a quickie

 

This is really just going to be a post of pictures and captions...... For example the picture above is off the map showing me where we are exactly....which is right there....I am the the little blue dot inside the blue ring, that is me... I think I look lovely.

We are actually at a beach called alice the Camel Rock, and Guy has pulled on his wettie with lightening speed and run into the ocean.

So, just a brief update on what we have been up to.

 

We woke up bright and early in Lakes Entrance ( no need for alarm clocks when you are surrounded by squawking Aussie birds) and we went to check the surf.....as you can see it wasn't up to anything at all....just lazily lapping at the shore....not peaking into hollow barrels like Guy had been dreaming about through the night (smackity thwack...eat my foam ball slater). The horizon was a stunner though....such a beautiful sight and the sand was freezing underfoot, it really was such an energizing start to the day.

The day of driving through bush....bush.....bush.....more bush..... Kangaroo!!!! That's right, we saw one.....it was small, but we saw one!

 

We had to stop at Snowy River and get a photo seeing as snowy river was the name of the river that ran through my family farm when I was just a little giant fat baby ankle biter.

 

I made a friend while Guy stopped for a surf at a random beach....he made me miss my ginger buddy so badly!!!! We wonder if it is normal to miss your dog as much as we do.... Although our wonderful parents have each been sending little updates on how he is doing..... I love that he is spending his time between the two sets of grandparents! They all love him as much as we do!

 

Oh yes, this is our penthouse.... Don't be jealous. We can't all live the high life.

It is very cosy..... And we have to take turns being the big spoon so that we don't lose feeling on one side of our body but it was pretty beautiful this morning. I had the flap door rolled up and Guy had parked under a massive tree, so I felt like I was In a tree house (amazing) and the birds were squawking and the waves were crashing and it was all a bit lovely really.

Ok I must go....Off to lay on the beach with my book and my camera....

 

Melbourne adventures

 

Oh the wonders of technology!!! I am writing this while sitting in the passenger seat of our fluoro green and purple campervan (which seems to have this magical ability to change Guy into 'Hans the German tourist' as soon as he gets behind the wheel, yes, I will be traveling with Hans for the next few days!). Well, what a magic few days we've had in Melbourne!

 

On Monday we drove out to the Yarra valley wine area and had a beautiful lunch at the Chandon winery. The views were INCREDIBLE and the food and wine were delicious.... Gafa and Guy are like a seafood power eating tag team.... It's kinda gross, not gonna lie..... The octopus tentacles were staring right at me, I had scary giant squid dreams.

We popped down to a local restaurant that night for dinner and had the biggest meals I've ever seen, I seriously couldn't believe the generous servings of food... And the whole time this huge cabinet of cakes was right there just daring us to eat them..... As the old saying goes....who dares, wins.

I ended up getting the mars bar slice although I couldn't help but notice the cream donuts that had the signs 'small kok' and 'large kok' in front of them..... It's a Greek version of a yoyo.... And yes it is pronounced as it reads. I just couldn't bring myself to buy a small kok for dessert.

 




 

Tuesday was a day of shopping with just my big sis' and I. Even though Lisa has lived there for almost 10 years it was still an adventure trying to figure out wherever we were and how to get to where we wanted to go....possibly the two people with the worst bearings ever.... The blind leading the blind. But get there we did, we cruised around the fitzroy area... I picked up a gorgeous mustard colored shirt and yet another owl for our place.... Also yellow (I was attracted to everything yellow yesterday) and a very cool wee gift for little baby Bodie, (my maid of honor bec and her husband Jono's new addition) who we are meeting for the first time once we get to Sydney!

The lane ways in Melbourne are very cool and while we were there i saw this little fella.... I'm totes a fan.

 

While all this shopping and sister bonding was going on....Guy was getting slotted at Bells. Each of us in perfect worlds for the day..... Shopping and surfing, ha!!!!

 

Oh!!! If you are ever in Melbourne you have to go to The little Creatures dining room..... I LOVED THIS PLACE! Such great food, I could've eaten the whole menu and we all know how much I love a cold pint of pilsner....mmmmm.

 

We're on the road and we're staying at Lakes Entrance tonight before carrying on with the coastal drive up to Sydney. Ready for some adventure.

Ta, ta xxx

like a boss

 

I'm sitting here in the Melbourne sun, on my sisters couch in their beautiful bungalow and reflecting on the EPIC day we had yesterday!! My sister and bro-in have always been very good at spoiling us and yesterday my Sis' pulled out all the stops on a serious pamper day.

 

 

We went to the amazing Crown Towers Spa and had a solid 3 hours worth of massage and facial bliss, I felt like I was on another planet ( I think we Christchurch folk underestimate our inability to really truly relax like we used to be able to before all the Earthquakes) I was completely and utterly 100% relaxed and I had to keep bringing myself back from the verge of mouth-wide-open, drooling, snoring, straight up ugly-sleep!

 

 

After that we went for a dip in the pool, which we had all to ourselves.... And we acted like it... Dolphin diving... Sneaking up on each other.... Belly flopping over lanes and accidental free boobin' (don't ask). I then had a blow wave.... Which took the guy an hour and a half, Hi, I have the hair of 3 people combined.

For dinner we went to Federation Square to this crazy good restaurant called Taxi, it was like a party in my mouth. So freakin good.

 

So yes, right now I am blissing out and about to embark on a winery tour, don't mind if I do.

Pinch.

Yep, this is actually happening right now. Ammmmazing.

some weekend wonderfuls

Stumbled across this video clip on youtube during a Bon Iver stalk listen this morning.... They are called the Paper Kites and this song is from their EP, Woodland.  I am absolutely in love with their sweet sound and this video clip!!! I want to be in this video, I want to look like a tiny woodland viking..... not fair.

So here go's your weekend tunage...I just bought their EP on itunes for around $10. You should do the same methinks.

I also bought the album 'flight of the crow' by Passenger. Listening to it right now....it is lovely.

woolshed shenanigans

When my family were home we went on a mission to flock hill station...that place is seriously gorgeous and Autumn looks good on it. My sister Sarah and her lovely Birdman Maurice, had their beautiful wedding at Flock Hill and while we were there we did the trek up to the knoll where they were married and had a drink in the setting sun.......ahhhhh how romantic... With your whole family. While we were up there we did this lovely corny thing where we all shared a highlight of 2012 with each other. And a couple of us had the same highlight.

The bitches box.

Sounds nasty, but it's far from it. The bitches box is a seriously talented 3 Women travellin' show that performed at woolsheds around the South Island.

Guy and I went to the Takamatua show with my lovely parents, it was an amazing spot, the sun was setting they had people making homemade burgers on a BBQ and the Sav Blanc was flowing...

The night starts with a fantastic acoustic set from the wonderful Miss Mel Parsons.... I personally love her music and her latest album is a real treat....I was that awkward audience member sitting in the front row subconsciously miming all the words to all the songs, only to be made aware of my embarrassing faux pas after the show by my darling fella. Awesome, 10 cool points.

Next up was the hilarious play (written by the clever actresses themselves) The Bitches Box. It is about 2 lady farm dogs, one old and wise, and the other.... Young and jacked up on heat. It was a laugh a minute show and the ladies were freakin hilarious... I'm sure it would help if you have had experience with farm dogs, but even if you haven't, the acting chops that those two bring to the show will have you in stitches anyway. My dad and I would simultaneously lunge forward in laughter (what, you can laugh without lunging? Impossible in my family) and there are still bitches box references thrown out there by my dad that get us all laughing.

One of those clever actresses is a lovely friend of ours, Amelia Guild, Who is not only a talented play write and actress but also an incredible artist (I know! Seriously Amelia....You're being a little greedy) her art is pretty wonderful, an explosion of colour and awesome on a canvas. So if you like awesome things you should check it out.

This is the best part... a little birdy told me that they are in the process of planning a North Island tour. You really must go! Such a great and different thing to do! How many of you have gone to a theatre worthy show in a woolshed? Keep an eye on The Bitches Box website for tour info!

happy birthday Mr.

It was the fella's birthday on Sunday, his choosing day. He chose a beach in the middle of nowhere, a solo surf, a near truck drowning incident, a crazy ride over some shingle dunes and a near bogging 2 meters from the tide incident.

It was quite the adventure and a laugh and a beer on the beach afterwards was a must

Jed was a massive fan of the day....

Afterwards we invited both mine and and Guys parents around for dinner....seeing as it was also mothers day it gave us a good chance to say a big thanks to those lovely ladies in our life.... And tell them all about our little adventure for the day.

On the dinner menu was: barbecued honey and mint butterflied leg of lamb (Peter timms) roast veg with rocket and feta and a beet root salad..... Not forgetting The beautiful cake that Guys Mum bought over for desert. Yum

At the end of the day we lay on the couch and almost fell asleep listening to the mothers day mix I made for my Mum.

Twenty niiiiiiiiine...... this was said at least 50 times throughout the day. We are COMPLETELY obsessed with this show!! It is soooofreakin good. Schmidt = amazing.

soul food

Today has been a seriously beautiful day....

1. Bike to markets, eat pastries and make fun of/laugh with this fella



2. Buy pretty market flowers..... I. Love. Flowers



3. Enjoy bike ride home through amazing Autumnal parks, all the while having the fantastic view of your market vege and flowers and pretending you are in a music video for your own theme song...

4. Chat up this hot bicycling fella on a park bench and be laughed at by two teenagers for saying hello to them...... Silly teenagers! Don't they know I'm totes cool.

5. Play 'dude where's our dog' at the park

6. Meet up with my beautiful friend Jazzy while Guy is surfing..... Mother to the beautiful little lady Frankie and their second bebe is brewing and only 5 weeks away. The best way I can describe this lady is 'a tonic' she makes me feel all kinds of happy/calm/good when I'm around her. (we were too busy nattering away for me to take a photo, so......I stole this one).

7. Cooked a beautiful meal by friends Larissa and Mark, watched some rugby, talked weddings (their impending one in particular) and enjoyed our dogs growing friendship. Bud and Jed forever. Then came home and crashed in front of the fire, with this kid in his favourite spot

Off to sleep with a full stomach and a full heart, doesn't get much better than that. Feel very lucky today....... Especially after watching the movie 'The whistleblower' last night. Seriously. Truly. Horrendous.

Ok, I feel like I'm showing off about my particularly good day so.......

8. I sat on two wet seats today (this one included) and I had a soggy bum for 60% of the day.

 

flashback friday

 

It all started in 2009 when i made this little photo strip (yes it was a strip, not a photo square) save the date and sent it out to our family and friends.... I still see it stuck to friends pin boards and fridges today which is so nice... I absolutely loved planning our wedding. I mean I had been dreaming about it for 7 years so when the planning started my brain was allowed to start making room for other things - I swear my IQ went up. Everything about our wedding was very DIY and I loved that it all reflected who we were/are still.

January 10, 2010

 

We got married in Kaikoura, here in New Zealand. It was a crazy blustery day.... The wind was so strong that my hair up was blown right out as I walked down the aisle... And I wouldn't have changed a thing. I have a highly irrational fear bit of trouble with being in front of a large group of people who are all looking my way.... The crazy wind and hair made me completely relax and laugh my way down to guy.

Then came time for photos down at South bay, the wind died and the water got completely glassy. I'm sure Guy would have been thinking about what the surf was doing down the road seeing as their pre-wedding surf was uncharacteristically flat for Kaiks... These photos with our wedding party were such a highlight... Taken by our ridiculously talented friend Camilla Stoddart, it was super relaxed with beers and champers in hand and laughs every minute. Prepare for a photo bomb.....

 

 

It was a magic day and everything that my over-stuffed brain could have imagined..... Awwwww

*** please excuse the quality of some of these pics, I dragged them off my fb page!! That's what happens when you blog from bed. Sorry Camilla!!!!

 

love triangle

It's no secret amongst my family and friends that I love a bargain.... I get serious thrills. In fact at one stage I was going to start a blog called thrift@chain for the very reason that I love thrifting and shopping at chain stores. Surely it is more about how you wear something than how much you spent? right?



My 3 favourite items at the moment are

1. Aztec top from JayJays $5 I got 2 other tees that are kinda similar
bringing the total to a whopping $15!!
2. My seriously snuggly scarf from sussans, love isn't a strong enough word. I put it on and literally swallows my face. It was $65 originally, $45 with 30% off accessories for one day. Baaargain Boom
3. Distressed skinnys from just jeans $49 really rigid denim with just a hint of stretch and the perfect length.

Now this is not to say I am against buying the odd big ticket item... On the contrary. Boots and jackets are two of my vices and, oh yes! I will spend when necessary. I'm currently trying to sober myself out and not buy any coats/jackets/blazers. I have an obsession that will end up with me having just those in my closet and I will be the skanky 'just a coat, nothing else' lady walking the streets. Not good.

Kakariki hummus

I am pretty much Popeye... I go mad for spinach... If I could squeeze it out of a can with my bare carni hands and then flex my mutantly large bicep I would. Until then, I will stick to chucking handfuls of it into my hummus.... I spied bunches of spinach for 99c last week, so I bought 4! And since then I have been trying to add it to everything... This hummus was a success

2 cans organic chickpeas drained and rinsed
2T tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic
2 sec pour of olive oil
Large pinch of cayenne pepper
3 massive handfuls of fresh spinach
Add water until desired consistency
Salt and peppers
Wizzzzzzzzzzzzz it up



Guy loves his sangoes and my spinach hummus went down a treat...he's not quite as much of a bulging nautical bung eyed sailor as I am so I pretty much have to hide it in his food. By the way, doesn't everything look prettier inwax paper and twine..... Yup.

h o t t i e

I was flicking through my photos yesterday during my 'operation blog spruce' and this photo of my darling friend Clare grabbed my attention and then ultimately became my style tab button. I love everything about this photo. Clare was obsessing over a wonky hem on this little vintage dress of mine and she was determined to fix it!

I snapped a photo of her struggle and it turned out to be one of my favourite photos! She's a hottie and the girl has serious style. She has since abandoned me moved to Wanaka (cue - mini violins playing sad music) but on the bright side, I sense a fair few winter retreats coming my way! Hooray

blueberry brekkie

Every morning I sit down with one of these guys.... My everyday blueberry smoothie breakfast, my old friend. I have one of those magic bullet blenders and they are seriously good!! I know the ads on tv are one step away from offering you a free set of steak knives, but it's magical abilities allow me to forget that completely! I'm not a milk drinker so in my smoothie is

1 sliced banana
1 T healtheries LSA
3/4 c frozen blueberries
2 T Greek yoghurt
Water to cover everything
Then pulverize.

Yum.....also sometimes some LSA in it is pretty great too (that is crushed linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds, for any of you that thought I could possibly be adding some form of hallucinogenic drug to my breakfast) I'm going to drink this now.

p a r t y

Celebrated a lady loves birthday in the weekend. She turned the big 30, I think it looks good on her! I set up a photobooth for her and I’m going to edit the photos and book them up for her gift! It was such a fun night!!

Me and this fella enjoyed ourselves….

eats

Every Wednesday I make a quiche for my Nana and Aunty…. It’s My Nana’s favourite thing that I make and fortunately the easiest!!! Because I have been instagramming the shiz out of these quiches a couple of you have been curious about the recipe….
Now, I got this recipe off my Mother in Law who got it off a friend, who got it off a friend etc etc etc…. So I have no idea where it’s come from!!! The best part about these is, no quiche is the same! It’s all about using what is about to die a slow death in your fridge what’s on hand or in season.

Ok here goes, prepare to be amazed at the ease.

Mix until smooth-
5 free range eggs
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup self rising flour
Salt and pepper

Now, that friends, is your base…. Really do with it what you wish… But here’s some ideas…

I always throw a heap of wilted spinach in {as much moisture out as possiblehint I use my scanpan and pile a heap of spinach, leek, etc add some crushed garlic and a little water, chuck on the lid until soft} softened leek or diced onion, grated zucchini, grated carrot, roast kumara {sweet potato}, grated cheese -I prefer roughly crumbled feta.
A chorizo and blue cheese combo would be nice. Really, anything your heart desires!!
I often sprinkle with paprika or cheese and pumpkin seeds.

Stir it all up and spoon into a lined quiche dish cook at 180•c until golden and firm to touch.

I cut mine up, refrigerate and eat cold as snacks or lunch, also when cut up small like that it’s a good finger food for parties

There we go, just call me Martha tryhard, If you make any delicious combinations, let me know!!

hi ho hi ho

It’s off to work I go!!!

Well my holiday is officially over…. The last 2 weeks have been a blast and we managed to pull off a pretty seamless surprise party for my Dads 60th on Saturday!! Hooray!! I made a wee video of our time together as a surprise from us all and it went down a treat….. Phew. It was a long night of editing but I was so pleased I did it. I’m hoping to get it up on the blog here soon with a list of the apps I used. That’s right folks I did it all on this here iPhone I’m holding.

On another note… I went to the kineseologist today and I mentioned I’ve been getting sore feet in the morning….. His answer was “it’s probably just toxicity, have you been drinking too much booze”….. Ahhhh why yes Mr witch doctor, yes I have. Thanks for bringing that up…. He then ensued with pulling and clicking my toes and then bent them over some sadistic torture device and smashed them!!!!! True story. So my ‘booze hooves’ (as guy and I named them) have been cured. Hip hip…..

My sweet little shampoo station.