Girls' Night Out & Darling Harbour

One of my friends here in Sydney is having a baby girl, so to celebrate her we had a baby shower at a lovely little place called Cheeky Chocolate (http://www.cheekychocolate.com.au/menu.html)

It was a really fun night out with a bunch of women that I love. I took pics of everything ordered and had to try it all. It was very yummy.

This place was chic, girly, and perfect for a night out with friends. It felt like I stepped into a Parisian chocolate cafe for a few hours.

A friend and I got there a bit early to set up. We rearranged the furniture just a bit to get things just right before our guest of honour arrived.

This was my dish. I felt that it was the healthiest option on the menu. I tried to stick to the fruit but I did dip it into the chocolate fondue. The honeycomb was divine, but super rich so I could only have a bite, and the peanut brittle isn't my favourite so I gladly let others have a go with it.

This dish was the most unexpected of the night. This is supposed to be crepes, however, it is more a volcano of chocolate, butter, lemon, and cinnamon. I had a little taste, and it wasn't my favourite dish.

This was my first experience with Pavlova. According to Wikipedia this dessert is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside, usually topped with fruit and, optionally, whipped cream.

Pavlova is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer either during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s.

According to one of my Australian girl friend, New Zealand and Australia fight over who actually invented it, and both claim to have done so. They love Pavlova here in Australia, and I'm so glad that I finally, after a year of living here, have experienced it.

I want to order my own next time. I thought this was the best dish of the night.

This was incredible. It was a dessert pizza, and as you can see it has a bit of everything on it.

I didn't have a chance to sample this dish, but it was supposed to be a cream brulee with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Besides going out with the girls, Stan and I have purchased some outdoor furniture. It has been a dream to sit outdoors and better enjoy the views from our city apartment.

I never want to take for granted how beautiful Darling Harbour is, and what an incredible experience it is to live her, and to occasionally take the Ferry around. 

A week or so ago, it was a lovely warm afternoon, so I thought I would take the Ferry and collect the boys from school. William and I had a fun time together, and I remember feeling so blessed for this opportunity to live in Darling Harbour. I don't think I've taken enough photos of it, or really posted about it. It's always around me, I'm always here, so I don't think to write about it. But Darling Harbour is an amazing place, with an authentic 1800s pirate ship in my "backyard," the Maritime Museum, the mini zoo, the IMAX, all the shops and restaurants along the water's edge, and fireworks every Saturday night year round. I love it here.

I took all these photos with my iPhone, and I think they turned out beautifully. It looks like I had my nice camera out, but I didn't. You can see our apartment in this photo. It is the one with the blue scaffolding on it. Our apartment is facing the water, and we're on the eighth floor, so if you knew where to look you could actually see our balcony.

This view is from a park at the water's edge at the Balmain East Ferry wharf.

William and I spend a lot of time together just hanging out with the other two boys are at school all day. We try and find fun things to do. One place we like going to is Broadway Shopping Centre. There is an indoor play place there where William likes to be. So after I get my shopping done, we like to stop here for a while.