My Bloggable Day

Malibu & Santa Monica

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Bec

We’ve arrived! After a very easy 10 hour flight from Auckland to LA (the highlight being when we found a packet of unopened chips shortly before boarding, score!) we got in early and Andrew’s uncle Eric collected us from the airport. We drove back to the house and I met the rest of the family who are all some of the loveliest people in the world. And so welcoming. We went out for dinner at one of their favourite restaurants, Hugo’s, and we managed to stay awake until bedtime that night despite having only had 2 hours sleep.

On Sunday we went to check out Malibu and Santa Monica. We even drove past Cher’s house. It was vast.

The Malibu pier

Malibu was so picturesque. We walked out onto the pier and took in the fresh sea air.

Andrew and his uncle Eric on the Malibu pier

Typical tourist photo

After Malibu we drove onto Santa Monica. We started to watch a street performance but it was dragging on a bit so we took a stroll towards the pier.

The sun doesn’t set until about 7:50pm here so it was still delightfully sunny.

Santa Monica beach

As far as piers go, Malibu’s and Santa Monica’s couldn’t be more different. Santa Monica’s was far more commercial and packed with families, amusement rides and fast food.

Still pretty though.

We then drove to a Mexican restaurant for dinner called El Cholo. It’s been around since the 1920s and with its delicious food and drinks it was easy to see why.

Andrew’s margarita.

They made our guacamole at the table. Now that’s fresh!

Delicious

Not pretty, but SO GOOD

Just looking at these photos is making me salivate. I had chicken chimichangas:

Chimichangas with rice, guac and refried beans

Andrew had ‘A taste of history’, which included a cheese enchilada, rolled beef taco, chile relleno, green corn tamal, spanish rice and refried beans:

So. Good.

Eric had blue corn chicken enchiladas, which were also amazing. Afterwards we were all sufficiently stuffed.

Having an amazing time so far! What’s news with you?

Posted in Travel | Tagged California, Malibu, Mexican Food, Santa Monica, Travel | 4 Comments

Getting ready to fly

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Bec

It’s almost crunch time folks. Tomorrow we fly out of the country, not that my brain has accepted that as a fact yet.

I’m down to two suitcases of belongings now, one of which is staying behind at mum’s house. I’ve started buying stuff to take away, which after saving money for so long feels a bit naughty.

I bought a GoPro:

We’re going to be doing a lot of hiking, water sports etc so I lashed out and bought one. I really enjoyed using a friends’ GoPro in Coral Bay so I know what I’m in for. I promise my underwater photography won’t be that bad… hopefully.

Andrew very kindly bought me a Kindle:

I bought him one for Christmas, even though he didn’t want it. Now he’s obsessed. I just need to load up some books! Any recommendations?

I had my first experience at Daiso yesterday! If you haven’t been it’s a Japanese shop where everything is $2.80. Everything. And they sell everything. I bought a packet of markers and some velcro straps to keep cords tidy. Random.

SAMSUNG CSC

I bought the markers because Mum brought me back an amazing colouring book from London:

I’ve been meaning to buy a colouring book (one for adults!) since reading that it’s really good for relaxing. This one if pretty intricate, far more grown up 😉

Such a great alternative to staring at my countless devices for hours.

So what else? I’ve been vaccinated, organised travel money cards, suspended memberships, printed boarding passes, bought insurance and packed (mostly). I feel scarily organised… So I’m just waiting for something I’ve forgotten to rear its ugly head.

I’ve had excellent farewell meals and catch ups. I feel ready to go, except it really hasn’t hit me! Maybe on the plane.

Speak to you from LA!

Posted in Travel | Tagged Travel | 10 Comments

The twilight zone

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Bec

Considering I no longer have a job, I’ve been pretty slack at updating this blog! I’m kind of in this weird in between phase, a twilight zone, if you will. I’ve left my life/home/job in Kal and I’m not yet on the road. I’ve been having a lovely time catching up with people though.

These photos were taken at sunset at Mt Wombat lookout in the Strathbogie Ranges, in north eastern Victoria.

Charlie at sunset

You get a 360 degree view of ‘one quarter of Victoria’, depending on who you ask.

So what else? I’ve mostly been getting ready to fly to LA next week (next week! That’s crazy!), doing boring things like getting vaccinations and other various life admin. Also I bought a GoPro! Exciting. Tomorrow I’m flying to Tasmania for the weekend. What are you up to?

Posted in Misc | Tagged Sunset, Twilight | 1 Comment

Adventures in north eastern Victoria

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Bec

Well hello. Unemployment and homelessness going swell so far. Since leaving Kalgoorlie on Friday we’ve spent one night in Melbourne (had amazing Korean BBQ here), and on Saturday after yum cha we drove with Mum up to her place in country Vic.

We’ve been doing a lot of eating, walking and relaxing.

Gardenia’s on my bedside table, they smell amazing

Breakfast on Sunday morning, candied bacon not shown

On Sunday we took a drive through the Strathbogie Ranges, stopping at Polly McGuinn falls.

Mum with Charlie (the dog)

The falls

Delicious

Spotted lots of farm life on our walks. Including two unimpressed cows.

And went past the picturesque Euroa Butter Factory (breakfast here is incredible).

Yesterday it was cool enough to light the fire, bliss.

Dessert for two… going to leave at least 3kg heavier.

We’ve also been doing a bit of planning for our trip, including booking accommodation in Dallas and Lima. Exciting! Today we went to get our yellow fever vaccines and after waiting 50 minutes were told they didn’t have any, despite saying they would order some in when the appointment was booked two weeks ago. Ughhh. I really hate going to the GP.

Be good.

Posted in Misc | Tagged Euroa | Leave a comment

Goodbye Kalgoorlie

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Bec

Oh the Superpit

Jobs have been quit, bags and lives packed, goodbyes spoken and tears cried (oh with plenty more to come!). It’s hard to explain how much moving to a remote outback town has impacted my life and how much I’ve loved the experience. I think I did an ok job of summing it up in a post last year called 10 things I love about living in the country.

But what I am really taking away is a head full of amazing memories and friendships that will last for the rest of my life. It’s hard to pinpoint the best parts, but thankfully I’ve always been over the top with photos and videos, so I had a lot of fun putting together this video:

Thanks to everyone who has made it special, you know who you are.

*Sobs hysterically*

Posted in Misc | Tagged Kalgoorlie | 6 Comments

Pilates please

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Bec

Back in uni I used to work as a receptionist at a physio/Pilates studio. When it was quiet I used to jump on the reformers and do some movements that would help my neck and thoracic spine (between the shoulder blades) and I found it really helped. I always avoided the core exercises though… Ha! Silly me.

I hadn’t really done Pilates since then, when I met a colleague of my boyfriend’s at a barbecue recently. Kezia is a geologist but runs Pilates classes on the side. She is also an all-round fitness buff and has a nutrition business. I went along on a Monday night recently to check it out.

Living in a remote area it’s difficult to find specialised Pilates classes outside gyms (plus a physio once told me that Pilates at the gym isn’t real Pilates!), so Kezia’s classes are a great option.

I dragged my housemate Bec along with me and we went through the movements, Kezia helping us beginners with our form along the way.

I had a really sore back that day and I found it really helped. The class was challenging but not in a painful “I wish this would end!” way.

If you are living in Kalgoorlie and want to improve your core strength, posture, flexibility and control you should try Kezia’s classes. They run Mondays at 4.30pm and 5.30pm, Tuesdays at 5.30pm and Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4.30pm at the PCYC on Egan Street. Check out her facebook here.

Have you done Pilates?

Posted in Misc | Tagged fitness, Pilates, Pilates classes | 3 Comments

Come Fly With Me – our farewell party

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Bec

I’m back after a 10 day hiatus! Apologies, it turns out that packing your life into two 23kg suitcases, winding up your job and preparing to leave the town where you’ve lived for over 3 years is rather time consuming…

On Saturday night Andrew and I had our farewell party. It was ‘Come Fly With Me’ themed and we had everyone from Top Gun’s Maverick, to a Royal Flying Doctor, to excess baggage, some old fashioned aviators and an amusing amount of air traffic controllers (the backyard was littered with cheap ping pong paddles the next day…).

Andrew aka Maverick and I, in a 1940s Air Force costume

Scott and Bec as nightmare first class passengers, Paris as the Royal Flying Doctor.

My very clever friend Emily who made the ‘Wanted’ sign for our Cowboys and Indians party photo booth whipped up a passport page this time. What a gem!

Check out Claire’s amazing Emirates uniform

Mike and Jordan as flies

Lauren, who is pregnant remember, went as excess baggage. Adorable!

Dancing?

Definitely dancing.

I haven’t done so much pouting since Myspace was a thing

Jordan made a speech about me, it was fantastic. I didn’t have 21st speeches and this definitely made up for that. It was the perfect mix of hilarious and sweet. Then I said some words, then my housemate, colleague and sister-from-another-mister Bec said some words. Tears happened. And then one of Andrew’s mates made a speech. And we followed up with dancing. Lots and lots of dancing.

I also premiered my Goodbye Kalgoorlie video, which is a montage of photos and footage taken over the last three and a bit years set to Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk. I’ll post it here soon.

Things wrapped up in the wee hours and I woke on Sunday feeling a mix of satisfaction, nostalgia and sadness. An excellent night.

Posted in Misc | Tagged Costume Party, Party | 10 Comments

5 obscure things I’m looking forward to in the USA

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Bec

In case you missed it, I quit my job to travel indefinitely. First stop: USA.

1. CVS and Duane Reade

American pharmacies are something else. For one thing, they sell beer and just about everything under the sun. The cosmetics are really cheap and without wanting to paint myself in a terrible light they have the best over the counter medicines. Like painkillers combined with caffeine (hello hangover cure). Amcal lift your game.

2. Chopped salads

On my last visit to the States I loved that when you order a salad, you can get it chopped. Basically it just means that after the salad is assembled someone runs a couple of knives back and forward through the food so that it comes in manageable bite sized pieces. Oh the convenience!

3. Salt water taffy

A large part of my excitement for travel is dedicated to food and food alone. Especially burgers, pulled pork, waffles, southern bbq, wings, Mexican food etc etc. But to be fair you can get most of that (on a more average scale) in Australia. What I’ve never seen here is salt water taffy. I fell in love with it last time I was in the US. We had it for the first time in San Diego and then went back for more and more. We also ate it on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, just like Carrie did in SATC. It’s gooey and delicious and comes in a million flavours.

4. Southern accents

I’ve never been to any of the southern states before, so when we get there I’m considering pretending to be illiterate just so I can get the locals to read out everything to me in that delightful southern twang. Menus, bus timetables, random signs, everything. One of my favourite pastimes (much to the chagrin of my boyfriend) is to put on a southern accent and say “I do declare” as well as other ye olde things from Gone with the Wind. I used to watch Hart of Dixie, for the accents alone. Unfortunately hearing my favourite accent makes me mimic it back which I know is seriously irritating for other people. Whatever.

5. Shooters

For three and a half years I’ve lived in a town where the antisocial behaviour problem has led to tough liquor restrictions which dictate no shots/shooters can be served anywhere. None of the pubs will do them. So bring on the shooters! Followed by the caffeine pain killers from CVS.

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, United States | 7 Comments

Easter Sunday

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Bec

Vegetarians avert your eyes.

On Sunday morning we put a roll of pork shoulder in the oven. Three hours later we had this:

After another hour it was ready. Complete with homemade gravy and apple sauce. Drool.

Is there anything better than a Sunday roast? Washed down with a cold dry white? I doubt it. I’m the least religious person I know, but I do believe in food.

Good news, the bunny delivered:

These hot cross bun chocolates were everything.

And speckled eggs, so underrated.

Hope you had a great Easter. After a lazy weekend I’ve spent all of Easter Monday selling, packing and prepping to leave. Two and a half weeks to go!

Posted in Food, Misc | Tagged Easter, Easter Recipes | 4 Comments

Good Friday

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Bec

Andrew changed the settings on my camera and made everything look psychedelic

See?

Good Friday means two things to me: hot cross buns and no shops open. So today we’ve eaten great food, been for a walk and watched most of season two of House of Cards. Perfect.

Aren’t the flowers beautiful? Andrew sent them to me for our first anniversary yesterday. They looked great with the bunnies.

The hot cross buns are from a local bakery and are soooo good.

Especially with freshly ground coffee:

And lashings of butter:

What are your plans for Easter? Have you eaten hot cross buns? An American friend of mine living in Aus commented on a photo I posted on Facebook asking what the buns were, are they not a thing in the States?! Update: have a look at this article from The Guardian on Saturday Why hasn’t America embraced Easter’s chocolate and alcohol binge?

A few Easter links:

These 24 terrifying Easter bunnies might give you nightmares

Chocolate prices to double as world runs out of cocoa excuse me?

Should we only eat hot cross buns at Easter?

5 reasons Easter is better than Christmas – ok this is a link to my own blog… but I think you’ll find my arguments compelling and become an Easter convert before too long.

Also check out my lunch: