Today, I’m thankful for Andrea, Brooke, Catherine, Emma, Erin, Danae, Jane, Rebecca, and Shannon. All of the above were at my baby shower on Saturday. It was so much fun! During one of the many moments of laughter and chit-chat, I looked out and felt a lot of gratitude. One of my worries regarding moving… Read More Thankful
My old teddy in the corner + a few gifts sent over by my mom That would be me! We bought the crib {or cot, as it’s called over here} from Mocka, a family company that’s based in Christchurch, New Zealand. I wanted a crib that was simple and clean with a standard American sized… Read More Guess Who Put The Baby Crib Together All By Herself
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.
Have you heard of “A Little Ink”? They’re another great New Zealand based design shop that I found through the wonders of the interwebs. I love their handmade prints and adorable poems that go along with them. Prints like “Spike the Hedgehog”, “Charlie the Cheeky Cat”, “Ghandi the Goldfish” {one of Chris’ personal favorites}, “Bianca… Read More “A Little Ink – Poetic Art for Children” Nursery Prints
On Saturday, Chris and I went to an Auckland event that’s been going on for the last 17 years – Christmas in the Park… This is a free concert sponsored by Coca-Cola and featuring several NZ artists, both old and new. Since we’ve only been in NZ for about 7 months, every artist was new… Read More Christmas in the Park, Drinking, and Dirty Diapers
Since we’re renting, our decorating options are a bit more limited than if we owned a home. The room that will eventually become the nursery has 3 light colored walls with 1 dark charcoal gray wall. It’s very “blah”. Since we can’t paint {and who the heck would want to with our 20 foot ceilings},… Read More Erupt Prints – More Nursery Designs!
Picking up from the last post… I have to admit, learning about Labor & Delivery in New Zealand and the differences between here and in the States was the most surprising for me, especially the part about how soon you’re discharged after birth – 2 to 4 hours postpartum. Labor and Delivery Just like in… Read More Pregnancy in New Zealand – Labor & Delivery
One thing about moving to another country – all of your “go to” shops suddenly become a bit harder to find! I was a little discouraged by this until I started discovering the many great New Zealand based companies and designers out there. I was so excited when I stumbled across the StickyTiki shop. New… Read More Nursery Ideas – StickyTiki Wall Decals
Hey everyone – I’ve gotten a few questions regarding the differences between being pregnant in the US and being pregnant in NZ. Since I’ve never been pregnant in the US and this is my first time being pregnant in NZ, I can tell you right now that my comparisons aren’t going to be exhaustive, but… Read More Pregnancy in New Zealand
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited New Zealand, and talk about some BIG news! I may not always agree with Hillary’s politics, but having her visit Kiwi-land was like a little bit of home 🙂 Hillary Clinton performing a hongi during her powhiri – a Maori welcome ceremony I absolutely loved reading about the… Read More Hillary Clinton Visits New Zealand
Hey everyone. It’s been 5 months in New Zealand – time for another post-move analysis! Job: Chris loves his, and I’m settling into mine. I’ve gotten to know my co-workers a bit more and have formed some new friendships 🙂 Nurses in New Zealand travel a lot more than those in the States. Many of… Read More 5 Months
For homesick Americans in New Zealand, there’s a place to go – Martha’s Backyard. Image via Chris and I had heard about MB’s from several sources, and had been looking forward to visiting the store. We planned to go a few weeks back but it didn’t work out, so we postponed until a few weeks… Read More Martha’s Backyard
I love days like this – when the house smells of laundry and fresh air. Days when sunlight is shining through our open windows and a breeze blows through the house. I recently bought two plants – an African violet and a bromeliad: Both of them are are really starting to perk up. I think… Read More Days Like These
I know that the New Zealand earthquake has probably slipped off most media radar, but please keep people in your prayers. The state of emergency for Canterbury has been extended another 7 days, and some of the aftershocks are stronger than many earthquakes. Just to put things in perspective – the earthquake in Haiti was… Read More New Zealand is a Small Country in a Big World
As some of you know, a 7.1 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, with the effects felt throughout the South Island and in some southern parts of the North Island. I’ve gotten several emails from people checking on us, so I thought I’d do a quick post to let people know that we’re OK! We live… Read More Earthquake in New Zealand
Chris and I finally took our trip to Waiheke Island. Rather than making an overnight of it, we decided to just go for the day and save the extended trip for another time. We started out by walking to the Auckland Ferry Building. We purchased our tickets and waited for the ferry to arrive. We… Read More Waiheke Island
I’m glad that you guys enjoyed seeing the photos from yesterday’s post! Sometimes, I wonder if people are all that interested in knowing what life is like in Auckland, New Zealand. Posting pictures of my shopping excursion in the rain seems a little silly, but I know that a big reason why I read other… Read More Continuing with our Rainy Day Shopping…
It’s a rare thing for me to post a photo of myself on this blog! But, I decided that I should show you what I look like when I’m all kitted out to go walking in the Auckland winter rain… Gosh, my hair’s getting long! And please, pay no mind to the bedroom – we’re… Read More Shopping in the Rain… Complete with Photos
I have an irrational fear of public transportation. I don’t have any qualms about riding trains or subways – I’ve done that before in Boston, in NYC, in Chicago… it’s just buses that freak me out. I haven’t regularly ridden a bus since the early days of grade school when I had to trudge down… Read More On Public Transportation
Check out this National Graphic video clip about “adventure tourism” in New Zealand. In case you didn’t know, New Zealand is where bungy-jumping was invented, and they have all sorts of crazy, adrenaline filled activities out here. Considering the fact that I’m scared to death of heights and don’t even like to go down some… Read More New Zealand – Adventure Tourism
