#KiwiInLondon

[jephanz]

Wore my new @thehpalliance hoodie from @dftbarecords to quidditch training today, ready to take on the new season! #flyingkiwi #londonunspeakables #wearebookeight #KiwiinLondon #quidditch #lookprettyplaydirty #takethemdown

[vivienofholloway]

Kitty dress by @vivienofholloway Repost from @soda_fontaine using @RepostRegramApp - Teddy bears picnic at the Chelsea Flower Show 🌷🌿 . . . #chelseaflowershow #chelseaflowershow2017 #london #londonlife #lovetravel #kiwiinlondon #pinupstyle #ootdsocialclub #vivienofholloway (at RHS Chelsea Flower Show)

[shag-e-blog]

#throwbackthursday #tb #throwback #london #england #englishsky #kiwiinlondon #nzphotographer #sky #clouds #skyporn #skyline #cityoflondon #chillday #travel #photography #thames #reflections

[notjustsomeofit]

Wintry Days

As I sit wrapped up warm on the couch, drinking Hummingbird Coffee all the way from home on a cold Saturday morning, snow elegantly falling outside but struggling to cling onto anything to settle. I decide it’s about time for another blog post. 

It’s been a long week at work and I have finally succumb to the classic winter cold, so its a rare Saturday in for me. I say rare, because it’s hard to take time out in a city that never really sleeps, with so many things to do and see it’s no wonder there comes a time where everything catches up with you and the last thing you want to do is go out. So today is a day for blogging, eating and watching the 6 nations. Not a bad day if you ask me. 

However, aside from my lazy day today, the past few wintery months have been some of the busiest. Christmas came and went rather quickly, but the build up to the festive season was truely something special. The lights, the cold wintery evenings, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and mulled wine, certainly made up for the summer Christmas I am so use to. Although, Christmas Day itself started Skyping the family back home who were all well on their way to having a very ‘Merry’ Christmas evening and continued on with a Orphans Christmas at our flat with ample food and alcohol followed of course with the Love Actually drinking game. 

On came the New Year in which was welcomed and celebrated at a friends amazing rooftop terrace, with again ample food and alcohol - perhaps a sign of things to come in the new year? But since then, work has kicked back off to a flying start, with a key focus on growing the business and scaling up. I can already tell that 2017 is going to be another year of further personal development and many opportunities within the business. 

Aside from work, the past few wintery months have brought with them many new opportunities and challenges. For one it’s been incredibly hard not to miss home, especially with everyone back home sharing holiday snaps of their glorious summer holidays and embracing the sun, meanwhile I wrap up warm with several layers, scarf and gloves in tact every time I leave the house. It’s been tough, but makes me super excited for the next European summer! 

Speaking of things being tough, getting the news that our much loved family dog Jess, was on her last legs and in need of being put down was something that really set me back. Although, you know it’s inevitable, that day just never seems to register, but for our wee Jessie that day had and it was a rather sad day for me. Not only because it was her last day, but knowing that whenever I next pop home for a visit there would be one less black lab to greet me. I will always treasure her as one of the best dogs we’d ever had, she was such a great natured dog, never lost her puppy charm and was a tough wee thing, having almost died many years earlier in a terrible accident, but at 13 years old her time was up and now all we have left are all the fond memories of her. It seems crazy to think a dog can have such a big impact on ones life, but loosing a dog is like loosing part of your family, truely mans best friend, and certainly Jessie was mine. 

On a more positive note, last weekend I was fortunate enough along with about 5,000 other kiwi expats, to take over central London in the much anticipated Waitangi Day Pub Crawl. One of the best days I have had in London to date. Everyone dresses up in classic kiwi attire and walks through the heart of West London causing a bit of chaos, but in the good ole kiwi fun loving way. The coppers were on good form and up for a bit of banter and the tourists didn’t know what to think, but with a she’ll be right attitude we charge on for Parliament square where a mass haka is tradition, outside West Minster Abbey, to conclude the crawl. Except I (and a large number of others) missed it because we got too carried away stopping into every single pub along the way, which is surprisingly a large number, so we missed it, but by 7pm everyone is wrecked and a good nights sleep is needed to shake off the numerous warm beers consumed throughout the day. For those that haven’t experienced a Waitangi Day Pub Crawl in London, you much add it to your list, the day will not disappoint. 

All Smiles at Waitangi Day Pub Crawl

Aside, from all that, everything else just continues on, life in London is still great, I am still as happy as one can be and the world keeps throwing all sorts of surprises at us, but all we can do is keep on, keeping on and living the life we shape for ourselves. I hope all those (if anyone) who reads this is well and as happy with life as I am. If you have made it this far, I would love to hear from you, your thoughts on this blog, your thoughts on life (or anything for that matter), or even just to say hi - even if it’s been a while, I’d love to hear from you. But until then, it’s enough from me and goodbye for now. 

I’ll be sure to post about my trip to Italy last year in my next blog, I know I am slack, but I will make a conscious effort to update this blog at least once a month from now on, so there will be no excuses. 

Catch ya! - Stew =) 

Rest Easy Jess xx

[loudreamerbeliever-blog]

What an awesome couple of months so far in London town! Check out what I have been up to :) x Getting into the routine of things now in the big city and becoming more and more settled. London and Europe such a huge place with so many things to explore that it can be a bit a overwhelming if you’re a person like me and wants to see everything right now! Now it’s a matter of doing life admin and really putting together a plan of exploring places on this side of the world. Being able to legally apply to get a divorce now is also another big step to overcome and tackle, but looking forward to celebrating with a divorce party once everything is finalised. Continuing to do me here in London, exploring and developing through self growth, and living life my way. Lou x

[abbiemusicnz-blog]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ABBIE (@abbiemusicnz)

Watch to the end, awesomeness 😂😂😂💃💃💃 Singing at Allie & Kevin's wedding👰🎩 #abbiemusic #singersongwriter #singerlife #weddingsinger #kiwibird #kiwiinlondon #brideandgroom #congratulations #partypeople #happy (at Woburn Abbey Sculpture Gallery)

[lu-shmoo]

1. Black and White: some words to live by. #fms_blackandwhite #fatmumslim #january #2016 #kiwiinlondon #shakespeare

[london80days-blog]

Day Two - a walk in the Park

Richmond is a spot that is very hard to beat when the sun comes out. Here are some snaps from my visit the other day – including a close encounter with a rather large stag.

Ice-cream Stall

[jephanz]

SECOND NIGHT Repping the Harry Potter Alliance #CursedChild #19yearslater #bookeight #harrypotter #KiwiinLondon #wearebookeight #HPA

[jephanz]

AAAAAHHHHHHH #CursedChild #KiwiinLondon #harrypotter #wearebookeight

[jephanz]

Typical TfL #KiwiinLondon #thorpepark #delayed

[jephanz]

OOTD: Thorpe Park. Just cause the weather is trash, doesn't mean I can't be fabulous. #purple #ootd #KiwiinLondon #mismatchedsocks #bowie #labyrinth

[jephanz]

Meet Ranger Danger, PC Plod (aka DC Plod) and Fluffy. We made a spontaneous outing to get a bigger planter for the geraniums and rewarded ourselves with 3 dinosaur statues. There were no planters I liked so we went with a bread bin and found the wooden lid makes a nice plinth for Ranger Danger. . . #homedecor #interiordesign #luckyfind #dinosaur #dinostatue #planter #upcycle #geranium #indoorplant #potplant #decor #tkmaxx #poundland #kiwiinlondon #housewife #keptwoman

[shag-e-blog]

#throwbackthursday #tb #throwback #london #england #englishsky #kiwiinlondon #nzphotographer #sky #clouds #skyporn #skyline #cityoflondon #londontownbuckinghampalace #goldfountains #chillday #englishsky #travel #photography #buckinghampalace

[shag-e-blog]

#30stmaryaxe #throwbackthursday #tb #throwback #london #england #englishsky #kiwiinlondon #nzphotographer #sky #clouds #skyporn #skyline #cityoflondon #chillday #travel #photography

[shag-e-blog]

#grandad #throwbackthursday #throwback #tb #leithhilltower #dorking #surryhills #southlondon #England #englishsky #travel #photography #kiwiinlondon