Category: Photos

Burn Baby Burn

/ Renae / 1 Comment

Hubs and I popped down to Sorrento a couple of weeks ago to visit some rellies and spent the night on Saturday. We didn’t have anything planned for Saturday arvo, so Hubs’ Dad took us for a walk along the beach. Now, I thought we might be going for a nice leisurely stroll along the beach for an hour or so, so I was just wearing my jeans and joggers and a singlet. I didn’t bother putting sun cream on as we were leaving around 3pm and wouldn’t be out long.

Or so I thought.

3.5 hours and 12km later, we were back home. When we left it was pretty overcast, but by about 4pm the sky had completely cleared and I could feel my poor nose roasting!

I also got a lovely singlet mark, complete with a white patch where my pendant was sitting! Nice!

But the best sunburn of the day goes to Hubs and his chesty bonds tan! Classic!

So the moral of the story, kids? If you’re going to go out in the sun and not wear sun cream, don’t wear things that leave embarrassing tan lines!!

SURPRISE!!!

/ Renae / 1 Comment

I arrived home from work on Friday to find my Mum and Dad in our house!!! They had decided a couple of months ago that they wanted to surprise me for my birthday, so they started conspiring with Hubs, who, in turn, conspired with the business manager here at college and arranged for them to stay in a couple of spare rooms here! Classic! I was SO surprised it nearly gave me a heart attack!

So we went out to dinner on Friday night on Lygon st (the thing to do) and then Saturday morning/midday was spent in the Emergency Department of Melbourne Hospital because Mum took a great spill on Swanston st (she’s okay – a sprained ankle that she’s resting today) and then Saturday arvo/evening we were at Little Creatures for birthday eats and drinks. It is a FANTASTIC place! The service was terrific, the atmosphere was pumping and the drinks were so tasty. And the FOOD! Yum yum yum. The mains were great, but the dessert took the cake, so to speak. Hubs and I shared a piece of chocolate mousse cake – oh wow! I think it’s the best dessert I’ve EVER had! Big call, I know!

As usual, here’s some snaps from the day.

The patient:

Silly Hubs:

Little Creatures beers come in 3 sizes: Pony, Little, Not so little. Oh, and a glass of wine thrown in for good measure!

I was so touched by how many people turned up to the party. It was so lovely to have friends from college, from Hubs’ uni course, and old friends I’ve known for years (who live in Melbs.) And of course it was great having the folks there too!

Sunday was my actual birthday, and I knew we were going out for lunch but had no idea where or with whom. So it was a lovely surprise to end up at Brandy Creek for tasty tapas, delicious wines and delightful views. And the weather! WOW!! It was without a doubt the nicest day we’ve had since arriving in June last year. 28 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze to keep it cool. Gorgeous!!

After 3 big days I was a tired little bunny last night, but we finished off my birthday weekend with a couple of beers, some wine, a birthday cake, a chat to my friend on the phone and some relaxing time with Hubs. Phew! What a fantastic weekend.

2 more sleeps!

/ Renae / Leave a comment

TIL MY BIRTHDAY!!! I’m so excited. I LOVE celebrating my birthday. I have a party every year! This year’s party is going to be a bit different though, with the only “familiar” face being that of Hubs. I mean, I’ll know everyone who attends, but the usual suspects won’t be there. But it will still be GREAT!

It will also be cold, which is not something I’m used to in January. We’re having drinks tomorrow and the top temp will be 21 degrees! Chilly! We’ll just have to drink to keep warm.

Here’s a few happy snaps from my Mexican Fiesta Party last year:

The cake Lsl made for me:

TEQUILA!! Lick, Sip, Suck baby!

And it wouldn’t be a Mexican party without a Pinata. (It started off as a Llama!)

It got a little interesting towards the end, after drinking concoctions of Sangria, Tequila and vodka. Oh! And add a cigar for good measure! Ha!

‘

One of my best birthdays ever! Let’s see what shenanigans we can get up to this year! Happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeee!

Mt Tibrogargan

/ Renae / 1 Comment

I do believe this is my 100th post! Hooray!

I thought I would celebrate this milestone with a post about another achievement I made whilst holidaying in Brisbane. My 2007/2008 New Year’s resolution was to try a few new things. So I dreaded Hubs’ hair, started sewing again, did some study, and climbed Mt Tibrogargan! (The Gorilla-looking mountain on the way to the Sunny Coast.) I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest. I thought we were going for a bushwalk/hike, but it felt like more of a climb/scamper!

My sister-in-law used to climb it “for fun” every couple of weeks, and Hubs had climbed it a few times before too. It was insane! They were very supportive though, and managed to get me all the way to the top!

Here are some “happy” (aka exhausted, nerve-racking, insane) photos we took along the way.

At the start, when I was thinking “this isn’t so bad!”

The next part where Lsl PROMISED she wouldn’t take any photos of my butt! Yeah, right. I was starting to wonder what the hell I was doing up there at this stage.

Hub’s thoughts: “I love you”
Wifey’s thoughts” “How the hell am I going to get down from here?????” (click on image for up-close facial expressions!)

We made it!! The view was amazing! Half way up, I really didn’t think I was going to make it. But I was SO proud of myself, sitting up there on top of the world!

After much slipping and sliding (and torn pants) we were back down the bottom, looking up at the beast we had just conquered.

If I had known what I was getting myself in to, I probably would have chickened out, but ignorance is bliss! Thanks for the great experience Hubs and Lsl! Oh, and I NEVER want to do it again! Ha!

Mum’s birthday brekky

/ Renae / Leave a comment

On our trip home in October, Khicken and Kturtle put on an amazing spread for breakfast for Mum’s birthday. Here is the menu, accompanied by photos.

~ STARTERS ~
Breads, cheese, olives, sun dried tomato.

Smoked trout sandwiches, Dad’s salmon & avocado specialty:

~ FIRST COURSE ~
Herbed pikelets with pear and cream cheese, brandy, brie topping:

Asparagus and prosciutto bundles served with hollandaise sauce:

Field mushrooms topped with fun stuff:

Jumbo savoury omlette with caramelised onion (available dairy free as well):

~ SECOND COURSE ~
Grilled figs wrapped in prosciutto:

Seasonal tossed fruit, choice of yoghurts and Birthday Cake! Here’s a great photo of Mum and Dad with the birthday cake made by Mum’s friend:


And, as always with it was the little touches that made the day super-special. We also had sparkling white wine and coffees with liqueur of choice!

So thanks Kturtle and Khicken for an AMAZING feast and an all-round brilliant breakfast!

It’s oh so quiet (sshhh sshhh)

/ Renae / Leave a comment

Since we kicked all the Junior Common Room students out… ahem… since they left of their own accord… a few weeks ago, we’ve pretty much had the place to ourselves. Oh, apart from the 175 Homeless World Cup delegates who stayed with us for 10 exciting/crazy/entertaining days, and now the 30 or so “maths nerds” who arrived yesterday. Anyway, apart from all of those people, there are only about 30 of us staying here at the moment. It’s lovely! We don’t have to line up for dinners, the food is even better (we had corned silverside the other night – delish!) and it’s just nice and quiet.

I guess we’d better not get too complacent though. They’ll be back before we know it! In the mean time, we’ll be moving into our new unit (still on college) once we get back from Brizzy and will have much more of a home, rather than just a couple of rooms, so we’ll be looking forward to some visitors in the new year to show off our new abode. I’ll be sure to post some photos of the new place once we’re settled in, but in the mean time I have a bonza (yes, I just said bonza) before and after sequence of Swanston St, where we live.

Taken in late August:

Taken in late November from around the same spot:

Noice huh!? Though, I’m not sure what Mother Nature is playing at the last few days – it’s December and it’s currently 16 degrees and raining. Can’t wait for those 35 degree days back in Brisvegas!! (I’ll be complaining within a week, guaranteed!)

A dizzy Brizzy visit

/ Renae / 3 Comments

Our recent trip home to Brizzy has made me homesick for the first time since being in Melbourne. We just had the most amazing time! Well, I did at least. Hubsband wasn’t feeling 100% but he made the most of it. Where do I start??

We arrived in Brisbane at 11pm and had to adjust to the 1 hour time difference. After a port/cuppa/glass of wine with Mum and Dad, we were off to bed. We had a lovely morning setting up at Nanny and Grandpa’s and Grandpa’s 90th birthday party kicked off around midday. It was raging! Well, as much as a 90th birthday party can be! We had a lovely afternoon and got to catch up with family and friends and got stuck in to some Amarula Cream which was just lovely. As you can imagine, there was plenty of food and mountains of desserts. We left around 6pm feeling full and primed for our next “event”.

In preparation for our visit, I sent word via the internet that we would be at our old local from about 6:30pm for anyone keen to catch up. I had a few replies so we were expecting a fairly quiet night with a few friends and a few beers. What we got was something entirely different, unexpected, and so very much appreciated. About 20 of our friends rocked up to the pub and we were there drinking beer (and Cosmos!!) catching up and taking VERY silly photos til after midnight! I was truly touched that so many of our friends made such a great effort to not only come out, but to stay til the end! (some even stayed longer than we did!) Hubs and I had to call it quits after midnight. We were utterly exhausted, and we still had 1 more party to go to for the weekend!

Mum celebrated her birthday on Sunday and my bro’s gf (let’s call her Kturtle) and I decided that something special needed to be done. Since I’m in Melbourne, Kturtle ended up doing ALL the work, but I know that it was a labour of love. You see, the thing about my Mum is that she does SO much for everyone else and expects nothing in return. So it’s nice to show her every now and then how much she is appreciated. I’m going to do a separate post about Mum’s birthday brekky, as there is just too much to show and tell!

Hubs and I arrived back at our doorstep at 9pm Sunday, happily exhausted after a fabulous trip home. And here’s what we have to show for it:

Nanny and Grandpa (check out the size of those cakes Mum made!!!)

The girls after beers, wines and cocktails!

The boys after beers, beers and beers!

Hubs is so pretty…

Sharing’s caring! Especially when it comes to Cosmopolitans!

Footy Fever

/ Renae / 1 Comment

It’s grand final weekend!!!! Exciting, I know! Hubs and I have only just started to get in to the AFL down here. We’ve picked our team – St Kilda – and since they’re not in the final (they’ve only ever won 1 premiership) we’ll just be watching the final tomorrow because that’s what everyone else will be doing. There’s a big parade through the city today which is a tradition that about 50,000 people go to see. I won’t be one of them.

So to get into the footy fever, here’s a photo of Hubs and I at a game a few weeks ago. We were barracking for our second team – the Bulldogs. (Not of the NRL!!! Yeuck)


The Bulldogs ended up winning this game which was exciting for our friend who is a HUGE Bulldogs fan (and isn’t too happy that we’ve chosen the Saints over the Dogs). One of the most amusing things I find about AFL is that there are little breaks throughout the whole game, where someone is kicking a goal, where the number of people on the field suddenly doubles! There are people running in from everywhere with towels, drinks, pats on the back, and no doubt some magic spray! Here’s what I’m talking about:


See all those people dressed in white?? They’re freeloaders! Trying to get their 15 seconds of fame! Anyway, the atmosphere around here is very exciting and I’m sure Hubs and I will have a good time tomorrow.

Oh! In case you’re wondering, the two teams in the final are Hawthorn Hawks and Geelong Cats. We’re going for the Hawks because a) the Chaplain at the college is a huge fan and b) because my bro and his girlfriend live in Hawthorn… Brisbane. It’s NOT because of their colours. Who wears Brown and Yellow together?? I mean, really…

Before and After

/ Renae / Leave a comment

I do love a good “before and after” sequence (see College Life). Whether it be seasonal change, people’s before and after shots, maps showing how an area or country used to be. It’s all good. In my own life, I’m pretty good at the after shots, but not so good at the before shots. For example, the trees have been completely bare since we arrived in Melbourne, and I keep thinking to myself “I must take some photos from each season down here.” But alas it hasn’t happened. And today it’s just too darn cold and windy for me to want to venture outside.

I DID however just take an “after” photo of the flowers that Hubs bought me last weekend! (Okay, so I bought them for him to give to me, but a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do! I went to a flower market and these gorgeous gerbras only cost $3.99!! Cost me NOT to buy them!!) They have lasted beautifully all week and now they’re droopy but still gorgeous! They’re sitting on my window sill as I write this.

Don’t I just have the most wonderful hubs in the world??

Actually, Hubs has only ever given my flowers once, but to be fair he did make them himself:

And I still have them after 18 months! They’re the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever been given.

Pigtails for you, Pigtails for me

/ Renae / 4 Comments

For a number of years now, some friends and I have been celebrating “Pigtail Friday”. What does this mean, you ask? It just means that we all wear pigtails on a Friday in unity. We wear high pigtails, low pigtails, plait pigtails… “As long as there’s 2, it doesn’t matter what you do!” And sometimes we might take a moment to think of our friends, no matter where they are, and perhaps send up a prayer for them.

So if you’d like to participate, all you need is a couple of elastics and a part down the middle of your head. Here is one way you can wear your pigtails!

(Okay, so TECHNICALLY we’re only wearing 1 pigtail each, but I’m allowed to make up the rules!!)

Or if you want to go for 2 on your own:

Get creative ladies! And please feel free to send me photos of you wearing your pigtails on a Friday to put up on the Blog. We can take over the world! One pigtail at a time!!!!