Yup, that’s right. I’m off ‘across the ditch’. Moving to ‘the land of the long, white cloud’. Or my personal fave ‘moving from the West Island to the North Island……’

Haha, New Zealand humour cracks me up.....

If you haven’t heard the story yet, turns out The Boy is a kiwi (who knew – his Aussie accent is so strong) and we thought it would be nice give his country a go for a while (as my country has hogged the living rights for a while now).

So on April 16 this year, we board our flight and Auckland-bound we are! (With only one suitcase each!!!! Now THAT is another story altogether!)

Never fear, I will still keep writing the blog (collective sighs of relief can be heard throughout the land) besides, what better fodder for the blog than me, a sunshine-loving, cotton maxi-dress wearing Queenslander, moving to a city that is renowned for its four seasons in one day: rainy, wet, cold and windy – sounds like a blast! (But it’s ok, because I bought a really cool umbrella remember? Click here)

Oh how much I love my umbrella!!

No really, I’m excited by the challenge of a new country, a new city, a new job (more on that later) and most importantly…. A NEW WARDROBE!!! Woo hoo!! (See, convincing the boy to move countries was all part of my evil plan to buy more coats and boots hee hee hee)

I’ve already started stockpiling winter clothes (for once in my life I’m glad that “winter” hits stores when it’s still 30 degrees in Brisbane), and I’ve created a WICKED board on Pinterest with all my inspirations for my new winter looks click here to see it)

Just some of the images from my Pinterest "Winter Looks" board

As mentioned, the stockpiling has begun…. every time I come home with a new purchase now, “but it’s for New Zealand honey” is all the excuse I need! So here are a few of my favourite winter purchases for my new wardrobe life in NZ!

These ankle boots from Rubi Shoes are surprisingly comfortable to wear all day (and I can say that because I wore them around the house for 15 minutes one Thursday afternoon….)

Castro Boots from Rubi Shoes (is it bad that I bought them in two colours?!)

and these…..

hmmmm is it just me or is anyone else seeing a theme here..... the Katy shoe from Payless shoes - OFFICIALLY THE most comfortable high heel I have EVER owned (in fact, they deserve their own blog post so watch this space....)

I also went gallivanting around the country (well, half of Brisbane, same thing no?) to find these jeans – I have raved about them several times on my other blog, The Grand Plaza Stylist (see here) and I am NOT generally a fan on jeans – but these are a good fit, they are flattering because the colours are quite dark, and they are under $20 people!!!!

I currently only have the green ones but the red and purple are on my shopping list before I go! Emerson from BIG W coloured jeans $18.86 (PLUS my new Payless Shoes will look hot with these jeans too)

I may have also purchased the following items whilst IN New Zealand recently…. they are currently sitting at the in-laws in Auckland waiting my permanent arrival…..

So I currently own the black one, but there are at least 3 other colours on my shopping list when I land in NZ.... Merino wool v-neck jumpers NZ$39.95 from Postie.co.nz

And a jacket VERY similar to this one from chain store Max… It’s kind of like our Portmans? Great, well-cut pieces for work or play at a reasonable price. I was really lucky and got my Max jacket (which is more of a linen feel than the one in the pic) on sale for NZ$50 so I was stoked!

Classic blazer from Max - my own is very similar, a sightly different fabric - great store though!!

So that is what I have…. for now. The good thing is, there are plenty of the same stores over in NZ as we have here.. Witchery, Country Road and the like, plus some other brand new stores that I’m excited to explore like Storm, Max and Overland Shoes… I’m sure they will become familiar to you as I continue to chronicle my fashion journey across the ditch.

Do you have any suggestions on purchases that I should make before I leave the West Island? Or have you ever moved somewhere that made you totally re-assess your wardrobe?? Tell me how you did it!!