Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Taamaki Opening

The Auckland Art Gallery is finally reopening it's doors this Saturday. The opening ceremony will start at 10:30am with some street theatre that has rather ominously been described as an "art workout" and "exercise regime". I'm a little scared but it's sure to be entertaining for the tiny art lovers! For the rest of the day there will be cultural performances including traditional Maaori waiata, jazz, classical music, fashion and a sound room. Check out the programme on the Art Gallery's website for more details.  

For those of you more than a little hesitant to let their children loose in a brand new shiny art gallery, this article printed in last weekend's Herald is a must-read. They give a really good idea of "safe areas" within the gallery where children can explore and areas that are maybe not so kid-friendly.

The family drop in creative space for kids ages 4 and up will probably be of most interest to a lot of parents but there should be something there for every kind of tiny art lover.

I Like Bugs

Haeata has strangely gone from being fascinated by ants and spiders and any kind of creepy crawlie to suddenly being terrified of anything with more than 4 legs. Has anyone else had this experience? I always thought being scared of spiders was a learnt thing but I can't think where she could've picked it up. Anyway, I just remembered this song from Haeata's favourite TV show. I aim to make it her new jam by the end of the week!

Tiny Style - is it Summer yet?

I'm in love with this whole look. I'll take one in size 3 and one more adult sized thanks!
Check out Bambino Street Style for more inspiration.

Revel Cafe, K Rd

My vegan brother introduced me to Revel a while ago and it's remained a favourite. The decor is really cosy and vintage, the staff are friendly, they do good (fair trade) coffee and loose leaf tea, the food is fantastic and on top of all that, they've added some nice little touches for the kids.

There are some easily accessible drawers full of toys and if you're lucky you might even get a seat at the table that's been made out of an old space invaders arcade game - and still works! The fluffies got a big thumbs up from Haeata and the day we went they even had mini cupcakes decorated with mice.

I had a really good mexican wrap from the counter and my friend had muesli with yoghurt and stewed rhubarb. One of the (many) things I love about Revel is that they have a huge range of food at the counter, with lots of vegan, vegetarian and even gluten-free options. But I can also say from previous visits that their blackboard selections are delicious and would happily recommend the Eggs Ben.

Ok Go with the Muppets

Amazaballs

What's on this weekend

Not quite as much cool stuff on as last weekend but still definitely some good things. My pick is the Storylines Festival. I've mentioned before my magical childhood memories of listening to Margaret Mahy read stories at the Dunedin Library. Authors and illustrators can be rockstars for children, you just have to install that appreciation in them from an early age.

Storylines Festival at Aotea Centre and The Museum (FREE)

Dr. Sketchy performance in Concert Chamber at the Town Hall (FREE)

Q Opening Day (FREE)

AQUA is still on at the museum

You should probably check out the new Wynyard Quarter if you haven't already (note to self : check out new Wynyard Quarter). Apparently they have a great playgro

This weather is looking pretty amazing but if it all to turns crap you could always bake cupcakes for the SPCA!

Sweet. Have a great weekend everyone!

Georgia Anne Muldrow - Run Away

Because cartoons were so much cooler in the 70's.

Q Open Day

This could be a pretty cool experience if you've got a kid who's already been bitten by the theatre bug. The amazing new performance space, Q, is giving people a chance to come have a nosey this Sunday. There will be theatrical and musical performances happening as well as food stalls out the front. Check out their website, they've got some really exciting shows coming up. Something for you to do on your rare nights off!

This weekend's free Pick and Mix show

This week The Aotea Centre brings you "Dr Sketchy. Performance and Pencils". Sounds like their will be magic, clowning and dance. As usual, there's a free workshop afterwards. This Saturday the kids get to sketch the performers so bring your pads and pencils!

The very popular shows are now being held at the Concert Chamber in the Town Hall so make sure you get there early to get a good seat.

SPCA Cupcake Day

The annual SPCA Cupcake Day is next Monday. Great excuse to redecorate the kitchen with icing and sprinkles. If you're not so into baking then get out there on Monday and buy some cupcakes. It's for a good cause you guys!

Delish Cupcakes in Forrest Hill will be selling cupcakes in Albany at the Park and Ride; in Takapuna outside the information centre on Hurstmere Rd (between the Post Office and Movenpick) as well as in their store.

Jump Jump!

Just been catching up on the awesome Babysteps Blog and found this classic video posted. LOVE IT. Instant flashbacks to Aotea College circa 1993 when all the boys were wearing their jeans backwards and owning a Cross Colors shirt could elevate you to playground king faster than you can say "Wiggity wiggity wiggity wack"!

God we were cool.

Storylines Free Family Day this Sunday

I took Haeata to the Storylines Festival last year. We made badges and bookmarks, watched some theatre groups perform stories and sat on the floor in front of Joy Cowley while she read to us. Pretty fantastic fun for free.

Happy Coat

I thought I should give this amazing little coat a mention. Haeata calls it her "happy coat" and we bought it for just $2 at an op shop in Christchurch. Amazing.

Alleluya Cafe, St Kevin's Arcade, K Rd

We hadn't been to Alleluya in a while but remembered that they did great fluffies served in cool Rice melamine cups and saucers and I was pretty sure there was a basket of toys somewhere.

Turns out Alleluya has extended out it's outdoor seating into a significant portion of St Kevin's Arcade and now have a really great little family area. We're not talking a playpen or anything, just a cute little vintage table and chairs on a rug, surrounded by comfy chairs and couches. The basket of toys was there, plus a few other extras to entertain the kids. The fluffies were still as great as ever.

This is definitely the kind of kid-friendly cafe I prefer. It hasn't been designed with the coffee group market in mind, it's just a really great little cafe making some allowances for their smaller customers. They also do loose leaf tea, good coffee and have some truly delicious things on the counter. The staff is really friendly, laid back and make you and your raucous offspring feel very welcome. Plus you can look around the great vintage shops while you're there!

And did I mention they serve alcohol?

What's on this weekend

HEAPS to do this weekend, rain or shine.

Kids Only Market at the Point Chev Community Centre where all the stall holders are kids.

Taiwan Cultural and Traditional Games Festival in Aotea Square.

Free "Early Music" performance targeted especially towards kids and family at the Town Hall.

Free children's book launch at the zoo on Sunday.

Aqua at Auckland Museum (although, it is halfprice on weekdays after 2:30!)

Free craft activities in the Weird and Wonderful Gallery at the Auckland Museum

Crafternoon Tea in Kingsland on Saturday.

And don't forget you can always check out the free swimming pools in South Auckland!

Have a great weekend everyone and if you're lucky to have a babysitter on one of the evenings just make sure you've set aside a litre of caffeine and some good kids DVDs for the morning!

Crafternoon Tea in Kinglsand

This 100% handmade market is on every third Saturday of the month and plays host to a huge range of wonderfully crafty stalls. You can buy everything from clothes to toys to food and homeware. This weekend there will be free paper crafts for the kids too. Check out their pretty blog for more information.

Kids Only Market this Saturday

Clean out some junk and get your kids making their own money! This Saturday there will be a kids only market at the Point Chevelair Community Centre (18 Huia Rd) from 9am - 1pm. Stalls are only $5 and kids can sell their old toys, games, books, clothes and even baked goods.

Such a brilliant idea. Haeata is still too young to wheel and deal (damn it) but the girl loves to shop and this could be a good place to pick up a bargain.

Contact Theresa at (09)846 1094 or email ptchev.communitycentre@xtra.co.nz

Taiwan Cultural and Traditional Games Festival

Here's something a little different for your weekend!

Aotea Square is turning into a mini Taiwan for Friday and Saturday. There will be performances (dragon dancing!), food stalls and different interactive activities. Entry is FREE and 80% of the proceeds are going to Christchurch, so really you HAVE to go and eat lots of yummy food now. Do it for Christchurch, people.

2pm - 10pm tomorrow and 10am - 6pm on Saturday.

Java Jungle, Browns Bay

One of the weirdest things about the North Shore is that most of the town centres have been built with their backs to the beautiful beaches which give them their very character. Browns Bay has been rectifying that terrible town planning decision over the last few years by starting to open cafes that actually face the beach. One of the newest is Java Jungle, situated just across the road from the playground. With floor to ceiling glass, a good indoor-outdoor flow and outdoor seating they're definitely taking better advantage of the amazing view than some of their neighbors.

This is not merely a kid-friendly cafe but a cafe that has been quite obviously created with the coffee group target market firmly in mind. There is a sectioned off play area in one corner, a TV that was playing Bob The Builder (sigh) when we were there, an extensive kid's menu, mini scones and muffins and that pretty fancy marshmallow kebab Haeata is holding in one of those pictures. There's also three toilets and lots of space for over-sized pushchairs.

They didn't have loose leaf tea so I had the hot chocolate (I refuse to pay cafe prices for a tea bag and hot water), Mum had what she said was a really good flat white (and she's fussy about her coffee) and Haeata had two fluffies ($1 each). We had the mini cheese scones and the mini strawberry muffins and both were lovely and light.

So many stars aligned but my problem with the place was that it was a little too sterile and lacking in any kind of ambiance. It has more the feeling of an office cafeteria than a relaxing living room and seemed maybe just too carefully planned. A lot of parents clearly don't mind that as the place was packed while we were there and I counted at least 6 pushchairs at one stage.

I guess I just prefer a cafe that has simply been created as a good cafe and has then made thoughtful allowances for the smaller patrons; cafes like Jungle Patrol in Christchurch and One to One in Ponsonby. The last two cafes I would happily take a date to or meet kid-less friends at. Java Jungle, not so much.

Of course, I'm sure we'll be back. The view really is amazing and the food was delicious. Perhaps better in summer when you can sit outside and soak up the natural ambiance.

Winter Beach Style

Taken at the awesome Browns Bay playground.

Khaki beanie : $2.50 from some nice old ladies raising money for Aged Concern in Takapuna

Hooded woolen cardie : $4 at Takapuna Market

Brown corduroy shorts $3 at Takapuna Hospice Shop

Khaki cable tights $12 (on sale) from Witchery Kids

Leather Boots : $2 at Takapuna Market

Dreaming of summer

Her belt is an actual shoelace! From the kid's style blog Planet Awesome Kid

This week's free Pick & Mix at The Edge

Affetto, a baroque and other "early music" group, are performing in the Concert Chamber at The Town Hall on Saturday. The show is at 11am (get there early for good seats!) and should be pretty unique and interesting. Haeata loves her some Beyonce but she's also really into cellos and trumpets right now. Affetto's facebook page lists a harpsichord player, a baroque cello player and a baroque trumpet player so I'm thinking she might actually get into this. At 12 there will be a workshop where kids can make DIY trumpets and learn how to play a simple tune. Fun!

More music to warm you up

Cool song, even cooler video. Four grown men, dressed in matching outfits in bold colours will definitely appeal to the kids! And yet you too can listen to this without once thinking about shooting yourself in the head. Fun for the whole family!

Free Book Launch at the Zoo

This Sunday the Auckland Zoo is hosting the launch of "Tarantula Boo!" by children's author Lucy Davey ("The Fidgety Itch"). The party, starting at 11:30, is happening in the zoo entrance area so it's totally free. There'll be a show, signings and reading. Of course, once you've gone to the effort of finding parking you're probably going to want to go ahead and pay to go into the zoo anyway. Hopefully it's a nice day!

Yo Gabba Gabba - Hold Still

Hope everyone had a great weekend and Monday is treating you gently. We spent yesterday afternoon having a dance off with Haeata's uncles. So, we're putting this song on this morning and just continuing the craziness into the new week. Wiggle-wiggle-wiggle-GO!

Auckland Music Theatre for FREE tomorrow

This week's Pick and Mix show is being put on by the Auckland Music Theatre Inc. The show is happening in the Concert Chamber at the Town Hall at 11am.

I'm really not a big musical fan but this should be a fun day. They're doing a mix of classics so it'll be all over the top singing and dancing fabulousness.

Snow at the Botany Town Centre

Haven't made it south to the snow yet? This could be kinda fun.

Poncho Love

I've had quite a few comments on this amazing poncho. We found it in the New Brighton Savemart for $4 and Haeata loved it right away. Look how well it swishes!

She's wearing it with her $2 leather boots from the Takapuna Market, cable tights from Witchery (on sale for $10 thanks very much!) and $12 denim skirt from Farmers.

Free lunch time concert

Tomorrow get along to the Central Library at 12:10 to see students from Avondale College play classical music. Haeata threw a huge tantrum when I dragged her away from the brass band that were playing at the New Brighton Market last weekend so I'm hoping Avondale College will be representing with at least one trumpet!

Test Tone

This interactive art exhibition sounds really cool and like something kids would enjoy too. It finishes this Sunday so get along to the Aotea Centre this week!

New Market Tree Planting Day

Weee, finally found something worthwhile to do tomorrow...opp, I mean today! Seriously, is it already midnight? I've been trawling the internet all night looking for something to post and I just stumbled across this tree planting event happening in New Market tomorrow (sorry, today) from 11am - 1pm.

More trees in the inner city is never a bad thing and teaching your kids about planting trees is definitely not a bad thing.

Well hi there Auckland

We just got back from New Brighton/Christchurch/We really didn't venture out of New Brighton at all. It's our new favourite holiday destination and we'll definitely be back in the summer. I'll be sure to post more photos and highlights as soon as I've had a good night's sleep and my brain is not suffering from post flight disorder.

U900 - Diamond Head

Many thanks to Babysteps for putting us on to the quirky Japanese ukelele duo, U900. We spent the best part of an hour jamming to their Youtube channel (Haeata brought out her own ukelele and every other instrument she could find) but this was definitely Haeata's favourite. Apart from the Christmas songs of course, but you'll have to wait till December for those.

Pick & Mix - The Improv Bandits

Your free Pick & Mix show at the Aotea Centre this Saturday is being put on by the very funny Improv Bandits. Any parents who enjoy the TV show Who's Line Is It Anyway will love these guys and kids are just going to find them hilarious anyway.

The show is at 11am but make sure you get there early as these shows have been getting really popular and there's limited space.

Magical Story Hour - Bruce Mason Theatre

Every Tuesday and Friday at 1oam the Bruce Mason Theatre in Takapuna put on a 40 minute storytime with actors dressed up as different characters reading to the kids. Under 1s are free and all other kids are only $5. It's right next to the cafe so you can walk up, get a coffee and chill while someone else entertains your adorable little monsters for a minute.

Haeata and I have been a couple of times and it was definitely worth the $5.

(The same actors - from Phineas Phrog Productions - also do storytime at the Greylynn Farmers Market at 10:30am)

Jungle Patrol - New Brighton, Christchurch

Our lovely Christchurch hostess Fiona introduced us to this little gem of a cafe yesterday. We were back this morning and plan on going back again tomorrow.

Considering it's such a small space, a rather large portion of it is dedicated to their younger patrons. Yet nothing about it is tacky or plastic coated. From the little formica table with the little wooden chairs, to the Crown Lynn cups, the vintage playing cards, jars of crayons and two box of toys under the tables; the cafe is a retro dream for both parents and children.

But I always say the most important thing about a kid-friendly cafe is the service. The staff at Jungle Patrol make children feel welcome and prepare wonderfully over the top fluffies with love. On our first visit Haeata was given a complimentary mini afghan biscuit and today she was served up an extra fluffy. When she couldn't find any more colouring pages someone brought some over before I could even ask.

For the grown ups there is a couch and a large communal table where you can sip on really good coffee or a home made chai latte (a rarity in New Zealand!) and dig into what are rumoured to be the best muffins in Christchurch. A fair call really, I may have to take some back to Auckland.

Just another reason you should consider coming down to Christchurch for a visit. We haven't felt a single earthquake since we've been here and I consider all the shopping and eating out we're doing as doing our part to help rebuild the city!

Jalani (I should've asked how to spell his name!)

We met Jalani at the New Brighton preschool pirate music group this morning. His kicks were bought in Sydney, his jeans are from a Christchurch shop called "Cows Go Moo" (must hunt this place out before we leave) and the amazing cardigan was originally knitted by his Great-Grandmother for his mum.

Sesame Street - Fiest

Fun rendition of a great song.

Kid-friendly dining out in Auckland

This great article was in Saturday's Herald. They include One to One in the list, a favourite of ours, and some other great places. They also listed Prego, Grand Harbour, The Library Cafe and interestingly, Lone Star. Good range of places and I will try to blog all of them in the near future (such a hard life).

DIY mocassins

STOP IT. These things are way too adorable. And you can get the pattern to make them here!

Mum's Lucky Dip Night at The Department Store

The Department Store is once again putting on something a little fabulous just for the Mums. Next Wednesday they're having a lucky dip night at the store to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Trust. Go along for free and drink wine while perusing the racks and brushing shoulders with Karen Walker. But to really spoil yourself (go on, you survived the school holidays. You deserve it!) buy a $100 lucky dip ticket which will give you a bag of goodies worth over that amount and $150 worth of gift vouchers to use at The Department Store! So, it's like getting a $50 discount plus a mystery bag of swag. You can't lose really and it's all for a very important charity.

There's a limited amount of lucky dip bags so get in now. Email events@breastcancercure.org.nz