Did you know that as I blog this, although it says it is November 14th, for me it is actually the 15th? How can this be, you ask? Well I am 18 hours ahead of all my friends and family on the east coast of the US, which means I am already in tomorrow! Whoa. I know, it is crazy! The craziest part is going to be coming back and crossing the dateline making that day more than 24 hours.

We had a very productive day today. We met up with friends of my parents, Don and Eloise and their lovely children who live in Kerikeri. With Don as our giude we went on a hike in the Puketi Forest, had a lovely lunch at the Marsden Winery and saw lots and lots of sheep. There are pretty much sheep everywhere. Apparently there are about 2 sheep per person here. They dot the landscape with little white balls of fluffy wool. Despite there being sheep everywhere, it is apparently tough to get your hands on some yarn, so my craft diet may not have to suffer. As if all of that wasn’t enough, we went to see D&E’s house which is still under construction. I would have to say that it is probably in the most beautiful spot I have ever seen a house outside of a magazine of the likes of Dwell and I wouldn’t be surprised if once the house is done, it appears in said magazine. We had a lovely dinner at the beach to celebrate Bill’s birthday. It was a fantastic day. Just fantastic.

We are in New Zealand!! M&I are here with my mom and stepdad. After traveling for what seemed like forever, but was probably only 20 hours we made it. We lost Nov 11th in the process, but you would expect there to be some casualties on that long of a trip. Yesterday was tough. We got here into Auckland at 7:30 and in an attempt to get on track, we did some sight seeing. It was a very laid back day because we really didn’t have all that much energy. Needless to say, we all slept very well that night. We are all pretty good today. We are now in Kerikeri which is very north on the north island. The scenery is amazing so far. Beautiful blue skies, vivid green grass, and lots and lots of sheep and cows. Things seem in technicolor. Internet is not as easy to get to as I thought it might be so there may not be so many posts. 

Today is the day! We leave this afternoon for Auckland. I can’t believe it is finally here. We are ready for the most part. There are always last minute things. I will try and blog when I am away but in case I don’t get a chance, see you in December!

This Thanksgiving I will be in another country and will not get turkey and stuffing and cranberries and potatoes. At least I won’t get it on Nov 22. Thanksgiving dinner will have to happen when I get back. I saw a fantastic post on Thanksgiving dinner in an hour via Apartment Therapy. How is that possible you ask? Check it out. It sounds delicious and I can’t wait to have it in December.

I am a slacker. I admit it freely. I wait until the last minute for almost everything. To my surprise, everyone isn’t like this. I have been reading about people already making or buying Christmas gifts and have heard from at least one person that she is already done! Wow. Well fine, I am starting to think about it now, as if I didn’t have enough on my mind with all the leaving vacation stuff until the last minute. I actually do think this is a message I would like to get out now so I can catch all the moderately organized people out there. This year I am going to attempt to make gifts for everyone on my list. I would love to get homemade gifts from people who have me on their list as well, but I know that isn’t always possible. So if I am on your list try and buy handmade for me or better yet make me something. I would like to add that I consider myself fortunate to have all of you in my life and that is present enough. With that said, the final option I will present to you is to make a donation to a charity of your choice and tell me about it. Let’s share our good fortune with others this season.

Check out buy handmade for a list of hand makers. Another great place to look is etsy. If you are looking for ideas, head over to sew mama sew where you will find a new idea every day this month.

I am a slacker. I admit it freely. I wait until the last minute for almost everything. To my surprise, everyone isn’t like this. I have been reading about people already making or buying Christmas gifts and have heard from at least one person that she is already done! Wow. Well fine, I am starting to think about it now, as if I didn’t have enough on my mind with all the leaving vacation stuff until the last minute. I actually do think this is a message I would like to get out now so I can catch all the moderately organized people out there. This year I am going to attempt to make gifts for everyone on my list. I would love to get homemade gifts from people who have me on their list as well, but I know that isn’t always possible. So if I am on your list try and buy handmade for me or better yet make me something. I would like to add that I consider myself fortunate to have all of you in my life and that is present enough. With that said, the final option I will present to you is to make a donation to a charity of your choice and tell me about it. Let’s share our good fortune with others this season.

Check out buy handmade for a list of hand makers. Another great place to look is etsy. If you are looking for ideas, head over to sew mama sew where you will find a new idea every day this month.

I just read about this great font on Skull a Day via Geek Sugar. I love skulls. There is just something about them that I am drawn to over and over. I keep meaning to celebrate Day of the Dead with some sugar skulls, but always seem to remember a day late. With the trip looming I don’t think this is the year to break that streak.

I had to take moment to post this picture I saw on design*sponge today. This is one of the cutest things I have seen in a while. I wonder where I can get one of these little guys…

Unbelievable! I was able to find jeans on my first trip to the dressing room! It is all coming together. I still have to do my trial packing to make sure M has enough room for at least some of his stuff, but we are well on our way.