21.

My birthday wish answered - rain at 5.30am!

Erika and Anna cooked me french toast, with mangoes, water melon, orange juice, and a sweet note from E - too cute.

The yummy vegetable and cheese strips Judy made me!

A new year, and a new nose piercing to match!

Grace's salon.

I even received a free KFC lunch from the girls! (The boys hid away here - they weren't too keen on the idea of watching me having my nose punctured).

The wonderful Annie who was amazing and went all out to prepare a lovely birthday dinner! Loved spending time with all of these people - I am so grateful for the people who are here.

Erika and I - super keen on the lasagne that Annie cooked (as you can see by the fact it isn't on our plates, but happily in our tummies).

The best photo ever of Justin.

Gorgeously-coloured lichees.

This cake was honestly to die for. Thank you so much for baking this Mai!! For those of you unfortunate enough to not have received a bite, it was a two-layered cake, the top being a moist yoghurt cake, the bottom a chocolate/brownie cake.

THERE WAS AMBROSIA. My absolute favourite.

The happy food-filled work friends.

Not only is this a lovely photo of these beautiful women I am privileged to call 'friend', but it is also an excellent display of the comical maturity of the guys.

Balloons!

Quiet drinks back home at the flat.

Guess who branded all of the flat mates + Judy with NZ tattoos? (Btw, awesome snarling Justin).

Beware 'loose' chocolates.

Turning 21 on the 16th was definitely an experience like none I have never experienced before; for the first time in my life, it was warm on my birthday (I'm kidding... it was a sauna), I gained an extra piercing (to the delight of the Freeset ladies - one of which grabbed my nostril to see what type of stud was used), and I was in INDIA. Of all places.

Honestly, the heat here is just so intense. If you have been to my parent's home in NZ when the 'brasa' was going, you will have experienced the feeling of your face smarting at the heat licking your face, warning you to take a step backwards. Now apply that feeling to the entirety of your body, and you are close to what it feels like to have the wind blow into your face, and against your skin. Brutal.

I am so grateful for the friendships I have developed here, and feel very blessed to be surrounded by such caring and thoughtful people!

I am missing NZ, and all of the 21st's occurring at the moment - but I know that this is just a period of learning, exploring, and of discovery; both personal and in culture.

Happy 21st birthday to meeee! :)

Love to you all, and to everyone who made me feel special on that day.

x 

More Parachute goodness!

G'morning all!

How are you today? I am currently still in my pyjamas, debating which project to keep working on (I start many things and leave them unfinished, so that when I come back I am re-inspired).

Talking of inspiration - notice the 'hello, friend' button to your right? -->

This is where I get a lot of my inspiration from. Danni's blog is amazing.

Click on it. I dare you.

But first, I will share with you a few more photos of what I have been working on (with help from Brittany and my mummy!)...

This is my current work-space - set up in my brother's room now that he has moved out. Don't you just love the desk?! It was my grandparents, and I was always in awe of it as a child.

More work-space... I am going to be selling some of those pin-boards you can see in the background!

Lifeless owls in-the-making. To grasp an idea of the final size/shape/look of the owls, see below picture.

Britt put the owls into this egg carton... "They look like they are in their own forest!" was one uttering we spoke. They look so cute in this!!

Anyone guess what I am working on here??

Yay Brittany! She is a star, and even though she wasn't feeling 100% she offered a helping hand :)

Britt's hard work! These will be paper flags - I am going to use other types of paper also mixed in.

And this is the trial zip-up purse I made - it has a few faults and issues which I need to deal with before I can make another.

Last night I chatted to Larissa for ages on the phone, and we were talking about the day of departure and at the airport etc... man that girl knows how to freak me out! I'm so not looking forward to when they call me through to the departure lounge, and I have to say my final good-byes.

I am so not wearing any eye make-up for that.

Oh - if anyone wants to buy anything that you see (despite the fact everything is in bits and pieces currently), flick me an email, or leave a comment, and I might be able to give you a discount... :)

x