Knitting and Jazz and Turning 31

Blogging slowed down this winter because I didn't have much to write about. Now I have the opposite problem - we have been too busy doing things to write about them!  We have been out of town three out of the last four weekends, and we're both working full time and taking care of the apartment/ourselves/our stomachs, while also catching up with friends during the week since we're gone on the weekends and planning more upcoming trips.  It sounds exhausting, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

The last weekend in August we drove down to Napier so I could attend Knit August Nights, which involved a couple knitting classes, a market and a tour of a yarn factory! Rob spent the day wandering around Napier and then joined me for KAN dinner, which included a knitting-themed trivia night - Robert and the Spinsters came in second place!  We were able to spend some time wandering around Napier together, and have decided to return in February for its famous Art Deco Festival. We fully plan to dress up and can't wait for the Gatsby picnic!

The only thing worse than looking at someone's vacation photos is looking at someone's yarn factory tour photos!

The first weekend in September we flew down to Wellington to celebrate Rob's birthday at the Martinborough Jazz Festival. We rented bikes on Saturday and spent the day biking back and forth between wineries and jazz venues (including jazz performances at wineries). 

Top right: Some interesting New Zealand wine facts; Bottom right: The tiniest vineyard in Martinborough - these people only have four little rows of vines in their front yard!  Also known as inspiration for our future front yard.

Saturday night we had tickets to see a Peggy Lee tribute act. I mentioned to one of the winemakers that I'd loved Peggy Lee ever since her performance in Lady and the Tramp, but wasn't sure if He's a Tramp would make its way into the show. Imagine my surprise when Miss Peggy Lee not only sang it, but dedicated it to me! This pretty much sealed Martinborugh's status as my favourite little town in New Zealand.

Red, white and blues!

Sunday we had another delicious breakfast in Martinborough and then headed back to Wellington to spend the afternoon before our flight back to Auckland.

Scenes from the Wellington airport - Peter Jackon's Weta Workshop is in Wellington, and they donated these to the airport. Also pictured: our instructions for picking up our rental car after hours.  We're definitely not in Chicago anymore!