sisters

Taking in the view of the farm after a quad trek with my sisters.

top bar honey

If you're a honey lover, then you'll love this. Top Bar Honey, dubbed the 'world's bee friendliest honey', do their utmost to ensure that their product (and their process) are chemical free and ethically managed. As a result, their small batches of golden nectar are very limited – each jar is individually named and numbered, including a QR Code link to a clip of your honey being harvested right here in New Zealand. While the honey comes with a wooden honey dipper and tasting notes from a professional winemaker, my favourite part of the gift is the necklace.

Each jar of honey comes with a  hand blown glass vial necklace containing the amount of honey one female worker bee makes in her lifetime. How gorgeous and fascinating is that? Plus, some of the funds from every purchase goes to the Save Our Bees Charitable Trust. It's pretty pricey (which is fair enough), but I had a hunt around and found it at the Green Urban Living store. I love products which are full of heart with a real personal touch, and this honey definitely fits in that group.

IMAGE: GREEN URBAN LIVING

an experiment in henna / part 2

Alright, back into the henna. I hadn't used it from the freezer before (only fresh), so I was a little dubious as to whether it would still leave a good stain or not. It worked pretty well, though. In fact, because the paste I made was a little on the runny side, it was much easier to work with after being frozen. I really love the single finger design! If you're keen for a finger doodle, let me know. In the mean time, I'll keep practising. I adore the activity, it's such a pleasant thing to do.

IMAGE: LUCY OLIVE

wine's other purpose

The act of opening a bottle of wine is often associated with positive events – dates, dining out, birthdays, anniversaries; the list of celebrations goes on. But there is another side to wine... it has a much less glamorous (but potentially more satisfying) purpose where the substance is used to alleviate daily aches and pains. Introducing Bitch Fest wine, a faux product by Kenzie Owens.

"Bitch Fest lets women do what they do best. Get it all off your chest while venting over a big glass, stein or mug of wine. We recommend sharing a bottle with the ladies or having a bit of self therapy after a wonderfully craptastic day." Great idea, I can totally picture girlfriends all over the place turning up with a bottle of this in hand. All that's missing is the accompanying branded chocolate.

twitter calligraphy

With 960 followers on Twitter, Australian designer Dave Foster knew that it would be a couple of months before he reached the mighty 1,000 milestone. In an attempt to fast track the process, Dave conjured up a scheme to gain 40 more followers, fast. His plan worked perfectly – he had over 1,000 in a matter of hours. How, you ask? Dave simply declared that each new follower would get a name of their choice written in calligraphy until his goal was reached. The results are stunning – check out some of my faves below. Calligraphy is definitely something I'd love to practise more.

You can check out the full set here.

a healthy rebrand from top to toe – jugen

There's something about freshly mixed juice that oozes wellness. With endless combinations to soothe our varying daily ailments, a well-blended juice feels like a fast-tracked vitamin boost to good health. Health food brand 'Jugen' specialises in health foods, with their spotlight products being all-natural, super food-filled juices for cleansing, healing and detoxifying. Taking inspiration from ancient herbal medicine bottles, their new brand has a tidy, vintage vibe to it. The bright contents of the bottles provide pops of colour, adding a contemporary, light-hearted brand layer.

The store fit-out carries out the brand look and feel beautifully – the shop features lush vegetation mixed with lab equipment, books and flasks. The end result is an environment that looks equal parts bar, lab and apothecary shop. This lovely work by Anagrama has got me wanting to get the ol' blender out and start whizzing up some sweet health concoctions, pronto!

IMAGE: ANAGRAMA

an experiment in henna / part 1

The first time I ever had someone decorate my hand with henna must have been about 10 years ago. I went to a craft fair at the show grounds, and there was a lovely, old, Indian woman huddled in the corner offering the semi-permanent service. The ease and skill by which she conducted her design – and without guide, I might add – had me spellbound. At the tender age of 16 I was really into doodles and temporary tattoos. I had no idea that these two things could be combined... and in a way that was an old, cultural practise from years gone by. At every opportunity I would get my hand decorated by a henna artist, which was usually around the time of the Diwali festival. It usually faded after two weeks though, and I never knew when I would chance on seeing another henna vendor again.

It would be quite a while before I got my hands on the stuff for myself. My mum brought some back for me from a holiday, and while it was fun at first, I didn't realise how quickly the substance lost its ability to stain. A couple of weeks ago I investigate henna further, and decided to go on a mission to find the powder. That way I could mix it and use it as I wanted without worrying so much about time.

Making the henna paste was a satisfying experience in itself, though my kitchen did smell kind of funny for a while... a strange mix of dried organic matter and essential oils. Much like when making bread, there is a period of time where you leave the paste to react with the air. Leaving it for too long or too short results in a substance that doesn't stain, and temperature plays a huge part, too. Being winter, I left it for nearly 48 hours, stirring and testing every now and then. My first batch turned out well. It its a bit on the runny side (I'll cut back on the lemon juice next time), making it tricky to apply.

I've tried a couple of designs on my own hand, and even my husband let me experiment on him (what a trooper). The more practise I can get, the better. So, hands up who's down for a semi-permanent doodle?

IMAGE: LUCY OLIVE