Arriving back in Auckland was odd. I kept having memories play across my mind and I felt like a rolling mixture of happiness, exhaustion, and bittersweet melancholy as certain things would trigger reminders. A billboard advertisement. The familiar accent. The style of the houses and size of the yards. We flew for 15 1/2 hours… Read More Auckland
Wind Tree Sculpture, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland, 20th April 2013
We’ve been wanting to check out Metrolanes Bowling on Queen Street ever since it opened a few months back. We finally made our way there this past Saturday and oh my, what fun! They have a mezzanine level that is just perfect for little kids: shorter lanes, small bowling balls, and no bowling shoes required.… Read More Bowling on Queen Street
Every month, Ports of Auckland and 360Discovery Cruises team up and offer free community tours around Waitemata Harbour. That’s right: free. Obviously, at such a great price the tickets for these cruises go fast, and it’s recommended that you book early to avoid missing out. I’d heard of the PoA tours for awhile but kept… Read More Living in New Zealand: “Ports of Auckland” Tour and “Kiddie Consumerism”
How many times have you heard the phrase, “It’s important to be a tourist in your own town”, or something like it? I’ve heard it a lot. When we first moved to New Zealand, it was fun and easy to be a tourist in Auckland. Everything was new to us and we wanted to see… Read More Living in New Zealand: Tourists in Your Own Town
New Zealand truly is a beautiful country, but just like anywhere, it’s got its share of pigs: That’s a photo via the NZ Herald, showing just how piggy people can be. This is in front of a McDonald’s in downtown Auckland. It doesn’t normally look like this, but add in an event, lots of people,… Read More Here, Piggy Piggy, and Wet Weather, too!
We had a good, busy weekend. Friday night was Girl Friday, hosted by the lovely Erin and Danae. These two sisters have more creativity in their little fingers than I have in my entire body. A welcome sight upon entry to “An Evening in Paris” Beautiful table-scape with custom-made “Cafe Vendredi” {Cafe Friday} place mats… Read More Girl Friday, Work, and Lantern Festival
According to some recent surveys, New Zealand is, hands-down, the friendliest country on earth {click on image to go to report}. NZ is Friendliest Country on Earth according to HSBC Expat Explorer Auckland – where we live – was also recently ranked as “The World’s 10th Most Liveable City”. Wellington – the capital – was… Read More Friendly. Liveable. Expensive.
I had a great time hanging out with some work mates last Tuesday. They wanted to meet Joe, and the One 2 One Cafe in Ponsonby seemed like the perfect spot for us all to grab a bite while letting the younger ones play in the courtyard. Joe, of course, is a bit too young… Read More The Garden Party Store
Hey friends – this Saturday is the 2011 Annual Auckland Sling Walk! Helen MacMillan of My Natural Baby has coordinated the ASW since 2009. As in the past, the walk is set to coincide with International Babywearing Week. What is babywearing? Good question… Babywearing has been around for a long time. At its most basic… Read More Auckland Sling Walk 2011
Do you see that? I’m not referring to the Sky Tower. I’m referring to the other thing. Do you see it? No? Here – let me point it out to you: You still don’t see it?! Ugh. Fine – I’ll zoom in: Do you see it now?! That, my lovely readers, is a human being… Read More SkyJump
Joe and I went on a pointless errand today. Don’t you just love those? When you get to your destination and you learn that the paperwork you were given is, in fact, not sufficient. And then when you email the letting agent to let them know that you need different paperwork in order to get… Read More Some Photos
Chris came home early today in order to make-up for the fact that he’ll be out late for the rest of the week. What to do with this rare moment of spare time? I knew what I wanted to do! We went to the Auckland Art Gallery: We have wanted to visit for awhile now,… Read More Auckland Art Gallery
Joe and I headed over to one of the local university campuses this past Saturday. Chris was a representative for his department during the “Courses and Careers” day. It’s a day where high school students are able to tour the university and learn about various majors available to them. We decided to walk over and… Read More Walking on Campus
Joe and I did a lot of walking around today: roughly 4.5 miles, or 7.25kms. That might not seem like a lot, but when you factor in the hills, the cold, the fact that it was raining during some parts, that I had him in a carrier for part of the time and in the… Read More Walking, Water, and My Wee Little Man!
One year ago today, Chris and I arrived in New Zealand. I’d never been here and didn’t know what to expect. Chris had only been here for ~5 days when his {now} employer flew him out for an interview. I was nervous and worried – what if we got here and Chris realized that the… Read More One Year Ago Today
I am so excited to meet our baby boy! I’m amazed at how much love I feel for him, and he’s not even born yet. Only a few more weeks 🙂 Today, I want to talk about getting out of the house with a little one. Baby boy will be our first, but I’ve… Read More Getting Out of the House with Baby
This past weekend was the Chinese Lantern Festival in downtown Auckland, New Zealand. This annual festival celebrates Chinese New Year and is a big deal around these parts. Photo taken from the main room of our apartment We were bums and didn’t actually go, despite its proximity to our place. This is because I had… Read More Chinese Lantern Festival in Downtown Auckland, NZ
Hello, my lovely readers 🙂 I hope that your week is off to a good start. I know that many of you have been cold in the States, but it is hot-hot-hot here in New Zealand! Parts of the South Island made the news for reaching 40.3C {104.5F} over the weekend! It hasn’t been quite… Read More Warm Weather, Womb Updates, and Winnings
Living in New Zealand and experiencing a warm Christmas has meant changing up our traditions. Instead of spending Christmas Eve day looking at snowfall and drinking hot cocoa, we decided to hike a volcano. Rangitoto is part of Auckland’s volcanic field and is some of “newest ground on earth”. It’s only about 600 or 700… Read More Hiking Rangitoto While Pregnant? No Problem.
