Random Summer Happenings Post

Because I still haven't sorted through my pictures from our time in Byron Bay, or when my parents and aunt and uncle were here, or the Australian Open, today you get a random blog post with some phone photos of things we've been doing this summer. In no particular order, here's some of what we've been up to in January and February...

I met up with Zack one day in the city for a run and lunch on Degraves Street afterward. These camera-wielding dogs are in Federation Square. I'm not sure why they're there, but I thought I'd better get a picture with them.

We have salmon for dinner nearly every week, because it's so delicious fresh from the market. Here's one of my salmon creations...pan fried salmon with homemade pesto sauce atop quinoa. Yum!

We watched the National Championship Game for college football at our friends' place. While we enjoyed cuddling their dog Roo, we didn't enjoy Notre Dame's performance in the game and the resulting score. Let's not talk about it!

I had a celebrity sighting at the South Melbourne Market. The girl with the skirt in the back is Ellie from MasterChef 2011. You may recall that this was the show we watched religiously when we first moved here, and Ellie was one of our favorites. I just had to snap this stalker phone photo to show Zack while pretending I was looking at potatoes!

Speaking of potatoes, these potato swirls, which are found at the Queen Victoria Suzuki Night Market, are delicious. The sangria is tasty too. This night market runs every Wednesday night during the summer, and it's a great place to go to try all sorts of delicious food (I even got an American pulled pork sandwich one night) and listen to some fun live music. We've gone a couple of times, and it's been a great way to spend a summer evening.

And last but not least, I decorated our house a little bit for Australia Day (which was January 26). I'm not sure if you can even see the little flags strung across the top, but they are there. Yes, even though I'm American, I've got some Australian spirit!

Anyway, that's a little glimpse into our summer so far. The weather has been incredible (which is rare for Melbourne), so we've been soaking up the sun and making the most of it while we can. That's probably why I've been slacking on keeping up with the blog!

Notre Dame is #1!

Guess whose college football team is #1 in the nation? Yup, mine! Notre Dame beat USC today and finished their season undefeated. They're headed to the National Championship game in Miami on January 7. Yes, I have this Notre Dame flag hanging on our front porch, even though probably nobody in this country has any clue what it means. Anyway, go Irish!

Sunday Brunch and BBQ

Zack and I sort of have a new tradition. We go to brunch on the weekend...sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with friends. We've been trying various places around South Melbourne. St Ali's is one of our favorites. However, this past Sunday, we had to go back to Cafe Sweethearts, because I had seen what looked like American-style bacon on someone's plate last weekend after I had already gotten my pancakes. I know I've mentioned it before, but bacon here is not how bacon should be. It's basically pieces of ham. So I asked the waitress to tell them to cook it extra extra crispy. She described it as, "Make it look like it's been dragged through hell and back?" "Exactly," I agreed. You can see the results below, along with my obligatory chai latte. It was pretty darn good, though still a little too thick. Oh, how I miss good bacon!

Later in the afternoon, we met up with Klem and Vesna near the beach in Elwood for a BBQ. Even though it's supposedly springtime, it was windy and freezing. Not the best weather for a BBQ, but Vesna's delicious chocolate cake made it worth the trip! I like how Australia provides these BBQ areas near beaches and in parks that you can use for free.

Anyway, that's how we spent some of our Sunday. Oh yeah, and Notre Dame is now 7-0. Go Irish!!!

Footy Fever

Sydney celebrates as Hawthorn is defeated.

On Saturday, we watched the AFL Grand Final over at Adam and Emily's place with some friends. This is Australia's version of the Super Bowl. You may remember last year's post about the game, when Meatloaf performed (and was terrible). If not, you can find it here. Anyway, this year an Australian band called The Temper Trap performed, so there was no Meatloaf drama. The Hawthorn Hawks played against the Sydney Swans this year. Our friends Kristy and Nigel are big Hawk fans, so we were kind of cheering for Hawthorn, but the Swans were originally based in South Melbourne, so we were okay with the fact that Sydney won by ten points in the end. It was a great game, and we ate the mandatory meat pies, drank some sangria, and had a yummy BBQ.

Oh yeah, and remember how I said each team has its own song? Well, check out the Sydney Swans song...

Did they steal Notre Dame's fight song or what?! (Skip to the 50 second mark of the video.)

Go Swans...Go Irish...whatever...Melbourne is done with its footy fever for another season!

Sunday Morning Football

It's Sunday morning, and I'm not sure how/why I woke up so early. I guess the good thing about it is that I can "watch" the Notre Dame football game. By "watch," I mean I can Facetime on my iPhone with my brother and sister-in-law in Michigan and watch the game on their TV. 

As I was writing this, Purdue tied the game up at 17-17, and then Notre Dame kicked a field goal with a few seconds left for the win. Woohoo-go Irish!! That means I can wear my new ND shirt (thanks Mom!) today without feeling embarrassed.

P.S. How cute is my brown doggie? We miss you Molly!

Post-Surfing Sustenance and Sad Sports Saturday

Well, we did end up going surfing on Saturday. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we avoided the rain and had a good few hours in the ocean at Torquay. The waves weren't that big, so it was good for practicing getting up on the board and learning when/how to catch the waves. After surfing, we almost always seek out a place to enjoy some delicious fish and chips. Something about this salty meal tastes so good after time in the water. Saturday was no exception. We hit up our regular place in Torquay, mainly because you can get a fish and chips meal for $6! We bring along our own bottle of ketchup, because you get charged about thirty cents for a tiny tub of tomato sauce at most places. Excuse the extremely poor quality pictures...I only brought along my little camera, which wasn't even working for a few months because it had sand in it.

Other than surfing, Saturday was a sad day for sports in our household. The St Kilda Saints lost their playoff footy game against the Sydney Swans, so they're out of the tournament. On Saturday night (our Sunday morning), my beloved Notre Dame football team lost a heartbreaker of a game to dumb Michigan. Yes, I am from Michigan. But I went to Notre Dame, so my loyalties are with the Irish. Here is a picture of our darling dog that I stole from my sister-in-law's Facebook page (thanks Cindy!). Yes, Molly Brown is wearing her own personalized Notre Dame dog jersey. No, I don't normally dress my dog...only for very special occasions. Let's hope ND can get their act together for next Saturday's game against Michigan State!