For the love of mussels

I have always been a texture eater, meaning if the texture was odd, I probably wasn't going to eat it. This used to severely limit some of the things that I would and would not eat.

Mushrooms? Nope, too slimy.

Sushi? Nope, not a normal texture.

Mussels, clams, scallops? Nope, nope and nope...slimy, chewy, strange.

Well, I am happy to say my taste buds have slowly started to mature. I'm definitely still a texture eater, but now I have a better appreciation (and love) for foods I used to avoid.



Happy Hour Mussels with Chelsae

Mussels have become my latest obsession. Those little slimy, alien-looking things from the ocean terrified me until last April when Jamie talked me into giving them a try. I am so glad I was feeling adventurous and listened to my bestie! Mussels are phenomenal...seriously. And, everytime I enjoy them I remember eating them for the first time with my bestie in Sydney, Australia...and enjoying them by candlelight with Tony and good friends on New Year's Eve 2011 when a windstorm cut-off power. 
Good times.

Mussels at Manly Beach, AUS




Happy Gal!



Frosty Mango

When I was in Australia, Jamie and I ventured north of Townsville on a waterfall quest. Unfortunately, our quest was thwarted by flooded roads, but we were lucky enough to indulge in a sweet treat at Frosty Mango. I honestly do not believe I've ever had better gelato in my life, and I'm sure it had to do with the use of fresh, locally grown fruit.

(via)

I had a coupon to a local gelato place that expired last night, so on my way to Tony's I stopped to pick some up for us. The mango gelato was calling my name, and the minute the sample hit my tongue I was transported back to the Frosty Mango. It was absolutely divine...creamy, bold, slightly tart, and tasted as though it had come straight from the mango groves.  I was rather blissed out!  Plus, the added bonus of a trip down my Australia memory lane wasn't half bad either.

Fill in the blank Friday

(via Pinterest)

1. The best thing I did all week was be social. It sounds so simple, but my life has felt turned upside down for weeks and making time with my friends has made me feel more like myself again.

2. Books that instantly hook me make me super happy. (I know I've said this before...)

3. Pets are a wonderful comfort, but a real responsibility.

4. My family is the best thing about my life.

5. With the cooler weather I am looking forward to curling up in blankets, cozy sweaters, the way the air smells, turning leaves, making giant pots of soup, boots and the perfect excuse to stay in and read in the evenings.

6. Something that's on my "wish list" right now is an all expenses paid trip to Melbourne, Australia.

7. This weekend I am going to play honorary family member for my roommate and her sister, wander around old town, catch up on some tv, start a new book and finish unpacking the last of my boxes.

It's not yet Autumn

While chatting with one of my Aussie friends this weekend, I found myself repeatedly reminding him that it was still summer in Colorado. He seemed to be convinced that summer is actually May through July, so obviously I must be mistaken.

"But," I said "it's only the beginning of August. Autumn is still a month away."

My argument didn't appear to be taking hold until I finally asked him if it was Spring yet in Sydney.

The answer?

"Not quite yet; it's still a month away." Ah-hah!

Those silly Northern versus Southern hemisphere seasons sure can be confusing.

So, the point of this apparently random story?

It's August.

Summer isn't over yet

...but, the practice for Autumn seems to be starting.

I woke up this morning completely and happily cocooned in my comforter. My nose was chilly from the cool air in my bedroom, and I found myself darting my hand out to hit the snooze button as quickly as possible, not wanting to expose it to the world outside of my blankets for longer than necessary. My morning shower was reminiscent of those on Autumn mornings: hotter than normal, leaving my skin bright and rosy. And coffee, which is always step one for me, no matter the season, seemed to ease me into waking up better than usual. The sky was grey, and the mountains were veiled in low-lying clouds on my drive to work. There was a hint of the sun in the sky, the promise of afternoon sunshine once the mist burned off, but in that moment, Colorado felt like Autumn.

I'm so ready for it.

ps- in Australia, a comforter is referred to as a doona...I don't know why, but I kind of love it.

Fill in the blank Friday

1. One of my happiest moments ever was coming through customs in Sydney, Australia to find Jamie and Nick waiting with huge smiles on their faces. Those first hugs were the best!

2. Summer is wedding season and weddings are a lovely celebration of a couple's love. I think weddings are gorgeous and can be fabulously lavish affairs, but are sometimes over done. I'm partial to a City Hall ceremony myself and will stand firm on only having the closest family and friends at my wedding (when/if I get married). A wedding is for you and your love, and those people who have helped you to become the couple you are. They aren't for family you hardly know, friends of parents you've never met and other "supposed-to" invites. *in my opinion*

3. This summer has been my busiest one yet, work wise, and has been surprisingly hot and humid. Granted, this is by CO standards, so the heat is to be expected, but the lasting humidity is a surprise.

4. My summer food of choice has been mangoes and caesar salads.

5. My summer uniform has been lots of sundresses, or jean capris, tank/tee, flip flops and a cardi in my purse for the evenings. I spend a lot of time in my running shorts, too, but that's not overly glamorous, although they are super comfy.

6. If I could spend the entire summer in one location I would choose Colorado, actually. I love Colorado summers, and compared with the other summers I've experienced (Midwest, East coast, tropical) I don't think I would trade mine in.

7. My summer anthem is either Young Blood by The Naked and Famous or Just A Little Bit by Kids of 88.

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. If I could get away somewhere for the weekend I would go to Sydney, obviously, and I would bring my mother and I would make sure Jamie was in the city, too. Magic would clearly be involved since it would take the entire weekend just to get half-way across the world, and I would want ample time to show Mom the sights, eat some mussels and drink entirely too many flat whites. I like when magic is involved.

2. Something I often rant about is everything! True story: I'm a ranter, but my main topics are people's stupid life choices, bad drivers and work drama.

3. One item I need to have in my fridge at all time is milk. I drink a lot of milk and always have some in my fridge. Yogurt, broccoli and apples are on this list as well.

4. My "life-saving" product is either volumizing mousse or mascara...but mascara probably wins because I will not leave the house without it on, and if I was stranded on a desert island I would want to have a few tubes with me.

5. A friend is someone who knows the real you, the good, the bad and the ugly, and loves, appreciates and respects you despite it all. You can fight with a true friend, be brutally honest, and know that at the end of the day that person is still there for you no matter what.

6. If I could write my own blank it would be "If I could be a character in any novel, I would be _____"

7. My favorite kind of art is oil on canvas. I'm a sucker for Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I love the way layers of oil paints look on canvas and the depth that comes from it. I also love water colors. Both art forms can have a rather romantic feel to them, which is probably why I love them.

"This country immerses you, wraps its stories round you, makes you care about them"

I have a confession: my heart aches when I look at pictures from Australia, both mine and other people's. Sometimes it's the kind of ache that comes from too much happiness crammed into a short amount of time, but sometimes it's an unsettled, unfinished business kind of ache. Sometimes it's a fleeting feeling, but other times it feels as if it starts in my chest and radiates out to the tips of my fingers and toes, consuming every inch of my body for hours at a time.


This sounds dramatic, doesn't it? And perhaps it is, but it's the truth. I've talked about my flair for drama, for feeling emotions deeply, and that more than applies to this subject.


I still haven't started composing my posts about my trip because I haven't been ready to fully invest myself in reliving my life-altering adventure. I feel silly as I type that because it was just a 2 week vacation, right? A vacation that I was really only taking because I wanted to see my best friend. A vacation to a country that was hardly even a blip on my radar for the first 24 years of my life. So why get so worked up? Because something about the entirity of the experience, from traveling alone to going against my control-freak nature in order to embrace whatever came my way, changed me. I'm more my true self now than I was when I left Denver on April 9th. The people who know me best, the ones who can read me like an open book, can vouch for this. I am different; not any better or worse, just changed.


Australia changed me. And, I like the new me, but I still long for the country and the people and the culture that felt so much like home to me.

quote about AUS by Annamaria Weldon

Fill in the Blank Friday

I feel like it's been a while since I played along with Lauren's Friday blanks, but to be perfectly honest I cannot remember exactly when the last time was...before I left for Australia, maybe? No matter, I'm playing today and encourage you all to link up as well!

Happy Friday!

1. People always tell me I look like my mother, even though I see more of my father in my face. My personality is pretty much all Debby, but I physically look more like my father.
(I've never been told I look like a celebrity, by the way)

2. Friends don't let friends make big decisions without first discussing the pros and cons; they don't let friends walk around with food in their teeth or things in their hair.

3. A sunny day is perfect for drinking coffee on the patio, going for a long walk or hike, reading at the park, grabbing a glass of wine and then wandering around Old Town with the girls.

4. My favorite accessory is a fun pair of earrings. I love earrings, and because I have short hair they are usually visible.

5. If I could afford it I would quit my job, pay off whatever officials I needed to in order to get the residency required to live in Australia, move into a killer flat with Jamie, call it my home base and then travel the world. Yep, sounds like an awesome life plan to me.

6. The cure for boredom is to go for a long drive or walk, and to get just a little lost, both in direction and in your thoughts. A good book works, too. As does spontaneous wine nights with friends.

7. I am currently "in like" with If I Die Young by The Band Perry because it references my favorite Tennyson poem, with the idea of a pixie-ish cut (I may chop off my hair this arvo!), Twinings Lady Grey tea, long walks when it's sprinkling outside, avocado and tomatoes on toasted sourdough, etc, etc...

The Heritage Tea Rooms

I'm hormonal, annoyed with cost share agreements, in desperate need of a haircut and, unfortunately, wearing my cranky pants today. We all know these days happen, and they really aren't anything to get too worked up over, but having the ability to escape them is always nice. Now, when I say "escape" I don't mean a literal one because, obviously, I'm kind of stuck with my hormones and hair no matter where I go, but a mental escape usually does wonders for the psyche. So, please join me as I jet across the world to Townsville, Australia. You see, this university town in North Queensland just so happens to be home to the most relaxing (and possibly happiest) place on earth: The Heritage Tea Rooms. I kid you not, if I lived in Townsville I would spend entirely too much time at this place, drinking heaps of tea, eating scones and just taking in the scenery. It's wonderful.

(located in North Queensland's oldest building)

(used to be the Eureka Hotel in the 1800s)

(truly amazing tea)

(blueberry and pumpkin scones)

Music for the Soul

As you all know, I am the kind of gal who becomes obsessed with a song, plays it on repeat for a week or two, sings my little heart out and then, like a magpie and a shiny object, I move on to a new song. It works for me...probably drives my coworkers crazy, but they have all grown accustomed to my semi-eccentric ways (thank goodness!).

This week's song obsession is Love Lost by The Temper Trap. It's true love. Seriously. And, I have Miss Jamie Lynn, that favorite eccentric bestie of mine, to thank for this song. She turned me onto The Temper Trap several months ago, and I liked them right away, but it wasn't until we were listening to them in Townsville that I really felt a strong pull.

So, without further ado, give 'em a listen!



Our love was lost
But now we've found it
Our love was lost
And hope was gone

Our love was lost
But now we've found it
And if you flash your heart
I won't deny it
I promise

I promise

Your walls are up
Too cold to touch it
Your walls are up
Too high to climb

I know it's hard
But I can still hear it beating
So if you flash your heart
I won't mistreat it
I promise

I promise

Our love was lost
In the rubble are all the things
That you've, you've been dreaming of
Keep me in mind
When you're ready
I am here
To take you every time

Oh our love was lost
Lost, lost, lost, lost....
Our love was lost
But now its found

Why yes, I do read even when I travel...

...but to be perfectly honest, I actually thought I would read more than I did while on my trip. I'm usually a horrible sleeper on airplanes and I tend to read for a few hours straight when I'm flying. But, the usual rules didn't seem to apply to my international travel. I read a little on my flight from Denver to LAX; slept basically the entire flight to Sydney; read a fair bit up to Townsville and back to Sydney again; and read a bit here and there while I was in Sydney and Townsville. All of that amounted to an entire book and two-thirds of another. That is usually what I read on a weekend trip to Boston...I take this as a sign of the amazing amounts of fun I was having; clearly too much to give in to my book nerd ways.

Anyway, the few books that I read in April were:

ps- I'm a tad obsessed with Kristan Higgins right now...perfect Spring, chick lit reads!

Feedback Needed!

Ok, lovely readers, I think I am finally ready to delve into my Australia trip and share with you all, but I need your feedback on how to go about posting. I am sure you all don't want to hear every little thing, nor do you just want to read a bulleted list of what I did each day, so what kind of format would you like: a daily breakdown, 2 longish posts on Sydney and Townsville, a couple of posts on each destination with highlights discussed, or something else entirely different? Picture will, of course, be included with any format. Please share your thoughts with me.

Thanks, loves!

I miss this.

I cannot promise the sappy, I-miss-Australia posts won't go on for a while, but bear with me. The post-traveling blues have hit me hard, and even though I am back to feeling normal and smiling at the fact that I'm lucky enough to live in as beautiful a state as Colorado, I left a piece of my heart behind in Australia. I want to say that I specifically left it in Sydney because stepping off of the plane in Sydney felt like coming home, but there's a bit scattered up in North Queensland, too, simply because there are lovely memories there.

I miss uninterrupted time with my best friend. The sense of complete understanding and acceptance between she and I is overwhelmingly powerful and comforting.

I miss all of the new friends that I made; truly fabulous people who embraced me as their own and showed me the time of my life.

I miss the vibrant, yet calming pulse of Sydney.

I miss every day feeling like a new, little adventure. I didn't need to know where I was or where I was going all the time; everything was fine so long as we were laughing and having a good time.

Random thoughts ATM

- I love the way my car smells strongly of fresh pineapple after I've bought one at the grocery store.

- The orange tulips from meine Mutti are gorgeous on my dining room table.

- I have the best Mutti!

- In honor of Australia and my intense love for the country, I'm going to become an Aussie wine snob. Lindeman's Shiraz-Cabernet is currently topping my list.

- Today's imaginary bestie date: jogging through The Domain in Sydney followed by sushi and wine picnic-style overlooking the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

- I really need to start blogging about my trip, but I haven't even uploaded my pics yet for fear of becoming melancholy over not being in Australia...soon!

- That being said, I'm falling back in love with Colorado again, so the world is beginning to right itself.

- I may actually believe in the saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder" right now...both in terms of where I live and with the boy.

- Every time I watch Tangled my heart smiles. I love Flynn and Maximus.

-There was something invigorating and freeing about being single in a new, international city.

- Skype truly is a fabulous invention.

- Current song obsession: "Young Blood" by The Naked and Famous. Check it out.

Greetings from the Land Down Under

Hey, everyone! I just wanted to pop on and say a quick hello. I haven't really had a chance to read anyone's blogs, nor do a post of my own, but I'm still alive and having the most amazing time! Australia has unexpectedly stolen my heart and I think it may break a little when I have to leave on Saturday. Sydney has especially won me over; the minute I stepped out of the airport I felt instantly at home in the city. On the other hand, North Queensland, where I am now, is a bit too humid and tropical for my tastes, but the landscape is truly gorgeous. I can't wait to share all of my adventures and pictures with you all!

One Week

The countdown has officially begun: in one week, I will be boarding a plane at LAX to spend an ungodly number of hours flying over the Pacific, on my way to AUSTRALIA!

In one week, I will be about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

In one week, I will get to spend 2 uninterrupted weeks with my best friend. This hasn't happened in over a year, and I am so excited.

In one week, I will be exploring Sydney, drinking coffee and tea, eating fresh seafood at the fish market, sipping Australian wine and snapping photos at the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Then I will be heading up to Townsville (near the Great Barrier Reef) to see where Jamie calls home, meet her friends, pretend I know how to drive a stick shift on the left side of the road and soak up lots of sun.

In one week, I will get a much-needed break from my life and hopefully come back refreshed and better in-tune with myself again.

"A woman can reinvent or erase her history entirely when she travels. This is one of the great benefits of leaving home."

-from Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Exciting News!

Well, I finally did it. I bought my tickets to visit Jamie in AUSTRALIA!! I will be in a land down under from April 9th through April 23rd...two whole weeks abroad! It was exhilarating, a little scary and definitely exciting. Hearing how excited Jamie was when I told her pretty much made my day! I cannot wait. We spent the rest of the evening skyping and basically just saying different forms of "oh my god, you're going to be in Australia soon!". So fabulous!

I've said before that Australia was never high on my list of places to visit, but I want to explore this country that has stolen my best friend's heart, and I am legitimately excited to do so. I need to experience this piece of her life that is so important to her, and therefore important to me, because Australia and the time she has spent there has become part of the definition of Jamie.

But, dear readers, I haven't traveled internationally in 10 YEARS, nor have I ever done it by myself, so if you have any tips for me please feel free to share. I know it's going to be a wonderful adventure and things will go smoothly, but a little preparation never hurts.

Happy Friday!

A little Skype gushing...

I seriously love Skype! I love that even though Jamie is halfway across the world and in a different hemisphere than me, Skype makes it seem almost like we're roomies again...well, maybe not roomies, but it makes it seem like we live in the same country again.

I think our morning conversations are my favorite. Technically, it's morning for me and just before bedtime for her, but we'll say "morning" for convenience. This is when it really feels like we're living together again. We had our morning routine down pat when we were roomies, so when we're Skyping and I hop up to shower or blow dry my hair, I don't even have to say anything; she automatically knows what part of my morning routine I'm at and just goes with the flow. It's awesome.

When we lived together, Jamie was usually ready faster than I was, so she'd sit on the toilet (with the cover down, obviously) and we'd babble at each other while I finished my hair and put on my make-up. Well, that's exactly what we still do. Haha...I put the computer on the toilet, tell Jamie she's on her throne, and we continue to chatter away while I finish getting ready. It's perfect! I also love running outfit ideas by her. She know my style, knows how I handle different types of weather and if I give her a general run-down she can yay or nay clothing choices almost as if she were living in the next room again.

My life simply wouldn't be the same without our random, all-over-the-board conversations, so I'm glad they can still happen. It's not the same as having her here, but you won't hear me complaining about our video chats, where, when Skype freezes (as it tends to do), Jamie's face is always stuck in some hilariously awkward position, or when we're just IMing each other we somehow manage to carry on 5 different strings of conversation without flaw until one of us mentions in, causing confusion to set it until we have to pick just one conversation to run with. It's how we roll!


By the way, according to this morning's conversation, I will be moving to Australia so Jamie and I can drink goon (wine) and drive around the country following the bushfires until we meet sexy firemen and eventually settle down near a bigger city. Naturally, these firemen will be brothers and I already called dibs on the older of the two.

I needed this

I truly believe there is nothing better than a best friend. I finally had a much-needed, long phone conversation with Jamie tonight and my entire world feels as though it's been righted. I've been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the past 10 days and really just needed to talk with the one person who would understand it all without my needing to explain anything. But Jamie's in the middle of a move, and is therefore without internet at her new house, so Skyping has been impossible. So, rather than clear out my psyche through good old fashioned conversation, I've been attempting to work things out through odd dreams and excessive sleepwalking. Obviously, something wasn't working...I needed an EJ fix! We hadn't had a legit conversation in 2 weeks, which doesn't seem like too long, but to us it's practically an eternity. But isn't that how it's supposed to be between true friends?

And tonight we talked, and talked and talked. Ahhh. My soul feels lighter, some weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I feel happier. Thank you, Jamie Lynn for knowing me so well and for needing tonight's phone call just as much as I did.

fresh tomatoes, velvety Pinot Noir and Jane Austen only add to my lovely evening.

She's my friend soulmate

(Vail, CO -- October 2009)

I'm craving time with my best friend in a way that I almost cannot describe. It's officially been 6 months since she left Colorado for Australia and it'll be another 6 months before she's back again. We've survived 6 months before, but not longer and I'm kind of worried that I'm going to turn into a cranky bitch towards the end of this next 6 month period. Jamie and I skype nearly every day, we email and facebook and we're lucky enough to be able to fit in (truly) long distance phone calls on a semi-regular basis. Our friendship is stronger than ever, and it's so nice to know that no matter where each of us are in our lives, we can persevere. We can still talk about anything and everything, more often than not we're on the same, sometimes completely random, page (the EJ wavelength) and she still knows me, and I know her, better than anyone else. She and I have found our friend soulmate in each other, and I love that...no matter how cheesy it may sound.

I miss you, Miss Jamie Lynn...get ready for one hell of an airport reunion in December!

(that's my Jamie!)