Hi! I’m so excited you’re here today. My vision for this blog  is to share with you, my reader. To share photos, stories, recipes, and more! Let me begin by sharing a bit about myself.

My name is Tilly. As you might have guessed from the name of my blog, I am Canadian… and American… and Kiwi! I was born in Canada but grew up in the US, in Washington state. My family’s home is about twenty minutes from the Pacific Ocean and about thirty minutes from the Canadian/American border. Right now? I live in New Zealand! Last year I came here to visit my sister for six. months. Yes! Six months! It was kinda crazy to drop everything and come to another country for so long… but it was the adventure of a lifetime and look where I am now! While I was in New Zealand in January I met a handsome man named Jared… and in August we got married! The last few months have been crazy as I moved to New Zealand with my amazing husband, we have been organizing  a wedding reception here in New Zealand (It happened on Saturday and was a blast! And tons of thanks to Jared’s Mum and Dad, as they had a huge part in it!), applying for a visa, and moving into our beautiful rental house.

Photo by Kim Gasper Photography

My husband and I love the Lord, and are involved in our church. Our church has a bus ministry and we love getting to teach the Bible to the precious kids who come. We both love children! In the United States I worked as a nanny for several sweet little girls. Currently, my visa doesn’t allow me to work so I am at home taking care of our cozy house.

Photography has always been a passion of mine. Since I was a child I have loved picking up a camera and capturing the world as I see it. My first camera was a simple point and shoot, and when I turned 11 my parents helped me buy a DSLR camera secondhand. I started out with a Canon Rebel and a kit lens. My mom is a photographer and she has taught me so much about photography. As she has upgraded her cameras, so have I! My current camera is a Canon 5D that she gave me. Some of my favorite images are ones that I’ve taken on my travels in the USA, Canada, Colombia, Malawi, New Zealand, and Australia.

As you might have deduced from the previous paragraph… I love travelling as well!

What else? Reading! I have been a reader my whole life. I remember when I was a kid, sitting on the couch on a hot summer day, reading a whole volume of 5 ‘Pony Pals’ books in one afternoon. I remember reading an Alex Rider book in bed and I was so fascinated that I couldn’t stop reading even though my eyes were drooping and it took all my willpower to stay awake. Lately I’ve been reading Janette Oke. My older sisters read some of her books when I was younger, but I always thought that stuff was boring… well now I’m discovering that I love it!

Another thing that I’m excited about? I’m planting a vegetable garden this year! I have done so several years before but… with work and school I was too busy to maintain it. Now I do have time to spend on it! When Jared and I were looking for a rental house, one thing that I hoped for was space for a garden. Our house has a great garden area, so I have been clearing the weeds and am so excited to get it ready and plant the seeds I’ve bought!

I also love cooking. I didn’t do it much before Jared and I got married because I was so busy. Now, I cook every day. It’s so fun trying out new recipes and being creative with food! Baking is another thing I enjoy, which I do have more experience with. I used to make and decorate sugar cookies, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done that because it’s quite time consuming.

So… that’s me in a nutshell!