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![Sage advice about herbs (+recipes)](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Sage advice about herbs (+recipes)
What to do with an abundance of herbs now summer is at its end.
![Gardening: Fruit fly needn't stop us](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Gardening: Fruit fly needn't stop us
Fruit harvesting is a topical issue where I live. Once again, we're in the the eye of a biosecurity storm and troops of fluorescently clad officers are walking door to door to curb the spread of the dreaded Queensland fruit fly.
![Review: Nomad Restaurant, Pt Chevalier](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Review: Nomad Restaurant, Pt Chevalier
Restaurants do write some dreadful tosh about themselves. "Quality ingredients" are always "freshly sourced" and "expertly prepared" (as distinct from second-rate stale crap carelessly chucked together, presumably).
![Gardening: Hardy blooms flourish](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Gardening: Hardy blooms flourish
On a baking hot afternoon in December, our 18-year-old nephew Mark drove us around remote roads in the high country above Kaikoura, doing a great job of showing us the local sights.
![Design & build: Time counts down, mortgage climbs up](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Design & build: Time counts down, mortgage climbs up
As the build goes on, the house is feeling more like a real home.
![Five of the best: Pubs to watch sport](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Five of the best: Pubs to watch sport
With the Cricket World Cup in full swing and the rugby season not far off, it’s time we started talking about the best places to pull up a pew on game day.
![Wellbeing: Say goodbye to the monkey](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Wellbeing: Say goodbye to the monkey
Jenny strecker has a monkey on her back and the Mairangi Bay resident says there's only one way to get rid of it - finish an ironman triathlon.
![More fun than a barrel of monkeys (+recipes)](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
More fun than a barrel of monkeys (+recipes)
For National Kids’ Day, open up the kitchen and give them free rein!
![Design & build: Episode ten](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Design & build: Episode ten
The Block NZ 2012 winner Ben Crawford and his girlfriend Kylie are building their dream home. Share their proud moments and pitfalls every week.
![Songs shot straight from the hip](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Songs shot straight from the hip
Balkan Beat Box will get the party started at Womad -- with a message.
![Design & build: The hunt for the perfect tile](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Design & build: The hunt for the perfect tile
Popping into the Tile Warehouse proves to be a pleasant retail surprise.
![5 best places to take your dog](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
5 best places to take your dog
Here are the best places to take your pooches according to our dog-parent pals.
![Gardening: It's the kindest cut](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Gardening: It's the kindest cut
Sharpen your shears and take to the fruit trees to prepare for the coming winter.
![Hayley Atwell: More than a woman](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Hayley Atwell: More than a woman
Hayley Atwell stars as Peggy Carter in television series Marvel’s Agent Carter, inspired by the Captain America films.
![Make mine a Thai taste sensation (+recipes)](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Make mine a Thai taste sensation (+recipes)
Try the flavours of Thailand: citrus, basil and coriander.
![Wellbeing: Safety first from helmet to pedal](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Wellbeing: Safety first from helmet to pedal
A bike ride is more than simply leaping into the saddle and pushing off, learns Jenny-May Coffin.
![Books: Secrets behind ordinary](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Books: Secrets behind ordinary
Untangling the dramas of a seemingly normal family makes for an authentic read.
![Review: The Crab Shack, Auckland CBD](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Review: The Crab Shack, Auckland CBD
The appeal of the crab eludes me: it's great food if you are lost in the wilderness and eating to survive, but at dinner it's less a dish than a test of one's dexterity and perseverance.
![Gardening: Scraps put to work](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Gardening: Scraps put to work
Over the summer holidays we caught a sea shuttle from Kaiteriteri Beach and spent a week with my family at a holiday house in Awaroa Inlet in the Abel Tasman National Park.
![Five of the best: Spots for a picnic](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Five of the best: Spots for a picnic
Pack up a picnic for lunch or dinner and head to one of our top five spots. We bet it will prolong your happy holiday vibes.
![Beauty and the Beast: Acting buddies](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Beauty and the Beast: Acting buddies
Jay Ryan and David de Lautour are still playing up together, writes Leena Tailor.
![Turn your summer bounty in to tasty meals (+recipes)](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Turn your summer bounty in to tasty meals (+recipes)
In Maketu, everything growing in the summer vege garden is an inspiration.
![The X Factor: Dreamweavers](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
The X Factor: Dreamweavers
Sob stories won’t cut it but pure talent will, the female judges of The X Factor tell Paula Yeoman over scones and finger sandwiches.
![Review: Indochine Kitchen, Auckland CBD](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=870)
Review: Indochine Kitchen, Auckland CBD
The reinvention of Fort St makes me feel like cheering. Spruced up and repaved as part of the city's shared spaces programme, it is no longer somewhere worth avoiding.