Jen Russum

Second Honeymoon?

Second Honeymoon?

We just spent two days in Byron Bay and wish we could have stayed longer. I highly recommend it for a honeymoon spot FYI! I took my surf lesson and survived. At first, it was rough because my instructor, Gaz {short for Gary here, isn't that weird?}, made me go with my right foot back. Usually I am goofy foot {left foot back} when I snowboard and wake surf {neither of which I am good at and don't do often, so don't get any ideas that I am super athletic or coordinated... because that's sadly not the case}, but Gaz insisted I would never reach my potential as a surfer if I insisted on going goofy foot. My real question is: do I really have any potential as a surfer either way? I mean, I'm 30. Micah and I want to start a family in the somewhat near future {no comments from eager grandparents-to-be please}. And again, I'm not naturally that athletic. If I can go surfing on a long board a few times a year and get up at least 50% of the time, I'm happy. I don't think going goofy foot is going to inhibit my future professional surfing career. Nonetheless, Gaz insisted on changing my stance and my first few waves were rough and involved me falling awkwardly each time and possibly bruising my tailbone on the ocean floor. Finally, I started to get the hang of it {eyes on the beach to surf; eyes on the water to swim} and I will say I improved a little from my first surf lesson in Waikiki on our honeymoon. Maybe I'll give it a go again in a couple years. Now we are in Surfer's Paradise on Gold Coast. Rumor has it this place gets pretty crazy on weekend nights, but on a Tuesday during the day, it seems pretty tame and pleasant... just a big city with skyscrapers right up on the shore of the ocean. Today, Micah and I were walking back from breakfast {or brekkie as the locals would say} and we saw electric scooter rentals for super cheap - $20 for two hours. On a whim, we rented two of them and road them along the beach all the way north of town, where we arrived at a jetty called "The Spit." From there we could look back and see they city skyline right along the beach a few miles south of us. It was pretty spectacular. And the bikes were really fun. I think I want one to keep... This afternoon we have a long drive ahead of us to the Town of 1770. Tomorrow we are taking a ferry ride to Lady Musgrave Island where we will snorkel the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. The sad news is that we lost our underwater camera in Byron Bay. The wrist strap on it broke and it was swept out to sea. The good news is that we are about to see the Great Barrier Reef with the naked eye, which is so much better than through a camera lens. Just enjoying a Tim Tam. Honeycomb is the best kind, in case you were wondering. // Port Stephens. Byron Bay Lighthouse. Tallow Beach {Byron Bay} at Sunset. Main questions of the trip: 1) Is Hungry Jack's more like a Burger King or a Jack in the Box? Answer: Burger King. We finally went there today and discovered a Whopper on the menu. 2) What is the best Australian candy bar? BOOST is the answer! We've had three so far, but I see a few more in our near future. Cruising Gold Coast. Don't worry, we wore our helmets when we weren't posing for pictures... I know some of you are adamantly against coffee Instagrams, but I need you to know that I am going strong on my daily vanilla flat white... in case you were worried about my caffeine intake down under. On the right you will see, not a burrito, but a big bundle of fish and chips. One of the best and most affordable meals we've had so far on our trip! ... Read more

Gold Coast Bound

Gold Coast Bound

We left Sydney behind a few days ago. I can definitely say it’s one of my favorite cities I’ve ever been to. It had a big city feel, an international vibe, and a beach scene all in one. Perfection if you ask me Please excuse my big, puffy hair in the pictures below. The first time I tried to blow dry my hair after we arrived, my blow dryer practically caught on fire in my hand. No joke. It turned bright orange on the inside and now it only blows cold air. Apparently, we are a bit aggressive with our energy use in the U.S. because the same thing happened to my hair straightener. I plugged it in, it started smoking, and it turned off… forever, I think. Anyway, I guess I’m destined to have big hair on this trip and not the cute kind. Now we are heading up the coast toward Brisbane, stopping in small towns along the way. Our first stop was Port Stephens where we went boogie boarding and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes at the little beach bungalow we stayed in. Last night we stayed in Port Macquarie where we saw a bunch of wild kangaroos hanging out on a local golf course. Don’t worry. We took a million pictures, which we will show you soon. This morning we went to a koala hospital on our way out of town. I don’t think it gets any more Australian than that. Tonight we are headed to Byron Bay, where I am going to attempt surfing for the third time in my life. It should be comical if nothing else…  Now I can blame my bad hair on sun, sand and saltwater… and I’m not mad about it one bit. ... Read more

Shopping Saturday!

Hi all! I'm Amanda. I'm a wife, proud pet owner, and soon-to-be first time mom to a baby girl named Olive.    I blog over at Ninth Street Notions, where I share fun craft tutorials, sewing projects, recipes, and more. I'd love to have you over to the blog to follow me on my journey of learning how to be a more creative person. Because, let's face it: some people are naturally crafty. I am so not one of those people. I don't see a pile of twigs, some felt, and twine, and come up with an amazing project on the spot. I have to think about it a bit. Fun and easy craft ideas are what I like to share, projects for the rest of us who want beautiful homes and yummy food but maybe aren't as naturally talented as we wish we were.  Doesn't mean we can't make crafts like these: Something else that I also do is work the Ninth Street Notions shop.  There I sell fun jewelry, hair accessories, and more: I love fun and unique accessories, and I love surprises. So, I've recently ventured out to start a site called Cheer Box. Cheer Box is a subscription service where you receive a fun box of handmade goodies delivered straight to your door. For $15, you get a box filled with creative finds (including my own handmade creations). Cheer Boxes make awesome gifts that can be mailed directly to the recipient. It's like the most amazing accessory of the month club. Wouldn't you love to get one of these Cheer Boxes in the mail? I'm pretty certain I would. Why not head over to the site and sign up? Well, I hope to see you at the shop and at Cheer Box picking up some gifts for yourself, family, and friends. And I'd love it if you could drop by the blog and say hi. Leave me a link to your blog, too. ... Read more