Checking In

Life has been pretty routine lately - nothing too out of the ordinary... at least not for New Zealand.  The weather here has gotten glorious.  I promise not to post about the weather too much (especially while Chicago is having tornadoes and snow), but it's just now getting to be summer, which means it's 75* and sunny. This means we have been spending (and will continue to spend) most of our spare time outside.

Last weekend we went to Taste of Auckland with our friends Taylor (Aussie) and Sam (British). It turns out that Auckland tastes a lot like Chicago - lots of meats and wines and cheeses - but with a lot more fresh seafood.

Friday night we took the ferry over to Devonport to have dinner with the Canadians. My current dream in life is to move to Devonport when our lease is up and take the ferry to work every day.  We caught a beautiful sunset over the city on our way back.

Saturday was a BBQ with the House Hunters folks (who have since moved into a much nicer place than the one they found on House Hunters).  It was BYOB and BYO Meat and we got take advantage of their building's glorious rooftop deck with a grill and a fantastic view of Mount Rangitoto.

Today was the Santa Parade in downtown Auckland, which marks the beginning of the Christmas season here. We didn't see any Santas or hear any Christmas music, but we did see Batman.

Finally, Rob is sporting a mustache these days (also known as a "Mo") in honor of Movember, which raises money for men's health issues. It's huge in New Zealand, and at least half the men in the office are participating (including partners). If you want to make a donation to Rob's team in honor of this glorious mustache, please click HERE.