This was a hard post to write and to be honest, I hated writing it. It was going to happen to either Cynthia or us one day… and we talked about it maybe being together, but now it’s a reality for one of us. Cynthia will be moving back to the US in the next few weeks. She is my 2nd friend who has returned home.
I had mixed emotions when she broke the news. For selfish reasons, I didn’t want her to go. But I was happy for her. It was what she wanted for a while now. She wasn’t like me and changed her mind every few months. For the record, still happy in Down Under… hmm, maybe if I list my reasons, she won’t go?
Rewind: 4.5 years ago
I had just become a mother and was attending a weekly session at the local early childhood centre when I heard an accent very similar to mine. Turned out Cynthia was also from California, and from Norcal! What were the odds?! On top of that, she lived a short drive away. We quickly bonded over missing California, Trader Joe’s and US Target.
Fast-forward to present day
We got through those early days together enough to do it again (Cameron , Eden, Sofia, Lucas, Lana and Baby Walsh (still cooking ), continued to meet weekly (up until I returned to work full-time), there were our girly high teas and nights out (Rita, Ying and Phoebe), a weekend at the Hunter Valley and a few similarly timed trips “home”.
Favorite Things Exchange: Australian Edition
I jumped at the chance to throw Cynthia a farewell, our final girl’s get-together. It was an Oprah and Pinterest- inspired party. Remember Oprah’s Favorite Things episodes in the lead-up to Christmas? Well, these Favorite Things Exchanges have been adapted to the small scale minus the frenzied screaming… kind of. I added a twist to our party, to farewell Cynthia with items exclusive to Australia.
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| e Tu Designs... of course! |
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| Welcome sign {poem credit: hwtm.com} |
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| Fun zig zag streamers |
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| Our loot bags |
How it works
Each guest was asked to choose their favorite Aussie-made thing, and bring 5 of the item (costing no more than $6). They then presented their item and choose 5 names that would get to receive the item. Embrace your inner Oprah!
These are the items that were exchanged:
· A sticky note pad from kikki.k with T2 French Earl Grey tea bags (oops, my item that I forget to take a photo of!)
· T2 blooming tea
· Darrel Lee blueberry & pomegranate liquorice
· Gloria Jean’s coffee
· Women’s Weeklyassorted cookbook (I got the Big Cakes… which I cracked myself up over saying “I like Big Cakes and I cannot lie…” (Staying true to Sir Mix-a-lot)
· Locally made goat’s milk soap
· York Foods Wagyu oil (this one is Ms Heidi’s family company!)
*Note: We weren’t too strict on Aussie-made but all the guests really embraced the task.
For fun, I also asked guests to complete a questionnaire on their favorite things. When the guest presented their item, they could choose any 3 favorite things to tell us about! It was fun to learn new things about friends! The funny thing was most of us found it hard/ our mind-set wasn't as it used to be. For example, favorite place to visit for one of us was "the park" and movie was typically one we didn't mind watching over and over again.
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| Q & A |
What did I share?
- My favorite TV show: The Walking Dead (there are so many that I like right now (Hannibal, Game of Thrones) but looking forward to TWD coming back!)
- Favorite guilty pleasure: The Vampire Diaries (TV series)
- Beauty product I can't live without: Carmex Chapstick
Guests were also asked to bring their favorite dish. I made sushi (my new favorite which is my own combo: chicken snitzel with Philly cream cheese) and cupcakes. Additionally, we had more sushi, Jalapeno poppers, chicken wings, cheese platter and cake.
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| This is my new way to present food: no more table tents, write on butcher paper! |
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| Yep, I went there: vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting topped with a salted-caramel macaroon |
And finally, our mothers’ group- turned- playgroup gave Cynthia a photo book to remember our time together. There were definitely some tears all around!
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| We needed tissues... |
We wish Cynthia and family the best! I will hopefully see her Cali-side on one of our visits (or we can experience Texas too) and we hope she comes to visit us Down Under too.
