I had a great Birthday weekend.  The weather was 27 C (75F) and sunny.  A great change after two weeks of off and on drizzle and cloudy skies.  Brandon had a bunch of fun things planned.  Friday night we did a sunset walk around Cremorne Reserve, just by our apartment.  There were beautiful views of the city, a light house, cool plants, and a hidden ocean fed pool for swimming.  Saturday morning after I slept in, we walked to a cafe for breakfast, then took a short bus ride to the Taronga Zoo.  We saw the bird show, toured the whole zoo, but spent most of our time watching the Australian animals.  The wombats were all sleeping in their burrows, the quorkkas were sleeping, the koalas were off exhibit, but the echidnas were waddling around being adorable.  We took the Zoo’s gondola down to the warf and then the ferry to the city for more amazing views of the Opera House.  We then took a short train ride to Pitt St.  Pitt street is our old haunting ground because the last trip we took to Sydney, our hotel was down on Pitt St. so we became very familiar with its shops and restaurants.  We picked our mail box close by it since it is in the middle of the city and easy to get to.  We headed to Oliver Brown, a Belgian waffle and chocolate shop where we ate dessert and iced chocolate for lunch.  We decided since Culver’s used to be Brandon and my celebration place to “splurge,” now we will go to Oliver Brown instead.  Very full and happy, we took the bus back to our apartment and took a nap with the cats.  Later we had cake and watched HGTV.

Sunday we went to St. Joseph’s church in Neutral Bay again and then bought wine.  The grocery stores here do not have alcohol for the most part, you have to by it separately at the bottle shop, usually next door.  I have been sad by the wine selection, all very dry.  I had to hunt for the fruity stuff-only moscatos and rieslings.  There are really only two bigger grocery stores here; Woolworth’s and Cole’s.  There are two Woolworth’s within a 7 min walk of us so grocery shopping is a breeze.  We have been going weekly since we have limited space in the fridge and freezer with our roommates.  Living here has been great.  Our roommates are friendly and awesome and it has all worked out.  the only downside is my commute to work, but the convenience of everything else outweighs it at the moment.   There is plenty of space here, the whole upstairs is a lounge area (what they call living room) and the first floor has a lounge area.  They few times we have all been home we watch reality TV together or they go upstairs and we go down.  For the next few weeks though, one roommate is in Hawaii and the other is dog sitting, so the cats and us have the place to ourselves.  Sunday for lunch we went down the street to Sushi Train which has all different kinds of sushi to choose from and you add your plates up at the end, then went grocery shopping.

Sunday afternoon was a lazy one, Brandon napped and I worked on this post and planning our Easter holiday trip to Canberra, Australia’s capital.  Easter is a public holiday so everyone gets off Friday through Monday.  I could not let such an amazing opportunity like time off go by without looking into trips, so I started pricing flights to Tasmania or New Zealand and quickly realized that was going to be way out of budget.  Travel on holiday weekends is crazy expensive.  So one night in Canberra and a Sydney staycation it is.  There is plenty to do in this city.

We are expectantly awaiting a cat tree and an automatic feeder for the cats.  Caprica is a little too fond of clawing at the carpet in our apartment, thankfully not doing any damage…yet.  Declawing is actually illegal here and most cats, even in the city, are indoor/outdoor.  Our cats will forever be safely inside so the cat tree will be great enrichment for them.  The cat feeder can not come soon enough because I am sick of early morning meowing for breakfast when they think you are even the slightest bit awake.  We are being careful of buying too much stuff since we will be moving in the near future, but at the same time, we are happy here and the more money we can work on saving for our own place.  Renting is really expensive here and most places do not come furnished.  The majority actually do not even include appliances so our initial costs for an apartment will be crazy high.

Brandon had an interview this week, but is not too hopeful.  They are looking for someone more experienced.  He has another Friday for a company he has been eyeing for a while so hopefully that one goes well.  🙂 In the meantime he has been on Linkedin and talking to recruiters trying to find companies to hire him.  He has also been rocking the stay at home cat dad role; keeping the apartment clean, making dinner, and doing laundry.

I am looking forward to next weekend and St. Patrick’s Day festivities.  Also Wed. at work we are having a little party for three of us who have had Birthdays in the last week and the one nurse’s going away party. So I had an amazing Birthday thanks to Brandon’s planning.  Thank you also for everyone who wished me Happy Birthday from back home.  I liked this weather for it better than what you guys are having. 🙂  Enjoy the pictures(in backwards chronological bc that is that is what they wanted to do…) and talk to you soon.

PS-Forever 21 here had NFL stuff…I had to take a picture.  A little taste of home with Packer stuff at the store. 😉