HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

On Monday we had another beach day. Very relaxed, reading and playing in the waves with Ed and Will. We each got another massage too, luxury! Han's wasn't quite hard enough at first, though, so she asked for it to be a liiiittle bit harder - something must've been lost in translation because the masseuse went SO much harder!! Han could feel her straining to push as hard as she could but didn't want to say anything; it was painful but kind of good pain. They cracked, massaged, and stretched us, and even walked on our backs!! It was really lovely, although it took Han a couple days to recover haha she's still a little bruised. We came home and had yummy pizza for dinner and watched (some of) the worst movie ever: Beverly Hills Ninja. We called it a night pretty early because we wanted to rest up for New Years Eve!!

Yesterday was SO MUCH FUN! We started the day off slowly, went to a beach - which actually wasn't much of a beach!! It was high tide and the water came right up to the edge of the restaurants! They had to put out sandbags, it was pretty crazy - then did some shopping for New Years outfits with Claire. 

Later on in the arvo we went out with Claire and Ed to get Mani/Pedis done. We had trouble finding a salon with any availability, but we did find this bizarre place where you stick your legs in a fishtank and all these little fish nibble on your feet!! OH MY GOD it was SO strange; the most ticklish, freaky feeling, verging on unbearable but actually oddly enjoyable haha very fun!

We ended up finding a little place on the beach to get our nails done but we'd sort of run out of time! Eddie ended up being the only one to get her nails done before we had to head home - we didn't mind though, because we were PUMPED for our big night out!

Dad, Claire, and the two of us got all dressed up and went to Bo Phut to find a nice restaurant on the beach. We were charmed by a French host out the front of a delish-looking place, The Seaside. The food was great and the view was spectacular. We looked out at lanterns being released and fireworks going off early while we gorged ourselves on Thai and seafood. 

After dinner we went for a wander along the beach, bought some 60 Baht ($2) cocktails, and let off lanterns of our own. It was such a lovely experience and we sent them into the sky with wishes for the New Year.

We went back to the cool bridge from a couple days ago (which was decidedly less pleasant after a couple drinks haha we ran to the end and Luce nearly lost her dinner!) and we also had a couple special unco moments on the beach (Luce washed the sand off her feet and tried to step into her sandals but a wave came and nearly dragged em away hahaha at least the people in the restaurants overlooking the beach got a bit of a show with their dinner!)

After all that it was time for the main event!! At 9:00 we drove up to a higher spot right out on the edge of the island to the W Hotel!! It was so specky: grand entrance, flashing lights, huge pool, searchlights, loud music, and an incredible view. 

(we didn't actually take this pic haha)

In the pool were these big sunken pods with couches in them that we're just awesome and it didn't escape our notice that one of the pods in particular had some good looking guys in it. We did a bit of a slow walk by, nonchalant as we could, and before we knew it a few if them were introducing themselves! They were Aussie lads and they were really nice. We were chatting for a bit and they asked who we'd come with, we said "our parents" and they (in hindsight, probably joking) said "can we meet them?" and we were like "sure!" and brought them over to Dad and Claire. After a little while they invited us all to hang out with them in the pod! Haha our cunning plan worked! Just kidding. Well mostly. Anyway, it was good timing too because for the half hour leading up to midnight there was different performers out on a platform in the middle of the pool. There was a very cool hip hop group and two badass flamethrowers!

A little before midnight we left the pod, grabbed some complimentary champagne, and stood with Dad and Claire right at the edge of the roof to watch the fireworks! We counted down to the New Year, WOO!!! We could see fireworks all the way along the beach and got the most fantastic show right in front of us! They were so close we were looking pretty much straight up! Ahh it was just PERFECT. 

After the fireworks went out onto the dance floor for a couple songs then found the Aussie boys, wished them happy new year and said goodbye. The night couldn't have gone better, it was absolutely wonderful! Great way to start off the year - 2014's going to be a great one, we just know it!

Rollin' in Baht

The markets on Thursday night were awesome - exactly what we imagined only with food more amazing than we thought to dream up! We shopped and ate our way from one end to the other; we got bracelets, pants, a Buddha for our apartment, Han got a comb (and a hairstyle tutorial), chicken satays, grilled rice that tasted kind of like a cracker, dumplings, coconut and egg yolk bites of deliciousness and banana pancakes!  

At the end of the markets we met up with Sam, Grant, and Zac for a drink and decided to go clubbing together. Sam had seen this place near where we're staying called Orgasmic, so we all piled into their tiny car and drove there. We walked in expecting loud music and party atmosphere, but found ourselves in a beautiful, upscale restaurant right on the beach. Haha we ended up having a really lovely time, chatting, sipping on baileys and passion fruit shooters, and having mango sticky rice for dessert! 

The next day was the most perfect beach day EVER! We went to La Mui for a full day in the surf and sun. When we got settled, a little Thai lady (we learnt later that she was more than 70 years old) came up and told us she did manicures and braids. Eddie, who's been excited about getting braids since we got here, got cornrows! It took over an hour but the final product was worth it - Ed loves em and they work well with her self inflicted mullet (she cut her fringe right down to the roots one day because she'd gotten tired of it, too funny!)

A little way up the beach was a yummy looking lunch spot, so we packed everything up and Luce and I swam up the beach with a kid each on our backs. We were laughing and screaming and carrying on, "I'm gonna win" and "keep kicking Will" and so on. Once we'd gotten there, Claire told us we'd swum past a huge group of good looking, young guys - apparently there were girls strutting by in their little bikinis while we spluttered past in the background hahaha, classic goon squad moment. We had a yummy Thai lunch and headed home for a while before going out to a different set of markets that night! We sipped on piña coladas, bought some more stuff, and did banana pancakes round two! 

The Final Week!

-- Han --
On Monday I had the most fun "test" I have ever taken! I performed my group piece for my final grade in my acting class and we had SO much fun!! We did a  Lion King-esque story involving a compilation of all the warm ups and techniques we've learned over the semester. We used paint throughout it and ended it by going wild and flinging the paint all over each other to Katy Perry's Roar. It was such a blast, so carefree and creative; the perfect way to end the semester and my time with my class of theatre majors at Chapman. Everyone got up and danced with us at the end, it was really special.

Finals went downhill from there on the enjoyment scale. I had my theatre theory final on Tuesday and it was pretty easy, success! JT and I celebrated the end of our theatre class by watching The Jerk and it was SO funny! what a comic genius Steve Martin is.. Anyway, I had Wednesday pretty much off - I had to submit my mammoth paper that I finished writing a little while ago and study for my last final - then Thursday afternoon was Film Aesthetics. It was definitely the hardest of the three but I felt good about it, we'll just have to wait and see! Regardless, I WAS DONE WITH CLASSES AND TESTS FOREVER!! Well maybe forever, who knows.. It was a huge accomplishment and I went on a wonderful Disney trip with Megan and Laynie to celebrate!

When we got back, all my closest girl friends came over to spend my last night in the dorms with me. We went down to the little snack place in the basement, used up all the money on our cards, and stuffed ourselves with junk food, laughed, cried, listened to Beyonce's new album - it was a wonderful last night. 
On Friday Mum and Q came out to help me move everything out. It was super quick and the Babe Cave had no trace of me within no time. It was kind of surreal, seeing the room with all my stuff gone, just like it was on day one. A big, 'this is real' moment. I said my goodbyes, some teary, others quick and cheerful, and realized how much I'm going to miss being right next door to all of the amazing friends I've made. As hard as it was, though, I left feeling sure of myself and sure of my future - on to another grand adventure!

-- Luce --
On the Sunday before finals week, my class had another 5 and a half hour rehearsal and we all had a lot to do! Somehow, without our teacher there, we managed to run all of the scene shifts twice, tech the show, and then run the whole thing with half an hour to spare! I was so proud of all of my classmates for getting so much done. We had another rehearsal on Monday and then, suddenly, it was Tuesday! The day of my final performance!! I was super nervous and a little stressed because I had a couple of quick-changes that I had to do in the show, but I tried my hardest not to worry and to just enjoy the moment... And it all went by so fast! The first thing I did was my scene with Alisa and it went well! I was really happy with it! Then it was a rush backstage to change my costume and do full blood/black eye makeup for my clone scene..! The clone scene was probably the best we'd ever done it and we got a great reaction from the audience which was wonderful :) My Autodrama was last and it was the piece that I was most nervous for.. It was so personal and I was performing in front of all of the students and faculty of the Theater Academy, so there was a lot riding on my performance! And it went better than I could have possibly hoped for!! I was so emotional because it was the end of the semester and that emotion totally flowed into what I was saying on stage and I loved it! After the show was over a ton of people came up to me and said that there wasn't a dry eye in the house during my Autodrama! I was so flattered and so glad that the audience connected to it. 
Straight after the 1st semester show was over we went and saw the 2nd semester's final and they all did so well! I was very impressed! Over the next few days I saw the finals from the other semesters and they were all amazing. After the last final, all of the 1st semesters held a farewell tea for the graduating class and we made it "The Wizard of Oz" themed! It turned out so well and everyone seemed to love it. It was sad to see all of them go, and absolutely crazy that the semester was already over! That night MeMe and I went out to dinner to celebrate and we had a lovely time eating great food and having a great conversation.
The next day was pretty relaxed - I finally did my laundry! Yay! And that night I went to see a one woman show that Chambers invited me to and it was pretty risque...! I was equal parts uncomfortable and entertained haha, so it was an interesting way to spend a Thursday night! After the show a bunch of my friends and I all hung out and had a great time chatting and laughing! I finally went home at 2 in the morning and got some sleep in preparation for my final meeting/conference with my acting teacher! I was excited to hear that he thought I was a great asset to my class and that he loved all of my assignments that I worked on over the semester. I also got good feedback from the other faculty members and I left feeling very validated and proud of my work at the academy. I drove up to Corona as soon as I got out of my meeting and was so happy to have a weekend of relaxation!!

-- Han and Luce --
It was so great to just be able to take a breather after such a crazy week! We spent the weekend watching movies (four in one day on Saturday), eating delicious, home-made food (the best lasagna EVER and Han's favourite creamy chicken/rice casserole thing ahh SO GOOD). We also restarted our old tradition of "explore Sunday" and went for a little outing to Newport Beach! After a drive through the cutest town in the world and a slightly scary car ferry to the island, we got to the beach. It was such a beautiful, sunny winter's day - we were feeling extra sorry for our friends in snowy Massachusetts! This was the dysfunctional moment of the day:

We had a yummy lunch of burgers and shakes at the diner on the pier then made our way home for more movies and yummy food.
On Monday morning we all went to the DMV to change our licences over for Cali. It was pretty stress-free because it was only paperwork. We got our pictures taken and then the lady handed us the test --THE TEST?! WHAT? NOOOOO!! We were utterly unprepared and just crossed our fingers and hoped that it wasn't too hard. Luce was the last in line to get her photo taken so she, smarty pants, went and looked up the practice tests and crammed like a champ for a few minutes before taking it. Han, flying blind and not comfortable with the prospect of failing, handed her test in with serious trepidation. One by one, we got the verdict: Mum: passed, Q: passed, Lucy... Passed! YAY! Random other lady: ahh! Who even cares, too much suspense to handle, hurry up, Han: ..... PASSED! Phew! We all passed and are official California drivers!
After that slightly stressful experience, the two of us went back to Lucy's place to run a few errands in LA before our trip to Thailand!! We got to Lucy's and had a roommate meeting (that Han really wasn't much a part of) because Chanelle was moving out and another girl, Unique, was hoping to move in! It all went fine and afterwards we went out to the movies with Emily and Meme. We saw Saving Mr. Banks and it was AMAZING! Oh man, we laughed, we cried, it was absolutely lovely, wonderful, inspirational - beautiful acting, editing, sound, wow! We'd highly recommend it!
5 days of errands, Christmas, Disney, packing, sleeping, eating, laughing, relaxing ahead and then on to paradise! Life is good!

Soaking Up the Sun!

On Sunday we had a lazy morning and hung out by the pool in the afternoon, so nice! That night we went out for fro-yo with Emily - on the way we saw heaps of balloons floating off in the sky, so cool - and saw The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman has only gotten better looking since his first appearance as wolverine (over a decade ago!) and he's so cool he made us proud to be Aussies trying to make it in Hollywood.

 Yesterday we went out to Glendale to get the car fixed once and for all! We knew there was a Homegoods nearby, so we decided to go for a walk. We ended up in the most INCREDIBLE shopping area - Americana at Brand! It was like the Disneyland of strip malls; there was jazz music playing from speakers, glorious fountains all over the place, a chandelier strung over a street, and every store we could have hoped for! It was a little dangerous, but we were very responsible and left with just a couple purchases and a Jamba Juice each. 

That night we had a fun girls' night! We went out to an authentic Italian restaurant for dinner and saw The Way Way Back again - just as good the second time. We also said hi to our man Hugh while we were there ;)

Today was our last day before we're working girls (haha just kidding), so we wanted to make it a good one! We got up pretty early, had free Dirty Iced Chai's from Starbucks (thanks MeMe!), and set off to hike Runyon Canyon. It was a great workout and the view of LA was spectacular! The white blur in the background of the second pic is the Hollywood sign! It looked better in person, though, trust us.

We had a quiet night in, getting paperwork and outfits ready, made brownies, and watched Horrible Bosses. Now it's time to get some beauty sleep so we're looking our best for tomorrow!

The Happiest Place on Earth

The two of us were up at the crack of dawn this morning, wide awake and excited to go to DISNEYLAND!! After an amazing effort, we managed to get ourselves showered and ready, pack lunch for in the park, and make a cooked brekkie all in time to leave by 7:00! We filled up with petrol and got on the road. With little traffic, we made it to the park at 8:15, feeling pretty proud of ourselves and ready for a big day. 

We set up our "Annual Passports" - an INCREDIBLE graduation present from Mum and Q, thank you! - and went into California Adventure! We'd decided to save Disneyland itself for our birthday in a couple weeks, so we concentrated our effort on doing everything we wanted to in California Adventure. 

First off, we went and got FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land, then hit up The Little Mermaid, Toy Story Midway Mania, the Ferris Wheel, and Monsters Inc. On the Ferris Wheel we shared a compartment with a friendly woman and her adorable little daughter who squealed and laughed the whole time, so sweet! 

Since we hadn't been very strategic about doing things near each other in one go - and subsequently walked back and forth across the park a few times - we got hungry pretty early and decided to stop for lunch. Our packed lunch of apples and PB&J sandwiches was inexpensive, yummy, and pretty healthy, and it gave us the boost we needed to keep running around.

Next, we went on Soarin' Over California which is one of our faves! We met these two really nice Kiwi boys in line and had a good chat, not envying them the winter they were about to return to. They'd never been on the ride before so we told them all about it and how awesome it is when you get the front row. When we all got up to the front of the line, we were told that two of us would have to go in row one and two in row three, oh no! Since we'd been on before (and undoubtedly would be again soon), and just cause we're awesome (just kidding, although we did feel pretty warm and fuzzy about it), we insisted that the boys take the first row. It was such a lovely ride - even from row three - and had even greater meaning now that we've moved out to Cali. A little teary-eyed afterwards, we bumped into the guys again and they'd loved it too! The whole experience was one of the highlights of the day.

We had an hour to go until our FastPasses for The Tower of Terror became valid, so we went into the Art of Animation building to check it out. It was so cool! We hadn't realized before, but there were all these awesome interactive things to do - like finding out what character you're most like, or acting/singing a part of a movie and hearing your voice blended with the character's in the clip - and a huge room with screens everywhere projecting images and clips from songs in all the Disney classics. We spent ages just sitting and watching the highlights, rediscovering some childhood favourites. Also, we saw the magic mirror from Snow White! Pretty cool...

The Tower of Terror was calling our name, though, so we left Art of Animation and crossed into the Twilight Zone for a bit of an adrenaline rush. After that, we treated ourselves to ice cream at the Crazy Cones in Cars Land, watched a parade, and went on the Tower of Terror again before heading in to see the Aladdin stage show. We got great seats and were really glad to be off our feet. The show starts and before we know it, this gorgeous Aladdin with a great bod and heaps of charisma comes out on stage! He had a serious Darren Criss vibe about him and he totally stole the show! We were very impressed.

Last on our agenda, and the perfect way to finish the day, was returning to Radiator Springs to use our FastPasses. The stand-by time was 180 minutes!! OH my God! Three hours?! We were so thankful we got to head straight to the front. It was such a fun ride and the cherry on top of a wonderful day! We left the park knowing we'd be back soon and already excited for the Disney extravaganza we have planned for our b'day. 

The drive home was long and Han was super tired, but we made it without any issues - and actually dodged, surprisingly easily and safely, a tire that flew off the car in front of us! We had a quick dinner and fell into bed, exhausted in the best possible way after a great day of Disney magic!

Will's Almost-Birthday

This morning we wrapped Will's early birthday prezzies - in the Christmas paper he requested - and, after much anticipation, gave them to him! The Ben 10 PJs and remote-control car were a huge hit and earned us a few cuddles and giggles from the little guy.

We all bundled into the car to go check out dad's work and go out to lunch. We went to the National Portrait Gallery and had yummy beef and mushroom pies for lunch and had a little look around at some rather strange art.

After lunch it was time to finish Will's early birthday off right with some quality time with just the three of us. We checked out this fun toy shop, complete with tents, remote-control bugs, and a talking parrot...

 

Then it was on to Donut King for a milkshake and a donut!

Will's final request for his pretend birthday, besides the prezzies and Donut King, was that we all play hide-and-seek and Simon Says. So, when we got home, that's exactly what we did! Han and Eddie also finished making up their dance - a video will be coming shortly - and we said goodbye to Nan who was catching the evening train back to Sydney.

We had good old bangers and mash for dinner before - drama! The power went out! Will was alarmingly freaked out that we were without TV, but other than that, we just lit candles and waited it out. It was lovely, actually, playing cards by candlelight with background music from Lucy's phone.

 

The power came back on, inexplicably, just a few hours later. A tiring but really fun day, we're feeling so lucky to be able to spend precious time with the fam.