August Recap
What a month I've had! From my surprise engagement, restaurant month, anniversaries and celebrations August was truly amazing!
So much good happened last month but the main highlight was definitely getting engaged!
August has always been a good month to celebrate. It is the anniversary of our first ever date, the month we got the keys to our house, Max’s birthday and it’s Auckland Restaurant month too. This month is quite jam packed! I don’t think anything can top the start of the month though!
Buckle up as this month’s recap is a looooong one!
Proposal
My engagement was a complete surprise. The anniversary of our very first date was in August so a while ago, Max told me he booked a place for us to go away. We love going away for a long weekend staycation and with tour anniversary and his birthday, it’s not unusual for us to go away. He’s also booked our accommodation in our last trip away in Marlborough Sounds so this wasn’t suspicious at all.
When we arrived at our destination, I was impressed because this place has actually been in my wishlist for a long time due to the double baths. This place is in Āwhitu which is only 1hr and a half away fso it wasn’t a long drive. The double baths are the star of this place. The views towards the water and the green hills that looked fake were also amazing.
This Airbnb has 3 bedrooms so it’s spacious. It also has a full kitchen and a fireplace to make it nice and cosy especially in winter. We settled in and the hosts left us blueberry muffins which were a nice touch, Max put the fire one and we chilled in the lounge. We read our books and had a relaxing first night there. The sunset was beautiful too and then we had a bath before bed.
The next morning, I woke up and squealed when I saw cows in the paddock. The info in the Airbnb did say they had bulls and hundreds of milking cows (they also had raw milk in the fridge for us). I basically ran outside and tried to befriend the cows. Lol. Then we had a slow morning, I made some ube pancakes and we read our books in the lounge.
In the afternoon, Max asked if I wanted to go for a walk down to the headland so we can appreciate the views and stretch our legs. We had to navigate around the cows and cow shit lol but it was such a beautiful day to be outside.
We got to the viewpoint, admired the view and the waves and we just chatted about life as we tend to do. Then Max suddenly reached down to his pockets to tell me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and popped the question. I had no idea he was planning this and I was in complete shock. I cried before I could even say yes but it was the easiest yes ever. It was such a beautiful moment and I’m so glad that’s how he did it. It was just us, admiring the view, no one else around and it was perfect.
We walked back, Max popped some bubbles and we had our debrief on the couch. I was still in shock and Max was quite chuffed with himself that he pulled it off. He has been thinking about this for months! Afterwards, we got in the baths and read our books. It was such a lovely afternoon. We just chilled, absorbed the moment and felt so happy. I had no clue about the proposal that I didn’t even have my nails done for that weekend. That was the first photo I took with the ring.
The next morning, I started to tell the news to family and friends. We had a lovely slow morning and tried to befriend the cows again. The ring Max proposed to me with is actually not my final ring. It is absolutely beautiful and I love it already but it is a placeholder ring as he wanted me to be part of the process of figuring out what I want which is so lovely. More on this process later.
How our stay started then to how it ended! This long weekend stay is definitely one for the books. I will never forget this stay as it was just perfect. Sadly we had to leave but it was the start of our nice little engagement bubble.
To top off our weekend, we had dinner at our favourite go-to dinner place to celebrate.
We’ve been going to Sakebar-Nippon for ages. This is our usual date night dinner place. It’s where we celebrated getting the news when the house offer was accepted, random date nights and then now after our engagement.
Auckland Restaurant Month
This month also involves a lot of eating out since it’s restaurant month and I like to try different places every year.
Advieh
The first one was Advieh. We went here last year too. This year, I went with Lena and we tried their $55 menu. I got the Tarama, fried artichoke skins for entree then had the half grilled chicken for mains. It also came with their freshly bakes pide and sides of lettuce and quinoa tabbouleh. Overall this lunch was good. I do think last year’s menu was better though!
Rooftop at QT
My sister and I went to Rooftop at QT one night after work. We both haven’t been before and this was so impressive! We had their $45 sharing menu dinner which comes with a twisted pornstar martini cocktail. This was such good value! Probably the best menu for the price that I tried for the whole restaurant month. We got everything on the menu to share.
Mezze plate with sesame poppy lavosh, beetroot broani, pumpkin hummus and capsicum dip, market fish crudo and chorizo and manchego croquetas for entrees. This was a lot of food to start off with and they were so good too. The croquetas were so delicious. Then for mains: sirloin steak with chimichurri, pide with tomato, jamon and parmesan and then patatas bravas. The serving sizes were so generous. The steak was good and omg the potatos were excellent. They were crispy on the outside but soft and yum on the inside. We were so impressed. The cocktail was so good too that I got another one. We were yapping and catching up so we ended up ordering dessert which was outside the set menu. We weren’t in a rush and they ended up having to remake our dessert so it was complimentary in the end. Overall, great food and serving sizes, good atmosphere and views and excellent customer service too. Will def keep an eye out for next year.
Milenta
For Max’s birthday dinner, I booked Milenta. We also haven’t been here before and it’s such a little gem within Victoria Park Market! It’s quite cosy, dark but good vibes in there.
We did the $75 four course dinner. We had fried parāoa (bread) for entrees and we were shook when this arrived at our table. There was so much of it! Then for entrees we had kingfish tiradito and chicharron which were yum. As for mains, I got the grilled market fish wich ginger-infused coconut cream and Max had the grilled pollo rojo. For dessert we had the Caribbean suspiro with dulce de leche crema and merengue. Again, the serving sizes were good and we had so much food! We were actually pretty full after our mains so we got our leftovers to take away as we had fried bread and the grilled chicken left just so we can have our dessert. Another pretty good meal and service.
Seoul Night
The last Restaurant Month menu I tried was Seoul Night’s $30 2 course dinner. I went with my friend Laura and we booked this dinner before we knew that both of us would be engaged. She also had a surprise engagement in August which was amazing! We had similar engagement stories so it was a lovely dinner catching up and celebrating us. I’m so happy for her and for both us!
We ordered ordered the same thing: beef tacos for entrees which were so crispy and yum. Then bulgogi risotto for mains which came in a huge plate. We also had a peach luna cocktail. We were quite full but it was a great way to cap off this year’s Restaurant month.
Max’s birthday
I already noted we went out for dinner for Max’s birthday. I also ordered Baby Buck Baking’s Baby Bruce cake. I was so excited for this as you can’t get the bruce cake all the time. She opens up the ordering 1-2x a month and in August, it happened to be on his birthday which I took as a sign. This cake was so amazing and probably the best chocolate cake I’ve had in a long time. It was so rich but not sickeningly sweet. It’s decadent and so worth the hype!
The Hidden Village
I’ve heard of this Filipino restaurant The Hidden Village within Ponsonby Central for a while but we don’t tend to go to Ponsonby for dinner so we haven’t been here before this. We were after lunch before our ring appointment and this was close by. I got their ube colada cocktail and Max tried Filipino Red Horse beer for the first time too. We shared some chicken crackling, wontons and skewers. This was good!
Then off we went to our first ring appointment. Max wanted me to choose my actual engagement ring. I already love the style he gave me but it was exciting to be part of the process. I’ve never looked or tried on engagement rings before. There are so many options! I had 3 main stone styles that I thought I’d like to try and focused on that. It wasn’t an easy decision and it came down to 2 styles.
I didn’t decide right then and there and took time to really think about it. I was overwhelmed after that appointment but it was so interesting learning about diamonds. I now know so much more about diamonds, carats, settings, prongs etc. We then had Duck Island ice cream afterwards. I’ve since made a decision on which style and it was up to Max to coordinate with the jeweller to finalise the design and specs. I’m so excited for the finished ring!
Nanam dinner
We thought we’d bookend the amazing month by going out for another date night at one of our absolute favourite places in Takapuna, Nanam. We love this restaurant so much. We don’t often go but we always have a great meal and service there. They take care of us and I’m always grateful. We had Max’s birthday dinner here last year. We had adobo croquetas, gambas and their famous wagyu longganisa for entrees. Then they also brought out the mussel croquetas with Portuguese wine pairing from chef Jess. Then we had the pork cheek sisig for mains. We were so full but we had to share dessert which was the Ovaltine. Everything was amazing as per usual.
If you haven’t been to Nanam, you’re missing out. They’re so good and chef/owner Jess is off to Spain to compete for a Tapas competition. She won the Australasian one so she’s going to the finals over there. Exceptional modern Filipino food and service here! I love supporting Filipino places of course.
Family lunch and ASO Concert
We finished the month by having lunch with my family at Toktok Takapuna, another fave place. It was my family’s celebration of our engagement and then I got all of us tickets to the Auckland Symphony Orchestra’s ASO Plays Video Games concert. This is a free but ticketed concert that ASO runs. I’ve been to a few but this was Max’s first time. I thought he’d like it since it’s video games theme. It was a lovely afternoon of music. Watch out for more free ASO concerts. Their next one is in October.
Other notable moments in August:
I ended up having a one on one pilates session when the two others cancelled/didn’t show up. It was with Nicola, one of my faves. She’s brutal but good! Basically a luxury having a private session! She also reminds me that I’m strong. I don’t feel like it sometimes as pilates has not gotten any easier but she tells me that I have good form, I don’t have to be corrected and I’m much stronger now.
It’s also officially one year of tennis for me! I started tennis when I randomly saw a post for a free session with the coach. I got Joan and Max to come with and that was the start of my journey. Our coach did his open session this year and I went too which pretty much marks a full year of learning and playing tennis. I mentioned last month that I’m now a club member too and I still love it.
The weather has been up and down but whenever it’s not raining, I’ve been going for beach walks which I love to do. It sets my day if I’m able to go for a walk in the morning and resets me if I ever go at any other time throughout the day. It always reminds me how much I love where we live.
We also had a night out. We had dinner in Ponsonby then ended up at karaoke with Max’s workmates. It was pretty fun although our throats suffered the next day.
Lunch catch up with old workmates. We always go to our usual Nahm and catch up on life as we only catch up every few months.
We had our bookclub brunch at a new cafe in Takapuna called Jolie. It’s on Fred Thomas Drive and they’re open on Sundays! They have quite a selection of drinks and the food sizes seem pretty big too.
Lowlights
In a month full of highlights - there was one lowlight that I can think of: us getting sick. Well it was mostly Max that got sick. He was sick for a good week with the flu/cold. I haven’t seen him that sick in ages and we didn’t live together when we got covid back then. I did get a little bit sick through him but it wasn’t as bad and recovered pretty well.
Favourites
Bucket got a new sweater. I know I have a problem but she loves a sweater for winter and she’s so cute. This is probably the last one for the season and we love it on her.
I got the record player in July and it has become a favourite in our lounge. Max updated it by connecting a better speaker system and it sounds so much better now. We love it and I mentioned that I love coming home with music playing and since then, I’ve come from pilates or somewhere and he’s got a record playing. He’s gone through our collection so far and picked a few faves. We currently love the rhythm and blues vinyl for a chill vibe.
My vintage Gucci watch was such a good purchase. If I’m not wearing my Apple watch, this is what I’ll have on. It’s so nice.
Max bow button cardigan. I’ve mentioned this a few months ago and it has become my favourite cardigan. The cost per wear on this is so low now because it is my go-to outfit. If I don’t know what to wear, I will put this on. I love it so much. It’s warm, not itchy and the colour is great. I also get comments every time I wear it out since it’s not available anymore. Another great purchase and one I’ll keep wearing.
We put a few wall prints up on the walls. Our pet portrait collection is finally up in our bedroom. This makes me so happy when I wake up and see them in their happy frames.
I also found these two cute prints that are in our kitchen hallway. One says ‘good food good mood’ which is so true for me. Then a cute print with a cat as it reminded me of Pubble.
My favourite accessory in August was definitely my engagement ring. I have grown some attachment to it now and I’ll be a little sad once it gets replaced although the new one will be even more amazing.
I also had 3 different manicures last month as I wanted to keep changing it up! My sister did my first nails the day we got back from our engagement weekend away. Then I did my nails afterwards with Gelous nail polishes with glitter on top.
August was also a big show month for us as we got through a few:
High Potential - This was so good! We finished season 1 and I can’t wait for s2 already. Max got recommended this. I loved watching CSI when I was younger but I haven’t watched a crime/police detective series since then. This is funny but good. The main character is brilliant and so unapologetically herself. Such a good show!
The Four Seasons - I thought this show would be more comedy since it has Tina Fey and Steve Carrell BUT it was more serious than we expected. We still enjoyed it but it had a lot more depth and heart to it as it navigates divorce, marriage, relationships and mess family and friendship dynamics. We laughed and cried.
We also finished Hostage on Netflix around the UK Prime Minister. This was dramatic but omg the plot holes are ridiculous especially around their security.
Tuesday Murder Club - I randomly put this one thinking it was a TV show. I read the book a while ago. This was a movie and I wish it was a series instead to give more time to the storyline and characters. It felt rushed although it’s quite star-studded.
The US Open - My life has been watching tennis since this started. It’s still ongoing at this point in time. I love it but I’m also looking forward to getting my nights back from watching tennis matches.
If you managed to get through this entire post, thank you. It was a long one but I’m not even sorry about it. August has been the best month of 2025 so far. So many amazing moments that were worth noting. I don’t know if I’ve smiled as much in one month as I have in August. It’s been a month of celebrations and people being happy for us. September will be much more chill as we prep for our upcoming holiday but I’m just so thankful and grateful feeling loved and celebrated in the last month.
That’s everything from August! 💕