Farewells

My time in Aus is slowly coming to a close; today was a day of farewells w/ many of our friends leaving Sydney to go back to their respective homes. My day started out w/ a banana & a long black coffee. How hilarious is James' birthday card?

Afterwards we went to Bondi Junction where James went shopping w/ his birthday gift certificates & we spent time w/ our friends Brie & Drake who have been visiting from Brisbane & flew home today. Once again I made a visit to Sumo Salad and had a mix of the falafel couscous salad & chickpea pumpkin salad.

For some very odd reason, even though I don't like chocolate, I tried a dairy free dark chocolate covered orange-peel. Sometimes I will try something just because it is vegan, even if I wouldn't normally eat it. This sweet just reaffirmed my aversion to chocolate- I preferred the glazed orange to the chocolate covering, I know I'm odd what can I say.

For dinner we picked up Thai food & ate w/ James' family because they wanted to say goodbye to James before he left to America. Yes that's right he's coming to America. I am sooo excited : ) The only bummer though is that I procrastinated in buying my ticket home, so the soonest flight I could get out was on the 2nd. I'm trying to get on a standby flight tomorrow, but it's unlikely that I will be able to. Worst case scenario I'll just have to be in Aus for 3 days on my own while James is in California w/ my family. It will be way weird to Skype when he's there & I'm here.

Anyways, for dinner I ate a side salad of mixed greens w/ avocado, olives, capsicum (bell pepper), & tomatoes w/ balsamic vinaigrette and Tom Kha soup w/ vegetables, tofu, & white rice.

For dessert we had some delicious fruit: kiwi, melons, bananas, watermelon, oranges, & pears.

Once we finished dinner w/ the fam we then had to head to our friend Tom's house for another farewell dinner party for our Canadian friend James who is leaving to go on further travels. While I opted out of having a second dinner I could not resist the homemade hummus that Tom's mom made. There is nothing better than authentic hummus w/ warm pita bread.

and some more fruit salad.

The boys being boys. I love that my boyfriend is sporting a Kind Campaign shirt.

Wish me luck tomorrow trying to get on my standby flight, I'll need it!

James' 21st Birthday!

Special K vanilla almond cereal w/ 1/2 sliced banana & soy milk. So good.

With a long black coffee from the Paddington Grind. Like my shoes? ; )

I grabbed a quick bite from the food court at the Westfield mall in Maroubra where we were busy buying some last minute things for James' birthday party. This yummy salad from Sumo Salad gave me the energy I needed to blow up all 150 balloons. Whew.

A hodge podge of sorts. Mixed greens w/ corn, tomato, carrots, chickpeas, avocado & pumpkin w/ balsamic vinaigrette, a bread roll, & a diet coke.

At James' party there was a ton of food. I only got a pic of some of the appetizers including brie & crackers, hummus, guacamole, quiche, & spanakopita. For dinner there were unpictured kebabs, sausages, & lots of salads.

For dessert there was the healthy option of a big fruit salad...

& James' amazing birthday cake that his aunty had made for him. This cake was insane! I love the surfer. It was made by Chris at Cake Occasions.

It was such an amazing night. James' sister & I made a slide show of photos and videos of James' throughout his life, and some of his friends and best mates (along with me) gave speeches.

A million drinking songs later this cute couple from the beginning of the night turned into....

girlfriend taking care of a very wasted boyfriend. Poor James was more trashed than he has ever been in his entire life. I guess that's what 21st birthday parties are for. Interesting fact: the dress I was wearing was James' moms from about 20 years ago.

After sleeping in super late at James' parents house, we made it back to Paddington where I grabbed a soy long black w/ honey from The Grind.

We lucked out & there were tons of leftovers from the party so lunch was as easy as warming up some roasted vegetables & adding the usual hummus & BBQ sauce.

Even though it was James' birthday I was spoiled & received a gift from friend and fellow blogger Winnecke. She works at a bakery, Sonoma, and after reading my blog and seeing how much I love grains she gifted me some of their muesli.

For dinner I had a bit of both the honey & breakfast spice and spelt maple & almond cooked w/ soy milk. I think I died and went to heaven this muesli was so delicious, it won't last long. Thanks Winnecke!