Pints and Pots in Melbourne

Landing in Melbourne was so exciting; even though it was a gray, dreary day, I knew our true adventure was just beginning.  The best part of the trip was that we were staying with our friends Lauren and Tim.  Staying with locals (new locals albeit) when you travel is the best way to see the sights and still have some comforts of home.  Luckily for Jaclyn and I, our hostess is a down-home Southern girl that knows how to bring on the hospitality.  The O'Connor's house was adorable but spacious and in a very quaint, residential area outside of the main city in Albert Park.  After crossing the International Date Line - somewhere over the Pacific - we landed in Monday.  We were exhausted but wanted to grab some lunch before naps.  We headed to the Pagoda Cafe, small, they don't have a website (gasp) but the food was amazing.  I love to try different foods and especially when I travel, I don't want to feel like I am eating at a Cheesecake Factory in the mall.  Thankfully for me, Australia is big on cafes and restaurants with individuality and low on chains.  I got a salad that was amazing and had roasted pumpkin and goat cheese.  Given I was seriously delirious from lack of sleep, I forgot to take a picture of my meal (I made up for it the rest of the trip though).  After our lunch and a cool walk by the ocean, I blacked out in my comfy bed for hours.

Pre-naps - my hostess Lauren & Jaclyn

Poor Lauren had to drag Jac and I to get up.  It never felt so good to sleep.  Onto the more exciting night, we not only had Halloween but Lauren's 30th b-day!  We had a little get together at the house with some friends and of course "snakes alive cupcakes" and then we headed off to drinks at the Albert Park Hotel.




Things I learned my first day and night, which were helpful before heading out on the town:

Pretty sure that's a pot for me - just a lil beer

1.  Light beer does not mean light on calories, it means light on alcohol

2.  If you want an "American" light beer, you order a "blonde" - lovely

3.  There are three different sizes of beer - pot, pint and a schooner (even within Australia they vary, for more details click BEER)

4.  Nuddy = nude

5.  Root = sex ----- so be careful when you say you root for the local sports team!

It was such a fun night, I loved walking around the neighborhood, so quiet but so many little bars and pubs.  A very comfortable and homey spot to be!  

Erin, Lauren, Jaclyn & I before the Cup

The next day we were off to the Melbourne Cup!!  A HUGE day in Melbourne - it's their equivalent to the Kentucky Derby and it's actually a state holiday so most have it off from work.  A lot of people go to the race, but if not then most gather for parties hosted at local pubs to watch.  We were lucky enough to get tickets, which required us to get dressed up like fancy folks - facinators and all!  I didn't have a facinator but luckily Lauren's dear friend Erin, hooked me up with one... oddly (or cooly) enough they sell them at the local Target!  We had a wonderful brunch at Erin and Brian's house where I had my first ever Tim Tam.  Amazing.  Australian legend.  Brought home a box and it wasn't enough.

We took the train to the races where we proceeded to drink TONS of champagne... oh, and we squeezed in some races.  Sadly, but not surprisingly, I didn't win a single dollar.  However, the view from the track and the company alone made for a fabulous day.  Just being in the city and seeing literally every person dressed up, reminded me of being in a Harry Potter movie (wrong country, I know).  After the race we hit the town, our first time out in downtown Melbourne.  We went to A LOT of bars and I loved ALL of them.  I had so much fun, I can't remember all the names.  Here are some snapshots!  Good for my memory and blogging.

Flemington Race Track - site of the Melbourne Cup

First bar stop - right in the middle of the Yarra River

Possibly 3rd bar stop?  Very cool, dark and a lil' swanky

Mint Julep - representing Kentucky, of course

Up next - more drinking in Melbourne!  Off to tour the city and headed out to the Yarra Wine Valley.

Love, Lizzie

There's Always An Excuse

I always wanted to be super athletic, outdoorsy and just naturally love working out... but I am not and I do not.  Who doesn't look at those people who make working out seem like no big deal and feel a bit of envy.  Like, "Yeah, I go to the gym, but I don't really think about it, it's just what I do."  Sigh.  Again, that is not me.  I have this inner torment every time I think about going to the gym.  I make up a million excuses not to go.  There is however, one thing that gives me the slightest bit of motivation to get my a*s in gear.  That is thinking about the guilt I will feel if I skip the gym for no reason and I sit at home watching tv for hours.  Skipping the gym makes me feel good for a hot second then I feel guilty for hours.  So, sometimes I go to the gym just so I can actually go home afterwards and relax.  It's not much and it doesn't always work, but I do love feeling like the gym is behind me and I can actually live the rest of my day.. 

I have to share this commercial because it's hilarious.  Whether you work out or not I think you can appreciate this.  I am so glad I'm not the only one who thinks like this!  

At the end of the day, whatever gets me to the gym is fine.  Who cares if the motivation is silly and selfish.  It works for me - what works for you?

Love, Lizzie

Inspiring Today - Sex & The City

Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate, without them what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course we wouldn't fall in love or have babies or be who we are.  After all, seasons change, so do cities, people come into your life and people go.  But it's comforting to know, the ones you love are always in your heart, and if you're lucky, a plane ride away. 

          ~ Sex and The City

AUSTRALIA - Getting There

I could probably write an entire post on just physically getting to Australia alone.  However, it's not all that entertaining unless you like hearing about bad luck, bad customer service and bad turbulence.  I will say this though - I was basically dreading the flight.  I am not an easy flier and I'm convinced every plane I am ever on is going to crash.  My least favorite thing to do when flying is to fly over the ocean.    Logical or not, I think that if you are flying over land and something goes wrong then you still have a chance to make an emergency landing.  If you are flying over nothing but water for hours and hours, then yeah, pretty sure you're just sh*t out of luck.  I didn't want my fear of flying to stop me though from this trip, so I booked my tickets quickly, i.e. without over-thinking it.  I learned that you can't avoid reality for ever and then spent the two weeks prior to leaving consumed with thinking about the flight.  I had visions of going mentally insane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean and having to be restrained by an Air Marshall.  I also had visions of being sucked out of the plane seat and all only to land on a strange and basically invisible island a-la LOST.  So, I talked to my doctor and begged and begged for a miracle pill.  While, she wanted to help me, she also didn't want to be the next the Dr. Conrad Murray.  So, we settled on Valium.  I take Xanax to fly to Florida so I wasn't going to let it go at that.  Mama needs a little extra help mm-kay?                                                                                                                                                                             

Landing in Sydney after flying for 13 hours

So, off we went Boston - Denver - San Francisco - Sydney - Melbourne!  I will say, for whatever reason, the flight from San Fran to Sydney was the best one.  The planes are massive, they have low lighting and friendly flight attendants who treat you like you paid to be there.  Novel concept.  Also, the pilot gave us a lot of information up front, my favorite knowledge nuggets: there were FOUR (4) pilots in the cock pit (safety in numbers) and there were storms over Hawaii and Fiji so we would experience some turbulence but they would still be landing the plane around 8:30 AM (so confident).  Also, I enjoyed when he told us we were going to miss Sunday altogether and just arrive on Monday.  It's the little things apparently, but that made me feel like a time traveler.  Finally, after a few Valiums, a few mini-bottles of wine and one too many carbs we began out descent into Sydney 13 hours after leaving CA.  Maybe I was high on my meds/drinks/lack-of-real-air but when we broke through the clouds and saw Australia I was literally in awe.  Just dumb-struck by it's beauty.  Even from the plane you could see these huge cliffs, rolling beaches and flowing inlets of water.  I've never been so sappy in my life, but it was love at first sight.

Welcome Basket from our hostess

We had one more short flight from Sydney to Melbourne but I didn't even care because we found out that Sarah Jessica Parker was on our flight to Melbourne.  Holy idol time.  It was like no one in the Sydney airport had ever seen a celebrity before, literally every employee there told us about SJP being on our plane.  These wild Aussies were winning me over quickly!  I did get to see her a couple of times - boarding, on the plane, and getting our luggage.  She was headed to Melbourne to promote her movie "I Don't Know How She Does It" and well, I can tell you... she does it with 5 Louis Vuitton suitcases and 3 assistants - hello!  She was predictable adorable though and teeny-tiny.  Like the teeniest-tiniest woman ever.  She waved and said hello and then was hurried out of the dingy airport.  SJP does not do dingy airports, don't kid yourself.  The rest of us peons waited 20 minutes of our bags, but I digress.  Thankfully our hostess for the week, the beautiful and hospitable Lauren Keibler O'Connor picked us up because I was starting to feel delirious.  She was even more adorbs than SJP and she was carrying a Coca-Cola classic.  Thanks girl.


Coming up next - our adventure in Melbourne begins with some sleep, some pints, pots and lots of laughs!


Love, Lizzie

Yeah, That Happened

Why not come back with a bang?  In the event that you ever wonder, does that stuff really happen?  I am here to tell you, this actually happened to me.  So, after months (a year?) of back and forth with Man-Child it's been a few weeks of much needed silence.  Until I found out on Sunday that one of my girlfriends ran into M.C. the day before and he wouldn't stop talking and asking about me.  Hmph.  Ok.  Well, that's interesting because I haven't heard from him, but that's not actually the point here.  I would be lying though if I said I didn't wonder about why he was so interested in my personal life since he made it clear he didn't want to be part of it.  So, a girls mind wanders and I found myself daydreaming... about nothing over the top, but still spent a little too much time on it for those two days.  Well, that daydream came colliding with reality on the #7 bus Monday night after work.  I was getting on the bus and I saw a guy who looked familiar but I couldn't pinpoint how I knew him.  I proceeded to get on the mostly empty bus and sat towards the front when Familiar-Man and his lady friend sat right next to me.  The first thing that he says to Lady Friend is, "So, yeah, Man-Child called me today.  I hadn't talked to him in a few weeks."  Uhhh, homey say whaaaa??  Clearly they have no idea who I am.  I nearly choked on my Werther's Original that I grabbed from our Reception desk on my way out.  So, now Familiar-Man begins to unravel every detail of "my" Man-Childs weekend.  Including M.C. running into my friend and oh yeah, going away with his new girlfriend.  Yes, his new girlfriend picked up the mid-day drunk Man-Child and they went away for the night.  Must have been romantic.

A not-so-rare species: The Manius Infantus

What are the odds of this???  No, really... I felt like I had on an invisible suit and was listening to Santa talk about trolling the local bars for chicks or something.  The whole thing was just wrong.  I must have been sweating but in my state of black out shock I can't be sure.  I still don't know how I managed to even remain on the bus.  Every molecule of my body wanted to run the hell down Summer Street into Boston Harbor and drown myself.  So, not only is my head spinning because here I am thinking Man-Child was asking about me - la-di-da - but I am now terrified Familiar-Man is going to say something about me!  I was convinced he was going to say something like, "Oh God, remember his old girlfriend?  What an ugly lame a*s she was."  I mean, I don't know!  This was twilight zone territory.  Chris Harrison could have strolled onto the bus and told me I didn't receive a rose and I should say my goodbyes and I wouldn't have been more stunned.  I was in a tizzy.  Tizzy.  I rarely get caught off guard or worked up but this freaky invisible suit situation knocked me for a loop.  Of course I went home only to draft catty, snarky texts to Man Child with every intent to shock, mortify and sadden him.  However, that's not the general behavior of my mature (sober) self so I took knee.  You know, when you're not like, totally out of the game, but you just need a hot minute to catch your breath.  My sister and I take knees a lot in life.  Often physically, which thanks to that Goody-Two-Shoes now looks like Tebowing.  Ugh.  Side track, sorry.  Take a knee if needed, all I'm saying because it worked for me that night.  I realized I don't care about Man-Child.  Texting him my sarcastic, witty messages wasn't going to get me anywhere.  That is not a situation worth fighting for.  So, I chose to focus on some of the best advice I ever heard - living well is the best revenge.  And that my friends, is the plan.  Keep living my life, feel good and laugh, A LOT.  What's better than that?

So, the next time you think to yourself, that only happens in cheesy rom-coms starring Anna Farris (my fave kind), just picture me nearly vomiting on the Boston MBTA bus.  Lessons learned - always take a knee before sending a text you think is genius and always take the high road, even with a Man-Child.

Love, Lizzie xoxo

I'm Back Jack

I can't believe it's been so long since I last wrote.  Does every blogger-gone-missing say that at some point??  I got tied up with some major events last year and I lost sight of my blog!  Sad!  I am here now and reminded again why I started this to begin with - to have a place to see my life unfold.  And unfold it has.  Last year my sister got engaged and I spent a lot of time working and planning for Australia.  All good things, but this blog is a space for me and I don't want to let that slip away.  I need to do some posts about my beyond amazing the trip, so those will come soon!  In the meantime, I will be trying to remember why I have been away since last June.  I really like writing here, I like sharing my life and the funny, interesting or maybe mundane things that happen.  More to come, I promise.

Love, Lizzie

Decisions, Decisions...

I have been presented with an opportunity to travel.  Awesome, right?  Right.  But, the overly responsible side of me is wondering how the heck I am going to make this happen!  Eeeek!  I mean, really all I need is time and money.  You know, just time and money.  Two things I can't get more of... legally, anyway.  But, this is what this whole blog is all about for me.  Finding opportunities to live more, live bigger, better and along that path, find happiness.  I don't want to be afraid to make certain things happen in my life.  I don't want my own insecurities to hold me back.  I want to be stronger, this is my life and I am the only one responsible here.

Crikey!

By the way, I'm not talking about a weekend at Grandma's house (though, if I could, I would).  I am talking about a chance to go to AUSTRALIA! Amazing.  Australia is truly a place I never thought I would have the chance to visit. Primarily because I never thought the opportunity would present itself.  Also, I hate flying and always dismissed the idea of Australia because there is not one piece of me that wants to do the flight.  Now that it's a real possibility though, I think I can handle it... funny how that mindset changes.

One of the ways I make decisions - seriously, I do this a lot - is I ask myself if this event/circumstance passes, will I regret not doing it?  Or regret not trying?  I have to say that whenever I do this exercise, I feel confident with my decision.  So, with this situation, my friend invited me to Australia in November.  A couple of thoughts that are crossing my mind are: 1) This will use up any vacation time I have for the rest of the year at my job.  This is really weighing on me as I spend most weekends down The Cape with my family.  I love long weekends there, having a few days to unwind does wonders. 2) This is definitely going to put a big mark in my savings, which is minimal to begin with!  Yet, when I picture December coming, holidays fast approaching and reflecting back on the year, I truly feel like I would regret not giving myself a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.  So, is my decision made?  I think it is....

Try this little regret question next time you are faced with a difficult decision.... see where it takes you!

Love, Lizzie