Kokako

So you know how you plan a trip, and you plan every little detail, and you feel sure that everything is going to be perfectly perfect?  Well, of course, with small children (and even without), this is almost never going to be true.  So instead you try and make the small perfect moments feel big enough to seep over the edges and blur the less pleasant bits (tantrums and arguments and stuck-in-traffic bits and so on).  For awhile there I wasn't sure if we were even going to fit a visit to Kokako into our trip, which would have been a major disappointment, just quietly.  Thankfully we snuck in a visit right at the end of our mini-break, and here is a little slice of that perfection:

To begin with, Kokako is one beautiful space.  I still remember it as the post office of my childhood (former Grey Lynn resident right here), and I can tell you now, it wasn't this pretty back then (or even quite recently, before Kokako moved in)!  It is such a light and ambient space, fresh flowers and cute vintage artifacts dotted amongst a backdrop of mismatched tables and chairs.  Pretty much my kind of perfect.  The blue accents tie in seamlessly with the coffee brand (and cafe name), and the eclectic mix of industrial and rustic is entirely to my liking.

The food was one of the highlights of the trip.  Zan ordered the organic kumara, ginger and capsicum fritters, and I chose a simple meal of poached eggs on multi-grain toast.  Delicious, and perfectly complemented by great coffees and yummy smoothies.  Rosa-May ordered a spirulina (The Green Goodie) and it was hands-down the best I have ever tasted.  For reals.  I gave Chemex a go (but wasn't game enough to leave off the milk).  Totally enjoyable, and made me feel a little like a mad professor, with the beaker and what not.  Yeah, I get my kicks wherever I can.

I know that if I still lived in Auckland, this would be our regular haunt, but as we don't, this will just be our favourite stopover.   Fortunately for all of us, their delicious coffee is available for online purchase here, and they even have some handy hints for getting the best out of your coffee brew. Yeww!

Secret Garden

On Thursday morning I met up with a long time blogger friend, and now firmly real life friend, for coffee.  We weren't sure where we'd go (neither of us are downtown Auckland kinda gals, I guess), but after parking near Britomart and walking to meet Louana, we chanced upon this lovely little hidden shopping district.  I spotted an Allpress coffee cup, and the decision was pretty much made.

Our coffees were great, and we were greeted with blankets to drape over our knees.  Cool.  It was quite  neat little shopping spot, even if the shops were too expensive for us to even step inside... Heh.

A pretty little spot, hidden right in the centre of town.  I bet it's even lovelier at night, with all those fairy lights!

Stills (AKA Mini-Break Day Two)

Day Two was filled with sweetness (and a couple of tantrums too).  We met a precious friend in town, I had my first ayurvedic massage, we hit the shopping mall, and then Zan and I snuck away to watch The Great Gatsby, before returning to our apartment and flopping down with fatigue.  Yeah, I even feel a bit tired just thinking about all of that...

Lessons learnt on Day Two.  Don't overplan things.  We packed a lot into this day, and it.was.exhausting.  As a result I cancelled a couple of bookings for the following day and we took things much easier from thereon out.  Novelties wear off.  We hired a little trolley car for the kids to ride during our mall trip, but I wish we'd returned it earlier than we did.  We ended up paying for two hours and they stayed in it for one.  If I could have a do-over, I would have begggggggged Zan to hang out with them in the mall playground while I speed-shopped the final items.

Luxury Accommodation

Some of you have asked where we stayed during our trip, commenting on how lovely our accommodation looked.  The truth is, staying in this apartment was one of the highlights for us.  It made things so much easier having a proper 'home-base' to return to in the evening, and it was such a treat to stay in such a stunning spot.  

The apartment was beautiful, and the view was breathtaking.  We were kitted out with every comfort - Sky TV, wifi, toasty heaters and lovely linens.  We soaked in the bath, we reclined on the deck, and we felt utterly pampered.  We really were lucky to have discovered this gem of a place.  

Our hostess, Beth, was so warm and lovely!  She greeted us with huge hugs and ensured we had everything we needed.  We felt totally welcomed into this space, it was really special actually.  The extra bonus was that there was plenty of room for the kiddos (compared to the tiny hotel room we stayed in next), and we were able to sit up for dinners and pop them to bed without a fuss.  Well, okay, there was some fuss come to think about it...  By day two they considered the apartment their home, and you could feel them sighing with relief when we stepped through the door.

Oh man, that view.  Constantly changing, and constantly entertaining.  Our second night in the apartment, we arrived home from a movie date (yuss!) and got the kids to bed asap.  Zan crashed out while reading to Eleanor, and I found myself with a quiet apartment, a roasting warm heater, and a night sky filled with lights to gaze at.  I made a hot chocolate, curled up on the couch and began sorting my (so far) holiday pics, all in the serene silence of a sleeping house.  I don't need to tell you how amazing that was.

If we plan another Mini-Break in the city, we will for sure see if this apartment is available again (or we might try this one). Beth also has a gorgeous B&B in Ponsonby, if you are traveling sans children - have a look at the pics, so pretty!  Thank you Beth, we had the best time in this apartment and we are super grateful to you for lending it to us for our two-night stay! x

What We Packed for the Zoological Park!

Today we are visiting the zoo!!  We are excited!

What we packed (in Eleanor's little owl backpack):

+ Zoo Map - we downloaded this from their site and pre-planned our route.  This was an important task for me, as the Auckland Zoo is BIG, and my guys are SMALL.  We needed to ensure we saw the most animals, with the least amount of back-tracking.  While I was there, I checked out what was happening on different days, and we picked the day that looked most exciting to us.
+ Activity Book - Bought at The Book Depository.  This book is totally perfect for Eleanor - with simple activities, stickers etc.
+ Schleich Animals - Some of our faves.  These will come along for the ride, and are bound to be the favoured toys when we return from our visit.
+ Snacks - Essential.  We will be at the Zoo for a number of hours.  I'm sure we won't get through all of this, but regular snack stops should keep us going for longer.  Our picks:  Mother Earth Deluxe Mix (Energy Boost & Berry Mix) nuts & raisins (perfect for keeping our energy up without resorting to sugar), Abe's Bagels Bites (the packaging alone makes this a fun Zoo choice - and a healthy one at that), All Good Fair Trade Bananas (naturally - you can't pack Zoo food and leave out bananas!), Mother Earth Oaty Slices Apricot (My faves!), All Good Banana Chunks (because, yum!), Arnotts Iced Animals (favourites when we were little, and favourites still, and obviously essential Zoo food), Select Vegetable Juice (such a great juice option!), Select Fruit in Jelly (definitely a treat, but a pretty good choice I reckon).  I can't imagine that we will go hungry with all that, but there will probably be sandwiches and other fresh fruit too.
+ Pocket Money - I know there's a Zoo shop, and we may just have to bring home another Schleich animal or two, following our visit.

SO.MUCH.EXCITEMENT!!   In the build-up to this Zoo trip we have been playing animal songs and reading books that feature all our faves.  I've been asking Eleanor endlessly which animal she is most excited to see (it constantly changes), and I bought that activity book so that when we get back to our accommodation we can relive some of the magic.  Yeah, this is a bit of an event for us.

Kiddo Essentials

I always get a bit anxious about what I might end up leaving behind.  I know that you can buy most things if you accidentally leave them at home, but who wants to buy a new raincoat for a four day mini-break?  So wet weather gear needs to be packed, and I (only just) remembered to pack our togs too (hotel swimming pool - booyah!).  We have two cute tiny umbrellas, that will keep the rain off our noses (and probably not much else), and we finally bought ourselves a good, old fashioned stroller because I am sick to death of those gigantic prams that you can't fit in your boot, and which your kid stays in for about five seconds anyway.

I also don't want to have to buy more kiddo toothpaste while we are away, because I'm totes fussy about which kind we use.  It's Weleda or nothing.  End of.  Vit. C (we are already a bit sniffly, so this is an obvious choice) and some It's All Good healing balm, just in case.  And you know which item I aaaaalllllways forget to put in my bag?  Wipes.  Yep.  The amount of times...

Have I left anything off the list?  What are your kiddo essential items?

Roadtrippin' with my three favourite allies...

The photos are many, the words are at the bottom...

As you would expect, our long drive down to the city wasn't without the odd hitch or two.  We arrived at our accommodation travel-stained and weary, and almost ready to just climb into bed (and yet here I am still awake, still blogging).  The house we are staying in is heavenly, and I will share more details soon.  We were pretty quick to start laying on the treats.  Lavender baths were the first stop (thank you again Weleda, for treating me with your delicious Lavender Bath Milk!  Epic!), and I even started my new book while I bathed - uber treat!  We ate a simple heat-it-on-the-stovetop meal.  We tried, and failed to get the kids to bed, and eventually gave up, relaxed into the Mini-Break normal, and made ourselves Hot Chocolates (this kind, yuuuuuuum).  With the heater warming us, the view being all pretty for us, and Sky TV keeping us from running out of channels to surf, we are feeling like we are on holiday!