Our Life

A creative and artistic grandmother’s blue-toned gift is one that keeps on giving.

Autumn is a season of plenty. Here’s how to store any leftover crop safely and mitigate against a spring shortage.

Evicted from their farm in Zimbabwe, a family’s fresh start in Havelock North has brought freedom, and an opportunity to pay it forward.

In Your Backyard: Living Lightly, is a guide to making small steps towards a lighter footprint.  We’ve compiled extra materials and videos here to help further your understanding of this exciting topic.

This trestle is ideal for a compact potting table or a base for a plant container.

A tiny house that includes upcycled parts of a state home is the first step towards sustainable living for an Auckland couple.

This award-winning Geraldine home may be 10 years old, but it's still way ahead of the average NZ house.

Nathan Orr’s enthusiasm for tiny homes and leaving a smaller footprint on the planet is rooted in a teenage illness.

In Hackland, the grown-ups learn the same way kids do - by trying new things and having fun.

Fiona Kidman, Jo Seagar and Kimberly Andrews are winners in the inaugural NZ Booklovers Awards announced today.

Grab the iron and a bundle of soft plastic bags then make a tote with sustainable style.

A quick upcycling project to transform an old terracotta plant pot.

Mass murder at mosques in Christchurch on Friday targeted Muslim New Zealanders at worship. Here are some things you can do to support a devastated community.

There’s no need to bungy-jump from a bridge or swing perilously close to a cliff-face in a jet-boat to sample the delights of New Zealand's adventure capital. Autumn is a time for gentler pursuits.

Of all of the scenes set decorator Megan Vertelle has crafted into reality, her patchwork Piha villa is the one that steals the show.

These simple steps will keep your cut flowers looking fresh for longer.

Add metabolic syndrome to the long list of medical maladies that can be avoided by living well.

Make your own beeswax food wraps: updated recipe

This environmentally friendly alternative to plastic cling film is easy to make at home.

A Wellington-based painter’s pop-surrealist works are finding favour among art buyers captivated by the subversive cuteness of her creatures.

Pre-Order Special: In Your Backyard: Living Lightly And receive a FREE LilyBee beeswax food wrap. Magazine ON SALE MARCH 25

Kiwi actor Nicola Kawana feels her life is nicely balanced between roles on the stage, in film, and her work as a gardener.

Wrap some scented soap inside one of these soft-as-silk facecloths and you have a beautiful gift for Mum on May 13.

A workshop, once bursting at the joists with a lifetime of useful things, is reworked into an exceptional holiday home.

A sewing teacher with a superhero-like enthusiasm for saving the planet packs a heap of personality into her tiny house.

Making sense of the past has allowed a Kaiteriteri couple to shape the future — titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua. Now they are paddling forwards and taking others with them.

Young, smart-thinking innovators are developing remote methods to ensure the country’s rain-water tanks never run dry.

The brain is often split when it comes to processing information, which could be why humans don’t always do what they know they should.

The secret to good ginger beer is in the bug, says Sheryn Clothier.

A few principles of flower arranging will help to create lovely bouquets from your garden this summer.

Quad bikes are popular vehicles on farms and lifestyle blocks, yet one of the trickiest to use.

A Dunedin designer’s beautiful bespoke garments incorporate wild pest fur. No wonder Central Otago’s plentiful rabbits steer well clear of Jane Avery’s tiny Earnscleugh holiday cabin.

French architect Julie Villard has built a quiet, airy, compact smart home above a noisy  port.

If you’re a romantic at heart, turning your land into a wedding venue might be an opportunity to earn some extra cash.

Boutique owner Karan Gregory Has an eye for business based on experience earned, not learned.

A new, free website will work out how smart your home is, and offer suggestions on how to make it smarter.

There’s a new process if you want to light a fire this summer.

Rangitoto, Auckland’s most familiar landmark, harbours unexpected reminders of less-complicated times.

Summer holidays for a Hamilton family mean a beach on the wild Waikato west coast with a small dog called Rosie and a retro caravan called Roxanne.

We take a look at three eye-catching classic car and caravan combos to look out for on the road this summer.

These free animal gift tags will make your present recipients smile — question is, who should receive the pig?

Get crafty for Christmas and deck out the dining table with homemade Santa sack cutlery holders.

Making handmade paper from recycled paper is fun and a relatively easy process. It’s a great way to give junk mail, used packaging paper and even cardboard egg cartons, a new lease of life.

Yvonne Sutherland has been firing and painting hens for more than three decades and collectors around the world obviously adore them as much as she does.

While her knowledge of soap-making was limited, she had already studied essential oils through a correspondence course which proved useful for what has turned out to be Clean Earth Soap.

An eco-entrepreneur, who started making caps from curtain scraps, is trying to save the world from waste, one limited-edition hat at a time.

Whether you want to package up tiny jewel boxes, bottles of fizz, or magazine-shaped Christmas gifts, you can easily master this folded-cloth technique to wrap and carry anything beautifully.

For more than 100 years Wellington’s Clyde Quay boat sheds have been happy places for people who love tinkering with boats.

You don't need a permit, plans or instructions to build a tree house. All you need is some nails,  timber and a hammer.

A small house in an olive grove is the smart home of Brooke and Maggie Noonan's dreams.

Beautiful, hand-made beadwork decorations put the compassion into Christmas.

Three books that traverse the diverse culinary landscapes of Central Otago, Sri Lanka and Dunedin are bound to get food and wine-lovers talking.

Build this smart stand-alone ‘gutter garden’ to grace a deck, patio, courtyard or an external wall. It has a shallow base and best suits shallow-rooted plants.

The humble New Zealand biscuit is celebrated in a new tea towel and poster.

Six months' volunteering abroad inspired a 24-year-old Wellingtonian to look for a sustainable and economical solution to a worldwide problem - and to implement it on her university campus.

A comprehensive step-by-step guide to building a pizza oven for your backyard.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to create a Chick Inn Coop Sign, as seen on the cover the Summer bumper issue of NZ Lifestyle Block.

A smart home is one designed and built to a standard that few NZ houses meet. We talk to three design specialists about building small, efficient, warm, smart homes.

Keeping it in the family, two talented Picton creatives share a love of hand-crafted work with individual pieces that take fierce focus and many hours to make.

Whanau, film, theatre, love and Neapolitan sauce are paramount in the lives of a super-creative couple who have masterminded the revival of Italian cinema in Aotearoa.

Keep the kids busy these school holidays and support the Eastern Rockhopper in Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year competition with this easy toilet-roll craft project with printable stencil.

The Rockhopper penguin is a New Zealand native whose numbers have sharply declined in the last 30 years. Inspire the kids to support the Rockhopper in Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year competition with this adorable crochet hat.

Ruth Paul is a children’s book writer and illustrator who shares her semi-rural lifestyle with her husband, sons, dog Teddy, and other wandering wildlife. She’s also just won Best Picture Book at the recent Children and Young Adult Book Awards.

With lab-raised meat and plants picked by robots, what was once science fiction is now reality.

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

Ruth Pretty 'the host with the most' shares tips for how to create a dinner party to remember.

A Taranaki gardener has found there are some growing opportunities in the $1.5 billion pet health business.

If you are lucky enough to have access to beeswax, or have a good stock from your own beehives, then you can use beeswax to make useful household and cosmetic products.

An award-winning New Zealand-designed electric utility bike for the farm is on the road to success in the US market.

From a water-powered hen gate to a repurposed trampoline - ten inventive New Zealand chicken lovers share their best DIY  coop designs.

Once the domain of royalty and rock stars, a glamorous Rolls-Royce is living the ordinary life in Rotorua – well, almost.

The reviews are in for Australian crime novel, Into the Night. 

Looking for a satisfying craft project, therapeutic activity and a better way to recycle all in one?  Paula Lang in Whangarei suggests trying to make paper.

Wellington poet Chris Tse delivers a special poem for National Poetry Day from his collection He's So MASC.

A young Wellington couple talk about designing and building their first home, a tiny house on wheels, and reveal what it’s really like to live in a whare iti in winter.

Intermittent fasting has rapidly gained followers in the medical profession and public arena, but why and how does it work?

These five historical pubs have have survived the gold rush and the six o'clock swill. They are well worth a visit for those who wish to soak up some New Zealand  history with a cold one in hand.

You can never have too many sheds, but if your budget doesn’t spring to something that requires a council permit, it is possible to build a garden shed under 10m², the typical size of a shed before you need one.

Rare books with adventure and action tucked into their pages have found a home which restless spirits of all kinds will appreciate in Oamaru.

A  must-see New Zealand documentary follows five female sheep shearers on their journey to the Gold Shears.

An Otorohanga vet has won an international following writing romance novels with a country twist.

The art of the taxidermist lies in the delicate processes of preservation and presentation of creatures great and small.

Meet 21-year-old fine arts student and artist Lizzie Snow who is winning fans around the world with her intricate geometric mandala designs. Watch our exclusive video.

Lunchbox snacks, leftovers and half-eaten avocados can all be kept fresh plastic free with a few simple swaps.

In between many entrepreneurial pursuits, one hardworking, creative woman has left a living legacy - a five-star garden and a close-knit family - and made her mark on her community.

Beeswax is thought to help heal bruises, inflammation and burns, which make this oil an excellent ingredient in homemade salves and cosmetics.

Amid teenage comic hopefuls sweating backstage at a comedy club, 52-year-old Sacha Jones sat reading a Charles Dickens’ novel. “People said, ‘Aren’t you nervous?’ and I told them, ‘I’m old!’”

A new book from a permaculture expert helps beginners conquer their fear of fruit tree  pruning.

Shocked at the number of cold, damp houses in New Zealand, a Waikato-based couple searched for their own building solution. A ground-breaking passive house provided the answer.

Nicole Barratt shares easy everyday swaps you can make to ditch plastic.

Want skin that looks film-star fab and forever wrinkle-free? Develop a more trusting relationship with needles say the experts.

As an ingredient in cosmetics, beeswax acts as both an emollient, soothing and softening skin, and a humectant, attracting water and helping to absorb it in the skin.

Yes, you can cut down on plastic waste. All it takes is a little planning to change to more eco-friendly habits says the experts.

Two young Hawkes Bay parents are proud eco-exponents who turned their personal mission into an industrious enterprise. They're helping their little corner of the world go plastic free with beeswax food wraps.

A Wellington entrepreneur who created chainmail worn by Frodo and others in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is making sturdy armour for buildings.

Grapefruit seem to be one of those contentious, love-it-or-loathe-it kind-of fruit. Here are some easy DIY ways to use up grapefruit that don’t involving eating them.

It’s finally happening. After lots of talk, greener bagging options are set for a checkout near you.

Lisa Scott gets her skates and her badass attitude on at the roller-derby rink.

Sorrel is a robust and persistent sort that grows like a weed (which it’s not) and can be used to tart up your tastebuds in a variety of dishes.

Give Jack Frost the cold shoulder with this easy-to-make ‘hottie’ coat made from recycled materials.

Here's a free pattern to knit some cute cotton wool booties for babies in need World Knit in Public Day.

These Wellington boat sheds – some of them important local landmarks – mean many things to many people.

Rather than burning your seasoned firewood, with a tight budget and some time, you can use it to build a home.

When you learn the best childhood lessons in a garage, and spend the ensuing decades tinkering with troublesome classics, you’re a bona fide car devotee

Heating your home using a wood burner is cheaper than ever in New Zealand, if you know how to get the best out of it.

Getting a feel for the land helped an architectural firm create Annika Streefland's beautiful Central Otago home.

Vision, grit and a good shot of gumption propelled the World of WearableArt from a small-town show to a global spectacle.

One of the first commercially-produced cosmetic products in Europe was the ‘Queen of Hungary’s Water’, a simple but versatile cleanser that you can make at home.

A teardrop-shaped caravan and a triangular apartment, both built using wood, are in the running for a design award that celebrates this living material.

When a Texan belle arrived in New Zealand for a three-month holiday, she didn’t plan on meeting a rugged West-Coaster. Thirteen years, two kids and a thriving jewellery business later, there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.

Turn your wool into a nice cosy hat for winter.

An enormous jar of peanut butter is being auctioned for a good cause.

Lisa Scott goes backstage at iD Dunedin Fashion Week, tries on an androgynous face and rediscovers her inner Milla Jovovich.

Mother’s Day is almost here (it’s this Sunday, May 13th) so get sorted with these fresh ideas for activities, gestures and gifts to show you care.

Here’s how to create a future-proof plan for your lifestyle block or farm to make sure you do it once, and do it right.

Chickens with breathing problems can wreak havoc with your flock and are difficult to identify, but here are some signs to look out for.

Trying to make sense of South and East Auckland is like peering into a kaleidoscope. Every twist reveals a new scene – there’s the colour of Otahuhu, the calm of Clevedon, the mana of Mangere, the solitude and beauty of the regional parks and the history of Howick.

When self-sufficiency enthusiast Julie Legg tied the knot on her Waikato lifestyle block, she created her own finishing touches for a wedding with flower confetti, bunting and other themed decorations.

The founder of a groundbreaking artisan bakery has returned to her childhood stomping ground and  a creative calling that was always waiting in the wings.

We caught up with Karen Joy Fowler, author of the bestseller The Jane Austen Book Club, ahead of her Auckland visit in May.

Social butterfly Lisa Scott is bent out of shape and all in a flutter doing hot yoga in the butterfly enclosure at the Otago Museum.

Show your mum you love her, with  a home made gift idea for Mother's Day.  Find here six DIY projects plus 16 baking ideas that will make her smile.

Rosemarie White reviews four very different New Zealand accounts of wartime campaigns.

If you're never sure what to do with the ash from your fireplace, don’t be too quick to dump it, give these helpful tips a try instead.

The Screen Sirens  didn't enjoy watching A Wrinkle in Time, starring Oprah Winfrey, although they have a lot of fun discussing the Disney fantasy film in their latest podcast.

Amy Schumer's new film  I Feel Pretty is a departure from the brash comedy style the star is famous for.

Looking down at iPhones and computers is damaging our spines. To relieve back pain, try out physio Steve August's quick-fixes.

A step-by-step guide to subscribing to NZ Life & Leisure and NZ Lifestyle Block magazines through our online store.

Whether competing in NZ's national canoe polo team  or working with sharks, this sporting talent is paddling her own path.

A new Western starring Sam Neill makes beautiful but confronting viewing.

An amateur art-world detective has discovered a dozen important public murals after years of digging.

A company formed by two childhood friends is helping New Zealand businesses reduce their waste.

Inside the life of a sustainable family who only need to work part-time and eat from a permaculture pantry that grows right up to their back door.

Norwegian rounds are a space-saving wood stacking technique that will keep your wood dry

For more than 100 years, a Rangitikei farm has been home to one family. Now the fourth generation is putting its own twist on tradition.

Mark our words, there’s nothing better than a squished possum. This cute, comical bookmark is just the fun craft project to remind you of that.

It may not be the female action-hero film you’ve been hanging out for, but a new movie starring Alicia Vikander breathes new life into the relic-hunting character Lara Croft.

Our heroine casts a dashing figure as she marches across the Banks Peninsula. And like all good dramatic characters, her  past holds a compelling secret.

For a lavender enthusiast and landscape designer, crafting a wild and beautiful garden in one of the country’s most inhospitable environments was an expression of letting go.

A road trip through iconic southern scenery spins the wheels and the twangs the heart-strings.

A 45-year-old Aussie eye-catcher has added colour to its owner’s life.

Kobi – a Life Work documents the story of film-maker Andrea Bosshard’s father – an unassuming goldsmith and mountaineer who became known as New Zealand’s grandfather of contemporary jewellery.

As a champion of the health and happiness benefits of rich, rotting compost, nothing makes Ben Elms more content than the multitude of microscopic critters squirming in his compost.

While she wasn’t immediately sold on the tiny house movement, 20-something Amanda Chapman has now jumped on board, boots and all, building her own.

This propagation station is waist height for ease of use, and has weather-resistant UV plastic and mesh sides for ventilation

Make your own seed saving envelopes using our downloadable pdf.

The Inch family farm red deer with a velvet hand and a soft touch, but it has been a learning curve for his city-born-and-bred wife.

With roots too deep to easily move, the Hart family found a temporary fix - two transportable cabins beside the estuary at Point Wells.

Three experts share their wisdom on how to create a profitable food product.

The Off-Topic Book Club can't agree about whether George Saunders' Man Booker winning novel lives up to the hype.

If you’ve ever grown gourds you’ll know just how prolific these cucurbits can be, but do you know how to turn them into an art form?

You’ll know when your digestive system is working the way it should.

Here’s how to profit from bees without becoming a beekeeper.

When everybody knows your name, a private space becomes a treasure and Jools Topp has found hers in a country caboose.

Southerly gales invigorate the Hills family life in a holiday house by the sea.

Multi-roomed tents with real furniture make communing with nature a very smooth operation at Wainamu.

Iron deficiency is common. How much do you need, and why? Dr Libby sums up a vital mineral.

Hula girls, grass skirts and a pineapple ice bucket... the only thing missing from this Hawaiian homage is a coconut palm swaying in the warm Waiheke breeze.

Food product developer Martyn Atack looks at why you need to start with pen and paper in your office, not the kitchen.

Unwanted waste might disappear from the immediate environment, but it has to go somewhere.

The earth moved for the Feckless Miss Scott on her first three-day tramp high in the Naumann range north of Lake Ohau.

Fifty private huts, hidden in native bush in the Orongorongo Valley near Wellington, have played an important role for generations of families.

Kelli Walker felt a business was brewing inside her, and found one that can’t stop bubbling, burbling and babbling about itself.

This week in the water cooler, we bask in the deliciousness of the cheese that Nadene brought to the Christmas party, put some garden watering hacks to the test and  try to avoid bun fights.

Make sure your eggs stay intact when carrying them from chook house or farmer's market with this easy-to-make DIY egg carrier.

Doing up a vintage or retro caravan is a bit like doing up a vintage car. Not only is it addictive, but you are also faced with a number of very similar decisions to make.

Don Jessen shares his experience restoring a rusty 1958 14-foot (4.2 metre) Liteweight Kiwi caravan, one of only 28 built, to her former glory.

The more we demand organic foods and reject pesticides, the more available organics will become.

This week in the water cooler: Cheree gets crafty making marbled paper gift tags, Nadene has some handy advice ahead of the hot summer and Emma says, 'Yes, cheese'.

Organic, biodynamic and natural skin care products were once on the fringe. Now they are all the rage.

Ho, ho, ho! These cute reindeer finger puppets double as wine bottle toppers.

The Off-Topic Book Club has a lively discussion about John Green's latest novel Turtles All the Way Down. The club discuss the depiction of mental illness, tuatara and the Young Adult genre.

This week in the water cooler we're using  common beauty product to keep your Christmas tree looking great, sending love to those who need it most and are watching Goodbye Christopher Robin.

Eric Swinbourn hankered after a friend’s cobalt blue Alfa Berlina, and then his chance came his knocking.

This week in the water cooler: we're saving the world in the latest superhero ensemble, Justice League  and baking with pomegranate.

A NZ home-brew company has doubled its turnover after launching an electric brewing machine called The Grainfather.

A tale of pioneering in the 1980’s in one of  NZ’s most remote high-country stations captures book reviewer Peter White’s imagination.

Cakes are a blank canvas for a talented baker and author of Melie's Kitchen.

How to build a house of hemp

When you take the magic ingredient out of marijuana, you get a building product to keep you warm, cosy and very happy.

This week in the water cooler:  we learn how to look after dogs on Guy Fawkes Day, let boy bands navigate us and are eating cakes that can't be beet-en.

L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow Dr Matire Harwood has long been a dedicated spokesperson and advocate for the health of Maori and Pacific Islanders.

Driven by a vision of a simpler way, five Manawatu families are reaping the benefits of living side by side.

Electric bikes are popular in Asia and Europe, but will they catch on in Auckland? We see what the buzz is about.

The pair behind Happen Films spends their non-shooting time living and working in an unplumbed house that’s as small and perfectly formed as their short documentaries.

Nicole Leybourne’s designer jumpers are so sought after, she’s had to hire a team of knitters across the country.

This week in the water cooler: we're sheltering from the rain at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, exploring the Huge Day Out, binge-watching Stranger Things, and exploring Ashford Park.

The Off-Topic Book Club give the low down on The Break, the latest book from Irish author Marian Keyes.

The doggedness of two Raglan friends - plus a supportive community - helped launch a posh pet brand

This week in the water cooler, we're making our own seed-raising pots, supporting the kākā for Bird of the Year, learning about the Thinkladder app and visiting the On the Street exhibition.

Love and loss have given a 40-year-old sports car a new lease of life.

This week in the water cooler: we're exploring Napier's Art Deco architecture in style, reducing our use of plastic bags and taking part in an important study.

New Zealand naturalist, writer and illustrator Sheila Natusch brought science to the people. A film about her life captures her love of the natural world and her unconventional and indomitable spirit…

The cookbook queen is happiest when she's following the lead of her nature-loving mother.

This week in the Water Cooler: we discover Fat Yoga, delve into rain science, get the royal treatment with Victoria and find a must-see exhibition.

Your garden is full of opportunities for you to make and use natural dyes.

Are we living in a television golden age? The Screen Sirens discuss why award-winning Kiwi writer and director Jane Campion now prefers to work on TV these days. They then give the low down on the second season of Top of the Lake.

This week in the water cooler we're planting golden midgets, learning some dog behaviour basics, and face a cuteness overload from a blind dog puppy.

Between the mountains and the sea, sculptor Ben Foster and environmentalist Sabrina Luecht have found the best of nests.

When a legendary gardener dies, what becomes of his or her garden? Ask Fergus Garrett, the guest speaker at November's Nelmac Garden Marlborough.

This week in the water cooler: We announce NZ's best chocolates, meet a very special creche at Ararimu School and wage a war on stickered fruit.

Brenda Williamson is as competent managing a private hospital as she is navigating tight corners.

It’s estimated that more than 40,000 of the 270,000 or so on-site domestic wastewater systems in NZ are at risk of failing.

As a nod to NZ Life & Leisure’s cover star Chelsea Winter, the team put some recipes from the MasterChef winner’s new cookbook Eat to the taste test. It wasn't really a bake-odd just a really good week in the office.

A spirited New Zealand biochemist and entrepreneur is finding ways to support women in science on her own home soil.

Actress Alice Englert wasn’t fazed baring her soul on camera for her mother Jane Campion’s latest series.

This week in the water cooler, we're tutu impressed by the Royal New Zealand Ballet's Romeo & Juliet, are finding heart-melting dogs, are celebrating Tanya Carlson's 20 years in fashion and are watching Helen Clark documentary, My Year With Helen.

Jane Wrigglesworth’s spring craft project is an easy fabric tool belt for storing trowels, secateurs and other garden tools.

This German-born dream machine is  loving Kiwi country roads

You might think hunting lodge, you might think it’s too much  wood for one home, but the modern log house is a strong statement in clean, green, renewable, hand-crafted building work.

If you’ve got a big, messy pile of tangled pigtails, here’s a simple solution you can build to keep them neat and tidy.

Today in the water cooler: We get experimental with marshmallow, test our Downward-Facing Dog pose on a yoga app, and celebrate National Poetry Day.

A young entrepreneur from Great Barrier Island is tasting success from his own bitter medicine

The Screen Sirens weigh up how the new film Hampstead compares to Diane Keaton's other movies.

This week in the water cooler, we're foraging for grapefruit, exploring virtual worlds, taking trips to Spain and are feeling inspired by a New Zealand business leader.

The weight-loss equation of calories in/calories out is not only dated, it can also be harmful

A New Zealand super-plant is powering the healing properties of a must-have multi-tasking new balm.

A New Zealand pilot is channeling Burt Munro racing a Soviet World War II era fighter plane in Reno next month.

Water cooler: fun with soap, why NZ avocados are very special, and chicks for Ag Day

You can’t actually age backwards, but you can look like it. Take these few make-up tips for keeping your face as ageless as your spirit.

For more than 25 years, the locals of a small rural Southland community have co-operated to provide themselves with mostly locally-grown, organic food. They encourage others to try it, and to learn from their years of experience.

The Off-Topic Book Club review Into the Water, the latest thriller from Paula Hawkins, author of the bestseller, The Girl on the Train.

These fingerless mittens are an easy to make winter project, perfect for crochet beginners.

Buying a bush block, building a cob house, and starting a natural soap business takes huge amounts of energy, enthusiasm and commitment, but this family are thriving on the challenge of being as clean and green as possible in everything they do.

This week in the water cooler, we're raving about Dunkirk, achieving our garden goals and digging up our old handbags for a good cause.

Fur coats are frowned upon, but what about a fox scarf – a knitted one that is? Jane Wrigglesworth’s winter knitting project is a scarf shaped like a fox.

This week in the water cooler we: celebrate clever New Zealand scientists at the KiwiNet awards and take our horses to the dentist  (yikes).

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a juggle but finding the right balance is essential for happiness and wellbeing.

thisNZlife’s Emma Rawson and Sarah van Boheemen from Love Food Hate Waste hitch a ride on an Auckland Council food waste collection truck and see, firsthand, how much food New Zealanders throw away.

Te Kura Whare is a new-generation building embodying super-green values and the spirit of Tūhoe

This week in the water cooler: we're exploring a great body of work at the Auckland Art Gallery, learning the CPR basics on a St John first aid course and listening to some sweet country sounds from rising star Cam Luxton.

Off-Topic Book Club Podcast: The Suicide Club

The Off-Topic Book Club have a lively discussion about Berlin-based New Zealand author Sarah Quigley's new novel The Suicide Club.

Sarah Lancaster is a maker on a mission to encourage sustainability - one hand-made tote at a time. Through her business, Sew Love, she’s teaching basic tailoring skills such as hemming, mending and patchwork.

This week in the water cooler: Lynley walks the Waterview tunnel, Yolanta is counting birds and Emma learns about the strange wrestling world.

Learn the art of basic willow weaving and give your local birds a tasty treat with our beginner's project.

This week in the water cooler, we celebrate the winter solstice, go on a coop cleaning mission, watch trees walk before our eyes and take part in the great Jaffa Lump debate.

Native birds and high fashion might be odd bedfellows but not in the hillside home of a German expat and A New Zealand designer.

Rongotea dairy farmer Alan Rowe has struck a surprising little problem with the car he has owned for 47 years.

This week in the water cooler: We wage a fruit war with Lynda Hallinan over persimmons explore a handy travel photo app, and mow our support for Emirates Team New Zealand.

This week in the water cooler: we wage a war against clothing moths, try reduction wood block printing, make lavender cuttings and review The Handmaid's Tale.

Twenty-five years a journalist, Jim Kayes knows how to hook a story but when he ventures out on his rookie fishing trip  he realises hooking a fish is completely different.

This week in the water cooler: we review McLaren and Wonder Woman, avoid some nasty slips in the Waikato and put porridge to the test.

The director of the new film Pecking Order talks about the bizarre world of poultry showing, and how a brain tumour has shaped his outlook on life.

This week in the water cooler, we're using our CSI skills to search for a missing cat, eating all of the pies and are singing in the rain.

Screen Sirens reviewers Emma and Yolanta say Wonder Woman is the action movie women have been waiting for.

A three-time America’s Cup winning team member is back on a boat but in a wooden dinghy.

An Auckland chicken-restaurant chain founded on a wing and a prayer is now one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing businesses thanks to the adaptability  of its owners.

Journalist and art critic Anthony Byrt is doing his bit to make the world – and Northland – a better place.

This week in the water cooler: We have birds on the brain reviewing Pecking Order, get caught in a web of spidey powers, and revisit a classic with Anne with an E.

This week in the water cooler: Nadene has a flower flight of fancy, Kate is on a carrot crusade and Emma is squawking to save the birds.

Look younger, fresher and brighter with these radiance boosting tips.

This old craft is still immensely popular, and encourages a true community spirit on a Golden Bay lifestyle block.

This week in the water cooler, we explore the Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival, are on the lookout for the harlequin ladybird and make lazy granola.

An innovative 35sqm house in Raglan might be small in space but it’s big on design features.

The Off-Topic Book Club has plenty of food for thought when exploring the science of eating in the non-fiction book Gastrophysics by Oxford University's Charles Spence.

A revelation turned an experienced and successful architect away from the traditional styles in which he’d always worked towards something far more organic.

New Zealand towns and cities are crying out for more town criers. Two sisters are ringing the bell for a proud (and loud) institution.

Golden Bay writer Charlotte Squire learned a lot about life in downsizing her family into a 27sqm home

During the week Jason Price is a management consultant and efficiency expert. At the weekend he becomes a chainsaw-wielding, firewood-stacking ninja who also likes efficiency.

This week in the water cooler: Cheree gets lost in the maze of S Town, Emma strolls along the prom, Milla gets kinetic and Nadene has a full plate.

Creating your own human nest? Landscape architect Sara Gerard has some tips on how to survive the renovation process, plus some tree house inspiration

A not-so-common species of beetle has been adored, stored and restored

Renowned architect Graeme North  discusses the benefits of natural homes with Nadene Hall.

7 types of natural home

Old methods of using local natural materials is still some of the greenest building options around.

This week in the water cooler: we scream like a chook, watch divine TV and gaze in awe at mighty Mt Ruapehu.

There are more options than ever for heating your home, but how do you work out which one will work in your space?

Force yourself to eat a certain way and you will likely fail. try giving yourself a little wiggle room instead.

In the water cooler this week: Cheree's explores her old stomping ground, Emma is in Denial and Yolanta campaigns to see New Zealand back on Topp.

Launching a natural product comes with unique compliance and marketing challenges. The women behind Dove River Peonies share their tips for starting a natural product business in New Zealand.

This week in the water cooler: long time baker Molly Coughlan gives reduced-sugar biscuits a crack (and discovers she's Sweet Enough all along).

If you think selling food you’ve made in your home kitchen can’t be done legally, you could be in for a delicious surprise. We meet some small-time home-based business people with a passion for food who show how they work within the rules.

An Auckland-based technology entrepreneur is making going to the doctor as easy as pushing a button

We’ve all heard of ‘man caves’, but there are so many inspiring garden buildings, including the ‘she shed’. Check out these beautiful projects from NZ and around the world, most made on a small budget and out of recycled materials.

This week in the water cooler: Nadene addresses the viral Brahma rooster, Cheree talks fritters and Jessica boycotts palm oil.

It's a garden harvest special in this week's water cooler as we share tips for growing pumpkins, harvesting fruit and transforming mature lettuce into a delicious soup.

Visual artist Rebecca Swan's exhibition at the Auckland Arts Festival transforms dead animals into works of art.

In the water cooler this week: Emma has a double take at Twin Peaks,  Nadene isn't peachy about the weather and Kate and Tracey go green.

The award-winning owners of Lonely Goat say the costs of compliance are nothing to yodel about, and explain why they are working for love, not money.

Converting a barn into a home can create a distinctive living space, but it involves a unique set of building challenges.

Use natural beeswax and coconut oil to make your own luxe moisturising bars.

A creative couple has spun a niche business by fusing old-world hand-weaving and modern design.

When Loveday Why discovered she had chronic fatigue syndrome, she found the answer to good health was in her garden.

Amazing Spaces host George Clarke is in New Zealand to build a tiny house with Mitre 10. He weighs in on two innovative tiny homes recently featured on thisNZlife.

In a summer reading special, The Off-Topic Book Club discuss The Spy, a novel about Mata Hari by Paulo Coelho as well as I'll Take You There, the latest novel by Wally Lamb.

Kim Donker has turned a baking hobby into a thriving home business. She shares tips for getting started without breaking the bank.

A retro car and caravan combo brings reconnection with the past and a raft of brand new memories.

Friends told Peter and Ellen Jarratt they were reckless, crazy and throwing it all away when they upped sticks to follow their hearts. But they did it anyway.

This week in the water cooler: we discuss the great school-term debate, gander at the moon, explore Gandalf’s beautiful New Zealand and take a walk on the wildside.

A small obsession with old barns played a big part in the design of this award-winning home. Follow Tane's tips to get the look.

A love of beautiful things- particularly weddings- has transformed the lives of a Southland family from the ground up.

At Farewell Spit NZ Life & Leisure staff Cheree Morrison and Jane Ussher saw nature at its most beautiful and most cruel.

This week in the water cooler: Nadene is seeing stars in Hunua, Emma has gone to the dogs (again) and Cheree goes banana(grams).

Getting the best windows to frame farm views is a crucial part of the design of a country home.

The Mussel Inn beats at the heart of Golden Bay's creative, organic community. Its music-loving owners created it with grit, vision... and a bit of inspiration from Bob Dylan.

This week in the water cooler: The office reaps the rewards of Lynley's  chutney, Nadene's geese are all grown up, and Rebecca is steps ahead of the rest of us.

She may be berthed close to the super yachts of the world’s well heeled at Auckland’s Silo Marina but the Moerangi is no flash-n-crass gin palace.

This week in the water cooler: we make our own cheese, share our award-season movie picks and try out icing therapy.

Some of the physical and emotional consequences of giving birth can be felt for up to 10 years afterwards. These are Dr Libby's tips for combating tiredness and focusing on your wellness.

Surf-loving foodies Jason and Melissa Philips downsized and relocated to the Wairarapa to give their hand-rolled burrito business the best chance of catching a big break.

This family of five lives in a 20m², off-grid and smart phone-free home with a composting toilet and a shower they share with the sky.

It’s been a flavourful career for Kohu Road founder Greg Hall. There’s a pinch of everything in his recipe for success – and the outcome is simply delicious.

Life is a movable feast for these house-bus-living, fun-loving, free-spirited ‘gypstas’.

A Christchurch paddleboard entrepreneur is riding a steady wave of growth.

For more than half a century, this classic launch has been a summer base afloat. 

Today’s needs, tomorrow’s changes and even resale appeal need to be taken into account when designing the rooms in your home.

A universal truth is the power of three. In the coastal township of Raglan, three adored baches subscribe to that hypothesis.

From sexy swimsuits to silky separates, skin-baring tops to transparent jumpsuits, summer is all about show.

La La Land is nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards. The Screen Sirens find out what all the fuss is about.

Fitness coach Mat Lewisham shares his 20-minute workout designed to elevate the heart rate using body weight resistance training.

In the final water cooler of 2016: Anna Tait-Jamieson shares her shellfish secrets, Cheree has her eye on the prize and Kate is all tied up in knots.

Rosamund Pike shows off her acting talents in the new drama A United Kingdom.

Running out of present ideas for the practical person in your life? NZ Lifestyle Block editor Nadene Hall's gift list might provide inspiration.

This week in the water cooler: we get very confused watching Westworld, make green pizza bases and are screaming for ice cream.

The Off-Topic Book Club share a laugh while reviewing Jilly Cooper's saucy new novel Mount!

Central Otago artist Deidre Copeland's paintings are immediately recognizable . Big canvases. Hyperrealism. She talks to Nathalie Brown about her career and crazy lifestyle.

Find a sunny spot and curl up with one of our picks for great Christmas reads this season.

He’s interested in how everything is interconnected; she in the personal story of her clients. This pair of Sydney-based Kiwi architects continue to make their mark on both civic and private jobs

Splashing beauties, buzzing bumbles and sleeping dogs and a Pinnacles performance - what we are talking about in the water cooler this week.

Beauty-junkie daughter? Fragrance-loving friend? Or just looking for some inspo for your own Christmas lust list…? here’s a guide to some of the best beauty gifts of this festive season.

These tips will help you to reduce the amount of packaging you use, and get you into DIY cleaning products.

This week in the water cooler, we review Fantastic Beasts, whip up some cashew cream and make Paua Porridge.

This month the Off-Topic Book Club do a podcast about a case made famous by a podcast when they review Adnan's Story by Rabia Chaudry.

Sheryl welcomed her husband Tony into their marriage by giving him the key to her  fabulous 56-year-old fin-tailed Ford.

Step away from your screens and eat under the stars with NZ Life & Leisure’s new outdoor cooking and DIY book: In Your Backyard: FOOD & FIRE, on sale now.

This week in the water cooler: we celebrate the highlights of Garden Marlborough, see some flying pigs and create posh sheds.

This week in the water cooler: we sing the praises of stained glass, wax lyrical about goats and make delicious yet unpronounceable sauces.

Thieving sparrows,  heartless geese, breathless theatre and treasured faces: things that we were talking about in the thisNZlife office this week

This week in the water cooler we dance up a storm, battle over cheese and bake the "best biscuits ever”

In a two-part series, Dr Libby fronts up to a question about nutritional deficiencies.

This week in the water cooler: we review The Girl on the Train, discover a girl's crafty secret store and have birds on the brain.

Allbirds shoes, made of New Zealand merino, have been named the 'world's most comfortable shoe'. Co-founder Tim Brown shares his story, and thisNzlife's Yolanta Woldendorp puts them to the test.

In this weeks water cooler, we dream of flying through the jungle and high-fashion couture, make coconut yoghurt and test restaurants with unpronounceable names.

He wanted a race car, she wanted a comfortable ride, turns out the 1974 Ford Capri was the car they didn't know they always wanted.

In the water cooler this week:  Miranda discovers a super product, Nadene gets worms,  Cheree becomes hot and steamy and Anna cracks the mystery gadget.

Jenny Drury is finding success with fashion label Ketz-ke by focussing on wholesale and supporting New Zealand retailers.

Reviewer Miranda Spary is gripped by this cutting political tale.

This week in the water cooler: We all scream for ice- cream, go crazy over cats in the tube and Anna Tait-Jamieson plays guess the gadget.

This week in the water cooler: Rebecca discovers a cool walk for the kids - and we check in on Serita the lamb.

The Off-Topic book Club raves about The Light Between Oceans, by M L Stedman.

What does it take to captain a rugby team through to win two successive World Cups? A new documentary tries to capture the man behind the hype

This week in the thisNZlife office: We're feeling inspired by a wee spring lamb, try some strange fruit and find hares in the garden.

In the first of a new series, Dr Libby tackles a problem head on.

Ned Hayes' novel The Eagle Tree is an honest depiction of autism, without heavy-handed sentimentality, writes Miranda Spary.

A bubbly soapmaker has turned her favourite hobby into a cottage industry on her Otago small block.

In this weeks water cooler, we devour delicious bliss balls, sing along with Geoff Chapple, and give away tickets to an award-winning Christchurch play.

When was the last time you read a poem? Try something new for poetry day Friday (26 August). You might get to pat a puppy...

The wind-up to spring planting is starting, and one big decision is going to have year-long repercussions.

This week in the water cooler, we savour the new season grapefruit, say hello to Talking Tom and make the best crackers EVER

The Screen Sirens discuss why you should binge-watch the Lightbox drama UnREAL.

This shipping container uses every square inch to nurture the future of country kids, and the adults too.

Farm trips for the kids, a movie that made our heart sing and yet more dogs... things that got us talking in the thisNZlife office this week.

This week in the water cooler: we sing the praises of the refugee Olympic team, discover a historic gem in Whanganui and have a light bulb moment.

This week in the water cooler: we make new discoveries on Netflix, search for the perfect umbrella tree and plan survival strategies for The Food Show

Book reviewer Miranda Spary sees the world differently after reading The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent.

This week in the water cooler, we find an use for The NZ Herald, relive our calf club glory days and pay homage to a canine Frida Kahlo.

In this episode the book club lives up to its name - talking about everything from 50 Shades of Grey to sleeping in the same bed as James Bond while reviewing The Couple Next Door.

From the creator of Downton Abbey, the Belgravia serves up old-fashioned Dickensian serialised storytelling on a new digital app. But is the medium successful? Kate Coughlan weighs in.

This neck gecko scarf is made from reflective wool and is a good project for beginner knitters.

This week in the thisNZlife office: we survive a zubat Pokemon attack, make some marvellous marmalade and discover the best lip gloss ever.

Urban eco warrior Jessica Rose suggests some easy lifestyle changes to make for Plastic-Free July.

This week in the watercooler the thisNZlife team talks about tough nuts, big friendly giants and big friendly vegetables.

The Screen Sirens enter the ring for a Jane Austen rumble when reviewing this adaptation of the Austen novella Lady Susan.

With art in his arteries, Michael MacMillan maintains a family tradition in a valley of hops and hopefulness, his greatest supporter by his side.

Cheree Morrison puts pedal to the metal on the Highlands Motorsport Park course in Cromwell.

This week thisNZlife office we were talking about greyhound couture, cake culture, popcorn for breakfast.

The club were divided over My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

We review the new Yann Martel book and discover a new talent in historical fiction.

From weird face masks to smart skin patches, there are plenty of beauty trends to help you face the future.

Chainsaws are an essential backyard tool, but it pays to do your research before you buy and learn how to maintain them.

Busy bees, balls of bliss and a country bumpkin and her pumpkins - things that got us talking this week.

The Screen Sirens find Emilia Clarke's eyebrows hypnotic in Me Before You.

Riding an ATV is a learned skill and if you don’t do it properly you can easily be badly hurt.

Winter is an ideal time to clean  your water tank.

A jet-setter's secret weapon and why Morrinsville is the place to be - things that got the thisNZlife office talking this week.

Book reviewer Rosemarie White says this 672 page book is worth its weight in gold (even if it doesn't fit in her handbag).

Cultural wonders, spectacular solar footage and a pawsome way to hook up - Frances Jones premieres what's hot in tech at the moment.

Some cars lead a colourful life this, is  the story of vibrant Italian icon called Niko.

The thisNZlife team reveal what got them talking this week.

How to make sure your firewood is working at its best and tips for staying warmer than ever this winter.

A romance writer adds rugby to the traditional plot mix and finds an avid and growing audience - who are currently exploring New Zealand.

Syrian conflict explored through architecture

Can architecture change society? One book explores how a war-torn community has been shaped by its environment.

DIY: Make your own soap

Making your own soap is easy, affordable, doesn’t require any special equipment and is quite addictive.

The documentary Plant This Movie will change the way you think of your windowsill

Film review: Strange and familiar on Fogo Island

How a fishing village became an arts Mecca

Listen: The Girl on the Train book club podcast

The NZ Life & Leisure team had a lively chat about the twists and turns of this best-selling thriller over wine and cheese in our new podcast The Off-topic Book Club.

In our inaugural film and television podcast Screen Sirens, film fans Emma Rawson and Andrea Burke rate the comedy Florence Foster Jenkins.

A number one album isn't enough to make a living in the music industry. Soul and jazz singer Hollie Smith's new album has topped the charts but she's still cleaning houses to make ends meet.

Create a refreshing rosemary hydrosol

Learn how to make  a refreshing distillation of this aromatic herb.