The Sydney Opera House

For my birthday (four months ago), Will and I went to Sydney for the weekend.

I'm all about iconic landmarks, so clearly I took 500 photos of the Opera House.

Since it was New Year's Day, the Harbour Bridge still had some lights set up from the previous night's celebrations. 

Sydney is so different from Melbourne, but you can't deny the charm of the bridge and the Opera House.

We spent the evening wandering around Circular Quay and The Rocks, including a tragically average dinner at a place called Pony. Traveler's tip: Don't go to Pony if you visit Sydney.

The view from up here

Sometimes when the stress of visas, joblessness, and "what the hell am I doing?" gets to be too much, I look out at the view from our balcony and just think...wow, life is pretty good! 

It's all worth it.

Flinders

Otherwise known as...that time Will and I accidentally wore too much matching clothing.

The weekend after Christmas was spent in a charming little beach cottage with some of the extended family. There was a lot of eating and drinking and general good times. 

And of course, lots of time on the beaches. Operation TAN is going amazingly well for me thanks to summer Christmas!

Ever the animal lover, I was tasked with "dealing with" a tiny bat that was found in the cottage. After googling bat rescue options in the Mornington Peninsula, I discerned that this was a mircrobat common to the area, and I should just let it go. 

I am hoping that it is happily living its life now and was not eaten by a seagull. 

I really enjoyed seeing a new part of Victoria, as there is really so much to see in the Melbourne area. These gorgeous beaches (AND manyyyy wineries) were just a little over an hour away from us. I'll take any excuse to escape to the sea side! 

My first Aussie Christmas

A belated Merry Christmas to you all!

I hope everyone had a fantastic day filled with food, family, and fun. 

I was prepared to be some sort of mess on my first Christmas away from my family - ever- but all was well. Between all the food, preparing of food, eating of food, and having the best time hanging out with both sides of Will's rather large family, I thankfully didn't have any time to be blue. 

Christmas Eve was COLD, so it actually felt like Christmas at home. Christmas day was another story, but I must admit that it was pretty glorious drinking champagne out in the sun and having our lunch outside at a beautifully set table. There was even a game of cricket, which I will need more practice at. I thought watching Will play so much would result in some sort of skills osmosis, but nay.

So all in all, a fantastic Christmas! 

Plus, I'm incredibly tan. What more could I ask for?

Funny story: Will and I went camping (my very first camping trip) with some friends recently and, long story short, had an incident in which the campsite was burned down. Hence this gift. And I got camping magazines. Cheeky!

There's no place like home

Last month I was lucky enough to make a trip back home for a dear friend's wedding. 

While we were there, we stayed on through Thanksgiving and had

 ourselves a grand old time. 

There was inordinate amounts of food, lots of catching up with friends, and so many pet cuddles.

This is probably a very common observation, but I think it takes leaving a place to really understand how much it means to you. 

It turns out I missed home more than I thought- and not just because I can't get bean and cheese tacos or cuddle with Chester & Henry down here.

In true "home" fashion, being back there felt like I never left. Isn't that the best?

The first thing I asked for upon arrival in San Antonio was a bean and cheese taco (duh) and queso. My stomach said "THANK YOU SO MUCH I'VE MISSED YOU LIKE CRAZY OH MY GOD."

And of course I was delighted to be reunited with my furry friends. 

I got to catch up with all the people I love, which was so good for the soul!!

We even had Will's little sister there for Thanksgiving! She's studying abroad in Wyoming, so it was great to be able to show her what Thanksgiving is all about, not to mention meet my family. 

Thanksgiving was a success, as usual, and I ate all the things. I've yet to miss a Thanksgiving, so when I finally do it is going to be a very depressing day.

There was also the aforementioned wedding + time in Houston with some besties andddd a gender reveal party for Ronnie! It was a busy, blissful two weeks.

And for the icing on the cake, a seven hour layover in L.A. meant a nice stroll in Santa Monica plus delicious dinner and drinks with my dear Julianne.

It was a whirlwind, but so worth the trip back. I must admit it was a bit hard to leave, but I am still so thankful for this experience I am having. 

Until next time!