wise words...

Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.

Mary Anne Radmacher.

the big chop

I just took the plunge and got all my hair chopped off at the hairdressers this morning. I've been planning to do it for so long (I promised myself I'd do it after the wedding, but that was over a year ago now!) Life in general and the fear of not having a long hair safety net meant it kept getting put on the back burner, but I'm so glad I finally did. Feels very liberating and should take a heck of a lot less time to dry of a morning.

I took the image above, of Keira Knightley's new bob with me as inspiration, though on the advice of the hairdresser, mine is a bit longer (below the chin) due to it sadly being not so thick as Keira's. When Curt gets home I'll get him take a picture of it so I can share it on here :)

week.end

We enjoyed a good couple of days this weekend. The sun shone again and on Saturday afternoon we had our first New Zealand BBQ of the season, hosted by our friends Andy and Zara. On Sunday we took a road trip up to some amazing beaches on the east coast north of Auckland. The boys went for a surf whilst Lila and I built some sandcastles and ran races along the beach. Lila also had her first surfing experience, being pulled along on Daddy's surfboard in a pool of shallow water on the beach, which she absolutely loved. She is now asking for her own 'pink' wetsuit!

We have decided it is time to start potty training (have been putting it off long enough!) and while I will be very glad to see the back of nappies for a while, I am a little bit daunted by the task ahead of us. I especially fear for the condition of the carpets. Today we went out and Lila chose a potty - which plays songs, no less- and she has been very keen to sit on it and also use it as a high chair for her teddy. So fingers crossed it will not be too much of an arduous task.

hello spring

I'm happy to report that Spring has definitely sprung in Auckland. Today we took full advantage of the sunshine and a rare Saturday off work for me, and went to check out a wonderful French market in the pretty Parnell district. There we sampled a whole range of delicious Gallic food and had some tasty lunch.

Then it was onto The Domain- a huge park with some beautiful gardens and walks and a huge museum set in the middle of it on top of a hill. We decided to save the museum for a rainy afternoon, but instead discovered a beautiful Winter Garden inside an old building with the tallest glass roof, filled to the brim with amazing flowers in every colour of the rainbow. We also loved the fern garden with it's tropical atmosphere and Lila's highlight of the day was definitely the ice cream and the chance to ride her little scooter along all the pathways in the park at breakneck speed.