ink + adventure

5.20.2015

life lately + free wallpaper download + a giveaway

before I get to the giveaway, it's time for a life update. because I have a stash of 5-almost-ready posts hanging out in my draft folder and I'm just not feeling any of them today. in fact, it's dark and rainy out and I feel a bit of a ramble coming on. so grab a cup of coffee [or wine] and let's have a chat, shall we? here's what's been happening around these parts lately...

apartment hunting

we found an apartment in Taipei! during our first trip we looked at several apartments. none of them had exactly the situation we wanted, but one we had designated as a "this will work/backup plan/if nothing better appears" option.

when we went for our second day of viewing, last weekend, I almost died of panic. the first thing the realtor told us was that the place we were interested in from our last trip was, as he spoke, being signed over to someone else. 5 minutes later, he received a phone call from someone else who was curious about the apartment we were about to view. as we were looking through and trying to see if it would work for us, he was taking photos to send to someone else. we then went to a second apartment, after which we were told that was all there was available to view.

so we had to decide between the 2 places we had seen that day, and if we wanted to be sure to have an apartment at all, we had to make our decision pretty much right that moment. not the ideal situation, but the place we ended up with is actually a great space. it's further from the MRT [Taipei's subway] but literally across the street from a giant park and just at the foot of the mountains. I feel like I have whiplash from the whole experience, but I'm looking forward to moving in at the end of July and setting up our new home.

packing things

right, so we know where our stuff is going now. that means it has to be sorted and ready to go there. you guys know my feelings about packing for vacation. so just multiply that by a thousand and you have my feelings on packing for a move.

add to this a few things: our stuff is actually being moved in a few weeks, even though we won't be in that apartment until we return to Taiwan at the end of July. and two days after our stuff is moved, I am flying back to the states for summer. [let's not even talk about the bridesmaid dress that is waiting at my parent's house which may or may not fit that will have to be worn just a few days after that.]

watching things

if you are a fan of Penny Dreadful, you might have found the end of this week's episode a bit disturbing. if you are a fan of Game of Thrones, then you definitely found the end of that episode cringe-worthy. I made the poor choice of watching these shows back to back. I thought GoT would cheer me up or at least give me something other than torture and murder to think about. oh, be careful what you wish for. no spoilers here, but that is the first departure from the books that I've really hated.

in an effort to get something else into my brain, I flipped through our DVD collection and re-discovered the Planet Earth series. it feels like it aired forever ago, but I can tell you it is still stunning. I haven't seen it since moving abroad and it was really interesting because I actually knew where these places were and had even been to some of them. it gave me serious wanderlust itches.

creating things

speaking of. I've recently discovered Creative Market. have you ever heard of this place? [warning: you will become obsessed.] I've downloaded some new fonts and textures and can't stop myself from playing around with them. since right now most of my creations are just hanging out on my hard drive, I thought I'd share a desktop wallpaper for your guys to download. [if you guys are into this kind of stuff let me know, and I might make it a regular-ish occurrence.]

the world is crazy beautiful desktop wallpaper << click there to access the full-size image

and that giveaway

if looking at new fonts and artwork gives you the itch to find a new blog design [like it does me] then you are in luck! Kelly over at The Lady Errant has just opened up a blog design service. and because she's awesome, she's offering up a customized Wordpress theme [and some other goodies] to one lucky reader.

several lovely blogging ladies and I have teamed up to help spread the word about The Lady Errant Design Shop grand opening. it's always so exciting to see the efforts of someone's creativity and determination come to fruition. but- I'll let Kelly tell you more in her own words. read what she has to say about the shop and the giveaway below, then go check out her work!

Celebrate the opening of The Lady Errant Design Shop!

I'm excited to announce that The Lady Errant Design Shop is now open! Coding, figuring out small business legalities, and taxes have been occupying my waking hours for the past 2.5 months, and now it's all coming together. A bunch of my blog friends have been kind enough to support me and help out with a few giveaways to celebrate the opening. We have several prizes for one lucky winner today - and stay tuned for the next giveaway in June! Interested in a new design for your self-hosted WordPress site? Then check out the design site and the Etsy shop, or explore the demo of the most popular theme. Don't forget to sign up for the mailing list to get a 20% off coupon code - the next newsletter goes out in mid-June!

The Prizes

1. 1 free customized theme for self-hosted WP sites from the shop (up to $80 value). Includes favicon, pin it button, custom fonts/colors/formatting, and 1 coding add-on (such as a custom page template). 2. A custom blog button designed by Lix Hewett ($25 value) 3. 1 large ad space on The So-Called Homemaker ($10 value) 4. 1 large ad space on Belle Brita ($10 value) 5. 1 hand-embroidered bag from The Hemborg Wife (priceless!)

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5.14.2015

Dunedin // Larnach Castle

it's not every day that you get to explore a castle. when I started researching things to see in Dunedin, during our stop there on our New Zealand road trip, Larnach Castle was one of the first things I found. I promptly fell in love and knew I had to visit. both the grounds and the castle were completely lovely.

our visit to Larnach Castle was also special because I got to share it with Amanda [from Living in Another Language.] she's a long-term American expat currently living in Dunedin. if you have any interest in reading more about [and seeing some gorgeous photos of] New Zealand I would recommend checking out her blog!

but back to the castle.

Larnach Castle has an interesting and somewhat dark history. William Larnach constructed the castle in the late 1800s, nicknamed it "The Camp" and moved in with his wife Eliza and their children, and his sister-in-law Mary. His first wife died of a stroke a few years after giving birth to their sixth child. so William married his wife's sister. Mary died 5 years later [also at the age of 38 - the same as Eliza] and William married for a third time, to a woman much younger than he was. William's favorite daughter Kate then died, and his investments started taking a turn for the worse. the final blow happened when William received a letter informing him that his young wife Catherine and his son Douglas were carrying on an affair. he shot himself in the NZ parliament building and left his family with a mess of inheritance issues to sort through.

the castle fell into disrepair for several decades. the property changed hands a number of times, and at one point was being used as a government mental institution. lucky for me [and anyone else who visits] Larnach Castle was purchased again in the late 1960s and both the grounds and castle were restored and opened to the public.

due to its history of tragic occurrences, the castle is rumored to be haunted. some say by William, his first wife Eliza, his daughter Kate, or sometimes all three. we didn't see anything supernatural on our visit, but we did encounter something scary: three busloads of tourists, fresh off a cruise ship.

we were trapped in several rooms of the castle as tour groups made their way around. I'm not joking. literally not a single person would let us exit the room they were all trying to file into. but maybe the scariest part was the conversation I overheard in the gift shop. one man was trying to buy a postcard and became extremely irate because "what do you mean, you don't take American express?"

regardless of tourists and ghost stories, I really loved wandering through Larnach Castle. perhaps my favorite part was seeing the view from the tower - I can see why they decided to build here.

special thanks for this afternoon go to Husband, for putting up with not one but TWO crazy blogger/photographers while trying to explore the castle and grounds. [at least he could commiserate with Amanda's husband over dinner. #marriedtoabloggerproblems ]

the restoration they've done is truly amazing. I love all the small touches - the tilework, the watercolor done by a former resident, the family crest [a grumpy-looking cat whose motto says "without fear"]

the castle grounds also boast an impressive garden - which you'll have to wait a few more posts to see. I may have gone a little bit crazy with the photos here. heaven help me if/when I travel to Europe, because I think I have castle fever. but with all these gorgeous details, can you really blame me?

if you are interesting in touring Larnach Castle or learning more about it's history, you can visit their official website for information.