It’s party and gift guide season, all of which is reflected in our round up of purchases this month; from handy present ideas to chic alcoholic beverages. As always, this is a strictly #gifted free zone – we bought everything with our own hard-earned cash and genuinely think you might like them too.
Tattoos by Maddy/Barby World at Bruce, POA but $150 each
Call it a midlife crisis or call it a reclamation of independence, whatever it is, at the ripe old age of 48 I got my first tattoo. To be fair, I’ve been thinking about it for a while now; I love the idea of little motifs that represent key milestones of my life. It just feels like something that’s weird to do so late in life.
But, it may sound trite, I wanted something to represent how meaningful Ensemble and the work it does has been in my life, and with Zoe’s 40th coming up, it seemed like a great field trip for us both. I consulted Lara (hi Lara!!) on who to go to and she recommended Maddy, who I adored (when I made an off-hand comment on how it may age on wrinkly skin, her reaction was pure Ensemble non-judgement firm kindness). It also didn’t hurt as much as Botox so there’s a win! – Rebecca Wadey
Duck Island ice cream scoop, $20
Love the retro packaging, love Duck Island’s ice creams, love how this effortlessly rolls a perfect scoop. An excellent Christmas present too! – Zoe Walker Ahwa
Futonz basic bed base, $425 (or $212.50 each between my boyfriend and I)
As I’ve mentioned recently, I just moved flats (this is threatening to become my entire personality). Unfortunately our old bed base was too hard to move, so for a week we cosplayed as an 18-year-old dude in his first flat using a mattress on the floor. And you know what? The 18-year-old is on to something.
Being very low to the ground is, well, grounding. It’s also not a new concept – the traditional Japanese futon was a thin mattress placed directly on the ground or a mat (a tatami). My cursory research tells me that futons were Westernised around the 70s/80s, when they became fashionable in America. Which is probably how we’ve ended up with a place called ‘Futonz’ – the place we got our ‘futon’ style slat bed base from. And while it probably doesn't adhere to any traditional guidelines, we love it. You feel like you’re sleeping on the floor, but also there’s ventilation so your mattress doesn’t go mouldy (essential in Auckland, the damp capital of the country). – Georgie Wright
Clover ferments mix pack, $61
I am one of those stereotypical sore tummy girlies. Any stress or major life change sees me with a wheat pack clutched to my stomach and staggering around like I’m about to give birth. I was recently gifted the Clinicians Bloating Support which has really helped, but this column is about what I’ve spent my own money on and so here is a humiliating story of perfect consumerism: While scrolling Instagram one day I saw Little Bird had posted one of those giveaways where you are required to follow participating brands. I adore Little Bird and know they’d never promote a business that wasn’t fully legit, so I clicked on Clover Blend and went down a sore tum shopping hole, forgetting to go back to enter the competition. My extremely gnarly fermented drinks are now safely in the fridge, and I am doing two shots of each a day. My tummy is definitely less sore and swollen and I am digesting my foods better. – RW
Tie-dye cat ‘recovery’ suit / onesie, about $12
What do I even say about this… This was a purchase for our cat Jem who has anxiety issues and overgrooms. She hated it, and me, at first but has gotten used to it, and it does stop her licking herself raw. She looks adorably ridiculous in it. (I know some people will say putting clothes on cats is cruel, but she only wears it for short periods of time, I’m always in the room and I am a cat obsessive; don’t come for me). – ZWA
Island Gin Limited Edition Peach, $120
I am both incredibly predictable (also: too lazy to count how many times I’ve featured a bougie gin in this column) and also incredibly bad at wrapping my head around my impending loss of income. Who buys a $120 bottle of gin the week that this is announced?! But honestly, no sooner had this email hit my inbox, I’d purchased it. The Island Gin feijoa is one of my favourite tipples ever (limited to one drink at a time, only during holidays so it lasts a year), so I have high hopes for peach. And I vow to be far better with my money in future. After all, good ol’ Bombay Sapphire is half the price and did place second in our gin blind taste test. – RW
Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel Rosé, $54
I don’t even really like rosé, and haven't been drinking much lately, but did that stop me from buying this expensive (for me) bottle of wine? I was influenced by the trend of UK huns drinking it, and also an Instagram story or post from DJ/PR/cool girl Aimee Phillips where a chilled bottle of it was just lying elegantly on the grass (she’s buddies with Nicholas Grimshaw and Alexa Chung; a friend group that always looks like it's having lots of riotous fun). I can see what the fuss is all about; it is a delicious, dry, not too sweet rosé. – ZWA
Two vintage smokey glasses from Riverside Reloved, $16
Some people are practical and go to a place like Briscoes to get a normal amount of cups for their flat. Some people like to pop into and buy two (two) smokey glasses for the foreseeable future. But the shop person told me they are from a place called Kaaru and were made in the 60s in Christchurch, which is cool. Then I discovered that there’s a Facebook page for ‘Kaaru Glassware Enthusiasts of NZ,’ which is also cool. Who needs practicality when you have enthusiastic Facebook pages? Not I. – GW
