What I've Been Up To - July / August

Semester 2 is now back in full swing and up until now I have put this blog to one side to focus on getting back into Auckland life again. I thought I would mark my return from this small hiatus by showing some of my foodie highlights from this past month. In terms of some context for this post, the first half of the month has been spent at home in Hawkes Bay and the second half back up in Auckland.

Every time I go home I love having the chance to experiment in the kitchen with all sorts of baking. During the most recent holidays I got particularly inspired by Jordan Rondel's (The Caker) recipes on her blog. I made a few different things but these orange, blueberry and maple mini cakes were definitely mine and my family's favourite! Click here for the link to the recipe.

During the holidays I had a lot more time in the mornings to make breakfast and I often made smoothie bowls in my sisters Vita-mix. My favourite ingredient combination was greek yoghurt, frozen berries, mixed chia seeds, a squeeze of lemon and a little bit of acai powder. 

I didn't go out for too many meals while home, but right before I left some of my sisters and I went out for breakfast at the wonderful Mister D's in Napier. The waffles were just delicious and made for the perfect breakfast alongside a Supreme flat white.

On my first weekend back in Auckland before Uni started I went to the NZ Aeropress Championships which was hosted by Coffee Supreme. It was such a cool event to watch with heaps of contestants competing for the chance to represent NZ in Seoul at the World Aeropress Champs. Definitely head along next year if you get the chance!

The next weekend after that a good friend of mine came to visit from Melbourne for the weekend. She arrived quite early in the morning and I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take her to Odette's  Eatery for breakfast. We both had the Vanilla Crepe's from their new menu and they were so delicious! Can't wait to go back and try some more things of the new menu.

Aside from dining out I also took her out to the beautiful Bethell's Beach about 45 minutes out of Auckland and I would highly recommend heading out there if you haven't already. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to!

So thats where I've been and what I've been up to for the last month or so. Hope you all enjoyed reading about a few of my favourites. Have a great week!