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.

Is Someone Getting The Best Of You?

I had the loveliest Saturday with my also lovely friend, Sam last weekend. We went to the Saturday Farmers’ Market for a Posh Porridge breakfast but when we saw that they weren’t there and on holiday, we had Bacon Brothers instead. Yep, I ate bacon. And not just any bacon but NZ bacon in say over 4 years of not having eaten it and oh my was it delicious. And, I’m not kidding you, I was full for 1.5 days. Rick, I can’t wait for you to try it. NZ bacon > American bacon.

Super easy Easter crafts. Top, chooks made with pom-poms and egg cartons. Bottom, a carrot made with an empty yarn cone donated by a student’s thoughtful mother. 
Sorry mom, forgot to move the towels (again). #PUGLIFE

Making tissue paper flowers for the upcoming Ridvan celebration at Bahai Children’s Classes.

“What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” ~Alfred Mercier
Below, what I sent S for his birthday (ie. a present also for myself): a Sydney weekend getaway! EEEE we are so blessed. And how about you my dear followers? Is someone getting the best of you?

To Be Creative Means To Be In Love With Life

Stewed Black Boy Peaches are one of my most favorite foods and they’re truly perfect for crumble.

Filling:
10-12 Black Boy Peaches, peeled and chopped random
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp pure vanilla essence
2 tbsp runny honey

Crumble:
1 cup gluten-free jumbo oats
1/4 cup of buckwheat flour
1/2 cup of chopped raw nuts of choice
1/2 cup of raw seeds of choice
1 tbsp cinnamon
a pinch of each ginger powder, nutmeg and cardamom
1/3 cup of pure maple syrup or runny honey
1/3 cup of melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Place the filling ingredients in a pan with 2 tablespoons of water and cook on medium heat with the lid on. Once the peaches have softened remove the lid to allow the liquid to reduce – we want a fairly thick consistency – I believe the secret to a crunchy crumble is a relatively “dry” filling so that’s what we’re aiming for.

Once ready, transfer the peach mixture to a deep oven-proof dish.

In a large bowl, combine all crumble ingredients together until nice and sticky then assemble on top of stewed peaches.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Enjoy!

A super easy rainy day craft idea for little monsters featuring the fatal potato (far left).

Clever little zine I came across on my lunch-break at work.

Happiness is picking up your library requested books! Thanks for the book suggestion Rick, already LOVING Deep Work. 
Oh my sister and I were so naughty today. We went to Le Panier Boulangerie !

Another kids fun activity idea: we made wands from felt pipe cleaners and used detergent to blow bubbles.

Yummy healthy snack idea. Raw chocolate energy balls. Recipe HERE.

Do you know what this is? Check out my new Savvy Tokyo article HERE to find out more.

There Are Hundreds Of Ways To Kneel And Kiss The Ground.

A photo diary:


Dark chocolate and roasted hazelnut ice-cream.
White peach and vanilla sorbet. 
The mastermind herself.

My attempt at having a non-cereal breakfast: free-range scrambled eggs (2), avocado, and organic gluten-free bread.

This is a non-traditional Persian New Year haft-sin (literally, seven “S”) table. It’s non traditional because I only had 5 of the real S’s. The other two, I made up myself: S for saat (clock/watch) and S for sparrow (yes sis, I realised sparrow wasn’t Persian. Whatever). 

Life Is Tough But So Are You

So I received the best gift ever. Like, I love it so much, I can’t stop thinking about. Handmade with local Japanese mountain Sakura (cherry blossom)! Wow wow wow! Friendships like these don’t come easy. This is why I travel. I love you my Israeli brother. @kodamaliving SO much talent! This, (not just the material thing but also the thought behind it) makes all of the trouble, all of the worries, the homesickness, the weight gain, the mosquito bites, the prejudice, the unfamiliarity, ALL worth it.