Elevated offerings in Elmwood

Our city has pockets of wonderful everywhere you look. The growth and evolution of Ōtautahi have led the way toward satellite hubs manifesting in our suburbs, where one can grab a coffee, run a few essential errands and, of course, indulge in some retail therapy.

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Liam Stretch
Be the change

In just a few months, a Christchurch school’s new innovation and entrepreneurship programme has seen students create an educational Māori culture social media lens with over 150,000 global engagements, pilot a wāhine in tech programme for Deloitte, and assist a health tech start-up company’s virtual reality therapy app.

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Liam Stretch
Which hue for you?

The season for outdoor entertaining is here, and this garden party look is ready to celebrate with warming bursts of citrus from Resene Tangerine and Resene Tulip Tree.

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Liam Stretch
Build your perfect cheeseboard

With summer fast approaching, our days are becoming longer, and sunshine and outdoor entertaining are just around the corner. Our friends at Barrys Bay have shared a few tips with us on how to build the perfect cheeseboard – filled with a range of textures, ages, and flavour profiles.

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Liam Stretch
Humans of Ōtautahi: Patricia

“Since I was about six, they put me in dresses. I just didn’t want to get out of them, that’s all. Yes, my cousins dressed me up, and I enjoyed it. It’s interesting when you look back on life because, as I say, I’m 80 now. I’ve been in and out over the years.

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Liam Stretch
Astley and bubbles

Many of you will be getting ready for Cup and Show week in an appropriately Cup and Show week-way, perhaps by getting a spray tan or putting on something that shows your midriff. Knock yourselves out. Sure, I’ve had my fair share of dancing on the tables, but these days if I have a wine too many, I’m more likely to tidy up the laundry or do some gardening while listening to Fur Patrol or Rick Astley.

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Liam Stretch
Sunday Drive: Randy

I never wanted the traditional flower shop. I wanted to bring my flowers to people, with a real focus on sustainable floristry and doing things differently, so a flower truck it was! Randy was listed for $500, with a tow bar, a healthy-looking body and engine coupled with a warrant and registration. I simply couldn’t go past him.

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Liam Stretch
A season for new Leeves

The past year has been quite the journey for Red Eight at Portstone, so it is fitting to introduce a new name for the café, Leeves at Portstone.

Owner Stephanie, who started the original Red Eight in Kaiapoi, chose the new name to reflect the current location at 465 Ferry Road’s Portstone Garden Centre. She describes this as a “fresh approach” for the café.

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Liam Stretch
Eggs with a difference 

There’s no denying the allure and delight of perfectly cooked eggs on toast. It’s the literal bread and butter for the brunch trade of most cafés. But in the name of research, our food editor Kate Underwood was determined to scour the city for egg dishes offering something a little different.

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Liam Stretch
A good egg

I find it hard to imagine a culinary world without the existence of eggs. These life-giving bundles dubbed ‘the everyday super food’ are one of those rare, cornerstone ingredients that just keep on giving. The simple fact is that an egg can begin, entirely encapsulate, or finish a meal.

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Liam Stretch
A spring reboot

Idon’’t think there’s any city in the world that celebrates spring as beautifully as our own. There’s a reason Christchurch is referred to as the ‘Garden City’, and a drive down Harper Avenue or a quick glimpse of the blossom trees around Hagley Park merely confirms this.

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Liam Stretch
Music mastery

The ancestor of the mouth organ, the Jew’s Harp, is one of the oldest instruments in the world. By the time European whalers, traders, and sailors brought it to Aotearoa New Zealand, the instrument had been in use in various forms throughout the settled world for millennia.

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Liam Stretch
Rebirth of cool

Behind the gorgeous old building façades, tucked into nooks and neighbourhoods all over the city, you’ll find new and popular hotspots with a distinctly Dunedin edge. Local flavours and products are the heroes here, housed in the city’s heritage while giving it new life. Embrace the spring vibe and explore the old with the new in Aotearoa’s most historic city.

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Liam Stretch
Mid Canterbury’s magic

Avenues editor Joshua Brosnahan recently discovered you don’t have to travel far to experience an entirely different side of the region. Here are but a few of the myriad of adventures you could have in your own visit to magical Mid Canterbury.

You’ll go for the adventure and stay for the people.

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Liam Stretch
Get match fit with The Crossing

There are few places in Ōtautahi that offer a greater range of options to help us get ‘match fit’ than The Crossing, the city’s retail heart. Here, you can enjoy open-air shopping, dining, and socialising.

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Liam Stretch
Watch this space - Innovate

Disguised amid fluid and merging reams of red, blue, black, and white, the word ‘innovate’ is revealed in stacked layers, the letters providing a structural quality as the ribbons of colour seemingly melt and pull in different directions across the wall

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Liam Stretch
The mystique of Marlborough

Ahhh, summer in Marlborough! Take in all of the breathtaking vistas, sunny blue skies, and starry nights on your next visit. The mystique of the glistening Marlborough Sounds and the rows of vines that fill the region will absolutely make your summer.

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