Red Bull Down Under

Yup, they have Red Bull in Australia too. And they even have the Red Bull car! I snapped this shot while walking down Acland Street the other day. Not much else going on around here lately; hence the lack of posting. I'm not sure why my last post was formatted in some crazy way. It didn't look that way on my end, but it should be fixed now! Have a good Tuesday.

Fog, Jog, and a Dog

How was your weekend? This was the view from one of our balconies on Friday afternoon. The fog rolled in big-time; it was almost kind of scary! At one point, all I could see was white out the windows. Anyway, on Friday night we ordered in some pizza and watched Back to the Future Part II (I had never seen it).

On Saturday, we had cappuccinos and lattes with Heath and Isabelle on Acland Street. Then Zack and I walked around St. Kilda and enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather. We have never seen so many people out and about! I guess this is a hint of what's to come this summer. Anyway, we ended up on Fitzroy Street where we used a Groupon-type deal that I had for a rum tasting at a place called 29th Apartment. We got to try six different rums with accompanying desserts as we sat outside in the sunshine. Yummy! This restaurant had fun games to play, and we ended up playing a Connect Four tournament with two Australian guys. Then we ended up doing shouts with them for the next few hours. A "shout" is when someone buys drinks for everyone else; you take turns "shouting" the round. When it started getting cold, Zack and I got some pasta for dinner and went home for an early bedtime.

Sunday morning came quickly, and Zack headed off for a 110km bike ride with Adam and Heath and Isabelle. I met up with Emily for a ten mile run. She's training for a half marathon, and I try to join her for some training runs for the heck of it. Later that afternoon, we had lunch at a Japanese place with Adam and Emily and two other couples from a Meetup group and got some frozen yogurt on Fitzroy Street.

Because I was missing my dog Molly, I posted an ad on Gumtree offering to walk dogs in the area. I got a response from a lady who lives nearby, and now I get to walk her family's dog a few times a week. I can bring Emmey to the beach, take her on a run, or whatever I want...and I get paid! This morning was my first time, and I took a picture down at St. Kilda Beach. Isn't she cute (though not nearly as cute as Molly!)? She's a mix between a beagle and a lab. Emmey is my pseudo-dog here in Australia-yay! So that's what's going on with us lately. Hope you had a good weekend too!

Date Night

On Friday morning, Zack informed me that I should get dressed up for the evening. In fact, he told me that I should go shopping and buy something new to wear. So I did! Not that I need his permission, but I tend to not buy too much for myself unless it's a really good deal or I really need it. So, having no clue what we were doing that night (he wouldn't tell me), I ventured out to see what women's clothing shopping was like in Melbourne. After a little research, I decided to go to Chapel Street. This is a long street/area with all sorts of shops, restaurants, etc. I had been there before (we rent cars from Avis on that street), but I had never been in the clothing stores. Wow. It was overwhelming. You could spend weeks just shopping. There are little boutiques (um, $500 for a shirt-I don't think so!), European designers' shops, and so much more. After lots of browsing and sticker shock, I found a store called Ojay that was having a 40% off sale, and I bought a top (pictured here) and a blue silk dress that I just "had to have." I'm sure I'll find an occasion for wearing it at some point, and it was on sale! Anyway, I also got a black skirt and some jewelry at Sportsgirl (a pretty popular chain here) and called it a day.

As I got ready for the evening, I snapped a few pictures of yet another awesome sunset from our balconies. I'm not sure I'll ever get sick of this. I may have to create an entire photo book of sunset shots when we leave Australia! Seriously, the sky was this color. The water looked like gold.

Soon Zack came home with full grocery bags and started to prepare a feast!  We started with an appetizer (Australians would call this an entree or canape) of toast with brie cheese and spiced pear paste, paired with a delicious Yarra Valley wine.  You can see me enjoying that in the picture at the top. Side note-wow, do I look pale. I don't think I've ever been this white; I guess that's what two winters in a row will do to you! Anyway, it was enjoyable to watch Zack navigate the kitchen. I did have to tell him where to find a few things, but he is darn good at making a few things (namely sandwiches and pasta), so he didn't need my help.

Zack made us a delicious dinner of pasta with alfredo sauce and crab cakes, along with some yummy garlic bread. It was awesome! Yes, he even bought that candle to go along with the dinner. What a guy; I think I'll keep him! After we ate, we went out to a fun little bar on Acland Street and had a drink. Some Australian guy even shared his chocolate dessert with us-random (but delicious)! We went home and didn't even have room for the dessert Zack had bought for me (my favorite chocolate cake from the place near his work), so I got to eat that for breakfast on Saturday! It was a great Friday night on this side of the world. You should leave a comment and tell us about your weekend!

Acland Street Treats

Last week, while bringing Zack's mountain bike into the shop for a tuning, I discovered Acland Street.  It's a fun street within walking distance of our place full of various restaurants, boutiques, and best of all, cake shops!  I had read/heard about the delicious cakes and pastries available here, and they weren't kidding!

This picture doesn't quite capture the yumminess, but imagine several shops like this one right after the other with windows full of delectable desserts.  Heaven on earth!

So I of course had to get myself a treat, especially since I hadn't eaten lunch and it was mid-afternoon!  I had a hard time deciding which one would be best (they all looked so good!), but I finally picked a piece of chocolate nougat cake.  It was awesome, and I ate it with my hands and made a lovely chocolate mess of myself on my walk back to our apartment. Totally worth the $5 it cost.  I'll have to head back there soon to try another treat!