Month: April 2016

An English Woman in New Zealand

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Recently The Telegraph voted New Zealand the best place to live.  And it’s not for the first time.  We moved here from the UK in 2012 and on a regular basis my husband and I say to each other that we feel like it’s a privilege that we get to live here.  If I were to vote on where is the best place to bring up children, I think I’d be hard pushed to find somewhere better than New Zealand. As we have just passed our 4th NZ anniversary, and the country did just get a major accolade, I thought I would write a list of all the things that remind me I am an English woman in New Zealand.  Not quite as sexy sounding as Sting but hopefully just as interesting. People are super friendly. Right from the minute we arrived in Christchurch airport and a lovely lady scooped up our tired selves and helped us stand after a 32 hour long trip, I have always been warmed by how friendly Kiwis are.  They love to …

The Hundreds and Thousands Biscuit

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My children’s favourite biscuit is probably the Cookie Bear Hundreds and Thousands biscuits. I can’t remember what brand makes them over in the UK but these are the ones we prefer here in NZ.  They are a pretty simple biscuit and therefore just asking to be made at home. If I make them myself then I know what is in them and the children still get to eat gaudy coloured biscuits.  Everyone’s happy.  Except maybe not the Cookie Bear because he doesn’t make any profit this way. I did a test and these work just as well with Gluten Free flour so you can do a GF version if you need to.  Even more people are happy!  Well, still not the bear… This is taken from The Primrose Bakery Book by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas. Ingredients: 85g unsalted butter, at room temperature 100g golden caster sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 200g plain flour (can use 200g Gluten Free flour) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt For the icing: 150g icing sugar 2-3 tbsp boiling …

To the Moon and Back Doesn’t Come Close

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I don’t think I am going to be alone when I say that without a doubt, my most favourite part of every day is the couple of minutes I spend tiptoeing into my children’s bedrooms, just before I go to bed.  The house is silent, there is nothing left for me to do and my children are fast asleep in their beds.  I walk in and feel the same rush of joy I felt when I clapped eyes on them in the delivery room.  Bending down to adjust their duvet cover so they are fully wrapped up or lifting their heads back onto their pillows, I can smell their skin and place the tip of my nose onto their super soft cheeks so I can practically drink in their deliciousness. Then I whisper that I love them and creep back out.  Sometimes I will get on the bed and snuggle alongside them for a couple of minutes, sometimes I am so overwhelmed with how much I love them I can get tearful, sometimes they look so gorgeous I …