Things I'm Loving!

My latest lovings are....

Celebrating my birthday

This year, I had a lovely 3 nights of celebrations! I went wining and dining with some of my nearest and dearest to Cottons Rhum Shack in Shoreditch, which was some seriously delicious Caribbean grub - and pretty strong Mojitios (which I accidentally mistook for a Margarita..)

My lovely cousins Martin and Dugald bought me 12 dozen ciders for my birthday...

My lovely friend Julia organised for a few of us to go and see Arc Iris. They're a freaking awesome band and were even awesomer in real life! 

And then of course I celebrated at a pub, The Hawley Arms which so happened to be the pub where Amy Winehouse used to hangout at!

Friends from NZ!

I've loved having Andre and Nic stay with my for a week before they went travelling for a few months! I grew up with Andre, he's more than a brother than a friend! 

Andre and I in 1993 and 2014!

Pretending to be a local showing these two around London!

Sun!

London had what they might call 'a heatwave' the other week, so it was super lush to be able to sit in the park catching some sweet sweet rays!

Cherries that look like bums

There's no explanation needed!!!

Egg moments... there's always one

I've just come back from 5 days in Paris for my lovely Sara's hens weekend (more on that soon!). We had secretly organised to all get Disney t-shirts for when we go to Disneyland as a surprise for Sara. Mine I ordered online didn't arrive in time, so a rush to Primark the night before we left was needed! Low and behold - we couldn't find them anywhere! Then when we did, the 10 looked massive, so did the 8 (they were baggy style t-shirts) so I thought, well yeah I can squeeze into a 6, especially if they're meant to be really baggy! As the man was folding it to put into the bag, the top just looked a little bit strange. As Cara and I were waiting for our train back home, it dawned on me that it was the neckhole - it was sooo tiny and there was nooo way my massive head was going to fit through it! Luckily I was able to cut it bigger at home, as well as cut a big hole in the back... and then I could get it on!

The photo doesn't do the original size any justice, but you can get the jist from the size of the label to the size of the actual hole!

Note to self : just get your normal size and deal with having a baggy t-shirt.

Linking up with my gorgeous Meg!

Happy 3 Years in London!

I seriously cannot believe I've been living in London for 3 WHOLE YEARS!!! Time has literally flown by! I was lucky enough to be indulging in some delicious French wine in Paris when the anniversary hit!

I'm still very happy with my decision to move to London - most of the time! It has been hard work living in London, but so much fun at the same time! 

I have an amazing job and an even more amazing group of friends. 

I've absolutely loved having friends and family from NZ come over and stay too! 

I've been lucky enough to travel to a few places... like... Porto, Malaysia, Paris (3 times!), South France, Budapest, Stockholm, quite a few places over the UK and a trip back to New Zealand!

I've been able to meet some pretty special family members too!

I say bring on the next 3 years! 

Things I'm Loving!

During the last crazy-busy, hectic, unwell weeks, I've been loving...

Sun and cider!

Hanging out in Greenwich with the lovely Rachel, enjoying learning about stuff and then drinking wine as a reward! 

Baby chicks

We got some chicks for a few weeks at work! They arrived as 10 little eggs and we now have 9 cute-as-anything little chickies tweeting! It was pretty awesome seeing some of them hatch - it's pretty amazing to think a chick that big comes out of an egg that small! 

Catch ups

I was lucky enough to have a quick catch up with Lynnie over a bottle of wine! She was in London for a night before heading back to Melbourne. It was fun and hilarious chatting about the antics we'd get up to when we worked together in Wellington!

Bananas

Apart from bananas being one of my favourite things and a pretty awesome superfood, turns out they also rule even more when they're on a pair of shoes! I've just gone and bought a second pair for when these 'run out'! 

Fresh sea air

A couple of weeks ago, Erin and I went to Brighton. It was my mission to go swimming and I made that happen. It was definitely freezing but coming from a girl who used to spend all summer at the beach or river, I was in desperate need of 'going for a dip'!

Skype
I really can't boast about how awesome Skype is, especially when my nearest and dearest are the furtherest away they could possibly be, nearly. I started this weekend with a conversation that lasted over two hours and covered a wide range of topics, with one of the most special people to me!

And lastly...

I'm in love with this song, this band, and all things them at the moment! 

Dirty Paws but Of Monsters and Men

Linking up with Meg!

Being friendly can go a long way...

To set the scene...

It was about 5pm and we (Erin and I) had just had an amazing day in Brighton. We went into a bar and were finishing our day off with two for one cocktails. We had ordered the first two and were sitting around chatting when...

An older man then approached us asking if one of us would like his other cocktail as he only wanted one. At first, we were very apprehensive - coming from London where there are 'creepers' everywhere. 

This man had a walking stick, was very wobbly on his feet and facially, there was 'something going on'. 

We both exchanged quick 'argh, we can't say no but let's just keep smiling and say yes' glances, and offered him a seat at our table. 

Hands down, best decision ever. 

After making the first part of what could have been an awkward situation, we found we were in the company of a very special man. 

He had an amazing sense of humour and was great with his comments and comebacks. We chatted about the usual stuff - our jobs, where we were from. We played some games - if you had to eat only one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? If you could have any car in the world, what would it be? And so on.... 

As the conversation flowed, so did the beauty of it. Our new friend Chris said to us that he has Parkinson's and hadn't left the house in a long time, but was having 'a good day' today so thought he'd venture out. 

He was so lovely and proceeded to tell us that neither of us had "a bad bone in our bodies" and "were very lovely to let him spend his evening with us". 

His hilarity and wit continued to make us hoot with laughter, so much so, that we told him (and maybe convinced him a little) that he should become a comedian. He was oozing with so much happiness and gratefulness. 

A few hours later, Chris left us to go back home. He thanked us again, shook our hands a few more times, and continued to tell us how lovely we were. 

After he left, both Erin and I just sat there with big smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes. We had opened our hearts to a man who needed it. 

Times like these, they're more than amazing. It's so rewarding to give someone the time of day, when I know a lot of others would've turned their backs on a situation like this. 

It really made such a fun and memorable day, that much more. 

That time we played in the sunshine

Last weekend we had a lovely Spring day which was fun to share with a lovely lady! My friend Erin and I met up at one of my favourite New Zealand cafes - The Long White Cloud. We ate, chatted, drank one of the best flat whites in London, then left to embrace the glorious sunshine! 

There's about a 100% chance I walked out of the cafe, hands in the air, twirling around, shouting saying "What a GLORIOUS day!". Sometimes, you just gotta. 

Our goal was to get to London Fields to sit in the sun. 

First stop: Hackney City Farm

I love city farms! The chickens scare me, but sometimes they look like they're wearing harem pants, so it's ok.

The pigs are so huge, they could supply you with a years worth of bacon. 

The goats are pretty suave. 

And those wee donkeys, they're just so cute and fluffy. And have really big willies!

Next stop: Broadway Market

We mooched on up to Broadway Market after our farm excitement. 

After battling the use of the footpath with some cheeky, scary, annoying squirrels, who really were out to get us, we made it to the hustle and bustle of proper hipster town. 

Broadway Market has been around since the early 1900's and was filled with an eclectic range of goods and people! 

Source

Next stop: London Fields

After treating ourselves to an ice block and a cider, we sat in the park with every other hipster in East London. That in itself is an experience and a half! It was the perfect place to people watch! and creep on the hipsters!

We left the park at that perfect time - the sun was going down, the hipsters were overwhelming, and the canal was calling our names!

We strolled back to Angel via the canal, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day! 

I love London on days like these! 

Things I'm Loving - the sunshine edition!

Another week, another list of loving!

First things first, this is my new turn-up song - Wings by Little Mix

After working my first full week in year one with the deaf kids, I'm completely wiped! It's a massive challenge that I'm not really enjoying, but there's seven more days of it for me to complete before I start the course properly to get my QTS. So it's been hard but nice to find the lovings this week.

The sun has been a-shining over here this week. It was a lush little treat to sit in the park with my neighbour on Sunday, catching some rays and enjoying the view of nature in full swing!

With the daffodils in full bloom and the blossoms starting to show themselves, my walk to and from work has had a slight, but pleasant, change! 

 This is one of my all time favourite buildings in London. And more so when the sun is shining on it! As you can see, I've snapped it a few times, it's that awesome!

This isn't quite sun related, however it is bright yellow... Basically my Mum sent me this photo via what's app, saying she had found it in a box of my stuff in their shed. I was 9 and it was for a 60's dress up day at school! 

There really are no words to describe it. I'll leave you to ponder if in fact I am a massive egg or not! 

Linking up with ma home girl

Things I'm Loving!

As I sit here, nose in full stream of snot and head pounding, my week has been like a pick 'n' mix bag. 

Firstly though - listen to this song. It's a goodie...

It all started with discovering this massive bruise on my shin. How it happened - I have no idea! Needless to say, it's a pretty good one!

Things then moved up in the world for me with a few of my favourite breakfasts/lunches/teas being made. All gluten and dairy free!

What was meant to be a 'good idea at the time', turned into a massive egg moment. And the ruining of my classroom carpet. Basically I picked up the water tray to empty it, hurt my back and dropped it, jumped up onto higher ground as I watched a lot of water simply go everywhere.

Note to self: definitely think before lifting a full and heavy water tray, with a bad back, and water that was very blue. I'm not looking forward to bumping into the school caretaker on Monday morning...

I loved getting sent through some of my Nanna and Grandad's old photos. My Mum messaged me a few during the week and looking through them all, spotting similarities in other family members, seeing their adventures and sometimes just having a chuckle, was some of the best medicine! 

This is one of my favourites of my Nanna and Grandad - I can spot myself in both of them! And the one of my older sister Rosie and me in Finland - just a bit of cuteness right there! 

Finally, I'm loving big time on the sunshine we've been having in London lately. And daffodils. You can't forget them. They're happiness right there. It was the best pick-me-up after working stupidly long days over the last two weeks.

Just look. So much happiness! 

Linking up with my best home girl