This week has been amazing weather-wise.  Work has still been busy for both of us, but I was off last Wednesday and today (Monday).  I worked this past Saturday, and I work this coming, so I get a day off during each week.  Wednesday, Brandon and I had a preliminary meeting with a financial planner, then I went to Balmoral Beach to read in the sun.  I am up to the sixth Harry Potter book in my rereading and Brandon and I caught up last night with the movies.  The purple blooms are still going strong on the trees; so pretty! The beach was pretty quiet, being a Wednesday.  I walked around the tide pools and in the surf.  So awesome to be a 15 min bus ride away from the beach. 🙂

Friday night I met some of the ladies from my Child free Facebook group in the city for some snacks and drinks.  I discovered two other of the “hidden” bars in that part of the city.  Melbourne is famous for them, and Sydney is catching up.  It is a bar with a different storefront, so it is harder to find and more of an adventure.  The Lobo Plantation was the actual bar we met at and it took some internet consulting to find.  I need to up my bar adventure game I think.  We had a nice catch up and they had fun cocktails to pick from.

After I worked on Saturday, Brandon met me at Museum Station and we took a bus to Bondi Beach.  They were having a free art event called Sculptures by the Sea.  There was a bunch of art displayed in a park along the coast.  It was amazing to see the scale of some of the pieces.  They also had smaller versions of the pieces and other sculptures for sale inside a tent.  Very interesting and expensive!  We did see some jack o lanterns!!  And 2 houses decorated for Halloween!  It was too wavy/windy to see any whales.  We came back to Cremorne and ate supper at Sushi Train.  YUM!!

Sunday we went to church and then got ready to go to Balmoral Beach.  The buses going that way were packed, so we decided to eat lunch in the area first.  We got burgers and “onion rings” (more like onion strings).  I had an Aussie Burger, which had bacon (more ham-like than US bacon) tomato, lettuce, beetroot, BBQ sauce, their special sauce, and pineapple on it.  Delicious!!  When we were done, the buses were much better and we had a nice lie in the sun at Balmoral; much busier than when I went.  The water was cooler and refreshing when the sun was too hot, though Brandon thought it was too cold to adventure in.  We spent 1.5 hours in the sun and Brandon had had enough. Probably for the best to ease ourselves into the brighter, hotter sun here.  We got dessert at the Bathers Pavilion, then took the bus back home.  We did some cleaning, then Heidi and I went to catch a drink at the Oaks, in their amazing oak tree courtyard.  I drank hard cider and Heidi had Pimm’s, a sweeter liqueur that is usually mixed with Ginger ale.  I am not really a fan of it.   We had some nice girl talk; a lovely end to a beautiful day.

Monday, Brandon and I had a second meeting with our financial planner, which lasted 3 hours.  It is so interesting to see the differences in the US vs Australia for taxes, mortgages, insurances, investments, and retirement options.  It is a bit overwhelming, but we are educating ourselves to make good decisions to enter the investment market here.  It is also interesting how Brandon and I are considered individuals for tax purposes and we can use our different income amounts to our benefit for tax savings on our investments.  All a part of the adventure and change of moving to a new country and also wanting our money to work for us.  It was near 90 degrees and we had a late lunch on the patio at a cafe.  I came back and did more laundry and cleaning, hoping to make it outside before the storm and cold front moved in.  Brandon started working.  I didn’t make it outside; too much to do adulting to spend another fun day in the sun.

I am trying to get as many things sorted as possible before my trip back to the US next week.  I have to tell all these property investment companies to give us a year to build up our finances before we talk to them again.  I really really need to be thinking of Christmas presents for the people back in WI that I can bring back with me. 🙂  If anyone wants anything from Australia, please let me know!!  I am not sure when we will be there again.  We have a few trips we are considering in the upcoming year and it may be a rush to fit everything in.  Everyone is welcome to come visit us though!! We will show you around this amazing city!!

I am also thinking of things to entertain myself on the planes, at the airport, and at the hospital for while I am back.  I do have a back log of Vet magazines to read up on.  It will be my first time traveling by myself, so that will be different.  I am also trying to make sure I get everything I need from the US if I am not back in a while.  My packing will be to prep for the cold; it is way chilly there at the moment.  Jeans and sweatshirts are going to be a must and a coat!  I am not planning much socially for when I am there since I am not sure how it will all go with my dad.  If he is going well, I will try to be in touch to see as many of you as possible. 🙂 Enjoy the pictures!  Hopefully some of our nice, sunny, weather will be there too.