Filling the Gap

You remember in Australia when I saw the Yasi Cafe and laughed that I couldn't see anyone in Christchurch opening up a 'Bar 6.3'?

Well.

There are lots of new bars and restaurants popping up around the city, around the back of buildings, down alleyways and in shipping containers, it's pretty exciting, and I am making it my mission to try them all out. But I was quite excited to see this new place open in one of the 'gaps' created by the removal of damaged buildings.



It is called Smash Palace, and as you can see, it is basically just a piece of land with rather tongue-in-cheek scaffolding and plastic sheeting for walls all around it. The fairy lights at night send out a red and blue and green hue and the bar is just an old caravan in the middle!




I do really want to go, and apparently it is pretty cool, and, although I hear you do get a granny blanket and a hot water bottle with every alcoholic beverage, I haven't yet been brave enough to sit and endure the sub zero Christchurch evening temperatures. Maybe I should harden up, do the kiwi thing and just put on another jumper.

Maybe I will. Watch this 'space'!

Happy nearly weekend!

Love
Est xxx

'Cheers'!*

Maybe I should paint my new chairs? Very inspired.




Love
Est xxx

*New 'Zilanders' pronounce chairs as 'cheers';)

PS. My, two blogs in one day, I am getting back into the groove!

Bargains

Sorry for the long pause in my recent blogging, life has been good, and busy, and it is actually a little harder to blog when you are back in the school pick up drop off routine, back grocery shopping and bed making and blah blah blah, you know that stuff.

Anyway, exciting stuff, yes, I have been shopping for the new house already, you know me!! Thought you might like to see these little bargains I found on TradeMe.

A writing desk, just like the old days, with a drop down desk and little compartments inside for your paper and envelopes and 'social stationary' to send out for housewarming parties;). For the landing, where it will look beautiful, and of course, that is it's main job.




New (to us) bookcase for Naomi's bedroom, I have already lost one of the little pin things to keep the shelf on, it must be ratting around in the car somewhere, but I have three and a half weeks (26 days!) until we move in, to find it.




And four dining chairs for the kitchen dining area, I couldn't resist as they were so comfortable, so beautifully made and such an absolute bargain - I paid the same price for four as I have seen them selling for just one! Now I just have to find a table to go with them;)




Alex dispairs, he says 'Esther, please can you not buy anything else, until we move in, we don't know what we have and where everything will go and what we will need'.

Well, he might not know, but I do.

Now I am working on Alex for a bargain sofa bed, which I have seen on TradeMe recently, and of course we absolutely will need a sofa bed, for when everyone comes to stay!!

Wish me luck!

Love
Est xxx

The Ohoka Market experience

Yesterday, after being a little housebound for two days because of a huge dump of snow on Wednesday (we actually lost power for a few chilly hours on Wednesday, Benny said, as I was freezing to death, 'obviously, the most concerning thing about having no power, is no TV') the children were still away from school, the sun came out and I thought it was time for a nice walk in the crunchy new snow.







I checked their internet page and saw that the Ohoka market was open, a great place to get some bread, as had run out of bread and milk the day before and believe me, no milk or bread makes for very interesting breakfast creations!

I thought it would be about a 20 minute walk to the market - but, I was wrong. So wrong. But you know when you have gone so far, you can't turn back?

It took us a crazy 50 minutes to walk to the market, with Naomi complaining about 30 minutes of that time, and Benny stopping to smash the ice and hit the snow off the trees the rest of the time. None of us were equipped with Wellington or gum boots and our trainers and socks and feet were at minus 2. Benny said he wants to get some proper snow boots, 'you know' he said, 'the ones with tennis rackets on the bottom'.

We finally made it to the market at 11.30am, (it was open until 12) and I was so pleased to see the stallholders, I think they were pleased to see us too, these crazy new loyal customers who had trudged for nearly an hour to buy a loaf of bread.

Benny said, 'Mum, I think everyone drives in Ohoka'. Yes Benny, I think will we drive from now on too.

This is what it the market looks like in the summer, photographs courtesy of the Ohoka Farmers Market website.













But yesterday it was good too, there was artisan bread, dips and olives, vegetables and fruit, fresh fish, a German bakery, soups, hot porridge with mouthwatering toppings, coffees and hot chocolates, pies, sausages, crafts and even some antiques.

Here's our little hoard that we foraged and carried back home.




And a lovely lady on a button stall, which I didn't even buy anything from, gave me a handmade button bag to carry all our goodies home in! The yellow buttons are a half of a heart which continues on the other side in purple, cool eh?




And when I say that I carried it all home, don't feel sorry for us. Our new friend and neighbour Kathie (who we had spent a lot of our 'housebound' Thursday with, at her house;) found us after the market and insisted she give us a lift home in her lovely warm car, it took five minutes and we were saved from very certain frostbite, thank you so much!

This country living - it's all good fun!

Love
Est xxx

'THE' House

Here finally, are the pictures of our new 'dreaming' house (I told Naomi that it was my dream house and she called it the dreaming house - I said to her, Naomi, DO NOT say that in front of the estate agent!).



After deciding not to buy a house for at least a year after our return to Christchurch, I found this house online in the first week back. I decided it must be fate. I called the estate agent and he said that the vendors weren't quite ready to have people in to look at it yet, my first response to that was 'but how can I put in an offer, if I can't see it???' - playing my cards close to my chest as usual!!

When I finally walked across the threshold a week later, I knew that this was our house. I was so excited I was having palpitations, I could not calm down, I was so worried that someone else might get it, and it was such a huge commitment and a deviation to our plans that I was also terrified that WE might get it! Two days later, when Alex and the children saw it, we were all in love. Alex said afterwards that the thing he liked best about the house was the double rainhead shower in the ensuite bathroom, I had to break it to him gently that that shower was in another house we saw, not the one that we put an offer in on!!!

We finally went unconditional about a week and a half ago, it is all signed and sealed and I think I am still in shock. It has taken me ages to put the pictures on the blog because it has taken me ages to actually believe it will be ours and we will get to live in it, every day!

View from the back garden. There is lots of gardening to do! I may even have to start watching 'Country Calendar' on at 7.30pm on a Saturday night (yes, that's exciting NZ tv for you;).



Living room with lovely open fire, opening out to a courtyard, with double doors to the family room.



Kitchen , looking out to the back garden where there is a built in sun umbrella (and you can have a tablecloth on the outdoor table as there is no pole sticking through), very cool.



And the staircase I have always dreamed of, great for sliding down, but don't tell Benny.



The house is only 15 years old, which is very new for us, but I love it because it has been built in a traditional style with the high ceilings and skirting boards and the beautiful staircase, but it also has the added luxury of double glazing and an internal access garage, which is pretty useful for the freezing Canterbury winters.

It is only a 30 minute commute for Alex to work and the local school is right next door, literally through the fence, if Alex and I were handy people, we could even put a gate in!

There are also a couple of paddocks in front of the house, my friend Fanny who is from Peru, recommended her country's native animal, the Alpaca. They come in all different styles and colours and characters.





And Aaron suggested flamingos, which, to be fair, I am also giving serious consideration to;)


So happy! Will sit at home and knit alpaca (and flamingo) jumpers and send you all one in the mail!

Love
Est xxx

It's Friday again, my, that was a quick week

And it's a long weekend too, woohoo! Thanks Liz for the Monday off;)




Hope you all have a great one!

Love
Est xxx