Our mini vacation to Sydney

Are you ready for a long post about our mini holiday to Sydney? If not, maybe come back later when you are. :P

SO! On Wednesday James and I got the 3.5 hour bus to Sydney from Canberra. We slept for quite a bit of it so it wasn't that bad...but it did mean it was 21:30 by the time we got there...so late. We then had to get the train to North Sydney, then a short walk, then into the lovely little place we were calling home for the next few days. James' parents and younger brother had left in the car earlier in the day but we left later because I had work. Wednesday wasn't really an eventful day, I just felt like sharing. The place we were calling home was pretty awesome though. It was near the train line, but the train wasn't too loud. We had a living room, kitchen, 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms...I think there was also a washing machine if we wanted to do any laundry. Not too shabby. :P We could also see the Harbour Bridge...if we went outside onto the street, but that counts right?

Thursday 4th - Cricket day!

We got up pretty early for the cricket. I'd say around 8:30, which for a holiday is pretty early. Got all ready and tried to find as much pink as possible in my packed clothes to wear for the Jane McGrath day. It's a day to raise money to find more breast care workers in honour of Glenn McGrath's wife, Jane. There was a lot of pink!

The day of cricket was pretty eventful! We got to see quite a few new records set by Clarke.

Highest-ever score by and Australian captain in Australia.

Highest Test Score at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Over 300 runs!

After he had more than 300 runs, and Hussey had reached 150 runs, Australia declared. Meaning we got to see India bat...or see some wickets get taken.

The crowd re-watching someone being caught out.

It was a pretty awesome day.
In the evening we went to Darling Harbour to eat at a brazilian BBQ (where James and I had gone with my Dad). So all in all, cool day. :)

Friday 5th - Harry Potter and Luna Park.
We got up early again to make it to the Powerhouse Museum for the Harry Potter exhibition at 9:30. The trip to Sydney was part of James' younger brothers Christmas present, he is a Harry Potter nut! He also spent far too long in the exhibit, in James' and my opinion. It was interesting...especially to see how small everyone was, but it as really crowded. We'd end up waiting 5 minutes to see a costume, or some sweets. The stuff is interesting, but did people need to stand in front of it for so long? We also weren't allowed to take any photos...so that was my fun gone. :P I'm sounding like I didn't enjoy it, but I did, I just think the Harry Potter module has made me a little sinister towards things that are fanatically HP. That being said, I got myself a Slytherin T-shirt, which I wear as I type, and I got James and I some Muggle Mugs...because I like saying Muggle Mugs...they are black mugs with 'Muggle' written across them in gold.
James and I left ahead of the rest to go an look at an apartment, but half way there we found out it had already been leased. Poo. We still made the long walk to Kings Street and waited to be met for lunch. We took James' family to the Thai place we like to get take-away from. Lunch is $6.50, the portions are large, the food is real good. It's basically awesome. :D It made up for the apartment disappointment.
We then went home for a quick nap before heading out to Luna Park! We had an AWESOME time at Luna Park!! I would so recommend an evening out to Luna Park if you are ever in Sydney.

The view from the Ferris Wheel.

The Ferris Wheel made me nervous...

This ride is awesome!!! 

Lost?

The entrance is pretty creepy.

By the end of our evening at Luna Park I was feeling pretty ill. I don't handle traveling or going in circles very well...but it was fun and well worth it!

View on a walk home.

Saturday 7th - Apartments
On Friday James and I had made a list of apartments we wanted to inspect on Saturday, so on Saturday we inspected them. It was another relatively early start. Up at 8:30, out of the house at 9. but we got to see some apartments. Quite a few of them were grotty, and really not worth the money being asked for them. Others, however, were really nice.
We had time for some brunch between two viewings. We found another awesome place on Kings Street, and had some yummy foods...some of my meals were really not fitting in well with my eating better plan for 2012...but I was on holiday! :P And it was only some.

Pancakes...I could only eat 2, man those things are filling!

We had lunch with James' family, at another lovely place on Kings Street (I think I developed a love for that street on this trip), saw one last place and headed back. James and I had a quiet night in whilst his family went to the Sydney Festival.

Sunday 8th - Chill and 20-20
Sleep in!!! We slept in until 9! Woohooo! Then went round to James' uncles place to give him a Christmas present he would have been able to take back to Sydney after Christmas but couldn't because he crashed his car so took the plane back instead of driving back...yeah it's a long story, he's ok, it was nothing major, all good. We also scanned and printed a whole bunch of stuff for apartment applications. Then we headed out for lunch. He lives in Surry Hills, we liked this part of Sydney too. Sydney is pretty awesome.
Anyhoo, we went to a place called 'bills'. I don't know much about cheffy people, but it's a restaurant owned by a chef called Bill Granger, he's apparently quite well-known...just not to me. There was a 45min wait to get a seat, so we put our name down and went for a walk. I think I'd say it was worth the wait.

My Sesame Chicken Sandwich with spinach, bacon and avocado mayonnaise.

The restaurant was really clean and nice feeling, all the food on display looked so vibrant and fresh, it definitely had a healthy feel about it. I ordered the sandwich above, and oh my was it yum! I only managed to eat half of it in the restaurant, but got to take the other half home. It was delicious. Everyone else's food looked and smelt amazing too, and they all seemed very happy with what they got. The long queue outside seemed understandable after eating the food.
After our yummy lunch we said bye to James' uncle and went back 'home' to do some form filling out. Then off to watch some 20-20 cricket. I feel like people who know me may be a bit surprised with the amount of cricket I seem to be watching, I blame Australia and James. :P It was the Sydney Derby at the Olympic Park, so we went to watch. The 6ers vs. Thunder. We got there a bit late, but the game had been delayed a bit due to rain, so we only missed 10 runs.

The Stadium was pretty crowded.

I love how they wait.

After a pretty exiting game the rain started.

It got REALLY heavy, so the game was finished and the 6ers announced winners.

The crowd was gone pretty quick.

We got soaked on the way back...but it was funny.

Monday 9th - Apartment and back to Canberra
Today we got up at 7, left the house at 7:30 and got to the Real Estate Agents for 8:20. We finished filling in the forms, and handed them in. We then had about an hour to wait until being picked up to go back to Canberra, so went and had some brunch again.

My naughty pancakes again.

Whilst we were having brunch we got a call from the Real Estate Agents saying if we wanted one of the apartments we would need to pay a deposity thing today and that they'll call back when they have processed our forms. So we gave them the deposity thing, and shall be getting the keys to a furnished apartment on Kings Street on the 20th (We have to sign a lease first...but yeah, it's kind of crazy how fast it went. we were the one of two couples that inspected the studio, so we thought it might be likely we get it, but not THAT fast). Yays!

We then drove back to Canberra, I unpacked and sat down to work on this super long update. :P

A pretty good trip if you ask me. :)

A little Sydney Holiday

Today was Jane McGrath day.

We're in Sydney for a couple of days on a mini holiday, or so I like to think of it. :) We arrived last night, and today went to watch some cricket. It was actually pretty exciting, so many records broken, and all in pink!

Tomorrow we're going to the Harry Potter Exhibition, looking at an apartment and going to Luna Park. Exciting times. So...I'm basically saying I won't be here much. :P

Have a lovely weekend. :)

Quote to Inspire #18

Drawn by me, Quote an African Proverb.

2012

Happy New Year everyone!!! I know for some people in the world it has only just happened, or not even happened yet, but here in Australia we've celebrated, slept and are now well into the 1st of January!  Scary! I hope you have all had the most fabulous 2011 and will have an awesome 2012. Do you have anything exciting planned? Made any resolutions?

I have. I usually do, and they are usually lame, and not that easy to stick to or measure, but after reading this post over at 'A Beautiful Mess', I decided I'd give resolutions another chance. So I made a list of all the sorts of things I'd like to do and tried to turn them into proper achievable, measurable goals. Then I wrote them out all pretty. :D

Here are my goals for 2012:

This is the only full page I will be sharing - Learn more about photography.

1. Learn more about photography. 
I know this one doesn't sound exactly measurable and all that...but this was a hard one to make as such. I want to learn more about how cameras work, different settings on cameras, photo compositions and all that. I have quite a few websites already saved to read through, and plan on getting a little book and making it like a little research project...maybe I could write an essay...haha...maybe not. But yes. I want to understand photography more, and this year I plan to tackle that.

Lose at least 5kg.

2. Lose at least 5kg.
I didn't really want to share this one...because sharing getting fit or weight loss goals tends to hinder them as friends and family tend to say your doing well, or can have a day off, or look fine; but I'll just ignore those people. I've started this one early by already starting to do exercise and drinking more water and less Coke. I don't think I'm fat, and I don't hate my body, I just want to be more healthy and fit...and I didn't want to time running or anything...so 5kg.

Cook something new and healthy once a week.

3. Cook something new and healthy once a week.
I should maybe have added in savoury too, considering Goal 4, but I understand. So yeah, once a week starting from when James and I have our own kitchen, I would like to try cooking something new and healthy. There are so many yummy dishes out there in the world and I would love to learn how to make them so that eventually I can just rustle up something amazing without a recipe or anything. :) I will of course, hopefully, share these recipes and their failures/successes with you lovely people through my blog.

Bake once a week for a year.

4. Bake once a week for a year.
Bake/make something desserty. I know this sounds slightly counter Goal 2...but I plan on baking yummy treats that aren't hugely fattening and bad for you...thats the plan anyway. :) I love the occasional sweet indulgent, and I'd love to be able to make super yummy desserts...so this sounds fun! :)

Those are my bigger goals, but I have some others too:
5. Create moustache notebooks.
I love moustaches....and so too do a lot of people on the internet, so I thought it would be cool to make some moustache notebooks. I've had this idea for a while, and I've done a lot of sketches. I think it would be pretty cool to try and get them made...and maybe sell a few. (This actually sounds like a big goal, but I'm calling it small because I don't know what to do with it at the moment...I have no plan of action)

6. Create an Art Portfolio
I also want to start making time for Art. I think it would be nice to have one place with all my art documented, so that if I ever want a job in that field I have something to present. :) Plus, it would be pretty to look through every now and then when I feel talentless.

7. Learn more about Aboriginal Art.
When I did the IB, I based 2 of my art pieces on Aboriginal Art, and did a bit of research into the subject (as was required). Now that I am in Australia I would like to learn more about it, I am rather fond of their art, and it would be cool to learn more about something so specific to Australia. :)

8. Use my 365 book somehow.
It's a very vague goal...but I want to have at least decided how to use that book by the end of the year.

9. Try and achieve at least one of my 101 Dreams.
Another one. One a year means I won't get them all done in my life, but one is a good start. :)

So there you are. My 2012 goals. What have you got planned?

Bobble

We bought some Bobble water bottles today. They have been pretty awesome so far. James has drank about 4-5 bottles of water since we got them, I've had 2, but it's a massive improvement on the water we were drinking before. :) They were surprisingly cheap for how nice they are and the use we should get out of them, so I think we're both really happy with the purchase. :D

My New TOMS

My Silver Sequinned TOMS.

I took photos!! So, TOMS. As I may or may not have said, I had seen a lot of different people wearing TOMS in my online world. I had heard a lot of people talk about how much they love them, how comfy they are, and just how plain awesome. Now that I have my own, and have been able to wear them I can confirm they ARE super comfy, and super awesome. :)

My Other casual pair, I wear these ones a lot.

One things I feel that is very important about TOMS, and don't remember reading anything about is the amazing cause they are dedicated to. People may have mentioned it, and I just forgot, but I first really found out about it by visiting their site. For every pair of TOMS you buy, they donate a pair to children in need.
The donations started in Argentina, and have since grown to help children in many other countries. Shoes are important, shoes are needed. They give three very good reasons why on their website, One for One Movement:

1. "A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical can cognitive harm they cause."
2. "Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected."
3. "Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their unifrom. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive and education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential."

So, if you've been interested in TOMS but haven't bought a pair yet, go now! Go buy some! They are totally worth it!

(And if you want to read some more check out their Giving Blog)

We went for a walk

We went for a walk today. We've kind of wanted to get out a bit more in Canberra, but the weather hasn't always been inviting...plus I didn't have the shoes for it. BUT Once I got my job I decided I could spend some money on some nice walking/running shoes. We have been out for a couple of runs and walks since then. It feels good. :) I love the gentle ache I get after exercise. So today was nice weather, and we took advantage. We went for a walk around the suburby area James' family lives in, a walk his mum had told us about. It was REALLY nice. The views were lovely, the weather was nice, and there were a lot of butterflies (there was a bit of the walk which was like walking through a wasp nest...so many big, weird fly things...but that was short). :) AND I took photos!! Yays!!! So here's some photos from our walk:

My new shoes! Nike Free Run +2...I believe.  

I enjoyed the walk. Hopefully we can go on more. :)

Quote to Inspire #17

Drawing by me, Quote from Albert Einstein.

A little Christmassy update

Salmon pate.

So Christmas was pretty awesome. We got up around 9ish, had some tea, etc. I was extremely tired and ill feeling as I had managed to get a blocked nose, but whatever. We opened presents pretty early so that we could get working on some final jobs before everyone came for Christmas at 16:00. I got some pretty neat things...I will try take some photos. I am very grateful to have received stuff. :) Very nice of people. So after that we got on with little jobs, like getting ice, moving tables, preparing dips etc. I had a nap because I was tired. We had some prawns, and some scrambled egg on toast with bacon and smoked salmon. Was a pretty nice morning/early afternoon. Then people arrived!!

I am happy to say the salmon pate went down well. :) AND it came out in the moulds, which is awesome. Very happy. We sat around, chatted, drank some yum Champagne cocktails. It was nice. Dinner was super yum. Had a prawn cocktail starter, and then lots of yummy meats and veg for main. The lamb was particularly good!! I then snuck away for a little chat with my family, and returned for dessert: white chocolate mousse with mango, pistachio and raspberries. It was good. :D We also made some Gingerbread men to have with tea and coffee. Yums!!!

Our awesome Gingy's, James made, I iced.

Today we went round to James' grandparents for lunch. There were gifts from the previous day that had not yet ben opened, so we had all that to do after a yum lunch. I got a pretty awesome gift from Matt and Michelle...some "Rabbit with Big Pointy Teeth" slippers. If you don't recognise where they are from you may very well need to educate yourself with the awesomeness of Monty Python!

My new slippers.

Attacking James' leg! 

Evil bunny!!!

The rather funny Certificate of Authenticity.

I'm loving them. For those of you who are not aware of this rabbit, you may want to watch the clip below...or the whole of the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I'm pretty sure I used this photo last year, it's from the Chalet.

Wishing everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Mine has been pretty awesome thus far. Taking a break between main course of dinner and dessert to see if my family can skype, and then back to this not so odd feeling Australian Christmas.

I hope you all have a wonderful day wherever you are! Merry Christmas everyone!!

Christmas Eve To do

Photo from Last Xmas.

Oh man is/was there a lot to do today!!! We started off pretty good, full of momentum. Got up for 8 to go for a run (James, Will and I). We all decided we are super unfit due to our out of breathness after like ever little bit of running, so we're going running every other day, and playing some kind of sport on the other days, like Basketball or Cricket (I may not partake in the cricketness...we'll see). I then showered, and then James and I went out looking for some awesome blue trousers. Blue trousers were part of my new Xmas outfit...but they didn't fit nice, and I wasn't going to spend money of something I wasn't happy with, so we went at got an iced-drink. The trip wasn't a total waste since we found some gingerbread shaped cutters, yays!
I was then super pumped to get back and make Salmon pate...but people had woken up. I'm a very odd people but non-people person. I LOVE working at Reception and my new job with kids. I adore the talking to people, learning about them, and happy company. BUT when I have things I want to get done, people bug me, I don't like people being around, especially for house chores, I tend to do them when I have an empty/relatively empty house. So no Salmon pate making...plus the kitchen had turned into a non-workable room again.

I've spent the afternoon either hiding in James' room (which I have tidied in my hiding time) and helping James with some tidying. Today is super tidy day, Christmas is being held here tomorrow. So EVERY room and ALL of outside is getting a super tidy. I don't know what to do, it's not my house, I don't know where things belong...so I'm just hiding, feeling a bit useless. :P

We're also planning on going to see some Christmas lights this evening, making the gingerbread men and the Salmon pate and going the the midnight mass...it's no wonder my back is hurting. :P

So yeah, Christmas Eve is feeling a bit more hectic than usual...so I thought I'd ramble about it here. Hope you all have a stress-free Christmas Eve. Have a coffee, play a board game, enjoy the weather...and lets hope you haven't left all the tidying until today! :)

Advent wish list #24

Found on pinterest.

Have a super duper awesome Christmas, please! :)

Advent wish list #23

Bobble water bottles.

I don't know if you have heard of them or not, but these bottles seem to be big around the world. They are made from recycled plastic bottles, designed to stop the waste of plastic water bottles, and filter your water to make it all clean and like shop bought water. Pretty awesome. They are Bobble water bottles.

I'm not the kind of person that drinks lots of water, despite knowing that we need a good amount of water a day to stay all fit and healthy and stuff. I do, however, find that if I have a bottle of water in my bag with me, or just nearby, I tend to drink a lot more water...so having a water bottle is actually good for me. I did have a plastic bottle back in Geneva I quite liked, and enjoyed using, but I don't have it with me. Plus I totally love the idea of these bottles, so yeah, if you REALLY wanted to get me something, and thought "Hey, a water bottles a cool idea" then I would love to receive this from you. But don't worry, because I'll happily buy it for myself anyways. :)

Advent wish list #22

Another item from the Australian Kookai. It's so pretty. I think it would be perfect for an evening party. :) Simple but perfect.