The Latest and Greatest

It has been a while since we have posted a NZ update. Much has changed and we are beginning to settle in nicely.

By random chance I happened to find a nice apartment for rent in Island Bay, which is a beautiful suburb of Wellington. Isaac and I were well over living in a single room in a university house. Though the company was lovely...it seems a clean bathroom and kitchen outweighed cheap rent. We managed to get down to Island Bay to view the place, and ended up landing a sweet little flat right across from the ocean! Honestly, I am overjoyed to be living in such a beautiful little piece of the world. Island Bay is nestled along a long and winding coast, dotted with rugged headland, jagged rocks and blue green ocean.

Our new home!

Our corner...look how close the ocean is!

The beach across the road

Much to our excitement, the new flat featured a very large master bedroom which has lovingly been transformed into my new studio and creative space. Ironically, our room is a little cave...literally a 'bed' room. We don't mind...Wellington homes are 'FREEZING', central heating does not exist...so little cozy spaces are valued.

The new studio!

The 'Bed' Room...

We have been fortunate to have such caring friends and family. Between them all we have accumulated some furniture, a full kitchen and a bed...FINALLY! I can`t express how amazing it felt to finally unpack our suitcases and actually put items into drawers and onto shelves...I was so OVER living transient that I nearly chucked our suitcases out the door! Isaac and I honestly are overjoyed to have a home at last...I almost burst cooking my first meal in our new kitchen...amazing how much you appreciate things when you can`t access them for awhile.

The only down side to our little place, is the lingering cat pee odour...this we have militantly attempted to make go away...finally after a few weeks it is disappearing. Humorously, the old tenant has moved upstairs, so the old cat still hangs out outside the house. Many times Isaac caught the cat trying to come inside our place, looking around anxiously and meowing in a very confused tone...the poor thing can`t understand why it can`t come inside...its even more distressed when Isaac pushes it out the door...no more cat pee thank you!

It has been amazing to go for walks along the coast and enjoy the natural beauty. I find it very inspiring and a nice break from work. We are now finally settling into life. Isaac is working hard with special needs adults and I have been focusing on getting Spirocreations back up and running. Ironically the leather supply in NZ is very slim (despite the 1000`s of cows and sheep) so much of what I used before will have to be shipped in from Canada. I have found two good suppliers so luckily I can source some leather from NZ. I am working on several new designs and have finally re-listed the shoes on Etsy (woot!). It feels great to get back into more of a normal routine...after our first few months of adventures we were ready for a bit of normalcy. I am still homesick but am working hard to meet new people and explore what NZ has to offer.

Lastly, the best part of living in Island Bay is the Seal colony that hangs out just up the road! I am beyond pumped! Anyone who knows me knows I adore seals...so its super crazy to stroll up the road and see them...way too cool...makes life worth living indeed!

Much love from NZ to all our friends and family in Canada...you are missed and need to immigrate here STAT!

Till next time...