Breakfast goals: freshly baked croissants and walnut sourdough from BELLBIRD Baked Goods. Disclaimer: although the watermelon was delicious, it was TEN bucks! Holy moly, eating food-bloggy ain’t pocket-friendly! Who else is counting down to Summer?
Godley Head desu. 
We were freezing, our smiles are fake.
Last week I opened the pantry in the morning to grab muesli and happened to spot this cutie pootie thing! A boiled egg holder (yes, such a thing exists) that I spontaneously bought (precisely for it’s cutie pootie aspect) during my Japan days. Take.Me.Back.
Pimping out my work locker *love heart eyes*
Vegan and gluten-free dessert from The Lotus Heart *more love heart eyes*
New Zealand
We Will Love
How is it July already?!
The best way to spend a Saturday morning in Christchurch? Utopia Ice with your lover.
Followed by a romantic stroll through Mona Vale , of course. 
Is it just me or is this the weirdest thing ever? A duck in a tree?! Now you don’t see that everyday (or do you?)
Another angle…
Even in winter there are roses!
His and hers, Nandos.
Soroosh’s super cool photography.
My favourite dinner is breakfast. And my favourite person doesn’t mind (yay).
Packed his bento like a good Japanese wifey <3
Love Is A Believing Creature
All photos by Soroosh:
(Lake Tekapo)
(Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown)
Okay, this one’s by me hehe (notice the Dr. Pepper? #Merica)
(Millenium Hotel, Queenstown)
(Hyde Park, Sydney)
(Castle Hill Koala Sanctuary, Sydney)
(City Centre, Queenstown)
(Skyline, Queenstown)
Celebrating our one year anniversary at Strawberry Fare, Christchurch, followed by a hilarious night at Scared Scriptless.
I Am Growing Flowers…
in the darkest parts of my heart, for if light ever enters, it would know where to start. ~Noor Unnahar
On Sunday evening, S and I went to The Tannery to watch one my favourite musicians, whom I first stumbled upon busking in Queenstown some 5 years ago (he busking not me) at live music venue, Blue Smoke. Of course, Graeme James was absolutely phenomenal – people like him make me wish I was at least slightly musical. On the contrary, S and I were not in top form.
You see, since his arrival, things have been pretty difficult. Getting used to one another’s presence after six months of separation takes work. Funnily enough, and I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this, Lifa (my Israeli brother with the beautiful Japanese wife) contacted me with a very resonating message a couple days ago: “Are you guys still madly in love?” he asked, followed by: “When Aki came to meet me in Israel she suddenly wasn’t sure anymore…I would blame it on me coming late to pick her up from the airport but you know…doubts started and all. Eventually we passed that but what I’m saying is that surprises can happen.”
In my case, there have been no doubts, none whatsoever at all. Just disappointments. Allow me to explain: for 6 entire months I had looked forward to his arrival. So much so, that I had booked and cancelled 3 different cafe’s for our first place to go to after the airport (I couldn’t decide which would impress him the most). Next, I’d planned our weekends, and week nights, and basically, every minute of which I was not at work. We’d missed out on so much, now that he was finally here, I wanted us to do it all! But as the old yiddish proverb goes: “man plans and god laughs.” At first S was extremely jet-lagged, then poor guy fell sick due to climate change, then I became sick (both physically and emotionally) due to overly attached girlfriend shenanigans (haha). And, it’s also winter, which means everything is just that much harder to begin with. So, with my grand schemes down the drain, and my expectations unmet, I found myself rather disappointed.
And this is where we chose love. Realising that if we wanted to be more than picture-perfect happy, we needed to put in the effort. So, as kindly as we could, we communicated our feelings, and as selflessly as we could, we acknowledged one another’s. It was an arduous process. It is an arduous process. I can’t say I’ll ever master it. But what I can say is that it was the rain (and shine) which made our relationship blossom. For the sincere way S offered me solace, made me fall in love with his beautiful soul all over again. In the words of Abdu’l-Bahá: “where there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time.”
What Do You Treasure?
I was SO nervous!
Finally in Christchurch *love heart eyes*
First stop, Black & White Coffee Cartel where a little printed sign advised us there’d be no avocado (two words which should never be together) this season. Alas, our bagels were delicious and S particularly liked the NZ bacon nomnom.
Next, one for the bucket-list. Though rather simple, I had always dreamt of visiting the Riccarton Farmers’ Market with bae. It is truly one of my most favourite places in Christchurch.
If tea is a hug in a cup, porridge is a cuddle in a bowl, I say. Alll better. Full tummies and grateful hearts. I got the rsf, V, and df option and S ordered the spiced apple, toffee sauce, and walnut crumble porridge.
When S sent the above photo to his family group chat, his brother asked if that was an egg atop my porridge…Hehe nope! Just honey and yoghurt.
Things have been pretty surreal, neither of us can actually believe S is finally here. Last night we dined at Tutto Bene. The food was good and the company even greater. We had a lovely French waitress and S mentioned the wonderful paradox of having a French waitress, working at an Italian restaurant in New Zealand serving a table of Persian, Kiwi, and American diners. How beautiful is that? Unity in diversity.
I Haven’t Been Blogging Because…
Loved ones, I can’t even sleep! Though never fear, for I simply cannot wait to start a lifelong of adventure with Soroosh (and YOU!).
To Be Human Is A Powerful, Profound Thing That Deserves A Lot Of Patience.
This sweet card was made by my even sweeter five year old student. Did you lovely people have a memorable Mother’s Day? This year I decided not to make a big Facebook announcement for my mama, instead I wrote this (incase you and I aren’t Facebook friends):
I don’t want to post a generic message about how I love my mum and how lucky I am to have her (which I do and which I am) this Mother’s Day. Instead, I want to acknowledge all of my friends who either live far away from their mothers (I know from first-hand experience how hard that is) and those whose mothers are no longer with us. I wish you calmness and strength <3
Mum’s breakfast at Untouched World – a lovely modern cafe with high-quality ingredients and a romantic fire.
Absolutely in love with my Dr. Seuss preschool teacher uniforms because I absolutely love him! Who is/was your favourite childhood author? (A question posed to me by Soroosh the other day to which I actually replied Paul Jennings).
Kids say write the darndest things!
“Stained glass” butterflies made with black cardboard paper, coloured tissue paper and pipe cleaners. Super easy, are instructions needed?
New favourite CHCH eatery! This $12 split pea soup (topped with caramelised onions) served alongside Bellbird bread and carrot butter from Gatherings was 10/10.
It Looked Like The World Was Covered In A Cobbler Crust Of Brown Sugar And Cinnamon.
2 ripe bananas
2 free-range eggs
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup broken walnut pieces
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 180oC
In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, pour into a silicon muffin tray, and top with some sesame seeds (for extra pizzaz). Bake until nice and golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 littlies. (Mom’s recipe BTW)
What is it they say? Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life! HASHTAGblessed. 
Playing pizza pretend at work.
For my next DYKWTI (Do You Know What This Is?) Savvy Tokyo article: kinako smoothie bowl – stay tuned! 
Every guy thinks that every girl’s dream is to find a perfect man…WRONG, every girl’s dream is to eat anything she wants without getting fat!
Guess what? Mandy says vegan waffles coming to Utopia Hot (Christchurch Farmer’s Market) very soon! Though these regular organic waffles were the shizz as well – served with Black Boy peach and blueberry compote, whipped coconut cream, caramelized walnuts, and melted dark chocolate – yes, I may or may not have requested everythang.
Mona Vale is so beautiful. Thanks to my amazing brother-in-law for suggesting we walk it after the market. So lovely. So autumnal. So romantic. 
Speaking of Autumnal, here’s a super easy seasonal activity for your little munchkins: collect leaves, decorate! 
And for Mother’s Day? An easy peasy tea-riffic (see what I did there?) 3D tea cup card made from a corner piece of a round egg carton and a curled pipe-cleaner. 
“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” (Washington Irving)
Little By Little, A Little Becomes A Lot – Tanzanian Proverb
It’s actually coffee.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” (Maya Angelou)
Eating organic fruit be like…
Winter ready! (Mum will be proud to see I removed the towels this time! lol)
Mandy continues to amaze me. Here is a woman who puts her entire heart into her work. She is hardworking. She is creative. And she is passionate. All of the good things. Pictured is Belgian dark chocolate and roasted hazelnut ice-cream, baked apple and cinnamon roll ice-cream, spiced Black Boy Peach sorbet, blackcurrant coconut nice-cream, and last but not least, fejoia sorbet. Have you non-Kiwi’s tried fejoia fruit before? It’s a NZ speciality and saaaahhh goood.
Self love.
CHCH has been having some epic skies as of late…I wonder, how are the skies where you are?
I got to go out for dinner with my one and only sister the other night and it was nothing but lovely. I am so grateful to have her in my life. In the words of Toni Morrison, “Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be.”
PS that’s “ceviche” AKA Latin American sashimi in coconut milk and lime from Mexicanos Christchurch.
A Kindly Tongue Is The Lodestone Of The Hearts Of Men.
…It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding… ~Bahá’u’lláh
Ham, cheese, and slaw buns with steamed corn, corn chips, and cookies for a picnic at beautiful Ashley Gorge – can’t believe I’d never been here before. So so beautiful. Definitely taking oosh. 
“When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love.” ~’Abdu’l-Bahá 
Some of the tutors, participants, and wannabe chefs.
The day I made nachos, I got a lot of moans and groans on first glance from the boys for it being vegetarian. However, once they’d tasted it, they kept coming back for more (yay!).
Really super weird handling raw chicken but I think I did good. Oven curry (is that a thing? Or am I just super clever?) with chicken drumsticks (duh), carrot, kumara, and red potato.
Beautiful NZ.
iaccidentlyatethewholething 