's something about the western influence that feels cosy. Especially when it's raining outside and jazzy Christmas carols are playing in the background.

For most of the time we stayed in the cobbled, boutique streets of Siming, which was a very eclectic place full of unique stores, street food (mostly seafood, which we do not like to eat) and small bars. The place was bustling and had a really great atmosphere.

We also stayed a night on the small island of Gulangyu which is where many British settlers came to live in the late 19th / early 20th centuries. Because of this, the island is filled with many European style manors, many of which were Art Deco in style.We wandered through winding streets, had a moonlit walk along the beach and overall had a wonderful little romantic getaway.

Read more about our trip on our travelling blog; Hopeful Wanderers.

HOPEFUL WANDERERS // A TRAVEL BLOG ABOUT OUR JOURNEY IN CHINA

Logo design by Rose Tinted Illustration & Design

Photograph of us two by Stephan & Nakita

If you are interested in seeing images and updates of our travels in China then feel free to head over to a new blog my husband and I have set up. Hopeful Wanderers is a journal of our time abroad and shows glimpses of our life in China.

The logo and banner image of this blog is of my own design and features a quote from one of our favourite songs by Mighty Oaks.

"It's a big old world we live in now

And mighty it can be

All this time I pictured you standing next to me

So we could go find things we'd never seen"

- JUST ONE DAY // MIGHTY OAKS

VIEW FROM THE TWENTY THIRD FLOOR // THIS IS CHINA

Rose Tinted Photography

I have been in Wuhan, China with my husband for just over five weeks and so far it's been really great. We have always wanted to know what it is like to live in an apartment building in the central city, not forever, but for a time in our lives. We have a one room studio apartment (with separate bathroom that has a western toilet). The space is perfect for a couple who do not need a lot of space. Check out the view from our balcony!

Living in China has so far been an amazing experience and we love the buzz of being in the city. Sure it can be noisy with the endless horns beeping and the constant construction sounds. But how great is it to leave your building and immediately be amongst it. We are close to many great places to eat out and it's so cheap that we often do. We are picking up on our Chinese enough to be able to order for ourselves. 

I must admit, I have not taken as many photo's as I should, but I promise I will post some before too long. Part of the reason is because it's a pain lugging a DSLR camera around when your main mode of transportation is your feet. I also feel there's a difference though between visiting a place and living in a place. When you're visiting, you only have the one opportunity to capture the sites that you see, but when you have made roots for the next couple of years, it seems unnecessary to record it all. In saying that, I do realize the importance of capturing memories in the form of a photograph, but only if it's not getting in the way of you seeing/experiencing it first hand.

VENTURE TO THE BEACH // WINTER GETAWAY

Rose Tinted Photography & Design

Port Waikato Beach

My husband Louis & I just come back from a winter getaway with our good friends Nathan & Ashley. We initially started in Ruakaka, which is a beautiful beach side town up North on the East Coast of New Zealand. Nathan's family has a Bach there. We went away to spend quality time with our friends before we leave to China but also so I could take Nathan & Ashleys engagement photo's! (Watch this space).

We then ventured to Port Waikato where Louis' family friends own a cute Bach close to the sand dunes. These photos were taken at Port Waikato Beach with it's vast space and West Coast black sand. On our littl getaway we went on little adventures and had some indoor time with games and lots of cups of hot chocolate/tea. As avid Lord of the Rings fans, we watched a film each night (but we skipped the Fellowship and opted for the last two for the epic battle scenes). The weather was grey and windy/rainy most of the time. Not ideal engagement photo weather, mostly cause of the wind. But we managed to get a couple of photo shoots in which I'm looking forward to sharing with you!

This road trip reminded me of just how much I love NZ and how beautiful this country is! I feel blessed to live here. It was a great time with good friends, good tunes, good food and good times.

WE'RE GOING TO CHINA!

Rose Tinted Design & Photography

Exciting news!! My husband and I are going to China to teach English in Wuhan for 1-2 years! We leave in a couple of months and are greatly looking forward to this adventure.

I'm particularly excited for the flower markets which apparently are really inexpensive. I'll hope to have fresh flowers in our apartment all the time. Plus I'll get to make flower crowns from fresh flowers! Yay! Apparently the Antique Markets are amazing as well as the art store which is not far from our school. I'm excited to go shopping! Though I hope everything is not too short on me as I am quite tall.

We're excited to live in a city. To be able to walk down to the streets and enjoy dining out more. Though Wuhan is known for it's spicy food, and I am known for not enjoying having my taste buds aflame. (I''ve learnt how to say "No Spice" in Mandarin).

I'm excited to take photo's and to embrace the culture and the warm hearted people. I'm really looking forward to teaching as well. Without adding another year onto my degree, it's not something I would be able to do in New Zealand. But being able to do it short term is going to be an amazing experience. My husband Louis is a professional teacher, so he will be able to give me many tips along the way. The students in China are known for being eager to learn which will help me immensely. We also teach with a Chinese teacher in the same class so I'm not doing it alone.

The weather there is extreme heat in summer, and very cold in Winter. I've never experienced such big extremes in temperature so it's making me really contemplate what I pack in my suitcase. I'm trying to think natural fibres like cotton and silk for summer, and warm knits, merino wool, duck down feather jackets, and a good rain coat for winter. I love to pack, to make lists and think ahead to what adventures I'll need them for. But it's also sad packing our lives away here though I know it will not be forever.

We will miss our families and friends LIKE CRAZY. But we are so blessed to have skype, email, viber and all these other forms of media that can connect us with them.

I will continue with this blog, and I am looking to set up an etsy store to sell my flower crowns and illustration prints. So I will not be going away, in fact my content will only get more enriched as I travel and experience new things! :) x

CARAVAN // GENUINE LEATHER HANDBAGS

Caravan Genuine Leather Bags

Have you ever tried to look for a beautifully made, fine quality leather handbag that is big enough to carry your books and folders, perhaps even your laptop? These stunning handmade leather bags are designed in New Zealand by the talented Cara who is the store owner and visionary of Tiny Space.

Tiny Space is a unique store within St Kevin's Arcade along K'rd, Central Auckland that specializes in stunning leather bags, gorgeous jewellery, as well as various other knick knacks and wonderment. They even sell Rose Tinted Illustration prints and my handmade flower crowns. If you haven't been before, than you're in for a treat!

Cara is currently working on the next collection of Caravan bags to be released later this year. Can't wait to see what the next instalment is going to look like! I currently own the large black B08 Beverly bag (2nd from top), which is perfect to fit my 15" laptop. It fits snug in a soft case which I put inside the soft leather inner clutch. I can carry it around with style to do my design work knowing it is safe and hidden away. I have also wish-listed the Maroon Gypsy Traveller bucket style bag and the Dark Chocolate Geek Chic Satchel!