Easter Mini-break Holiday Weekend

We had a 5 day weekend for the Easter and Anzac holidays down under, so I hopped on a plane up to Brisbane to spend some time with my lovely friend Renee. The weekend was spent doing a little shopping (although most stores were closed), quality beach time and lots wine drinking. It was a wonderful weekend and the most relaxed I have felt since arriving in Oz. Enjoy the pic's below:

DAY 1:

Purchased new polishes for the Fall/Winter season

Black and Spiro, closed, but got some cool pics and inspiration

Light afternoon lunch

DAY 2:

Afternoon drive up to the Sunshine Coast

Short hike through the trees to the beach

View from our the shore, the sky was unreal

I took a short walk up the beach, hardly any people, my foot prints are the only ones around

Couldn't get enough of the clouds and sky, so beautiful

Finally got on in the water!

Full disclosure: I didn't actually ride this short board, but it was easier to take a pic with than the 9 footer I paddled out on

Yummy dinner after a day at the beach, pasta and more wine

DAY 3:

Biggest and Best hot chocolate I have ever had, it came in a bowl, not a mug

Happy me with my Bowl o' Chocolate

I was hoping to have some pictures of me holding a Koala and feeding some Kangaroos, but the line into the animal park was super long, it was raining and I had an afternoon flight, so I'll save that for my next trip to Brissy!

Well, Well, Wellies!

Quick post today. Just wanted to share a few pic's of my latest purchase. Bright Red Wellies!

It rained like a mofo here yesterday and I was in desperate need of some rainboots. I had wanted to buy a pair of Hunters like I have back home, but they are super expensive down here ($209!). I found these lovelies at a children's clothing store, appropriately called "Gumboots," for $30! I was so excited I fit the largest childrens size! Can't wait to splash around in the rain now.

WFH!

It was a 'Work From Home" day for me today. I had a lovely morning stroll in the sunshine and then settled in for the day at my "command center."

It was a nice change of pace to be able to do some work from the coffee table and enjoy my favorite daytime shows (side note: Jimmy Fallon is on in the morning here, which I love). It is now a little after 5pm and I am done for the day. The weather has turned gloomy, it is fall down under, but looking forward to a beautiful weekend ahead!

Bondi Beach, 8am

North Bondi surf

I wonder if Frodo has his morning latte here?

The 'command center'

Afternoon gloom

Off to the races...

This past weekend I went to my first horse race! I was all excited to get a fancy new hat or ridiculous fascinator. Unfortunately, the fancy hat I wanted was $400 and fascinators were pretty pricey too. I was able to find a cute little hat ON SALE that I think would also be perfect for the next time I go to Paris (cause, you know, I go all the time, not really). I finished of the outfit with a string of black pearls, daring, I know, and my favorite new purchase, short length black leather gloves. They are perfect driving gloves, which is great (sarcasm) given the fact that I no longer have a car and am confined to public transport for my duration in Sydney. But I love them.

They day started off well, we arrived at the races just as the 4th race (out of 9) began. I placed my bets starting on the 5th race, which was the race Black Caviar, the famous 11-0 (now 12-0) Thoroughbred was in. I placed my $5 bet on him to win and he did not disappoint. Clutching my $.70 winnings, I spent the rest of the day losing most of my bets due to my lack of knowledge of the horses stats and solely betting on the names, as you do. I did have one more high point with Shamrocker, this lovely horse won me a fat $3.75!

All in all it was a winning day, fun fashions, yummy bubbly and fast horses. Can't wait to go back!

Off We Go...

Bottles of Champagne to go!

The big winner - Black Caviar

My big win - $.70!

The Irishman wants in on the fun too!

Fun with the Irish!

Innuendo much...

Just wanted to share a photo of a pub I came across on Bondi Rd. London has a lot of these classy named pubs all over, this is the first one I've come across in Sydney so far.

31 and counting down...

It was by birthday this past weekend and I wasn't really sure what I would end up doing. I still don't know too many people down here and kind of wanted to keep it low key. To my great delight I ended up having a lovely weekend.

My co-workers at Google took me out for a lovely lunch in Pyrmont. We went to a nice little cafe on the pier next to our office with a great view of the warter/yachts and surrounding area. There are so many cool boats docked all over this area I need to start meeting whoever owns them :). After work I met up with my fried Sal for a couple of drinks before heading to an art show that a co-worker of his had helped organize. The art show was sort of a charity event as well and I ended up winning a photo shoot from "Starlight - The Essence of You" photography. The prize includes a makeover, professional photo shoot and stunning images "guaranteed to capture the essence of you..." I also get a 11"x14" portrait of any image of I choose. I cannot wait to do this, I promise to post the final portrait. This totally reminds me of the glamor shoots that were popular in the 80's that a lot of my friends mothers did.

On Saturday night I went to Lauren and Sal's housewarming where I meet some fabulous new friends Manon and Shane. And Lauren surprised me with chocolate cupcakes. Everyone sang Happy Birthday which made be bright red as I get really embarassed with attention, but it was super sweet of her. And finally today I treated myself to a whole cheese pizza to help cure my massive hangover.

Joining the gym tomorrow, so glad I went out with a bang before getting back to healthy living. :)

Lunch with my fellow Googlers:

View from the cafe:

City Hotel for post-work Cocktails:

Cocktails with Sal, saving time going back to the bar by ordering 2 each at a time!

Creative Conscience art show - ceiling looks like it's been TP'd:

Light up Hula Hoop performance art:

Performance art? She isn't drunk, she's part of the acapella singing group, Rocktapus:

Me with my winning photo shoot prize!

Mustache sticker on the bathroom mirror. Am I a Mario or a Luigi?

House warming with Shane, Lauren and Manon. Before I drank my face off: