What Jodie Reads

Ok .... so I've let the blogging lapse for a while .... but I've recently been re-inspired and just have to share this beautiful cover of the latest Little Treasures magazine.  Not only does this mag feature great tidbits for mums and dads about modern-day parenting BUT it also features on it's cover this month ..... my beautiful friend Nadine and her gorgeous wee girl Lucy!!!

The New Zealand Woman's Weekly appeals to Shortland Street fans this week with cover girl Anna Jullienne explaining her "shock move" to Australia following her on-screen character Maia's exit from the popular soap.  It's really not that shocking that she's simply chasing her dream across the ditch.  Many of her fellow Shorty Street alums have made similar moves, and you never know... we might just see her playing a sexy American doctor in a new medical drama based somewhere in tropical South America soon like this guy .  Elsewhere in the mag, TV3's Nightline presenter Rachel Smalley speaks out about the importance of water safety - following a spate of tragic drownings around the country over summer.  She confessess a near-death drowning by a close family member led her to the pool with her son Finn at just three months old.  Along with the obligatory Royal story (this week it's Kate Vs Zara as "battling brides"), an Angelina to adopt ...

Every now and then a story comes along that touches your heart.  In July last year I caught a story on TV ONE's Close Up about Haiti earthquake survivor Nelsonian Emily Sanson-Rejouis and her daughter Alyahna.  They had both survived the massive earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010.  One-year-old Alyahna miraculously survived 22 hours trapped beneath the rubble of their Port-au-Prince apartment.  Now, I love a good story of survival (Castaway, Alive, 127 Hours) but, what broke my heart was the news that Emily's husband Emmanuel and two of her daughters, Kofie-Jade, 5, and Kenzie-Jaz,3, weren't as lucky and sadly lost their lives that day.  I wept.  Not only for the unfathomable tradedy of such an event, but for the incredible strength of this woman on TV speaking about the day she lost them, her grief and the miracle of Alyahna's survival.  She also spoke of her efforts to rebuild a school in her late-husband's h...

A quirky 1950s' caravan called Ngaire steals the show in the latest NZ Life & Leisure    (Jan/Feb 2011 $9.70).  The 1955 Starliner has been lovingly restored by her owners Mike & Victoria and in it, they talk of the adventures they've taken her on since finding her on Trade Me 4 years ago.  It's the perfect story to put in their summer issue with the tag line 'Away from it all'.  Editor Kate Coughlan and her team have pulled out all the stops to feature people in tune with their holiday environments and to identify holidays and homes that nourish the family without the need for heart-stopping mortgages.  There's the cottage by the river: a cleverly designed 'close up and tow away' cottage on the banks of the Waihopai River in Marlborough.  A yurt in the bush: glamping it up in Raglan - a unique way to get away from it all amongst a stand of huge nikau palms and centuries-old rimu and tawa. ...

I thought I'd start the new year off with some "good" resolutions, so I picked up the latest issue of this carbon neutral magazine.  It's made in New Zealand and it's masthead states "simple choices for a better life".  Sounds like a GOOD way to start the new year I say..... Good (Dec 2010/Jan 2011 $7.90) celebrates it's relaunch with a specially wrapped issue and bonus gift (the 'good shopping handbook' valued at $4.95).  New editor Sarah Heeringa says  “for me, the good life is about creating a healthy home environment, eating well and buying quality.  It's also about making jam, growing veggies and teaching our kids to be smart with the resources around us - and enjoying more of life's significant moments."    Opening this issue was one such significant moment.  The switch to luxurious, eco-offset paper matches the eco-fabulous vibe of the mag and thanks to the vintage style of Art Director Sally Fullam, the re-design/mak...