In a week where there was a shooting in Auckland (a lone gunman shot and killed two fellow workers on a building site) and the return of winter rain and wind, we also saw the start of the women’s football world cup, with New Zealand winning the opening match. I have to admit I am not that interested in any sport, but it is hard not to take some notice of what it is going on, especially with some matches taking place in Wellington (where Sweden beat South Africa on Sunday). Anyway, here are a few of my small pleasures of the week.
Dancing in the streets
On Wednesday I strolled along Cuba Street and spotted this tap dancer. I hope you can see the video as he was quite fantastic and so much fun to watch. And the weather was still fine then!
Edibles
Before watching the tap dancing, I had lunch at Shelly Bay Baker’s Leeds Street shop. I had an excellent smoked salmon bagel, and also picked up a baguette which we enjoyed with the Jerusalem artichoke soup I made for dinner.


In the basket this week was some spinach and silver beet for greens, basics such as onionsand potatoes, a grapefruit, oranges and two rangpur limes for seasonal citrus and a few earth gems, which I will probably roast and use for lunch at the end of the week.
Barbie
Imagine the rain is falling on a cold, winter’s day. The last thing you want to do is go out. However, you have tickets booked to see Barbie, so you don your raincoat, pick up an umbrella and head to the cinema. Well, all I will say is that it is a long time since I have seen such a good film – it is funny, well written, lots of hidden references to things and just, well, great fun. I highly recommend it and I guarantee you will come out smiling.
Simple things
- Enjoying yet another beautiful sunrise, this time over the Beehive or New Zealand’s Parliament building.
- Wearing cosy, comfortable sweaters.
- Cooking ‘spag bol’ – something I haven’t made for ages.
- Feeling warm, soft towels just fresh from the tumble drier.
- Eating a treat of Baron Hasselhoff’s Pirate Mary, rosemary infused salted caramels.
- Deciding what to read next from the TBR pile.

What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life. Also entered in the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie.
- Jo over at And Anyways shares her recent reading.
- Natalie the Explorer shows us doors and murals in Philadelphia.
- Ju-Lyn spends 5 minutes with the amazing looking black bat flower over at Touring My Backyard
- There are horses and flowers over at Tootlepedal’s Blog
- Laurie over at Notes From the Hinterland is also watching the rain…and Mission Impossible.
- Nigella Eats Everything recommends good places for lunch in Toulouse.
- Trent spends the week in Cape Cod.
- Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy is still on holiday in Chesapeake Bay and shares so many pictures of wonderful food.
- …and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com


Tap dancing is smiling with your feet😀😀
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I did watch the video of the tap dancer, and he is very good indeed.
The food looks and sounds delicious!
I, too, saw Barbie and liked it a lot. Will be writing about it on today’s post.
As always, thanks for the mention.
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I’ll be interested to see what you thought about Barbie!
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The street dancer would have been the top of my day. I love tap!
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It was great fun!
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I really enjoyed the tap dancer. How nice to have a personal saxophonist. We should all have one.
I should have thanked you before this for the kind references you have made to my posts. It is much appreciated.
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Yes – a personal saxophonist would be good….and happy to link to your blog.
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Thanks for the review of Barbie, I might have missed that one. I also enjoyed the tap dancer too, I love the saxophone 👏👏😊
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Thanks for the heads up on Barbie, I might have missed that one. Also enjoyed the tap dancer..I love the saxophone.😁👏👏
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I love your small pleasures posts. They’re so uplifting!
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Thank you!
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Hi, Barbara – I would have bet that I would not be interested in seeing the Barbie movie. But you and a couple other bloggers now have me convinced!
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Well worth seeing!
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Your vegetable basket looks so yummy, as usual 🙂 I love the idea of having fresh vegetables delivered.
I’m not very into watching sports on TV, but as you know football is huge in Sweden and it is impossible to not hear about it 🙂
Your photos in this post are exquisite, thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Thank you so much! My husband is off to watch Sweden v Italy this evening – it is so cold that I am glad I am going to the ballet instead 🙂
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The onionsand potatoes look interesting. I don’t see them in my local grocery stores. That sunrise over the Beehive photo is gorgeous. Thank you for the mention and for your weekend coffee share.
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Your food pictures are always lovely. I love the spotted fruit – plums? I haven’t seen Barbie, but it seems to be the talk of the world. We had a great conversation about it at our Blogger Meetup. The tap dancer was a bonus. What talent and a smiling face, too! Glad you had a good week. 🙂
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Thank you! The spotted objects are earth gems – nice roasted.
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Interesting. That’s new to me! 🙂
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Yes they were new to me a few years ago too. Not as ‘earthy’ as beetroot, nice roasted.
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Yum. Vince and I both love beets and they are so good for you!
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I loved watching that tap video! Thank you for sharing it here! All your food look lovely, too, though your baguette has this GF gal longing for my past (more gluten tolerant) belly 😉 Hope you have a wonderful week ahead filled with more gorgeous skies!
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Thank you!
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We’ve been watching the womens world cup games. We are a family who loves soccer. That tap dancer was very good! My daughter went and saw Barbie and said it was good. I was surprised because I kept hearing so much negative about it. Still not sure I’ll go see it but maybe if it comes out on streaming devices I will.
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Barbie is fun and not sure I get all the negative comments – people overthinking it a bit I think!
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I agree…I think people overthink too much sometimes.
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I’m glad you enjoyed Barbie. I watched it too — most fun I had in a theater in a while.
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