Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Australia Day and Adventures on the Bay



Australia Day!
Australia Day!
Deck Drinks
Rock Parties with DJ's and jumps in the ocean...learned how to jump in with the tide and get washed ashore with the tide ( MUCH HARDER then it looked when I was OUT of the water)
Thailand Reunions
St. Paul Reunions
We all need our own BT of Wine? NOT..but this did happen

Blair Household
Ryan
Rachel
Brad
Ernesto
Dani
 

RoCks of North BonDI

After celebrating Aussie Day a few days later Brad and I got involved in some extreme sports. Kayaking on Rose Bay out around the corner to get a glimpse of 
the one
the only
Harbor Bridge



I became one with the sea. Took on ferocious waves made by winds and speedy boats...could not have done it without Brad telling me to just stay calm and thou shall not tip.  He also made sure we had a sunscreen break to protect our North American skin from the Sydney rays. He takes care of his Rachy and I am thankful for it. 

Monday, January 23, 2012

Picnic For Two?

We planned a picnic this evening.  It was a little cloudy and a lot of windy but GREAT temp! We walked up to the golf course to find a perfect place to have dinner.
 Sea and Rachel take 1
 Sea and Rachel take 2
 Handsome Brad and Bondi

 You can see everything from this course!!
 On the Menu
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Celery and Hummus
Cheese, Apple and Crackers
Pretzels
Extra Fancy Water (It sparkled)
Jello with Whip Cream




We could not have picked a better view

Shall We SUP??

All the celbs are doing it has a core workout so we gave SUPPING a try. 
STAND
UP
and
PADDLE

We went to Rosebay, rented some boards and gave it a shot.  Although there is no proof that I actually stood up and did it, I promise I did!! We go so comfortable and balanced we tried to paddle out of the harbor to shark island. Whose wise idea was that?? I blame Kirsty. A boat had to come out and save us...well not really save us but tell us to turn around because the winds were changing and we would be in heaps of trouble and da da da daaaanger!!! Where we really should have tried to get to was the biggest boat my pretty little eyes have ever seen.... helicopter included. I think I will be in charge of our next destination while on paddle boards. 

Kirsty fell off in deep water...so of course we were all hooting and hollering. I got so into it my booty fell in right along side her. I don't think I have ever moved so fast in my life. This is not Lake Michigan. This is salt water. My life flashed before my eyes as I saw myself staring in a JAWs movie.

I give supping about a 7 out of 10. 





Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome to the new BLOG!!!!  How great is it!  Ernie helped me last night get it all sorted out and I have been inspired to get back on the blog train! It was a great weekend here! The weekend went something like this...

Friday- Got done working and headed home to meet a new friend of mine Brittney, from Canada, for wine.  We love Bondi but our whole goal was to go to another neighborhood and check out a new watering hole or go a place we rarely go. Change it up a bit. The exact opposite happened. One of the girls we worked with at the cafe, LE PARIS GO was leaving Saturday morning to go fruit picking and farm living.  We stopped by the bar(one of the bars in the heart of Bondi that we happen to stumble into more then other places...) she was at for her going away and by the time we left there it was time to go home. So much for exploration!  It was a great ladies night that made Saturday morning a little rough.

Saturday- Woke up fixed toast and tea and went to my new gym to participate in a boxing class!  The trainer  Mel is a tough cookie.  There is only 4-6 of us in a class so there is no 1/2 assing it..her eyes are on you! Encouraging you or telling you to STEP IT UP! I love her classes! After the gym I was sweaty and needed the perfect cool off.  It was sprinkling but it was not doing the trick.  I ran down to the beach and went for a post workout dip in the ocean.  Something about a quick dip on an rainy Saturday morning was very refreshing and cleansing!
It overlooks the ocean and the beach. Doors open to get that ocean air make for a pretty great place. 

Saturday evening Brad and I went to a restaurant called Bondi Social for dinner.  One of his best work mates is leaving SYD and going to NYC for work!  We had a killer dinner with some great people.  All the guys Brad works with are pretty darn funny.  It was one of those nights that even after the last duck pancake was eaten and the last dish is cleared you sit around and order more glasses of wine loosing track of time and being very late for the 2nd event of the evening.  The Jungle Party.

These are the HOSTS getting ready for the night

My new, fun, fantastic, friend Brit.

A rare spotting

Alice in action.  She is the one that takes many of the pictures at our social outings. By far one of the coolest chicks I have met. 

Then there was this guy......

Who had a Polaroid Camera....


Sunday Funday...I learned a lot Sunday. It started with a couples trip to the beach. Brad and Rachy.  In the afternoon I was on babysitting duty.  My girlfriend, Ashleigh said she would help me take the 2 little rascals to the beach. the kids are 1 1/2ish and 6. DEAR LORD. How are moms, moms? Getting them sunscreened, suits on, getting them down there, dragging the stroller through the sand....uh...not easy and could not have done it by myself. I SEE MOMS down there all the time solo with 2 kids! Superwomen. The beach part was fun! Playing in the sand, swimming close to shore...but then. Dragging the stroller back though the sand, getting all the sand and sunscreen off before letting them run loose in the house, getting a snack for them...AH! Hectic.

Sunday evening was a little more low key.  We made spaghetti and Brad made homemade meatballs!!  There was also a strawberry and spinach salad, ping pong games and we were lucky to have our friends Luke and Alice join us for Sunday night dinner.

All in all a great weekend! 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

ReVamp

Ok, so I have this housemate. He is pretty savoy with the internet and such.  I saw his blog and decided I really dislike mine. (HIS NAME IS ERNIE AND HE IS AWESOME *)  I am going to be doing some revamping of this site in the near future.  I think I can get so techy that whenever I post YOU my dear friends and family can get an email so you know when something wild or crazy has happened! How sweet is that. Until then here are some pics from the party we went to Saturday.  Lets just say.
Rachel + Powerade/Vodkas  = sparkling waters for a week or two.  As my dear friend Rachel says, "clean living" which involves lots of time at the gym, no booze, fruits and veggies.

(*edited post script by said housemate)


The LOST Crew

Saturday, January 14, 2012

LOST BOYS

Again I have not been doing a good job of updating here on the blog!! I will be back in action this week I promise. I thought I would let you in on what was happening today since I just found out myself.  There is a group called the Lost Boys who put on a giant party every few months.  They sell about 2,000 tickets, give you a theme then text you the event location the morning of the party.  To get in you need to be on the guest list AND have a bar code ticket.  The last few days I have been putting together my outfit that will flash me back to the days of Z boys and Dogtown. I will become a hippie chick from the 70's that can't get enough skateboard action.


As someone else explains a little better...
Sandwiched between Venice Beach and Santa Monica lies Dogtown, a Southern California urban beach neighbourhood where "the debris meets the sea." Dogtown was made famous in the late 70s by the Zephyr Skating Team, a group of punk teenagers who jumped the fences of unsuspecting suburban homeowners, only to empty their swimming pools and create their very own skate bowls. When they weren’t skating, they were out surfing the Venice breaks, dodging deadly debris from the crumbling Ocean Park pier.


SOOOO the text was received a few hours ago and the party will be held at none other then a skate park!!!  What a great venue! 


Stories to come

Sunday, January 8, 2012

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Sunday was a good day over here in Bondi so all you kids state side you have a good day coming your way.  

The other day I just picked a month from the right hand side of my blog to see what I was up to back in the day...I will tell you I was doing a whole lot more story telling and what seemed like novel writing! I had the camera out a few days ago and said I had to take some pictures for my blog. A good old mate of mine told me, "stop blogging and start living."  Well...yea...no that is not going to happen.  Just looking back at really old posts I was so happy and so thankful that I had been keeping track of the good, the funny, the bad, the ugly, the sad, the frustrated, the adventures, the embarrassing stuff...I know I have not been as consistent since I have been in Australia but I will try to do a little better.  

I am going to go with the approach of throwing some pictures up and narrate you through them on this storming Sunday night. 

Our first topic up for discussion is Brads sitting position.Sometimes he does not sit in the chair. He more so lays and hangs off of it.  Usually you can find him like this when he is bored at home, waiting for something or someone. I think it is his "I am fed up with this" position and he reminds me of a cute little kid. I captured him in a prime example. 
 

 Remember I told you about that really cool bar...Baxter Inn?? Well this picture was taken at Baxters sisters, Shady Pines.  Another somewhat hidden and very hip bar.  I needed a little snack break from some Christmas shopping one afternoon and bellied up to the bar for a freshie, peanuts, and a chapter from Kite Runner.
 Australians LOVE this. Can't get enough. BLAH. GAG, BARF. It is some nasty stuff in a jar.  I serve it with toast all the time at the cafe where I work....thank goodness they are in little prepackaged things so I can just pop it on the plate.  I really have a hard time with the smell as well. The last cafe I worked at...I would have to scoop it out of a jar and put it in a dish to serve it. I would be trying to breath though my mouth and making sure none of the goo would get on my hands.  Think I am being a little over the top with this? Go see if you can find this at a store and spread it on your toast then call me.

 Some random street downtown. Some random men doing road work. Some random empty bird cages just hanging. That is all I can say about this picture because that is all I know.

 Pretty sweet band-aid if ya ask me. It was a real help when I had shoes on that were tearing up my heels on a little trip downtown.  I feel like a child. I have not been wearing the shoes for a day or two but I don't want to take off the colorful foot decoration.

 Group shot.  I work at the cafe with the girl in the green plaid and the girl in the red and black tank.  Ash and Brit...great girls! Tyler is the temp housemate, Kirsty in the crazy pants andddd I forgot that other girls name cause I had met her 2 seconds before this was taken...and I still don't remember it. We were out and about Friday afternoon for lunch, window shopping and paling around.

 Tonight was taco night at 123 Blair.  Brad's new ping pong table arrived so when I got home from work there was beef in the oven, ping pong matches, cold beer, and lovely company.  There were about 11 people over for dinner tonight. If everyone contributes a little something there is usually a pretty good spread by the end followed by very full tummies. Sure the tacos were a hit but so were the pitchers of crystal light. Brad's lovely mother sent me a whole bag over flowing with all different flavors!!  What a wonderful women.  Just when I had made my last CL package I got restocked.  One of the girls that was over for dinner was American and was so impressed with the import. I won't be surprised if she comes back asking for more.

There was a massive rain storm tonight with a side of thunder and lightning and dessert of a leaky roof!! The disaster relief crew hard at work....

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Why you should be a Seagull

according to our friend Rob.

"You get to eat chips and hangout with your mates all day. Either at the beach or at the cricket."

He forgot to add oh and fly around at drop bombs on girls trying to sunbath.  That is exactly what happened to me.  I was pretty much a seagull hanging with my mates the other day...minus eating the chips. Then I felt a giant rain drop on my arm....not a cloud in the sky remind you.  However, there were seagulls flying around above us.  I had to go take a bird bath in the ocean to wash my arm off.


After Party

We took a water taxi to a floating bar with a killer view of the city..a floating bar after a day on the boat. I have decided to nickname this place Never Never Land.



Champagne Boat Birthday

Let me introduce you to the birthday boy Ryan.  He turned 29 on the 29th of December...I would call that your golden birthday but I guess it is also known as your champagne birthday.  There were thirty of us on a catamaran cruising around the harbors, soaking up the sun, snacking on crackers/veggies and hummus, sipping champagne, throwing back cold beers, and mixing refreshing spirits.  








Monday, January 2, 2012

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring...well actually maybe a huntsmen 

Santa dropped off lots of goodies for all the good little boys and girls of 123 Blair

 Bath Mats
Purple Pants
Hair Ties
Chicago Puzzles
Gym Memberships
Homemade Bracelets


Played the dice game and won 20 bucks baby


Chritmas Day at the Beach....I could not believe it...look at that sky 



Santa's Beachside Helpers

After we got some sun it was back to our house for a Christmas Day BBQ