Finally I've blogged!! ~Christmas In New Zealand!!~

Going back to Wellington for Christmas was probably one of the best holidays of my life.

I was well overdue for some R&R and what better way to spend ridiculous amounts of pounds and three glorious weeks with my family and best friends!!

Boxing Day with the fam - win!

The weather was absolutely perfect!

Some of my favourite and best moments are....

Spending time with one of my all time favourite humans

And one of my favourite non-humans

Having icecreams overlooking this view before going to see the third Hobbit film at The Roxy cinema.

Getting to hang out with this scallywag!

These two were alright..

Catching up with family on Boxing Day

Making this to-die-for dairy free, gluten free, chocolate cake.. twice.. and eating one that Markie had made!! Recipe can be found here over at the glorious Meghan's blog

Having afternoon gin and tonics with my Mumma. Feet in pool, gin in hand - what more could a girl need?

Taking this pooch for walks down to the Hutt River near my parent's place. I feel like I took complete advantage of the outdoors!!

Spending my second to last night and last day with Meg and Mark and the boys was one of my most special and favourite times. And having 'panini coladas' on New Years eve!!

Saying goodbye to these two at the airport wasn't easy.

It was very much a last minute trip planned - flights were booked on a Friday and I was outta London on the Sunday. My parents were a bit shocked to say the least, but it was still hands down one of my best holidays.

Until next time New Zealand!!

Is London really where my heart is?

Coming to you from one homesick Kiwi, with a love-hate relationship with London.

Sometimes I'll miss home...

And sometimes I won't.

It took me well over two years to allow myself to know and feel that it is OK to miss home. Living on what is literally the other side of the world didn't sink in for a while - I don't know if it ever will to be honest.

But the longer I've been in London, the bigger and stronger those pangs are and get; 

It is OK to miss my friends and family. 

It is OK to want to be back there... sometimes.

I've only been back to New Zealand once in three and a half years. That one visit was a real test of me. 

Could I move back home within a few months and enjoy life? Will I be happy? Will I still have friends? Will things just pick up from where I left off? 

Nope.

I got home wanting to come back to London straight away. But I had a long six weeks ahead of me. Things got better; I saw more friends and family, went to more places, chilled out more, enjoyed life at a slower pace. 

But London had called me well and truly. 

I'm definitely not saying life is easy at this end. There are always going to be good days and bad days, regardless of where you live. 

The challenges. job opportunities, friendships, life experiences - all make someone a better person. 

All in all though, I do still feel torn between the place where my heart is and the place where my life is.

The best little city in the world. 

A year ago...

A year ago, I was about to board my flight back to London.

I had had an amazing 6 weeks in wonderful Wellington, with a quick trip up to Auckland.

I hung out with some of my favourite people, met some fellow bloggers IRL, and soaked up the beauty that New Zealand has!

I still can't believe it's been a whole entire year. Since I've got back, there has been many ups and downs, health issues, work stresses, you name it. But I love being able to look back on previous blog posts and photos, reminding myself of how lucky I was to go back to my little windy city and enjoy my time there. 

I do actually really kinda want to go back right this second, but just for a holiday. London's where my life is for now, but I'd really like to sit down, chat, hug and be close to those special humans! 

Things I'm Loving - NZ Favourites

Well, I have officially ended my five and a half week holiday in New Zealand and am back in sunny London! Time went super quick and I'm a bit sad that I'm back to work on Monday!

However, I have the memories to last a lifetime of such an amazing trip! I met some pretty awesome people, caught up with my pretty awesome friends and family and had a pretty awesome time.

So, without further ado, here are my top favourite moments!

Going to visit my Mum's friend on her farm in Featherston

Getting to meet two amazing ladies. Cat and Simone, who's blogs I've been following since forever!

Spending my days with these two gorgeous animals!

Spending so much time with this amazing lady and her family. They really are choice! sorry Markie, there were no photos of us - but you are still choice!

Being so close to nature's own special beauty

Hanging out with these hooligans aka Ma and Pa

And these other hooligans, who are not my parents..

It was such a fun holiday, there's way to memories to have a blog post full of 'just the favourites' so that's all my jet lagged brain can muster up! Check out my previous posts for more fun adventures in New Zealand!

Linking up with my choice babe!

Loving and Gratefulness all summed up in a special friendship

Firstly, I'm loving this song. You should probably listen to it. It's Riptide by Vance Joy. Make sure the speakers are up loud.

Secondly, I'm loving and beyond grateful for some special people I've spent this past Sunday with. Meg is one of my favourite people, and she comes with a pretty favourite family too. There's so much love in their four walls and they're more than happy to share some of it with me.

We went to the waterfront and rode the The Enormous Crocodile Bikes in the glorious sunshine. Yeah, that's right, sunshine during winter and not a breath of wind. It was something I've never done before and it was just so much freaking fun. 

Oriental Parade in it's prime.

Mark was really good at steering, I however, was not that good at pedaling! 

Being able to spend such a lovely day with such lovely people was perfect. There were loads of laughs, like so many laughs, and just so much fun. 

Being able to hang out with friends who you haven't seen for nearly two and a half years and still get along like a pair of houses on fire, that's what makes it special. There's no awkward silences, or forced conversations. We can be ourselves, are ourselves, and enjoy each others selves. So it's perfect. 

And speaking of perfect, so are these two monkeys! My craziness might have rubbed off on them a little bit, but that's just one of the ingredients of being choice! 

I'm so thankful and grateful for the friendship that Meg and I have got. We just clicked and will keep on clicking for a bajillion more years. I hope! 

She's one of the best and definitely a keeper! And she comes with 3 pretty choice minions too! 

Linking up with Meg and Simoney (who's also supes choice!)

Home Sweet Home - Let Me Introduce You To...

My beloved Blue Rabbit.

This raggy old thing that's lost half his fur? Yeah, he's still my favourite. He's still got his smile too, despite no nose - it just gives him some swag. 

He's been through some tough times; every wash in the washing machine when he was 'older' was like time standing still, to see if he'd make it out still intact; and I can't forget the time my sister threw him in the fire place - luckily it wasn't on, but still! 

You see, I'm one of those people who fiddle with things, whether it be my hair, the seam of something, tapping a pen, the end of my scarf - the list goes on - and poor Blue Rabbit bore the brunt of that. So my Nanna made him his jacket to cover up how raggy he is 'keep him warm' and Mum made him some gloves - which very quickly got fiddled through... 

Along with his ears and tail!

So folks, that's my Blue Rabbit aka Rabby. 

Grateful for gratefulness

This past week I'm grateful for...

Dogs who have the best welcome homes

Friends who are there and get you

Meeting other bloggers IRL!

Clearing/sorting out my stuff/life and finding so many special memories like...

... This photo of my Nanna and I. I was 10 days old and this was my first ever smile to one of the most special people in my life. 

Linking up with Simoney

Should we get the ferry or go up the Sky Tower? - A things I'm loving post!

Having grown up in Wellington and never been to Auckland before, I jumped at the chance to go up and visit, which handily coincided with getting to meet the lovely Simone! She was kind enough to let me stay with her and her family and was a pretty choice tour guide. 

Wellington airport

We went up to Mt Eden and checked out the views

The lovely Simoney and I - Mt Eden

View from Mt Eden

 We leisurely strolled across the waterfront, enjoying the sun, sights, gelato and each other's company!

Auckland waterfront

We ummed and ahhed about whether or not to go up the Sky Tower or catch a ferry to Devonport. That decision was conveniently made for us after we missed 3 different ferries! I braved the lifts and heights - not my strong points - and we went up the Sky Tower to check out the amazing views. They were worth it!

186 meters high - yikes! 

Keeping it together! Let's just say I was glad to be back on the ground! 

View from the Sky Deck at 220 meters high! 

View from the Sky Deck at 220 meters high! 

We had lots of laughs and fun and I feel so lucky to have been able to have met and stay with such an amazing person! 

Linking up with another amazing person, Meg!

Home Sweet Home - The Animals

Whilst everyone is working and I'm at home, I've got two furry beings keeping me company!

Bella, the pooch, has got so much love and follows me around everywhere. Mischief, the ginge, doesn't like people too much, but will still follow me and Bella around! It's like having two little kiddies to keep me company during the day!

Bella lets me dress her up...

She might not quite be a lap dog, but she does the trick

This is what they do, they'll wait for me to go out and play and as soon as I come back in, they're right there chasing after me!

She needs no encouragement to squash a human

Here's looking at you, kid.