i will never get tired of being on the road, with the windows down, the sun pouring in, and my hair dancing in the wind.

one day we will hire a campervan and travel this country from top to bottom, but for now small road trips will have to do. these trips are bittersweet - never long enough, but always a much needed refresher from the constant rhythm of daily life.

saturday was one of those days. we felt the urge to hit the road, and we satisfied it. after having breakfast with my brother and his wife, we jumped in the car and drove an hour north to oamaru to spend the day with tim's family. it was a whirlwind trip, but a good one all the same.

by the seventh of november my exams will be over, and these small trips will happen more often. this weekend's short excursion was just a sweet tease of what's to come. this summer is going to be one of the best, i'm going to make sure of it.

the wind may have been blowing a gale, and the road may have been far too treacherous for such a little car, but that didn't stop us.

mount cargill - september twenty-fourth.

i'm constantly inspired by other photographers, artists, bloggers, musicians... creatives. we live in an age where we are lucky enough to have the opportunity to interact with people from all over the globe through many mediums of social media. it still amazes me that i can be lying in bed, in my little bedroom at the bottom of little old new zealand, and be reading live updates of somebody's trip through europe, or seeing photos from someone's hike through the forests of seattle. the world has become a much smaller place, whilst at the same time, its beauty and wonder is forever growing.

in saying that.. i've decided to start a new series - those that inspire. i'm going to try and post three new "inspirations" a week, in the hopes of sharing all the warm fuzzies that these creatives give me on a daily basis, and all the motivation that they provide me with to continue striving for the best in my photography.

if you feel like joining in, please let me know! 

i would love to follow along with you and see who inspires you!

01 // instagram's power couple - @bethanymarieco and @withhearts. If you aren't following these two by now, you are seriously missing out! they are both ridiculously talented, and their adventures around the pacific northwest make me feel all kinds of jealous. their ability to capture natural light and create a sense of magic within their images is something i can only dream of achieving one day. i can't remember when i started following either of these two, but boy oh boy was it a good decision. oh, and they just got ENGAGED!

Photos sourced from bethanymarieco

02 // @denisebovee - whenever i see her username pop up as i'm scrolling through my ig feed, my heart does a little happy dance. a steady stream of snippets of her every day life, her kids and dreamy captures of beauty in its simplest form. not only does her photography inspire me, but that style! one day when i become a mama, i hope i'm as stylish and effortlessly "cool" as she is. i can dream, right?

Photos sourced from @denisebovee

03 // nirrimi joy from theroadishome. what a beautiful, honest woman. i recently came across her blog and have been absolutely captivated by her outlook on life, her attitude and thoughts on motherhood, her beautifully captured images, and her romantic and taunting writings. this morning i woke up to see that she had posted a new blog post, one which she labelled as one of the hardest-to-post blogs she has ever written. she wrote of the negative aspects of documenting her life on social media, and how this has effected her and her precious little family. you can click here to read more, but i think its really important we support our fellow bloggers, shower people with positivity and give praise where praise is due. i'm sending all the happy vibes and big loves to that lady today. nirrimi, you truly are an inspiration.

Photos sourced from theroadishome

"believe you can, and you're halfway there"

theodore roosevelt

"Sometimes you just have to lay down on the Earth, wherever you are, close your eyes to the sun and remember you're just a person on a floating planet in outer space and all of your problems are really quite insignificant. Everything will be okay."

(Nirrimi Joy Firebrace)

we found roads we'd never driven down and views we'd never seen before.

+ my man is forever sneaking photos of me
+ feeling our happiest amongst the trees... calls for a selfie, don't cha think?!
+ saturday night ice-hockey date
+ exploring the otago peninsula
+ trusting the road will take us somewhere wonderful (it did)
+ p.d.a
+ my favourite human
+ remembering 9/11 and our visit to the world trade centre memorial
+ the forest is my happy place, can i be a forest princess already?

i'm so slack. its been over a month since my last instagram roundup. this last month has been a whirlwind - it has gone so fast yet i feel like we haven't actually done anything that warrants this time passing so quickly. that's not normally how it goes with me, time usually feels like its flying past when my days are full and events are happening left, right and centre.

with tim starting his first post-grad job, we have been going through a transitional phase, and although we expected it to be a significant change, i don't think we realised just how significant this new phase of life would effect us and our relationship. don't get me wrong, tim and i are great, but his work hours are long and we don't get to spend nearly as much time together as we are used to, or nearly as much time together as we would like. finding time to just chill out and relax is getting more and more limited. hanging out is no longer a spontaneous thing - it has to be planned in advance. tim works during the week and i work my part-time job during the weekend. we can't go exploring every day together. not being able to spend every spare moment we have together has made us appreciate the time we do get to have with one another - relaxing, watching trashy tv shows, cooking dinner together, and going on sunday adventures whenever we can.

i'm so thankful for a man that is willing to drop everything and fill that "spontaneity" void in my heart whenever the opportunity arises, and forever putting up with me, emotions and all.

follow me on instagram here: @aritaiaroa

The change in seasons always brings on a shift in the music I'm listening to. As we shift into spring, my music playlists are beginning to bring in more summery tunes, more folky vibes and songs that remind me of dancing in the sunlight, drinking iced tea on the deck during golden hour, and afternoons spent at the beach.

01 // Heaven - Brent Dennan

02 // Son My Son - Milo Greene

03 // Cool Kids - Echo Smith

04 // Dearly Departed - Shakey Graves feat. Esmee Patterson

05 // Thirteen Sad Farewells - Stu Larsen

what are you listening to at the moment? 

what are your spring/summer anthems?

I have always loved the forest. When I was small, I always dreamed of living in a little cottage in the forest with my friends, who took the form of talking woodland creatures - fawns, squirrels & delicate birds. There's something about the forest which is just so magical. 

The browns, the greens, the endless earthy tones, the comfortable silence of nature, the branches that reach to the skies... there's no doubt that the forest is one of the places where I feel truly calm. Inspired. 

My heart has been aching to find a dreamland like this in our city... and on Sunday, we did. 

Sometimes the best things happen when the road leads you somewhere unplanned.

it was one of those days. when the sun was smiling down on the earth 

and the temptation of adventure was lingering in the air. 

tim and i are beyond blessed to have the friends that we do. dan & anna are two of the most precious people who we are lucky enough to call our best friends. they are the definition of a power couple, and we hold their friendship so close to our hearts. their wedding day is fast approaching and we can't wait to travel up to tauranga to witness them become one in november. spending the day with these two was such a treat, exploring one of dunedin's hidden gem's (with a little trespassing (sssssh) and a whole lotta mud!)... if you ever find yourself at a loose end in dunedin, the peninsula will never disappoint!

how crazy is it that this is literally 15 minutes drive from my flat?! new zealand blows my mind.

sundays are my favourite day of the week, hands down.

READING - all about the Vietnam War, and the Bolsheviks. The history nerd inside me is having a party.
EATING - at least 3 anzac baked oaty slices by Mother Earth a day. someone stop me. they're just so good!
DRINKING - homemade smoothies. I bought a new blender specifically for smoothies, and I'm o b s e s s e d.
WATCHING - Married at First Sight (it's ridiculous, I know). I'm a sucker for reality tv, what can I say?
FINISHING - my final internal essay for the semester! 469 words of 2000 complete.
MASTERING - this whole "leave it to the last minute, it will be fiiiineeee" mindset I've got myself into. (why?!)
LEARNING - the importance of backing up my work. don't ask. ;(
WALKING - to uni... in the SUNSHINE!
WEARING - less and less layers. (finally!)
COOKING - lazily. my bad.
WORKING - on essays, all day every day. #antisocialhermit
LISTENING - to the Prince of Spain on repeat.
PLANNING - my trip up north in november! and forever planning our next overseas adventure.
FEELING - overwhelmed + stressed. leaving things to the last minutes is never a good idea.
WANTING - summer, an abundance of warmer weather, and a weekend camping trip.

how is it already the ninth of september? someone, please enlighten me.