Grateful for Sundays 13

Jason and I have been back from our China trip for about a month and haven't really had a chance to catch our breath until today. The thing about being on holiday is that life back home doesn't really stop so we've had a lot of work to catch up on and friends to catch up with.

So now that I've caught my breath, here are some things I'm grateful for this Sunday...

City to Sea Bridge, Wellington

We traveled down to Wellington on our first weekend back for a conference and took the opportunity to explore the town. The city always puts on good weather when we visit and I managed to take this picture of the City to Sea Bridge on our way to dinner.

Demented Architecture, City Gallery Wellington

We also partook in the Demented Architecture exhibit at the City Gallery Wellington. Jason and I aren't the most knowledgeable about "art stuff" and often walk away confused, but Lego is something we know and love. The exhibit let visitors build their own version of a city skyline, filled with funky towers and even scary monsters! We easily spent an hour here.

Summit, Mt Maunganui

We were in Tauranga last weekend to celebrate my mother's 50th birthday. This was where my family visited on our first ever road trip so it was nice to come back again so many years later as a family. This photo was taken at the top of Mt Maunganui after being so ill-dressed for the occasion (see: jeans and jandals). 

Al's Deli, Upper Queen Street, Auckland

One good thing about being back at work is all the lovely Friday lunch venues in town. We chose to visit Al's Deli this week to sample their delicious donuts. Do I even need to say how great the food was?

What are you grateful for this Sunday?

Grateful for Sundays 01

I realised the other day that I hadn't been outside in a while. I mean, I had been outdoors -I had physically stepped outside to travel to work, shop for groceries and collect the mail, but I hadn't actually experienced outside. Between work and running errands, I was always in a rush and never stopped for a rest. Sunday seems to be the only day where the world stops for a little while and there is a moment of peace before the madness begins again.

This is why I am starting a new weekly segment on my blog called "Grateful For Sundays." 

Grateful For Sundays captures moments throughout the week where I have taken the time to stop, take a deep breath, and appreciate the little moments that can get lost in all the hurry.

Takapuna Beach

My first picture is taken on Takapuna Beach. With daylight savings now officially over, dog owners can take their pets on to the beach at any time of the day instead of getting up at ungodly hours or waiting until after 7pm. I don't have a dog of my own, so I love watching them running along with their owners and swimming out into the ocean to fetch sticks.

I find that lighting candles and fresh flowers around the house can boost your mood instantly. I bought these candles from the Wellington Underground Market a few weeks ago and have placed them in the kitchen and bathrooms. They make our rooms smell wonderful - even when they're unlit! I picked up the flowers while I was grocery shopping and I love how they add a pop of colour to the house.

Quiet time is hard to come by in our house. The television is usually playing in the background or someone is playing music out of the stereo. This is mostly my fault because I like to do housework with background noise. 

Yesterday, Jason and the Doctor went out to watch the rugby and I was left alone with a few hours to spare before our dinner guests arrived. The house was completely silent and it was weird. 

Once the shock wore off, I got out my chamomile tea and started a mega-crossword. Without the background noise, I heard birds chirping outside. 

So these are the little moments from this week that brought joy. What are some things you are grateful for?

The Crab Shack, Wellington CBD

The first thing I do when going to a different city is check out the food offerings. So naturally, I got very excited when I discovered that there was a crab shack at Wellington's Shed 5. Like, the squealy kind of excited.

Even though I was only coming down for a conference, I was determined to make a weekend of it. I was also able to convince Jason to come down with me (too easy), and we wandered down to Shed 5 together.

The Crab Shack was absolutely packed when we arrived and we were told that there would be a 1.5 hour wait. I kicked myself for not booking ahead, but wasn't deterred. We put ourselves on the second page on a very long waiting list and went off for drinks. 

Luckily, the wait didn't turn out to be quite that long and we were seated while it was still light. The interior was dressed to look like a fishing boat, with crab baskets hanging from the ceiling and mismatched decking on the walls. Every table was packed and the kitchen looked super busy. The smell of garlicky crab wafted through the air -I couldn't wait to order.

Salted Lychee Höpt Soda - $4.00

I opted for the Höpt Soda because I'm a real sucker for anything Lychee flavoured. The salt muted the sweetness you would usually get from something Lychee flavoured, but still let the fruitiness through. It had quite an interesting taste and I noted that I never got sick of the flavour because it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet.

Kiwi Clam Chowder in a Jar - $10.00

We ordered the clam chowder based on reviews and boy, was I glad we listened! It had a perfect creamy consistency and its flavour reminded me a bit of salted caramel. As it was so rich, the small jar was the perfect size for sharing between two people.

Raw Fish Board - $16.00

The raw fish trio arrived on a coriander salad and topped with fried shallots. We had four generous slices of salmon, tuna and something I didn't quite catch -cronow? crowno? (I asked the waitress to repeat it three times before I got embarrassed and pretended to understand..)

Anyway, the fish was very fresh. My favourite part about this dish was the dipping sauce - lemongrass and chili, which had a fantastic tang to it. It went very well with the tuna and the mysterious white fish but we felt that it wasn't strong enough to combat the oily salmon.

1kg Nelson Paddle Crab - $30.00

My eyes widened as our server brought our 1kg crab pot and I began to wonder if we had grossly overestimated how much we could eat. I needn't have worried, however, as the the night was still young and the crab was good.

The paddle crabs were steamed in a garlic and chili butter and were incredibly messy to eat -although that just adds to the fun, don't you think? We were given bibs and all the proper tools to help us along, but they just got in the way and we ended up using our hands and teeth which made it more satisfying.

The aftermath

When we finally worked our way through all the dishes, we agreed that it was the most satisfying meal we'd had in a good while. There is something about getting your hands messy and having to work to get at your food that makes it so rewarding. We looked around the restaurant and had a little chuckle at all the other tables who were also enjoying the challenge (we were too full to move, you see).

As you can see from the above photo, it was well after sundown when we finally left the Crab Shack. We slowly walked back to our hotel, hands on our bellies, lamenting the fact we couldn't eat any more and looking forward to our next visit.

The Crab Shack is located at Queens Wharf, Wellington CBD