home — silly.little.kiwi

2018: a year of upheaval + falling back in love {with life}

If you would have told me a year ago that I’d be celebrating a new year in England and that I was starting to make my living as a writer, I would have told you to get lost. If you would have told me this time last year that I’d be going to New Zealand twice in 2018, I probably would have thought it a cruel joke. If you’d have told me future Tara would spend 2018 revisiting favourite countries, getting compensated hotel stays and tours, working with brands I love, and that I’d be writing at a British-owned and Chinese-based publication, I’d have told you to get the hell out.

the case for slow travel: 7 perks of traveling slower + longer

Since many people are planning their travels for the new year, and because I have a lot of slower, elongated travels booked for 2019 myself, I thought I’d explain my reasoning for my travel-style preference. This post is for all of us, myself included, to remember that slow travel is full of benefits!

New Zealand, just because: a life update, travel plans, + what I've been doing

What’s this? A personal post, that’s what. Filled with life updates.

28 // the state of the union

The night before my birthday, right after Tavener continued the birthday-eve ice cream tradition, I had a bit of a panic attack. I felt far away from New Zealand, the place that feels most like home. I felt far away from my friends. I began to think about time and distance and changes and the fragility of life and regrets and the future and it just felt a bit...heavy?!? But then, I arrived back in Laos. I took a dip in the pool and drank a mojito. I sat in my white robe and I got ready for a dinner with friends and I just thought to myself, "You live a good life, T." Even when it's hard or chaotic."

the ways China changed me

Everyone who voted on my latest post voted overwhelmingly for a personal diddy about China. And, it's probably about time I took a step back into personal essay territory {though only a step, guys, let's not get crazy}.

So, here we are.

I'm moving and I'm breaking up with China

I thought it was only fair to kick off my next stint of travels by closing this chapter with one of a series of letters to {urban} China I wrote for the Nanjinger. The graphic designer looked up at me from his screen the other day and said, "When are you going to write the break-up letter in the series?"

China, journal entry, Asia, travel, essays, lifeSilly Little Kiwi | TaraJuly 7, 2018 Comments

the flightless bird, back in flight

Silly Little Kiwi doesn't refer to the fruit, though they are delicious. It's a reference to 7 years ago when I set off on a plane to New Zealand and blogging became my way of expressing it all. It's ironic since a Kiwi bird is actually flightless and yet I find myself constantly with a boarding pass in one hand and my notebook in another. And as silly as it sounds, this silly little space is making a return. You're not surprised at all though, right?

life, journal entry, essays, travelSilly Little Kiwi | TaraJune 27, 2018journal, essays, lifestyle, life Comments

New Zealand again, still + always

...all these years later, New Zealand is still home and these people are still the loves of my life.

the saga of my Chinese Work Z Visa

Buckle up, guys. This is one to read over coffee...or tequila. And probably when you have a lot of time.

27 things I've learned from 27 years of travel

As a woman who's lost track of how many countries she's been to {close to 40?! I don't know}, all of those journeys would be worthless without lessons learned from every boarding pass, right? So here is some pre-birthday knowledge from a woman who was raised moving and continues to live in a constant state of motion.

journal entry, life, travelSilly Little Kiwi | TaraSeptember 6, 20172017, travel, lifestyle, journal, essays, travel lessons, birthdaysComment

no ordinary days

Yesterday felt like something out of the Jungle Book. A perfect Sunday filled with muddy feet and magic. I use that word a lot, aye? 'Magic.' But there is no other word I can think of in my limited vocabulary that does this place and these people and this life justice.

journal entry, life, LaosSilly Little Kiwi | TaraSeptember 5, 20172017, lifestyle, journal, essays Comment

sabaidee, again: why I came back to Laos

Every time I 'repeat' a place, people have questions. Why go back when you can visit somewhere new? And, I try to. At least one new place every year, more if time and money and work allows. That's the intention. But I came back to Laos this year. And here's why.

journal entry, Laos, lifeSilly Little Kiwi | TaraSeptember 2, 20172017, lifestyle, journal, Laos, laos, asia, southeast asia, travel Comments

Hyde Park hangout

After a sleepover in Surbiton, which included a bunch of videos being taken of me spotting a family of FOXES, Bailey and I headed back into the city to see Hyde Park.

England, travel, journal entrySilly Little Kiwi | TaraJuly 26, 20172017, journal, travel, england, uk, london, Hyde ParkComment

Revelations from Shoreditch: 'I suck at London goodbyes'

I got to show Bailey around London on her inaugural visit to the city today. She had heard of a sort of food park called Dinerama in Shoreditch, so that's where we headed towards the end of the evening for some dinner time bites

life, England, journal entrySilly Little Kiwi | TaraJuly 21, 20172017, london, uk, england, journal, lifestyle, friends Comments

London is a riddle, Paris is an explanation

This post is filled with privilege. It reeks of it. And I hate that. Because I sat here typing it as the sun fell down on my Parisian AirBnB while I drank a cup of tea and I read it back to myself with only one real thought in my mind "oh my God, T...you suck!'

travel, journal entry, FranceSilly Little Kiwi | TaraJuly 12, 20172017, Paris, France, travel, lifestyle, journal Comments

good bye Lenin: why I went to Germany again

I've never regretted seeing someplace twice over going someplace new because it's almost always done by me for a person/people I love {New Zealand, London, Laos, etc.}, and I knew there was so much of Berlin I still hadn't experienced. So I went back to Germany for the first time in a long time to see a family I love very much.

Germany, journal entry, travelSilly Little Kiwi | TaraJuly 9, 20172017, Germany, Berlin, lifestyle, travel, family, friends, loveComment

the art of getting lost

I have decided to press 'publish' on a post I have been wimping out on publishing for months now. But, I'm finally hitting the button. It's time.

what I wore to Sullivan's Island

I fell in love with Charleston. One might say I even thrived here. Who would have thought? Not me. I would never have guessed. Guys, I dreaded coming here. Probably because I wasn't sure leaving Laos was right or wrong.

style, journal entrySilly Little Kiwi | TaraJune 9, 2017 Comments

SLK goes sustainable

I've been meaning to post this for a while. Admittedly, I'm a bit afraid of what happens next. No, not backlash. I mean in terms of partnerships and collaborations.

the road ahead

A journal entry about what life is looking like down the road...

journal entrySilly Little Kiwi | TaraMarch 19, 2017journal, essays, lifestyle, 2017 Comments