Just what we needed...

Last weekend we had a fab time visiting Wellington, a much-needed break after a long winter. Now I have SO many happy memories and SO many photos. I feel a mini book coming on...

Road Trip!

What we needed was a little mid-winter break so we headed away for a few days to play tourist in our old home town.

There was much shopping, much eating and much reminiscing. We can feel change on the horizon but haven't quite put our fingers on what that might look like so this was a perfect opportunity to start dreaming and planning for the future.

 

Our quick trip away quickly became a bit more of an adventure with a very large dump of snow the night before we were meant to leave. Luckily the sun came out and we had a pretty, but cautious drive home.

All in all, a great trip away to refresh the spirit before this last little stretch of winter is over and we can enjoy a spring vacation!

Holiday Cards :: Week 7

Another week following along with Kristina Werner's Holiday Card series. Still finding my lack of holiday stamps a bit of an issue but I have resisted buying anything extra. Here are my Week 7 cards...

Holiday Cards :: Week 5

I'm still following along with Kristina Werner's Holiday Card series.These aren't my favourites so far but it's nice to try a range of different styles . I also took the Online Card Classes Holiday Card Workshop this week so I might be in a little bit of holiday card overload!  Here are my Week 5 cards...

Holiday Cards :: Week 2

I'm still following along with Kristina Werner's Holiday Card series. In fact I'm rather addicted to it now. Here are my versions of her cards from Week 2...

Holiday Cards :: Week 1

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that October is a little early to start the Christmas countdown but rather than leave all the joy and cheer until December, I decided to follow along with Kristina Werner's Holiday Card series. Here are my versions of her cards from Week 1...

Wanderlust

At this time of year, as the sky darkens and the weather cools, I can't help but dream of all the places I'd love to explore. Number one on my list has always been Paris, but somewhere warm and energetic, like Miami, is looking pretty attractive at the moment too.

I'll admit, the turtles are a huge draw card, but just relaxing on a beach in Tahiti, listening to the waves, sounds like heaven. I think our next trip is likely to be Japan though, we love Japanese food and of course, my washi-tape obsession doesn't help make the decision at all! Somewhere closer to home, Melbourne – with all the amazing restaurants and shopping – might be a good option too. Iceland, and especially the Blue Lagoon, just looks amazing. Doesn't solve my dislike of the cold but it totally fulfills my photo-taking needs.

I'm intrigued by the history, both mine personally and the city itself, of Prague. And in this grey time of year, anywhere as colourful as Mexico would be a thrill. After seeing my dad's photos of his trip to Canada, I'm more than a little bit jealous. And if any cuisine was going to get me to travel around the world, the Greek Islands is going to have to be it.

Where would you head off to if given the chance?

The sun has to set eventually...

But all good things have to come to an end and with a happy heart and a camera full of memories, we came home again.

I had an amazing holiday, a great birthday and a chance to spend some time thinking about where things are at and where I'd like them to go.

The sun was shining through the clouds as we touched down and I'm taking that as a sign of things to come.

Beyond the sea...

I know I go every time but I just adore Seaworld!

I got to touch a ray! They felt slimy and rubbery and warm. It was so amazing.

Seriously, the little babies were the size of pancakes! So cute.

Those dolphins always amaze me. They seem so joyous, like they totally love being the center of attention.

A real highlight was the penguin display. You could see them diving under the water for fish. They are so quick and graceful...

...which is quite different to when they are above the water. They are so comical and clumsy looking. They loved having their photo taken though.

I had such a great time!

View from the top...

Our hotel was great. We've stayed there before so we knew where everything was and could get straight down to the business of enjoying!

The views were pretty amazing, you could see the beautiful sunrise (if you got up early enough) and watch all the people on the beach. Even the cityscape was pretty amazing.

They also had a great pool which was warm enough for quite a few evening dips and a nice hot spa to warm up after all that swimming!

Above the clouds

I'm not the best flyer but I was so excited to finally be leaving winter behind and jetting off to the Gold Coast, I could hardly sit still the whole way!

I must have a million photos of clouds from above but I find them endlessly fascinating...

Of course it was dark by the time we got there but it was a beautiful way to see the sun set.

Home Again

We are home from our little anniversary mini break in Queenstown and it feels good to sleep in my own bed again. The holiday was great, weather was fabulous, food yummy and the company not so bad either. But it always feels good to come home. Dunedin had a pretty bad forest fire on Wednesday which they are still battling to put out but the smoke did cause some beautiful light which I promptly took advantage of.

Road Trip

Yesterday we took a trip up the coast to Timaru to see mum and grandad. The weather was glorious, the company was pretty darn good and the music was blasting. It was a magical day.

Once we got home the sun was starting to fade so we grabbed some yummy Japanese food for tea and headed home to watch Nurse Jackie. It was an awesome first day of a long weekend.

Today feels much the same. We've been out doing errands, went for a drive to the lookout and lounged in the sun for a while. Home for bacon sandwiches and now I am catching up on washing and dishes. Even the chores don't seem as bad when the sun is shining!

Recharge Me!

I have had the last couple of days off work to make a really long weekend spent on me time. I really needed to recharge, it's been one hell of a year! I've had a really good time, shopping, art journaling, scrapping, weddings, and a really great car run (aussie/american cars) on Friday night. Here are the cars (we went in my soon-to-be step-father-in-law's fully restored 1959 Ford, which he did himself and it only took 19 years!)...



And then a lot of resting, eating and some scrapping (using some old RVA kits)...