Birthday wishes to my MuM!

Happy Birthday to my Mother, my friend.  You are the most beautiful, selfless, smart, caring and loving woman I know and I am proud to call you MY MOM!

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother" -Abraham Lincoln

Age doesn't matter unless you're cheese.

January 28th, 1986.  My Birthday.  This year I made it to a quarter of a century.  Jenni surprised me with the yummy cake shown above and a bag full of gummi bears!  I shared with her a little, but not the green and yellow bears, as those are my favorite.  Jenni, Harriet, and I ate birthday lunch and did a bit of shopping.  The rest of the evening went as follows:   

   

Dinner at Bouzy Rouge with Friends

(Champagne, wine, cosmopolitans, and fish with eyeballs)

Drinks and Dancing at Hotel Provential

Then off to another club.....and then to the casino.....and then.....

Well, I'd have to say my Australian birthday was a success to say the least!  Cheers to my wonderful and thoughtful friend Jenni and my Australian friends for all the beautiful gifts, fun memories, and many laughs!

Jessie, Me, and Jenni at Bouzy Rouge

   My birthday dinner.  The "Fish Special" served with
    roasted potatoes, capsicum, and eyeballs.

 Handmade by my loving and creative Momma!

Happy New Year

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..........Happy New Year!

Our New Years 2011 was simple and definitely the best fire works show I've ever seen.  We spent the evening with our good friend Sasha in Downtown Melbourne.  The city does fireworks along the Yarra River off of the tops of all the main buildings.  There were some crazies out that night so we were happy to tram back close to home and enjoy some Champagne at The Collection, an upscale bar a few doors down from our house.

This New Year will begin with me turning a quarter of a century old! It is my year of traveling, listening to stories, and embracing life at it's fullest.   I wish you all the best this year!

Fireworks show at Federation Square

Sasha, Jenni, and I

Painting the roses red

Red roses on the left is where grapes for red wines are harvested.  White roses on the right are for white wine grapes.

I've got some catching up to do on my blogging so I'll start with the Yarra Valley Wineries.  We met Pete and Glay Glay (obviously a nickname given by his buddies) through some men I met at work.  They offered to drive us through Yarra Valley to knock "wineries" off of Jenni and I's Aussie bucket list.  It by far was one of my favorite days!  We started at a pub for lunch and shared an antipasta platter.

 We went to several wineries including Sticks, Balgownie Estate, and, my favorite......Chandon!  It was the last one we went to and I was introduced to Sparkling Shiraz!  We enjoyed it while laying in the grass watching Glay Glay do handstands and 2 German guys take their shirts off and race.  It's funny what you think is entertaining after a few "tastes" of wine.  

You must be 18 to drink.  You must act 8 while drinking.

Candid shot, but beautiful background

Ladies and Gentlemen...............Chandon Sparkling Shiraz!

Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain.

"On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future."

Kristin sent me a funny e-mail this morning telling me that she and the kids heard on the radio that it was Australia Day and Olivia said, “Hey—it’s Candyland day!”

I think I like the sound of that ;)

All in All we had a great Australia Day!  Jenni, Harriet, and I enjoyed lunch at Groove Train, shopped a bit on Bridge Road, then went to St. Kilda and devoured some of the yummiest ice cream I have had in a long time!  Jenni and I finished the night the best way I knew how........ with mimosas for dinner.

My much appreciated Christmas present this year

Thank you to Brett for the Christmas present I got this year.......Cat Power tickets at Australia's beautiful Forum venue.  We had such a great time.  She was AmAzInG and the venue was astonishing.  I didn't get any photos because cameras were not allowed.  I did help start the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" to her since Friday, the night of her show, was her birthday too!

Jenni and I had dinner at Yak in Melbourne City and discovered our new favorite wine....Innocent Bystander Shiraz :)

The Australian Open 2011

Yesterday Jenni and I went with two friends to the Australian Open which was a walk away from our house.  On our way we stopped at Coles and bought cheese, fruit, and lunch meat and then went to the bakery to buy pull aparts (bread loaves).  

Jo Tsonga after winning against Seppi

I was so excited to go and as an avid sports lover, I have not been exposed enough to tennis to call myself a fan.....Well I did it.....I wore a denim American Flag shirt and became a new fan of tennis all in one day!  Thank you Australian Open!  I asked a French woman next to me what "allez jo" meant, since the entire crowd was chanting it. She said, "go Jo, and you can say it too if you want". We were watching Jo Tsonga (France) vs. Andreas Seppi (Italy). Winner- Tsonga.  


We had a great afternoon in the sun and enjoyed our picnic.  We watched women and men play and the game of tennis is much more fast-paced and interactive then I had expected.  Overall, one of my favorite days down under so far!