On a Mission to Home

Now let me tell you a giddy wee story of home....
The essence and heart of Sunshine Vintage began almost three years ago in a most unexpected way- with a celebration...a birthday afternoon tea in our garden for Pat who had lived in our house some 60 years ago with her grandparents. The event was a delight for us all, a friendship forged that has proven to be a blessing beyond anything any of us could have imagined.

(There's Pat in red)

So surprised & delighted was Pat by her birthday tea party & the opportunity to view the old house that still held a special place in her heart, she sent us a gift voucher for The Mission restaurant in gratitude. Time went by & we had safely saved the gift for a special occasion, when it just so happened that our Matthew & his lovely Sarah returned to Hawke's Bay & came to stay with us awhile. The romance was sparkling but the means were limited so we decided to gift our voucher to the two lovebirds &....off they went on their first "real" date.

The following January they were married!

We let Pat know what we'd done & just how perfect it all was & of course, how grateful we all were for her kindness. But my goodness what did she do...gave us yet another voucher insisting that this time we use it for ourselves. So one steamy night last January we headed off to The Mission for my birthday

Dining out is not something that we do very often so it was a very special treat.

It may sound a little odd but we studied the menu carefully before we went

& we were so pleased that we did

as it enabled to make the very best choices.
 What utterly delectable food.
We savoured every bite.

A romantically memorable evening.

In the middle of a mission of building "home".

So lovely!

You may be getting a little dizzy in my story about now but such is the warp & weft of building connection & memories; as history unfolds in both the predictable & in surprising ways.
Matthew & Sarah organised their own wedding down in Kumeroa where they were house sitting at the time. Yet another remarkable encounter had lead to an idyllic setting for a small & perfectly formed wedding. Before they left we visited with them for a few days.

Such lovely country side.

Eventually it came time to leave the grand old house & move along.

 They soon found themselves up the Coromandel way at Prana Retreat Opoutere 

where Matthew has been running a commercial kitchen & they have catered for large crowds at various music festival events, including this last New Year.

Prana Festival is... from White Light Media on Vimeo.

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since that sweet wedding.

And such a happy day.

An impromptu duet a little later...

And so the thread of connection is once again tucked back in here at 625N Nelson Street.

A humble bungalow, but one that has gifted many with warm & lasting memories of what is truly home. 

It's that time again & our dear friend Pat has popped in once more bearing kind Christmas offerings. 

Old-fashioned bumble bees have been shared amongst us & we have told the story once more to our other son & his friends as they tasted the sweet treats of connection. 

Happy birthday dear Pat.
We'll do our best to take care of the old place.

Jolly & Joy

Hello my friends, how are you doing at this busy time of the year?

Everyone seems to get a little frayed around the edges about now, don't you find.

I always know that we're reaching year's end when I see the signs for the annual Taikura (Rudolph Steiner) School Fete. The school lives in our street & the fete is unique, colourful & lots of fun.

I love the way the children are always important;

 honoured guests.

This table is ready & waiting...

at the Children's Cafe.

Anyone can pay a few dollars & sit down to make for themselves a garland of fresh flowers.

I am always utterly enchanted by Sabine's work..

Her workmanship is exquisite,

her imagination, rich & child-like.

I think perhaps the Pohutukawa children are my favourite, but then again...

the tenderness in this little scene just melts my heart.

Wouldn't the world be a different place if we all learnt to honour children, value their imagination & protect their innocence.

The fairy in the woods had no shortage of admirers.

& the House of Potions held a certain intrigue..

Help! Hold on to your pants!

A classic coconut shy.

I bought this dear little mushroom pixie home with me

And recently found this bluebird vase in an op shop called "Once upon a time".

I thought it might be a bit of a funny shape but it's perfect for tiny arrangements.

I managed to complete my Julie inspired peg & button garland.

I remembered that I had bought a large box of old, unused cream buttons from Trade Me last year & they were perfect to use in between all the sections.

The red spotty tin was very inexpensive at Spotlight...most of all I loved the label on it Jolly & Joy.

I was trimming bushes last week & couldn't bear to throw it all away so I gathered my white op shopped vases & a wee vintage Maori doll & made a small Christmas scene for Lucy.

Isn't that adorable, someone taking the time to crochet the dolls outfit..headband & all.

I find myself warming more & more to our carefree Kiwi Christmas style; still festive, charming & jolly yet unencumbered by the fanciful notions & mixed messages of Santa Claus & flying reindeer (or add them in if you like!).

As I was fiddling around with my simple display a beloved New Zealand song came to mind.

We used to sing it at school.

‘Te harinui’ was written by Willow Macky about the first New Zealand Christmas service, held by Samuel Marsden in 1814. The chorus refers to Marsden’s service, which included a verse from the bible referring to ‘great joy’ (te harinui).

Interestingly the same word with the slightest variation Te haranui means big mistake!

Here it is if you'd like to listen to it.

We had such a lovely time on Friday celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary.

Some of us even played hopscotch!

It was all quite hot & a little chaotic, but who cares.

I made apricot & cranberry balls & some really yummy stollen.

You can find the recipe here.

I do hope you have a fun week in festive preparation.

I plan on not taking it all too seriously & enjoying the bits I love.

Thank you for coming by to see me.

MUCH

♥♥♥♥♥

A Good Giveaway....

If you popped in for a visit last week you'll remember that I mentioned this Kiwi "Good" magazine and how I thought we just might have a wee giveaway...

and so we shall!

Full of the most interesting & thought provoking articles..

 And lots of vintage-style scrumminess too.
I'm sure you will appreciate, along with me, the sentiments of Sarah Heeringa (the editor) when she reflects on the subject of seasonality saying
 "Being mindful of the seasons is a way of adding more rhythm & ritual to your year- and choosing to only do certain things at certain times in the calendar can help us maintain healthy balance and enjoy each thing in full.
...Seasonality gives everything it's moment in the sun. It's why I decorate my house with wildflowers in summer & try to spring clean in spring. It's why I'll be putting my summer frocks away in a box & why making fruity jams & jellies is one of my favourite late-summer routines."

 Our gi-normous ancient enamel tea pot had an outing to join in a Mad Hatters Tea Party last week & had a truly stupendous time amongst the children. I really feel that he/she should have a name for such future events? There have been a number of suggestions already: Ima (as in I'm a little tea pot) Mrs Potts (as in Beauty & the Beast) do you have any suggestions? Do feel free to email me if you're not a blogger just here.

 The late summer produce from the Farmer's Market has been so satisfying & delicious lately.

 This colander of heirloom tomatoes look so lovely made into a simple tomato salad..drizzled with local olive oil.

 It's passionfruit time again!

 And for some of us it's been birthday tea party time.

 That is one certain bonus of the fine weather..it would be hard to pick a poor day just now.
We had fun setting out our pretty things.

 I ordered some petite cupcakes from the New World supermarket. Michelle made them pink for me & put wee flowers & butterflies on the top of each one.
There was a small incident where some heavy groceries squashed themselves on top of the wee cakes & some minor re-modelling had to be done, but I don't think anyone noticed!

 I found some more of these vintage glasses the other day..

  & was thrilled to come across a large pink lemonade jug at last.

 And whose birthday was it?
Well my dear friend Wendy's, of course!

Wendy & I have known each other for over 50 years!

We will be friends forever.

 The 11th of March was also the day we moved into our house 24 years ago..so a tea party was a sweet way to celebrate birthdays, homes & friendship.

 The passionfruit that you saw earlier in the cup was made into this yummy passionfruit tart, just above. It can be eaten as a dessert or a slice & is super easy & coconutty. You can find the recipe just here in the kitchen blog.
 Would you like a cup cake too?
 We have few left over if you're quick.

 Now...Willows news.
I mentioned that I found this little fundraising book in the Hospice shop in Taupo.
I had come across the Picnic edition in an op shop a long time ago.
Isn't this such a perfect picture for the cover.

A lot of people make their way to Taupo (in the centre of our North Island) through the year, for holidays & recreation. And huge numbers own or rent baches around the lake side, hence the pertinence of the little recipe book. Here is how it begins: (click the picture & you should hopefully be able to read the words).

Such a cosy bach friendly scene on the back cover.

Thanks so much for visiting...if you would like a chance to "win" our lovely copy of Good please do let me know in a comment or email if you prefer. Don't forget to make your suggestion for the name of the grand tea pot too...25 cup would you believe!
We will get Charlie to draw a name out of the proverbial over Easter.

Lots of love to you all..hope you have a wonderful week.

MUCH

 ♥♥♥♥♥