All Dressed Up
Our dance card is filling up here. Mostly work related events and dinners but they are all requiring a much higher style quotient that we ever had to deal with at home – this while all of my clothes continue to sit in storage somewhere in the Auckland harbor. Dresses, shoes, clutches, bits of costume jewelry – all of it. Toronto has become an uber casual city so for events of the equivalent, I could get away with great jeans, heels, maybe a blazer if the season called for it. Not. Here. People dress up – for everything. I love it – I just wish I had my shizz. We are off to our second black tie in a few weeks and I don’t think I can get away with the awesome short romper I wore with some statement jewelry last time. Which brings me to….
All Dressed Up – Part 2
Shopping in New Zealand is a bit of a bust. I am a high/low girl – will spend money on pieces that will last and save on the trendy bits that have a shorter life. The chasm on the high/low tends to be massive in New Zealand. It is luxury brands (I actually don’t include luxury brands in my high – I just won’t spend that much…ever) from Europe and then local boutiques, designers, some chains from Australia. That’s it. Full stop. Or so I thought. On the recommendation of a friend, I visited TK today, a local designer and fell in LOVE with her line. Classic. Elegant. Sophisticated. And plum in the middle of my high/low expectations. Totally wearable clothes with a closet life. Yes please.
Fresh For Real
I am getting more comfortable with the seafood here – most fish are unfamiliar like hapuka, John Dory, whitebait, paua and scallop with its egg sack firmly attached (supposed to provide a lovely, creamy finish to the cooked shellfish. I am good, thanks. Pass). I finally rummaged up the courage to buy a whole snapper (a familiar fish) totaling about 4 lbs. That is a big freaking fish and crazy intimidating but so well priced and so fresh I swear it swam into the fish mongers hands. And here is what I learned: fresh fish does not require anything other than respect and seasoning. Literally. I made a salsa verde but even without, it was gorgeous.
The “P” Word
I think we may be just starting to go through puberty over here. I use the collective ‘we’ because it certainly feels that way and this may seem like a massive over share but I am reminded of what an island I am in New Zealand. Puberty isn’t “parking lot at pick up” talk or even coffee chatter with someone I have just met. Feels too important for that. I have read “The Care and Keeping of You” (despite really being for the much younger reader) just to remind myself of everything involved in the great change our kids go through. Geez. Overwhelming. We all get through it but how to mentally prepare a young girl for what will come. These are times I just want my peeps. Just want that reassurance that I won’t blow it. And the whole thing reminds me of growing up and puberty being so glossed over at school and at home. Why we left these ever-important talks to chance and crossed fingers blows my mind. I want my daughters to be conscious of what they are going through and not afraid of it. I want them to be empowered to make decisions that suit them. I don’t ever want them to feel blindsided. I guess I am deciding to do it all very differently than it was done for me (and that comes without an ounce of judgment – we are raising our children in a very different time and with very different tools. I plan to use them all).