Happy Birthday Lorin!

Sunday was Lorin's 30th birthday. Little did she know that her beau Nathan had been organizing a surprise lunch to help ring in her 30's.

We all meet at Pala Pizza on the lower east side, a very trendy organic/vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free pizza place that is one of Lorin's favorite's.

The surprise went off without a hitch, and we had a lovely afternoon celebrating with pizza and wine, opening presents, singing with cake, and generally making the day as special as Lorin!














Cara, Amanda and Gary.














my love-bug!














And then the party continued with a little pub crawl in the east village......hmmmm

It's Nick

For anyone who watches "Bethenny Ever After" you will be familiar with the lovely eccentric food blogger Nick. He is an avid foodie, and David and I have often followed his food tips around the city.

I am such a fan of his quirky opinions on food, his ideas about eating and general wackiness that encompass all things New York and a sense of individuality.

As you can imagine, I was beside myself when I saw him plodding around SoHo. I literally jumped upon him proclaiming "I am a HUGE fan"! and I have to say he was very obliging, sweet and indulged me with a photograph :)

We chatted about his blog and he gave me his top picks for food in NYC, so here's a shout out to Nick, his love of food and keeping it nutty!

Eat a steak at Dunston's

I had a little giggle this week when I stumbled across the cover of "Dallas Monthly" in my office.

Apparently in order to be a Dallas local you must have a "eat a steak at Dunstons".

With Dunston being my maiden name, and Texas where my hubby is from, you can imagine my surprise when I found out the restaurant was located on "Lovers Lane".......awwww

Of course the irony of being a vegetarian for many years, but rest assured I have well and truly fallen off that wagon!

It's good to know they have locations in Australia and New York :)

Mallatesta, Mary, Matthew and Meatballs

Friday night we headed down to our favorite Italian shack, with Mary and Matthew in tow.

Its fair to say we gorged ourselves on gnocchi, meatballs, crostini and wine - good times!














awwww

Matthew Arrives

Last week my favorite cousin Matthew arrived from Australia. He is spending the next few weeks in New York to celebrate his 30th, so we had some quality time before the rest of his entourage arrived.

We headed down to 5 Napkin for some beer, burgers and a boatload of catching up!
































Shenanigans!

Bye bye

After some much needed rest and relaxation, it was time for our weekend to come to a close. We cleaned up and hit he road back to NYC........thanks for a fabulous weekend ladies!

View from the back porch
















Taking out the trash















Bye bye

Train On!

After lunch we made our way to the outlets for some bargain shopping.

We made our way back to the house to prepare dinner, a task in itself.

Hmm what does one cook for a group who’s food allergies include no dairy, no shellfish, meat but no chicken, preferable no eggs, no carbs, and limited herbs and spices?

Luckily Elise and I had the sense to prepare a selection buffet of baked and grilled veggies.

It was then up to Ruth and Lorin to clean up.............

..........whilst Elise and I relaxed.

It was then on to an action packed evening of Mexican Train that lasted into the wee hours of the morning - train on!

Girls Weekend

Bright an early on Saturday morning, Elise, Lorin Ruth and I headed out for a girls weekend at Elise's Summer House on the Long Island Sound.

We enjoyed some local italian fiesta at Lenny’s, yum!















Yes Ruth you have to eat all of it!

It's Legit!

Late last week we received some exciting news, my request for permanent residency has been granted!

Prior to this, my visa had been conditional and only valid for 2 years since we applied for it back in Oz. Last September we began the process all over again, with many months of completing paperwork, going for biometric testing, and waiting with bated breath.

Thankfully we can finally breathe a sigh of relief!

My package from the Department of Homeland Security included my new green card (oddly not actually green ) and the words we have been waiting to hear "exempt from immigration control "- hurray!

A big shout out to those who helped and supported us during this process.