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)

When A Woman Becomes Her Own Best Friend Life Is Easier

Except my momma is my best-friend. Here’s a lovely green-smoothie bowl recipe I made for her and I earlier this week: simply blend 1 banana, 1 kiwifruit, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut yoghurt and 1 tsp cinnamon until smooth then top with favourite toppings. When I sent this photo to Soroosh, as I often do of my random daily snaps, he said: “tell your momma the days of smoothie-bowls are over, I’m coming for it!” Yep, don’t blame him. Twas delish.

In addition to purelyinstagramworthyflowers, I topped them with my homemade gluten-free muesli which is basically a concoction of mixed nuts and seeds, buckwheat puffs, brown rice puffs and quinoa flakes – all individually bought and mixed together.

Posted this fatty on Instagram. My friend Chris commented: “Garfield, is that you?”

If you haven’t read Flow magazine, you’re missing something big. So lovely, so delicate, and so inspiring. 
BearLion Foods have the best salads in Christchurch. This is a fact. Pictured is a mix of two wholesome vegetarian salads bought on my to work from the Riccarton Bush Saturday Market and enjoyed on my lunch-break in sunny Sumner. 
When it comes to organic food stores, I lack serious self-control. I want to buy everything. The trouble is, I can hardly afford one thing! I think this was $6 something. ARGH why so expensive? Alas, it was heavenly. So good that I recreated it myself the next day ;) Simply warm 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 2 tsp raw cacao powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp cardamom powder, and some orange zest in a small pot on medium heat. Once hot, stir in 1-2 tsp of honey or coconut sugar.


Heaven is a place on earth. UTOPIA ICE is simply the best. I mean come on, where else can you get 5+ vegan options including: passionfruit coconut ice-cream and raspberry and saffron sorbet?!

Sorry for the copyright Flow Magazine but I just couldn’t agree more! “Coming out of  a period of scarcity, we have now reached a point where we have too many things, and it’s damaging our health.” True dat. Pad Thai selfie from my family’s all-time favourite: Zab Thai.

In case you missed my infamous bathroom selfies with the glorious towel backgrounds.

Good Art Is Not What It Looks Like, But What It Does To Us.

Apologies for the spamming of posts – especially to my new daily growing followers (big thank you!!) but I needed to free up the storage on my phone.

Hey Rick, if candy-filled streets aren’t enough to lure you to my homeland, I don’t know what are!

I’ve always said we are so lucky to have Hagley <3


This one’s for you Randy!
Ducks chilaxing cos ’tis the season. 
Bircher bowls from Posh Porridge for breakfast with my darling sister. 
Takeaway healthy salads from BearLion Foods for lunch at home with my annoying parents <3

Miami Valley Pottery

Ever since our thanksgiving trip to Yellow Springs, Ohio, I have been itching to write this post.

I was introduced to Naysan’s work before I was introduced to Naysan’s person. For an entire month, I basked in the pleasure of using his beautifully hand-crafted earthenware in Soroosh’s home. In the mornings, I drank hot coffee out of his cozy mugs and in the evenings I ate various delicacies from his alluring dinner plates. Though Naysan’s creations were not the only crockery available, they were the only ones I chose. Why? Because as I later explained to the Artist himself, something about his work made my gastronomy experience, magical. I’m serious. It was as if I could taste the love, the passion and the hard-work.

It was during this time that I was also reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic book. So, I was firing (excuse the pun) with ideas on arts, crafts, and overall creative-living in general.

When I finally visited Miami Valley Pottery and came face-to-face with both Naysan and a room full of his work, I was in awe. I still am. Here was a man who had dared to enjoy. To have followed his calling (in a materialistic world where most art and artists are not approved), trusted it, and lovingly and diligently brought it forth both for himself and the world around him to enjoy. And in doing, he became successful. Successful in the sense of living an amplified life, an expanded life, a happier life and a hell of a lot more interesting life than most. As a thriving young artist, Naysan and his everyday creative life inspired me to be more.

Here are a few pictures of his works, including a snap of his bathroom >.<

To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it. ~Osho
Arts, crafts and sciences uplift the world of being, and are conducive to its exaltation. Knowledge is as wings to man’s life, and a ladder for his ascent. Its acquisition is incumbent upon everyone. ~Bahá’u’lláh
So this, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you? ~Elizabeth Gilbert
In this wonderful new age, art is worship. The more thou strivest to perfect it, the closer wilt thou come to God. What bestowal greater than this, that one’s art should be even as the act of worshipping the Lord? That is to say, when thy fingers grasp the paint brush, it is as if thou wert at prayer in the Temple.~’Abdu’l-Bahá

My New Favorite Movie

Friends! I have officially seen my most favorite ever movie. It’s called Tampopo, it’s Japanese and it’s extremely funny. And charming. And saliva-inducing. Oh man. This film is the shizzlemanizzle of all movies. It is a black and white 1985 film which has been given a new 4k restoration in the past few weeks. I liked it because it had something for everybody. From steamy sex scenes, to ramen close-ups to Tekken fighting. Though I must say, being an old film (and Japanese) the film did contain several unPC (nonPC?) scenes. I’m talking animal cruelty and borderline child pornography. That sounds bad… it wasn’t that bad. Well, I don’t think… Either that or I am a horrible person for laughing.

My love and I watched Tampopo at The Belcourt here in Nashville. So, I’m guessing if you want to see it, you’ll have to look up your local artsy theatre or something. I also enjoyed it because I could understand 50% of the Japanese. Go me!

What else? Tomorrow I’m leaving. I’ll be soaring Nashville to LA to Auckland to Christchurch with very short stops in between (yay!). Please wish me a safe flight and be sure to keep reading for before long, I’ll be posting A LOT of NZ scenery.

PS Tampopo rates 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, just saying.

I Am Always Doing Things I Can’t Do…

…This is how I get to do them. (Pablo Picasso)




Everybody has the same energy potential. The average person wastes his in a dozen little ways. I bring mine to bear on one thing only: my paintings, and everything else is sacrificed to it…myself included. (Pablo Picasso)


Without great solitude, no serious work is possible. (Pablo Picasso)

Jacqueline Picasso or Jacqueline Roque (24 February 1927 – 15 October 1986) is best known as the muse and second wife of Pablo Picasso. Their marriage lasted 11 years until his death, during which time he created over 400 portraits of her, more than any of Picasso’s other loves.

If I Don’t Have Red, I Use Blue.

Today’s plan was to visit The Musee Picasso. Unfortunately, it was closed. Google tells me they re-open tomorrow. So. Stay tuned.

Instead, I walked through the old town, familiarising myself. I tried to look. Really, look. As an artist would, for you (and for me, too). In the words of Sinclair Lewis: “He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen something; he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little; and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen nothing at all.”

Here’s what I found:
If I don’t have red, I use blue. (Pablo Picasso)
Hey sis! I’m thinking of you.
Bread lines.
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. (Pablo Picasso)Look ladies (you too, Anisa) a “big” beautiful woman in 1927 by Henri Mattise. The “ideal” woman is an ever-changing phenomenon and we don’t have to keep up. Nomad, a man of letters looking out over the Mediterranean. As Anita’s mom tells me, it represents openness and unity. A world citizen. More info HERE.

I’ve only YOU in mind, Lavanya. HASHTAGginger.
I made a bulgur lentil and herb salad. Served with dark olive baguette, cherry tomatoes, greens, walnuts and fresh mozzarella. All organic.

The More I See, The Less I Know For Sure

Despite the bright lights and overpopulation, Shinjuku (housing the world’s busiest railway station) is surprisingly quiet. Over-photographed Shibuya crossing is surprisingly small in size and Harajuku isn’t bursting with Harajuku girls. This is why travelling is important. We need to SEE for ourselves.

I have decided what I like most of Tokyo is its diversity. Diversity is the life of this city. From its tacos to its art aquariums, it’s buzzing. 

The view from our free hotel – thanks to Mina’s amazing organising skills.
Guzman y Gomez – an Australian Mexican-food chain in Japan (go figure).

100% organic milk soft-serve from SOFTTREE in Laforet Harajuku.




Harajuku desu.


Over 8000 goldfish.











The happiest place on earth.

I can’t stop. I won’t stop.

Shibuya desu.

Mom Was Right

Dear Ones:

I’ve realised my mom was right. I have been blogging too much, working too much, exploring too much, thinking too much, exercising too much and plain pushing myself to exhaustion. When she first said it, of course I disagreed with her. “You don’t understand, I’m FINE,” I said. And we all know what that “fine” means. But a simple comment by Yuka today on how I’d mistakingly written “orange” in place of “apple” in a previous post,  finally touched the right nerve.

Believe me, I’ve had the best of intentions. I’ve blogged everyday because I enjoy doing it but also because I believe it will one day, some way or another, make me a real writer. For the past two years, I have not stopped. Even now, on holiday! I am walking, thinking, over-thinking, exploring, photographing, blogging, and freelancing. Then I write a post about holiday blues. I am so silly.

I don’t want to be like this anymore.

So, I have made a choice. The great Bahai leader, Abdu’l-Baha says:

“One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight when it is cast on a flat mirror, but once the sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thus is it necessary to focus one’s thinking on a single point so that it will become an effective force.”

In short, I am finally going to take that overdue holiday. I am going to enjoy my upcoming travels to their fullest and I am going to live in the moment. This means photographing less, blogging less, hopefully thinking less and overall, chilling the F out. I guess my only concern is losing followers but I know that my health comes first and that this way, contrary to my previous thinking, I can become a better writer. Something to do with quality over quantity, I guess.

In the words of Anne Lamott:  “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you”.

Again, thank you for being there.

The Age Of Pokemon Go

My mother snaps and Yasu’s mother plays Pokemon Go. I don’t think I need to say anything else.

A picture diary starting with my breakfast for the day, then our drive to the ocean (during which Yasu’s mother played Pokemon Go) then what we did at the ocean (draw) and later our dinner together (which I cooked) and last, a screenshot of the goodnight snap from my mom.
Smoothie recipe HERE
Curry recipe HERE