The #1 question people asked me when they heard I was going to honeymoon in New Zealand was "Are you going to Hobbiton?" or some iteration to asking if I was planning to visit where Lord of the Rings was filmed. If you know me at all, or have kept up with this blog, you… Continue reading Where we stayed: Not a farmer, but I like the countryside
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" I silently screamed so as not to make a scene around all the other people. I've never stepped on hot coal, but I imagine this is what it would feel like. I quickly ran towards the ocean to soak my feet in the cold water. Our pool was definitely too hot. Like,… Continue reading The crowds and camaraderie at Hot Water Beach
It was sunny in Seattle on Sunday and instead of leaving Seattle and taking a ferry ride, my husband and I left Seattle and went to the snow. We've owned our own pair of snowshoes since December but with all the traveling in the last few months, hadn't made it out to the mountains to… Continue reading Embracing (a sunny) winter wonderland
I was in shock when my husband told me what had just happened in Christchurch as we were making dinner Thursday evening. It was Friday afternoon in New Zealand and the Christchurch community was living a nightmare. Bryce and I were just on vacation in New Zealand last month and visited Christchurch. I couldn't believe… Continue reading Christchurch — just my thoughts
Daylight savings time always messes with my body. I hate losing an hour of sleep. But, I guess the payoff is that you have an hour of extra daylight at the end of the day. This past Sunday, on Daylight Savings Day, Bryce and I decided to make full use of the wonderful sunny weather… Continue reading A quiet, friendly, place
"It must be hard to be back to normal life," my dental hygienist said to me as I had a mouthful of water sloshing around. My whole family goes to the same dentist. Yes, my mom, dad, brother and my husband! My husband also recently referred a friend to our dentist so I guess we're… Continue reading The honeymoon is not over
We started and ended our New Zealand trip in Auckland, mainly for convenience's sake since we were flying in and out of Auckland Airport from Oahu, Hawaii. I had big dreams to see as much of the South Island as possible so we didn't spend a whole lot of time in Auckland, which is on… Continue reading Auckland: I could live here
If I had to pick my favorite food, it would be cheese, closely followed by matcha parfaits. Although, I really love anything matcha. Matcha tea. Matcha lattes. Matcha pound cake. Matcha roll cake. Matcha cookies. Matcha mochi. You get the idea. It's hard to find good matcha though. I am in no means a matcha… Continue reading Will travel for matcha
otter travel more 