OK everyone; here's the reason parties sometimes are a dud; it's not because you're a bad host or…read moreyour friends are dull; it's because the lighting isn't right. Mostly, it's too bright, but occasionally it's too dim and nobody can see who they're talking to. Too bright and people will want to get away from it. If you want to sort your party lighting out, go to Party Direct, where you can hire everything you might need, including a LIGHT UP DANCE FLOOR. Yes. Pretty exciting right? These guys are also super helpful; I needed to hire some lights urgently, and they not only gave me a great price, they also pulled stuff out in the middle of moving warehouses. That's impressive; I can imagine most people would have just said it was too much trouble.

The Floating Pavillion is an event space which literally floats just off the Hobson West Marina in…read morethe Viaduct - you walk along the waterfront towards Te Wero Island/the Wynyard Crossing and the pavillion is the floating grey building on the left. It's aimed at the business launch/wedding/ball crowd, so it's well kitted out to deal with a crowd of around 300. There's two levels so space for sit down dinners on the ground floor, as well as a large dance floor up top. For our inaugural UoA Architecture/Planning ball we hired out the Floating Pavillion, and can report the night went off without a hitch - food wasn't amazing, but the space was perfectly sized and well kitted out for the occasion.

This place right here it the place to have all your events, from your wedding to your engagement…read moreparty, a meeting or even a birthday party. Everything you need is there, all you have to do is call the business, arrange a tour then let them know exactly what you want. After that you can either send them pictures of your ideas or just leave it to them and their creativity. It is a great place for any events as it is located on the waterfront, guaranteeing great views and amazing pictures to upload on to instagram hash tagging aboutthatlife!

One of the best creative spaces in town with over 20 different business working out of one floor in…read morethe heart of the CBD. Matt Knight to helps run the loft is the man to contact if you are looking at getting into a shared office.

If you are a small business, or a team of one and you're looking for somewhere to work, even for a…read moreshort time, check out Loft503. Had a meeting there the other day and it's a cool place! This is a great shared work space in the restored Archilles House, next to Sals Pizza - so you get an awesome work space plus great lunch options! The deal is that you can rent a desk for a set length of time, giving you and your startup business the opportunity to have office space without the risk and outlay of renting your own whole office. Includes handy and flash facilities like kitchen and meeting rooms. Plus you get to work in an environment with other like minded people!

Quiz night on Tuesdays is the perfect excuse to try out the Horse and Trap. Rigsy is a hoot on the…read moremike. And the bar food is well above average. Pizzas, burgers and salads mingle with steaks and pies on the menu and sit even better upon the tongue. Nothing original, but it's all done well. Just what one hopes for at a local. All that's left to achieve is that elusive 1st place...

The Horse & Trap's tagline is that they are a "stable of social relaxing". When we visited on a…read morebusy Friday evening, this was certainly the case. It was pretty packed, with after-work suits, girls pre-loading for town, and an intriguing mix of middle-aged suburbanites. The 100 year old building that the bar is housed in has a lovely feel to it; spread across 3 floors with plenty of private function rooms and outdoor areas, this venue can hold a crowd. As a Monteith's bar, your tap selection also includes their range of ciders which makes for a refreshing summer tipple. We were planning to just grab a drink or two, but looked over the menu & decided to stay. 1 of the 2 man-sized appetites I was dining with had a hankering for a burger, and the Horse & Trap Burger was calling his name. Served with pepper relish, battered onion rings & fries for $20, this was a man-sized burger. It even had the Kiwi touch with large slices of beetroot adorning the filling. The pattie appeared to be homemade, which is a big thumbs up for a busy pub kitchen. The chips were well cooked & seasoned, onion rings crispy & the relish was tasty. The only minor complaint was that the burger had been zealously seasoned - a touch too much cumin & coriander overpowered the other flavours. Otherwise the burger craving was well sated, and the request for extra aioli was happily met. Our other dishes included the Pulled Pork Quesadilla with black beans, cheese, guacamole & salsa ($18). Again this was heartily-sized for a quesadilla. The filling was tasty, but the guacamole was more like pureed avocado as you can see from the photo. It was a little too smooth & runny to qualify as guacamole. The last dish of the 3 was the Open Steak Sandwich with caramelised onion, gravy & fries ($19). Often times you'll get served a rubbery minute steak or flaccid schnitzel in a steak sandwich, so I was pleasantly surprised to have a decent cut of steak, cooked medium-rare. The gravy & onions complemented it very well; all-in-all, pretty damn good pub grub. It's not the cheapest night out at the pub, but the food shouldn't disappoint. Maybe that's why the mostly middle-aged clientele are proud to call this their local.

Shed 10 seems to be the go-to venue for public events these days. It's huuuuuge and is in prime…read morelocation right on the waterfront. I actually find the downstairs space too big - even when it's packed the high roof means there's little to no atmosphere. Upstairs, however is a different story. It's smaller with wooden floors and great views. It's easily my favourite of the two spaces and the one i'd recommend if you weren't over capacity. I have no idea what upstairs costs to hire but word on the street is downstairs is around $6k - just something to keep in mind!

Loved visiting this beautiful Wintergarden in Auckland Domain…read more Wintergardens are conservatories or glasshouses that were built to enjoy flowers in the winter. They were very popular stating in the early 1900s. The Auckland Domain Wintergarden was built a century ago. It has two glasshouses that contain the most beautiful flowers, a sunken Fernery and a courtyard with a pond and sculptures. Loved the glasshouse filled with so many colorful flowers. Giant hibiscus. Sunflowers. Gladiolas. Foxgloves. Begonias. The Fernery is so interesting. Loved walking into the sunken quarry and looking at all of the native ferns. The wooden statues which represent bird native to New Zealand were a nice touch. The Wintergarden is free. Located in the Auckland Domain, it is a nice place to stop and enjoy the flowers and history.

One of the highlights of my trip to Auckland was visiting the Wintergardens. It was an especially…read morecold and gray day when I set out to explore Auckland Domain, so by the time I got here I was thankful to be heading inside. The gardens are two main greenhouses: one very warm, the other more temperate. In between the two is a fountain and pool, outdoor plants, and at the back is the entry to the fernery (a word I didn't know existed but now I want one for myself). The building on the right of the entrance is the warm one, which keeps the doors closed. Inside are many warmer weather plans including orchids, lotus, ferns, and tropical flowers. The building on the left is more temperate and has flowers galore; so many colors it's hard to know what to see first. The fernery is an amazing place - dark, damp, and quiet; you can either walk around the ring path at the top or go down the stairs to the bottom to look up. There are statues of various New Zealand birds around to show you what their silhouettes would look like if you came across them in the wild. You can't be aware how varied ferns are until coming here. This is an amazing free activity to do on your visit to Auckland, plus lots more nearby. You can easily spend a day in Auckland Domain. There were a few groups of retired people and school groups as well, worthwhile for any age.

Excellent veggie burger. Easy to sub gluten free and vegan. My youngest son loved his pepperoni…read morepizza. My oldest made the mistake of getting 2 feet of the hot honey pizza, so he'll be enjoying it for days! I had the ipa which was solid, and the view and vibe are spectacular! Quick, friendly service!

We stopped here for a late lunch. With time zones all messed up on our first day here, we wanted to…read moresplit something and keep it light. We chose the Caesar salad with chicken. It came with a hard boiled egg, bacon, grilled chicken, Romain lettuce, garlic bread and a yummy dressing. It was so good and really hit the spot for healthy and hearty. When we arrived, we were handed 2 menus and instructed to sit anywhere we chose. Lots of seating, both in and outdoor. The outdoor patio had a cover which helped those patrons as it was drizzling on and off most of the day. I had a nice sauv Blanc. We got a pitcher of water. Everything was well done and absolutely delicious. Plus, we got to watch some Sunday night American football as we had lunch.