What don’t you expect when you buy your first home together? For my husband and I, we did not expect that we would battle as we have to find a design style we can both appreciate. I’m not sure its totally definable, but it is somewhere between mid-century modern and scandi. Our house has so many stories, many of which I plan to continue to share here on my blog, but one of my favourites is how long it took us to decide on the color for our living room! This wall color gave way to us creating this massive, beautiful piece of art for less than $50! If you’ve always wanted a large piece of art hanging in your home, but couldn’t afford to fork over a few thousand dollars, read on! I’m sure that we are not alone in that most couples will fight about what color to paint their wall, and to ease tension, purchase sample pots […]
After a month back home, I have needed a few weeks to get readjusted into life back in Australia – Happy Belated New Year! I had the best time with family, was spoiled with love and attention, and was reminded of how good it feels to be with people who know you inside & out. Since immigrating to Australia, and even now that my spousal 820 visa has been approved, I have missed home. At first, it was the things you laugh at (because you don’t want to burden budding new friendships), like Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, fashion, peanut butter M&M’s, Amazon Prime, Penn Station East Coast Subs, Hulu – the list goes on and on! More recently I would say, I have deeply, passionately missed everything, and everyone about “home”. In many ways, I think this blog post will be a love letter of sorts to my family, who I now rarely see. For them to know how hard […]
For my 2nd Aussie-American Thanksgiving, I was much more prepared! I concocted a dessert of classic American & Aussie flavours; Pumpkin, Salted Caramel, and White Chocolate Tim Tams – for this holiday treat. This vanilla spice cake got a homemade pumpkin puree filling between its layers, frosted with fresh whip cream, drizzled with caramel (not homemade – gasp!), and topped with white chocolate Tim Tams. Needless to say, there was only 1 tiny slice leftover, which my waistline is incredibly “thankful” for. This homemade cake does take a little bit of time, but it simple and fun to make! BONUS, it will make your friends think you are a master baker! For Christmas try dates instead of pumpkin. RECIPE: Caramel Spice Cake FROM: inspired by a Chocolate version by Harriet Olafsdottir MAKES: about 24 medium slices QUICK TIME-SAVING BAKING TIPS: 1. If you are going to make the Pumpkin Puree filling, you can dice the pumpkin and get it steaming while […]
My husband and I have been all around the world backpacking, but before we did that, before we moved to Perth/Western Australia – we lived in Columbus, OH. Columbus, for all intensive purposes, is like a smaller Seattle. Yeah, we get the same amount of rainfall too. But the weather isn’t the reason I draw the comparison. Columbus is a busy town, tons of historic houses, a rich downtown, delicious restaurant concepts (thanks to the outlying farming communities) and a thriving small business atmosphere. Amazing coffee shops are abundant, and the overall attitude/culture of the city is super accepting of new ideas and people. Columbus is also home to the Buckeyes of Ohio State University – one of the largest US State-funded public schools (over 65,000 students!). Columbus is also home to many of my best friends, and is where I got my Bachelors in Photography from the small private art institution (Columbus College of Art & Design). So no, […]
These Muffins are absolutely the best I’ve ever had!!! They are super duper easy to make but so moist and springy! FYI though, the chocolate chips make them disappear quicker! Ditch a 1/4 cup of the sugar & the chocolate chips, if you want a healthier version. They have a lot of memories for me (which you can read the backstory below the recipe if you’d like), but then again, doesn’t all food? RECIPE: Best Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Recipe FROM: Joanie Smith, but adapted for chocolate lovers by me. MAKES: about 16 muffins Mix These: 1 1/4 cup All Purpose or Plain Flour 1 cup Sugar 1/2 t. Salt 1 t. Baking Soda Creme These: 1/2 cup unsalted butter 3 overly ripe bananas, mashed (where there is more brown than yellow) 2 eggs Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Lower the temperature 25 F/10 C if you have a fan forced oven. 2. Mix the dry ingredients […]
When you decide to leave the country for a year, you are left with a few decisions to make. Do you store your stuff? What travel credit card to you get? Who will you get for a phone card? What type of medical and travel insurance do I get? Where will we stay? Honestly, these are just the beginning of the mound of things we’ve had to address, and only about 2 weeks to do it in. Isaac and I came up with the idea of an extended vagabonding trip in February 2015. We had sat and contimplated how on earth we would be able to afford 6 months (the length of time we had in mind at the time) without dipping too much into our savings. While we both wanted to travel, neither of us wanted to start off our marriage with a huge pile of debt. It was late one night that I discovered a work-exchange site called Workaway. […]
On July 11th, 2014, Isaac treated us to a Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cincinnati, OH. Our feet hit the floor at 5 am in a rush to lift of at 6:15 am at Sunrise at a small airfield just outside of town. After doing a splash and go on mirror-esque lake, we soared over a river and lush landscapes, brushing tree tops to arrive at a “Hot Air Ballon challenge”. Though what I was told was a target (a common Hot Air Balloon contest), turned out to be a sign with the words “Will You Marry Me?” written on it. Isaac got down on one knee, and though his very distracted girlfriend was obsessively taking pictures out the other side of the balloon, he was as patient as he could be. In the zone, I was interrupted by not only the Pilot’s incessant barkings “What does that sign say?!” and “look at the sign!”, Isaac also prompted me […]
DAYS 59 – 79 | SAFETY BAY– Tons of images from the Holiday while adrenaline Aussies were out & about– COMING SOON!
DAYS 53- 58 | AUSTRALIND– Isaac’s brother Matt (“2 years older than Isaac”- aka. 1 yr. 8 mos.) & his beautiful Natalie (His future wife no doubt), closed on a new house some time ago. Both are incredibly thrifty, appreciative of art, and love nature. It was during one of Matt’s particularly thrifty inspirations, that he some how ended up with a bundle of _____ wood floor pieces (still trying to find out what type of exotic luxury wood this was). Someone else had bought too much and although weathered and aged (some may have felt it was unusable), now had this beautiful patina. Matt would certainly never admit it, though Natalie would know this best, it takes a special person to see past convention and see truth, beauty, and possibility. I have to admit, this is a quality the entire Gould Family shares in their own unique ways. You can imagine that Isaac & Matt (being the closest in relative […]
DAYS 48- 52 | MARGARET RIVER– I emerged one night from editing and introverting to find Lynne, Purri, and Isaac talking about this awesome, modern Villa in Margaret River. Before I knew it, we were whisked away to the Wine Country of WA! The route to get there wasn’t too much different than what we took to Windy Harbor. Winding roads, lots of country side, and one time familiar quaint towns made me feel more at home. We were nearing Margaret River when Lynne said we had to stop for chocolate! Always game for chocolate, I must have missed the conversation about the significance of this specific chocolate. Boy did it live up to its name: Gabriel’s Chocolate. The had won awards for their pure origin chocolates. We got in just before dinner, and got settled in to, not the hyper modern villa, but a perfectly quirky Balinese style home. I have never been to Bali, but the idea of […]