Homer Tunnel

Hey Ya'll!

Continuing on with my adventure to Milford Sounds I am going to share two quick stops along the way.  Well the drive is just breathtaking if you have not gathered that already.  Just as we were about to pull over at Monkey Creek the fog began to burn off the mountains and the rays from the sun starting streaming through.  It was an amazing site!! During this quick stop off you could fill up your water bottles with some of the purest water in the world. Then we were off to the Homer Tunnel! I was hoping I would be able to see some cheeky Keas there, but sadly none were out :( Quite disappointed about that one.  

I did want to share a bit of information on the Homer Tunnel with ya'll.  The construction of it began in 1935 and finished in 1954.  Yep that's nearly 20 years! The tunnel is 1.2 km long, and is the second longest road tunnel in New Zealand.  Funny thing about New Zealand is that there are not heaps of tunnels; I have only gone through two on my many road trips. More tunnels would be great because you would be able to get to places so much faster, but then you would miss some views.... it's a catch twenty two.....

When we stopped at the Homer Tunnel we only had about 10 minutes to take it all in.  There is a timer that counts down to when the tunnel will open on your end and when you're given the green light you gotta move on through.  So in the short time I had I captured the amazing landscape.  The vibrant green moss growing wild among the rocky landscape, the water and fog flowing down the sides of the mountains concealing its true height was really something to behold.  You feel so small in relation to everything else.  

Well I hope all ya'll back in the States are enjoying the start of fall! I know I am enjoying spring, summer is so close I can taste it! 

Mirror Lakes

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With all the wonderful warmer weather here in the Hawke's Bay I have been getting out heaps hiking, biking, and all sorts of mini adventures.  I am so excited for summer to be here and all the adventures with friends that will bring :)

For now here are some adventures from the South Island :) After leaving Te Anau I had a lovely scenic bus ride. Along the winding roads I saw the swamps that were used as the aerial shots for the Dead Marshes in the Lord of the Rings!! Unfortunately I was not able to capture that from the bus :(  Although it was pretty epic and yes I geeked out :) Anywho once we drove for a bit longer we stopped at the Mirror Lakes.  The stop was quick and a bit chaotic because you have other tour buses stopping simultaneously with about 50 people per bus.  So I prepared myself, I got my camera all ready and then rushed off the bus to see some amazing scenery.

You could never tell by these photos but there was over 100 people at this stop and I threw some elbows errr I mean waited patiently and used my manners to get to the front :) The lake was just breathtaking.  It sits perfectly still, unmoving and unshaking.  Even when surrounded by the chaos of tourists crowding round to get a glimpse of its majesty.  This was a good reminder to me to just be still, that I do not have to be constantly doing something. Often in the chaos of life we forget to be still and feel like we have to have everything planned out. When in reality that striving to constantly be doing something is not healthy.  Taking a step back and spending time in God's Word and learning from that is what we should be striving for.  Definitely something I am working on daily.

After a short 10ish minutes it was time to get back on the bus. Then we were on our way to the next stop :) More to come later. Hope ya'll enjoyed the pictures!

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Threads

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Today I have a special post to share! Ya'll know how I looooooooove op shopping (translation - thrift shopping) So I wanted to share one of my favourite shops in the Hawke's Bay. It's where I have gotten pretty much all of my designer pieces and I adore them.  So without farther ado...

Threads!!!

Threads was established in the end of April 2015 at 110 Karamu Road North just down from ANZ bank and next to Stanton Print. Stanton Print actually divided up part of their factory space to make room for it.   Originally Threads was an online venture, however due to the outpouring of donations they opened up a physical store.  One of my favourite parts of this op shop is that it runs on donations from about 7 churches across the North Island of New Zealand.  I love the variety you get from the different regions! Another very awesome thing about this shop is all the profits go to support missions work.  I love that! New Zealand has a small Christian population and I love that Threads helps to support the Gospel being spread. Threads also supports Veronicas Place.

Threads operates with 5 volunteer staff who are super awesome and helpful.  The shop is well organised, neat, and clean.  All the clothes are pre washed so you don't have "that" op shop smell (all you op shoppers know what I am talking about). 

 

 I also wanted to give a quick shout out to Sheep Knits.  My friend is the owner and is the one who taught me to knit.  So yeah she is pretty awesome in my book.  If you get a chance pop into Threads and buy her amazing work :)

To end I just wanted to share a few outfits that you can purchase at Threads :)

Pink top size M $5
Skirt Kilt size M $20
Shoes Garage size 8 $5

Top Marco Polo size S $7
Skirt Gitane size 16 $10
Shoes Hearsay size 8 $6

Red Shirt Jacque-E size small $15
Under shirt Kathmandu size s/m $4
Liberated by Colvin size 10 $10
David Elman size 7/7.5 $15

Dress Jessica size 10 $15
Shoes Garage size 7 $3

Threads hours are Tuesday through Friday 9-3 and Saturday 10-2.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page as well!

 *I receive no compensation for this post I just really love shopping at Threads.

Te Anau

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Blogging has not exactly been in the forefront of my mind recently, lots has been going on here on this side of the world.  As some of you may know I recently lost my Grandma to brain cancer.  So I have been trying to occupy my time with adventuring, spending time with friends, and knitting amongst other things.  Still all of those pre occupations do not stop the grief from coming.  Even though I thought I had mentally prepared myself for it, I am still surprised by the waves of grief that hit. I am definitely grateful for the amazing support system and friends God has provided.  They have been a great help over the past few weeks.  But I know I have the ultimate support in Christ and that I am never alone.

I am going to try to get back to blogging on a more regular schedule soon. For now I wanted to share these pictures of Te Anau. It is a cute little town on the way to Milford Sounds.  I especially enjoyed the views from the lake.  The South Island landscape still takes my breath away. The whole drive was stunning.  One of these days I am going to have to drive it myself so I can stop wherever I want and take pictures :)

I hope ya'll enjoyed these! I am going to try to get some more posts up in the next few weeks so stay tuned.  

Velvet and Lace

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It has been a crazy couple of weeks! I have been pretty busy with editing from shoots and having adventures....in my car...which I can drive alone #score! I'm pretty proud of myself for catching on so quick *grins*. I love hitting the backroads and getting lost in the landscape while blasting the stereo.  It is those little things that make a foreign country feel like home :)

Well I have to make this short and sweet because I am about to head out to do some op shopping and pick up some NZ wool.  I'm super pumped about getting wool, since picked up knitting this past week as well. Yeah I have been one busy women! So now I need some real wool to make something awesome.... not sure what exactly yet. I am open to suggestions :) 

Anywho amongst the business over the past couple weeks I have managed to sort through my catalogues of pictures and get them in order.  While doing so I have found more fashion pictures just as I thought there were no more. These ones are from last fall after doing some shopping in Annapolis. Thanks to my friend I got some outfit shots just as the light was fading :)

Cardigan - Target (no clue had it for ages)

Shirt - Banana Republic ~$25 (after gift card)

Hat - Antique Emporium ~$15

Pants - DKNY via BJ's ~$20

Shoes - Lucky Brand via Belks 

So glad I was able to get some shots of this outfit I especially love this lace shirt with the velvet green hat. Definitely one of my favourite combinations! Well I hope ya'll have an awesome weekend! 

Denim and Plaid

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Well I am 99.9% sure that this is the last of my back log of outfits from the previous fall/winter.... I think :) 

Just for the record this was a pretty awesome day! After these pictures were taken we all piled in the van and headed off to see the Christmas lights at Flat Iron Farm. They do have have more than just lights.  Since it is a farm they also have animals to pet, horses to ride, a really cool display of antique toys and obviously the lights.  It's free admission, you have to pay for the pony rides and pictures with Santa though. The whole atmosphere is very cool. It is a really great family outing!

Anywho onto the outfit! I wanted to dress in lots of layers because I knew we would be outside for a fair bit.  Being outside was pretty much guaranteed since there was an animal petting area and the horses :) 

Green Hat - Antique Emporium ~$15

Leather Jacket - Sophia Max via Belks ~$30

Gold Cardigan - New York and Company via Goodwill ~$5

Plaid Top - Express, borrowed from Mom 

Denim Skirt - Thrifted

Leggings - Lauren Conrad via Kholes ~$10

Brown Boots - Steve Madden via Nordstrom ~$100

Belt - Royden via The Clothes Box ~$5

Garnet Ring - gift from Grandma

Diamond Infinity Ring  - The Grapevine Antiques and Collectables  ~ $75 (I actually won a gift certificate :))

Midi Ring - Not sure possibly Oil City Antique Mall...

Have any of ya'll ever been to the light, what's your favourite part? If not you should go this Christmas season! Have a happy weekend!

"What Great Adventure Ever Plays Out Just the Way You've Planned It"

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This is a pretty special blog post for me to write.  Six months ago I started this incredible unexpected  journey to New Zealand.  It still feels so surreal that I have been living in New Zealand for that long; I cannot quite believe it!  Today I wanted to take the time to share how this whole amazing adventure unfolded, what I have done and what I cannot wait to do. As well as share some of my favourite photographs so far :)

It all started back when I first found out my friends parents were going to New Zealand for three months to fill the pulpit at a church. When I heard the news, me being me, I jokingly asked, "can I go too?" That simple joking question has changed my life. I was told it couldn't hurt to ask and soon began the process of inquiring if it was even possible for me to accompany them. When all was said and done and I found out I was able to go I was thrilled! The kids in my life were not so thrilled, but I think they kinda came around to me being gone for a three month adventure.  I never even imagined I would get to travel to New Zealand and explore it for three days let alone three months! It was always one of those countries that would be really great to see, but probably not feasible for the foreseeable future.  So I was incredibly excited to have the opportunity to go. God's timing is perfect :) And so began the process of preparing for a grand adventure: there was thrift shopping to do, gadgets to buy, mapping out of places to see in NZ, and spending heaps of time with people before I left.

 

The journey was long, but after a full 24 hours of travel I stepped foot on NZ ground and took in the warm morning summer sun.  Once I was able to feel human again I could not wait to get out and see this beautiful country. I started out in Hastings exploring the local areas, and being able to borrow a bike really helped me see even more of Hawke's Bay.  During this time I began shoring up what exactly I was going to see and when. I was able to go to Christchurch, Queenstown, Kaikura, Milford Sounds, Wellington, and many other little stops along the way.  I loved every bit of the adventure. As time passed in those initial three months, God was opening my eyes to staying a bit longer. So I began contemplating extending my stay something completely against my Type A planner personality.  In the end I  took a giant leap of faith, I  cancelled my airline tickets home, and providentially started my job the very day I was supposed to leave to go back to the States.

I know for my loved ones back home there was some sadness about me staying since that was most definitely not part of the (my) plan. While making the decision to stay was not an easy one to make, I have not for one second I regretted staying. I will admit to moments of sadness and homesickness. Due in part to feeling like I left so many loose ends back home: like not packing up my things for the upcoming move (thanks Mom and Dad for doing that :)), to not feeling like I had a proper goodbye.  Since I was only supposed to be gone for three months the goodbyes where a more like a  "hey have fun! We will see you soon three months, it will fly by!" So when a family emergency brought me home, I made sure to say my goodbyes to everyone because I knew it would be a long time before I would see them again.  And this time I had to make the hugs and cuddles last so they had to be plentiful, long and sweet.

During my time here so far I have been blessed to see more of New Zealand than some Kiwi's see in there lifetime here.  I have soaked in the summer sun, swam in the Pacific Ocean, been in awe of the majestic mountains, enjoyed views from scenic peaks, drank NZ wine, put a few K's on my converse, felt the warm sun on a beautiful autumn day, gotten lost in the blue waters of rivers, walked where Stryder walked, and been surprised by how nature blossoms even in the dead of winter.  I have been stretched, I have stood on my own two feet, I have stood firm in my beliefs and convictions,  I have adopted some Kiwi speak, ate amazing food, and made some really great friends.

Now begins the second part of the journey here. It begins with me having a car, opening up so many places for me to explore. And yes I am planning my adventures. The first one is learning to drive a manual :) Really though I am enjoying this unexpected journey to this country.  Words cannot describe how grateful I am to be here.  God knew that I needed this journey.  I needed to get out and stand on my faith, to trust in Him, to worry less, to slow down, to stand firm, and to love people more. I don't know how long I will be here, I am hoping for longer.  But while I would love that I want to go where God is going to take me.

There is so much more to see of this beautiful country. It is a grand adventure here on the other side of the world and I would not have it any other way.  #NotAllWhoWanderAreLost #LiveWholeHearted