traditions and trams

So I've learned recently that Halloween is a US custom, and is not nearly as celebrated over here in oz. Well, you can take us out of America, but you can't take America out of us (: We decided last weekend that even though it is mid-spring here, we were going to have a night filled with fall traditions! We carved pumpkins, had some apple cider, and roasted our pumpkin seeds. They were so freakin good!

Here is Bess, Melanie, Sarah, Em, and Abby! I am behind the camera and sweet Michelle wasn't over yet. You might be thinking to yourself.. two pumpkins for 6 girls?? well folks, with the pumpkins being over $20 each (!!!!!!!) we all decided to just chip in a few notes and make it a team effort! 

Everyone, meet Em. She is the first Australian I became friends with when we got here, and she is wonderful. She is an encourager, a truth speaker, a nail polish share-er, and a fellow TV obsessor. She just invited Abby and I to spend Christmas Day with her family, and I could not be more excited about this!! PTL for this girl!

Here are the girls of MelRose! homegirl on the left had never carved a pumpkin before!!! silly chicky

impressed?

yup, I'm sending yall some aussie love!

ok, now fast forward to the middle of the week. 

On Wednesday, the 26th of October, the Queen made a very brief trip to Melbourne. She was here for the opening of the new Royal Children's Hospital, and then she went to Fed Square to meet her fans, had lunch at some important Government building, and was out of the city by 4:00. I knew all of this was happening, and I knew I had work. One might think that I played hooky, or called the agency and said I couldn't work because I wanted to see the Queen. I mean, really, how often does an AMERICAN get to see the QUEEN OF ENGLAND in one of the commonwealth countries?! Not very often people! But I decided to ignore the voice telling me to go see her and just go to work. It was possibly one of the worst days I've had as a sub here, so you can imagine how angry when I left the school. I MISSED THE QUEEN FOR THIS??!?!

Well, on Friday Abby and I decided to go spend the afternoon at a park because we had the day off work and it was gorgeous weather. We have seen the weather be so moody this spring so we knew that we had to take advantage of the nice day before a storm came to ruin the sun like it always does here. We were relaxing on a blanket, and according to some high schoolers "just being some hippies" when we saw the ROYAL TRAM drive by. Immediately we jumped up, even though we had to wait for it to go all the way to the end of the track and back before we could ride it. We didn't mind the wait, and decided that we would risk the $180 fine we could get for riding the tram without our passes. 

Yall, this tram is beautiful! The inside is all brand-spankin-new, and they replaced the tacky adverts with pretty posters welcoming her to our city! 

It was so difficult to contain all of our excitement when we got on the tram. All the other people were just sitting there like it was no big deal! We saw this orange seat, and since the seats are normally green it stood out. We thought..this is it, we are going to sit in the exact same spot where the Queen sat only 48 hours ago! Well it turns out, this is just the 'priority seating' and not where she sat but whatever. So even though I didn't get to see her while she was here, I can still say that I WAS IN THE SAME TRAM THAT THE QUEEN WAS IN!! how many of yall can say that?!?! point-australia! 

peace & love yall

Great Ocean Road

You’ve heard of the 17 mile drive, haven’t you? You know, the stretch of highway in California that takes you by Pebble Beach Golf Course, through some neighborhoods with houses that cost millions of dollars, and all along the coastline. Well last summer, when I lived in Santa Cruz I was able to do the 17-mile drive a few times and thought it was the pretties coastline I had ever seen….until now!

My roommates boyfriend was in town visiting, and Abby and I have been wanting to make this drive since we heard about it, so we grabbed a few more friends, packed ourselves in two cars and hit the road! The cliffs were dramatic, the water was such a rich color of blue and the rainforest was dense. Throw all that together and it makes for some of the most breathtaking scenery you could imagine. 

There were nice little reminders to drive on the left constantly along the drive. 

nope, we wern't excited at all for this day (:

We found a light house, and I love light houses! 

see yall..isn't this just so gorgeous??!?

Two of those pictures are from the Twelve Apostles and even though there aren't 12 standing anymore they are still incredible to look at. 

Hannah, if I had your superpower I would just upload a video of the whole day because these pictures do not do it justice. 

Now someone come visit me so that I can take you on this drive (: please & thank you!

so long holiday

My first holiday has officially ended, and I miss it already! After one day back at work, I am already looking forward to Christmas time when we get 5 weeks off! The second half of our holiday was incredibly relaxing. We had very few plans, which meant we had plenty of time to be lazy and re-energize.

One of our nights we spent baking at our friends house up the road. This is Abby and I with Katherine. She is on staff with Cru, or Student Life as they call it here, and she is wonderful! I have learned from pintrest and I am in love with the peanut butter/chocolate combo. I’ve always known that I loved it, but the majority of food things I ‘pin’ are peanut butter/chocolate so I've officially decided that it is my favourite. I made buckeye bark, and it didn’t last too long (: whoops..

Abby and I spend a day doing Puffing Billy. This old steam engine first opened in the early 1900's, and after a landslide blocked the track, it closed in the late 50's. Citizens fought to get it reopened, and it is now a huge tourist attraction. It takes you up into the mountains, and allows you to escape the city! We spend the afternoon hiking, and riding paddle boats!

I LOVE THE ZOO!! I forget how much I love it because I rarely ever go. This zoo was definitely worth the $25! We spend 6 hours walking around and admiring these animals. I went to a zoo in Abilene where I got to hand-feed the giraffes, and here I got to pet the kangaroos! Were we supposed to? NO, but that didn't stop us! We like to live life on the edge here in Australia.

heaps and heaps of love

this week i...

...skyped with some of my favourites in lubbock (hiiii hanner!!)...

...enjoyed an 'iced chocolate' at Hopetoun Tea Rooms...

...explored the goodness that is haigh's chocolate. it's only sold in australia, so i've got to visit this little jewel as much as possible right (: ...

...watched candy being made for a wedding (woof ignore that chipped nail polish)...

...admired the graffiti at Hosier Lane...

...saw an original Picasso painting at the international museum...

...experienced a 'suckao' at Max Brenner's. Are you noticing a trend? My sweet tooth is huge down here...

...watched Geelong win their 3rd premiership in 5 years...

...found the little penguins in the day time...

...realized how much I love sail boats and marinas...

...saw storm troopers on the dock. WHHAATTT?!? YOU CRAZY AUSTRALIA!

xoxo