The Season of Giving!

Not only have we found ourselves a wonderful little friend-fam over on this side of the world, but they have gotten us involved in some great causes. This month, we attended the annual AIME Gala (AIME is the organization that provides educational support to indigenous teens. John ran for AIME in "City2Surf" and I ran around in my bikini for "Strut the Streets"). It was a "fancy dress" event which does NOT mean dress up fancy... it means dress in a costume. That's important information that I'm glad we clarified beforehand :)

Our table went with a 70s theme!

We also had the annual Dance Chance concert!  Dance Chance is an organisation founded by the sweet Timmins Family. It is a weekly dance class for people with a disability. The annual concert is such a highlight. 

Of course we celebrated after...

We kept the giving going with our 2nd Annual Australia Friendsgiving! Nicole and Jono were great hosts.. and Nicole's gravy...oh em geee!

In other news, Adobe did a beach clean-up day in Manly...

We went on a walk with the Germans... 

Rudy is still cute...

I had a baby! JK lolz. My coworker did. And he is the CUTEST AND TINIEST THING!

We went to Mumford & Sons in the rain...

 The Manly Christmas tree is up!

And Fran is getting yoga teacher-certified (so we get to be her students)!

Also... it's Thanksgiving and this is what I'm looking at:

I think expats should get American AND Australian holidays off work! 

5 Years, A Farewell, and a Wedding

Can you believe it?! John boy and I have been married for 5 whole years. 5! We went downstairs to an Asian tapas restaurant we've been wanting to try. It's dangerous having so many good food options right outside our door!

My manager at Adobe is LEAVING ME. Very sad to see her go but happy for her next adventure. She really helped me adjust to working in another country (lots of things to learn!) and has played a huge part in my career development. We said goodbye with a few tears and some fireball shots. 

A couple weekends ago, John and I had the honor of attending our first Australian wedding! This was a milestone because it meant we had been in Australia long enough to make friends with someone who felt we were close enough to be invited to their wedding! Haha. It was also a big deal because John was asked to be the emcee! In Australia, the bride and groom ask a close friend to do this role. We think John was the couple's 3rd choice...BUT whatever that's not important. He was the emcee! 

The ceremony was at 2pm on a Friday up in Clareville, a quiet suburb on the northern beaches.

It is not very common to do rehearsals/rehearsal dinners here.. so the planner in me was getting a little anxious.

There was also a DRONE filming the ceremony. We are living in the future, ya'll.

 The reception wasn't until 6pm... which left a good few hours for socializing at the Palm Beach RSL.

 The reception was held at the Palm Beach Boathouse and it was beautiful!

 John and the groom, Luke

In other news, I found these cute boys on a street corner...

Rudy found a nice place to cool off...

John and I are playing in a flag rugby league. John is really good. I am not.

Breakfast date!

Sculpture By The Sea in Bondi

And 2 YEARS of living the good life down under.

Cheers, mate!