Mother Dearest

To thank my mom for supporting me in everything I do (more specifically my decision to study in Sydney) I made her, her very own fashion book of outfits to use as a guide when dressing up. Previously shown (here) I used the clothes she already had and put together a ton of outfits, complete with shoes, a handbag, and accessories. I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted to on decorating and presenting it but she absolutely loved it anyways! She left for the States earlier this week and I miss her terribly, what can I say? She's my best friend. I've enjoyed everyday with her here in Sydney; I'm so blessed and thankful we were able to explore the beautiful city together, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Love you mommy!

Oh yes, and happy March! Geez this year is going by fast already!!
xx

Tourist Time

Everyday I've been up and out exploring the beautiful city of Sydney, basically doing what any tourist would. Above is a small collection of places I've been to like the Rocks, the Zoo, Darling Harbour, Harbour Bridge, Blue Mountains, Three Sisters, Bondi Beach, Hillsong Church, and my new Uni. Unfortunately, I've forgotten my camera several times so many of the places I've visited are missing. I'm falling in love with this great city; beautiful places to see, food to eat, and many beaches to relax in. If God keeps me here after grad school, I won't be opposed of it at all.

A couple of things I'm looking forward to is my family BBQ tomorrow, getting plugged at Hillsong City Church this Sunday, giving my mom here gift (here), and school commences on Monday (I've never been more excited for school, can't wait to make new friends)! On the contrary, my mom leaves me on Monday WHAAA, but she'll be back soon :)

To my family and friends back home, I bought heaps of postcards my first week here but only wrote on one so far... sorry!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
xx

Aussie talk

[Bondi via Instagram]

After being in Australia for a few days already, I'm learning more and more about the Australian culture and falling more and more in love with it all. I've slowly picked up on how they speak and what words they use, below are a few words I've compiled: (aussie term first, then american)

arvo - afternoon
capsicum - bell pepper (my favorite, but I hardly use it)
fortnight - two weeks
inquiries - questions
lift - elevator
prawns - shrimp
queue - line of people
rubbish - trash/garbage
serviette - napkin
take away- take out/to go
trolley - shopping cart
uni - university
ute - pickup truck

This list will continue to grow as I add all these terms into my vocabulary. One thing is forsure, I can't get enough of the Australian accent!!
xx

"See You Later"

 

Some of the pictures above are taken from the surprise goodbye party my sneaky friends Steph & Heidi planned! They gathered together my closest family and friends for a night of dinner, games, and said a wonderful prayer for me. I tried not to cry the whole night but they had me sit down to watch a video they put together... and I cried, success! I'm so overwhelmed at the wonderful people the Lord has put in my life and the blessed times we've all shared. I couldn't have asked for a better night to spend with the ones I love. Thank you to my partner Hannah for capturing this special night for me on video that can be seen here.

After a 14 hour flight, PTL (Praise the Lord) my mom and I arrived safely in Sydney! But just before the flight my sweet sweet family and friends spent my last hours in LA at the airport playing card games and eating chips and salsa. It was very much a bitter sweet farewell where we said "see you later" and I couldn't hold back my tears. My mom and I had a great flight watching lots of movies, catching up on sleep, and they even served me special vegetarian meals that were surprising delicious! I'm so excited for this new chapter and to see what the Lord is going to be orchestrating in my life.

To all my family and friends back home, see you soon!
XX

What's a girl to do?

Throughout this whole process of applying to international school, getting a VISA, booking travel accommodations, etc. God has given me a peace that truly surpasses all understanding that has affirmed me of his will. Everything has gone without a hitch until now... packing has been the death of me. Thankfully my mom will be flying out with me and I'm using her luggage allowances in addition to mine (total of 4 luggages 50 lbs. each). Because it doesn't look like I'll be flying home for the next two years I have to pack for all four seasons, outfits for school, clinic attire, church clothes, beach wear, dinner outfits, and more. I can't decide what to bring and what to not bring, I'm currently 30 lbs. over which has been very frustrating so I've come to the conclusion to sleep on it and return to it tomorrow. Wish me luck!!
XX

P.S. My friends threw me the most sweetest surprise going away party on Friday!! Post coming soon, can't wait to share it!

Belated-Birthday Weekend

This past Friday and Saturday my best friends, Heidi & Steph, continued our birthday tradition of blindfolds as we celebrated my belated-birthday in LA! It was a perfect weekend with perfect friends and perfect weather, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. For more details of the weekend, check out Steph's blog.

On Sunday my friend Paige took me to the Melrose Trading Post swap meet on Fairfax (Yelp site) where we made sure we had a time limit of 2 hours and only brought a certain amount of cash, because anything over that would be dangerous. I wanted to buy everything, let's just say if I had a house or apartment I would go crazy! Thankfully (and surprisingly) I didn't go over budget and purchased a pair of cut-off denim shorts and two necklace pendants, yay!

I'm going to miss LA!!
XX

Lunch With the Ones You Love

The weather was even better today! My family and I headed out to Venice Beach to have lunch at our friend's yummy cafe, The Cow's End. The family owned cafe is two-stories with lots of seating inside and out, a study area upstairs, and free wi-fi. They serve tasty sandwiches, wraps, and salads, along with delicious drinks. I built my own veggie sandwich with honey dijon spread and ordered a Kalani's Obsession smoothie (which I highly recommend if you like pineapples, bananas, and mangos). We had our lunch to go and took it out to the beach that was half a block away and the weather was perfect. Even though we didn't get in the water I had a great time with the kids and I'm so thankful my cousin held them from school today so that we can all spend time together before I leave.  

Tomorrow, my best friends are celebrating my late birthday with our blindfold traditions! (Here, here, here, here, here, and here!) Let's just say I'm so excited to say the least!! 

XX