All in an afternoon

This sunny spring arvo I was tip-toeing around the kitchen at Mum & Dad's listening to the whimsical music of Pheonix Foundation while baking some yummy vegan jammy almond biscuits. A nicer conclusion to my rather dull assignment-filled day. To top off my afternoon tea, I made an English breakfast tea (topped up with oat milk later on). This gorgeous English rose teacup and saucer was a gift from my lovely English friend who knows me oh so well. Thanks Debbie, I finally got the guts to use my precious gift instead of just admiring it on my shelf!




xxx

Ode to Mum and Dad

Recently, during a quick stint back home during my uni holidays I came across some rather 80's looking photos of my parentals back in their hay day.

Unbeknown to Mum, I flogged them to take back down to Dunedin and display them on the rather bare walls of my bedroom in my new flat.

I have to say they are a pretty cute 80's couple!

This zipped number must have been Dad's favourite top at the time, even if it does clash!

Seedy eyes much?

Too cool for school with a ciggie and pinstripe jeans.

Rocking the mullet and denim overalls next to the little red mini.

My uncle and his flatmate, dad and mum: pointing to mum's belly
when they found out she was preggers with me.
Thinking mum has a baby face? She was the tender age of 19...

I have loved having young parents that are easy to relate to,
they were totally unselfish at their young ages raising me and my
younger brother. Can't believe that I would have a 1yr old
and a 4yr old if I was Mum right now!

Mum's 21st birthday - in between having me and my brother.
She looks a heck of a lot more mature than I did at 21...

Mum and Dad, I have to say I have so much respect for you!! You're both awesome, I couldn't have been born into a better family.

Love you xxx

Move. Eat. Learn.

No, I don't mean Eat, Pray, Love. But close(ish). This clever trio of one minute clips capture stunning footage. It is pretty much the essence of why I love traveling so much, and why I can't wait to get back out there.

As the 3 people involved in these works of art explain:
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films..... = a trip of a lifetime.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

My new found inspirational role models:
Rick Mereki, Tim White and Andrew Lees.

xxx

Times are changing

It's halfway through the year and deep in the midst of Dunedin's dreary winter. I have successfully completed half of my primary school teaching diploma at Otago University, which to say the least has been challenging. Balancing uni/teaching with a job, the gym and keeping in touch with the world is a test, but so far so good! To add some sunlight into my life I have spent the last of my holidays designing my new blog with a summery/spring feel. Also, check out my other new blog 'Hello, my dearest' which is something I have started to keep track of lots of wee teaching goodies and things I learn along the way. So far, it's a work-in-progress, but hopefully I will find the time to gather some interesting things to fill it up with.


Take care x

california in greyscale

after leaving new york, i enjoyed a solo 3 day stop over in california before heading home to new zed. i spent my first day wandering around the star paved streets of hollywood. i must say i was not terribly impressed... i should have known it's tacky atmosphere was not my scene. still, i was fascinated by feet walking over the pavements in tinsel town







venice beach was my second days venture and the culture here was lively and i loved it. i strolled down the beachside boulevard, breathing in the sounds and sights...

one of the few pics i have of myself in ca

i reached santa monica just on sunset - in time to catch the sun silhouette the famous pier roller coaster and route 66 sign. brilliant day.



i also checked out sunset strip one night, mingling in the infamous bars and clubs like the roxy, house of blues and viper room. knowing all the sweet rock bands that have played and been discovered at these places before was mind blowing.

although, i have to say, in california, i belong at the beach...


i will revisit for sure

xxx

once upon a dream...

...i entered into a wondrous fairytale that goes by the name of Greenwich, CT. driving down the narrow winding roads lined with tall trees and falling snow, while passing acres of estate land with castle-like mansions, it was hard to believe my best friend lived here.




we ventured into NY city a few times via an hour train ride. these excursions were very fun, but very tiring... getting around the city is exhausting! of course i made monique do the tourist thing, even though shes not into the tacky tourist scene, but when in rome... or new york you just kind of have to (and i think she enjoyed it more than she led on hehe). so here you go - a few shots of the city's most iconic places in the least tackiest way possible (well, bar maybe the statue of liberty shot haha!)

grand central

central park was just the dreamy winter wonderland i had thought it was going to be, pity we weren't rugged up enough to brave the cold and explore it more. the winter wind here is brutal.

the vibrant times square is intensified by the bright blue sky

taking a breather at a yummy and cute sushi bar just off times square

grand central with the chrysler in the background

view at sunset from the empire state

no caption needed, except to laugh at my jumping attempt

my favourite district, and the only place with decent cafes in new york!


bleecker street record shops - a treasure trove

brooklyn bridge


i can't wait to go back as there was just so much to see and do, i only scraped the surface. i think visiting in the summer would be neat. i can now understand why people rave about this city - it definitely is different from all the rest.

xxx

new year in new york

* * *

i hate to have a cliche title, but i can't get over that i actually did spend my new years in new york! it sounds almost as cheesy as spending christmas in canada ;)

after spending our last couple of days in canada with our beautiful friend connie and her partner kieran in calgary, it was time to say goodbye to the maple leaf and hello to the big apple.

we had a slight overnight delay in montreal, which set our trip back a tad. it seemed as soon as we got ourselves settled in moniques abode (aka mansion!) in greenwich, CT, it was time to get ourselves organised for the biggest night out in NY.

equipped with our tickets to an open bar party in the east village and cute heels (read: BAD idea), we traipsed down several blocks of new york sidewalk.

finally after a few fails, we found it:

our new years hang out, although not quite what we expected...

but it had cute decor...

and we did manage to (eventually) meet some american pals

the most happiest new years in new york!

with the trains starting up again at 5am, we had a few more hours to kill in our heels before we could mission it back to greenwich CT. boy did it kill! but much to our heels delight in the warm back seat of a taxi on the way to grand central, we witnessed the 1st sunrise of 2011....

pretty spectacular.


big ups new york.
will be hitting you all soon with more on N Y C.

xxx

love & raindrops for christmas

* * *

welcome to part trois of my december/january journey

monique and i melted down from the snow into the rainy days of vancouver.

we settled into the cambie - a backpackers in gastown (love!) - and soon became best buddies with all the staff at the bar downstairs...

the wintery rain that is vancouver in dec

our beloved hostel that became our home for xmas

at the cambie bar, rocking the canadian beer

iconic brick walls of the cambie bar - interesting reads

(love the hubert cumberdale signature)

when the rain did cease a little, we ventured outside to wander around the area of gastown. we fell in love with the cobbled pavements, vintage lamp posts and artsy stores. again - like most of the places we travel - we want to come back and live here for a year or so! just another awesome place to add onto our forever growing list of places to live...

the best antique store i have ever had the privilege of entering

filled with trinkets and truffles (serisouly, they were scrummy)

if only we had room in our suitcases to bring it all back home

umbrellas - essential goodness

we hid in the hostel a little more than we should have as it was hard to bear the windy rainy weather, and mons and i felt a little isolated with not knowing anyone in the city. however, we redeemed ourselves by randomly gaining a crew of aussie's and kiwi's on christmas eve in the cambie bar (plus a few others of various nationalities). at the end of the night it was as though we were all old friends. it's a christmas eve that will be hard to beat.

christmas day was an odd one for both of us. it wasn't our typical kiwi barbie on the beach surrounded by family day. i don't think it really registered that it was christmas day for us at all... we slept our hangovers off for the most part and wandered around the ghostly gastown streets of vancouver. mid afternoon we exchanged gifts and then had a quiet night in the cambie. it was different, but it was still nice. we were besties together again overseas and that's what made our christmas.

our assortment of pressies

love you sweet pea and thanks for the best christmas away from home

xxx