The Best Ice-cream in Christchurch!

Mandy’s baby: roasted plum (from their garden) and cinnamon oat crumble. 
Belgium milk chocolate and marshmallow.

Dark chocolate and sea-salt sorbet. Vegan and delishasssss!

Coconut and black sesame seed. It’s vegan everybody! And my new favorite. Life is so sweet.

I was so good you guys! Just look at these teeny tiny scoops. Plus, I think me eating the ice-cream is great advertisement, don’t you think? Here we have three vegan coconut-cream based ice-creams: coconut, blueberry and vanilla, coconut and dark chocolate, and coconut and black sesame seed. Send help!

This Is How You Get Unstuck: You Reach.

“You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known—and even that is an understatement.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald) Friends, I find nothing more romantic than these letters. I could easily quote these lovers for the remainder of this post but I’ll resist. A side note: often when I take such photos of my breakfast and things on this decaying picnic table in our backyard, my tootsies make an appearance forcing me to impatiently start over, this time standing in the most awkwardly unnatural position so as to hide them. 
Speaking of F. Scott and Zelda, four months ago, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Hotel Belle Rives where the couple stayed in the year 1925. Unable to speak French and unaware of Antibes’ transportation systems, I decided to walk there from my accommodation. An hour later, I arrived sweaty and in my gym gear. To my surprise, I was welcomed by the gentleman porter with such hospitality as if I were Zelda herself!  This left me speechless. In a dream-like state, I walked around the bar, snapped a couple pictures and vowed to return again before my stay in Antibes was over.

Once back at my accommodation, I emailed the General Manager, expressing my gratitude to the incredibly hospitable porter. He, Lucas, replied by inviting me and a friend back for coffee, croissants and a private tour of the establishment. I don’t know if it was the ambience or what, but here Anita’s mom and I drank the best coffee we’ve ever drank ever.

The photo above and the photo below are of the views from the hotel’s best room (unbelievably dare in the summer). Lovely Lucas said I could honeymoon there on mate’s rates. I wonder if he’d also cover my plane ticket? (hehe).

Back to reality (below) which is pretty darn good with no room for complaints: I helped and will continue to help for the long weekend, my beautiful friend Mandy sell her handmade ice-cream and sorbets. It was a dream job and nothing less.


Some beetroot salad and avocado before eating sorry I mean selling ice-cream. 
“All these soft, warm nights going to waste when I ought to be lying in your arms under the moon – the dearest arms in all the world – darling arms that I love so to feel around me – How much longer – before they’ll be there to stay? When I get home again, you’ll certainly have a most awful time ever moving me one inch from you -”

Sea salt caramel and popcorn, vanilla bean, blueberry, mint, Greek yoghurt and cherry compote, peach and lemon sorbet (vegan), rhubarb and strawberry sorbet (vegan), coconut keffir raspberry (vegan), coconut and dark chocolate (vegan). 
Bliss.#UtopiaIce

The Best Thing To Hold Onto In Life Is Each Other

Today I went to the Lyttleton Farmers’ Market with my mother. And she tried everything. She ate olives and smoked salmon (not together). She tried a piece of a Brussels waffle, a chunk of a cookie and a slice of apricot. At one point, her eyes failing her, she reached INTO a bowl of creamy hummus, which she mistook as the creamy interior of a clay bowl and picked at its garnish! Eventually God saved me (and the testers) for her precious legs began to hurt and her head started craving coffee. After our coffee break which also turned into our lunch break because all the sitting and relaxing made her empty stomach super hungry, I suggested we visit the beach. At the beach, we took a 20minute trail by the water and all I thought about there and then was how badly I wish Soroosh were with me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be ungrateful or anything but this long-distance thing is killing me.

Our Japanese Guests’ Last Day

Breakfast at Strawberry Fare, walk at Taylor’s Mistake and afternoon relaxing at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. And just like that, we said sayonara.

Has the owners of Strawberry Fare changed? It wasnt as good as I remembered it…

One of Juri’s 10000 selfies.
My brother in law living on the edge. 
They said this pig reminded them of the Studio Ghibli animation, Spirited Away.Monkey love.

My Wish For You Is That You Continue

…continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. -Maya Angelou
Real-life fruit ninja.

It’s getting hot in here!
This is my gorgeous sis. She’s always “liking” and sharing my stuff (hint hint). 
So what do y’all think of NZ, then?


Back to my favorite ice-cream joint of all time (now serving various dairy-free options)! All hand-made and all with ample love. Now, I know this because I know the family behind the ice-cream. And believe me when I say they’re just as delicate and just as sweet.

There are so many new Christchurch cafes! I just can’t keep up but I am trying. This is Park Ranger on Riccarton road. When I drive past, it always seems busy. I wonder if it’s just a phase? Like as was Yoghurt Story? Anyways, mama and I truly did LOVE their coffee (and almond milk availability) but the biscotti..oh the biscotti it almost broke my teeth. Yeah, yeah, biscotti is always hard, you tell me. But this guys was extreme. 
Last but not least, vegan Thai green curry. Nothing like cooking for a loved one. Love you mommy xx

Welcome To The Good Life

Nestle rules Spain. Kind of sad because I hear they exploit child workers.


Wholegrain Special K with wild fruit picked by little hands.


A traditional convenience store.

And I thought Japan had strange vending machines…This thing makes fresh orange juice!

Okay, things just got weirder! This one’s for fresh milk :O

What did I say? The good life.

Went for a bicycle ride with Jose and the kids and stumbled upon fresh grapes (white and black).


On the way home, we visited their elderly neighbour, a sweet woman in a floral dress, to ask for parsley for a dish we were to prepare later. When I casually told Jose her house smelt delicious, he asked her what she was having for lunch that day to which she did this:


I still can’t believe how much fresh, organic and FREE fruit there is in Europe. So, our favorite activity (and by that, I mean MY favorite activity) is sourcing and eating it.


Tonight we were invited to a typical summertime Spanish BBQ AKA pork fest. I made this vegan platter (hehe). #changingtheworldonevegetabledishatatime.

On Honeymoon Alone

I can’t believe I’m living here. I want to cancel all of my future travel plans and stay here forever. Seriously, how can such a place exist? It’s so romantic it hurts.

The black dish is used to make a giant paella.
Forever alone.


In Japan, it was vending machines, bicycles and noren. In Spain, it’s doors, cats and benches.

Jose and Bea insisted I photograph this bench. They love how it has been levelled to fit the slope of the street.

Just like the Before Sunset series.

This is Noah, Hector and Sara’s cousin. Their mother and Noah’s mother are sisters. In the short time that I have been here, I’ve noticed that they do everything together. I hope to be the same with my sister in the future. Babies, picnics, outings, all of it, together.


Jose says that is a whale’s head.

These rods were used to hang nets – redes in Spanish and the name of the town today.

Wild berries everywhere!



Veal hamburger with garden veggies and fresh bread for dinner at…10pm! Yes, so I have to tell you this: Jose says the times in Spain are different to that of the rest of Europe. The days are much longer here. These guys typically eat lunch at 3 and dinner at 10! I can’t believe it! But I am starting to enjoy and appreciate how much adventuring one can pack into a single day – though of course, I am a little tired. Maybe it’s jet-lag, still. Also, I cannot tell you enough how great it is to be living with a family again. My mood and overall health is so much better. There’s only so much solitude and mountain life a girl can take. Humans are meant to connect. Also, I am loving the endless hugs and kisses – again, and sorry to compare or not sorry to compare, a huge difference to Japan.

A Silly Post

This is as the title states, a silly post. Though still serious (and honest). Being both is apparently possible. So, I have a few things to say about yesterday and they’re all random so I’m just gonna go ahead and confuse you all.

1.My third post on Savvy Tokyo is up. You can check it out HERE. Side note: yesterday, I complained to my sister that no one even reads my work and next thing, 30+ of her friends have shared this article having asked their friends to read and share it too. So cheeky. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life. I love you big sis. Big big big shout out.

2. Yesterday I also went to Tottori. That’s the prefecture with Japan’s largest sand-dunes and also, my mother’s highlight of my parents’ Japan trip. It was awesome. I especially liked the new South American sand museum exhibition. I also went last year, it was German themed then. Each year they have a new theme and a new team of international artists. A definite must see when there. More info on the actual museum HERE.

3.Last week I bought my mama a pair of identical sandals to mine and sent them to her as a surprise. Yesterday she received them and sent me back a thank you text with a picture of her wearing them with these thick black socks. Very unfashionable. I told her to take her socks off and take a picture in them outside. She sent back a picture of her standing ON a picnic table. Before you think she’s completely insane, let me explain that this is because, back in NZ, I used to do all of my blog photography on this old abandoned picnic table in our backyard (see here here here and here). I liked the wooden background and its location always got natural sunlight. Nowadays as you may have noticed, I take all of my food pictures at the same spot. These wooden boards are actually the floorboard of my lounge, next to my  balcony’s glass door. It’s a silly spot but it has amazing light. Now, the brown boards have sorta become my style. Anyways, isn’t my mother hilarious?! I’ve included some of her other ridiculous (and sweet) messages to make you smile. Some context for the last image, during that 19 minute phone convo, I had continously whined  about being single and for so long. I love my mama.

 

 

 

Japan Has Beaches Too! (Day 8)

Breakfast at Japan’s No1 pancake restaurant followed by a visit to Japan’s No1 sand-dunes! Lastly, dinner with Mr O <3