A dream birthday in every way possible

We are home and back from our 'Spiritual Pilgrimage'.

To say it was the best birthday I have ever had is truly an understatement.

Saw them on the 30 and 31st of July

Seeing U2 play at Madison Square Garden over 2 nights was just the most amazing experience and the best way to start ticking off #22 "Go on a global U2 pilgrimage for their next/any tour". 

Although I didn't get to tick # 23. 'Have Bono take me up on stage' or # 24. 'Get U2 to play Love is Blindness at a concert we are at' there were so many other highlights, which were all equally amazing.

Here are the best bits of the 'Pilgrimage':

+ Being at the @atU2 20th anniversary when half of U2 crashed the party
As was said on the night, this was very much a 'once in a lifetime experience'. Having The Edge and Adam gatecrash the party and play 2 songs just for us was mind blowing. I am sure everyone at the party are still thinking to themselves 'Did that really happen?".

Source U2's instagram page

+ Seeing Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen sing with U2
Paul Simon performing "Mother and Child Reunion"with U2 on the first night and Bruce Springsteen singing 'I still haven't found what I am looking for' and 'Stand by Me' on the 2nd night will stay with me for a very long time.

Bono and Paul Simon

+ Sharing Champagne with Bono for my Birthday
As it was the last night of the North American leg of the ieTour, Bono sang 'Party Girl' and shared Champagne with the Brazilian 'young village people' who were standing with us. As they knew it was my birthday that night, I also got to have the champagne with them. We were so so lucky! 

The Australian flag highlighted crudely in yellow is me
Photo by @KevinS2U

+ Doing it all with this guy
When I first started dating 'husband' some of his friends thought I was using him for the U2 'PopMart' tickets. Some might say I am still using him? Jokes aside, its been nearly 18 years and we are still going to U2 concerts together... and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.

Next on the agenda is to scheme up a plan to continue the U2 pilgrimage next year...

The American Dream Realised

As I mentioned way back in April, the year 2013 was going to be the year that quite a few Life List items would be ticked off.

And we did.

Last year we flew out to American to have a 3 week adventure. The trip was planned around LL point #32: 'Renewing our vows, Elvis style'.

So here are the 7 items I ticked off my Life List

32. Renew our wedding vows in Las Vegas (Elvis style) DONE 

Re-Married on the 31st of May 2013, Las Vegas Nevada

33. Buy a real Eames/Hand Wegner piece of furniture Explained Sorta DONE. 

Husband bought me for my birthday an Eames House Bird. OK so it isn't a piece of furniture, but it will do for now

35. Take a road trip through California and visit the Joshua Tree National Park, Palm Springs and San Francisco DONE

We had to do a U2 pilgrimage of sorts

71. Go back to Central Park in NYC and see the Alice in Wonderland statue DONE

We found her

72. Go to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles  DONE

Loved the planetarium

74. Go back to the Getty museum in Los Angeles DONE

This is really one of my most favourite 'Happy Places'

79. Search for the perfect Margarita (or at least go back to Spice Market in New York and have some more of those heavenly Ginger Margaritas) DONE

Our perfect Margarita

Things we tried to do but didn't manage to tick off...

82. See Bill Cunningham at work/on his bike in NYC (one can only hope) Tried, but we didn't see him
84. Be able to afford a pair of authentic designer shoes and/or hand bag (I need some glam shoes for #32!) We tried, but given we just bought a 2nd house the week before we left for the US, we thought the money could be better spend

I love ticking things off my Life List!

All photos by Zahara Dessert

Happy 1 year (Elvis) Wedding Anniversary

Today we celebrate our one year Elvis Wedding renewal anniversary.

As I blogged about before, we have been wanting to tick #32 off the Life List for sometime: 'Renew our wedding vows Elvis style'

When we found out our really good friends were traveling to Las Vegas to celebrate Mike's 40th Birthday, we jumped at the opportunity to join them and celebrate his birthday and also have a double wedding renewal on the same day.

The ceremony was very different to our first one, but we loved it just as much. It featured Elvis singing his hits, bad Elvin puns and a lot of Hunka Hunka Burning love.

And although it was 7 years after the first one, it was just as emotional and lovely wedding. Which was topped off by an amazing dinner to celebrate the birthday boy at Jean Georges.

Left: The original one, on a beach in Australia. Right: The renewal, in a chapel in Las Vegas

So Happy Anniversary dear husband. Its been a great ride.

Let's do it all again for my 40th Birthday!

Just (re)married

The American Dream

Winter in Central Park

I wrote down my Life List, soon after we returned from a holiday in the United States, way back in 2011.

A lot of the things on the 'Life List' had been churning in my head for some time, others had appeared after our US trip. These were things that we just didn't manage to get done or I wanted to do again when I returned to America.

Ever since this trip, I have been trying to get back to the USA to tick all American items off the list.

I am very excited to report that in May we will be returning to the USA, armed with my Life List and all the intentions to tick these items off.

This trip was planned around #32: Renew our wedding vows, Elvis style. This is something we have wanted to do for some time. However when we learnt our really good friend was having a party in Vegas to celebrate his 40th Birthday, we knew this would be the perfect opportunity to organise a trip around the Life List. The Birthday Boy and he wife also wanted to renew their vows in Las Vegas while they were there, so we felt it was destined to happen!

What is better than a double wedding?

Elvis here we come..

Here are all the things I am planning to tick off while we are in America (to say I am excited is an understatement)...

32. Renew our wedding vows in Las Vegas (Elvis style)
35. Take a road trip through California and visit the Joshua Tree National Park, Palm Springs and San Francisco
47. Go to Disneyland
71. Go back to Central Park in NYC and see the Alice in Wonderland statue
72. Go to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
74. Go back to the Getty museum in Los Angeles
77. Find the perfect Fajitas
79. Search for the perfect Margarita (or at least go back to Spice Market in New York and have some more of those heavenly Ginger Margaritas)
82. See Bill Cunningham at work/on his bike in NYC (one can only hope)
84. Be able to afford a pair of authentic designer shoes and/or hand bag (I need some glam shoes for #32!)

Central Park, New York

I will keep you posted on how I go...

[all images by Zahara Dessert].