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

to the snow we go

this 2nd installment of my trip takes place in whistler, bc.

i met up with my bestie, monique, in vancouver after waiting hours in the bus station alone, not knowing where she was with no form of communication device to contact her. it was such a relief to finally see her cute face and hear that she was only late as her plane was delayed. however that delay stalled our plans a little as there were no more busses heading to whistler that night. we ended up having to shack up in a hostel which we both thought could have possibly been a half way house... the lock on the door didn't work, and after pushing the fridge and tele up against the door we huddled on top of one of the beds chatting and reminiscing all night - too scared to fall asleep.even though it didn't go as we had planned, i loved our first nights reunion in vancouver's most dodgy hostel!

the next day we sleepily sat on a bus heading up to whistler to meet matt and the crew up there for a few days. we stepped off the bus into a bustling beautiful little town... we instantly loved the vibe.

in the heart of the village

getting lost on the way to the village...

magical fairy lights of whistler square

wandering around the village was a favourite passtime for us...
so was drinking bailey's hot chocolates and planning our travels
around including a season back here in whistler

our gracious and generous host, matt, took us out to colour the town -
nightlife in whistler is lively to say the least!

causing all sorts of chaos

the three of us (mon, matt & me) found it hilarious that the cheapest beer you could buy was called 'lucky' and our joke for the night was that we got lucky. yes, a tad immature, but when in whistler....

xox0

during our 3 day stay i was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday...
a little different from my usual summery sunny birthday in new zed, but snowflakes and snowboarding suited me quite nicely.

teaching mons to board... she still looked like a pro
in matty's gangster gear even when the hill was getting the better of her.

alas, it was time to continue our journey... we also figured matt probably would have wanted his lounge, couch and armchair back (our crash spot for 3 nights - in which mons and i took turns to sleep on the armchair!) gotta love budget travels... it wouldn't have been the same otherwise.

much love to our host and all the beautiful people we met in whistler. we will be back,
that's a promise.

xxx

i fell into a snow globe...

...and loved it.

it was a treat to experience a months travel in north america over the christmas and new year before hitting the books again at otago university.

my first destination was BC, CANADIA! flying into vancouver, i missioned my way on a bus to the big white ski field. from the time i had left my sunny spot at home (after a swim at mount maunganui beach) i finally arrived at my journey's end at a friends house on the big white (and snowy) mountain... only 35hours later! longest day of my life so far, but worth every minute.

15th dec - 19th dec:

the magical sunrise view on my first morning

bex and i all geared up. it was so awesome to be on the
chairlift again about to head up for my first run of my short stint in BW

a day of firsts - riding through the trees and powder
amazingly awesome (though i could have been powdered out in this pic!)

the snow ghosts (snow covered trees)


ecstatic about the snowy day and xmas trees

a mesmerizing last run

beautiful big white - you have stolen my heart

much love goes out to bex and her crew for taking extra great care of me during my little stay... but i had to be on my way to meet my darling bestie for the next installment of the canadian christmas trip... tbc

xxx

fuel for night owls

coffee...

mmm... such a feen and i had many a regular fixes at many a different little cafe's around wanaka. one day i popped into the innovative sushi and smoothie shop to grab a quick coffee before i started work and i fell in love with the cute coffee cup art by the coffee brand supreme!

{supreme coffee from yohei}

food...

i enjoyed living in my little multi-cultural flat in wanaka during the winter and spring months. my routine turned fairly european whilst sharing the apartment with a 27 year old from france whom i had lovingly dubbed francois (officially he went by julien, however this was a mission for me to pronounce in correct french accentuation). he soon returned the favor by calling me cicciolina, in which he explained meant "the pretty, happy, bouncy girl"... needless to say i wore my new nickname with pride!

many nights i would return home from a late night at work or an evening out to be greeted by the beautiful smell of baking bread wafting down the stairs. as francois' parents were bakers, he too had inherited the passion of baking and cooking authentic european cuisine. to my taste-buds delight (but not my hips) i was treated to fresh bread, crepes, gratin (layered potato, cream and herbs baked) and other french inspired edibles.

my usual night owlness characteristics were well out-shined by francois late night habbits. at first i found it funny that francois ate dinner at 11pm. as i would be getting ready for bed, francois would be getting ready for dinner! but i did find myself rummaging around the kitchen for food later and later each night. francois loved that bambino (the nickname of our third flatmate) and i had adjusted to the european lifestyle he introduced to the house.

after a particularly tiring evening i arrive home to an excitable francois in the kitchen proclaiming that he was going to fix me a french aperitif and a home-made vegetarian pizza (which involved him making the dough for the base also).

the aperitif - or french cocktail - consisted of whiskey mixed with sugar and lemon. admittedly i took a sip straight away and pulled a face from the strength of the spirit, but wait a few moments for the sugar to dissolve and it transforms into a delectable sweet and sour beverage with a kick.

"although, the pizza wont taste like it does back home" francois exclaims (please imagine a french accent)...

"first of all your pizza will have no meat on it!" (he found it hard to believe i don't eat meat when we "have such quality meat in new zealand")

"secondly, it wont be cooked in a wood fired oven like the one my father and i built in my backyard and thirdly, you don't have good cheese! this mozarella was made in australia! pfft!"

.... it still tasted like heaven to me!

the aperitif {insert french name here once remembered} and vege pizza
strategically displayed on our ironing board

it was a sad parting of ways when i left the flat to continue my transient existence, but i can't wait to experience this culture in it's natural environment...

france - i'll see you in a couple of years.
francois - thank you for all your delicious delicacies and i'll see you in a couple of years!

xxx

By Jorge!

As a girl who prides herself on not being a label basher, i seem to have accumulated several items of clothing by the fashion label Jorge. Their feminine style catches my eye and i cannot resist the temptation of treating myself to fairly affordable pieces from an almost local (they're australian, but still!) designer. Only having been around a couple of years, their brand has been introduced into several clothing outlets all over New Zed and Aussie.

i'm swooning over the solarized shots, i can't help but sigh

over any light driven photography.

ode to floral cut-out back patterned dresses -

a self confessed feen. i own a couple of these gorgeous styled frocks, and am

trying to wear the heck out of them while i am still in the southern hemisphere's summer

(i leave in a week's time for a white canadian christmas and a new york new years!!)

this seemed highly appropriate with xmas chasing our heels...
(i recently adorned my friends house with fairy lights, i love them so!)

also, am adoring the monika vintage short - which can be found on their website. the floral fabric reminds me of my nana's curtains (i must remember to save those when she re-models...)

xxx

frollicking in the town fit for queens

a dear friend of mine turned 26 this week. another friend and i had planned for a while that we would treat our birthday girl to a mystery weekend away in Queenstown (which is the tourist hub of the south island) just over an hours drive away from wanaka over the crown ranges.

as i work with alisha, it was hard work keeping our plans secret everyday but we managed to keep the activities quiet until we arrived at our 1st destination on friday night: the day spa.

much deserved girly pampering at body sanctum which had spectacular views over the bustling town and lake. we left feeling laxed out, however, our next destination was something we needed to amp up for...

kylie had the wild idea of making us attempt pole dancing in an hour and a half lesson with a (quite possibly a stripper) pole dance teacher. after all, if we were to have a weekend of wining, dining and relaxing, we had to get our exercise in there somehow!

apart from maybe losing a few iq points listening to our peppy pole dancing master talk about her poling antics, we actually may have gained some muscle that we never knew we had by pulling ourselves up and around in all sorts of contortionist positions around the pole. with the help of a few bubbles we giggled our way out of the dance studio with silly grins on our faces proclaiming that we may well just join up to the pole dancing school!

classing ourselves up, we prepared for a flash dining experience out in an intimate restaurant tucked away in a back alley called the bunker....




this cosy abode served up the most delish meals. mine consisted of rosted portebello mushrooms topped with ricotta and almonds, served with a caramelised onion tartlet, slow roasted tomatoes and a salsa verde...



seeing we had worked up such an appetite with our gymnist routines we felt like we simply must indulge in the mouth watering deserts the bunker had to offer...



scrummy sticky date pudding and panna cotta tingled our taste sensations.

we then ventured upstairs to the bunker's cocktail lounge. no scummy queenstown madness here, just pure class and cocktail accompanied with a funky dj, pretty fairy lights and an outside screening of the old james bond movies.

breakfast is served french style at the lush les alpes cafe just down from the lakefront. les alpes' decor is decadently french farm-style and displays gorgeous pasteries in their cabinet, along with a delicatessen of french cheeses and a cellar full of fine wines.

having a rich dinner the night before i could only graze on organic museli, but if you have a sweet tooth or sugar craving then this is the place for you, their treats look sweeter than heaven.

on our way home we shared a cheese platter and a wine or two at gibbston valley winery and cheesery and also stumbled upon this little beauty... waitiri creek winery.

nestled in the gibbston valley, this little woodern church houses aromatic wines and an appetizing lunch menu. we only stopped in for a wine tasting, but will definitely be back here. it had such a stunning setting, suitable for weddings, events or a just lovely lunch.

refreshing with a fresh fruit frozen yoghurt from the cromwell fruit stall, we wandered around cromwell old town in the hot sun.

it was a pleasure spending a weekend away with these two girls.

i am graced with such beautiful friends xxx