Thanksgiving + Sydney!

Ready, Set, Recap!

We spent two weeks in Perth. After Perth we flew home to Melbourne and began packing for ten days in Minnesota. We had two days to band together and get packed for the states. We arrived in Minnesota on November 20th. I got to sleep in my old bed with my pretty flowery bedding. Our trip was very busy; filled with shopping, eating, doctors appointments, tattoo appointments, lot of driving and time with family and friends. Thanksgiving was on Thursday. Josh and I had hosted the two previous Thanksgivings in our old apartment. This year we held it at Dad's house. Previously Josh did the bulk of cooking with some help from me. This year Josh and Paul did the cooking while Dad and I chilled on the couch. This year was Josh's third turkey. He did a brine and it turned out perfect. The rest of our time was spent running around to see everyone. Everyday we had about three different places to stop at. My brother, sister, and two of my best friends have all moved into new homes. So we went around to all their houses throughout the ten days. We did a lot of eating out. But we also had plenty of home cooked meals thanks to my family and friends. We heard a statistic that 45 million turkey's come from Minnesota for Thanksgiving. I believe it, because in three days we had three separate turkeys. Paul ate pumpkin pie for the first time (a Thanksgiving staple)! He also saw a wild turkey down the road from Dad's. We were able to squeeze in a hair appointment for me. My hair has been bleaching in the Aussie sun, so I lightened it up at Lux Salon and Spa in SLP. Go support small business owner Lexi! I also squeezed in a tattoo appointment at Tiger Rose Tattoo in Northeast Mpls with Metal Mike. He did a rework of the heart on my sleeve. He did an incredible job. If you're looking for a tattoo artist I highly recommend him or anyone in that shop. We also had to make time for a doctor's appointment for me. I'm currently insurance-less which is a bit of a bummer. But I was due for a check up. Each day slid into the next. We woke up pretty early everyday to try and make the most of each day. I missed everyone so much, so it was really great to see my nearest and dearest. Unfortunately, ten days wasn't quite enough. We didn't get to see everyone that we planned to. But I'll be home again in July.

Paul had never cut a turkey before. So naturally it was his job to cut the turkey.

During the Thanksgiving cooking my poor boyfriend sustained a pretty gnarly burn.

He took it like a champ and kept on cooking.

Josh and I have always been on the same level.

Paul and I took our Christmas photos by Lake Minnetonka while we were in town.

My best cousin, Lauren and I got to spend some quality time together. She's a 25 year old woman in an 8 year olds body. Lauren already knows that she wants to go to school at 19 to become a teacher of elementary children. She's wise beyond her years. I can't wait to see what else she comes up with the older she gets.

We had a Taco Tuesday at Mayslacks, adorned with moustache's. It was a great night filled with beer, food, and laughs. It's a shame I made myself a doctor appointment so early the next day, because we had to get to bed at a reasonable time.

The night before we left we had one last dinner. I got to see some great friends and my sweet family. All in all our trip to Minnesota was perfect. I'm so glad we got to see so many people, and Paul got to meet some of my closest friends. I think next time we're home in July we'll do a bit less driving around and try and spend a bit more time with the family. We didn't get enough quality time with our family. Once we returned home to Melbourne it was time to unpack and repack for Sydney. Paul had three days of work in Sydney. Sydney is only an hour flight from Melbourne, so it was very tolerable. It's a beautiful place, both architecturally and the climate. The weather there is usually great. We had two nice days and one cloudy day. It's the kind of place you hate to love. There are a lot of tourists, and some shady characters walking around. But the sights are exceptionally beautiful. 

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

We took a ride up the tower in the background. It overlooked all of Sydney from above. The views were incredible. We're lucky that we went when we did, because the next day the fog came in.

Some ferry's in the background that go all over Sydney.

My coat and coffee yielding boyfriend always good with the thumbs up!

A view of the city with some "art".

A beautiful church probably the size of the Cathedral and this incredible fountain.

Sydney had Christmas decorations up everywhere. I loved it!

Note the Australia flags.

A view from the gardens with the Harbour bridge stage left.

 After Sydney we had one day to come home and unpack and repack for Perth. We'll be in Perth for a month or so. I'll be experiencing my first Australian Beach Christmas in only 12 days!