You just can’t beat a great savoury mince recipe in winter right? This is one of our family’s most favourite and EASY dinner recipes that is a regular on the meal plan – especially in winter. Dave’s been whipping this mince up for years and I’m …
We are off on an amazing 4 day tour of the upper North Island in conjunction with Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, Hamilton Waikato Tourism, Destination Rotorua and Destination Great Lake Taupo! Catch up on Day 1 here and Day 2 here! We awoke on Sunday to the most beautiful, …
Despite a thunderous night in Hamilton we slept really well at the Quality Hotel Ambassador and started our day with a seriously good breakfast buffet at Retrospect Cafe, Bar & Grill on site. There were gluten-free options as well as hot oatmeal, fresh muffins, a comprehensive cereal bar, toast and a full cooked menu of bacon, eggs, kransky sausages, potatoes, baked beans and mushrooms. Awesome spot, no hesitation about staying again – would love to try the brand new Clarion Suites, which have been purpose built using green principles and a firm dedication to use local tradesmen and suppliers to fit out these luxe suites.
Nix is wearing LFOH Frost Henley and Macpac Astro Hooded Down Vest (see below), Ethan wears Macpac Pack-It-Jacket
The drive between Hamilton and Rotorua is quick and quite lovely, particularly so at this time of year as the leaves change colour – the Waikato was looking beautiful this morning! We made it to the 
Skyline Rotorua in just over an hour and headed straight up the hill on the gondola. We seem to be getting really lucky with the weather this weekend despite many parts of the Waikato getting pummelled. It was a blue sky morning heading up and the view across Rotorua from both the gondola car and the summit of Mt Ngongotaha makes this a must-do activity.
The age gap between the boys sometimes makes activities a little difficult, but Nix was able to tandem ride with Dave and I on the luge so this was another fun family morning when we were all able to participate, TOGETHER! Love that.
The rain set in after lunch so we took the team down to Kuirau Park for a cruise around the hot pools and a lovely foot soak in the public mineral pool. Fun, free and a definite taste of local Rotorua.
Despite checking in early (which I really appreciate on a rainy day with two tired kids!) we were greeted with warm smiles, patience and time at Econo Lodge Cleveland. When doing some background reading about the property, I came across the quote that proprietors Brij and Ronnette are aiming to provide five star service at a 3 star price and I can attest that this is absolutely the case. Ronette is a wealth of knowledge about what to do and where to go and most importantly what would best suit your travelling party – I really appreciate this when I encounter it, it’s such a value-add to anywhere you’re staying, as is free unlimited wifi which is available in each unit!
You know when you’re first settle into a hotel/motel room and you’re feeling a little bit dodgy and wondering if you should check the sheets, but maybe it would be better if you didn’t?
Yeah well, that’s not happening at Econo Lodge Cleveland. This is the cleanest accommodation I have ever stayed in. The stainless steel bench tops could make a grown woman cry – so shiny! We settled in quickly and hit the beautiful heated pool for some fun before the sun went down. This is classic kiwi accommodation done right. Brij and Ronnette are working hard at property upgrades and it looks great. The latest addition is Cleveland Cottage, a stunning period villa that has been beautifully restored, boasts a full, modern kitchen stunning bathroom and sleeps 7-9 guests. I want to stay here!!!! So gorgeous.
We didn’t manage to squeeze in a soak in either of the 2 mineral pools on site, with the kids sleeping, we opted to enjoy the comfy separate lounge, free wifi and Sky TV in our unit. We are planning to bring the kids back here over summer, the awesome outside facilities plus the close proximity to the lake and amenities tick all the boxes for excellent family accommodation in my book.
FYI, all units have new beds and they are hands down the BEST beds ever. Slept like a baby……..until our baby woke at 2.40am groan!
Nix is wearing LFOH Frost Henley and Macpac Astro Hooded Down Vest (see bove), Ethan wears Macpac Pack-It-Jacket, Dave wears the Macpac Uber Light Down Jacket and I’m wearing the Macpac Uber light Long Down Jacket
We are off on an amazing 4 day tour of the upper North Island in conjunction with Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, Hamilton Waikato Tourism, Destination Rotorua and Destination Great Lake Taupo! We have been looking forward to this family getaway for a long time! There is nothing …
Three of the BEST Banana Cake Treats – ONE pack of cake mix. Not even joking! Banana Cake is that culinary staple that every home baker busts out from time to time. Whenever I’ve got a couple of overripe bananas attracting fruit flies (the shame!) …
In many parts of the western world, hair removal to some degree is simply a part of life for most women and has been for their entire adult lives. Daily hair removal ::::::sigh::::::
If hair grows back that fast it obviously serves some purpose, but at age 37 I am no more savvy as to what benefit my underarm hair provides than I was approximately 25 years ago when I began removing it – on a daily basis! (Of course the obvious exception to this is legs in winter right? Ain’t nobody got time for that!)
I’m not a waxer, preferring the at-home familiarity of shaving but my underarms in particular really do not cope well with the frequent rasp of the razor. This summer in particular I was quite conscious of how unsightly they looked whenever I bore my shoulders in a tank top. Ugly, inflamed bumps and often ingrown hairs would ruin the visage of the ‘Well Groomed Woman” I try and project. Ha! I joke, I doubt I ever come across that way but I would like to be rid of those unsightly prickles once and for all.
Remington offered me a trial of their I-light Pro over the past month so I’ve been hard at work zapping away at those spots we all work diligently on in the shower each day, namely my underarms, bikini line, legs and that rogue chin hair that just KILLS me!
Sucks getting older – men lose their hair and women grow it in some very unsightly places!
To be honest, I found the setup instructions pretty confusing but once I got my head around the text, I found the device itself super easy to use.
There’s no delay, no warm-up period, simply switch the base on, check the skin colour of the area to be treated using the sensor, select the power level and you’re ready to roll.
The procedure itself is quick and despite my trepidation, barely painful. When depressing the button on the handheld unit an intense pulse of light is emitted with the aim of stunning the hair follicle and preventing future growth. This doesn’t happen after just one procedure so treatment is recommended every 2 weeks.
The sensation is that of a slightly stinging , small electric shock on the surface of your skin, something you get used to very quickly.
Larger areas do take a wee while, which probably resulted in the somewhat patchy job I did on my legs lol, but on smaller areas such as my underarms it was very easy to set the unit up and quickly do a very thorough job.
And the results?
Well I just completed a whirlwind trip to Sydney and didn’t pack my razor. I didn’t need to! The growth on my underarms has slowed so much it’s totally negligible, according to the advice included with the machine this will slow further over the next few weeks and hopefully cease all together!
The added side effect of not using my razor so much is that the condition of my skin is so much better! I’ve never admired my underarms before but they look positively smooth and, well, white, without the unsightly stubble that always came back the very next day.
Another area that I’ve noticed responded particularly well to the IPL treatment was my upper lip. A separate attachment is used on facial areas and this was another ‘small job’ that I was consistent in repeating to maximise the benefits of the unit whilst I had it.
Retailing at $479, the i-Light Pro+ is an investment, but when you consider how much time, and perhaps money you commit to hair removal over your adult life, it’s definitely a wise investment and one I feel you can easily appreciate the benefits of when the condition of your skin improves over the course of treatments.
Remington i-Light Pro+ Face & Body IPL6500AU RRP$899This Intense Pulse Light (IPL) system offers a long term* and completely comfortable solution to remove unwanted hair in the comfort and privacy of your own home. The i-Light Pro+ Face & Body features advanced technology that sets it apart from other at-home IPL devices. High energy output (7-8J/cm squared) effectively disables the hair follicle with ProPulse wavelengths (>600nm) which deeply penetrate the skin to reach right down to the hair root. The light energy is delivered in long pulse durations (110ms) # faster than a blink of the eye – that are gentle to the skin. These three factors combined are the perfect recipe for safe and effective long term hair removal in as little as 4 weeks*.
*Individual results vary. In clinical trials on the body, treatment sites showed up to 94.3% fewer hairs twelve months after just 4 weeks of treatment (3 treatments each 2 weeks apart). Similar results observed from professional hair removal devices.
As many of you probably have, I’ve read numerous John Grisham novels over the years, always safe in the knowledge that I was almost ‘guaranteed’ a good read. The best seller, Rogue Lawyer is no different, though the main character, Sebastian Rudd and the disjointed construct …
The 4th trimester is becoming a more common talking point and something that new mums are increasingly being made aware of. Newborns and their mothers do not pop out of the birthing suite ready for lattes, playgroups and power walks with the Mountain Buggy – …
Dave and I sat down and watched The Dressmaker on Friday night and fell in love with the film within the first 20 minutes. Australian films done well deliver comedy gold and this is no exception. Bone dry humor, stunning costumes, set and landscapes you have to see to believe and one of the most intimate, heartfelt characterisations and storylines
I’ve enjoyed in a while.
Kate Winslet owns this movie. Ran out of her tiny, rural town as a young girl and wrongly vilified, her character Tilly returns home with enough moxie to silence her critics once and for all – not without heady doses of romance, tragedy and drama of course! Tilly has learned her trade as a Parisian Dressmaker and brings her talent, and her sewing machine, back home to breathe some life, style and va-va-va-voom into a very dull, 1950’s Australian community. She eventually wins over her hard-as-nails Mum, who has remained in the town alone and ostracized in the years following Tilly’s departure. The Dressmaker is quirky and engaging, delivering scene after scene of inimtiable storytelling with an effortless, Aussie charisma.
I struggle with movies, my micro-attention span and mega to-do-lists often conspire against me when I try to sit down and enjoy a film from start to finish. I had no trouble settling in to watch The Dressmaker – the captivating cast and brilliant story make this film a guaranteed hit. I’m adding the original novel by Rosalie Ham to my reading list so I can enjoy it all over again.
The Dressmaker is available now on DVD and Blu-Ray, plus, I have 3 copies on DVD to give away!
