Things I'm Loving: Mother's Day Treats, new crafting projects and yummy home grown food!

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for..no matter how simple it is.

I'm loving celebrating Mother's Day with my gorgeous wee girl and the MR - it was a stunner of a day and we celebrated by going out for lunch at the "The Wool Shed" cafe on SH1. A definite stop for those traveling - great setup and lovely play area for kids. And, the sheep are friendly too!! 

Group selfie! 

Here sheepy, sheepy!!! 

Riding high... 

Best fluffy date. EVER. 

Yum!! 

Even the sheep are friendly!! 

Loving this mug - need to get it for my mom! ;) 

Having fun, mommy/daughter time! 

Taking apart the decking, to have the pool removed. Not loving that, but I am loving the amount of space it will create! Really looking forward to a nice, big play area for Miss G and her friends! 

Anyone want a pool?? Seriously... anyone??

Loving the look of this quilt... Putting it on my to-do list!! 

Loving lazy Sundays when I am at home, home-made pasta sauce and stewed feijoas. All home grown ingredients, of course! ;) 

It's autumn here in New Zealand, and that means crock pot time! (Translation: Slow Cooker.) What are some of your favorite recipes? Here's a neat list to start you off... 

Slow Cook Recipes from Stay At Home Mum

I'm loving that I've started online grocery shopping! FINALLY they deliver fresh produce rural. whoop whoop! Not going to lie, much easier. And, I probably spend less - no impulse shopping!! Do you online shop for groceries?? 

I'm so thrilled and loving that I won the fantastic Rosemary McLeod - Craft Cushions & Decor ebook from Meghan's giveaway series. Check out the other books! I am thrilled - as soon as I hand in my Level 2 nursing portfolio next month - I AM CRAFTING!!! Yay!! And, what a lovely book to start with. Perfect as an ebook - syncs with all our devices. LOVE. :) Thanks soooo much!!! 

Until next time friends, have a great week! 

Sarah Marie xx

Linking in with the adventures of MNMs for Things I'm Loving... 

Things I'm LOVING: April!

Quite possibly, I am the worst blogger EVER. Huge sorry to all of our family and friends who try to keep up to date with us! Being we live across the world and all...  I do have plans to update, and redesign the blog. Always enough ideas, never enough time... Never mind... Here's what I'm LOVING this week! Joining in with Meghan for this weeks, 'things I'm loving'...

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for..no matter how simple it is.

This is gold. How fun for them! I LOVE just how fun flying can be! First Flight is a very cute video, take the time to watch it, I was laughing so hard! 

I'm loving that I've been back at bootcamp! Cheers to my friend Carrie that signed me up to Revive True Wellness with her. So fun. So hard. Loving it!

I am loving that a trio of us girls went down to Wellington a few weeks back to take part in The Color Run NZ. This is the first year it was held in New Zealand, and it was a BLAST!

Loving the simple things this week - grateful that I love my job, loving having the opportunity to spend some time with friends while working out, loving new haircuts, and loving the roast beef dinner that is cooking in the oven for tonight - it smells soooo wonderful!!

Have a great week friends! xx

Whoa! It's March! Here's what I'm Loving!

Happy Day of Happiness friends! Yes, I do realise I am a couple days late. oops!  What are you doing this week to spread some happiness? I was able to spend some time with some nursing friends after our last study day this week. An awesome way for us to spread happiness - seems like life goes by too quickly and all to often these gatherings are missed for some of life's other appointments. Good to have a catch up now and again. :)

Here's what I'm loving this week, joining in with Meghan for this weeks 'things I'm loving'!

I'm loving that my mom and dad spent six weeks with us here in New Zealand. I'm so happy that we have the opportunity and that we had so much FUN. They have made it back home safely, so a blizzard and more cold weather. Not ideal. But, loving the adventures we had here! Keep an eye out for some updates! ;)

I'm also loving Aoraki / Mount Cook. Breathtaking. 

I finished my Bachelor of Nursing last July, and have been working as an RN since then - however, my actual graduation ceremony was held this week! It was so much fun! 

Loved having mom and dad here to watch me get my Bachelors Degree! :) 

Miss G walking with me in the parade. 

The Mr, myself and Miss G. I wore Degen's beads of courage as my jewellery, as he was my inspiration to change careers. I'm so happy I did, I'm absolutely loving the difference a nurse can make in another persons health journey. Such an amazing opportunity. 

Had an amazing time at this gorgeous lady's wedding! So much fun catching up with friends, and being part of all the love of such a wonderful day. Not only did this beautiful woman deliver both of my babies, I also made her be my friend. Lucky me. Love her to pieces! 

We also got to see a lunar rainbow on the way home from the wedding, I reckon that's good luck! :)

Have an awesome week friends - check out what others are loving with Meghan's link-up: Things I'm Loving. And, spread some happiness!! 

Day 6: Moving?

Before anyone gets too excited, the February Expat Blogger Challenge prompt for today is, I would or would not move to another country after this... I'm not moving anyone, at present...

This is a question I get ALL.THE.TIME. From family, from friends stateside, and from friends here. As well as workmates, and people I have just met! It doesn't bother me, but it is a question I can't answer. If I have learned anything in life, it is that you don't know what is next around the corner for you. Even the best laid plans need adjusting...

Yays:

• I love the fresh produce and wonderful food in New Zealand. Albeit expense, I love how I know what I am buying. I love that I have learned to cook from scratch, because it's a quite spendy to buy pre-packaged meals. Making muffins from scratch is from scratch, not a box mix. I love that there are market gardens all over with fresh fruits and vege. Year round. 
• The scenery is AMAZING. Enough said.
• I love being so close to a beach. And the mountains. 
• Relaxed, laid-back lifestyle.
• Child-friendly and child-orientated lifestyle.
• Amazing work/life balance.  

Nays:

• It's SOOO far from Minnesota. And expensive to travel back to the middle of the country! 
• All my family and a lot of my friends are back stateside (or Germany), and I miss them! 

I think home is wherever the heart is, and at the moment our home in is NZ. You never know where the future lies, even though we do have a rough estimate... 

This one time at the airport...

This one time at the airport, I met Glen Campbell...

<<I have photos and a story to go with this, but I am EXHAUSTED. I will update as soon as I find my photos!!>> :)

Keeping up with February Expat Blog Challenge!

Reflection

I'm not naturally a reflection or a 'dear diary' type of person, so this particular day of the challenge is not as appealing to me. However, I'm dedicated to finishing this challenge!! :)

Today's February Expat Blogger Challenge is looking at the 5th post I wrote, and discuss my frame of mind and my style of writing.

My 5th post was about Mother's Day - I started this blog to keep my friends and family updated on our lives and whereabouts. So, I guess my frame of mind was keeping people informed. :) I was a bit used to describing our lives with Degen's Caringbridge Site, and enjoyed the fellowship it brought. I also liked that I could update everyone at the click of a button. 

My 2014 goal is to spend more time writing and blogging, so long may it last! February is also my birthday month, and blog revamp month. Here's hoping!! :)

At Home...

Day 3 of the February Expat Blogger Challenge! 

Todays topic is an object that makes me feel at home... 

I arrived in NZ in December 2006 with 3 suitcases! I now have a 3 bedroom, office, kitchen, dining room, bath/toilet, garage FULL of stuff. 

While I love the occasional Corn Nut or Peanut Butter Cup, nothing makes me feel more 'at home' than talking to my friends and family on FaceTime or SKYPE. I love it and it makes the distance seem that much less!! I also love to have lots and lots of photos around the house to showcase my photography and get the occasional glimpse of my loved ones. 

My gorgeous niece Kiki (nickname given by Miss G) and Miss G on FaceTime! So cute!! We 'see' each other weekly for our chats! Sooo cool! 

My home - being with my loves. 

What makes you feel at home? I think it's the people!! :)

“Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Day 2 of the February Expat Blogger Challenge and today's prompt is...

“Not all those who wander are lost.”  ― J.R.R. Tolkien


A co-worker once said to me, 'Some people grow roots, others grow wings. You, my friend, have wings.' 

I had a goal in my 20s to see 30 countries before I turned 30 years old. While I didn't quite achieve that goal, but I came very close. <<Maybe I should revisit this for 40 by 40? ;)>> I love seeing new places, experiencing new cultures, new foods, new ways and means of living. I love it. And, while I love to wander, by no means am I lost. While I continue to seek new adventures, learn new skills - I am by no means forgetting the roots of who I am and how I came to be. 

Growing up in rural Minnesota, I always had grand dreams of 'escaping' and seeing the world. And, thankfully, with my family and friends support - I have made a good effort of it. I was quite lucky to have seen Europe as a 13-year old, travelled the USA with family, backpacking Europe with friends just out of college at 22, and exploring the USA with friends on our vacations and long weekends. 

I met and married a Kiwi bloke, and we have been creating our own adventures ever since. We went to Europe on a 5-week honeymoon - a combination of backpacking, and visiting family and friends as we travelled. Awesome adventure! 

Iceland. Amazing country - beautiful. Raw. COLD. 

We had to very carefully walk out to the falls, because it was sooo icy!

Austrian Alps. Awesome views. Awesome coffee. 

Venice. Romantic. Beautiful. 

France. Gorgeous views, awesome food! 

We traveled a fair amount of the upper Midwest and Canada via Ducati motorcycle, which was an adventure in itself! Our latest overseas wandering was in Australia with our beautiful Miss G in 2012.

And, of course we wander around gorgeous New Zealand quite a bit too. I'm so thankful to have a bit of a tourist mind here in New Zealand, even after 7 years of living as an expat here. We continue to explore this beautiful country every chance we get. 

Cheers everyone, and happy wandering! :)

The view from where I write...

Kia Ora, Happy Saturday! It's the WEEKEND!!! My parents are en-route to New Zealand, we've just been to a 5th birthday party for a gorgeous little girl, and I'm catching up with some girlfriends tonight for dinner. Bliss.

One of my goals in 2014 <<life>> is to keep in <<better>> contact with my friends and family in the USA, and around the world... So I've decided to join up with a fellow expat blogger In an Opal Hearted Country and get my writing mojo flowing...

Today is the 'The View From Where I Write'... Now. I rarely write at a desk anymore. <<Love you new 2014 version MacBook Pro!>> I'm usually scattered somewhere around the house and garden- so I thought I would share what our lovely 1/4 acre looks like. <<Obviously, minus the messes and anything that would make it look like it does, lived in, on a fairly daily basis...>>

Here we go! Love our place on this Earth we call home, and I'm still working on making it ideal... We'll get there eventually...

Here's where I'm sitting now... My little corner of the sofa...

Through the front gate into the gardens... Love my swing, so relaxing... 

Care for a swim? The pool area has lots of strawberries, flowers, lancewood and vege growing around it! 

Miss G's fun area - our old tent makes a perfect 'camping' spot on sunny days! And, she absolutely loves her tire swing that daddy and granddad built! Hi Lenny! Our awesome rescue dog that has slotted into our whanau perfectly. Love him! The back yard also have lots of pumpkins, squash, grapes and lemons! Yum! Totally loving  my 1/4 acre plot and all the yummy foods we can grow. So lucky!

I'm also linking in with the adventures of MNMs with Things that I'm Loving!

Kia Ora and LOVING Wishing for a Happy 2014!!

Kia Ora! Happy 2014 everybody! If you follow me on Instragram, you know we have been out and about enjoying the holidays, and life in New Zealand - and LOVING it. 

My goal is to really get this blog updated regularly so all of my lovely friends and family around the world can keep up to date with our adventures! I have some fabulous ideas, and I'll keep you posted! 

In the meantime, here's what I'm LOVING this week....

I'm loving driving past this beautiful mountain, my favourite - Mt Ruapehu. 

The new addition to our family - loving our gorgeous rescue dog Lenny! He's fitting in perfectly with our family! Love him!! :)

Went camping for the first time with Miss G - had such a wonderful time! Camping is exhausting!!

Spot the seals at Cape Palliser!! 

Oh my goodness! First day of Kindy! How did this happen!! Loving my big girl!! :)

Linking in with the adventures of MNMs for this weeks...