A Kiwi In Kona

When it comes to getting dressed, I cheat.

I have 4 identical tee-shirts from New Zealand.

I adore them, but they are a pain in the butt to get, one of the reasons I buy several at a time. They have NZ native birds on them, a delicate black etching on a plain white tee. Hey, didn’t it used to be a thing to say “put a bird on it.”? Or was that just in Portland? 

I used to get them from a store in Ponsonby, Auckland, where there are ton of great NZ designers who hopefully will still be there …

In the 80's when I was around 18 and two years under the age limit to get into an Auckland nightclub, I borrowed a friend's ID, gelled and spiked my hair, added blue eyeshadow and a zebra patterned top with shoulder pads and met a boy. 

This was at Club Casablanca, also known affectionately as Catcha-wanker. I vaguely remember neon flamingos, lasers and dry ice and a tiny dance floor. We gyrated to songs like Addicted to Love, and Livin' on a Prayer. He had no sense of rhythm. 

He was interest…

(Spoiler Alert)

Oh, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have loved you for thirty years, Sarah Michelle Gellar (and yes, you have improved with age).

Back in 1999 when I was living in Tokyo, an American friend of mine had some VHS tapes (for those of you who remember them). On them were several episodes of a TV show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It had come out around the same time as a new book called Harry Potter and the Philosophers' Stone.

Oh, my mind was blown. Yes, I liked Harry, but it was …

It’s National Checklist Day. I’ve never been a fan of checklists. I get overwhelmed and stressed out when I feel like I have an endless list of things to do.

There’s numerous time management strategy books and productivity books out there. One I enjoyed was The One Thing by Gary Keller, for which I wrote an article for Medium. To sum it up in one line, think of the one thing you can do today to get you towards the person you want to be in the life that you want. I find that much easier to deal …

It never occurred to me that Malibu Barbie (and her cousin PJ, I had both) may have inspired me as a child.

She had my ideal life. 

Well, kind of. The upkeep must have been an effort, all that sun-kissed skin and keeping Surfer Kens at bay. But, oh, she was special. 

One Christmas, I was given a tanned doll with impossibly long legs, inflated chest, long blonde hair and a ridiculous waist.

I adored her on sight. It's summer at that time of year in New Zealand, so it wasn't as strange a choic…

I'm 53 today.

Wahoo! Half way through. Given that my great-grandmother made it to over 100, why not? 

53 years of clothes....

Primary school (Elementary to all you Americans). I don't remember much about my own clothing, but I do remember my dolls. Paper and Barbie were huge in my life.  Even then I understood the advantage of friends with superior skills. I got Katrina, a girl in my class who was the best at drawing, to make a paper doll to my specifications (I don't remember the creative br…

I work with, among others, women solopreneurs. Not sure what that is?

A solopreneur is an entrepreneur, by like me, they don't have a business partner. We do it on our own, but together. I have an amazing community of women solopreneurs and many are my clients. 

Some are launching, some pivoting because of the "new normal," (doesn't feel very normal to me). Doors have closed, others have opened. Maybe they are relaunching, or want to up-level. Maybe, like me, they disappeared for a while and w…

For many years, my clothes were kept in multiple locations around the house.

We were (kind of still are) constantly in renovation. I moved into a house that already had my husband’s furniture in it and all his possessions. He'd been married before and had decanted a very large house into our new dwelling, I'd moved to the US with two bulging and overweight suitcases, several boxes and a couple of 70's paintings. 

Since he's not psychic, he bought the house before we were engaged, so he natural…

So...even I’m getting tired of my pajama bottoms. I’ve never been a fan of sweatpants, per se, though I do cling to my 80’s Adidas drawstring fake-rapper-track suit.The good news is, they can actually be stylish - here’s how:

#1 Fitted Looks More Formal

Choose sweatpants with slimmer legs. They’re easier to style and look more polished. Leggings count in this category, and so do joggers as long as they’re fitted and you’re comfortable in them. Throw on a long-sleeved, button-down shirt then tu…

I don’t like the word budget. It sounds...restrictive. Which in my experience can lead to binge shopping or deprivation. Neither are good things.

I much prefer spending plan. I choose all the categories, which includes singing lessons, vacations, petrol (sorry, gas) etc.

I was told that every dollar should have a purpose and to allocate every dollar in alignment with my values, my dreams, and my goals. I like that a lot. 

Regarding my spending on entertainment, what I don’t like going out to …