Merry Christmas!

From our home to yours, we wish you a lovely Christmas!

November on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I'll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.

Christmas came in early this year as November was filled with moments spent with family. The whole month, I made efforts to spend as much time with my Mom and relatives here in Sydney and from America. There were lots of going around Sydney, eating out, big and small get-togethers and we even sneaked out of Sydney to spend a day at the Hunter Valley. To have family living in different parts of the world is always a great exercise on being present in the now and being grateful for time spent with them. Time with family is the best Christmas gift we have received this year.

I'm sharing a few snippets of our time together in last month's Ibyangram and a few other things that made up my November.

Mom's first Spring visit in Sydney. I'm so happy that she finally saw the pretty Jacaranda Trees that I've always talked about! 

Christmas came early this year in the guise of my Mom. So as I have my first cup of my favourite Toffee Nut Latte, I'm spending it with her.

An IKEA breakfast spread. Treating Mom to cheap Swedish brekkie haha!

Wearing Spring hues on a gloomy, rainy day. Wickedly happy colours!

Inspired by Royce' Potato Chip Chocolate, the Husband created his version only that his one was dipped in Dark Chocolate.

Pastry breakfast for three at the La Renaissance Cafe. 

Exploring Watsons Bay. A charming little beach where we had fish and chips for lunch.

An El Jannah dinner! We finally have an El Jannah branch near our place. It's the best charcoal-grilled chicken in Sydney. 

Grateful for thoughtful friends. Received a package from one of my dearest friends from Manila and it included a "bling-ified" Snoopy charm that can be used as a chain for phones. I love it! It's so pretty. 

Spectacular view of a vineyard in Hunter Valley. Our family spent the whole day tasting wines, eating cheese and having lunch and coffee at the Hunter Valley Gardens. Oh and we did a bit of shopping too.

Rewarding ourselves with Adriano Zumbo's Macarons. Delicious flavours: Pandan Sticky Rice, Toasted Marshmallow, Salted Butter Popcorn, Apple Pie & Chocoron (the one with the smiling face).

Lovely day, lovely wedding. Our family witnessed the beautiful wedding of my cousin. Lots of happy smiles and touching moments.

Afternoon Tea at Max Brenner. Left work early so I can hang out with the family for afternoon tea.

Shared our love for Korean Food to the family. Went to Koreatown in Strathfield for a Korean BBQ Lunch at Won Jo and then ended up having coffee and Bingsu at My Sweet Memory Cafe.

Gold Coin for the Philippines. Our office held a fundraising morning tea for the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. We served Brazo de Mercedes & Leche Flan Chiffon Cake (from a Filipino bakery) along with biscuits & cheese, brownies, chips & scones. I'm so grateful to everyone who participated.

My lomo cameras have been calling out to me lately so I bought 3 rolls of 36-exposure films. I already finished a roll of film and currently waiting for them to be developed.

Grateful for my November. Later on, after a few years perhaps, I will chance upon looking at these November Ibyangrams again and all I'll feel will be appreciation and love.

Sydney, My Beloved City (And An Article Called "23 Reasons Life Is Better In Australia)

Is it possible to fall in love with a place? 

In my case...Yes! I have once tweeted something like, "Living in another country is like Marriage. You have to find the right one for you". And just like the reality that Marriage brings, living in a country other than your motherland has its certain ups and downs. No country is ever perfect. No matter how taken we are with the beauty of a particular city/country, there are adjustments and challenges to go thru. I've lived in Sydney for eight years now and I'm still finding a lot of reasons to love this place. It is a city that gives even with its imperfections.

A view of Sydney cityline from my office (November 2013)

Below is an article about Australia that amused me because all of it are somehow true. Read on and know more about the land down under.

23 Reasons Life Is Better In Australia
(Source)

1. In Australia, it's incredibly normal to take a gap year.

2. Australians have swimming pools in their oceans.

3. People in Australia really know coffee. Starbucks tried to invade the scene a few years ago, but Aussies didn’t break from their mom-and-pop roasteries. Starbucks was forced to close 61 of its 87 Australian stores.

4. Two words: Gold. Coast.

5. Precious, just-born, infant turtles crawl into the Australian sea from January until March. And there are turtle guides who will help you find and say hi to them. 

6. Everybody in Australia can swim very fast.

7. The minimum wage in Australia is $16.88. SIXTEEN DOLLARS AND EIGHTY-EIGHT CENTS! In America, minimum wage ranges by state from $5.15 (Georgia) to $9.19 (Washington).

8. Australia's capital city threw itself a birthday party. And gave everybody the day off work. And put on free concerts. And set up the world’s longest champagne bar with hundreds of bottles of champagne. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!

9. A bunch of lakes in Australia are pink, thanks to algae and prawns.

10. Handheld meat pies are, like, Australians' national dish. They eat them while watching football that has its own special Australian rules, such as "you may tackle people without any helmets on." 

11. You can apply for a travel visa to Australia online. No consulates, no lines, no heartache.

12. Australians don't sacrifice sustainability for tourism. Lord Howe Island, the most beautiful island of coral reefs, is only allowed to host 400 tourists at any given time, no matter how many want to come.

13. Caramel slice is in Australia.

14. There are more kangaroos than humans in Australia, which makes life more adorable. To deal with all those marsupials, experts have concocted kangaroo birth control and a national Kangaroo Management Plan. Another population control -- sniffle, tear, sniffle -- is the kangaroo burger.

15. Australians dominate at rugby league, while the only rugby that Americans know is played primarily by grunting fraternity brothers.

16. Australians make a vacation out of helping the planet-- on a conservation holiday, you can measure plants in the rainforest or monitor owl species at the base of the Australian Alps.

17. Everybody in Australia has accents.

18. When life gets rough (from eating too much Vegemite or winning too much rugby), Australians can always escape to the perfect blue heaven known as Lake McKenzie.

19. In Australia, there are creatures called fairy penguins. After they get home from long days at sea, you can visit their colonies by night.

20. The Great Ocean Road, the Aussies' seaside version of Route 66, takes you past some pretty stellar rock formations.

21. Australians have the widest steel arch bridge in the world. You may have heard of it.

22. Liam Hemsworth was born in Australia.

23. Chris Hemsworth was born in Australia.

For the complete article with matching photos, check it out here.

Photo Catalogue: Royal Botanic Gardens (Spring 2013)

Would you believe that it's only recently that I got to explore the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney? I'm glad I finally did and I got to discover it with my Mom. Here are a few facts about this lovely space in Sydney:

Size of Site: 64 hectares

Size of Botanic Garden: 30 hectares

Size of Domain: 34 hectares

Annual visitation for the Royal Botanic Garden: 3,544,344. People attending concerts and major events in the Domain: 433,482; people using the Domain playing fields for booked sports: 59,300

Number of plant species in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney (including the Domain): 8,900

More information here.

Royal Botanic Gardens is a perfect place to relax while communing with nature. It's also a good place to have a walk or jog or simply have some quiet time alone or with a loved one.

My Mom and I visited this month and there were lots of flowers abloom as it was Spring. Here are some of the snaphots of trees and flowers that we saw during our visit.