Last Friday a group of us headed into the city to help Denise celebrate her last day at work. Early in 2007 she begins her new dream career in the hospitality industry. I have nothing but admiration for people who are able to go outside their comfort zone to pursue a personal goal.

We started at a Japanese restaurant in the city called Ito. Then it was off to Brunetti in the City Square. They serve a wild selection of cakes and other tasty desserts there. I had a mini Bacio cake, while the others had a selection of crepes. It’s all rather reasonably priced, so if you’re in the city and need a good coffee and cake, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Just an interesting shot I took from my car park

Brunetti at the City Square

Some of the cakes on offer at Brunetti. The mini Bacio cake is the one on the bottom right.

My somewhat damaged mini Bacio cake after I got stuck into it

Self portrait skills are definitely on the improve

Elaine and Denise

Dave had his cousins from NZ over, so after Bruentti we decided to take them out on the town. Surprisingly it was very quiet at all the bars we dropped by, including Ffour and Khokolat. I guess everyone was saving themselves for New Year’s Eve. We eventually found ourselves at the Melbourne Central Lion. It’s part of the new development there and is one of Melbourne’s best hidden gems (even though it’s in one of the busiest shopping centres). It’s a British style pub with a sprawling bar, faux outdoor area and cranking band. Check it out if you’re near the area.

A view looking up the Bourke Street Mall with the overhead Christmas lights still in place

It’s becoming a family tradition to spend Christmas at my brother’s in-law’s house. This is the fourth year running, and it still remains one of the highlights of each year.

The food was in exceeding abundance as Andre continued to outdo herself once again.

Dad making the discovery of the year… steamed fish eyes (if cooked long enough) are in fact solid, not gelatine, and can be peeled apart like the skin of an onion.

Ice cream cake. I like ice cream. I like cake. I ate five servings =)

Raf’s new Nintendo Wii. Uber cool. Uber fun.

A great tradition where presents aren’t opened until after lunch. It ensures that everyone in the family is around to witness it.

My brother’s present to me, a “blog” shirt. Fitting don’t you think?

Just to offset the seriousness of the last post, here’s a great game I found recently. Stick Arena is a simple Internet flash-based multiplayer game, meaning there’s no software or set up necessary. One click and you’re bashing/shooting/slicing stick figures from around the world.

Visit http://www.stickarena.com/ to get going!

Good clean holiday fun =)

It’s the night before Christmas, and children around the globe are looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning to all the joy and excitement that new gifts can bring. However tonight, instead of looking forward I’m spending just a little time being reflective on the year past.

It’s been a huge year for me personally and professionally. This year I got married to the most wonderful woman. She’s been such a guiding light in my life, and many of the greatest things that have happened to me over the past year have been directly attributable to her being in my life.

This year I had the chance to visit beautiful Thailand, with all its amazingly beautiful natural features and fantastically friendly locals. Elaine and I spent three weeks there and enjoyed every minute. While being thoroughly entertaining, it also served to put a few things in perspective for me in regards to personal fulfilment, and what we really need (or don’t need) to be happy.

Of course, one of the other major events this year has been the founding of THIA Photography. It’s been a less of a rollercoaster ride and more like a rocket ride. The last few months have been so hectic (in a good way). I’ve been able to meet four marvellous couples, and had the honour of retelling each of their unique wedding stories in pictures.

Denise and Roy’s wedding took Elaine and me to Fiji. Despite the inclement weather for the majority of the trip, the fact that we got postcard perfect Fiji weather for duration of the wedding was miracle enough to make it a stand out moment this year.

The last thing on my list for this year is this weblog. I started this back in April with the hope that interesting things would happen to me this year, so I’d at least have something to write about. Little did I know it would capture one of the most significant years of my life.

To all my loyal visitors, I wish you a really great Xmas. May Santa bring you everything you wish for (assuming you’ve been nice)!

PS: Elaine and I have already swapped gifts. I won’t tell you what they are yet, but it seems that I indeed have been nice this year =)

It’s about 2am at the moment, but I couldn’t stop working on Bonnie and Kie’s Photo Presentation!

Because there were so many photos that I really wanted to get in from the start, I left myself with a really big task to selectively cull the numbers down to fit about 4 minutes worth of music. All up, I’m very happy with the results.

I sensed a really strong bond between Bonnie and Kie, and that’s what I’ve tried to represent with my images. I hope all you guys really like it, let me know what you think!

>>>click here to see Bonnie & Kie’s Photo Presentation<<<

Come back in a couple of weeks to check out their pre-designed album!