The Bus Stop Cafe

The Bus Stop cafe closed down several months ago, and I really miss it.  It was a sad day turning up to see the gate shut, a 'closed indefinitely' sign hanging on the gate thanking everyone for their friendship and support over time, and nobody in the bus.  It was a friendly, fun place that served big laughs, made a pretty good coffee and had the best donuts ever. 

I love food carts and coffee vans, or any combination of the two ... I love markets and stalls, gala treats, crepes in paper bags, coffee in paper cups (things I know I shouldn't, but I really do) ... food and coffee in general ... I've had a thing about paper bags for as long as I can remember, and the food truck thing I think comes from either this Chip and Dale cartoon, All in a Nutshell, or one very like it.  I have the foggiest memory of the episode, it's one of my oldest memories, and a love that stems back as far as I can recall, so I'm calling that the origin.  I really miss that bus.

I read about the Bus Stop cafe in Good magazine, and was so excited that it was parked up at Te Horo beach, about 20 minutes drive up the Coast from home.  The kids loved it, and I've already dribbled about the donuts.  I really wish I'd been cheeky enough to ask for the recipe.

In contrast

I just took the dog for a walk. 

In related news, a neighbour gestured at the heavens and yelled "WHYYY?" at me from his front doorway as I walked past, and I can't feel my face anymore. 

Because it's this sort of day.   (and yes, the dog did just pee on that log in the corner of the shot)

NB It doesn't look like this today

Today, it's absolutely sodden.  But, it did about a week or so ago, and summer is coming. 

One of my favourite routes to the beach is to veer off up a side street, and then cut down another street off that, putting me on the beach slightly up from the main entrance.  This is why.   (Also, there is a newly installed coffee caravan on the way.  We'll talk more about that when it's sunny again and I can take pictures)

On the chair - Books by Victoria Beckham

Over the years, I've sincerely admired in the evolution of Victoria Beckham and if I could choose to meet any celebrity, she'd be my pick.  I missed the whole Spice Girls thing (by living under a rock, apparently) and picked up on Victoria Beckham as she was shedding Posh Spice, and becoming VB, so my admiration is not in a paying-attention-to-tabloid-noise kind of way, but rather of a hard working, family oriented, ambitious woman who has achieved a remarkable amount.

I love her designs and personal style, and she really interests me.   More so, now that I've read Learning to Fly.  Yes, it's 14 years old, but I honestly really enjoyed it.  It's the other side of the headlines and it's the story of an inspiring woman.  I loved her style of writing and her sense of humour and it felt every bit of what it is - that you're seeing the start of something incredible.  There was a lot about the Spice Girls, but then it was written around that time - now I wish she'd write another about her journey since and particularly her journey into fashion.

While I was filling up my cart on Book Depository, I also added That Extra Half Inch and really enjoyed that too.  It's a style guide that covers absolutely everything from special occasion to underwear to holiday bags, and made me really, really want a pair of VB jeans.  I'll definitely be holding onto this, and even if you're not a fan of her own style, you can't argue that VB knows style in general, has a solid foothold in fashion and knows what works.

Cake!

I've had this Petite Kitchen recipe for ages, and finally got around to making it the other day.  It's really good!  and you really could have it for breakfast because it's simple and has nothing but good stuff - ground almonds, honey, eggs, (baking soda and vanilla extract - I feel obliged to add those as ingredients), blueberries, coconut oil and coconut flakes.  Done!

Almond Blueberry Cake with Crispy Coconut Crumble - in the tin, because I forgot to take a photo after I turned it out, and we ate it all before I took a photo of a single piece to make up for the lack of turned-out-of-tin photo.  Our bad.

And on a totally different note, it's BATHROOM DAY!  It's a very exciting thing, getting new loos.  I had to share this before anything else though.  We pulled out the cabinet and remaining carpet underneath it in the main bathroom (and by 'we' I mean I had nothing to do with it), and found this hidden.  Whaaaaaaat?  Who does this to a floor?  At least they managed to contain it to one board (I think we could possibly consider this a miracle) so we'll be able to lift a board out of a wardrobe to replace it with.

Counting down to desk day

The day after I published my wishlist for my new desk (waiting ... waiting ... waiting ...) Father Rabbit had a sale, bless them.  I'm sure it was just for me!

Sooo ... Treats for my office. 

Coffee art

We order our coffee beans from Havana Coffee in the city, on a fairly regular basis (very fairly regular.  Mmm ... coffee).  It's always a happy thing opening the mail box and the smell of freshly roasted beans wafting out (best mail ever), but twice now, the funny folk at Havana have also pimped our delivery bags.  Not only do they roast a very good bean, they make us smile too. 

We've had this guy hanging out on a wall for a couple of months, and we're really quite attached to him. 

 

This one arrived today, and made both of us laugh (our last name is Walmsley).  We're definitely people who appreciate a sense of humour and the sharing of it. 

News from this week (horrid photos included)

I'm learning to use our coffee machine.  The photo is way more sinister looking than the attemp warranted, I thought, but oh well.

Whether my coffee bill goes down remains to be seen.  I think probably my caffeine consumption and coffee bean bill will just go up.  Cafes are my home away from home and I don't care how horrified anyone looks, I've always loved coffee in a paper cup.  There's something about being on the run with coffee. 

This was probably my achievement of the week.  No more flowery toilet roll holder!  Our plumbing quote is in and we're making a start on the bathrooms next week (!!), so we were in the plumbing place choosing a tap (or specifically, choosing another tap because we got the price back on the first one we chose and there was no way that was happening) and this shiny hunk of loo roll holding beauty was on last-one cost-price sale.  Win! 

It'll be a slow project because at the moment the shower in the ensuite and the bath aren't knackered, it'd just be nice to change them and we can't justify that (though I tried).  We hadn't budgeted for a bathroom reno this year, so those will go on the to-do list after a few other things that have a higher priority.  We are though putting in new toilets, a new cabinet and pedestal basin in the ensuite, and shifting the existing ensuite cabinet into the bathroom.  And this.  No more flowery toilet roll holder.

 

This is also going - hooray!!  (I'll post more pics when things are done.  The cabinet will probably turn into firewood for someone, but the ceramic basin is being re-purposed and will go out to the shed where we have another toilet, but no handbasin)

Other news to note is that the husband dismissed my choice of watch on my holiday shopping list as boring, so I had to go window shopping again.

The Horse watch from Paper Plane Store.

I also spent nearly 2 days clearing out our walk-in wardrobe.  I am never spending two years just hiffing many things into a large space ever again.

Spring

That season when it's suddenly clear and bright, you're dropping layers of clothing and revelling that summer is coming closer ... closer ... closer ... and then ...

You take a look around you and realise that this happened (everywhere there is dirt on you r800 odd square metre property) while you weren't looking over Winter.

Woops.

The post with no title

Since we moved to the beach house, my office has been a corner in our open plan living area.  It works more often than it doesn't, but the set up of the desk itself has been a bit average.  Our house is so small (we love small, so don't read anything negative into that) that we have to be a bit clever about using space without taking up space (keeping visual impact to a minimum), which is how we ended up with this, as an interim fix. 

This has been my desk for a couple of years, and to be honest it only really works because I can swing my chair around and work on the end of the kitchen table.  So really, it pretty much stores my crap and my monitor and makes sure we're not eating dinner off my keyboard.  Trying to find a desk to fit the space though without spending a fortune has been really tricky.  I wanted something fairly invisible, and not too big but big enough.  Just about everything would have had to be custom made to some extent, and you know what custom making something means ... $$$$$$$$$$$$ ...

This one was a wee bit disastrous, but still a bit of a laugh - it's a vintage Indonesian school desk that I bought online.  I know, it was a dubious thing to do but in saying that it has held my keyboard and monitor up for a couple of years, fairly successfully.  It's been the butt of a fair few jokes though, because although I asked many questions of the store selling it, and was assured that it was definitely suitable as a good working desk, it's sat here with something jammed under one end of the keyboard because of a dip in the surface, something else under the monitor because of another dip, the legs are hard up against the wall to try and counter a super wobble and I've been working away looking uphill because one end is about 2cm higher than the other.  Heh.  But, it's a story to tell, right? 

(Those cardboard tubes are my Diplomas. Still.  A year and a half later. I'm sure leaning against a wall counts as a step towards actually being on a wall)

Anyway.  We've finally found (and ordered!) a (NZ made) design (that we both like!  Miracles are happening every day all around us, people) that fits in with our more industrial style and the dining table we already have (ply with laminate top and wire legs) and it's only a couple of weeks away, so now I'm distracting my impatience waiting for its arrival with shopping for desk accessories at Father Rabbit.  I heart Father Rabbit.

This one is under orders from the husband.  He thinks my filing system a bit average.  He may be right, but we won't tell him that.  (He's already had one win this week - he denounced my watch pic on a previous blog as boring.  Unbelievable.  And also possibly right)

Pencil box love.  Except I can't actually buy it.  It's just there to display the pencils.  Sad.

Obviously.  To go in the cool pencil box.   

My memory is so crap, it aspires to be like a sieve, so I really, really need this.  And it'd make a nice change from post-it lists everywhere.  I could look all organised and stuff.

I have a thing about cups.  You know this already.  Every desk needs one though, don't you think?

What I should probably be looking for, if you'll refer back to that first picture of my desk, is one of those things that holds wires together.  That's a bit boring though.

Market day

I love market day.  I think most people must, because even on the worst days, everybody seems happy to be there.  I guess because they wouldn't be if they didn't want to be.

For me, I love the fresh produce. 

It looks so pretty and healthy while you're walking past to the cake stand.

Tan square and triple chocolate brownie.

Melktert (Milk Tart - I was so excited to find this!)

(I was trying to improve my photo of the tart because it's a bit fuzzy in the middle, but the not-ginger stuck her finger into it between shots, so that was the end of that)

Chicken soup for my soul

I think if I could only have one food for the rest of my life, this would be it.  About once a month I make a huge pot and it's pretty much all I eat outside of breakfast time, until it's gone.

Piping hot chicken soup.  Happiness.

What's in my (holiday) bag - the wishlist edition

(This is what started the what's-in-my-handbag post.  That entire post was intended to be the first paragraph of this one, but I went on so much I had to let it hang all by itself.  I guess this is why I have an editor whenever I do something being published by someone other than me)

We're going away for a few days, in a few weeks, so I've been thinking about all the things I'd love to be packing in my weekender (this is also called procrastination and it's one of my many skills.  Right now, I'm pretty sure my work inbox will be chocka and I still haven't chosen a paint colour, therefore, I'm writing a blog post and online window shopping.  Random story - this sort of thing always calls to mind one of my friends at uni who did a psych (I think) study/assignment on procrastination, but by the end of the uni year, he had several hundred dollars in library fines for not returning any of the books.  True story.).

The beauty of wishlist shopping is no styling is necessary (amen, because styling is definitely not one of my things.  Working on it, but not a lot closer to success), just a whole bunch of photo pilfering online.  Win!

So, this is what I'd love to be packing for our wee holiday in a few weeks.

1.  The Bag

In all these years, I have never have actually collected a weekender, and it's been up near the top of my wishlist for a really long time.  I'm losing my touch.

(The HotShot Large Weekender by AwlSnap on Etsy)


2.  The Beautiful Cup

I'm a total sucker for cool tea cups, and there's something about a holiday that makes a cup of tea taste even better than usual.  Probably it's just the sitting down and not having to rush anything, but also I have a weakness for sweet tea (usually something I only have when I'm sick, so it goes in the comfort food basket) and motel tea is so horrible it requires sugar.  Obviously, there are impracticalities in packing ceramics, but meh.

(Gidon Bing coffee mug from The Flock. Sold out, sadly. Probably for the best because of ongoing self-control issues)


3.  The Raincoat

An Okewa Rainwear raincoat, because this is New Zealand.  Bonus, it will be much easier to fold into my bag for travel than a big Winter coat (mine needs a bag all by itself) or jacket, and it's pretty exciting to see a raincoat designed for the urban environment, instead of having to fall back on outdoor wear when it's pouring.  After a very successful Kickstarter campagin, these babies have just gone (or are just about to) into production - weee!

(Okewa Rainwear women's trench. Picture shamelessly pilfered online.  And if you want to know more about Okewa, I wrote about them here)


4.  The Holiday Reading.

Everyone needs that!  The story of Betty Halbreich, legendary personal shopper.  This is top of my list right now.  I'm feeling torn though - it's out, but in hardback.  There's something very un-holiday about a hardback, but the paperback edition will miss my holiday by a month or two.  Dilemma.  "Download it!" says the husband.  HELL. NO.  Books come on paper.  End of story.

5.  The Watch

Because although I'm back here, I'm offline more than I have been in years.  Which means no clock at the corner of my screen or on my mobile device to check constantly, and I'm a person who needs to know what the time is.  Maybe I should try and kick that habit too, but it is what it is.  And this, is very cool.

(Uniformwares unisex watch, also from The Flock)


6.  The Handcream

I've been reviewing Trilogy skincare products for Threadnz over the last few weeks.  I'll let you know when the review is up.  One of my handbag (and travel) essentials is a good moisturiser.  Based on what I've discovered about Trilogy, I'd love to add either of these (or both) to my handbag!

 

7.  The Notebook

 

This actually exists in my world.  This poor abused, dearly loved thing goes pretty much everywhere with me.  My Sugar Paper notebook.

 

 



 



It'll be all-white

I'm sure it will.  But right now, I've almost finished painting the lounge just confusing myself.  It's spreading too - I had to take over a wall in the kitchen as well because of totally different light in that room. 

And I've realised that there are actually a whole bunch of colours that are the same, just with different names on different colour charts.  Not funny, Resene.  Not.  Funny.

Well, hey there Blondie

A bunch of our friends are doing Sugar-free September, starting today, so I figured a post to honour them and their efforts was definitely in order and there's nothing quite like a white chocolate brownie to say, rather them than me.

I'm as yet undecided as to whether these brownies originated in heaven, or hell.  And since it's a Gordon Ramsay recipe, I think that'll always remain a little bit up in the air.  I can tell you though that they are every bit as good as they look, they prefer a cup of tea to coffee (I took one for the team and tried them with both, because obviously an informed opinion is important), and although the recipe says to cut them into 9, I hedged and cut mine into 12 (I saw what went into them, a ninth of that mixture in one sitting? Er, no. Even for me, lover of noms) and next batch will be 16. 

These were also the reason that I finally got around to buying a brownie pan, which has been on my bakeware shopping list since forever.  Normally I'd just use a slice tin, but this was one of those recipes that I thought needed the real deal.  I'm definitely glad I real-dealed them.  I think real-dealing them definitely made a difference to the end product.

She's a proper, proper brownie, the Blondie.  So good.  Proper crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside.  (The fruit you can see is dried cranberry - a lovely sharp contrast to way more butter and sugar than should probably be allowed anywhere)

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