Christchurch round-up

So, we're back. From holidays. Is there anything more depressing, for reals? But it's straight back into the swing of things, work today and busy-ness all round as usual.



To finish off our holiday, we drove to Christchurch via the Arthur's Pass. That meant taking the really windy road down to Greymouth, something i hate doing cause it makes me feel so sick when I'm sitting in the backseat. But it was such beautiful weather, at least, and the views and landscapes are amazing.

Once you get into the pass, it's basically a whole lot of nuthin' much for ages - beautiful nuthin',

but nuthin' nonetheless. So when the car started smoking, you can't blame me for having a total panic attack. Matthew and Jo, on the other hand, were non-plussed. "Nah, she'll be fine." "She'll cruise into Christchurch." "I'm pretty sure it's nothing." "Yup. Pretty sure."

You fill me with confidence boys.

The locals - a Kea!

Through the pass

We made it in the end, just in time to go see a movie - Shutter Island - which i quite enjoyed. Jo didn't like it much, he thought it was too predictable, and i guess it was, but i felt it was all about the atmosphere - you felt tense the whole way through, there's an eeriness about the whole place - the Island is a character in itself, and i kinda liked that about the movie.

The next day we headed out to Sumner, which is an area on the coastline of Christchurch - it was lovely out there, a good stretch of beach and all sorts of rocky caves and crags to explore.

We headed back to watch Kayla at her concert for school - she sang Lady GaGa's Paparazzi so well that we shall henceforth refer to her as Kayla GaGa, mainly cause it really annoys her, and that's pretty darn funny. (Sorry Kayla GaGa.) (What? That's not your name?) (OK. My bad. Sorry Kayla GaGa). Jo and I had dinner out on the town that night, Mexican, complete with Margarita's and Quesadilla's thank you very much.




On our last day, we relaxed! There are so many beautiful parks and gardens in Christchurch, so it was nice to just enjoy them.

Dragon lanturn for Chinese New Year

Punting on the Avon River

Jo, counting down the days until the Rugby World Cup (i know y'all are too...)

We took a drive up to the Port Hills to check out the views

That night we went to see the Crusaders play the Blues, which was totally awesome because through sheer willpower (i.e. by pushing small children out of my way), i got my picture with Richie McCaw. All Blacks captain, best player in the world at the moment AND totally gorgeous (not that i care about that sort of thing).

Scrum time

Matthew and Jo on the field

Me and Richie. I'm pretty sure our head touched, cause i felt his post-game sweat on me, and it was good. Also, we spoke at length, of course. I said: "Can i have a picture with you Richie?" He said: "Of course you can." The sparks flew. I'm expecting his people to call me for my number any time now.

Then it was off to bed, because we had to get up at 4am to catch our flight back home. That's right. 4am. It was not a happy day.

I'm watching the Oscars, and Ben Stiller has been the highlight. I haven't seen so many of the nominated movies, but a bunch of them are on my list - The Hurt Locker, The Blind Side, Up, Crazy Heart and Precious. Gotta get around to it. Sometime.

Stuff i've been doing. (Part II)

Almost a week since my last post, and life in Westport is much the same. It's been so nice to just rest, read, eat, sleep late, watch movies...not obligations at all. Love it, for reals. Here's a pictorial of what we've been up to...

We've explored more of the Buller region...



We visited Jo's muso friends Grant and Maria, who live in the nearby(ish) town of Reefton. Before Jo left NZ, they were all in a band together - and they kindly put us up for the night so that Jo could have a jam with them.

Jo getting back into the swing of it. Yay for drums.

We've taken in some lovely Westport sunsets down at the beach...

I've watched Jacob jumping on the trampoline about a gazillion times. (seriously. a gazillion.)

Jo's mowed the lawns (FYI - it's not real work when you're sitting down)

Last but not least, we've spent a lot of time with these monkeys (cause they're so darn cute.)

Other interesting facts -

- Rochelle and I watched 13 going on 30 twice IN A ROW cause the boys were not around and we totally could. And isn't worthy of a double viewing? I love that movie. We were not ashamed to get up and dance to the totally rad soundtrack, including classics like Michael Jackson's Thriller, Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield and Madonna's Crazy for You. (Thank you God, for the 80s and all its music glory.) As usual, DVD viewing with Matthew and Rochelle is a Westport staple. We've been through Role Models, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, Keeping the Faith, and tons of Seinfeld in the last week, amongst others.

- I've finished another book - called Living Oprah. It's a chronicle of one woman's decision to do everything Oprah (Winfrey, yes) tells her to for a whole year. Meaning, whatever Oprah says on her show, she has to do - whether its watch a particular movie, eat a particular food, exercise a particular way, buy a particular chair, re-paint your house, visit a museum, do a meditation...whatever it is, she does it. For a whole year. It was very funny and actually very fascinating.

- We've booked a photographer for the wedding. Yay. Check out his blog here.

- I've rediscovered my love for Jersey Caramels. The main ingredients for this delicious little treat, as stated on the back of the packet, are sugar, salt and vegetable fats and oils. Just sharing.

- I have another NEW cousin! Even more exciting - it's a girl!!! ZARA was born on February 25th Congratulations Joe and Vicks! Can't wait to meet her.

Stuff i've been doing.

Today is overcast and rainy, perfect for snuggling down and reading, which is what I've been doing. I've just finished a book called Biting the Big Apple, by Bella Vendramini, which is admittedly not Nobel-prize winning stuff, but hell, I'm on holiday. It's a memoir, about an aussie girl who moves to New York City to go to school at the famous Strasberg Institute to study acting, and her adventures in the city. Fun and frivolous.



We've also, as usual, been watching movies - Tropic Thunder, which just never gets old in it's hilarity ("Man, I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary." "I know what dude I am. I'm the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude."), Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was oddball and quirky, which meant i loved it (anyway, who doesn't love Michael Cera? The dude does awkward like no one else) and I Love You, Man, which was also funny, if a little dumbass every now and then.




What else? Allow me to chronicle in pictures.


We've snoozed with the kitties...







We've hung out with Jacob and Lauren...(check out the supermarket trolleys they have in Westport. Hello? Totally awesome.)

We've explored the Buller Gorge and checked out the annual Buller Gorge Tube Race, in which crazy people get into a tube and raft down the (unpredictable and dangerous) river for two hours till they reach the finish line (hopefully alive, and without broken bones)...

The tube-tastic tubers coming down the river

Apparently this dude is a local member of parliament. So. There you go.

Oh. That's me.

The bountiful Buller

We've hung out at the beach...

Me looking confused. Are you taking a picture? You are? Wait, i have to look free-spirited and whimsical!

Yeah. Like that. (err...)

Waimangaroa Beach

We've gone swimming in the local river... Well. I went swimming. Jo chickened out cause the water was cold. Pfft. I laugh in the face of cold water. (What? Yeah, it did take me an hour to get in. So what's your point?)

We went to Jacob's school swimming carnival and watched him win some races (Yeeeeah Jacob!) as well as watch Rochelle freeze her pants off in the parent/teacher relay. (I admit it. I laughed my head off watching snug as a bug on dry land. What of it?) But she had worked very hard on her diving skills the day before when we went swimming at the local pools, and it paid off cause they kicked butt and won the relay. (Yeeeeeah Rochelle!)

Jacob in his first race...

He lunges for the wall to take home the gold, and the glory.

Lauren enjoying the trampoline after the swimming carnival

And finally, we've applauded the kiwi attitude to drinking responsibly at local joints like Drifters...

Yup. Overall, I'd say we've really been enjoying the long and lazy days of a New Zealand summer, where the sun doesn't go down till after 9pm, where golden oldies jam on the radio while you're driving through town, where frisbee in the backyard with the kids is the highlight of the day, and where aerogard is a staple in my handbag to ward off the Evil Sandflies of Death. (Hey. That's just my pet name for them. No really.)

Oh hai.

Here's what i did today. What did you do?

Leavin' on a jetplane

I've flown the coop. Well, temporarily. Jo and I flew back to New Zealand last night, to visit the family for two weeks, and it's my first time here in the summer - a VERY pleasant change from those icy winters. Not that they don't have their charm - i love a good fire as much as the next person. But it's nice to appreciate this place in all seasons. I say it every time i come back here - living in the city, you forget how many STARS there are out in the universe. Here, you can see them in all their splendid glory, thousands of them brightly sparkling in the sky, and its lovely.




Above mentioned family live in Westport, as you may know if you know me, which is a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island - definitely some amazing landscapes in this part of the country. However, it's a 4 hour drive from Christchurch, where the plane lands, to Westport, where we need to be. Usually when we get a nighttime flight, we'd just stay in Christchurch and drive over the next day. But this time, Jo's brother Matthew convinced us that it would be a dandy idea to drive across straight away.




Never. Again. Is all i will say. Our plane was delayed just enough so that we didn't actually leave Christchurch till past midnight, and that, along with a disastrous search for an open McDonald's, meant it was close to five in the morning when I finally collapsed into bed. Still, we're here. It was a warm and sunny day today (even though i didn't get up till past 1 in the afternoon), so we went into town and took the Jacob and Lauren (Jo's niece and nephew) to the park. Back home, and Rochelle had prepared a huge spread for us to eat, all in the name of celebrating our engagement (I know. We've been celebrating this alot. What of it?). She is not one to do things half-heartedly either, so there were balloons and streamers and fairy lights decorating the house, and candles and flowers and a banner that said "Congratulations Jo and Nelll!" and music and chocolate dipped strawberries and muscato - now that's the kind of sister-in-law I'm talking about baby!




On another note - unforeseen circumstances in our little family meant that Valentines Day did not turn out as we expected. But to make up for it, Jo booked us in to one of our most favourite restaurants on Monday night, South. It's all Southern American cooking, New Orleans style - so plenty of Cajun and creole influences. One of the (many) thing we loved about New Orleans when we visited was the food, so we love eating here - gumbo, crab cakes, BBQ ribs, hushpuppies, blackened corn, coleslaw...topped off with pumpkin pie, thank you very much. Afterwards, we went to see the movie Valentine's Day at the Orpheum, which was very lighthearted of course. It wasn't Love, Actually, but it was still enjoyable enough. But the Orpheum - if you live in Sydney and haven't been to the movies here, you really should. It's a great old cinema, first opened in the 1930's, that still has it's gold, art-deco interior, wine bar and those heavy red curtains that open right before the movie starts... highly recommended.




Most NZ adventures coming soon, with pictures. Kia Ora!

Crappest headphones ever -

- I'm wearing them.



Happy to openly acknowledge it's not my best blog post title, but whatever. Is it wrong that i still love Fall Out Boy at this age? You can't beat them for a good, top-of-your-lungs sing-a-long. Plus, they're fun. And what's wrong with that. (I think i have a pop-culture addiction.) In other music news, my mother has a serious disorder. In her old(er) age, she's become a music ADDICT, and will listen to her songs at maximum volume, at home and in the car. Plus. she's actually totally hip - her current faves include Lady GaGa, Lily Allen, Katy Perry and Keane. Although she's totally incompetent with iTunes, i will commend her enthusiasm to listen to anything i put on her playlists, which i have to adjust once a week when we go for dinner to keep up with her ever-flourishing tastes.




On Friday night, my good friend Con and I decided to go out and celebrate our engagements (without our actual fiancees - mine was at the cricket, which was a complete washout, and his lives in another country. Which sucks for him.) We hit up The Winery by Gazebo in Surry Hills, which I've wanted to check out for ages, and with good reason cause we discovered its hugely awesome. We started at the bar, as you do, but moved down to the Elvis-themed dining room for a cosy dinner for two. The food is very reasonably priced, and delicious. We shared a cheese plate, and then i had the chicken, champagne and grape pie. He had the chili crab pasta. And we splurged on a $70 dollar bottle of wine (not a typo), cause hey, you only get engaged once, and his engagement is far more recent than mine, so we REALLY had to go nuts. I know you agree. Nothing nicer than dinner and drinks and great conversation - thanks Conrad. The place was packed and jamming by the time we left - definitely going back.




Caught up with the ever-hilarious Faatasi this morning at the usual Danks St Depot in Waterloo for brunch - i was good and had the granola. Typically, i saw his shoes approach before the rest of him - bright orange Nike's, just one pair of many neon coloured sneakers that make up his usual wardrobe. Can we expect anything less than a bold choice of shoes from the man? I think not. Afterwards we checked out this antique industrial furniture store around the corner that I'm now in love with. Everything comes from pubs or dentists or schools or shops or hospitals, so it's all completely random bric-a-brac (there's a word thats not used enough) - like old cash registers and human body medical mannequin's and school lockers and ancient telescopes and bunson burners and antique rocking horses and train timetables and dentists chairs and bar stools and it was fabulous. The mannequin's really freaked me out though.




Later this afternoon, Mel and I went to The Wine Odyssey in The Rocks to do the wine tasting experience we got her for her birthday. It was different -the wine is all ready in front of you to taste, from various Australian wineries across the country, and you watch a video that features clips from the actual wine-makers of said wineries, who take you through how the wine was made, what to look for in sight, smell and taste, and why they do what they do. Very interesting, and the wine was great of course, but it made me so sleepy i had to come home and take a nap.




Thai for dinner and have been lazy watching TV all night. Season 9 of SVU is playing on TV1 right now, so I've been re-living it. It was an OK season, except for that annoying new character Detective Lake. I'm glad they ditched him. Season 11 has been back to form though, in my opinion, after a dismal season 10. Anyway. I'm trying to decide what TV shows to take with me to watch in NZ. I have sooooo many shows in the wings, waiting to be watched. I never have time! I swear, its true. Glee is coming, obviously, cause i need a mega-marathon. And probably 30 Rock, and maybe Mad Men. So many choices. Any recs?

Days go by...

Hilarious Saturday afternoon spend watching Jack, Max and Joshua interact. Jack's the oldest, but that doesn't stop Max one bit. Only difference is, Max thinks every push and shove from Jack is all a game - hardy har har har. But to Jack, it's war. Like, for realsies. Don't mess with that kid. The scowl on his face said it all. He was enamoured with Joshua though, as you can see below...he sang him songs ("it's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring...") and generally got excited at any movement the baby made.

On Sunday, i had brunch with my cousin Lia (she's getting married too, which is great cause i can talk about weddings unabashedly to her and she's totally enthused about what I'm saying. Normal people get bored after about 60 seconds. "Yes, we know. You're getting married. I don't care about what flowers you like. Get away from me, crazy person."), and followed up with a spot of shopping at some local vintage stores (3 dresses. Yeah, you read that. 3.). Then i decided i hadn't seen enough of Jack for one weekend, so we headed over to Maria and Peter's for homemade pizza on the BBQ - Maria and I were delighted with the outcome, as you can see.

We're both looking like we have jaundice in this photo cause it was taken with Jo's camera phone, and for some reason it's given us a delightfully yellow hue. But check out that pizza folks. Top notch quality. We could be in Italy. (No really. That's what the pizza looks like over there.)

Jack is a pest, by the way. I may have mentioned that on this blog before. In fact, I'm pretty sure the last few posts have highlighted something or other about his pest-iness, and Sunday was no exception. "Have you done poos?", he asked me several times throughout the day. No kid. I haven't done poos. Jeez. Wanna say it any louder? Just to make sure I'm not telling fibs, he tries to look up my dress to check. And it's understandable. We're looking down his pants every 5 seconds to check for crap. Why the hell shouldn't he be doing the same thing? (Totally kidding. Message to Maria - stop your kid from messing with my underwear.)

Maria tells me he's learning his body parts. Which would be lovely, if he wasn't so obsessed with his peepee. "Where's your peepee?" he asks everyone (boy or girl - no discrimination here). Hopefully it's not a question he's still asking when he's 15. His grandfather asked him in return, "Where's yours?" Jack considered the question, before answering, very reasonably if you ask me, "In my nappy." Well said, kid.

Last night we went to the beach for a stroll, my very favourite thing to do, because i absolutely love the beach. Love. It. And i haven't been very much this summer, which kinda sucks. But our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful sunset, so that's nice, and if I'm brave enough to face the water temperature, i might go for a dip or two when we're in NZ - Jo's family is only a few minutes from the beach.

P.S - 7 working days till we're outta here for two weeks, suckers.

Rain and marshmallows

Um, gross weather much? Woke up with a splitting headache for no reason because i did not even drink (much) last night, and since in was raining so hard i decided there was no reason to get up - so i went back to sleep till noon. Yeah. You read that. Last night, Daniel and Romina came and kept me company cause Jo was out and about with his peeps. Good to catch up and check out her fully pregnant belleh! Wonder whether little bean could hear us talking about him/her. It seems to like chili - mega-kicking going on after spicy Thai food for dinner.




Spent all day reading Her Fearful Symmetry, which is written by the same person who wrong The Time Traveller's Wife, which is in my top 5 favourite books of all time cause it's so awesome. So i am reading her newest book solely on the basis that i loved her first book so much. All i will say is - total let down. I mean. It's starting to get a bit juicy now, after like 300 pages, but most of it is just not believable at all, and i don't like any of the characters enough to really care about what happens to them, and the writing is actually not good, to the point where I'm actually questioning HOW this can be the same author?? TTTW is SO good and SO well-written and SO believable despite it's strange subject matter...i just don't get it. Oh well. Will persevere, but I'm eager to start something else.




Its STILL raining - hello, since when are we in the tropics? - but it's OK cause Dashboard's playing in the background, i have a bag of marshmallows and it's about time to start a movie. Plus, this guy always keeps me warm and laughin', so who cares what's going on outside.

R.I.P José

A sad loss this week, readers - my brother's cat was hit by a car and had to be put down. You shall no longer be tormented by those unruly dogs José. I hope you made it to kitty heaven.

Where troubles melt like lemon drop martinis

It is inconceivable to me that it can already be Monday, but alas, the calendar does not lie, and neither does the Monday morning alarm. If I'm ever going to be late to work, you can rest assured it will be on a Monday. (Yes. Yes i was late to work today. Sue me.) (I'm so kidding. Please don't sue me, wonderful workplace that i love.)



David and Mel very kindly took us out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate our engagement, which was super nice of them. We went to a local place in Botany called Agape, which is an organic restaurant that Mel has been raving about for a while now, so i really wanted to check it out. I wasn't disappointed either, the food was delicious, the atmosphere was great and the service was excellent. Huge portions too, using all local organic ingredients, and so reasonably priced! AND its not 10 minutes from our door.



We finished just in time to make a late movie, and Jo's been hankering to see Invictus (cause it's about rugby and all) so we checked it out and it was very good, i thought. It's been getting mixed reviews...maybe everyone expects more from Clint Eastwood, or maybe people are wanting it to be more about Nelson Mandela's life, rather than about a specific point in time in Mandela's presidency. But i thought it was well made, if a little cheesy at times, and I'm totally man enough to admit i got all teary at the end. Plus Morgan Freeman as Mandela is obviously the role everyone has wanted to see him in for a while, and he did a great job.



I went to see some wedding dressmakers with Leah and Maria (and the pest) on Saturday. I was seeing two, and was really hoping my decision would be made easy by one of them being not so great, but they were both really good, and completely got what i wanted, which they translated into sketches for me. Although I'm VERY excited about my dress (like, for realsies.), i now have to make a decision about which dressmaker i want to go with, which is HARD. Also, seeing yourself in a wedding dress is a completely hilarious and somewhat surreal experience. Predictably, Leah was tearful throughout the whole thing. On the other hand, i couldn't stop laughing. Maria was no help because she loved everything in sight - "I love it Nelsie. I love it." Jack seemed indifferent to everything except the promise of a babycino, which was probably for the best.




His naughtiness was on full display though. Maria was lecturing him about something or other, and ended it by saying "I want you to think about that mister!" He frowned, shoved a stubby finger in her face and said "No, YOU think about it!" Jaws dropped all around. The audacity! The cheek! (Deep down i wanted to laugh my head off. I mean, what a come back. The kid's got nerve.)



On Saturday night we were off to Tony and Kama's for dinner.

(Meet Tony and Kama.)

We found this above their stove top when we arrived, which i thought was super sweet...

She had also written the recipe for the evening's cocktail extraordinaire, the Lemon Drop Martini. And what a drink it was my friends. You're troubles simply float away on a cloud. Since it was already written out, and i am nothing if not a forward thinker, i went ahead and took a picture for y'all so you can make them too. Don't stop at one. Make a few. They're not strong or anything.

What's that you say? I was on the floor after one you say? I don't know what you're talking about. It took at least two to knock me down.

The lethal lemon drop. Do not be fooled by the sugary goodness around the rim.

A delicious dinner was served, and cocktails and wine were consumed. I won't deny the conversation took a turn for the worse. Things got silly. Arguments became heated. I may or may not have insisted that Rufus Wainwright's version of Across the Universe was better than the original Beatles version. Jo may or may not have temporarily stopped speaking to me. But it didn't matter because dessert was served. Behold, the vision that is...

.the strawberry shortcake. Have you ever seen such lusciousness? Such splendor? My only regret is that i couldn't even finish my piece because i was SO full from dinner.

After more music video sing-alongs, Kama and I made the wise decision to take our drunken happy selves upstairs to bed, and left the boys to their own devices. Apparently, they "didn't drink that much more" after we left. LIES, ALL LIES! I don't know what went on downstairs in the wee hours of the morning, but i do know this: it involved Wii wrestling and a lot of beer. *shudders*

Here's what Jo looked like the next day. That's a wet flannel, not a Trojan helmet.

Thankfully, they whipped up an enormous breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon in the morning, which was great cause it meant i didn't have to eat lunch. Or dinner. Except i did eat dinner cause i love to eat, and Thai was on the agenda, and gosh darn it i just couldn't say no. And that was our weekend. P.S - The Biggest Loser has started again - fantastic! Who can forget Bob and Tiffany's road to glory from last season? You show me a person who doesn't tear up watching that show and I'll give you a million dollars. (HA. I totally don't have a million dollars, suckers.)