Our new life in Seattle

WELL! We've been living in Seattle for nearly three weeks now! We crashed on our our amazingly hospitable friends' couches. We've been eating Mexican food, learning our way around Capitol Hill, the CBD, Queen Anne etc. We completed the arduous task of finding an apartment. The first apartment we looked at seriously depressed us, and I was worried it would foreshadow my experiences in a new city. But during day two, we actually found a great place we could actually live in! C& P took us to the best pizza in town- Proletariat Pizza! We visited the Pacific Science Center and watched Thor :)

1.) C& P pizza time
2.) North of Seattle

Chris & I ate the most delicious vegan sandwich at High Line. LSL & I woke up ridiculously early on a Saturday morning to drive to the suburbs for a bi-annual community wide garage sale! I had a group interview and was a successful applicant! I will be working as an assistant for an amazing Nat'l Geographic exhibit :) We went on a mini-shopping spree at Target thanks to our friends' generous gifts! We rented a car. Chris drove because I lost my drivers license, DOH! Not surprising. We moved into our flat, settled in. We saw The Drums.


3.) The Drums at Neumos 4.) Our neighborhood


5.) & 6.) More happy hours on the hill

Watched Avengers, enjoyed rooftop views of the city at my old Vegas friend's (Jose) place.


We also wandered to Ballard (to enjoy the farmers market)

7.) Ballard
8.) Wallingford


9.) Capitol Hill
10.) Good policies at Cha Cha's
11.) Boeing territory
12.) A beautiful day in the neighborhood

I'm happy to report that I should be blogging fairly regularly now :)




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Hello from the US of A

(DISCLAIMER: This blog entry was written two weeks ago, but I figured I should still post it.)

"Hello! I'm finally here and back home in America :) This is where I slowly transition my Queen's English/spelling to American English/spelling.

Our last week consisted of packing, unpacking, eliminating more items, donating 80% of my wardrobe and then somehow narrowing my life down to 3 suitcases. Sigh* Stressful week, but I'm glad it's over!

We didn't sleep the night before our flight. Our shuttle driver didn't arrive at 1:30AM, so we called to find out he slept in! EEPS. He showed up an hour later with enough time to race to the airport (which was two hours away). I stayed up the whole time talking to the driver, trying to ensure he stayed awake. As we pulled into the airport Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger" came on the radio. HAHA! Of all the songs that could have came on before I departed New Zealand, that was the ONE!

Chris' cousin was on our flight from NZ to OZ!
We had a layover in Melbourne and then traveled 14 hours to Los Angeles sitting behind screaming babies and children. Ah! What can you do? The past week has been a mad dash of setting up bank accounts, cellphones, computer/gadget purchases, replacing my driver's license that I lost at LAX. Oh! Spending time with the family and catching up with a few friends. Things are slowly settling down, so I hope to catch up with more friends as the week goes along. We'll be packing all over again for our big move on May 1st! I'll have to get super serious and start applying to jobs. It never ends.



1. Reunion with Christie (This is happiness!)
2. In N' Out with Chris



3. Tapas with my mama
4. "Whatever major loser" and side ponytails! ...Homage to Clueless (BFC reunion)




5. noodles with Remi B!
6. our we live back in America/wedding #2 party!

I hung out inside my beloved Champagnes Cafe where Joe Pesci, Robert Deniro and Martin Scorcese frequented when they stayed here while filming Casino. In true Vegas fashion, we spent one night out exploring empty ritzy casinos, looking for good views of the city. It is so strange being back! I only slightly have that fleeing feeling knowing that my time here will expire as it usually does. I don't have to fly back to NZ. It is so strange! I immediately lost 5 pounds upon arrival. My diet does not consist of sugary tea, muffins and cake. I am now eating smaller portions, mostly Mexican food, and it is so good and so cheap! We had a party and old friends/family from all parts of my past life came to see us. It was surreal and such a good time. Seriously, big thanks to those who came out to see us! This life is too short, busy and hectic and who knows when I'll have this chance to see everyone again. I am so thankful!

I am figuring out my place back in American society. Also, slowly figuring out how to use my phone and text and being social. Learning how to drive again. It hasn't been easy re-integrating myself back in American society and customs. I have changed so much. I am looking forward to the new places I will see, the new friendships I will make, and the memories I will be creating with my long lost family and loved ones."

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New Zealand- A Look Back

A million fun memories after the jump, click below!

Final Days

Hello to you from the New Zealand countryside. I'm just hanging out in the farmland that my husband grew up in as a child. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of work, cleaning, emptying out our flat, packing and farewells to the family and good friends. I finished my last day of work, and I felt so guilty of not being there to help the next day. After three and a half years living overseas, I'm FINALLY returning home. I know a whole lot has changed, and as we get older, our priorities change. It's going to be so different! I'm really looking forward to being in the same time zone with my family and friends. I am looking forward to the adventures and opportunities ahead. I am looking forward to getting to know Seattle. I'm mostly looking forward to feeling like myself again and fixing my somewhat vacant smile.

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