What a week! I’ve been zipping all over the place for a mix of business and pleasure. Last Friday, I flew into Auckland with Kat and Gala to teach our second Blogcademy class down under and we spent a few nights in this cute Airbnb apartment in the center of the city with a great view of the Sky Tower.
My favorite part of the apartment was this poster in the kitchen. So cool!
We taught our Auckland class at Generator inside Britomart, which we LOVED — it had a built-in library and astroturf floors! Britomart also housed one of the raddest coffee shops in town, Shaky Isles Coffee Co..
The entrance had a vintage mint green cooler and walls were covered in amazing illustrations. Coolest coffee shop decor ever. I so wish they’d set up shop in Portland.
I especially loved this design at the exit.
After our class, we caught a flight over to Wellington to spend a few days with Gala’s parents. Their house isn’t any ordinary house, though. Her mom, Janet is an interior decorating genius and every inch is impeccably thought out, including the kitchen. I went a little crazy over this painting in their living room since it reminded me of Branch. Her dad actually took it off the wall and art directed my favorite Instagram shot ever. By the end, I was begging her parents to adopt me.
During our day off in Wellington, we visited Revive, a great little coffee shop with some of the best treats I’ve ever eaten. I really, really loved the city. It reminded me of all the best parts of Portland — even the weather was eerily similar. It was strange to feel so at home on the other side of the world.
Janet’s decorating style is seriously a feast for the eyeballs. She runs a sleek little boutique called Darling by day and is the sweetest lady — every morning she prepared lattes with extra foam alongside our breakfasts. First class service all the way. I didn’t want it to end!
In a way, wandering the streets of Wellington with all its hip independent boutiques and hanging out in coffee shops reminded me of being a teenager again — I especially loved Fidel’s, a coffee shop with an adorable back patio, turquoise cups and no wifi connection (just like back in the day!) And, check out that brownie. SO GOOD.
The best dining experience I had in Wellington was at Duke Carvell’s. The mix of dramatic decor, crazy good food and awesome company (including Gala’s longtime friend Helen) made it a night to remember.
I honestly didn’t want to leave Wellington but we had one last class to teach back in Melbourne. Thankfully, when we arrived early Wednesday morning, we walked into one of the coolest apartments I’d ever seen.
Tucked away on a hip little side street and full of modern art and piles of fashion and design magazines, it was my idea of heaven.
As I wandered past the corn cob side table and Ghost chair, I noticed that there was also a collection of dog statues.
Last night, we wrapped up our last Blogcademy class of the year and although it was bittersweet, I’m looking forward to having a few months off to work on some new offerings (!!!) Today is our legit day off (no trains, planes or automobiles!) so we’re making the most of exploring Melbourne and soaking up as much of the city as possible before catching our flight to Brisbane in the morning. Have an awesome weekend! xo
