Our Life

A New Plymouth mum pours her heart into a global movement, bettering the planet one toy at a time.

After one frustrating cheese board fail, Nadene Hall breaks down seven festive appetisers that are practically foolproof.

Gardeners know growing plants is great for your health, and now science is showing us some of the reasons why.

NZ Lifestyle Block editor Nadene Hall has a confession: she is a bad ride-on mower owner.

Marlborough-based artist Nicolas Dillon’s coffee-table book of drawings and paintings of New Zealand birds represents his lifetime love affair with the natural world.

Book reviewer Hayley McLarin’s round-up includes a plant-based cookbook, a story of a man and his rescue cat, and an economist’s take on global loneliness.

Turn your old tools into a decorative garden gate.

Lisa Scott has always been afraid of heights or, to be more precise, falling. Now she’s attempting to overcome that fear.

This paper kiwi is an easy origami project for beginners and kids. Make one to celebrate the Bird of the Year competition.

Add a splash of colour to the dinner table with these simple tricks for tie dyeing and shibori napkins. They are an easy homemade present to make.

Two Waitaki families farming in partnership for more than 50 years have developed a bird-loving business out of a crop sown on a wing and a prayer.

Clothing has an enormous impact on the environment and, very often, an effect on the people who make it. When purchasing, remember these Rs ‒ reduce, recycle, resale, repair, repurpose and even rent.

This garden-lover’s pet project sees a rundown barn turned into a room of her own.

Sleep accounts for one-quarter to one-third of the human lifespan. Yet what exactly happens during it is not known, and its biological purpose remains one of life’s great mysteries.

A traditional signwriter carves a new niche for himself after technology turns his industry upside-down.

Turn three old pallets into a useful mobile table for entertaining.

3 golden rules for getting started at a farmer’s market

Experienced stallholder Jono Walker shares his tips for beginners.

An ambitious duo hopes to change the world with affordably priced personal-care products packaged without plastic.

Book reviewer Hayley McClarin sees whether this crime thriller Girl in the Mirror lives up to the hype and also reviews, The Jacaranda House, by Deborah Challinor and Tim Saunders’  This Farming Life.

A beauty therapist loves her new rural life while keeping up her work for a good cause.

You don't need any artistic skill to upcycle homewares with chalk paint and decorative adhesive transfers, as Lynda Hallinan discovers.

Our country’s most decorated soldier, Charles Upham, is the subject of a biography by one of our country’s most decorated cartoonists, Tom Scott.

A Southland photographer has repurposed her former possession-driven life to become a conscious consumer in a small eco-home.

A world-class springboard diver is not only relishing a second chance at her athletic career but also hoping her tiny-homes business will have a big impact on the planet.

Listen up: three perfect-for-bedtime podcasts guaranteed to put you to sleep

Editor Kate Coughlan suggests three perfect-for-bedtime podcasts guaranteed to put you to sleep.

Spring doesn't always have to be about cleaning. Put some pep back into your kitchen or garden with these fun projects.

Use whatever fabric you have on hand to make these two personalised face masks.

Seven is a lucky number in many cultures, and Jill Evans knows it for sure every time she steps into her Austin 7 Boat Tail.

Author Lesley Pearse, who come to writing later in life, has sold millions of copies of her novels, and draws on personal experience in penning her latest gripping work.

The excitement of opening new retail store Perriam in Christchurch vanished in an instant as the lockdown was imposed.

An easy way to create a bespoke planter box for your backyard.

Scientists believe that how fast people walk in their 40s is a sign of how their brains, as well as their bodies, are ageing.

Kristy Lorson, her husband and young daughter fill one wheelie bin with rubbish every two years. They love their (virtually) zero-waste life.

This cute-as-a-button popcorn stitch beanie from the team at Perriam, will keep little warm during winter.