Christmas 2012

....was a full one! Prezzies in the morning, and a massive, delicious, waistband-expanding feast at lunch with lots of lovely people. We didn't need to eat dinner, and went for a ferocious walk in the evening to help process it all.

It was the week before Christmas....

The week since work finished, before Christmas, passed quickly and included a visit down to Lorne to surf with Jasmina, (a black eye from a close call with a runaway surfboard!), Christmas shopping, boozy lunches in the city, gingerbread cookie baking and decorating with a creative 9 year old, bbqs in the park.... And so on...

The Bride Wore Black

 

Leann wore a very dramatic black gown, and sparkly things were a motif throughout the evening. Crystals replaced flowers in both bouquets and boutinieres

....and love shone all around. 

 

3 Weddings in 2012!

We attended a fantastic wedding last Tuesday in Melbourne. My third Australian wedding this year! (I guess if you stay long enough, you get to enjoy watching your new friends celebrate life milestones.)
On Tuesday evening, Rob and Leean got married, and it was great to be there to support them and join the party. Here's a look at some of the details.....

 

The menu..... (of course!)

 

Special red and black Smarties ordered from the States....

 

 

The very stylish place settings and Smarties to take home....

 

MeerCats and Elephants

So, since we're not really interested in horse races, or the big boozy shenanigans that happen at the Melbourne Cup on the Long Weekend, we found alternative entertainment. We went to the Zoo  with 2 very cool kids.

The Meercats were a highlight.

And the Elephant Sculpture display was alright too.



Summer is on its way!

It's getting hot enough to eat watermelon!

How Cool is Brunswick?

We were in Brunswick yesterday, just off of  Sydney Road.... a fantastic part of Melbourne where one can find heaps of great Lebanese food, Italian coffee and good eating and tasty local beer.
There's also some great graffiti:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A1

 

Oh yeah....in the first week of October, we opened a show I directed in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. (No, I didn't almost forget....it's just been a while since I've caught up on the blog!)

I had 3 wonderful actors (Josh, Adrian and Paul) who were stoked to tell the story of 3 guys giving away steak and A1 sauce in this little piece called A1 Rolling Steakhouse.

The boys did a great job in rehearsal (a very short  rehearsal period!) and the show kept growing and developing during the season. The last show was definitely the strongest.

It's a bizarre play, and short (8 minutes,) high energy and funny. We were the first show up in a double bill with Samara's show, House by the same playwrigh,t Richard Maxwell.  I think the A1 crew generated a good vibe to kick each night off.

We got a couple of reviews. One lukewarm, and one red hot! Check them out here!

RED HOT

TEPID



Guest Shenanigans

 

 Yep...those are my brownies on the tiered cake platter...there was so much cakey, sweet, chocolatey goodness on the cake and desert table that it almost became ridiculous. Almost.

 You can't count the shenanigans unless you have the "selfies".

 (Translation: Self portraits taken with your smart phone. Do you have this word back home?)

The Bride Wore Red

 

 Xanthe always looks beautiful, but on this day,

 she was stunning in Duponi silk, with a fingertip veil,

 Absolutely FABULOUS shoes

and a really gorgeous wedding band.

Xanthe and Allen Day

The real, important reason for a mini break in Brisbane was to attend Xanthe and Allen's Day. They transformed the South Leagues Club in West End with their love and their creative flair. This is the photo booth, where Armanya took guests' portraits describing what "Love is..."

 

 MANY a glass of champagne was consumed at the celebration.  

I'm sure I took care of at least one whole bottle myself.

 

 Lucky Love Ducks

 

...and again, Lucky Love Ducks.

More Brisbane Good Times

It was a Saturday night in BrisVegas, and she put her shiny pink party face on for us....it was the last night of the Brisbane Festival, and RiverFire (pronounced "Rivah Fyah") brought the entire city population downtown to the Riverside to watch the big fireworks display. We didn't stop to watch the fireworks...there was still some theatre to see, but we got to experience the crowds both before and after. 

 

 Lanterns outside the Speigel Tent

 



 

 A view of the CBD from Southbank at a more reasonable hour, the next morning.

 It was a gorgeous muggy 25 degrees.

 

 The "beach" at Southbank.

 

Brisbane Goodtimes

Rinske and I flew into 'BrisVegas' today for Xanthe and Allen's wedding tomorrow. We spent some time wandering... And wandered through the Davies Park Markets. Sugar Pineapples, local bananas and Raspberry Cider! All enjoyed in 26 degree heat, while folks in Melbourne carried on the business of Grand Final Day in 14 degrees and even less! Oh yes.... We gloated.

Brownies for a Wedding

My lovely friends, Xanthe and Allen will marry each other tomorrow afternoon. This last week, I've been baking up some brownies to take up to their nuptials in Brisbane.
There's now 120 brownies (half of them Gluten Free)ready to contribute to the party!

Hanging with Pablo

It was my pleasure to meet Sheila and Sue, Finn and Trin in the city on the first Sunday of school holidays. We spent a sunny afternoon hanging out in the Children's Garden at the Botanical Gardens. We explored caves in old tree trunks, bamboo forests and the veggie patch. Good times were had by all.