I’m in a real ‘adulting’ mindset at the moment. I’ve had a meeting with an insurance broker, we are getting Dave’s citizenship underway, our mortgage is up for renewal so I’m in full planning mode around refinancing and I’m really consciously trying to make our …
The arrival of PlanetBox lunchboxes in New Zealand has been long awaited by Mums and/or Instagram food stylists for a long, long time. With a picky eater on my hands, these bento-style lunch boxes looked like just the thing to help Nix make the most …
I’d given up on home printers years ago, but after receiving Epson’s innovative WorkForce EcoTank Printer to review, I’m ready to smash work, life admin and school projects in 2018 – without running out of ink once.
I am a techy, gadget geek, early adopter kinda girl.
You don’t keep blogging for over 10 years without having some sort of affinity for how technology can increase productivity and creativity and improve your lifestyle, at least to some degree.
Despite most communication being conducted via email these days, ‘life admin’ still requires paper and printing. Forms, permission slips, itineraries, confirmations, tickets, bank statements, school projects, photos… I need to print multiple times per day (heads up, in my experience, printing needs increase exponentially with the number of kids you have!).
I swore off printers 3 years ago after bringing the last failure home. I purchased a ‘WIFI’ model that never connected to our network, wouldn’t talk to my Mac computers, printed everything on a 25° angle and required new cartridges constantly. The kicker? If you purchased on special it was often cheaper to buy a whole new printer (which came with ink cartridges) then it was to stock up on ink. This sort of false-economy is super disheartening as both a consumer and as someone who tries to think about the impact our purchasing has on the environment.
It was time to say goodbye to the weakest link in our home office environment, preferring to suffer through the inconvenience of waiting for that friend who could print something out at work (Dave and I both work from home so this was ridiculous!) or actually driving up to our local stationery store and using the kiosks there.
There is always an exception to every rule, however, and it appears one printer company have magic-ed up a device that can do what I need it to do – and do what it says it can do on the box!
Meet the Epson WorkForce EcoTank ET-4750.
My New Best Friend!
This multi-function marvel has addressed every problem I’ve ever experienced with printers as, well as doing its basic job of printing better than I could have imagined.
So many reasons, but let me count the ways:
The convenience of having a home printer again and the ease of WIFI printing is just so delicious; I’m literally singing the EcoTank’s praises to anyone who will listen. There is a large range of models and price options available and all come with that amazing no cartridge, refillable tank system and 2 years of ink included.
Check out all of the options here for more info> Epson EcoTank Printers
Waitangi Day is the line in the sand when it comes to New Zealand summer I reckon. The big stuff all happens ‘Pre-Waitangi’; the massive 6 week school holiday kicks off for the kids, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, road trips, tropical cyclones…………. Come Feb …
Nara was added to my Japan To-Do list pretty early on as I felt it was an easy combo of culture, religion and cool stuff for the boys, ie lots of roaming deer lol. Oh and this place is ancient! The boys and I were …
Vegetable prices here in New Zealand are absolutely ridiculous this summer. If mortgaging your house to keep up a steady supply of the green gold aka, avocados is not your jam, then you’ll be looking to purchase in-season produce whose price point reflects the fact that it’s IN SEASON lol.
And that brings us to corn.
I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t love fresh, kiwi grown sweetcorn. It’s the perfect summer vege, it stays fresh in its husk in the fridge, travels well and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.
After travelling in Japan for 2 weeks, we had been missing our kiwi fruit and vegetables like crazy so every meal at the moment revolves around salad and veges. Last night I whipped up some Twice Baked Sweetcorn and Bacon Potatoes using fresh as, LeaderBrand sweetcorn and spinach. We’ve got a winner here folks, these corn taties and variations on them will be a menu regular in our house from now on. Sub the bacon for a hearty Meat Free Monday Meal, or switch your protein and dice up some leftover bbq sausages etc. This is a super easy recipe to get creative with and prep early so you’re not rushing at dinner time.
I wish I could take credit for this amazing recipe but I can’t lol. For more yummy, fresh ways to eat NZ sweetcorn, check out the recipes section over at www.leaderbrand.co.nz
[yumprint-recipe id=’15’]
Lord have mercy bullet trains are freaking amazing. Pure Japanese innovation and technology designed to increase the efficiency of people moving between Japan’s two biggest cities. Of course, the Shinkansen trains now run the full length of the country and with the amazing Japan Rail …
After declaring it an anime-shopping-free day, we decided to make the most of the beautiful weather in Tokyo so headed for Ueno Park. In Cherry Blossom season, this is one of the spots to be in Tokyo, however, as we are visiting in winter I …
In my fast and loose ‘Mind Itinerary’, I had pencilled in Monday for a trip to Sea Disney in Tokyo. However, after one day on the ground, what we really wanted to do was simply see and experience more of Tokyo.
So, we ditched Disney and saved hundreds of dollars. The kids did not care and Dave and I were infinitely happier!
We began everyday in Tokyo with a visit to the most amaze bakery about 20 paces from our front door. I had NO idea that bakeries were a thing here, and my god, everything that comes out of Japanese ovens is fit for the gods I tell you! The Arteria Bakery was divine, the best pastries, breads, curry buns, melonpam, blueberry and apple pies………we tried it all. Yes. We. Did.
Dave had to work, so the kids and I headed off on foot, navigating the 30-minute walk to Ikebukuro where the boys were super excited to experience J-World, an anime theme park featuring Dragon Ball Z – off course. I find Google Maps a bit dodgy at home in NZ, but here the app works perfectly. We were navigated through gorgeous, quiet wee residential streets and alleys, just as spic ‘n span as the rest of Tokyo, and made it to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro in no time. I’ve realised on this trip the beauty of having no car! Exploring on foot is such a pleasure here and gives a real sense of what life is actually like here in Tokyo.
We had unwittingly stumbled upon a kids-go-free day at J-world so we were off to a great start. Ethan loved this place, Nixon enjoyed it even with only a cursory knowledge of anime, however, give it a miss if you or the kids are not fans as it will all go right over your head as there is no English translation or context. That said, the boys were happy so I was super happy!
Sunshine City is a HUGE mall, it was a struggle to navigate but we found the restaurant level and I braved ordering food without Dave for the first time. The kid’s option was easily identifiable by the Hello Kitty plate and was so perfect for Nix. It came with a giant tempura shrimp, about 10 fries, a small hamburger patty and some rice, dessert and orange juice. Literally ALL of Nixon’s favourite foods, neatly separated how he likes it. The dessert was a strange custard that he wasn’t a fan of, but aside from that 10/10.
I had a good look at the menu before ordering and noticed that there were two prices; one for the individual item and one for the ‘set’ which included rice and miso soup. As Ethan is not a fan of miso and the rice servings are huge, we ordered one set and one individual item and saved around 200¥!
After a quick visit to the Pokemon shop (soooo cute!) we headed upstairs to the Sunshine City Aquarium located on the roof of the mall. We absolutely LOVED this place. Skip the sea lions and penguins and head for the aquarium tanks. There were so many fish, reptiles and amphibians here that we had never seen before it was amazing for my animal-mad boys. A leopard shark, huge sunfish, giant spider crabs, poisonous frogs and so much more. It def got us pumped for the big aquarium visit to come in Osaka.
Whilst in Ikebukuro we headed straight to the heart of this shopping mecca and soaked it all in. There was a girl on the street with an owl advertising the ‘Owl Cafe’ nearby, there was an 8 story department store dedicated to DIY and basically, home and lifestyle called Tokyu Hands. I could have spent hours in here but I was with 3 boys so time was limited lol. Ethan was granted his final Dragon Ball Z shopping mission and found a figure he wanted in the giant Animate store. He was happy and I was happy the search was over.
The neighbourhoods between Ikebukuro and our accommodation were so pleasant we opted to walk the 30 minutes home again and pick up some don bowls for dinner on the way home.
I know no-one will believe this but, the only shopping I’ve done for myself is a $5 floppy felt hat on clearance from Uniqlo!!! Shock horror I know. Not even ANY sneakers!
There are 12 more days though.
Day 2 = AWESOME.
Lord. Japan is far, far away from Auckland, New Zealand. And I mean far. But that is what makes it so amazing. After two great Jetstar Flights (thanks Jason for the attention you gave the boys on the long Gold Coast – Narita leg!), …