Shu Zhai

My man... gotta love him!

Stanley Market

Oh what fun!

Drinks at The Felix at Peninsula Hotel

A memorable time at Pearl on The Peak

My Pete
Tipsy Lizzy

Hong Kong - We've arrived! December 13-15

Thanksgiving in Sydney

Can't have a party without pretty flowers.

Full bellies.

Ouch! Oven mits were useless.

A fine man. I made my first apple pie crumble and a pumpkin pie from scratch. Pumpkin's not a seasonal treat here but an every day side dish, so to try it as a dessert was something different for everyone (except for Holly and me).

Jeremy (my tennis instructor), his wife, Marielle, and Clive (Andy's hubby). For most of my guests, this was their first Thanksgiving, and...... most were English. The McFarland Family are from Pete's hometown, St. Albans, England (north of London). They've lived in Sydney for the past 16 years (give or take). I was thrilled they were a part of the celebration.

Andy (from Pete's hometown, St. Albans, England) and Holly (a Texan) havin' a laugh. Even without hubby Mark, Holly had a good time. Mark shared a bottle of his favorite Pinot Noir which was a nice treat.

Andrea and Clive's kids - Iona, Aidan and Ross Aidan goin' for seconds

Before

After

Pete hard at work. He loves to cook. Thank goodness for that! Menu included Mr. Turkey (who I was told was running around his pen just a week before the Big Day), classic stuffing which included dried cherries, mashed taters, tarragon beans, squash and sweet potato dish, cranberry and orange chutney, and last but not least..... an apple pie crumble and pumpkin pie. Pete was flabbergasted that the stuffing recipe called for 2 loaves of bread (which was cubed and dried on cookie sheets). It was difficult to find fresh cranberries and certain types of squash so I improvised. We found the cranberry and orange sauce at Simon Johnson which is a great gourmet food shop. I enlisted Martha Stewart for the recipes and gameplan. I was never a big fan but I found that she rocks for Thanksgiving! She even had a 4 day timetable that really helped.

2nd Anniversary - Jonah's at Whale Beach

Whales have been spotted in this area (if you couldn't guess) but... alas... we didn't see any. Only surfers. It's a great weekend escape though and such a nice anniversary surprise from Pete.

2nd Anniversary - November 9th

Flowers delivered with a note that read "Pack an overnight bag and I will pick you up at 5:00pm....."

Our trip to Bora Bora was phenominal! The St. Regis was a beautiful resort - made Le Meridien's bungalow's look like outhouses. The people were extremely friendly too. Even though most everyone spoke english, I attempted french from what I learned in school but did very poorly. Thank goodness Pete knew the language well. We also learned a bit of the Tahitian language - walked around saying "orana" for hello, "mauru'uru" for thank you, and "nana" for goodbye. We did a bit of snorkling - found Mr. Turtle in the lagoon and swam with some gorgeous fish. Jet skiied around the lagoons and the main island of Bora Bora, took a heli ride and just had an all around fabulous time. We hated to say goodbye. Now it's back to Sydney - back to work for Pete and back to school for me. Whaa! But, it's good to be back and we have many wonderful memories.

Time to say good-bye. It was so hard to leave but the fun had to end sometime.

Our last sunset.

...the drinks yummy...

The color was breathtaking

Dinner at Te-Pahu. We weren't going to do the cheesy "take-your-picture-with-the-dancers" thing but.... I just had to, and Pete was sweet to join me. He then wondered "Where did Lizzy go?".

Met a couple at the resort who is also from Sydney - Jo and Adam. They joined us on the mainland where we rented buggies to tour around the island.

Heli ride around the island.

Fun in the sun! We snorkled and jet skiied.