5 Year Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday on June 2nd, marked my 5th wedding anniversary I share with my gorgeous husband James.

On Friday, with my younger sister minding the kids at home, we dined at Quay in Sydney to celebrate this milestone in our life. It was fun to dress up and drive in together, talking about how blessed we are to have met each other and for our relationship to be so strong and honest.

Guava Snow Egg

8 Texture Chocolate Cake

Here are 2 of my favourite photos from that very special day 5 years ago. We were married on Hayman Island in The Whitsundays, in front of an intimate party of 50 friends and family. Looking back at these photos yesterday made me slightly sad, as a few people have passed away since this day which made me realise how amazing and fragile life can be. I don't take my love for granted, and these photos remind me of how lucky I am.

Flashback Friday.

U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (Live)


My first Friday Flashback of 2011 is dedicated to everyone.

Everyone out there who needs to hear this. You don't have to go it alone.

From the flood victims of QLD, NSW and VIC, to Lori of RRSAHM, and anyone else who is having a bad moment this week.

I've had my moments this week but no tears. I haven't let myself struggle without James here. I have to pick myself up and be strong for Abigail and myself.

Happy Friday everyone,

xx

Thursday = sunshine, packages, italian food & laughing

James is working from home today. I love when he works from home.

The stupid tenants hadn't moved out yesterday (settlement day) and so we had to go back today and see the house empty. James took Abi along so I had the morning to clean the apartment which wasn't too bad because THE AIR CONDITIONING is finally fixed and it's nice and chilled in here.


Some lovely parcels arrived today from Peter Alexander and LarkMade. And my subscription to Real Living arrived too so I can sit on the sofa and enjoy my read this afternoon.


I suggested going out for lunch today because James is off to the USA on Sunday and Abigail and I will miss him to bits! So off we went to Fratelli Fresh's in-house cafe, Sopra in Walsh Bay. We ate zucchini flowers stuffed with goats cheese, ragu bolognese and linguine lemon+chilli. Abigail ate her pasta and breadsticks like a princess. Surrounded by ladies who lunch (and drink!) and men in suits having meetings.


Look at my loves, smiling and waiting outside for a table in the sunshine. Abigail danced her chicken dance while James and I discussed how much we will miss dining the city.

Tonight my mother-in-law is minding Abigail while James and I head to see Robin Williams at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. We are both huge fans of his movies and stand up performances so I'm sure we will come home with sore bellies from laughing so hard.

All in all, a great Thursday. The sun is out. The breeze is fresh. It feels like a normal spring day today. Finally!

Busy Tuesday

Yesterday was busy.

James and I are going to be busy for the next few months. Renovating our new house, James doing his MBA at Grad School 1 night a week and 1 weekend a month, business trips overseas and the usual manic lead up to Xmas.

Yesterday we did a walk through with our project manager at our new house to discuss our plans. It took an hour, just to walk through and show him our ideas. We have huge dreams, like bi-fold doors onto a timber deck by the pool but those things aren't essential yet. New carpets and bathrooms and floors are much more important!

After an hour of talking taps, floors and prices, I looked like this:

The current owner was there too and walked around with us, wanting to know what our plans are. It was awkward to say the least. He has surveillance cameras in his young daughter's bedroom and in the rumpus room too. It's very weird.

James is also looking at buying a new car. We currently have 1 car because we live in the city centre, but will need another car once we move to suburbia. And as we all know, test driving cars and choosing the perfecty automobile is a slow process.

Hopefully the dollar will stay strong, because James IS heading to the USA next month for a conference and business trip. I am frothing at the mouth, just thinking about all the lovely things he will hopefully have time to pick up for me. Marc Jacobs, Zara, Baby Ralph Lauren, I would love to accompany him but we just have too much on at home.

We also dropped in at our dear friend's house who just had a baby last week. They named their new daughter Sienna, and she is just gorgeous. These friends live about 2kms from our new house so we are all excited about the idea of pool parties and summer BBQs when we are finally settled in our new house.

This morning, as I was clipping Abigail's nails, she said "you're beautiful mama" and kissed me. Moments like that are just so devine.

So that was my busy Tuesday.

Today I am catching up on washing and cleaning. Boring but essential. Very boring indeed.

Rewind - 1997

Rewind back to Vail Ski Resort, Colorado, USA in 1997. James proclaimed his love to me, singing this song. I thought he was pretty cool.

Oh young love, I miss you sometimes.

17 sleeps till our Bali sojourn

That's right. Only 17 sleeps till we head north to Indonesia to celebrate James's 30th Birthday. While our trip is only 1 week in duration, I am positive it will be enough to refresh the batteries. My in-laws and brother in law are joining us on the trip.

We have a private villa booked in Uluwatu on the southern tip of Bali. The villa comes with a full staff that include Villa manager, Chef, Driver, Security, House Keepers, Babysitter and even a Spa Therapist who comes to the house for spa treatments. I might never want to come home actually. The owner of the villa has 2 small children herself, so I don't need to take anything with me. High chair, cot, booster seat, car seat, and toys are already available in the villa. Getting closer to perfection by the minute.

I plan to read, swim, spa and eat amazing local foods. Since we have a private car with driver, we plan to explore parts of the island we have never been to before. This will be my 3rd time to Bali. My husband and his family, this will be their 5th time to Bali. The locals are lovely, caring and honest people. Shopping in Seminyak and Ubud. Drinking cocktails in cliff top bars, watching the sunset. I can't wait!

We have been telling Abigail that she is going on a plane in a few weeks and she seems to get excited. It's only a 5 hour flight so I'm not too worried about it. She has flown longer flights in the past so hopefully it will be a breeze. I have a whole family of help, sitting right beside me as well.

This is where we are staying. I couldn't resist posting these photos. 17, 16, 15... Hurry up!

Single mother for a week

Image by Peter Emmett

James is off The Philippines this morning on a business trip. He's been to almost every financial city in Asia, but never Manila.

He's only gone for 6 days, but always, he is missed dearly. He left early for his flight, giving Abigail silent kisses in bed before he left. Abi and I are used to being alone for periods of time, but it never gets any easier. She asks for him in bed, and doesn't understand when he doesn't come home every night. But I know how hard it is for him to be away from us too. In a foreign city, working hard, meeting new co-workers. He seldom gets the see the sights, unless he is taken out by clients. It would be hard to visit so many amazing places and never be able to full appreciate the whole experience.

I remember an old dance song that begins with "On my plane to Manila" which is very fitting to start the week. The lyrics continue, suggesting to dance without wearing seatbelts, I know there will be none of that on James's flight to Manila.

Date Night - The Ballet

28.04.10

Date Night

Dinner - Rockpool Bar and Grill

Ballet - The Silver Rose at the Sydney Opera House

James and I decided to have a grown up and arty date night for April. I purchased tickets to The Silver Rose at the Sydney Opera House when they had almost sold out. I was lucky to buy 2 seats in the 6th row, a complete beginner's fluke!

My mother-in-law drove into the city with her overnight bag to mind Abigail and stay the night in the spare room. We showered Abigail in kisses and headed out for an early dinner at Neil Perry's Rockpool Bar and Grill on Bligh Street in the city. James had the signature dish, a wagyu beef burger. He loved every bite as we enjoyed our swish surroundings.

We were grateful for the slow downhill walk from the restaurant to the Opera House to walk off dinner and enjoy the fresh autumn breeze. There was a chill in there and we both wore jackets and scarves. I'm no expert at the ballet, but the crowd were dressed quite well. I've been before and seen people wearing tracksuits and thongs. We saw mothers with young aspiring ballerina daughters, old ladies linking arms, eating dainty sandwhiches and couples, like us, enjoying a night of culture and art.

The 3 acts were all different and lovely in their own right. I find my mind often wanders watching the ballet, but I am drawn to the music and the exquisite bodies of the dancers. We could see the orchestra from our seats and during the performance, I spent a few minutes watching 1 violinist flipping pages of her sheet music and staring at the conductor. I thought to myself, why are you staring at this woman, ENJOY the dancing!!

This was James's 1st time to the ballet and while he confessed it was rather long, he did enjoy himself. Hopefully he will agree to another performance with me later in the year. He gets to choose our next date night, he mentioned seeing a movie which we NEVER seem to do anymore. I was hoping for an art exhibition but what can you do. If he happily sat through 3 hours of ballet, then I will return the favour by sitting through a 3 hr action movie for him. The things you do for love.

xx

Ballet Images from David Kelly

13 days ago...

We left on our Easter break 13 days ago... Where have the last 2 weeks gone??

The McKinnon trio packed up the car and headed south to our holiday house in Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains.

The usual 5.5 hr drive took 8 hours, with 2 stops on the road for meals, a detour in Canberra due to roadworks and then a 1 hr grocery shop in Jindabyne. 8 hours, it took us 8 long hours to get there. By the time we arrived, we felt like zombies! Abigail was especially brilliant on the car trip and slept most of the way.

Our family holiday house in Thredbo is located up on the mountain, and in the winter, we ski down to the lifts which is probably the best thing in the entire world! Anyone who has ever walked more than 10 metres in ski boots will understand how amazing ski-in / ski-out accommodation is.

We settled in and unpacked our bags for our 5 night getaway. Abi loved sitting in front of the fire and watching the flames twist and turn. We spent the next 6 days shopping and eating in the village, walking around the streets of Thredbo, taking Abigail to the playground and the Leisure Centre where she and James rode the waterslide.

On Easter Sunday after the overhyped easter egg hunt in the park, we decided to take Abigail up the chairlift to the top of the mountain. As soon as we sat on the chairlift, I felt sick. Vomit worthy sick. Abi was just sitting on James's lap with a unsafe looking bar holding her in. James assured me he was holding her so tightly that breathing would have been a struggle for her, but I still felt sick. She sat very still and watched the mountain bike riders zooming down the hill. She was very calm and enjoyed the 10 minute ride to the highest skiable point in Australia. I can't imagine how scary it is when you have 3 young kids on the lift with you, swinging their skis and swaying the chair. Mum told me she used to scream at us to sit still on the chairlifts when my siblings and I took our annual ski vacation. Poor Mum!

The days were lovely with sunshine but a cool breeze. The nights were very chilly, Easter Sunday the temp dropped down to 1.5'c and it was very fresh indeed! We bought Abi some gorgeous Croc winter boots with a fleece trim. I couldn't resist, as they were 60% in the shop.

We hired a hiking pack and took Abigail on a 2.5km walk around the Golf Couse and river which she loved. Poor James with the pack on his back, was left quite breathless at times as the altitude in the village is 1365m (4478ft!) above sea level.

We are considering going down for opening weekend which is the 2nd weekend of June, but are not 100% sure yet. It is a long way to drive for a 3 day weekend. We have our eye on a pair of baby skiis for Abigail and James is keen to have her on the slopes this winter. Mind you, slopes = flat area and you never know how long a 2 yr old will last on the snow wearing 5kgs of ski clothes.

Pulling into Sydney was uneventful, no Easter traffic and it was good to be home.

Last Easter we were in Hong Kong, enjoying the sights and tastes of modern Asia. This year, we enjoyed the local feel of a very dear place to our family and can't wait for our next alpine adventure.

Marriage

This is my husband James. This photo was taken on our wedding day, obviously!

Our tale is a special one.

I began dating James when I was 13 years old. Yes, you read correctly, 13!

Over the years, we grew up together and formed a special friendship. A partnership, if you will.

In 2002 whilst holidaying in Paris, he proposed marriage on the banks of the River Seine, a moment that I will never forget. I accepted and with the addition of a lovely but simple ring from Tiffany & Co, we continued with our lives as normal.

It wasn't for another 5 years that we finally decided to make it official and marry in 2007. We were married on Hayman Island in the Whitsundays, around a small group of family and friends. The 4 day weekend was enjoyed by all, as we celebrated of love, friendship and family as well as the beautiful tropical surroundings.

We have our moments, like every married couple does. But we love and respect eachother. I guess that's all that matters...