Things I’m Loving {Back in NZ edition}

I’m feeling a little out of sorts this week. It usually happens when I return home from a trip to see family and friends (even when I lived in Scotland I’d feel the same after a trip South to see family – now it’s just on a grander scale!) so I am really trying to embrace the Things I’m Loving linky this week and finding things I am grateful for now we are home...

So here goes:

Delicious hot drinks –NZ cafes do a much better job than British cafes of making both hot chocolate and coffee – it’s something we missed while we were away.

Having British chocolate to ration out that we brought home with us. I’m sorry NZ but chocolate is something that Britain does better in my opinion! We do have a UK food shop literally just up the road from our house but it seems to taste better when you crammed it into your over-packed suitcase to make the journey back!

My holiday journal – I kept a journal while we were away and I’m hoping to get it finished off this weekend so I can share it with you. Here’s a small sneak peek at one of the pages. I am so happy to have this reminder of our AWESOME trip!

Perfecting poached eggs. I have a confession to make – I usually poach eggs in one of those plastic poachers in the microwave. They are just not the same as the delicious ones you get in a cafe so I decided to use Attic 24’s poaching tips and was very pleased with the results. I shall be poaching my eggs this way in the future...and possibly eating more now they taste better!

Autumn walks – after a lazy start on Anzac Day (as in we were awake ridiculously early due to toddler jet lag but didn’t actually getting out of our PJs before 11am!) we decided to take a walk before Mr. Mischief’s nap. It was nearly a disaster because I forgot to lift the bag containing the dogs lead, Mr Mischiefs bottle and nappies as we walked out the door but we improvised and I fashioned a dog’s lead from a tow rope we had in the boot of the car. It wasn’t a long walk but was lovely to breath in some fresh air and watch Mr Mischief kicking around in the crunchy leaves!

Quiet time with Mr Mischief. Yesterday he took it upon himself to find a book and climb up on the sofa beside me so we could read a story together. It was heart-warming. I am trying to make the most of every snuggle and cuddle I am getting these days because I’m not sure how much longer I will be getting them!

And finally, a spot of home baking. I am trying to celebrate being back in my own kitchen and have baked some fairy cakes earlier this week and yesterday me and Mr Mischief made some Banana and Chocolate Chips cakes. I adapted this recipe as we didn’t have any chocolate buttons but did have dark chocolate chips. They are yummy!

Also to be included in this list but without photos is my amazingly comfy bed and lovely powerful shower – both of which I missed terribly while we were away!

Thanks to Paisley Jade for the linky. Go see what everyone else is loving this week!

Back in New Zealand

Cliffords Tower in York

We are back! Got home on Friday at 2pm and still feeling like everything is upside down and back to front!

I'm hoping to get some posts up and share some photos from our trip soon but need to concentrate on getting the household to sleep at appropriate times first!

What have I missed? I'm way behind on my favourite blogs with not much chance of catching up so please let me know what you've been up to :-)

Around (t)here lately {March}

Still snapping away with my phone (although the bird one was taken with my actual camera - just so it doesn't fell totally neglected!). Here's how March looked before we left home...

It's good to look back at my photos for themes...March seemed to be about the weather cooling down. The dog's laying in front of the fire that was on for the first time. I've been drinking hot drinks (which I don't during summer),  warm foods, red wine and less summery colours evident in my photos. It's almost like I was trying to feel warm all month...I think I will try and do one of these posts about our holiday and then try to do them monthly so I can find patterns in my life as the months go by.

You can see my collection of February photos here.

a photo a day : : March

I'm still going strong with a photo a day using my phone and the Project 365 app. 

You can see February and January photo's here.

It's so easy to snap photos and with the daily reminder at 8.30pm I always remember to pick a photo for that day for the mosaic. 

Here's a look at March...

I've even managed to keep up with it on holiday :-)

Fun with Instagram: Stickygrams

Do you like my Stickygrams? They are Instagram photos printed as magnets. I saw the idea for them here before I even had my phone but remembered how awesome they were and got some ordered once I had a collection of Instagrams I loved. 

You actually get 9 magnets to a sheet - it's $14.99US and includes international shipping. I got some double ups for presents which is why there are only 6 shown in the photo above.

One has been slighty chewed by a certain little someone but they are awesome - I love them!

London Baby

Last week we spent a day in London. I've been making up some mosaics to print for my holiday journal (which I'm planning to share here once it's completed) and thought I'd share them here too...

We got the train from Southend into Fenchurch Street - the journey is about 45 minutes and it was Mr Mischief's first train ride. He was pretty impressed. Once we arrived we walked around to Tower Hill and I snapped the Underground sign with the Tower of London in the background. And then we headed to Hyde Park on the Underground (circle line around to Notting Hill Gate and then a change onto the central line for one stop to Queensway). Our destination was Kensington Gardens and the Princess Diana Memorial Children's Playground.

The playground was fantastic and Mr Mischief had lots of fun playing in the sand, on the wooden toys and around the raised walkway complete with slides and wobbly bridges. After the playground we decided to walk across Hyde Park towards our next destination. This turned out to be a great idea as it was a lovely day for a stroll and we saw Kensington Palace along the way as well as spotting the London Eye, Royal Albert Hall and some other London landmarks in the distance along the way.

I couldn't resist snapping photos of the architecture, some red London buses and a black cab! I am such a tourist these days :-) We headed to the Science Museum and had a lovely lunch in a cafe there before heading to the Pattern Pod for Mr Mischief to have a play.

He was pretty tuckered out by then so we decided to cut the visit short and head outside to find a quiet spot in the sunshine and let him nap. We sat by the Natural History Museum and I took lots of photos of the beautiful building and all it's quirky features. Then we headed back on the Underground back to Tower Hill and got on the train at Fenchurch Street at 4.45pm before the busy rush.

It was an awesome day and even though Mr Mischief isn't likely to remember it when he's older I'm glad we will be able to tell him about the day he spent in London :-)

On holiday

To be honest I wasn't sure if I would be blogging about our holiday whilst we were away or if I would leave it until we got home. But I find myself wanting to get some notes down while we are here. I'm not convinced I will be able to do this regularly but I will try and pop by and say hello when I can. I have some photos from a day trip to London to share so look out for that in the next couple of days.

I find it hard to believe we have already been here a week. I have no idea where that time has gone. It seems to have taken longer to "settle in" this time. I feel more like a visitor this time (the last time I visited the UK was July/August 2009) rather than returning home which is strange in itself. It's been lovely seeing friends and family but at the same time I feel a sense of panic that we haven't got enough time with them.

It's all quite strange to be honest. It's fantastic - I am enjoying our visit as is the hubby and Mr Mischief and the weather has been great (apart from today which is quite grey and cold) but there seems to be a lot of thinking and baffled thoughts going on behind the enjoyment. 

Is this still home? Is NZ home? Am I a foreigner here or in NZ? Which coin is this? Where have all the shops gone? Lots of questions. Maybe I'll get answers by the time I leave but I won't worry too much if I don't. 

I am enjoying documenting the whole trip in a journal I purchased before I left. I'm printing photos every few days and adding them in along with my words documenting what we have done and who we have seen when.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have time to write again soon but in the meantime we have places to go and people to see :-)

Take care