Two Years With Ben

It's been two years (officially) with Ben and I want to include something on this blog as a memory/time capsule more than anything, but feel free to read on if you want! After meeting in year 11, Ben and I have been best pals and ~dating~ with a fairly low drama relationship for the most part. We've grown up together and made so many incredible memories that I'll take with me to my grave! I'm not one for publicly addressing this kinda thing, but this blog is a reflection of me and Ben is my other half.

For our two year anniversary on the 12th of November, we wanted to do something epic. Last year we basically re-created our first date and it was amazing and super romantic but left us with no idea how to top such a lovely day this year. Luckily, we were blessed with incredibly sunny weather (be it a little windy, but it's Wellington). So, we planned an epic date to top all epic dates, by cramming every single activity we could think of into one day, and we were exhausted.

Tuesday began with an exchanging of cards, where mine always appears way over the top, basically a scroll of tiny handwriting. Ben produced a beautiful watercolour picture he'd made of me, which subsequently made my store-bought card look significantly less impressive. He was also gifted with his very own extendable back scratcher (if you know, you know), and in turn, I received a fresh batch of biscuit fudge slice, something we bake a little too often. We then hopped on the scooter and zoomed off to our first activity of the day; The SPCA!

Ben and I are both major animal lovers, he's a cat person, I'm very much a dog person. But we're both completely in our element when surrounded by tiny fluffy things that we can cuddle. Upon arrival at the SPCA, we met two gorgeous little grey kittens who were so playful and crawled all over us, it took a lot of will power to not adopt them on the spot. But, I don't think either of our family pets would've approved (especially Jock the schnauzer). We also met a beautiful little blind kitten and lots of puppies and dogs. It's always bittersweet going to a rescue place like the SPCA because, on one hand, it's amazing that these animals have been saved and are being looked after. But, it really sucks that they had to be so unhealthy/unhappy, to begin with. One dog, in particular, had clearly been mistreated and was howling in pain the entire time we were there. The only thing that makes me feel better is that most of the animals we saw had pending adoptions, so they'll soon be with a new family who will love and take care of them fully.

We then scooted off to the next location, not too far away; The Zoo! We first picked up a suitable Zoo picnic of strawberries and chocolate dipping sauce, budget croissants (to dip in the chocolate) and fancy cheese twists. Some of you may not know that I used to be vegan for about two years and during that time I completely refused to visit zoos of any kind. I still stick to many of those beliefs now and even though I couldn't continue with my veganism, it's still something I feel really connected to. So, this was the first time I had visited Wellington Zoo since I was in primary school. One thing I did notice was that it was seriously pricey, even for a student, but definitely well worth it.

Our picnic in the sun was delicious and gave us plenty of energy to stroll around The Zoo for almost two whole hours. Ben and I have a knack for really taking our time in places like a zoo and obsessing over the weirdest of creatures that we form connections to. For instance, we spent a good fifteen minutes sitting with an emu and a wallaby, who were both wandering free in the 'Australia Section'. We saw a tiger, three giraffes, a red panda and some seriously cool monkies too.

Next on the agenda was bowling, so we made it to Bowlerama in Newtown, where we found literally nobody else had decided to go bowling on a Tuesday afternoon, so we had the place to ourselves. I lost terribly, with barely any points, but Ben actually get a strike, which was quite impressive. I felt okay about it after absolutely smashing him at air hockey though. Which then led us to Timezone, an arcade on Courtenay Place that we'd only been to once before. We ended up spending almost $30 there, it was crazy addictive and there were so many cool games. We played Mario Kart, a zombie shooting type thing and then became completely obsessed with winning enough tickets to take home a mini connect four-game. Which we succeded in.

Dinner was at my all-time favourite Wellington restaurant and a spot we used to eat at so much back when I was vegan, Aunty Menas. If you're a Wellingtonian and you haven't been to Aunty Menas, what are you doing?! It's fully plant-based, with an amazing selection of soy meats and noodle dishes, plus lots of different curries and Asian fusion concoctions. We always opt for the classic Roti Canai and Curry Noodle, two dishes that go so well together and leave you full to bursting point. Despite not being fully vegan anymore, I still find so many plant-based options will be my go-to and Aunty Menas is just amazing.

By the end of the day, we were beyond exhausted, having done lots of walking, bowling, animal watching and (lots) of eating. I didn't think it would be easy to top our anniversary last year, but I think we did it. It was an incredible mash-up of every date idea we could think of and all the activities we enjoy as a couple. We often joke about how we've moulded into the same person over the last two years. But, I really couldn't ask for a better half than Ben.

Bella 🌼