Aloha!

Aloha, friends and family!

Paul and I have booked our hotel stay for the first few days of our trip.

We've heard great things about Outrigger, and decided to do some research.

After some price, location, and amenity comparing we decided to lock it in. 

Maui Eldorado Outrigger is by far the best value near where we're getting married. 

I know Paul and I both highly recommend seeing if this is an option for those looking to save a few bucks.

It is only a short .3 of a mile from where we'll be married. There is a shopping mall practically across the street. They have a pool with a bbq for some fun in the sun. Most of the rooms also have a fully operational kitchen, so eating in is an option.

If you're interested in staying there, please let us know.

 We have a coupon code that we used for great savings!

Check out their website: Maui Eldorado Outrigger

Bridal Tea Party!

This past month Mr. F and I spent three weeks back home in Minnesota.
We had a lot on the agenda, but the first was my bridal shower.

I've now been living in Australia for right under three years. But I don't have a tight knit group of girlfriends like I do at home. So that meant if I wanted a bridal shower it was going to have to be in Minnesota. Besides, I obviously needed my Mom and Sister's there, and that really meant it had to be back at home.

My phenomenal sister and Maid of Honor, Molly hosted my bridal shower tea party. Between her and my Mom everything was covered. I think it's always been a dream of mine to have a tea party with all the girls in my life. My bridal shower seemed like the perfect excuse to be ridiculously girly. Luckily, Molly was fully on board and happy to make my dream come true.

Molly and I decided close to a year ago that we would have my shower while Paul & I were home. This left lots of time for planning. This was also our last trip home before the big day. The wedding is still ten months out. But this was my only chance to have a shower with all my nearest and dearest. I wasn't going to miss that opportunity. Molly started scouring pinterest for ideas. She took to local thrift shops for most of the tea cups, and other fancy tableware. One of my oldest friends, Nicole made me a fabulous tutu to wear. Because I'm a control freak (and I wanted to help) I found vintage invitations on Etsy and had them delivered to Molly's house to send out. Word of warning: vintage invitations while adorable and unique are about half the size of typical mail these days. A bunch of the invites were mailed back to Molly, because they were too small to mail.

The shower was set to commence one day after our flight. This meant if I wanted to help at all we had one day to do so. Thank goodness Molly and my Mom did 99.9% of the work. I was exhausted from jet lag, and too excited to be home to be of any real help! I was honestly stunned by how well she knows me, and what I would like. We haven't lived in the same house since I was 12. But my sister knows me like the back of her hand. I feel beyond grateful and lucky to have such an amazing woman to call my sister!

We crammed about 30 women and children into the upstairs of my Dad's house.
He removed every piece of furniture to make room for all the oestrogen.

 There were over 30 tea cups and saucers, tule a plenty, balloons, and probably ten antique tablecloths. My Mom made close to 100 mini quiches! Molly put together three fun games. My brothers girlfriend, Hanna brought vintage hats and gloves for photos, and my friend Justine chipped in picking up the cake. Paul and Dad were on valet duty in the driveway. So everyone was first greeted by their smiling faces. I'm blown away by the amount of love and support I have around me. It's a beautiful thing.

Without further delay, here are some photos from the best bridal shower I've ever been to.

Dad and Paul came upstairs to check everything out before the girls arrived.

All these photos below (with the exception of a few) came courtesy of my amazing friend and talented photographer, Julie. Thanks again, Julie. You're my favorite.

This makes me smile every time!

You can view more of Julie's incredible work here.

The aftermath.

Next blog will lightly go over the bachelorette party ;)

Brooklyn Visitors!

A couple weeks ago we had our first visitors in our new home. Paul's sister and her two boys flew over from Perth. We had just under a week together. We tried to pack in as much as we could with a rental car for only three days. 

We picked them up from the airport at 10:30pm. Luckily, for Vanessa it was two hours earlier in Perth. That left the boys still wide awake and excited for their visit to "Melvin" according to Christian. We got back home around 11, and got everyone to bed pretty quickly. The next morning was a little tougher getting out of bed. But we all managed! We hit the pavement towards Kryal Castle. This was a mock take on a medieval castle. They provide a few shows with faux jousting and other 'thundering drama'. I think the boys had a killer time. All in all it was pretty cool. 

The following day we hit Melbourne zoo. It was the coolest zoo I've ever been to. We were there all day long. I got to see several animals that I've never seen in real life; a hippo, platypus, meerkat, and many more! Funny enough the boys seemed to enjoy the reptile enclosure the best. They loved searching the case for each reptile, and showing us. 

My favourite was the penguins!

After the zoo we had ice cream and kicked the footy.

On Monday we got to Science Works. Uncle Paul took a half day of work, and joined us. The boys had a blast there too. The downstairs was geared more towards older kids/adults. Upstairs there was a fake city for the younger kids. Christian was the perfect age for the upstairs. He loved it! Jordan loved testing all the sport related things. 

There was a Lego version of Melbourne. I didn't get a photo of the whole thing. But in the bottom left corner there is a Lego version of Paul's work. I thought it was cool enough to take a photo of.

On Tuesday Van, the boys and I hopped a cab to the city. Christian was dying to see the MCG. Unfortunately, footy is over for the season, so we didn't get to go inside. But we did show him the outside. I don't think he'll be content until he gets to see a game there. We did a bit of wandering around, and admiring the Yarra River. After a bite to eat we made a donut shop a priority. We found a tiny, but insanely popular doughnut shop right near the train station. I got a caramel glazed doughnut, and brought an almond croissant back for Uncle Paul. Van and Christian had jam filled doughnuts, and Jordan had a strawberry glazed with sprinkles. You'd hardly know what Jordan had. He had his doughnut eaten within about 30-35 seconds.

That night was the last bit of time Uncle Paul had with the boys as he had to work early the next day. We gave Christian his birthday present (he was here a couple days before). Then the boys put it together. All three of them love Lego. Uncle Paul is just a kid at heart anyway. But according to his Sister he was a Lego-Maniac growing up. It was really sweet to see all of them building and playing together.

Disclaimer: It's damn near impossible to get a photo of all them while still. 

Hence the blurred boys in each photo.

On our last day together Van, the boys and I hopped another cab to the Pancake Parlour. This place is the bees knees! Van and I had the chocolate jubilee which consists of a chocolate pancake, ice cream, strawberries, and fudge. The boys each had a stack of three with vanilla ice cream. This was the one meal they finished with no complaints ;) We didn't get any photos at the pancake parlour. Probably because we were too busy stuffing our faces.

The trip was short, but sweet. This was the most time we've got to spend with Vanessa and the boys. Usually we only have a day together when we're in Perth. I loved having them here, and I can't wait for our next visit together.