Ahhhh....summer!

One of my favourite things to do in summer is buy an old-fashioned scoop ice cream, strip down to as few clothes as possible and splash down the tide line in the late afternoon.

Although technically eating ice cream at 4pm is encroaching on dinner, I've always been one for instant gratification and am quite happy to have my dessert first!

In case you're interested, the flavour pictured is Bayberry, from the Takapuna Beach Cafe, and reminds me of this Jo Malone fragrance. Needless to say, not long after this photo was taken she was nude and smothered head to toe in red goo. Hey, at least the fish got a lick too!

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Wanted : Magpies

If I was to get a job working at Antique Fabric and Lace, or if I just lived around the corner from it; my home, my daughter and probably even my car would be bejeweled and beaded to within an inch of their lives.


This Aladdin's cave of haberdashery couldn't possibly be more crammed with delights. Every square centremetre of wall space, floor space and even some of the roof space is pinned and rolled with lace and sequins and beaded trims. I made the mistake of taking my daughter and lost her several times amongst the rolls of fabric. Thankfully her squeals of bead discovery acted like echo-location, and I somehow got out of the shop having only spent $30. 


If you're a magpie like me, the trip out to Onehunga is more than worth it as long as you have at least an hour of browsing time. Once you're done, you can recharge with the yummy chicken pie across the road at Delicious while you enjoy your purchases all over again.


I'm off to find a home for my new twinkly beaded stars and...I'm thinking the mirror in the bathroom.


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Calm on the surface

One of my favourite things about living in Auckland is never being more than a few minutes drive from water.


This week, I am three-quarters of the way through a mammoth creative task (I promise to share more soon) and tonight I was desperate for a few moments of calm with my daughter, before heading home for the nighttime routine and requisite glass of Baileys on ice.


Auckland weather obliged, and we spent a gorgeous few minutes with the ducks down at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery. Heavenly! I was even inspired to write another film, and this is where I put in a petition to extend the day to 26 hours. Anyone else with me?


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la Cigale...c'est genial!

My Saturday mornings are usually spent choosing olives, dolmas, stuffed peppers, Turkish dips and baklava from the Parnell markets. Throw in a coffee and an almond croissant from the cafe, some feijoa chutney, half a dozen mini ciabatta and some strawberry and vanilla whoopie pies and you have the makings of a weekend feast. Somehow it all feels less calorific if bought from an outdoor market - don't you think?


If the markets themselves are too busy, there's a secret little park just up the road where you can hide away and picnic to your hearts content, still within earshot of the saxophonist. 


As the weather cools down, I've also started craving the yummy slow-cooked dinners on offer at the la Cigale bistro, open Wed - Fri nights. Dinner is served onto big communal tables, and the loud, tuck-in atmosphere is the closest thing to European entertaining I've found since coming home.


All in all, la Cigale is a little jewel in the middle of town, and though the locals may rue that their market has become a tourist destination, this is one secret that shouldn't be kept.


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The spa that fell to earth...

Over the weekend, I spent a dreamy few hours hidden away from the world at Spa di Vine in Waimauku. I had been looking for a spa experience such as this since arriving back in New Zealand, and had begun to wonder whether it existed on kiwi soil. 


In Europe, the day spa culture is well-established as a part of life. It is perfectly acceptable for women to escape for the day, loll around in robes, swim, indulge, steam and pamper. In fact, for over five years I made my living marketing to these women. It was never a case of whether or not they should come, but just how many and which treatments.


For whatever deeply-ingrained reasons, we kiwis find it hard to treat ourselves, but Beaunz belles, listen up. Just a short drive away, on the other side of Kumeu, is a luxurious, nurturing spa experience, priced well below anything you would find in the city. If you are looking for a Mothers Day present, check our their website or speak to Paula, the owner and host of Spa di Vine. Half day packages for four people including two treatments, exclusive use of the spa and lounge facilities and afternoon tea cost little more than a facial at many other, lesser spas. 


We were even encouraged to bring our own bottle of bubbles, which was decanted into vintage crystal flutes for us to enjoy. My Mum fell asleep within minutes of finishing her treatments, snuggled into a huge leather sofa and fur rug. 


Mission accomplished.


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My happy place : Dizengoff

What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.


When I find something I love, I love it to bits...literally. A friend recently commented that my loyalty to a certain Ponsonby cafe was bordering on predictable, so I dared myself to try something new...and I did...but all it did was convince me that I shouldn't do that, ever again.


The thing is, there are hundreds upon hundreds of cafes in Auckland, many of them doing things pretty well, but so few get it so right, consistently. 


Friendly staff, great coffee and tea, all the macarons and whoopie pies and rhubarb pastries a sugar-addict could wish for (plus the perfect poached eggs with salsa verde and paper thin toast) and people-watching potential to boot. Dizengoff has it all, and is appealingly bashful about it.


I don't get out much these days, but when I do, this is where you'll find me, nose in my laptop and a plateful of macarons. Come and say hello.


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Food with a view

On Sunday we spent a lazy afternoon lunching on the deck at the Riverhead Tavern. Even though the sky was threatening to open at any moment, we braved the elements and were rewarded with uninterrupted river views (and thankfully a mostly dry afternoon).


Our table lunched on Sea salt & Szechuan squid, Espresso & blue cheese lamb, Cola pulled pork sandwich and Prawn & bacon pizza, washed down with boutique beers and Brancott Estate bubbles. The menu had so many delicious-sounding options, it was difficult settling on just one each. I can't wait to go back in winter, to make the most of a pile of fleecy blankets stacked outside should you need a little snuggle-factor.


At 153 years old, the tavern holds New Zealand's second oldest liquor license (after the Duke of Malborough in Russell), and it's a melting pot of everyone from bikies to wealthy retirees to young families.


It's now top of my list for visiting friends and family; a prettier lunch venue you would be hard pressed to find.


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Edible Art : Industry Zen

Tuna Sashimi from Industry Zen

Wow. It's not often I'm lost for words, but when it comes to describing the food at Industry Zen, where I dined last weekend, even my thesaurus brain comes up short.


The food at this Japanese Tapas Bar and Robata Grill is seriously good. So good, I immediately rebooked for tonight so I could eat the soft shell crab again. 


The night I spent at Industry Zen was full of theatre, great wine, rollicking girly fun and the best Japanese food I have eaten in a long time. I came away with change from a fifty and a belly full of gorgeous seafood. It's not often you can say that these days! If you haven't been to Industry Zen, put it on your to-do list, and tell me what you think when you go.


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Crafty, Happy People

I'm really excited for this weekend, in fact I've been looking forward to it for weeks!


The Auckland Craft Fair is taking place again, at the Aotea Centre. We ventured out of the house for one of the first times with our new baby to attend last year's fair, and it was so worth it I can't wait to go again.


The number of talented crafties in New Zealand is staggering, and the ACF gives them well-deserved exposure. I'm on the hunt for some cute pictures for our walls, some new pottery, a dress for my daughter to wear to an upcoming wedding and something that blows my mind so much I can't go home without it. Read the ACF blog to find out about some of the designers and get all the details you need.


Hope to see you there! Please come up and say hello.


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When life gives you lemons ...

Lemon Turnover from La Tropezienne French Bakery

I have been going to the French Bakery (La Tropezienne) in Browns Bay since I lived there as a little girl and know one thing in my heart for certain: there is nothing a little lemon curd pastry can't fix. I have eaten in the finest patisseries in Paris and London and can honestly say that Louis, in his best-kept-secret little bakery at the North end of Browns Bay Beach, is up there with the best.

Usually I'm all about the 'tarte citron' but today I couldn't go past the Lemon Turnover, with its crunchy sugar clouds atop a buttery pastry cocoon for eye-watering lemon curd - tart/sweet in a way only the French can do.

One bite, and my bad mood disappears with the lemon curd angels. Much better than lemonade...

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Will you marry me, Biba?

Biba Hair Salon, Birkenhead

I’ve had one really bad hair experience in my life. Really bad. Can’t leave the house without a headband, can’t look at myself in the mirror without cringeing, throw a mini tantrum each morning and curse the day I agreed to be the hair model for a friend, bad. ‘Just trust me’ he insisted ‘I’m the hairdresser in this relationship’. It was so bad, that the one person always guaranteed to tell me the truth gasped and demanded to know ‘who did that to you?!’

Why do we do it? Why do we cheat on our hairdresser? For two years I had been faithful to my gorgeous stylist and colourist at the Urban Retreat in London and was in hair nirvana. 'It was a moment of weakness' I told them, 'It's not you, it's me.' It took 2.5 years and dozens of intense reconstructing treatments (thank God I worked for a salon group) to restore my platinum-fried Beatles bowl-cut to it's former elbow-length sun-kissed glory. 

Fast-forward three years and you can understand why I was a little edgy looking for a new hair salon in New Zealand. For the first year I was a commitment-phobe, hair-whoring myself to stylists all over town, then suddenly I found Biba. Ahhh, Biba. 

Ever since my first appointment, I have heard the theme song to 'Cheers' whenever I think of Bindy and her Bindybots at Biba in Birkenhead. Pretty, stylish and so welcoming, the whole team makes you feel like you're their favourite client.

I start dreaming about Biba's signature lemon ginger tea a week out from my appointment. It comes in a pretty vintage teapot, with banana chips, almonds, delicious balls of coconutty goodness, and a sweet little inspirational quote card that changes each time.

The wireless is free, there's a roaming iPad if you need to google a celebrity for hair inspiration, and there are all the Vogues, Elles, Grazias and Fashion Quarterlys a girl could wish for. It goes without saying that the massage is dreamy and the products are the best you can get. 

But it's all irrelevant if the end result has you reaching for a paperbag. When I left Biba on the weekend, I checked myself out in every shop window on the way home and knew I had found my hair soulmate. I'm ready to make it official. 

Biba, I'm yours, till death do us part.

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My little corner of the world

God damn, I love Auckland in Spring. 


The sweet tang of mowed grass fermenting in the sun, ice cold Spumante and mint cocktails (more on those later), walking on the beach in bare virgin feet...


Summer is a coming and I can't wait.


I would love to see photos of your little corners of the world this summer. Email them to me here so I can post them on Beaunz.


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