halloween eve...

wishing everyone a spooky spooky saturday night.

xo nz

my attempt to end blogging of new zealand on a high note. gorgeous coastlines and gorgeous inland mountain ranges all connected by gorgeous skies.

some obvious, some not

random things about new zealand that made me feel good:

dry grass in the sun

long afternoon shadows

watching the sun set with good friends

a lonely high desert highway

a quirky giant game of chess

self portrait in a phone booth

springtime flowers

and a gondola ride with my hubby overlooking queenstown

nostalgia

not surprising that new zealand reminded me of home...it's very reminiscent of northern california and the pacific northwest. a couple things of particular note:

meg, the sheep dog. i grew up with working dogs and love them.

wool blankets. i love the weight and the warmth of a wool blanket. love.

organic and earth friendly everything.

small town post offices and

candy shops.

serious mission

in case you haven't noticed you're in the middle of my serious mission to get my blog updated.

the best part

the best part about driving new zealand:

touring the back roads and stumbling across great bridges

stopping at as many fruit or fish and chip stands as you like

pulling over to the perfect spot to lay back and nap in the warm breeze

two things

two things I loved about dunedin (pronounced dune eee din):

a restaurant filled with with kitschy collectibles...I literally found myself drooling over all of the vintage coffee carafes, and delicious food to boot

hiking miles in the dark at 4 in the morning across sand dunes and around huge sleeping sea lions to a hut on a lookout point where we sat and drank hot cider, ate muffins and watched the yellow eyed penguins make their daily trek down a steep trail to the water from their nests. it was barely light but we saw them and it was like finding a treasure. magic really. our guide, steven, was a local professor, originally from ireland. he studied penguins in antarctica and south africa and his love of penguins was contagious.

everywhere

left, right, up, down you'll see the following no matter where you look in new zealand:

the color green

water

sheep

new zealand in lists

decided to recap last year's trip to new zealand in list form given that most of my blogging is now done with the little spaghetti (aka lincoln) stuck to me. some of my favorites:

going from fall in portland to all of the springtime goodness new zealand had to offer

gorgeous wool...everywhere and in every form



visiting friends, corey and amanda

meals of fresh seafood (most of which came with fries in baskets breaded and fried to perfection of which I LOVE to drench in malt vinegar and dip in tartar sauce)

my very favorite new zealand moment by far was in our hotel bathroom in queenstown with a barely positive pregnancy test (which, if you've ever lived in the world of taking these tests, the faintest positive pretty much means you've got a little spaghetti in the oven). now looking back, I wish I would have taken a self portrait in the mirror. I was glowing.

recent conversation with lincoln.

excuse me sir, please put your hands up.

just kidding!

opera house.

the sydney opera house was quite extraordinary. both from a distance and up close. although we didn't get to a show, I'm sure the experience from within takes it to a whole new level. next time. you always have to leave a little something for next time, right?

sydney food.

hands down the best food in sydney (mind you we were only there for a few days) was the chinatown street food. granted, I can eat dumplings and steam buns for breakfast lunch and dinner like there is no tomorrow. also, the malaysian food at mamak. seriously delicious and worth the wait.

lomo.

I stumbled on the coolest lomography store in paddington, sydney. little lomo museum actually. was especially fun since I was toting the holga on this trip. also, bookstore neon light, I agree with you, it is beautiful here. there, in sydney, that is.

more on syd.

james, aka the official aussie citizen, aka one of my favorite peoples. my very very very favorite part of hanging with james is laughing with him. hands down. people watching in hyde park along with the brilliant photo display.

happening upon mr. bo jangles, full of smiles, admiring the photo taken of him as part of said brilliant photo display.


flying solo in sydney for a few days while greg was visiting coworkers in adelaide meant riding buses to neighborhoods lined with boutiques and coffee shops and walking, lots and lots of walking. and pretty much the best cherry chocolate chip muffin ever. so good so, that I consumed it entirely before even having a thought to take its picture.