Alishia & Sienna

Here are some pictures of our neighbours twin girls; Alishia and Sienna. We've known their parents Lisa & Christian since we moved into our apartment and they lived next door to us (they now live across the complex but still close by) so that's over 3 years now. We've seen their twins grow up and they are just so cute!

Bath time! Hmm, that water looks funny!

That's why the water looks funny, check out their mucky faces!

Dinner was good, the bits that went in my mouth were anyway.

All clean. Complete with humiliating hairstyle, thanks parents.

Donna's 40th Birthday

The day had finally arrived, the day of Donna's 40th birthday party. For those that don't know Donna, she is the party planner of all party planners! No detail too small, no expense spared and this was obviously no exception. The invites had been sent and the themes were; "Tight & Bright" or "Uniforms". Jo and I deliberated over what to wear for a while and no doubt most people I'm sure expected us to take the uniform option. So we didn't. We headed to House of Priscilla on Oxford Street (think 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert) and found our outfits in a surprisingly short space of time. After a few changes, we'd found the perfect get up and made the booking. We were going in drag.

Two weeks later on the day of the party we went to pick up the costumes, made a slight adjustment by choosing wigs instead of a headress, bought some ridiculous false eyelashes and obligatory glitter before heading home to a marathon dressing up session. It took hours but we finally got it together for a pre-party photo shoot.

Connie and Carla

We when got the party about 6:30 (after having to hail a taxi and walk through the entire pub in this get up) Donna's face was an absolute picture of hysterics! As the night wore on, the amount of effort that everyone had gone to became apparent. Everyone looked awesome and of course the birthday girl looked totally fab in her tight & bright air-hostess uniform!

Birthday Girl Donna, Ang & Trish pre-dance routine

Donna and Trish had rehersed a dance routine for mid-party fun and it was brilliant! Beautifully choreographed complete with flight crew bags and in-flight meals :) We all had a great time, although my feet after a night in those platforms might not ever be the same again!

Honestly, the eyelashes are good aren't they!?

Karen, Paul & Phamish

Jo's cousin Karen and her partner Paul came down from Coffs Harbour to stay with us for a few days and to enjoy the sights of Sydney. We did what we usually do with Karen & Paul (and most weekends!) - enjoyed some good food and good drink!

Jo & Karen at Phamish

We ended up going to a place called Phamish, a Vietnamese place in Darlinghurst that I had been told about years ago but never got around to trying. We managed to put our name down and took a walk up and down Victoria St before settling down to some excellent Salt & Pepper Calamari, a really tasty Satay noodles, some lemongrass and chilli chicken and a beef dish that I can't quite remember. Great food, great value and a really nice atmosphere in a quiet residential street away from the crowd of Darlinghurst Road.

After dinner we took a long walk through Kings Cross, through Potts Point and down to Wooloomooloo Wharf on a beautiful clear night. As per usual we had a great time with them both and can't wait until they can make it down again (or we can get up to Coffs).

Rottnest Island

Our last full day in Perth saw us do the obligatory trip to Rotto. The weather had turned somewhat and a wet and windy morning saw us at the wharf to catch a Ferry over to the island.

After standing around for an ice age while the mongoose doing the check-in practically hand-drew maps for each individual person with places of interest written out in their dialect of choice, we finally boarded and headed down the Swan River towards Fremantle and then to Rottnest. The island was so named as it was discovered by Dutch explorers who saw the native Quokka's (small wallaby like marsupials) and thought there were large rats and names the island 'Rat's nest' or 'Rottnest' in Dutch.

A local cute Quokka

We had an hour to wander around before some lunch and then a 2 hour coach ride around the island. Thank god the sun came out after lunch as I have to say the Island is spectacular in the sun when it lights up the water and makes everything look so blue, if it was cloudy I think I would've come away with very different impressions.

Views along the coastline

The afternoon went really quickly and the coach trip around the island was a great way to see the different landscapes it has to offer. You can stay on the island and there are resorts, cottages and camping options. The more you see, the more you think that it would be a great place for a long weekend to swim and relax.

More beautiful water views

Perth

Perth.

Perth, Perth, Perth.

I'm a bit confused by Perth I have to say. It seems it will be nice when it's finished, but in the meantime it's a bit, well, crap. It all looks to be run down and badly in need of a facelift and lessons in style. And Fremantle. Don't even get me started on Fremantle!

When we arrived in Perth it was 39C and we were all melting. Still, we only had so much time so we wanted to see what Perth had to offer the discerning traveller. Not much is the answer. After walking down to the Swan River and dying of dehydration this area that the guide book describes as 'bustling outdoor cafes with water front views' was nothing more than an odd glass tower thingy, a dodgy chinese and a pub called 'The Lucky Shag'. I kid you not. There's photographic evidence below. Still, a pub's a pub right? Right?

The "Lucky Shag" pub. Yeah, right.

We were so strapped for ideas and evidence of anywhere nice to go that I had to call Nicci for advice on where to go for dinner! She came up trumps though and we went to JoJo's at Nedlands - right by the water and obviously somewhere that no tourist would ever find by themselves.

Mum and I have a laugh at Perth outside JoJo's

Things did get a little better though as we looked around Kings Park (absolutely huge and has great views over the city) and finally found a slice of civilisation in Subiaco. Can't say I'll be heading back to Perth in next 5 years or so, give then a chance to finish things off a bit.

The Grand Hotel. Perth-style.

Margaret River

After we got back from the Hunter, Mum & Barry headed up to Brisbane for a few days before then travelling down to Adelaide. Mum has a cousin who lives near Adelaide that she hasn't seen for years and years so it was wonderful that they could catch up after all this time and they had a great time together. We met Mum & Barry at Perth airport on the Sunday were we picked up our car and drove the 3.5hours down to Margaret River (another famous wine region!).

I had booked our accommodation months before via the internet so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but when we arrived at Losari Retreat we were blown away. Set on acres of land are 6 cottages all spaced out surrounded by horses and wild kangaroos. We drove up to reception to check-in and then the lady had to drive by car and we followed her to get to our cottage as it was so far from reception! And when I say reception, I mean another cottage that the owners live in with an office at the front!

Losari Retreat "reception"

We spent 4 great days exploring the region, first by heading down to Cape Leeuwin on the south coast and then visiting all the beautiful beaches along the coast line. The weather improved over the days and was mostly hot, sunny and great for the humble fly it seems, there were everywhere!

Stunning Hamlin Bay

We headed up the coast as far as Busselton where we stopped off to take a look at the Jetty (it's 2km long!) and as it was such a hot day we enjoyed one of the best thirst quenching beers I've had in ages!

Barry and I enjoy a cold one!

Margaret River wasn't without it's surprises though, we managed to get Mum into the Indian Ocean on very hot afternoon and managed to pry Barry away from the BBQ at our cottage one night so we could eat out at one of the restaurants in Margaret River town. After the Hunter we didn't go to many wineries but we did make it to a brewery! The Colonial Brewery has some great beer and Barry and I shared a 'tasting palette' of their 5 different brews - yum!

Dinners, baby showers, footy and more!

It's been a busy few days....here's a bit of recap....

Thursday Night I went to a work dinner in Surry Hills, first to the Clock Hotel for a few drinkies beforehand and then onto Aree's Thai across the road for dinner. It really made me realise what a good Mgmt team we have a work and what a great bunch of people I work with each day.

Jo went to and IBM 'hat' party in the city (even tho she's done with IBM she still gets invited to all the parties). It was a Donna Flynn special that went off with a bang!

IBM Hat Party

Friday Night
Jo's cousin Karen, her partner Paul and three kids (Luke, Matt, Cameron) returned from their 2 week trip in Vietnam to stay with us for the night. In true Karen style, no sooner were they back they were back out this time off to see Billy Elliot in the city! The next morning we awoke to literally 27 bags (most of which were North Face bags from Vietnam) lined up in the kitchen taking up the whole floor! They were flying back to Coffs Harbour on Saturday morning....just in time for Paul's 50th birthday party that night! Madness!

Saturday
Off to see the Swannies kick Richmond's ass in the AFL at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Complete with full on packed picnic with cheese, dips and crackers!!

Hunter Valley

After a few days in Sydney we took a trip up to the Hunter Valley for the weekend. We drove up after work on Friday and arrived at the Crowne Plaza at Lovedale around 6:30pm - just enough time to check in, unpack, change and head out for dinner. The Plaza is a fairly new addition to the Hunter and it has a nice feel to it. Spread out rather than built up give it a really spacious feel and the decor is modern and fresh.

We went to Harrigan's Pub for a glass of wine (surprisingly CRAP wine list for a pub in the middle of Hunter Valley wine country!) and a bite to eat. All in all, the pub was beyond average with Jo having to send back a very sorry for itself Moussaka. Still, the waiter did apologise as he knew it was so crap and he gave us a complimentary bottle of wine to make up for it. I can't say I'll be back.

View from Tallavera Grove Winery

The following day we booked into a wine tour, we were picked up on a wet and breezy Saturday at 10am to be taken around to 6 wineries in the local area. We started off at Lucy's Run - a very boutique winery that only produces around 800 cases a year. The winery is named after the owner's dog and is a really small operation. We sat in a tin shed while he talked about the wine he produces along with olive oil and dukkah (a spice mix) and we got to sample all three. Mum enjoyed it so much should bought a great bottle of Merlot and some dukkah to go.

The "Lucy" from Lucy's Run

From there we headed to Ivanhoe, where we tried a few varieties I've not tried before including a great Gewurtztraminer and a very nice but unusual Chambourcin (looks like a red, tastes like a white and served chilled). Although, the Semillon is the variety that the Hunter is most known for it's not my favourite (I prefer a Semillon Sav Blanc) and we all agreed that the stand outs for the day were the dessert wines (or 'stickies' as they're sometimes called). Fantastic, all of them!

I sample some red at Ivanhoe Winery

From there we headed to Tallavera Grove and then onto a pub for some lunch. After lunch we did three more wineries, a chocolate place and a the cheese shop! To say that we were stuffed was an understatement!

New Year, New Camera

Jo has just treated herself to a new camera (a Nikon D40X) as a new year present (with help from a work bonus). Here's a small sample of some shots.....

Zhanna relaxing

Sydney Opera House

Zhanna in the outside world

Missy in her favourite snoozing place

Quintessential Sydney

Summer Bay!

After about a 5 year wait, we finally got around to having lunch at Guy's Mum's house in Avalon. Troy, Guy and Philippe picked us up at about 10:30 and we started the drive up towards Avalon.

We dropped off our esky with Guy's Mum around 12:30 and then took the short drive back into Avalon for a coffee and a walk around the shops. I've been to Avalon a few times before, and I always enjoy it. It's got a really nice atmosphere, all the shops are great and there are endless excellent cafes to choose from, all a stones throw from a beautiful beach.

The Family on the Deck

We headed back for lunch at 1:30 and Roger cooked up a great BBQ, complete with one of Guy's famous salads! We had a great laugh over lunch, sitting on the deck in the breeze of a hot and sunny day looking at Guy's baby photo's (hahaha!) with his Mum and the usual non-stop eating and talking continued over Philippe's spectacular cheesecakes (Raspberry and White Chocolcate - mmmmmm!).

After eating waaaay too much we thought we'd try to be a little bit healthy and we drove out to Palm Beach. Guy and Troy went for a quick dip in the water before we trudged up what seemed like a million steps up to top of the hill to the Lighthouse.

I see you baby, shakin' that ass

The lighthouse is at the top of an 850m "climb" through bushland and on a hot day took bloody forever to get up there! But once we'd made it, the view was fantastic. You could see all of Barrenjoey point and across to the central coast (Pearl Beach, Patonga) where you can catch a ferry across. The lighthouse is on the side you actually see in Home & Away. They never shoot in the other direction as the backdrop is mainly mansions of the super rich! Kind of spoils that "small-town-with-a-caravan-park" feel somewhat.

We had a little photo shoot up there before taking a slower walk back down towards the beach and home.

Palm Beach from the Lighthouse

Merry Christmas!

It was an orphan's Christmas in Sydney this year, so we decided to host a brunch. Before we were joined for eggs & bacon by Philippe, Janet, Donna, Anthony and Nathan, Jo and I swapped pressies and I was a very lucky girl getting some goodies from G-Star :)

Jo cooked up a storm in the kitchen and made brunch for everyone including the best fruit salad ever! Anthony & Nathan had a lunch to go to afterwards, god knows if they managed to squeeze anything else in (unless it came in sparkling liquid form!).

Lou, Philippe, Jo, Anthony, Nathan & Janet all stuffed after brunch!

After Anthony & Nathan left for their lunch, Janet went home (as she had to prepare our roast dinner!!) so we played "Smart Ass" with Donna and Philippe whilst drinking Champagne. As it happens, I was the Smart Ass. Twice. Who doesn't know what a 'Stetson' is - honestly. Heh heh.

Philippe & Donna

In the afternoon we headed to Janet's place for some more drinkies, a great home cooked roast lamb dinner and a yummy tropical trifle made by the dessert king Phillippe. Even though the weather wasn't quite up to the usual Aussie standard it was a great day to spend with friends and relax. Janet invited some of her friends over and we spent a really nice evening drinking red wine on the balcony talking and laughing. Now here's to some time of work to take that relaxing theme forward!

Girl's Christmas Party

Donna had arranged for a girl's christmas party for the Saturday night - 16 girls, all to wear little black dresses piled into Yippiyio in Surry Hills to the amazement and bewilderment of the other diners downstairs. We had a private room upstairs that Donna had decorated to look like Santa's dining room.

We all had personalised place mats with amusing photo's of us and a Santa hat each. We even had our own stereo so we could play music up there - god knows how the restaurant coped with us all singing and dancing - I bet everyone who was eating downstairs will never ever go back there again!

Just imagine it....

God knows how Donna got them to agree to this, but the whole thing was also BYO (Bring Your Own alcohol for the Brits, something Aussies do all the time) and there was even a fridge up there for us to keep it cold!

Carnage.

We were in the restaurant until about 11pm when we all decided to move on, we ended up at a club in the city until 3am after dancing the night away to the best (or worst) of the 70s, 80s & 90s. Oh God. Still, that's what Corona is for - to make sure you have a good excuse and hopefully don't remember much.

The Entrance

We're having Christmas at home in Sydney this year so we headed up to The Entrance on the Central Coast to catch up with Jo's Mum and Andrew for a pre-Christmas celebration.

We headed up on Friday to try and beat some of the traffic but it still took 3 hours even though we left North Sydney at 4pm - we booked to stay at the Oaks Waterfront resort which was in a great spot overlooking Tuggerah Lake and the surf beach, close to the shops and restaurants and the newly renovated Entrance Pub.

We ended up having fish and chips on the balcony on Friday night as we were both so exhausted from a really busy few weeks and a long drive.

Mrs B and Andrew joined us on Saturday morning and we went for a walk around the local area, popped into a few shops, had a nice coffee. Jo and I took a drive around and found a few good surf shops where Jo fell in love with a Shane surfboard. It didn't take long for her to decide that this was the perfect replacement for the stolen Maliboo we just lost. It's a 6'10" Shane Stingray in grey/silver and looks fantastic! She bought it and took it home the next day! Can't wait to take it out for a test ride soon!

The Bank's 1st Birthday Party

Jo has spent a huge amount of time organising the Bank's 1st Birthday Party and managed to get a few extra invites for some friends - Anthony, Nathan, Althea, Christian, Guy and Troy all came along to enjoy the night, a band and free drinks!

They blocked off the back Terrace Bar for the event and invited a whole range of customers and clients and local businesses to celebrate - free beer, wine, champagne and a house cocktail were on offer as well as finger food from Sumalee Thai downstairs which went down a treat!

Guy & Troy (in "Blue Steel" mode!)

Jo booked the Boogaloo Crew as the band for the night and they were excellent. A few piece band consisting of a DJ, Singer, Bongo drummer and Saxaphone player, they play funky dance tunes that really create an atmosphere. They've been booked again to play at the Bank as part of the New Year's Eve party.

Christian & Jo posing for the camera

Thieving Bastards

We were due to go for a surf with Janet today at Bondi - I had gone round to the local cafe to get us both a coffee for the drive and Jo went to get the surfboards from downstairs in the garage.

Jo came running up a few minutes later saying our surfboards and wetsuits had gone and that some bastard had chopped off the padlock to nick them.

So, instead of going for a nice refreshing surf at Bondi Beach we ended up at Redfern Police Station reporting a theft. I hope they break their neck if the thief uses them to surf. Bastards.

Sneaky Sound System

Donna managed to get us some last minute tickets for Sneaky Sound System at the Hordern - nice one! We met up with Donna, Jo, Penny and Elka at Love Supreme on Oxford Street. Now, I know it gets hot in Sydney but honestly this place takes the biscuit. It's like eating pizza in a Sauna! The place has no air conditioning and if it's even a tiny bit muggy you end up sweating in your seat knowing that a steaming hot pizza is on it's way! Still, the food is really good but seriously they need some fans or something. And we took refreshing red wine. Doh.

We then drove into Surry Hills to find a park and then walked to Fox Studios across Moore Park to the sounds of Donna's whinging (red wine induced) - she ended up running across Fox Studios to Elka's cheers of "Run Donny!, Run!". Too funny.

Sneaky Sound System

The Sneaky event was an "all ages event" which meant lots of 15 and 16 year olds dressed like they've just stepped out of the 80s - but it did make for a good atmosphere. When we walked inside the venue, Sneaky has been on stage for about 30 seconds and the place was going nuts - like they'd been on for hours!

We started off sat on the sides like a bunch of saddo's - Donna's red wine consumption meant she was dancing in the eisles doing the chicken wing dance. We all ended up down the front dancing away to "I love it" and "UFO". It was a top night, even if some of us did disappear for the last 5 songs and encore to turn up after the house lights were back on with a glass of white wine and a vacant look on their face! Hahahaha!

More Watsons Bay!

The good weather continues and so we decided to go back to Watsons Bay for brunch (well, I was too lazy last week!). We enjoyed some great bacon, eggs and latte (what Sydney ponces we are!) at the Tea Garden cafe at Watsons Bay before taking a stroll along the South Head trail.

Tea Garden Cafe

The trail takes you past some great beaches (including the nudey Lady Bay - hehehe) right to the edge of South Head. The views were great and it was a stunningly clear day.

Along the South Head Trail

It's not long until Mum & Barry arrive and we kept thinking this would be a great place to spend an afternoon in Sydney especially if the weather keeps up like it has been!

Plonk!

We haven't seen Martinette & Carl for ages and ages and ages so it was great to catch up with them both again.

We arranged to meet them and their friend Saga at "Plonk!" at the Spit Brigde near Mosman. Saga's boyfriend is the head chef there and we were treated to some great food and wine! The restaurant backs onto Middle Harbour, has a lovely deck where we sat on a lovely warm evening. Right next to the desk is a small beach and the view is of million dollar boats moored there and of even more expensive houses!

We all enjoyed a yummy Shiraz, bread with olive oil/balsamic and I had a wonderful Corriander Linguine with King Prawns and chilli - mmmmm.

As per usual, we've all agreed not to leave it so long between catch up's next time and by the sounds of it we have plenty of catching up on our surf skills to keep up with them both now!

Manly & Watsons Bay

Ryan and Tanya arrived on Friday to join us, Patrick and Christina for the weekend. We stopped off at the Bank Hotel in Newtown for a few drinkies after work (very convenient for Jo!) before going for dinner on King Street. Much wine was consumed and we finally got up and out on Saturday for a day at Manly beach.

The weather this week for our overseas guests has been dreadful! Rain, wind and cloud all week but today things finally brightened up and we drove to Manly (they decided to bask in the sun finally and caught the Ferry) in shorts and t-shirts.

We took a nice walk around to Shelly Beach and generally enjoyed the good weather after a crappy week.

On Sunday, after a really exhausting week at work I had to sleep in but Jo, Ryan and Tanya took an early morning drive to Watsons Bay for a nice coffee and a walk. As you can tell, the weather on Sunday was just as good!

Lovely Jubbly!

Fancy a dip?

Indigo Girls

It's only taken me 11 years to see the Indigo Girls live but finally they travelled across the earth to play a fully acoustic gig at one of my favourite venues the Enmore Theatre.

Jo and I arrived just on time and scored a park a few mins walk away - we made it just in time to see the tail end of the support act before Amy & Emily took the stage.

Now, I first discovered the Indigo Girls my first year of University back in 1996 and have wanted to see them live ever since (particularly that their live album '1200 Curfews' was one of my most played albums of the last century) - so when I moved to Australia they of course decided that was a great time to tour in London - grrr. Still, better late than never!

You can't deny their musical talents; harmonising with ease, quality guitar playing and improvisation but I have to say I was a touch disappointed with their stage craft. For a duo that have been together for years and years I expected them to be at ease with interacting with the audience and generally put more energy into the banter between the songs as they did playing them.

Still, it was a solid performance and I am glad I can finally say I've seen them live.