New Zealand

Every time I start to write something about our honeymoon I get stuck on what to say. I get stuck on what photos to share.* So I’m just going to jump in, somewhere in the middle, and see where it takes us.

Did I mention we went to New Zealand? I’m not sure anymore what made us choose to go to New Zealand other than the fact that it sounded crazy and wonderful so we just went for it.

You know, it’s hard to plan a vacation and a wedding at the same time. I’m not sure if you knew this, so I thought I’d mention it. So we didn’t plan entirely too much (despite the fact that I’m a compulsive planner). Then as we were preparing to depart, the terrible earthquake hit Christchurch. It wasn’t until we arrived in New Zealand that we became aware of the extent of damage to the city. Our trip became even less planned than it was before.

Luckily, we brought our tent and sleeping bags with us so we could camp just about anywhere. One night we ended up with the most amazing spot, right next to the beach.

On this particular evening, it started to rain not long after we set up our tent. We snuggled up with some ginger ales, books and games and just enjoyed the night in our little orange pod. It was wonderful.

Along with camping, comes camp meals. I became obsessed with hummus and avocado sandwiches. As we were on the road for most of the trip, we ate quite a few of these.

One morning we woke up to these little birds squawking outside out tent. We kindly shared some of our breakfast with them, although they were not too fond of the avocado.

So here’s a start, there is much more, including volcanoes, magic mushrooms, sulfur lakes, fancy hotels and a lot of Lord of the Rings awesomeness. Stay tuned!

*at some point on this trip I developed some sort of photo fatigue and took hardly any photos, even though I wanted to. Luckily Shawn took a great deal and is kind enough to share.

Morning Glory

It’s no secret that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I have to admit though, I’m quite the creature of habit. Nearly every morning it’s sourdough toast with earth balance and nutritional yeast. And of course that first glorious cup of coffee.

I’m trying to shake things up a bit. I’m not proposing I give it up, I love it too much, but rather have a bit more variation in my breakfast menu. Recently there have been bowls of oatmeal, English Muffins with peanut butter and bananas. I need more ideas though. Something that can be made in around 10 minutes or so, but enough fuel to make it to lunchtime. Read More

stuffed animals

Possibly the hardest secret to keep about our wedding was these little stuffed animals. These guys were our gifts to our guests, so I couldn’t share without ruining the surprise.

I started making them nearly as soon as we had set our date, spending any spare time I had sewing, embroidering and stuffing them. Not one is alike or from a pattern. While the task was daunting, and took several months, it was never unpleasant. Not to mention, I had a great deal of help from friends. I made them out of eco-felt and a good deal of scrap fabric we had at home. The faux fur is from a film Shawn made years ago. I think they were my favorite.

This is Bebop and Green Bean. We became a little too attached them, so they had to stay with us.

I really wanted to do something exceptional for our favors. I know it’s something that is last on the list for many weddings, but it is one of the few very memorable things for people. It’s the piece of the wedding guests get to take home with them. Ultimately we pinned little name tags on each and they became our escort cards.

With them living and multiplying in our apartment for so long, it was a bit sad to see them all off to the wedding. On the other hand, they were pretty excited to go on a ride in the car.

In the end, we ended up with a few more than we needed so a handful still live with us. The rest found new loving homes with our guests.

Irish Spirit

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

I should be writing a lovely post about these wonderful cornish pasties I made last night, and I will, but first, let’s talk about this vegetable. Read More

For Japan with Love

Every day we are inundated with new tragic news of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. With thousands of people missing still and countless without shelter, food and water it feels as if we have to do something. The scale of the tragedy is overwhelming though.

I was compelled when I found out about For Japan with Love, a site put together by Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged. The fund will donate to the organization Shelter Box which will provide basic living necessities such as a tent, water purification tools, blankets, a stove and other items that can help a family get by when everything has been demolished.

I will be participating in the bloggers day of silence out of respect for all those who have been so deeply affected by this disaster. I keep having the feeling that it just does not seem right to blog or tweet about every day things when Japan is in such crisis. I urge other bloggers to participate.

Obviously there are many ways to donate and help and hope this will serve as a small reminder that even a little from a lot of people will go a long way for the people who have lost everything.