do you love pinterest?
i love pinterest.
i love looking over my boards and seeing a whole bunch of my fave things all together in one place. it really inspires me.
But sometimes all the ways my house should look and all the cute vintage dresses i should be wearing seem both overwhelming and irrelevant.
and i end up feeling like a pseudo-american, completely saturated by international influence. being up here has been refreshing - grassroots and genuine. no pretence or posturing. and totally inspirational.
and i end up feeling like a pseudo-american, completely saturated by international influence. being up here has been refreshing - grassroots and genuine. no pretence or posturing. and totally inspirational.
so i guess, what i'm trying to say is, sometimes i need to remember to celebrate my kiwi-ness...
less yellow chevron and more retro tea towels.
less red clogs and more redband gumboots.
less yellow chevron and more retro tea towels.
less photo-shopped celebrities and more friendly locals.
basically, less pinterest and more real-life.*
and in honour of our inspirational kiwiness, i'm going to give away the tea towel pictured above that i found in an op shop in Kaitaia.
just leave a comment and tell me which letter of the NZ alphabet resonates with you the most - or cracks you up the most!
x
....
* but because i'm a realist, i've added a new board to my pinterest account entitled, "kiwiness". a place for me to be inspired by nz ideas, architecture, interiors, art and fashion. (follow along, or join in with the hashtag #kiwiness if you're feeling me on this)
I like W for wool, but that's because I spin and knit and think about wool a lot!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're having a great time up there, first fine day down here for a while today, was lovely to see the sun
I hope I can enter as someone who lives in New Zealand? I definitely call this place home.
ReplyDeleteThe letter that resonates with me the most is W - wool. or R- rugby. An old love and a new one.
Speaking of home, I hope you guys are coming back soon! It's warming up in Hamilton and everything ;)
♥
Talia Christine
http://taliachristine.blogspot.com
I like that rugby is represented by both A and R! It has been great to read about your adventures in the north (I dream of moving to NZ).
ReplyDeleteV for Very nice weather sounds rather wonderful right now given how wet and muddy our back yard is looking at the moment,
ReplyDeleteThat tea towel is Classic!!!Love it.
ReplyDeleteMy fave for the moment has to be L&P.. because this weekend we found some in the shop here and the kids have really enjoyed it!
Ouh me too I love Pinterest, so inspirational! I ve learn a lot with your tea towel as A lot of french People we love NZ but we don't know a lot of things about your country except that its very sunny (V) and that the All Blacks are difficult to beat (A). My favorite would be cow and cocky! And what is L&P? xxx
ReplyDeleteT for tramping, I spent so many of my younger years in the Kiwi Conservation Club doing walks every weekend. You just can't beat the NZ bush!
ReplyDeleteOk this is officially the first giveaway I've ever entered I think. Mainly because I want to comment on that great post. I totally tautoko (support) what you're on about!! And that little guy with the big brown eyes is so delicious!!
ReplyDeleteAnd that is a very cool tea towel. I think I'll go for I for Ice Skating, as it is so NOT kiwi that it cracks me up!!! Surely Ice Cream or something else would have been a better choice for I!!! Classic.
I'm totally for Zealand - the new one! said with a rising inflection and raised eyebrows. Love the gumboot photos!
ReplyDeleteI'm addicted to Pintrest but I too try to remember I'm real! But its great for projects and ideas and I've tried so many things because of it.
ReplyDeleteO - Outdoors - only the weather here was a sunny as your pictures - I have a lovely long list of jobs to do in the garden :-) I also like the Queer birds!
G- Geysers!
ReplyDeleteM for Milk resonates with me the most, more than C Cow and Cocky. I grew up on a dairy farm and loved every part of it. I now live in a city and miss the solitude of a farm but hopefully will end up back somewhere out there in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a New Zealander (so no need to enter me in the comp) but I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading about your adventures 'up north' - it has been so refreshing and I wanted to say how much I agree with you on this post! Loving your photos & insights - it has made me look at New Zealand in a whole new light!
ReplyDeleteHa that tea towel cracked me up! So awesomely retro! The illustrations remind me of the Footrot Flat cartoons.
ReplyDeleteI love the V for very nice weather - it sounds so polite, and its the opposite of what I have been experiencing right now. We've had rain constantly for the last two weeks!
Anyway I love your ever so kiwi photographs. I do totally agree with your comments. We need to start some kiwi pride trending on Pinterest!
I'm not sure what resonates most with me from the teatowel - but the being inspired by 'real-life' is ringing true with me at the moment. I'm feelin less inclined to look at Pinterest/twitter/instagram etc and have culled my blog reader right down. So hard to see so much 'perfection' around the net that the actual perfection around me gets lost. Here's to inspiration from here - kiwi styles!
ReplyDelete'Real life' has me in it's grips at the moment and it's been amazing. Less time spend on social media means more time to invest in the things I love.
ReplyDeleteThat teatowel is classic and I have to say as a Kiwi living outside of NZ each letter resonates with me :)
Ah yes less time looking at Pinterst and more time O for Outdoors tramping or F n C at the beach.
ReplyDeleteOh love this idea - Bush is resonating with me - I miss the green native bush and the sounds in the bush...
ReplyDeleteI'd have to go with A. Not only is it a letter... but a word us kiwis use so loosely. "It's nice out aye?" "Party's on thursday aye?" or my all time kiwi favourite "Oh aye?!" Yes, it's tagged onto just about any statement automatically transitioning it from statement to question. Here's to the humble "A" as kiwi as it gets.. Aye?!
ReplyDeleteahaha "Z: Zealand (the new one)." clever ;)
ReplyDeleteLove it and have to agree that 'Zealand (the new one' resonates most with me most in light of the AUS ZEALAND saga!
ReplyDeletei like the m for milk one!! but i've got to wonder, i for ice skating? perhaps ice cream could have been a better option!! :) (and i do love dairy but perhaps this comment is more dairy obsessed than i actually am! :))
ReplyDeleteI for Ice Skateing!! since when did we have Ice skating as a kiwi classic? I remember sliding across paddocks that were frosty trying to imitate ice skaters... {failing to look like the classy lady wearing a bathing suit doing so tho!!!} and attempting to slide on a frozen lake wearing sneakers - again fail!! but actually ice skating, skates and all now thats an idea! x
ReplyDeleteYOU are inspiring. as for the teatowel.. I LOIVE l&p x
ReplyDeleteYou put into words my thoughts about Pinterest exactly! xo
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering why there's no J : jandals?! Surely they're a whole lot more kiwi than jockeys huh? And the only ice skating I've ever done was across the front lawn on a frosty morning! Funny little tea towel. ;) xx
ReplyDelete'X - the mark on the betting guide' = hahaha that reminds me of my grandad. What a great idea to have a 'Kiwiness' board. I love my pintrest too, but I try and limit it to stuff I'm actually going to do or use or what really really inspires me. I could spend a lot of timing repining other's pins, but its nice to go my own way most of the time.
ReplyDeleteHiya! Not sure if this competition is over or not (or open for aussies)...no matter! My husband and I are just back in Brisbane today from our 12 days amongst kiwiness. I love your long islands and the people in them, particularly my family.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to pick the letter 'V' for very nice weather...hahaa!! Maybe it has been Very Nice for you way up north but mostly between Auckland, the mount and Waikato it was pretty ordinary! I have to say though that there WERE some perfect moments of Very Nice weather and even the moments when it was raining/snowing on us we were still having an excellent time.
All the best with your move home. We were in Cambridge yesterday and the weather was pretty mild (and I live in the subtropics!).
:-) melania
PS thanks for the refreshing perspective, here's to more of real-life!
i love this post, its one of my favs of yours!!! its probably too late to enter but i love "C" cow and cocky!
ReplyDelete