It's been a busy two weeks but most of the activity has been down to lots to do at work which has meant quieter weekends.

Holidays are comin' but unlike back home when the nights turn midnight blue by the time the working day ends and there is snow and ice and temperatures drop so low that even our bones feel the cold. And the TV adverts show Santa at the North Pole or flying through a star crusted sky and drinks like hot chocolate and mulled wine warm the soul and log fireplaces and central heating keep out the cold. 

Christmas this side of the World is about sunshine and salads, cold drinks and ice cream. There are bright colours and blue skies, sandals and skimpy dresses, sunburn and aircon. It's much more low key for us and whilst there was some shopping to be done it was pretty straightforward. I spent last Saturday afternoon setting up my wrapping work station and busied away taping and cutting and making bows. Those that know me know that I take my gift wrapping pretty seriously. Steve likes to tell people I even completed a course on it which makes it sound so much more than it really was! I did a half day craft workshop which was fun and I learnt some stuff but it's not exactly an accredited course!

This Friday was Christmas party day for both Steve and I at hosted by our respective employers. Steve spent his at the National Gallery Victoria and I was with EnergyAustralia at a function centre just outside of the city. My employer knows how to throw a good party - that definitely has to be said. There was free flowing drink, an antipasto bar with huge wheels of cheese and legs of prosciutto, a hot dog stand, dumpling corner and pizza deliveries! There were singers and dancers and a runner up from Australian Idol did a set. I didn't really know who she was, Jessica Mauboy, but apparently a pretty big deal so I'll go with it! She upped the party ante for sure and there was a lot of dancing. You can see the pretty ladies I work with and the theme was glamour so we fit in well.

Saturday morning and a parcel arrived. From party times to melancholy and tears as I read notes from my dearest sister and cousins as they share their special moments from 2012 with me through photos.

Steve has done special things with lamb for weekend dinners recently. We had his special Parmesan, sundried tomato and olive crusted rack of lamb with beans and pine nuts and roasted potatoes. Always a winner. This weekend he roasted a lamb shoulder all afternoon which we had in sandwiches. I went Asian style with coriander and chilli and a Thai dressing and he went with goat's cheese and caramelised onion. So delicious!

On Saturday, Steve and I met up with Karly and Cam in South Melbourne for brunch / lunch. They were very sympathetic to our party hangovers from the night before and waited patiently for us. And thanks to them we actually had a purpose and reason to leave the apartment and get some fresh air and sunshine otherwise I think we'd have festered indoors all day!

Here is super cute Indy in her Christmas frock. She is the most well behaved baby ever. She happily sat in my arms all still and quiet for a good half an hour before she got a red face and tried to do a poo at which point I gave her back to her daddy!

Today Steve and I caught up with Stef and we had a super seafood Sunday and a gift exchange. Perfect Sunday afternoon what with presents and sunshine as well as delicious food.

And I leave you with two beautiful pictures of the delightful AG (Amelia Grace) or Asian Graeme as she is also known as!

So we're into December and the shops and Melbourne City Council are doing their best to make me feel festive with sparkly decorations and many a Christmas tree. Every day I walk to work I walk under mistletoe and on a weekend too as Steve and I venture over into the CBD. We don't get kissed for walking beneath it though.

We resist. We don't have a tree. We don't have traditions here in Aus. We don't sing carols (Steve does in the shower). We don't eat mince pies (I don't anyway). We keep the Christmas shopping to an absolute bare minimum. I don't want to spoil other people's fun and we spend the money we would have spent on gifts for each other on experiences and fun activities rather than things for each other. It's not that we're Scrooge but it's hard to feel Christmassy in 39 degree heat which is what it was on Thursday! And thinking about Christmas too much makes me think of home and the traditions at home and that it will be Amelia's first Christmas and that makes me sad so the more different we can make Christmas in Aus from Christmas at home helps.

Having said all that Christmas is also about sending wishes of goodwill and I'm more than happy to do that.

On Saturday Steve and I headed to Collingwood to take a peek and walk round the People's Market.

It was another warm and sunny day and although busy with a festival vibe it wasn't too overcrowded - much less so than the night markets at Victoria Market.

There were food stalls galore set in large containers as well as lots of crafts and vintage wear for sale.

We started off with a sausage roll from the Movida Bakery and expectations were high. We were just in time as a new batch had just come out of the oven. This also meant it was steamingly hot. Loved the flaky pastry and the meaty filling. I'm not a fennel fan and there was definitely a hint of it so it wasn't perfect for me but appreciated that it was a good version.

We moved onto a pork san choi bao and a lamb skewer. They were ok and not hugely special. The Phat Brat sausage sandwich (not pictured) with pulled pork and BBQ sauce was great in a soft roll but also fell into that trap of being a bit too over fennelled flavoured for me. Their cheesy chips were a winner though. We finished off with crabcakes which were appetising in appearing all golden and cute but a bit bland in flavour although the crispy texture was good.

After our People's Park jaunt we had a little rest back home before heading back out for tapas at Portello Rosso.

Tapas was followed by traipsing up 6 flights of stairs to take up a deck chair at the Rooftop Cinema to watch The Dark Knight Rises. Steve and I never managed to catch this when it was out so we took the opportunity to watch it in more unusual surroundings. The deckchairs were super comfy - not easy to climb out of though. Drinks were a plenty with two bars close by. Blankets available. Screen wasn't huge but adequate enough. Strange being up high amongst the illuminations of the city watching a film in the fresh air. 

We'd had a moment in the afternoon when we weren't sure about whether it would go ahead given there was a heavy downpour but it cleared the air. I felt a touch of rain as the opening credits came on but it disappeared - phew! Being on a rooftop watching Batman in a storm...not my idea of a good Saturday night...

Today has been another lazy day with lunch out followed by another cinema trip (normal indoor one) to watch Skyfall.