There's No Place Like Oz

I love food. Thanks to my foodie friend theheartoffood for these photos Before living in Australia, I satisfied my emerging interest by watching Top Chef, baking for holidays, browsing food magazines, and learning about gluten and dairy free eating. Living in and traveling around Australia for a year breathed life into what had been a […]

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 […]

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 […]

This summer is going to be a particularly busy one in London! In addition to the typical tourist crowd during the summer holidays, the city just celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and soon thousands of people will fill the city streets for the summer Olympics. While it’s an exciting summer in London, I wonder how […]

Even though I have been to London seven times, it wasn’t until this last trip that I experienced three aspects of English culture for the first time — a hen night, afternoon tea, and supporting an English football club. Hen night A hen night (or “hen do” or perhaps a hen weekend) is similar to […]

I’ve been to England seven times, but I had never left London until last week. Gav and I decided to leave the city for a 4-day holiday in Brighton. Amazingly enough, it was the first trip to Brighton for both of us! After two chilly, rainy weeks in London, the sun came out to play […]

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 […]

I’m spending the month of May in England and enjoying 30+ days of seeing Gavin, his family, and our friends. Though this is my 7th trip to England, I’ll be experiencing several cultural firsts over the course of the trip. I’ll be eating plenty of good food. And I’ll have loads of stories to share. […]

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 […]

I admire people who actively pursue their dreams, especially the BIG ones. The dreams that are risky and require them to take a leap of faith. The dreams that tap into a creative and entrepreneurial spirit. I was proud of myself for quitting my job and moving halfway around the world to spend a year […]