There's No Place Like Oz

National Dance Day 2012 in Washington, DC – Zumba and more

On Saturday, July 28, 2012, lovers of dance celebrated National Dance Day! I took three years of “street jazz” when I was a teenager (was described as “jazz meets hip hop”) and have always enjoyed watching live or televised dance performances. A few years ago, I realized I missed taking classes, so I attended a […]

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Finding an apartment for me and the HTB: Charlottesville vs London

When Gavin and I began talking about marriage, we found ourselves planning the first few years together in the USA from the start. I had recently returned to the US from living in Australia for a year and wanted to be home for a while. Gavin had thought about living overseas before and welcomed an […]

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Childhood holidays at the beach

Gavin and I grew up on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but our families both gravitated to the beach for vacation/holiday. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to be a family that traveled to the mountains instead or visited a new location on each vacation. I think it would have been […]

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Saving for travel while planning a wedding

Today my “Aussie dad” sent me a Twitter direct message saying, “Happy Anniversary! 2 years ago today?” For a brief moment I was puzzled, and then I realized it has been exactly two years to the day since my plane touched down in Australia after a 24 hour flight + layover from home. How did […]

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Return from Australia: One year later

I really don’t know where to start, aside from stating the obvious from the title of this post. As of April 26, I’ve been back home in the USA for 12 months after spending a year living, traveling, working, and eating(!) in Australia. One year ago, I was scared of coming home. I was afraid […]

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My Travel Inspirations

In just two weeks time, I mark my one-year anniversary of returning from Australia. ONE YEAR. I’ve been home as long as I lived in Oz. I can’t believe it. My parents came to visit me for 10 days! Although Oz depleted my travel savings, I’m thankful that I’ve been able to travel overseas twice […]

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I’m getting married…really!

By the end of the year, I’ll be married! Surprised? I’m still (pleasantly) surprised myself. Gav: Me too beautiful :-* (Oh yeah, Gav’s going to be commenting throughout this post too! After I wrote it, he logged in and added his thoughts.) I’ve never dreamed about a wedding or being someone’s wife. When girl friends […]

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Australia Day 2012 in the USA

Today has been one of those rare — dare I say it — perfect days. AND, it’s Australia Day, so c’mon people, HOW MUCH BETTER DOES IT GET? Okay, obviously it could be better — I could be celebrating IN Australia WITH my boyfriend. But things have been pretty challenging for me and my family […]

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2012 and the Daydream Believer

The last few years have been so important to me. In the beginning of 2009 I decided to make long-term travel a reality but kept the secret to myself for a while. In 2010, this St. Patrick’s day baby celebrated the big 3-0 in Dublin with great friends. And if that wasn’t fun enough, I […]

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Merry Christmas from Home

One year ago today I was working my last (ever) shift at an organic grocery store in Australia. Sydneysiders filled the store, buying last minute items for the holidays. Christmas music from the night manager’s iPod filled the store. All signs pointed to Christmas, but I couldn’t get over the fact that I was wearing […]

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