So what's news?

So what have I been up to since we got back from the US? Well, we got back to Australia on 11 November, and were quickly thrown into all the end-of-year events. Before we knew it, we were on a plane again, this time with all four of our kids and bound for Brisbane to spend Christmas with Al's family.

Our (blended) family 

And now, I can't believe we're already past Easter and ANZAC Day, and about to start the second school term of the year. Sofia finished up at childcare last year and has started pre-school, and young Alex is now in Year 2, and turned 7 last month. The year is flying past, and the kids are growing quickly.

First day of school, 2018

Despite not doing a single stitch through our entire trip to the US, 2018 has seen me get my mojo back... so I have so much to share in this space. For Christmas I made my Mum a little zipper bag designed by Anni Downs, and I've made Sofia a library bag for school as well as starting work on a nap-mat for Sofia (similar to the one I made for Alex last year). Alex has asked when I'll make something else for him, but I'm just not sure what I can make... any suggestions?!

Anni Downs makeup bag

Sofia's library bag, my own design

And that's just scratching the surface... There's so much more stitching to share (including finished projects!) and I'm also keen to blog about my mountain bike adventures since returning from the US. There's just too much for one blog post!!

What have you been up to in the first quarter of 2018?

Until next time x

US trip: Homestretch to New York, New York

From Hershey we headed to the town of Princeton (via a place called Allentown where we stopped in at an interesting little car museum—America on Wheels). Being in this part of the US, we couldn't resist visiting one of their old Ivy League universities which we had heard so much about over the years. And the campus of Princeton University certainly didn't disappoint. It was amazing just walking around the grounds of this prestigious university and seeing this incredible institution.

We stayed overnight nearby at Trenton, and early the next day we returned the rental car as we would catch the train to New York rather than tackle the challenge of driving into Manhattan! Driving across the US had seen us clock up 4,155 miles (or 6,648 kms) in our trusty rented Subaru Forrester.

Manhattan, New York

 While our road trip was at an end, we still had a few days left of our holiday. Our plans had been to leave the "best" for last... New York City, where all the movies tell us dreams are made. During our holiday we had tried to keep costs down on accommodation so we could splash out on a nice place in New York, and had researched to ensure our final night in the US would be at a nice restaurant. But, if I'm brutally honest, after experiencing New York, I think my dreams and best memories of the trip were made elsewhere... at the beginning when we drove through the Santa Cruz mountains, or being at Red Bull Rampage, or mountain biking in Moab, or even laughing our way through the corn-fields in the mid-west! Unfortunately, there were quite a few things that left us with a sour taste about New York... we had issues with our hotel room (which thankfully was finally resolved), and our last night's meal was far from the best we had (although possibly one of the most expensive).

With that said, it was still so good to have been able to experience New York and visit its famous land marks. To see the Lady of Liberty up close, and actually go to the top of the Empire State Building have been things I've wanted to do for a very long time and I'm so glad I've had that opportunity. We both felt sombre at the memorial site of 9/11, and despite all our knowledge on the tragic events, were still enormously impacted by the size of the memorial fountains. And then of course, I can't deny the excitement I felt just walking through Central Park, or going to an actual show on Broadway (we saw Chicago!).

9/11 Memorial with One World Tower behind

Central Park (and the Plaza)

At the top of the Empire State Building!

Our trip across the United States was all up an incredible experience. My amazing man was once again brilliant behind the wheel, getting us safely from one coast of America to the other. We have some wonderful memories and a bucket-load of photos (which we somehow narrowed down to choose just 10 to frame and put on our wall at home!). Now to decide where to visit next...

Map of our 2017 adventure across the United States

Until next time x

US trip: Chicago to Hershey

My writing about this trip seems to be dragging on... partly due to having a busy routine with work and the kids, and partly due to my sheer slackness (ok, ok... mainly due to my slackness!). I will push on but try and finish up this series fairly quickly :)

So last time I wrote, we had made it to Rockford and had caught up with my family for dinner. Before leaving Rockford the next day, we stopped in to tour my uncle's jewellery store, where another of my uncles also works. It was great to catch up with family who I hadn't seen since I was a little girl!

With my uncle, Luis, in his shop Zavius Jewelers

 From Rockford to Chicago the traffic quickly started to build up, and we couldn't believe the speeds people were doing. Driving at the speed limit was apparently dangerous as it meant holding people up and being a nuisance! We went from being in shock and concerned we had missed something to laughter. And before we knew it, we were coming to a halt as traffic slowed to a stand-still... we had made it to the CBD and rapidly became aware of the chaos that is Chicago traffic and how much they loved using car horns. Once we found parking and checked into our accommodation, we opted for a hop on/hop off bus tour to see the city, although as it had started to rain we took the best photos we could from inside the bus! (The next morning however we did manage to get a good view of the city from the 360 degree Chicago Observation Deck, where we also did the 'TILT!' experience—so good!)

View from 360 degree Chicago Observation Deck

In the evening we sought out an Italian restaurant and tried a famous Chicago deep-dish pizza. This ended up being one of the best meals we had on our trip to the US... the wine was excellent, the company was the best (ok, I'm somewhat biased!), and the pizza was amazing.

Deep dish pizza for dinner in Chicago

From Chicago we were en-route to Hershey, Pennsylvania, via Columbus, Ohio (and meaning we also completely crossed the state of Indiana). We stayed overnight in Dublin, on the outskirts of Columbus, to break the journey. These couple of days were pretty much just getting to our next destination, however we did stop at some small towns such as Bedford, PA, where I found a beautiful little quilt shop I just had to stop at... and of course I couldn't leave without some fat-quarters and a new book (which ironically turned out on closer inspection to be by an Australian designer!).

Quilt shop in Bedford... sadly I can't remember the name :(

Finally we made it to Hershey, where we had tickets to see comedian Gabriel Iglesias (aka Fluffy)—one of Al's favourites. It was a great night where we got to relax and have a good laugh. We were asked to put cameras away so no pics from that night, but I'd recommend looking him up on YouTube! And of course, the next morning, we couldn't leave Hershey without touring through the Hershey Chocolate Factory :)

We made our own chocolate bars!

My last instalment on the trip next time!