We’re still waiting for that bump of reality since coming back home to Australia. It’s been nice not having to get straight back into the routine. The Christmas and New Year’s holiday has seen to that. We’ve been up in Port Stephens – about 2 1/2 hours north of Sydney – working on Mrs R’s sister’s beach shack since Christmas day, so it feels a bit like our trip hasn’t really finished yet!
It’s so good being able to put our toes in the water whenever we want to – as demonstrated beautifully here by Mrs Romance!
After a fun morning out at the local cinema, I head back to the shack with my brother-in-laws and nephews to dissect the final Hobbit movie. Mrs R has gone into full shopping mode with her mum and sister. And of course that ends with lunch. Here’s Mrs Romance’s effort. Not bad, ay?
Meanwhile, The Men are tucking into a few sausages from the fridge, and some chips and gravy from the chippy up the road. Very tasty but not photogenic enough to make it to our feed!
Mrs Romance’s mum makes a killer pavlova. It shows up every holiday time. But as it was Mrs R’s birthday while we’re away, she’s managed to convince her mum to knock up a second one after we demolished the Christmas pav in about 20 seconds flat!
Today we’ve downed tools and headed out onto the bay in our brother-in-law’s boat. Mrs Romance could barely wait to get into the inflatable doughnut on the back. She managed to get up to about 20 knots before waving us to slow down. Reckon she’s enjoying herself much?!
Well, here it is! Happy New Year!! Goodbye, 2014. I’m going to miss you. Welcome 2015 – hope you treat us all well!
Our 5 top posts of the year – as supplied by Iconosquare. Nice to look back on all that’s happened last year in this 15-second clip, isn’t it?
New Year’s Day. And what a splendid turn out it is too. There’s no other option when the day’s like this but to head straight to the beach.
Of course, New Year’s Day is always a slow one. Perfectly conducive to a movie night. It covers all areas: we can watch DVDs we’ve been given, we can eat all the sweets (and popcorn) from Christmas and we can nurse our hangovers in a dark room!
2015 – Day 2. What an incredible start! Of course, this is Mrs Romance’s photo. My view of sunrise is nearly always much darker on account of my eyelids being in the way!
Today – our last day here in Port Stephens – we’ve decided to go for a swim up the other end of what we now call ‘Our Beach’. It looks all right, doesn’t it? And it is! Even finding a small child having a piss right next to our stuff we’ve left on the rocks while we swim hasn’t changed our mood that much!
It’s so nice in fact, I’ve even asked Mrs R to have a selfie with me. I’m not a big fan of selfies, but since having bought these spectacular sunnies (and for only $6.95!), something inside me has changed!
Back in Sydney tonight, it looks like there’s going to be a storm. It’s certainly been hot and humid enough. It’s reminded us of the storm we saw on our first night in Cuba what feels like a lifetime ago now. Here’s a little clip of what we could see from our balcony in Viñales. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, our weekend has ended on a sad note. Mrs Romance’s aunt passed away suddenly tonight. She was a remarkable lady with the kindest heart, the greenest thumb, the loveliest smile. We all miss her so much.
Sonia from Sonia Styling
Happy New Year, guys! What a lovely time away you had, however I’m so very sorry to hear of your loss. Sending you much love. x
Mrs Romance
Thanks so much lovely xxx