It took a little less than a year, from the initial clearing until settlement day. When we first signed the contract to build this house, I had no idea how much I’d love the space – it was an empty lot, a pile of drawings, innumerable approvals from the Council, and a handful of specifications […]
queenstown
Sweet as: LUMA Light Show (redux)
It’s hard to believe that an entire year passed between visits to my favourite light show! I was late posting the photos from the 2017 show, and I’ve done an even worse job of getting around to the 2018 events … HOWEVER, the show was bigger, better, colder, and more fun the second time! We […]
Sweet as: Moving (again)
Yep, it’s happening again. Moving. We knew this was coming. In fact, we’ve been trying to find somewhere to live for as long as I’ve been here (which is nearly 2 months now). After my first few days in Queenstown (which I spent living in a hotel, because who can handle anything else with that […]
Sweet as: Freedom
Freedom: thy name is Mabel I did it! I finally did it! I bought a right-hand drive car for the left side of the road. Let’s put aside the minor mental gymnastics that we Americans have to perform to remember to stick to the left side of the highway, and instead let’s focus on the […]
Travel to: Auckland
Queenstown is such a beautiful place, isn’t it? There’s a certain perspective you get when you’re flying above it – not only do you appreciate the natural wonder of it, but you also you realize that its personality has become part of you. You never really leave Queenstown. But I did. For a few days, […]
- Dining
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Dining: Local bites
I’ve been horrendously remiss in posting my food pictures, but I hate being “that person” at the table, taking pictures of food for Instagram or Facebook. Okay, well, maybe I hate being that person for a few minutes while I take the photo, and then I’m the person who’s super happy to have taken the […]
Sweet as: Natural Beauty
I have a lot of time on my hands. I knew that going in, but for anyone who knows me, I’m not good when idle. I don’t do well with extended periods of nothing-on-the-agenda, and there’s only so far I can go without personal transport. I’m tempted to get on the bus to Wanaka, which […]
- Food
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Sweet as: The Grocery Experience
One of my all-time favorite pasttimes is walking through a grocery store in a foreign country. I picked up the habit ages ago – probably when I was living in Spain when I was 19 – and I’ve gone into a grocery store or food shop in every country I’ve ever visited. Most of the […]
Sweet as: the Countdown
S**t just got real. Not that it wasn’t real a week ago, or a month ago. But now I have a one-way airline ticket to Queenstown, New Zealand (which, on a side note, costs a fortune), and that makes it very very real. I’m actually moving. So the countdown has officially begun! There’s no procrastinating […]
- New Zealand
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Travel to: New Zealand
The inspiration… My trip to New Zealand’s South Island is by far one of the most amazing trips I’ve taken over the years. There’s something really special about a place so remote and yet so protected – it’s almost spiritual. As one of the safest places in the world to live and work, with some […]