We celebrated our wedding anniversary (33 years!) a few days early this weekend in the beautiful South Island town of Queenstown. I have been lucky enough to stay in this stunning place a few times but never before in the summer. For me its a ski town, but turns out that in the summer it’s a lush and verdant paradise. I think I drove my poor husband crazy as I spent the whole time taking photos of the stunning flowers in bloom everywhere. The whole place was fragrant with roses and jasmine.

Easy to forget how much beauty you have in your own country. It was also wonderful at such a hectic time of year to reflect on how far we have come in those 33 years, enjoy a quiet weekend with each other and literally stop and smell the roses.