flat what?

weekend adventures saw us take the new mitzi for a spin up to old cromwell then out to pisa moorings for a coffee and a little bite of cake. we were home in time for an evening in front of the fire, watching the rugby and indulging in some classic fish n chips. good day id say. 

now for a little lesson. 

us kiwi's drink flat whites, short blacks or long blacks..

lattes, macchiato's, cappuccino's, breve's, add sugar, sweetener, syrup, cream..blah blah blah..none of that. just give us some some decent coffee with a touch of milk please. 

a flat white = espresso shots (poured into a real cup, no paper please) with a silky smooth (stretched) milk carefully poured on top. it is served in a smaller cup..more coffee, less milk, the stronger the better.

and if you have time to make a batch of scones and whip some cream, that'll accompany our coffee quite well. below are a batch of date scones i baked on sunday.

hope you all had a great weekend too! i better dash, im meeting a friend for a 'latte'...

..just kidding.

i'll leave you with some sunset shots i took on the ride home from dunedin today

xx

a casual weekday at home

it's cold here. maybe i have just adjusted to san diego weather way too fast, or maybe im just a whimp, but the chill in the air out has decreased my motivation for outdoor activities and increased my motivation to stay by the fire inside and spend my weekdays baking and sipping on tea. i decided to bake a few kiwi classics and fill the tins up after us kids ate most of mum's baking over the weekend we were all home!

first: homemade muesli for breakfast

second: lemon poppy seed muffins drizzled with lemon icing

third: chocolate muesli slice

key ingredient...crushed weetbix

sunset from the kitchen as the slice bakes..

iced and ready to eat..a few slices never quite made it to the tin..couldn't resist!

feel free to pop over for a cuppa and some slice ;)

under the same roof

I'm finally back in New Zealand after 1.5 years! The journey here wasn't the easiest of trips though. After being serverly delayed on United Airlines in America me and a bunch of other kiwi's and aussies missed our flight to Auckland...thankfully after much persuading and smiling, United put us up in a hotel for the night and we were booked onto the next flight home...24hours later! It was a beautiful day out in San Francisco though and we took advantage of the sunny day before heading home to winter!

My arrival home couldn't have been better. Katie met me in Auckland airport for a flat white (out of a real coffee cup) and a much needed catchup before i jetted off again to Queenstown. Mum and Dad picked me up and we enjoyed s beautiful drive through the Kawarau Gorge to Alex....where to my surprise Rosie and Chris were waiting for me...with the jug boiling and a pot of soup on the range :) we enjoyed our first family lunch together at our home in 3 years!! It couldn't have been more perfect!

Here are a few of my favourite quotes/things from my first 24 hours at home:

#1 On first seeing Rosie "man your bony", in which i replied "look at your boobs!!"

#2 "Do you want a cuppa?", "Yea, il take mine with a splash of milk"

#3 getting a grab in before my run

 #4 getting in some one on one time with Chris while he accompanied me on my run

#5 a stocked fridge

#6 fresh vegetables out of our own garden

#7 cocktail hour in front of the fire while watching the Netball

#8 lamb, roast potatoes, pumpkin and blue cheese cauliflower for dinner

#9 Chocolate cake made by Rosie and Tip-Top ice cream for dessert

#10 my family all under the same roof again!

clowning around

with leaving to new zealand in 2 days i've been trying to pack in as much time with friends as i can! the weekend was jam packed with laughter and good times in sunny San Diego.

saturday morning i rose bright and early to meet the crew for our workout at Miramar Lake...i had the famous 'Michigan Workout' on my schedule so was happy to know i'd have company and others in the hurt box there with me! By the time we finished, the sun was up and it was turning into a beautiful day! i ran errands for the remainder of the morning then headed back to OB for a rooftop birthday party...before getting too partied out, PJ and i snuck home for a quick nap before heading downtown for dinner at a new restaurant called Gaijin Noodle n Sake, i loved the decor and that they poured their beers into these cute little glasses (about three sips in it!) the food was good but nothing too special..i think that underbelly still has my vote on best ramen! 

after dinner we ventured out to Del Mar to see Cirque De Solei. i hadn't been since i was 16yrs old in NZ so was really excited to be entertained by the best circus acts in the world once more! PJ had booked us the BEST seats in the house...center stage...it was an incredible evening! 

the tent brought back instant memories!

sunday morning i ran early again in Balboa park with a group for our long run. surprisingly, i have only run there three times since i've been coming to san diego...i was shown many new trails in our 1 hr 50min run...definitely need to run there more often and get off the concrete!

after a quick trip into the pirate ship for work...it was time for a bike trip to Old Town for margarita's and mexican with all our friends...and some clowning around...as always...yet this time i came out with a lump on my head. thats a whole story in itself. 

best get back to the sun before i'm away in winter wonderland for 2 months
heres a song for today - Yunyu - Dorothy

peace

xx