I get a bit giddy when new restaurants open in New Plymouth and I’m excited to say that we’ve had quite a few new openings lately. The New York bar at the Nice Hotel, Monica’s, Social Kitchen, Prohibition… The latest is in the new ‘Arts Quarter’ across from the Len Lye Centre, and in […]
I started a new ritual when I moved into the House….when I fit a run into the day, I grab a shell from the beach in the middle of it and put it into a jar. I had no idea what I’d actually do with the shells once they filled the jar, rather I just […]
The Taranaki region is spoilt for choice of places to play golf. There are 20 courses, most are under $30, and have views of the mountain or sea, or both. We’ve started playing at Westown as it’s one of the closest courses to the House. We have a business team entered, and enjoy zipping […]
The House was full last weekend with three couples who travelled here to see the Garden Festival. One of the couples had stayed with us during one of our first months of business, and booked in their friends to come back together. We just love having the House full with people travelling together. It is […]
“Amazing sweet place. Thank you.” Guests from Wanganui […]
When I was going through a tough time in my 20’s, I began using the scene of sitting by the sea in an Adirondack chair to bring some peace and beauty into my day. I practised a bit of meditation by using all of my senses to experience that scene and bring it literally into […]
We have 2 garden festivals going on this week – the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular, and the Fringe Festival. Together, there are almost 100 gardens open to the public. It’s a gorgeous time of year, everything is flowering, and the weather is sunny and calm. I visited the first garden of the Festival over the […]
Read More… from Taranaki Garden Spectacular – Armstrong Garden
These are the first roses from the garden this spring. I am so proud of them, as this is the first garden I’ve ever had that has rose bushes. I knew nothing about caring for them, and have slowly learned their cycles. It’s wonderful to see the beautiful product of all of those steps….feeding, spraying, […]
Urbis New Plymouth We just love this article about New Plymouth! “residents and visitors to New Plymouth can snowboard, ski, water ski and surf all in the same day. Better still, a vibrant restaurant and hospitality scene means that the morning can begin with a top-notch cup of coffee, and it’s easy to spend an […]
One of the best things about living (and working) with a ‘handyman’ is that most times, when I say, “Oh, I love that,” about something related to gardening or the House, he replies, “I can do that.” The latest project out of the man shed, are wine barrel planters. We’ve put lemon trees in them […]