Farewell 2010.

The last week of every year is always an insanely busy time in my life. This might have something to do with the fact that there is Christmas, followed by my sister's birthday (which always leads to lots of celebrating) and then of course more celebrating to ring in the new year.

Christmas was a super quiet affair this year, in fact if it didn't really feel like Christmas time at all. My sister and I have a tradition of watching 'Meet Me in St Louis' and baking Christmas cookies together every year - sadly this year I baked by myself, and we simply never got around to watching the movie. I did however hang out with some of my favourite people on the day AND I went to the movies. I don't know why I've never thought to go to the movies on Christmas before, it's fantastic! You get to see new releases without the accompanying first-week crowds. Think I know what my new Christmas tradition is going to be :P

The rest of the week has pretty much been spent helping my sister celebrate reaching the quarter century milestone in her life - and it has been lots of fun! I don't like to get too sentimental when blogging but I have to say I am so lucky to have such a great sister and am so proud of all her achievements this past year.

I must admit the highlight of my sister's birthday (aside from spending it with her, of course) was the cake. I absolutely love chocolate, so by default I absolutely love Lindt's cake collection. The birthday cake selected was the Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau. It is three layers of vanilla bean cake soaked in frangelico, layered with roasted nuts and gianduja (a hazelnut and chocolate paste). I highly recommend it...so delicious!

The day after my sister's actual birthday, the celebrating continued with a day of shopping, and this is where we finally tried this American-style diner that I've wandered past countless times over the past year but have never had the time to stop in and eat. The decor screams American diner with booths lined all along the walls, and the menu has typical diner fare with extensive burger and fries options, as well as all-day breakfast (featuring a dozen or so pancake options). We opted for pancakes, which were absolutely delicious and completely transported me back to my time in the States where I consumed insane amounts of pancakes (though the portion size was considerably smaller than American standards).

While I would definitely return, I have to say Melbourne has much better options when it comes to American-style diners. Guess I'll just have to get my year's worth of diner food fix when I return to the States.

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Well, I can't believe 2010 is about to come to an end. While it hasn't always been great, I have had some of the most wonderful times of my life this year. Thank you to all the wonderful people in my life that have made it a pretty awesome year, I'm so lucky and grateful to know you all. I hope 2011 brings good health and happiness to all!

Happy New Year!!