Milwaukee&Madison

In an effort to fill Emma's time with places and things she has never seen or done, we headed to Milwaukee on Sunday to visit my cousin and cousin-in-law (James & Abby).  After seeing the sights and staying the night, we headed over to the Madison area to show Emma some of our favorite spots.  


The highlights of Milwaukee (besides Abby & James of course!) include shopping on Brady Street and in the Third Ward, and taking Emma to the Safe House.  

We were sent on a mission all over the restaurant and luckily we had Abby who is a pro since she has been there so many times!  You can read more about the Safe House here.


In the Madison area we took Emma to the Mustard Museum, Mount Horeb and the Grumpy Troll, and the Henry Villas Zoo (which she loved!).  I had all kinds of other little stops planned, but the weather was freezing and we were ready to be home again.  

I am sure Emma will have lots to tell you about the zoo!  

S'Mores

I have introduced Emma to one of my most favorite foods of all time... S'Mores!  When I found out she hadn't heard of a s'more, and obviously had never eaten one, I had Paul fire up the Saffire grill so we could remedy the situation.  

Emma loves them!  I knew she would... and finally it was something that I talked up that exceeded the expectations!

We have added s'mores to the menu quite a few times lately... Yum!

Road-trippin'

Well hello!  Emma has been here for three weeks now and the time flew by so quickly that she decided to stay for another few weeks!  Lucky me!  It isn't everyday you get to spend time with your best-friend who lives half the world away.  


As Emma previously stated, we hit the road to knock out two more states on our quest to hit all 50!  Indiana and Michigan.  These were my highlights on the trip...


The Indiana Dunes Park...

New Buffalo, Michigan...

Amish Area (Shipshewana and Middlebury) 

The pretzels that we had at Ben's pretzels were out of this world!  I want to drive all the way back there right now just to get another pretzel (plus it was free pretzel Friday!  bonus!).  


We ended the trip at Paul's sister's apartment with dinner at an Asian-fusion place and a night on the town!  Needless to say the trip was a lot of fun... and we were blessed with perfect weather to top it off!  

On The Road Again..

Hey fellow roadtripper,
I'm so excited to be in the United States of Anna (America) again and already dreading the day I have to leave.

Even though the Indiana Dunes weren't exactly what I was expecting as someone seriously talked them up they were still great to see!! I had never seen beaches before with bare trees do that was a first for me.

Our next big stop...Amish Country!! Well that was an experience. I loved seeing the traditional clothes and horse drawn buggies instead of cars. While I'm not ready to throw away my shopping malls or even a car for a bonnet and buggy yet I adore their warm soft pretzel and they have some pretty amazing cheese too.

Our roadtrip ended with a very fun night out in Merrillville, Indiana with Annah and Brian. Steak n Shake is definitely a life saver!!!
Love E xx

Welcome Emma!

Emma is here!  I like to create a big to-do at the airport to make her feel very welcome in the good old USA...

I feel like with each visit the signs get a little better and the wording gets a little more creative!

Another very exciting surprise... the package Emma sent me from India arrived in the mail the same day that she arrived at the airport!

Evidently the gentleman that she paid to package the present "in a box" and send it "by air" wasn't listening... he sent it via sea and sewed it into a canvas satchel!

At least it arrived safe and sound, just like Emma did!

Memory Monday [5]

I have been thinking a lot about what we were doing around this time in 2008.  About now we were in Thailand in an area called Sukhothai...

I picked a guest house kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but is didn't matter much as we spent our time riding bikes through the palace ruins.  

It was like we had the whole place to ourselves!

What was I thinking with that fanny pack?  I mailed it home after I saw how it ruined these pictures haha...

Oh, and the green curry was soooooo delicious!  It took us quite awhile to catch a bus out though... it was like there was no schedule... a sleepy little town with no need for set times (much to the irritation of us organized backpackers... we were sitting at the side of the road waiting for that bus for what felt like eternity).  


May all the buses you need today be prompt!

Memory Monday [4]

Today is the start of Chinese New Year!  Back when we were living in Beijing, Emma and I rang in the year of the rat with style!  It was a little bit scary as there were fireworks going off everywhere... and not all of them were pointed for the sky!  

I was especially nervous... Emma and I were about to embark on our journey around South East Asia and I didn't want to risk being injured!

I don't think hiding behind the Diet Coke bottle made me safer from all the fireworks (but it was worth a try!)...

Just a small sample of what was in store for the night. 

The next day we went to the temple fair.  It was really crowded but so cool to see!  There were food and merchandise booths, red lanterns everywhere, and some interesting entertainment options (remember the singing?).  

So much fun!  I am going to learn how to make jiaozi and then next year we can celebrate here with sparklers, mahjong, and red decorations!  

Memory Monday [3]

Hi Emma!


Well things have gotten colder on this side of the world, but still no sign of snow.  Do you remember what we were doing about this time when we lived in Beijing?  We went to Harbin to the Ice-Lantern Festival!  

The train ride up to Harbin was soooo cold!  Once we got there it was even colder... eyelashes froze, mobiles and cameras died, we had to wear layer upon layer of clothing whenever we ventured from the comfort of the hotel...

There was a really pretty cathedral there as well...St. Sofia's.

You wore that scary balaclava the whole time... well some of the time...

Other highlights included Stalin Park, the Russian Ice Bar, and Siberian Tiger Park!  


That was such a fun trip!  I'm sure you are having just as much fun wherever you are now... though I bet you are enjoying the weather much more!  Miss you!


Yours with love-Anna

Memory Monday [2]

Dear E,

I am so sorry that I missed your call on Christmas Eve!  I hope Nepal is great!

Do you remember when we spent Christmas together in 2007?

 When you were in Oz in November you got us those matching outfits...

 Even though we we were both miles away from our families we managed to make it a special event. 

Can't wait til next Christmas when you are here having Christmas! Miss you!

Yours with love-A

Memory Monday [1]

Dear E,


Wow!  India sounds crazy... like a crazy good time!  I hope you remembered your earplugs... haha!  


Seeing how you just left Phuket, Thailand, I was just thinking about when we were there last...

Remember how we happened to be there during an election so there were all kinds of rules... like...

Then we met those crazy Aussies who were in town for a destination wedding...

And we wound up lighting off the paper lantern things at the beach...

Then we went for a late night swim... at least you did... until the security guard came.  He was blowing a whistle and yelling... something about how swimming at night wasn't allowed (let me just tell you I was panicked while waiting for you on the shore... I imagined you being thrown in jail like Bridget Jones and me having to figure out how to bail you out...).  

That was an epic night!


Take care (after all, I'm not there to bail you out this time!).


Yours with love-A

Introducing Free Oranges!

Once upon a time two kindred spirits met in Beijing, China.  It was 2007, year of the pig, and a year for so much more...


Emma and Anna were both teaching English in Beijing and happened to meet through mutual friends.  They shared a love for fun and adventure... they quickly became best friends and travel buddies.  

Though they thoroughly enjoyed Beijing... the food, the culture, moonlighting as socialites in the expatriate scene... they traded in the VIP treatment and comfort of their belongings and apartments to rough it around SouthEast Asia!  

After 10 planes, 56 buses, 29 tuk-tuks, 12 ferries, 11 taxis, 9 subways, 2 motorcycles, 1 elephant, 1 bamboo raft, and 1 rickshaw, Emma and Anna parted ways.  Emma was back in Australia and Anna was back in the USA.  Even with 14,000 km/8,900 miles between them, Emma and Anna remained close.


Emma has even been to the USA to visit twice!  Once for the road trip, "16 states, 8 trucker hats, and Route 66," and the other time for Anna's wedding.

It was on their epic road trip across America and back again that Emma and Anna saw a billboard...


Fill up at Shell and get a free bag of oranges!!!  
"What would we do with a free bag of oranges?" -Anna
"Eat them, juice them, throw them at people...cars..." -Emma


Though we still haven't decided what we would do with free oranges one thing is certain... no matter where we are in the world, or in life for that matter, we will always remain close!  There is no better way to stay in touch than to send postcards... all across the world... so that the people that matter most can have a glimpse into life as we know it.  


What would you do with a bag of free oranges?