Wow, it’s amazing how one brilliant weekend can re-light a spark that was almost forgotten. The tedium of my normal routine was making me a little glum, Emma is going through a challenging age, so you can’t blame a girl for wanting to escape for a few days. Thanks to Hyundai’s #BrilliantRoadTrip, my sister and I threw caution to the wind, left the dirty dishes in the sink (they were still there when I got back) and just had fun! We giggled, played dress ups, picked cherries and spat out the pips, sang loudly and badly, ate uninterrupted by toddlers (I Know!), enjoyed quiet moments and were blown away by nature’s beauty. All in all, it was pretty sweet!
Here was my vintage road trip inspiration, I’ve continued on with my little family’s photo tradition.
I’ve created a little Brilliant Road Trip film that captured our mood, I hope you enjoy it…
Read on for the highlights and more beautiful images from our trip… Continue reading →
Something amazing happened to me this week, a brilliant opportunity just came out of the ether, and I’m super excited about it. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me emotionally; I’ve been feeling exhausted, pulled in every direction, trying to keep everyone’s life running smoothly…you know, being a mum! You’ve all been there, it takes it’s toll and you just want some time to escape and recharge the batteries.
Well Hyundai must have heard my whiny internal dialogue and came to my rescue with an awesome weekend away. (I entered a competition actually). I’m hitting the road with my sister (she’s the short one in the clog), leaving both our girls with mum (poor mum) and reliving the glamour of road trips of old. Continue reading →
You may not have noticed unless you follow me on Instagram, but I was in Japan last week for a short and amazing break. Here are some of the colourful highlights.
Osaka
Kyoto
Nara
Osaka Aquarium
Super Futuristic Trains
All these photos were taken with my new fave camera Fujifilm Finepix X100. Most were taken on one of the various auto functions and have only minor or no post production. (not a sponsored post if you were wondering
I took my iPad on our recent trip to Argentina primarily to keep Emma entertained on the long flights and transit waits, and boy did I make the right decision. I must admit the iPad saved the day! It was a challenge to find some kid sized headphones with volume restriction on them, but I persisted and managed to get them at the Apple store. I had a friend load quite a few films on it, and between those and a few free apps we managed to get through.
Emma’s favorite apps were: Toca Doctor, a fun puzzle game with awesome graphics Mee Genius, which is like a e-reader for kids books that will read illustrated stories & Miss Spider, which had a story, puzzles a colouring page function.
My other personal favorite which Emma is a little bit scared of is this one below:
Toca Hair Salon. It’s a blast! Emma is scared of the lion and the hairdryer noise so I don’t get to play it often She even managed to delete the app off my phone (that girl is too clever!)
Because I didn’t have WiFi access where we were, most of my favorite apps were useless, but I did get a lot of use from my Kobo eReader app. Luckily I had filled my library with lots of free classic books before I left so I read Anne Of Green Gables and Gulliver’s Travels when Emma was napping. I also love to listen to podcasts so my iPod app was full of episodes from How Stuff Works.
No TV in the apartment meant the iPad got a real work out. Emma is now a super wizz at getting to her apps and replaying her fave scenes of her movies over and over. I think I must have seen Captain Hook and Peter Pan fighting about 100 times over!
Now we are home the iPad has ‘gone to sleep’ for a while. I was worried she would get too attached to it, but as soon as we got home and she had all her toys and books, she seems to have forgotten about it and not asked for it once.
Do you or your little one have any favorite apps or podcasts to recommended?
If you follow me on twitter you would have caught some of my Instagram photos from the trip. I didn’t have a data roaming service on my phone in Argentina, but most cafes had WiFi so I tweeted pics at every opportunity.
Some of the highlights: Some vintage goodness: FYI: My Instagram feed is set to private, apologies to those of you that have sent requests without a response, I’m a bit funny about photo privacy.
In Mar del Plata nearly every little plaza has it’s own Merry-go-round. They are all quite old and charming, and probably being held together by many coats of paint. Mum tells me I rode some of them when I was Emma’s age, some have even been there since mum was little.
As soon as she saw her first one she was hooked. It takes an average of 3 rides before she loses interest although the other day she had to be forcefully removed before I went broke. This one was particularly pretty…
Just around the corner, and one block away from mum’s apartment, is a little plaza that on Friday, Saturday and Sunday attracts a few vendors of randomness and tat. I’ve had a little fun treasure hunting there but the pickings are slim as most of the wares are not what I’m after. It’s mostly architectural fittings, old tools and tacky jewelry from the 90′s. I did find this cute enameled lion brooch for me (I love him, his head moves), and some lovely woodland themed wooden knick knacks for the shop maybe? Emma has been eying the little fawns off with great interest…
