Friends & Whanau Kinda Day

Tuesday 19 August

In search of the perfect croissant I purchased from Baguette & Co on my morning stroll - plus a cinnamon brioche swirl for Amy. Definitely better than Monday’s… but can we do better?

Met up with Amy & Sarah midmorning to go belated birthday shopping for me 🎁 First stop was Chapter in Mt Eden for TeaTotal Earl Grey Classic and lots of oohing and ahhing over the huge variety of tea leaves and their amazing scents!

Next stop was Westfield at Newmarket for general browsing and window shopping - Lego store, Torpedo7, David Jones and many more - but no more purchases… though I was intrigued to find if I wanted to replace my old round Le Creuset cook pot it would now cost $780!!!

After a quick check up with the GP (slightly elevated BP and significantly elevated body weight 😲) I headed back to the apartment (with 3 more puzzles and a supply of homebaking from Sarah W!) In my absence our balcony glass had been cleaned by Off The Ledge, abseiling cleaners... that's a pretty awesome and terrifying job!

We popped up to see Jean & Don (who had finally escaped from hospital) for a bit - Louis found the sitting down all too much so held forth from the comfort of the floor instead. On the way back to the apartment, I took a detour to check out the pool & spa - the kids used to love coming up to Quay West to play here, but it's been closed for several years for renovations so I was interested to see if it had changed much (turns out I can't judge as I can't really remember the original that well - doh!). Either way - it does look good now - especially in late afternoon sunlight.

Back at 2106 a misty wet rain storm came sweeping over the harbour creating a double rainbow over the port, which was rather stunning. Realised I had not fed my Fitbit enough steps so went out for an evening stroll before dinner - along the waterfront, past the iconic red port fenceline, and out to the Lighthouse at the end of Queen's Wharf. It's an odd wee art installation, but rather hypnotic as it draws you in through the darkness with its vibrant neon lights glistening through the windows.

Got back around 8ish then stupidly started a 500 piece puzzle - but still managed to be in bed by midnight! 🕛