Time for an upgrade! Marriage Equality in New Zealand

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As you may have heard, the marriage equality bill passed in New Zealand last night, making us the 13th country to do so. Seeing there is 190+ countries in the world, I am proud of New Zealand for being amongst the first 10% of countries leading the way in equality. 

I can understand that it is difficult for those who have been brought up to believe this kind of love is wrong, just as any conditioning is hard to break. I myself was brought up to believe those very archaic views on love and the world, and it is hard to go against what you have always known. But in becoming more open minded you can begin to view the world with more understanding and compassion. At the end of the day we have to remember that it is simply just love. It does not harm anyone, rather enable those who have been excluded to be themselves, feel comfortable to love others as they chose and to have that love recognised just as anyone else. 

For those who have been holding out to get married, or who will have an 'upgrade' ceremony, you should book in now with Lady Fingers Letterpress to design your invites.

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Morgan and Arley-Rose run my favourite custom stationary business Lady Fingers Letterpress, which they started up because they struggled to get people to design invites to their wedding due to being gay. 

Now they give all kinds of couples the chance to have stunning wedding invitations no matter what their orientation. 

Just look at the beauties!

Cosmos is so in, and I love it!

This gold foil makes my heart warm

And the bright edging, what a way to pop.

Such simple yet classy typography.

They even do hand-addressing to add that personal touch. 

All invitation images via the Ladyfingers Letter Press website and their Facebook account (go and like it why don't you).

I am definitely talking to those lovely ladies if I ever have a big event to plan.

Read their story and printout their free marriage equality posters from their blog here.

What are your thoughts on the bill? 

x

Travel Tuesdays: Queenstown, New Zealand

Have you ever ventured to this picturesque little town? It took me until I was in my early 20's to make it there, and only the excuse of playing a Queenstown show with my then band could get me there. As soon as I arrived I wondered how I possibly spent so many years ignoring, in my opinion, one of the best towns in New Zealand. You see, I love tourist laden European towns with cobblestone roads, delicious foods at every turn, and stores open at the most bizarre hours. Queenstown is that and more. It takes the essence of 'NZ pure' tourism and squeezes into one little neat package. And don't be mistaken, winter is not the only season to visit Queenstown. There is plenty to do in the warmer months.

There are many scenic walks through forests, alongside lakes, up mountains.

If you venture down to the gardens and surrounding forest, watch where you walk because there frisbees flying everywhere. The gardens are home to a neat little game called disk (or frisbee) golf.

The course is free to on play provided you have your own disk. Finding one is pretty easy, as they sell the disks at almost all the sport stores in town. 

Disk golf has pretty simple rules and with a bit of practice you can make par, unless you are left-handed like me, and your disk tends to sail off down the lake every few throws. If disk golf becomes your new favourite thing, there is apparently a course in the nearby town of Wanaka too. If you become really addicted you can always watch a few pro tip videos to improve your game.

Or there is always a game of lawn bowls.

 If you get hungry, don't panic because there are plenty of restaurants around to spoil you. You can't go past trying one of the burgers at Fergbuger, they are HUGE and delicious. Your stomach will very much thank you for it. Or grab a freshly baked (on site) pastry from the Ferg Baker next door.

The Remarkable Sweet Shop is what I imagine it's like stepping into a slightly less magical Honeydukes. Your family will love you forever if you bring some of these goodies home. Also the fudge comes a very close 2nd to the Akaroa fudge IMHO.

For dinner I'd recommend Les Alps, a homely French restaurant. They have French waiters, fondue, and flaming crepe suzette. During the day there is also a deli and pasties section if you get the munchies after a round of disk golf. 

Or if pizza is more your thing I dare you to try and finish one of the Fat Badger pizzas. Yikes.

There is plenty to see and do in Queenstown (there has to be if it's named the adventure capital of New Zealand!) It's worth braving a steep gondola ride up to the Skyline. Not only are there breathtaking views of Queenstown that make for perfect photo ops, there are plenty of thrilling activities to partake in. Riding the Luge is good fun, especially if you are racing someone else. It's only as scary as you make it.

If you love flying foxes then you'll love the Zip-Trek. It's a little on the pricey side, but there are two options to choose from, we chose the shorter one. They also donate a good percentage of your entry fee to sustainability trusts and micro loan enterprises. As well as a thrilling ride, they conduct a sustainability tour and eco lesson along the way, leaving you more knowledgable about the preservation of Queenstown.

If you are feeling daring, you can pay some guys to run you off a hill... Paragliding is probably the best way to see Queenstown in all it's splendour. You actually do feel like a souring bird, that is until the instructor decides to show you the power of G-Force with a few corkscrew turns. I admit it made me feel a little queazy! 

No trip to Queenstown is complete without something a little more challenging, so that's where the bungy comes in. If you can't see yourself willingly jumping off a platform, you should give the Nevis Arc a go! It's the biggest swing in the world, and it's great because you sit in a harness and they drop you, almost like a 'tower of terror' sort of ride. What's more you can take a friend with you on the tandem swing. If you enjoy it and much as we did, you can pay a fraction of the cost to go again either backwards or even upside down!

If you are more of a simple pleasures type there is a skate park and ice rink, which double as a good meeting ground for like-minded internationals. 

The fun doesn't stop in the evening either, as the buskers come out and the bars all open. If you like to freeze your fingers off you should check out one of the Ice Bars. They are pretty darn cool, and they change the sculptures every three months so you'll never get bored. Also if you manage to navigate the back alley ways, you should pop into The Bunker for a chocolatey dessert cocktail and to watch one of the James Bond films while perched around the cosy gas fire. 

That is just a little of what is on offer in Queenstown, and that's not even including neighbouring Arrowtown or Wanaka. With so much excitement at your finger tips, you won't regret a trip to the deep south. It's a bit of a drive from Christchurch at six hours, but it's a very scenic one. You can always break up the drive with some pit stops at lakes and local wineries along the way, or alternatively flying will get you there in a swift 35 mins from the shaky city. 

If you don't think you'll get there anytime soon, check out a few more of my pix instead. 

5 great reasons for you to get a pedicure

My lovely lemmings, I fear already I have become busy and neglected you this week.

Do you, like me, try to do too much all at once? We live in a multi-task prone age, where we work while we eat and catch up on TV simultaneously. I'm technically on study break but I still seem to be rushed off my feet.

Today I'm encouraging you to schedule in some downtime. Yes, schedule. Adding it to that long list means you will do it. So today, after doing my morning work and errands I went to the nail parlour to take some much needed downtime.

So here, as I wait for my nails to dry, I will list 5 reasons why you should go get a pedi:

1. You are rushed off your feet, thus a good foot soak is the perfect 'me time' for you and your weary tootsies.

2. There are massage chairs. The ultimate in pampering right there.

3. Bright colours! With winter sneaking up on us, there is nothing like seeing a 'pop' of colour every time you take off your socks.

4. It's good to get out of the house. Now the days seem darker and colder it is tempting to become a hermit. But if you keep that up you will most likely get cabin fever. If you live close to a nail parlour you could even get some fresh air by walking there and back.

5. Quality time with friends. If you must multitask, skip the café and take your bestie to the parlour too. Spend the whole sesh gossiping, laughing and generally being silly. And what's better you'll probably burn calories rather than gain them. If you are feeling adventurous splash out on some nail art too.


So why not treat yourself, and let me know what colour you go for!

x

ps. If you think it's an activity just for women, you are mistaken, Charlie and I go together all the time! He just doesn't get a colour. I don't see why not though ;)

10 wonderful things for book-lovers

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What do you think of this little neighbourhood library? They are popping up all around the world as part of a non-profit campaign to get more people reading. In Christchurch we have a few book-exchanges located at various Gap Fillers which are neat, but I love the idea of having them everywhere, like community gardens. Could you start one in your neighbourhood? With a bit of luck, they may become as common as corner dairies.

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Admit it. How many of those little orange penguins do you have? There is something satisfying about the uniformity and the price tag that makes them so very collectable. Do you know that they used to come in an array of colours? The book's colour used to represent the genre to which it belonged. So if you spied someone on the train reading a little green number, you'd know they were on the edge of their seat not because of the the bumpy train, but due to reading a gripping crime novel. 

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You've gotta love a bit of Roald Dahl. Truth be told these strikingly beautiful babushka creatures are based on the filmic version of Fantastic Mr. Fox (and by golly, if you haven't seen it, download a copy and watch it right now). Each critter is hand-painted to order by Australian based artist Irene, and then sent your way for a well spent $160USD. However, if that's a bit much to spend on a literary family, you could always immortalise your own family instead. 

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This adorable book necklace from Melbourne based Le Blog De Sushi. 

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These book hooks have been around for a little while now, but I can't get over how aesthetically pleasing they look. Would you like one of these perched next to your bed? If you are interested, you can buy them from Connex designs. I may just have to get one for myself....

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I've never really been a fan of bookends, but I reckon these stylish curly brackets could persuade me otherwise. They could go on this bookshelf. Do you use bookends? Also whale bookends. 

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I have been an Elijah Wood fan for sometime, so it was a happy day when I discovered this video of him reading the children's book Me and My Cat by Satoshi Kitamura. It is a must watch for all EW fans. Also you should take a look at this funny rendition of The Three Little Pigs.

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Book-staircases (or should they be stair-bookcases?) are, I think, one of the best storage systems ever invented. They undoubtedly look classy, and at the same time help you optimise all your previous space effectively. I am definitely putting one into my dream home. Perhaps we should call them stookcases; it has a nice Swedish feel to it. More staircase storage solutions here.

via Flower by Andrew Zuckerman

Have you ever picked up one of Andrew Zuckerman's books? My favourite of his so far is Wisdom, which is also a film of the same name. Zuckerman's photography is breathtaking; each frame captures the subject like a gallery-ready work of art. This book Flower was released last year and joins his list of four other outstanding books: Music, Wisdom, Creature and Bird.

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Have you heard of Barter Books in north-east London? What about the Keep Calm and Carry On poster? Barter Books is home to this piece of iconic war memorabilia, having discovered it in a box of old books they picked up at auction. Watch the video about the discovery here. Barter Books customers, should they choose, can make use of a barter system for buying and selling books at the store, hence the name barter books. What's more, the store has been built inside a rustic old railway station, topping off that literary experience. Do you know anyone who has been there? I hope to visit Barter Books whenever I next get to London.

x

The Subspecies - An introvert's life.

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I am part of that strange subspecies of mankind labelled The Introvert. My idea of attending a party is to find myself an inviting looking couch and park myself there for the remainder of the evening. (This usually works relatively well as most ‘normal’ humans rotate stations every ten minutes or so – ensuring I see or talk to a decent cross-section of attendees over the course of an evening).

Unlike those blessed with the art of conversation, when talking, my grey matter is working overtime attempting to scrape together potential conversational topics. The starting points are easy ‘How’s it going?’ ‘What’s new?’ ‘How is such and such?’ It’s once the easy questions have run out that things become more challenging. Then I have to start remembering. What is their name again? What do they do for a job? Was it this person that got married the other month? Nope. Can’t remember. So I can’t talk about that then.

Naturally, I start talking about myself – it’s the only way I feel I keep this conversation from taking a tragic nosedive. Only problem is I don’t really want to talk about myself. I struggle to articulate what I want to say. Frankly, the way I’m selling myself is worse than a used car salesman on a bad hair day. I default to the same old speech ‘I work’, ‘I study’, ‘I’m doing this crazy diet’, … and because I feel like a broken record I come across as uninteresting and perhaps even a little grumpy. I am of course aware of this, so start thinking about it while I’m talking and matters go from bad to worse. Don’t get me wrong, not all introverts are like this. But when you are introverted, shy and anxious all rolled into one, it makes for a very interesting evening. All I can say is thank god for smart phones.

Back to work – 10 step survival guide

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It can be tough going back to work after a long weekend. Those extra days off can equate to a daunting stack of work teetering precariously on the edge of your desk, like an avalanche silently waiting to happen. Relax. All is not lost. Here are a few things to remember to keep your spirits high.

1. Catch up. Everyone will have news from the long weekend to chat about, making for good staff morale and entertainment. (Unless of course, you work alone, and in that cause you should definitely call that friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with for weeks).

2. Keep the holiday going. Now that Easter is over the Easter eggs are really cheap. Grab a couple of little ones to keep you going through the toughest parts of the day. Also, have you seen this new chocolate advertisement featuring Audrey Hepburn? It's fantastic what technology can do isn't it?

Cadbury workers joining eggs together via.

3. Keep in mind; it’s a four-day week. No matter what you have to do at work, Friday is always going to come that little bit quicker. 

4. Make an excuse to go midweek shopping. That winter wardrobe won’t stock itself.

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5. Take time out to exercise. After all that chocolate you are sure to feel a little gluggy. A brisk walk around the block in your lunch break will give you back your stamina. 

6. Change things up. Whether it's rearranging your desk, switching radio stations, (bringing a horse inside?) or wearing a new outfit to work, it’s sure to put a spring in your step. 

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7. Plan a work do. The half-way mark is creeping up quickly, so why not suggest plans for a mid-winter staff do? This will give you all a chance to charge those batteries, bond, set some goals and see you through to the end of the year.

8. Keep Daylight Savings in mind. Next Monday you will get a whole extra hour to sleep in. Now that’s what I call a lazy week.

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9. Remember why you love your job. Write a list of all the things about your job that you love doing. 

10. And if all else fails, maybe it’s a good time to consider if you’re in the right job or not. Life is short, so you may as well be doing what you enjoy. Or maybe you just need a little time off to revitalize the senses - start planning and saving for your winter escape now. Australia perhaps? 

LIFE magazine pic via.

As for me, I’m on university holidays and only work a very French 15 hours per week. So lucky for you, I shall be spending a lot of my free time writing new articles for you. 

What are your tips for surviving the post-holiday work week?

Also, something to make you laugh.

x