Shotover River

Hey Ya'll!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was spent relaxing, editing pictures, movie watching, reading, and trying to get over this cold that is just stuck to me! I'm about at my limit with it and really want to get back to normal. Anywho when I am not plagued by annoying sicknesses I love to be outside.  So here's part of my adventure from outside of Queenstown.....

When driving around the area I would see this cool old looking bridge from the road and I really wanted to see it up close and personal. So while the weather was super nice I decided to take a little walk to it.  Once I got there I spent a couple hours reading, journaling, and taking in the magnificent landscape around me.  I did a bit of walking around then decided to see how far it would be to walk to Lake Hayes from where I was at. This was another spot I would drive past and want to get a closer view of.  Looking at the map on my phone I seemed to be "pretty close" to Lake Hayes so I decided to take a "stroll" to see it.  I was really excited because when the wind is still it has beautiful reflections in the water.  Well the little stroll turned into about a 20k walk, however it was one of the most beautiful scenic walks I have taken. I love unplanned adventures, especially in New Zealand :)

So for the first part I wanted to share the Old Lower Shotover Bridge and the views surrounding it.  One of the best parts is getting on the bridge and having amazing views all around you!

I can go anywhere with my backpack, camera and converse :)

Like I said great views all around! More to come! Hope ya'll enjoyed :)

Queenstown

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Well I finally have the chance to share some more South Island pictures with ya'll! This was from my first visit to Queenstown.  I was able to wander around the town for a few hours, it was pretty spectacular.  I spent a bit of time just taking in the magnificent beauty of Lake Wakatipu. Then I came across the Queenstown Gardens and took a stroll through them :) I really loved that I was just able to take it all in with my camera in hand and let the beauty of Queenstown speak for itself. 

Redwood tree in Queenstown Gardens

All in all I really loved exploring around Queenstown #NotAllWhoWanderAreLost What do ya'll think of Queenstown so far?

Home Again

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I have been pretty under the weather, so getting Friday's post up was not happening. It was good for me to spend a few days reading books and discovering a new TV show The Willis Family. Ya'll should give the show a try. I really loved the music aspect of the show, they are one talented family!

Anywho I wanted to share Friday's Flashback today and it's from my trip back to the states :) I cannot believe a month ago I was squishing these adorable kids!! I miss them heaps!!! I cannot get over how much everybody grew! Talking on FaceTime is one thing, but actually seeing and smooching them is completely different.  On a side note while I was editing these I kept thinking how S looks like a little Shirley Temple, is this just me?

I really enjoyed my time home seeing all my friends and family.  It was quite the whirlwind trip! Some of the highlights for me was visiting my grandma's, seeing The Avengers: Age of Ultron with my bros,  eating ridiculous amounts of my favourite foods (which I most definitely paid for later), snuggling on the couch, and church on Sunday.  It was just so sweet to have a normal Sunday of accidentally coordinating with the little girls, holding E while we sang, and having S say "Fuffy you dance with me hold both my hands" after worship it just melts my heart!!! It's those little things that happen in day to day life that I miss the most.  Especially with little ones because they do grow up so fast and I want to take every opportunity to enrich their lives.  I am very grateful for modern technology I don't know how I could live this far away without FaceTime or email!!

I just baby hand and feet.... especially fat ones :)

I missed this view

Hope ya'll enjoyed the pictures :) It was such a short and sweet time I was able to spend with everybody.  Can't say it enough how grateful I was to go home. I will be getting more South Island pictures up here so stay tuned!!

Arrowtown

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Yesterday's blog post was not happening since I was not feeling well.  Still not quite feeling at my best yet, hopefully some meds and an early night sleep will help :) But before I do that I wanted to share one of my Arrowtown trips with ya'll.

I adore Arrowtown, it is just so charming. Fortunately for me I was able to get there early in the morning thanks to the host family I was staying with :) It was really great to wonder around in the quite hours of the morning and watch the sun rise over the mountains.  I really enjoyed exploring the paths around the river and taking in the breathtaking views. I think my favourite part was being able to capture all of this without heaps of people around. The town felt deserted until right about when I was getting really to leave and that's when all of the tourists came out.  So it was pretty special to feel like I had Arrowtown all to myself for a little while :)

Really cool stump in the Chinese settlement.

The living conditions. 

Well needless to say I really loved touring Arrowtown! I hope ya'll enjoyed the pictures.  More South Island pictures to come!

Welcome to Winter

Hey Ya'll,

Since I am on the other side of the world things are a tad backwards and technically it is winter here :) I am still waiting for it to come to Hawkes Bay, apparently winter is coming though....... eventually.  We have had a few cold snaps and logically I know it will get colder, but until it does I am going to soak in the warm weather while it lasts :) In the meantime I am enjoying the warmer weather with lots of outdoorsy activities and less layers. This is what I wore for the first day of winter here. 

Sweater - JCrew via Goodwill ~$5

Skirt - Now via Presbyterian Op Shop ~$5

Leather Jacket - Sofia Max via Belks ~$25

Shoes - Dexflex via Payless ~$11

Jewellery - via Back By Popular Demand ~$10

I really adored this outfit, I think it was the colourfulness of it that I love the most :) What do ya'll think? Once it gets colder I will share more winter ensembles with ya'll.  I am happy to say that I have heaps of options for winter :) Plus I am stocking up on NZ merino wool in the meantime.  I <3 the challenge of op shopping here.  Slowly but surely I am getting things I am looking for, like today I finally found a basic black merino tshirt for layering and it was $1 #score.  But I am quite content to hold off wearing winter clothes for as long as the weather holds out. 

My Obsession

Hey Ya'll, 

If you follow me on instagram you may see that I am a tad obsessed with the New Zealand sky.  It's just glorious!  The clear blue skies, the plump white clouds, even the moody sky just takes my breath away.  So while sorting through my pictures I came across a few I had taken a while back that I wanted to share.  These were taken at a friends backyard, lucky duckies I know! I was eating dinner and I just kept looking out over that magical New Zealand sky and knew I had to take a picture or two or ten. Needless to say I was grateful I had my dslr on me! Funny story though, I almost fell off their back deck to get the angle I wanted for these pictures. The hazards that come with being a photographer, you will do just about anything to get the shot you want :) I personally think it's well worth it!

What do ya'll think? Sunset, sunrise, and all the time in-between is just breathtaking to me.

"Distance is Temporary, but Love is Permanent"

Hey Ya'll!

Today's Flash Back Friday is from my last minute whirl wind trip to the States :) I still cannot believe 3 weeks ago I was back home and was able to spend time with my family and friends.  It was was very surreal and I still cannot believe I was with everyone. The great thing about modern technology is that I am able to keep in contact with everyone while here in NZ.  I am very grateful for that, it makes the distance seem smaller than being on the other side of the world. While there I did a quick photoshoot and wanted to share some of the adorableness with ya'll :)

I am extremely grateful for the short time that I had with everyone I was able to visit with.  Also that we were able to get in this photoshoot in the mist of all the craziness :)