Hey everyone – thanks for commenting on my book review and entering the giveaway. I enjoy writing about the things that I read, and I’m glad that some of you enjoy reading the things that I write! The winner of this month’s book giveaway is Rebecca @ Knit by God’s Hand! Rebecca – send me… Read More June Book Review + Giveaway Winner!
**Don’t forget to read my June book review and enter the giveaway! Entries close this weekend** One of the good things about living in the city is that you don’t necessarily need a car. It’s nice to have and can make things more convenient, but it’s not required. We’ll get a car eventually {walking to/from… Read More Bag Lady
**Don’t forget to read my June book review and enter the giveaway!** One of the burger restaurants in New Zealand is Burger Fuel, a multi-national chain that started on Ponsonby Road in Auckland. I wouldn’t classify Burger Fuel as being “fine dining”, but it isn’t exactly “fast-food” either. There’s one about a 3 minute walk… Read More Burger Fuel!
Hello, my lovely readers, and welcome to this month’s book review and giveaway! To read more about my book review approach and giveaways, please click here. My book for June is “This Fine Life”, by Eva Marie Everson… (ISBN 080073274X, Revell Publishing House, May 1st, 2010) The book tells the story of 18 year old… Read More “This Fine Life” – June Book Review + Giveaway
In honor of Chris’ 29th birthday {which was Saturday!}, I thought that I would share an in-no-way-complete pictorial chronicle of his life. It’s so fun to see what Chris looked like before we met, and to notice things about him in his childhood pictures that he still does now – the eyebrow waggle, his characteristic… Read More Happy Birthday, Chris!
I have this thing about expectations – I try not to have them. Self-preservation method? Yes, but I’ve also learned that sometimes it’s easy to make the jump from expectations to judgments, and I don’t like to judge something until I’ve experienced it. When I knew that we were going to move to Auckland, I… Read More Meeting My Needs in a Fantastic Fashion
Chris and I did some more walking about town on Saturday. We’ve walked all over the place! This time, we cut through the park across from our hotel. We had a general destination of Auckland Domain, but no set route on how to get there. Here’s a photo that I snapped of Chris along the… Read More Auckland Domain
We moved into our apartment Monday afternoon 🙂 I’m ridiculously precise when it comes to time to the point of arriving 10 minutes early and pacing around, just to make sure that I’m not late. Our housing agent was 10 minutes late, which wouldn’t be a big deal except for the fact that we were… Read More Be It Ever So Humble…
I want you all to know that skipping Summer stinks! Here is Auckland’s forecast for the week: I know, I know – I shouldn’t complain. This is apparently as “winter” as it gets around here, which is way better than the most typical winter day in South Bend, Indiana {and I guess the Midwest is… Read More Skipping Summer Stinks
While we’ve had to give up some of our old favorites, we’ve definitely found some new, yummy foods here in New Zealand. Here’s a sampling! McVities Dark Chocolate Digestives These cookies are so, so good. Chris isn’t as crazy about them as I am, but that’s because he has a much sweeter sweet-tooth than me. … Read More Yum-Wonderful Food Finds
The internet is a crazy thing. Through it, you can meet all sorts of people and form lots of random, seemingly unrelated connections. It’s how we’ve met many of the great people we’re coming to call friends in New Zealand. First, there’s Travis and Brooke. I “met” them online through an old high school church… Read More So, How Do You Know Each Other?
Welcome to our {entirely unfurnished and as yet unlived in} New Zealand apartment! Sorry, no addresses listed! I’d rather not have any unexpected visitors 🙂 This is the view from the second bedroom into the main hallway/entryway. Excuse the bad photo quality – I was in a hurry! This is the kitchen/dining area. The table… Read More Knock, Knock… We’re Home!
It’s not every day that you read an article with the title, “Police Find 14 Sheep Crammed Into Car”… Seriously – what were these guys thinking?! Also, congrats to Tami of 29 and Holding for winning my May book review giveaway! Send me your address at mrs{dot}practicallyperfect{at}hotmail{dot}com, and I’ll send it your way!
I’ll bet you thought that since I had just moved to another country, that I’d completely forgotten about the monthly book reviews. Well, you’re wrong! I didn’t forget, and this month I have another good one to share with you – “The Bride Collector”, by Ted Dekker. Ted Dekker is known for being primarily a… Read More May Book Review + Giveaway: The Bride Collector
We’ve been having fun in our new home, but have also been getting stuff done. We’ve opened a bank account, found a church, been out with friends, gone on a real estate/relocation tour with a relocation agent set up through the university, gone to 2 farmers’ markets, shopped, been through the Auckland Domain {best way… Read More Out and About Auckland
(1) I heard back from one of the DHBs {side note: a DHB is a District Health Board. Auckland has 3 DHBs, and each one oversees at least 1 hospital}. Things sound promising, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed! (2) The advertisements in NZ are hilarious. Case in point? Exhibit A – Seen while walking… Read More Two Things
Air New Zealand and America’s Next Top Model have partnered together to give away 50 round-trip ticket packages from LAX to New Zealand! The package includes airfare for two, but you must travelfrom June 26th – July 11th, 2010. Soooo, if you’re feeling lucky {and you have some vacation time coming!}, head here and enter… Read More Win Roundtrip Airfare to New Zealand!
Hello, my lovely readers 🙂 Well, day #2 is drawing to a close here in Auckland. Today was fairly relaxed. I slept for almost 12 hours last night after having been up for basically 24 hours in a row. I slept for about 4 hours on the flight over but didn’t nap once we arrived. … Read More Things Done Today: Called Hospitals + More Shopping!
Hello, my lovely readers! We made it to New Zealand, and so far, so good. The flights weren’t bad. Honestly, the worst parts of the trip in terms of service and overall comfort were on the domestic side of things. Once we were on our Air New Zealand flight, things were great. There were plenty… Read More Video + Pictures in New Zealand!
Today is the day! I had a great week with my family and loved taking long walks on the property. It was a lot of fun and a great way to say good-bye. Here are some photos that I took while on my parents’ property this week. Anyone who says that the Midwest is flat… Read More Auf Wiedersehen, Good-Bye {until New Zealand}
