I'm loving... Geninne's Art Blog

I've blogged about Geninne's Art Blog before but just had to share it again because this lovely woman just never fails to astound me. She is an artist, photographer, stylist, baker, decorator, parent, seamstress, visionary, nature-lover and writer... among many other things, I'm sure.

There are many many inspirational blogs online that I love to scour and enjoy, but Geninne's is the one site I head to for soul-soothing - for when I need to have beauty in my eyes, feel warm, delight in brilliance, connect to nature, or just sigh whimsically.

Honestly, there is nothing this lovely and talented artist can't do, and I was so enchanted by her latest sewing feat (she is enamoured by birds), I just had to share... Pay Geninne a visit soon - and have your soul soothed.

If you’re anything like me – perpetually short of that precious commodity called time, you’ll be keen for ideas on easy-peasy birthday parties for kids. For Riley's 8th birthday today, I was shorter on time than ever, so I wanted something super-easy yet still special.

chest of drawers revamp

I have this chest of drawers that makes me cringe every time I walk into my daughter Ella's room. With a shabby chic white chassis and baby pink drawers, this item's 90s kitsch coup de grâce is its button handles with handpainted love hearts.

my top 10 writer crushes

A friend recently wrote about her Top 10 Writer Crushes - and it was so enlightening and wonderful to see who has inspired this prolific reader and literary-lover. And so, here is my top 10 writer crush list. Yes yes, I want to be ALL of these people.

Farmer's Markets

When we were in Christchurch recently (yes, we were there just a few weeks before this terribly tragedy occurred), we visited the most charming Farmer's Market at Riccarton Bush. It reminded me of the fabulous market at McLaren Vale in South Australia - and it also reminded me how much I miss the opportunity to a) buy local, b) buy organic and super-fresh, and c) support our farmers and local growers.

cupcakes à la donna hay

I have the most gorgeous, stylish and generous friend who lives in Chicago (you know who you are, T) and I received the most delightful belated birthday surprise... a note from the postie asking me to collect something.

So thrilling to see handmade living featured in the West Australian Habitat magazine on 14 January. Our WA friends are a clever, crafty bunch!

look what I found in my tea this morning

Thank you, Mary Rose. x

Handmade Market Bliss

Another blissful Handmade Market shopping experience on Saturday - the first market for 2011 and in the sensational new venue - the National Convention Centre. All undercover, airconditioned and spacious... there were a lot of happy shoppers and stallholders and, as always, it was such a thrill to meet new people and chat about both handmade living and my Riley books - and hear some fascinating tales.

New Zealand with Kids - Day Fourteen, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Wanaka

Our last full day in New Zealand was our absolute favourite – and truly made us want to stay longer and explore the spectacular south island even further. I would go so far as to say that if you have a choice of which island to visit, it would be south island all the way.

oh what a lovely day

Okay, so I'm having a bit of a gooey birthday moment. Just home from a fabulous day at Handmade Market, with the sweetest market neighbours one ever could want, the opp to meet new people and catch up with old and adorable friends, and ogle new product and have my darling daughter with me for the first time at a market, all day.

The gorgeous Penny Price is just so supportive of my work - here she has hosted some book giveaways for both Riley and the Curious Koala and Handmade Living on her stunning site - Alphabet Street, a must-have resource for Australian parents.

happy eighth birthday Riley!

Happy 8th birthday, beautiful boy.

We love you.

Mum, Dad and Ella

xxx

New Zealand with Kids - Day Thirteen, Queenstown

This morning we were all feeling a tad exhausted. We had a major sleep in then took it easy. After a leisurely breakfast, we took the long way round, walking along the lakefront into town.

New Zealand with Kids - Day Twelve, Queenstown

leaving Christchurch (left), flying over the countryside (right) 

Woke today absolutely shattered from lack of sleep – it was so bad and I was just so over it, I wanted to get on a flight and head home.

 eatdrinkchic

New Zealand with Kids - Day Eleven, Christchurch

The rain seemed to be following us! On day eleven, we woke to imposing skies so jumped in the car to see if we could get a clearer view from the gondola east of Christchurch. Alas, the rain worsened on the way so we instead drove to Lyttleton, a small and sweet harbour town south of the city, accessed through a tunnel in the mountain (we love tunnels!).

New Zealand with Kids - Day Ten, Christchurch

OMG - we love Christchurch. Warning: this post is long! This morning we walked through Victoria Square park where the 18th World Buskers Festival was busily setting up, past a beautiful statue of Captain Cook (on whom I have a terrible crush, I know - I'm such a dag)...

New Zealand with Kids - Day Nine, Inter Islander ferry, Picton, Blenheim, Christchurch

So lovely to get out of that horrendous apartment early and queue at the waterfront for the Inter Islander ferry at 7am. We were all SO excited. One of the first cars onboard, we headed upstairs and found ourselves a lovely window-seat in the ‘recliner’ seat area.

It's a superb book and a brilliant series concept - can think of a least a dozen kids I'd love to give it to who'd get so much from it. - author Jackie French

Like its predecessors, this new Riley book is filled with stunning photographs and bright, vibrant illustrations, that just work so well together. As always the text is lively and full of interesting words that little ears soak up into growing vocabularies (and when you see more of McCartney's work, you'll come to know that this is one of her trademarks). - writer Megan Blandford

Riley and the Curious Koala would make an excellent choice as a gift for a child who lives in another country, especially one who's about to visit Australia. It introduces kids to the sights of Sydney and to many native Australian, as well as exotic animals. This also makes it a good choice for schools doing units on Australia. - The Book Chook

Tania McCartney has written this story well, she uses fun descriptions and encourages thinking. I love the illustrations by Kieron Pratt, they are gorgeous and dare I say ready for their own TV show! A great effect, highly appealing visually and the story is a delight. - Angela Hall, Bug in a Book

McCartney's imaginative text complements her exceptional black-and-white photography of Sydney at its finest. Children will find it hilarious that throughout Riley's journey, the koala is climbing and snorkelling and getting into all kinds of adventures but Riley fails to spot him. Pratt's brightly coloured illustrations inject movement and draw the eye across the page. From the embossed cover to the illustrated endpapers, Riley and the Curious Koala is beautifully presented and would make a wonderful gift.- Vicki Stanton, Buzz Words

See what people are saying about Riley and the Grumpy Wombat.
See what people are saying about Handmade Living. 
See what people are saying about Beijing Tai Tai. 
See what people are saying about Riley and the Dancing Lion.
See what people are saying about Riley and the Sleeping Dragon.

New Zealand with Kids - Day Eight, Wellington

Today we dropped in to the Botanical Gardens once again to see the Lady Norton Rose Garden we had missed yesterday, and the chance to drop onto the indoor garden – so so soooooo worth it.

New Zealand With Kids - Day Seven, Wellington

A lovely sunny day today and lovely temps, we headed out early and caught the Wellington cable car up the hill to the absolutely magnificent Botanical Gardens where we first admired the amazing view over the harbour.

New Zealand With Kids - Day Six, Lake Taupo, Palmerston North, Wellington

Up early, we got on the road after a Starbucks pick-me-up and headed off in the pouring rain, south on highway 1. We reached Lake Taupo (pron. toe-paw) in about an hour but the largest lake in Australasia was almost completely cloaked in cloud and rain. So disappointing, and our planned pitstop ruined.

Some time at the end of last year, I had a discussion with the lovely librarian at our kids' school about providing hanging decorations for a large space between a ground floor and mezzanine level in their beautiful new library.

New Zealand With Kids - Day Five, Rotorua

Our second day in Rotorua, we had a teensy sleep in and woke to torrential rain. This didn’t stop us from heading to Te Puia (pron. teh poi-a) – a large, geothermal cultural centre featuring grounds bubbling with hot springs, geysers and wonderful Maori history, along with traditional weaving and carving schools.

New Zealand With Kids - Day Four, Rotorua

Up for breakfast and out the door and on the road by 9am, we grabbed takeaway coffees and headed south east on highway 1 before turning off at highway 2 towards Matamata or ‘Hobbiton’ – the site where the Hobbit’s village was filmed in The Lord of the Rings.

New Zealand With Kids - Day Three, Auckland

Up and into the car this morning for a quick trip to the Auckland Zoo, just 10 mins from our apartment. A really lovely, relatively compact zoo – well-maintained and lots of fun for kids, with playgrounds and easily accessible animal exhibits and a reasonable entry fee.

New Zealand With Kids - Day Two, Auckland

Not a great night’s sleep but woke to a stunning sunny day. After breakfast we walked down to the harbour via coffee at Starbucks (the chain is all over NZ) where we caught the ferry to Devonport – a quaint suburb on the opposite side of the city’s wharves.

the view from Devonport back into Auckland city

New Zealand With Kids - Day One, Auckland

Hard to believe we’d not yet travelled to our across-the-ditch neighbour New Zealand… so a school holiday trip was long overdue. As we’re not [yet] skiers, we thought the height of summer might be a great time to take the kids for a two week, two-island tour – most especially because it meant we could travel light.

Here, then, is our rough family guide to 14 days in Kiwi Land with kids, no holds-barred.

After a five o’clock wake up, we arrived at Canberra airport with time to spare – some leisurely breakfast in the Qantas lounge, a lattè and onto the flight to Sydney, arriving 15 minutes late and scant time to get to the international terminal and our Auckland flight.

Tearing through the enormous check-in area, we arrived, much to our horror, well after the flight had closed. A kindly manager opened it again but told us we had limited time to get to the gate. Expedited through customs, we tore to our gate (yes, it was the furthest possible gate from our starting position) in a panic only to breathlessly arrive to a delayed departure. Not happy, Jan.

I’ll be having a word to Air New Zealand about booking our domestic and international legs so close together - it didn't even cross my mind to check the times properly, as the company booked these two legs on my behalf and I presumed they knew what they were doing. Be sure to check the flights times yourself when you book through Air NZ – remember, check-in for international flights closes an hour before departure and it was an unnerving experience watching that time slip away between flights. Not exactly a pleasant start to the trip.

But things got better. A lovely 2.5 hour flight across the Tasman, we had comfortable seats with our own tv screens, filled to brimming with movies, tv and games, which the kids always love.

Immigration and customs was a breeze and once on NZ turf, we jumped straight on a courtesy bus to the car rental place – Britz – about 10 mins north of the airport. The company specializes in motor homes but has a small fleet of slightly dated cars at a really reasonable price and not a lot of hidden extras. Best thing of all is that full insurance cover (with no excess) is only $15 a day. It’s not compulsory for residents to insure their cars in New Zealand, so you will want to take out insurance cover.

We picked up our white Toyota wagon (the car wasn’t exactly the epitome of luxury, but it was adequate and this was a budget holiday) and headed straight to Countdown supermarket for a grocery shop.

We checked in to the Quest Apartments at the top of Queen Street, which runs right down to the harbour. Quest are clean, efficient, no fuss and affordable. We generally prefer to stay in well-known chain serviced apartments, and you’ll later find out why. That night we headed out for a walk through town, right down to the harbour.

Helpful Sites

http://www.newzealand.com/

http://www.aucklandnz.com/

http://www.kidzgo.co.nz/

www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/kids

Auckland

Auckland is just lovely – a very livable city and a cross between Sydney and Brisbane both visually and climate-wise. We were delighted to meander past a cinema, Borders, Starbucks and a Japanese $3 shop, all within metres of each other before reaching the glittering harbour and a gelati bar (hokey pokey, lemon and choc mint) near the old Ferry building. Afterwards we walked back to the apartment to make spaghetti and settle in for the night.

On the 16th floor, our room overlooked the city with a fantastic view of Sky Tower and a glimpse of the outerlying land on the other side of the harbour. It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the harbour from the apartments (downhill) and they are very close to cinemas, restaurants and shopping malls.

A two bedroom apartment is around NZ$299 a night and with the Aus dollar being so strong, this was a good deal.

Shopping

New World and Countdown supermarkets are the way to go for stocking up on groceries, and there are several of these supermarkets located close to the city.

The Metro Centre is very central and has a great cinema and eateries. The super slick pink staircase in the middle of the centre is fun for kids.

Prices are pretty on par with Australia (once the dollar is converted and at the moment you can take roughly 25% off any price you pay) and some items are a little cheaper (eg: cut flowers). Stock up on Aus mags before you leave home because you pay more here.

super cool $3 Japan shop, right on Queen Street

GST is set at 15% and when shopping in stand alone stores, do check if it’s included in your item’s price because sometimes it’s not.

Driving

When turning, remember to give way to the right. Of course, this rule generally applies in Australia, except If you are travelling along a major road and want to turn left into a street. In this case – you have right of way against all other traffic. But not in NZ. If you are driving along a main road and want to turn left, you must give way to any cars wanting to turn right into that same street. If you neglect this, you’ll be an accident waiting to happen, so be careful, especially at crossroads.

NZ drivers are horrendous tailgaters, so again, take your patience with you. This is probably because dual lane carriageways are rare (especially on highways) and the poor buggers need to do so much overtaking to get anywhere with some vitesse.
Major highways are single lane undivided roads, making them very slow and a little hairy to travel on, especially on winding roads. NZ truckies are amazing, polite, don’t speed (probably too busy enjoying the incredible countryside views) and will pull over and let you pass frequently. Ditto caravaners and motorhome drivers, of which there are many.

Despite the high likelihood of being trapped behind traffic, the roads are not overly busy, even during summer hols, and overtaking lanes appear quite often. Be warned, though – they are short.


pink staircase in the Metro Centre on Queen Street

New Zealand with Kids - Day Two, Auckland

New Zealand with Kids - Day Three, Auckland
New Zealand with Kids - Day Four, Rotorua
New Zealand with Kids - Day Five, Rotorua
New Zealand with Kids - Day Six, Lake Taupo, Palmerston North, Wellington
New Zealand with Kids - Day Seven, Wellington
New Zealand with Kids - Day Eight, Wellington
New Zealand with Kids - Day Nine, Inter Islander ferry, Picton, Blenheim, Christchurch
New Zealand with Kids - Day Ten, Christchurch
New Zealand with Kids - Day Eleven, Christchurch
New Zealand with Kids - Day Twelve, Queenstown
New Zealand with Kids - Day Thirteen, Queenstown
New Zealand with Kids - Day Fourteen, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Wanaka