My Vegan Valentine

One year ago today, a few nights before Valentine's Day my husband was in Sydney on business, and I was back in San Francisco lamenting a job I hated that was keeping me from joining him on the trip. After moping over a few glasses of Chardonnay I decided, you know what, screw that job. It wasn't worth being held back from experiencing life, so I booked a flight for the following night.

I ended up actually missing Valentine's Day in transit, but once I arrived in Sydney Tim and I had our own V-day dinner at Bodhi in Hyde Park. It was one of the more spontaneous things I've ever done and we'd likely not be living here now had I not taken the chance. And now I love living in a country that celebrates that sense of adventure.

We're not sure where we'll have Valentine's Day dinner this year, but I do know what we'll be doing during the day. We'll be attending the Sydney Vegan Bake-Off at Naked Espresso in Newtown! How rad is that?

I'm pretty bummed that I won't be able to bake for it, but the kitchen in the temporary apartment we're staying in is pretty pitiful. But I'm excited to attend and finally get to meet some of the awesome Aussie bloggers I've been getting to know over the last few months.

If you're in San Francisco you can get your own baked goods fix at the next SF Vegan Bake Sale on the 13th. And for everyone else, VegNews and VegWeb have an awesome list of recipes and resources to make your Valentine's Day delicious.

Sending lots of love to you all!

Week One

Yes, we've made it to Sydney. Apologies for the delay in updating, but we've discovered that fast, free wifi connections are something we've left behind in San Francisco.

Our first week as Sydney-siders has not been particularly glamorous. It's rained nearly every day since we've been here (pretty much nonstop this weekend), I caught a cold on the plane that doesn't want to quit, and we're quite tired of living out of suitcases. Mostly the week was devoted to dealing with banks, cell phone companies, the immigration office, and apartment-hunting.

The good news of this story is that (fingers crossed) we think we've found an apartment! Since we arrived, our ex-pat friends here have been regaling us with real estate horror stories, so I was beginning to have visions of us homeless, and having to sleep at Bondi Beach. (Which I guess wouldn't be too bad actually...) But we've put a deposit on a lovely furnished apartment in Surry Hills - a neighborhood I loved last time we were here, and was hoping we'd settle down in.

I'm not sure what neighborhood I'd compare it to in San Francisco. It's got the nice restaurants and bars of the Mission, but a bit more grown-up. But it doesn't seem to be overrun with strollers like Noe Valley and it's got more of a modern vibe. Why compare, I guess? It's also home to what is easily the frontrunner for my favorite vegetarian restaurant in Sydney: Yulli's.

Most of their dishes can be made vegan (they've got a separate menu, and also a separate gluten-free menu upon request) and it's an eclectic mix of cuisines, mainly Asian and Mediterranean. Seems fairly typical for Australian cuisine, near as I can tell. They also have one of the best selections of local beers and wines that we've found and a bit of a chill hipster vibe.

We'll know for sure about this apartment by the end of the week, and I have a feeling we'll be having a lot of Yulli's celebration dinners.