2024 in Review: I Finally Unpacked All My Suitcases

Instead of posting my annual recap in July (oops), I’m only publishing it a liiiiiittle late in February – go me!

Though it didn’t necessarily feel like it in real time, 2024 was actually a big year for me. It was a year of transition, where I finally unpacked my suitcases after nearly 5 years and made myself a home in Sydney. I flew around the world again, lived the digital nomad life in Bali, got engaged, visited my family for extended time, secured an apartment, and adopted a cat.

Here’s what my 2024 looked like —

2024 in Review

While this year wasn’t as travel-focused as last year was, I still managed to step foot in 5 different countries.

Interestingly, 2024 was nearly a 50/50 split between being in Australia and being overseas (it was about 49% Aus / 51% overseas). 24% of the year was spent in the US and 26% of the year was spent in Bali.

So basically, I spent about 1/2 of 2024 in Australia, 1/4 of 2024 in Bali, and 1/4 of 2024 in the US.

Where I Went

Indonesia (Bali)
Australia
Singapore
Germany (layover in Frankfurt)
USA (Connecticut, NYC, San Francisco)

What I Read

I read 18 books this year, 2 of which were audiobooks (the starred books were my favorites):

The Sex Lives of Cannibals – Maarten Troost
Call Me By Your Name – André Aciman
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone – Lori Gottlieb
The Housemaid – Freida McFadden *
The Housemaid’s Secret – Freida McFadden
The Inmate – Freida McFadden
Apples Never Fall – Liane Moriarty
Rodham – Curtis Sittenfeld
How To Murder Your Life – Cat Marnell *
Down The Drain – Julia Fox (audiobook) *
The Housemaid is Watching – Freida McFadden
Excessively Obsessed – Tash Oakley
Carrie Soto is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Hotel Nantucket – Elin Hilderbrand
Down The Rabbit Hole – Holly Madison (audiobook)
What Remains – Carole Radziwill *
Have I Told You This Already? – Lauren Graham
I’m A Stranger Here Myself – Bill Bryson

What I Watched

Sharing the TV shows that had me in a chokehold is officially a thing I’m going to include in every annual recap post going forward.

I get SO emotionally attached to certain shows that it just feels wrong not to mention them here. So here they are:

Orange is the New Black – I remember watching season 1 when it first came out, back when I lived in NYC (specifically, I recall watching it on DVD that a friend had burned for me). Then I moved to Australia and forgot all about it. 10 years later, I finally got around to watching the whole series.

I LOVE me an ensemble cast, and I’ve always been fascinated by the dark-sided things in life (y’know, drugs, murder, crime… what this means about me, TBD). So OITNB’s darkness spliced with humor really did it for me. Nicky and Red are my favorite characters, and Season 5 (the riot season) was my favorite season for its hilarity. And it’s the kind of show that you can watch several times over and keep picking up on new details and moments you missed in previous watches, just because there are so many characters and so much going on (aka yes, I did rewatch the show immediately after finishing it).

Broad City – If last summer was the summer of Girls, this one was the summer of Broad City. Jamie introduced me to it and OMG where has this show been all my life?! I have never guffawed so much or so loudly as I did watching the early episodes of season 1. If you love absurd humor, Broad City is your JAM. If you don’t, then you may hate it. Broad City has some similarities to Girls (it’s about 20-something girls being broke in NYC), but it’s hilarious and ridiculous and mostly lighthearted.

From – We randomly found this show on Stan (basically the Aussie Hulu) and binged all 3 seasons when we first moved into our apartment late in the year (it was the backdrop to nearly every piece of flatpack furniture we assembled). And wow, what a strange, disturbing, bizarre, creepy, mindf*ck of a show. Definitely an underrated gem of a series, which I highly recommend if you’re at all into the horror genre.

Freshwater Beach, my new local!

Month by Month

January – mid February: Bali

We kicked off 2024 with 6 weeks in Bali. Most of January was based in Ubud, while February found us bouncing around Uluwatu.

This time of year is the rainy season in Bali, and what you need to know about this is that… while there might be rain most days, it’s short-lived and typically doesn’t really interfere with holiday plans. But more importantly, the weather is SO HUMID – like, you cannot even fathom how sticky and gross you will feel at all times outdoors until you’re there experiencing it in real time.

I can handle heat, but humidity is a whole other beast that I’m just not built to slay. Sitting in a pool of my own sweat and wearing sweat-drenched clothes all day is simply NOT FOR ME.

I found that the humidity was much more bearable while we were by the beach or pools in Uluwatu (wearing minimal clothing and being able to dunk myself in water will have that effect!). But the month we were in landlocked Ubud, where it was more about working and occasionally sightseeing, I was just so uncomfortable at virtually all times.

Ubud

We originally were going to spend most of the month at a cute little hotel that I’d booked, but upon discovering that the wifi was crap, we relocated to an Airbnb in the south end of town. Not only did our room have strong air conditioning, a king bed, a spacious patio, stable wifi, and free water refills for an insanely good price… but it also had 3 tiny kittens on the property to entertain us!

Within the first few days, the girl kitten stopped coming ’round to our room – we later found out that she had been found dead, not sure what happened to her :( But the two boy kitties greeted us every morning by running amok on our terrace (and sometimes one of them would leave a pile of poo outside our door). One night, one of them slept in bed with us until he got the zoomies and woke us up at 3am (yeah I know, probably not the best idea).

Our time in Ubud was filled with work, kitty cuddles, yoga, massages, and nightly food delivery via Grab. I bought myself a pass to the nearby Yoga Barn and went to a class most days. There was a gong sound healing class I really enjoyed, and I finally got to try aerial yoga (sadly not for me – I found that hanging upside-down gave me a headache!). But overall, I was not as entranced by the Yoga Barn as I was when I went for the first time back in 2015 – it felt a bit too commercialized.

In our final days in Ubud, we hired a driver to take us on a day trip to see some waterfalls and sights in northern Bali. It was probably a bit too much driving in retrospect, because the day is mostly a blur to me now – but it was really nice to have a break in the humidity in the cooler north. We stopped for a coffee tasting and a tea tasting, toured a temple, and hiked to 2 waterfalls.

And then, possibly the best surprise I have ever pulled off: I secretly booked us a fancy getaway north of Ubud via Luxury Escapes. Pete thought we were heading straight to Uluwatu when we were leaving our Ubud Airbnb, but we were actually only going for a 15 minute drive to this surprise location.

We spent 3 nights at Kappa Senses Ubud in a villa with a private pool overlooking the rice fields and a partially outdoor bathroom with a standalone tub. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen Pete happier than he was when he first laid eyes on our digs.

Our stay was incredible, and included the most elaborate and delicious breakfast buffet that might ever exist, plus a daily cocktail and dinner (SO delicious!), plus a massage at their spa. We barely spent any time at the resort pools or activities because we were so intent on taking advantage of our amazing villa.

On our first night, we ordered pizza and margaritas via room service and enjoyed them while in the bathtub. Pete got out and asked if I wanted some tea, so I said sure. He came back with a mug, which I grabbed – and inside, instead of tea, was an engagement ring.

And that’s the story of how Pete and I got engaged! 🙂 Yes, I knew it was probably coming at some point, as we had talked about it a bit at the start of our Bali trip in December. I may also have hinted to him about which ring I liked at a local jewelry shop in Ubud. But I was very surprised that it happened in that moment!

Truthfully, I don’t really care much about getting engaged or married, and I never have – to me, it feels like archaic societal traditions that aren’t really necessary these days. My style is more to run the other way from societal norms (Aquarius, rise up!). However, I will gladly accept a proper diamond engagement ring when we’re financially able to make that happen :P

Other Ubud highlights:

Lumeria Yoga – Beautiful outdoor venue with contrast therapy (sauna, steam room, cold plunge), yoga, and sound healing. We did the sauna/cold plunge here, and then followed it up with a beautiful sound healing with a Javanese couple.

Karsa Spa – BEST MASSAGE IN UBUD. You must get the Intuitive Heart Massage which includes reiki (only 40AUD for 90min, steal of the century!). We liked to take a taxi up there and then walk back into town via the Campuhan Ridge Walk.

Cretya Ubud – An Instagrammy jungle club with infinity pools set above the Tegallalang rice terraces. Best advice: arrive right when it opens at 8am and take all your photos around the pools and hammocks before the crowds arrive, then head down into the rice fields to wander around and take more photos while it’s still quiet. If you don’t mind paying a ridiculous fee to reserve a bed or chair by the pools, having a lazy pool day at this club is definitely not a bad way to spend a hot humid day. It’s probably better than what we did, which was take photos in the rice fields below from 9-10am looking like absolute wet rats thanks to all the sweating we did. If I were to do it again, I would allot two separate outings to early morning photos here: one at the Cretya pool at 8am, and one pre-8am anywhere around the Tegallalang rice terraces (not necessarily at Cretya).

Zest Ubud – A boho vibey vegan cafe in the north of Ubud, a bit far from where we stayed so sadly I didn’t get to visit as much as I’d have liked. They have tables overlooking the treetops, making it an ideal place to work or hang for awhile.

Suka Espresso – Our local breakfast spot (they have a few locations around Bali). Their breakfast deal with coffee is such good value that we rarely went elsewhere.

Sunny Coffee – BEST COFFEE IN UBUD. Also they have air conditioning, which is rare.

Nostimo Greek Grill – Practically Aussie pricing, but so freaking delicious that we hardly cared. We still salivate at the thought of their keftedes (meatballs), a year later.

Bali Buda – Our go-to delivery spot for healthy meals and the best “healthy” chocolate mousse cake.

Agus Bali Palm Reader – If you want that Eat Pray Love Balinese healing experience, a session with this palm reader is not too far off from that. Our session began with a flower bath, followed by some sort of blessing/cleansing ritual, and then Pete and I each had separate palm readings with him (mine didn’t really tell me anything new). It ended with us doing a few laps around his garden carrying incense, and lighting candles at an altar. I couldn’t decide if it was an authentic Balinese healing, or if they were secretly punking tourists with made-up rituals, but either way: you will witness the longest fingernails of your life when you work with Agus (and probably feel them tickling your face when he does his healing work). Also of note: I noticed that Jackie O, a famous TV host in Australia, had signed the guestbook a couple days prior to our healing. Sure enough, she posted about her visit on Instagram!

And a few Ubud lowlights (aka I visited these so you don’t have to):

Monkey Forest – You’re likely to spot monkeys elsewhere while in Ubud, so no need to go to this crowded, humid AF, nothingburger of a tourist trap.

Pyramids of Chi – one of those holistic wellness centers I just HAD to try, but ended up feeling like it was super overrated and overpriced. The venue is beautiful and worth seeing once, but I didn’t find their popular LSV sound healing at all relaxing.

Dimas Spa – Avoid this cheap Ubud massage place unless you don’t mind being touched in, ahem, sensitive places (more on this in the Misadventures section below!).

Uluwatu

From Ubud, we moved to Uluwatu for some quality beach time for the last 2 weeks of our Bali trip, switching between a few different locations:

Bella Bali // Balangan Beach – I found an insanely cheap Airbnb right on Balangan Beach (priced so low only because it was a new listing, but still quite affordably priced now, a year later). It was a room right above a Balinese restaurant with a spacious hammock net hanging right over the sand, perfect for reading and watching the sunset. Such a gem of a spot, minus all the trash that had washed up on the beach (typical at this time of year, apparently).

La Cabane // Balangan Beach – Next, we moved up the road and away from the beach to the very boho chic La Cabane for my 39th birthday. We did very little apart from lounge around the gorgeous pool and soak up the vibes, save for going for a clifftop massage at the nearby La Joya Biu Biu Resort.

PinkCoco Uluwatu // Padang Padang Beach – Then we stayed near Padang Padang Beach (which we never actually made it to, oops) at a very cool pink hotel called PinkCoco (they have a few hotels throughout Bali / Indonesia). I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this place – it’s so vibey and vibrant, and their pools are super aesthetic. They had staff roaming the grounds handing out free treats and small drinks throughout the day, and leaving out cookies and lit scented candles during turndown each night.

Green Escape Eco Resort // Bingin – Last, we headed up to Bingin to Green Escape, a cute accommodation but probably our least favorite of the 4 we stayed at in Uluwatu (only because the others were so amazing!). We LOVED this part of Uluwatu though – it felt much more peaceful and green than elsewhere on the island. We walked to Santai Recovery Spa and did the coldest cold plunge of my life (4C I think?). I also walked to Bingin Beach and was thoroughly underwhelmed.

Sundays Beach Club – We spent our last day down at this beach club, killing time before our 10:30pm flight back to Australia. Beautiful blue water and amazing views going down the cliff in the cable car, but the day was essentially ruined when we found out that Pete’s dog Zoe wasn’t doing well and was scheduled to be put down the day after we got back :(

Mid-February – March: Australia (Canberra, Sydney)

After Bali, it was back to Canberra for about 6 weeks. We said goodbye to Zoe (who could no longer walk on her last day), with all of us in the room with her at the vet as she took her last breath. It was easily one of the saddest moments of my life and she wasn’t even my dog!

We celebrated our engagement with Pete’s family at Brindabella Hills Winery outside of Canberra, which is probably the only noteworthy happening of our time there.

We also attended my friend’s wedding up in Mudgee (a wine region a few hours outside of Sydney), held at the bride’s family’s winery.

And then I went up to Sydney for a few days for the annual IMM travel media event. I stayed with Viktoria in Bondi afterwards and Anna came to visit us – it was SO GOOD to see them again! Gosh I miss the days when we were all living in Bondi.

Of COURSE I had to pay a visit to my old spot, the rocks over Tamarama Beach. Best view in Sydney and I won’t hear otherwise.

April-May: Bali

In early April, we headed back to Bali for another two month stay – this time to work and live the digital nomad life in Canggu. Did we necessarily WANT to return to Bali so soon? No, but we had a couple months to kill before visiting my family in the US, and we couldn’t stay at Pete’s parents’ house any longer without going insane. Bali seemed like the most logical and cost-effective choice.

We didn’t do any day trips or actual traveling during this time, just based ourselves at Shashvata, an excellent value coliving/coworking accommodation in Berawa. Our room had icy cold air conditioning, a TV which had free access to Netflix for half of our stay (until whoever’s account it was suddenly logged us out), and a balcony overlooking the rice fields and distant mountains. Most evenings, we sat out there eating our dinner delivery, watching kites fly (lots of kites this time of year in Bali), and ogling the sunset.

Most days, we’d walk down the street to Nirvana, a very bougie gym and wellness center that we joined for the whole two months we were in Canggu. Nirvana is one of those aesthetic all-inclusive gyms, where in addition to a gym they offer fitness, mobility, and yoga classes, a contrast therapy center, a resort-like pool, cafes, and several comfy seating areas for working and socializing. It’s essentially a digital nomad/influencer hub.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cringe as I expected such a venue to be. I didn’t witness too many narcissistic selfie-taking or obnoxious conversations; for the most part, fellow gym-goers were seemingly “normal” and health conscious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fit bodies in one place, not even at Bondi Beach!

In addition to Pete’s and my 4-5x/weekly workouts, I also attended the weekly evening yin yoga / sound healing class as well as mobility classes (very humbling when literally every man in the class is able to go further down in the splits than you are!). We also made use of the saunas, cold plunge pools, and hot pool post-workout. I quickly got into a routine where I hunkered down with my laptop at the cafe in-between classes most days (oh my goodness, the food at Nirvana’s cafe is SO healthy and delicious!). It’s the closest thing I’ve had to The Well when I was living in Bondi, and it felt amazing to have that routine in my life again.

Above all, April 2024 marked my return to fitness after several years of inconsistency, due to moving around so much. I felt so much improvement just in these two months that it was a no-brainer to continue on with it for the rest of the year (which we did!).

I also made an effort to explore Canggu by taking a Grab motorbike taxi into town once or twice a week, and wandering around trying out different coffee shops and massage places. I found a few gems, but they didn’t override the feeling I always have when visiting Bali: that Bali just doesn’t do it for me.

Seriously, am I missing something? Everyone else seems to think Bali is a magical mecca, but… I just don’t get it. There are plenty of other places in the world that inspire heart-eyed emoji feels in me, but Bali just isn’t one of them. It looks amazing on paper, yet in real life I just don’t feel it the way so many other people do.

Thank goodness the weather was much more bearable in April/May, compared to Jan/Feb. It was still hot, but felt a lot less humid than it did during the rainy season.

A few of my favorite finds in Canggu:

Hungry Bird Coffee Roaster – a delightful cafe for working, and a surprisingly excellent local coffee roastery. Their coffee beans quickly became my go-to for at-home brewing.

Blacklist Coffee Roasters – an excellent Aussie roaster with an outpost in Canggu.

Revolver – I absolutely FROTHED this place when I first discovered it back in 2015 in Seminyak, before it got blown up by influencers. This time around, their coffee was nowhere near as memorable, and you could tell they attract more of an Instagram crowd. So I didn’t love the vibe; however, I DID love their Thai chicken noodle salad.

Beach House Massage by Tonic – A brand new, modern designed spa that was our go-to for massages.

Goldust Spa – And then we discovered this spa, which became our new go-to massage place. Such a beautiful venue too!

FaceDay Bali – I think this is a play on FaceGym, the UK/US franchise that offers facials that are workouts for your face. I HAD to try it once, and it was exactly as I imagined it would be.

Cacao + Kimono – A gorgeous shop where you can sip on ceremonial cacao and browse all the beautiful items for sale. I never bought anything, but I loved browsing and ogling everything.

La Brisa Bali – I wouldn’t call this a favorite, but I had to include the ONE beach club I visited in Canggu. It’s got a beach boho aesthetic and looks quite pretty, but nope – can confirm I am still not a beach club person. It probably doesn’t help that Canggu’s beaches are gray and ugly.

Late May: Singapore, Germany, USA

At the end of May, we began our journey to the other side of the world. I was not expecting to return so soon after my visit last year (I usually aim to visit every 2 years), but once we got engaged my mom lost her sh*t and tried to lure us back to get married in Cape Cod ASAP. I leveled with her and compromised on an engagement celebration on the Cape instead (we are in no rush to plan a wedding!).

We flew Singapore Airlines from Denpasar – Singapore – Frankfurt – New York for free thanks to hoarded credit card points. I booked so we’d have overnight layovers in both Singapore and Frankfurt, which allowed us to get adequate sleep between flights and arrive in NYC actually *not* on death’s doorstep like I usually am when I fly back to visit the fam. 11/10 WOULD RECOMMEND, and will be booking long haul flights like this whenever possible going forward.

Singapore

We had nearly 24 hours in Singapore, enough time to leave the airport, see some things, and get a decent night’s sleep before the next leg of our journey.

I had designed the perfect one day Singapore itinerary, but the extreme humidity took it out of us before we could complete it. We spent the afternoon wandering around the Kampong Glam neighborhood, which is home to fantastic murals, gorgeous rugs, and really interesting shops and cafes. I’m bummed we ran out of steam before reaching Gardens by the Bay, but I know I’ll be back in Singapore at some point and will see them eventually. I’d rather do it right than do it because I feel like I *have to* just because I’m there.

Pro tip: If you want to check into your hotel room early, just show up at the hotel looking like a sweaty exhausted mess and crash on the lobby couch until the receptionist relents and gives you a room key. This was not the only time we’ve tried this tactic and had it work!

Germany

We touched down at Frankfurt Airport late afternoon and walked about 15 minutes down the road to an airport hotel to crash for the night. This was Pete’s first time stepping foot in Europe (his parents were both born in Croatia, so it was long overdue!). A cool gray Germany was probably not the best introduction to this fine continent!

Late May – Late August: USA (Connecticut, Cape Cod, NYC, SF)

We landed in NYC at the end of May, endured 2.5 hours in line at immigration (would’ve been 30 minutes tops, had I gone in the American citizen line, but no point in doing that since Pete would have to wait in the long line anyway), and took the train to Grand Central. As a rule, I must stop for a flat white at Cafe Grumpy whenever I’m passing through, so I gleefully dragged Pete to my fave cafe and we handed over a small fortune for the pleasure of two small-but-delicious warm beverages.

Things I didn’t miss: How in America, I end up paying at least double what I’d pay back in Australia for a coffee for less than half of the quality. Ugh, this kills me!

From Grand Central, we hopped on the train to New Haven, where my sister Jamie picked us up and drove us home.

ALL HAIL QUEEN BUN!

Connecticut + Cape Cod

In hindsight, staying with my family for 3 months was definitely overkill. I’d done 5 weeks there last summer and it was so lovely, but 12 weeks with not just me but also Pete there was too much.

This visit had a different vibe to it than last year’s, too. Pete was stressing over recording his online program (let’s just say conditions were more than a bit challenging at my parents’ house, and the only place he could really work in silence was my dad’s bedroom), and Jamie was going through it for various reasons all summer. As someone who picks up the emotions of others and feels them strongly (hello, human design open emotional), their funks really affected me at times.

The worst thing was the sudden passing of Foof, Jamie’s beloved kitty. To see her go from happily purring and basking in the sun on our back porch one day, to foaming at the mouth, limping around, and hiding under the bed the next day was absolutely devastating. To be fair, she was already living on borrowed time with various health issues, and was about 14 years old at this point. So Jamie had been mentally preparing for this for months… but to have it happen so quickly was a bit of a shock. It was all just so sad, and put a bit of a dark cloud over the whole summer.

RIP <3

There were some good things: a consistent gym routine (Jamie drove herself, me, and Pete to her gym 3-4x/week to work out), some pool time, cooking HelloFresh meals for Pete and my dad, daily walks down quiet leafy green roads and buying eggs from the little produce stand down the street, connecting more with my mom, watching the Olympics from my home country, a couple of jaunts to New Haven.

And of course, the impetus for our visit: our week in Cape Cod in late June to celebrate our engagement! My mom rented a cute little house on a lake in Brewster for a week for all 8 of us (Mom + Dad + 3 daughters + 3 partners). We all took turns making meals for the whole fam and had nightly campfires in the yard. Most afternoons were spent at the beach just a few minutes’ walk down the road. On our last day, Pete and I rented bikes and biked the Cape Cod Rail Trail up to Nauset Light Beach. Ahhh, it was so nice to be back in a place that means so much to me and my family!

New York City

After those 3 months at home, Pete and I finally started our journey back to Australia via NYC and SF. First up, we had 3 nights in New York City which was NOT enough (note to self for next time- 5-7 days is the sweet spot).

We stayed at CitizenM Bowery which we LOVED, and enjoyed a fabulous view over the Lower East Side from bed. The hotel itself is just so cool, very vibey and a joy to hang out in (which we did, by ordering drinks at the canteen downstairs and at the rooftop bar). They even have a street art “museum” in the hotel stairway (which I totally forgot to check out, oops).

I feel like we didn’t actually see or do too much while in New York, but I still look back on these few days with contentment. I dragged Pete over to Brooklyn a couple of times for nostalgia’s sake and we did a Brooklyn Bridge photoshoot and picnic. We dined at 2 incredible Greek restaurants: Souvlaki GR and Kiki’s. If we could combine the lamb from the former and the salad / dips / keftedes / saganaki from the latter, it’d make the dream Greek meal.

Kiki’s was a hidden gem of a find, a Greek restaurant tucked into a tiny Chinatown outpost. It was so freaking cool (and a wee bit jarring) to be seated on the sidewalk on a quiet little side street in Manhattan, sitting amongst Chinese restaurants and shops, with high rise buildings in the background and a Greek feast on the table in front of us. What a spot!

At JFK airport, I got to experience the fancy Chase Sapphire lounge for the first time and it was EPIC. There are only a handful of these lounges (mostly in the US), and we just happened to get lucky with it being in the terminal we were departing from. This lounge has a menu that you can order fresh meals from, in addition to a very good buffet bar and a selection of cocktails.

San Francisco

From New York, we flew to San Francisco for 4 nights, which I was super excited about given it’s one of my favorite cities and Pete had never been before.

But for some reason, I just wasn’t feeling SF like I usually do when I visit. I took Pete to my favorite spots: The Mission to browse some cool shops and see some street art, Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies, Haight Street for the woo shops. It just didn’t feel as magical as it has on past visits.

One new thing I did was the Lands End Trail, an easy walk along the bay from Sutro Heights to the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately the fog rolled in as I got closer to the bridge so I could barely even make it out in the end. But I returned on our last day with Pete and we walked around the bridge and down to Marshall’s Beach to take some photos (in the harsh midday light, which I swear is always when we end up trying to take photos together, ugh).

We stayed at CitizenM San Francisco Union Square, which wasn’t anywhere near as cool as the one in the Bowery but nice enough. We had coffee most mornings at the nearby Scullery, my favorite new SF spot and one of the only places I managed to find with a decent flat white in our 3 months in the US.

From San Francisco, Pete and I flew back to Sydney on separate flights (booked using different credit card points) that were due to depart/arrive around the same time. Both of us lucked out with a whole row to ourselves, aka the next best thing to flying business class. What a treat! Pro tip: Choose a seat near the back of the plane, in a row that’s currently empty, to up your chances at scoring an empty row.

Late August – October: Australia (Canberra, Sydney)

We arrived back in Australia in late August, with a loose plan of starting the apartment search in late September. So I was stuck in Canberra for about a month while Pete went back to his temp job, with my only reprieve being our Saturday morning coffee dates at Redbrick Coffee (the only time we could really borrow his parents’ car).

My plan was to apply for house sits in Sydney, and then when I secured one, I’d look at the apartment inspections that were scheduled during that time and plan my days around them. So from late September to mid October (about 2 weeks), I managed to snag two house sits in Sydney: the first was in Bronte (eastern suburbs), the second was in Leichhardt (inner west).

The Bronte house sit was an absolute DREAM! I got a two-floor apartment all to myself, looking after a cavoodle and a black cat named Jack who took a liking to me (I sent a photo of the kitty on my lap to the owner, and he was like “WHAT, he NEVER sits on our laps!”). I loved exploring Bronte on my daily dog walks and getting reacquainted with the epic Bondi to Coogee walk. I was absolutely set on moving to Bronte after this house sit – 5 days was not enough!

I had 2 days between the house sits, which I spent in Bondi visiting Viktoria, falling back in love with my old neighborhood, and attending 5000 demoralizing inspections in the area. Oh my lord, have times changed since the last time I was apartment hunting in 2018. The application process is 20x more tedious, and in some instances the line to enter the inspection would be so long that it stretched down the block. Our chances of getting approved for a place in Bondi seemed pretty slim, given the high demand, low supply, and our lack of recent rental history :(

Next, I headed west to Leichhardt for a week, watching a fluffy tuxedo cat named Ramy who nonstop hissed and growled at me for reasons unknown. The first couple days were a bit stressful because I had to walk around on eggshells so as not to trigger the poor kitty. She eventually became ok with my presence, and by the end of the week was feeling comfortable enough to lounge around the living room near me – whew!

L: Crazy Ramy-kitty (Leichhardt); (R) Sweet Indi-kitty (Cronulla)

I had a couple more days of apartment inspections lined up during the week, spread across Bondi and Manly (which are nowhere near each other, btw). It was extremely exhausting having to run around on foot and by bus to make them all. The worst part, though, is that NONE of them panned out – not a single property got back to us that we applied for, which kinda made all my efforts useless.

At this point, we felt pretty defeated having gone through 3 rounds of inspections and applications and hearing crickets throughout. I returned to Canberra mid-October and started applying for more house sits in Sydney so that I could return for another round of inspections. Given our lack of recent rental history and full-time salaried office jobs, I knew we probably weren’t the ideal candidates and that we needed *something* to help us stand out a little more.

That something ended up being a snazzy one-pager I designed in Canva, which included a headshot of us looking all nice and trustworthy, and important notes on our past rentals, our job situations, our savings, etc. Basically all stuff we had already included in our applications, but in an easy-to-digest format that a rental agent could quickly look at at a glance. I decided to text this PDF to the agents I met at the next round of inspections immediately after viewing the apartment (if it was one I really liked!).

So armed with this new strategy, I secured a short house sit near Cronulla and returned to Sydney at the end of October. I was only there for a weekend, so had to pack a ton of inspections into one day (9 to be exact!). Though we were still open to both the Bondi and Manly areas, most of the properties we were interested in happened to have inspections in/around Manly on this day. So yes, I commuted about 2 hours from Cronulla (south Sydney) to Manly (north Sydney), and spent the morning power walking between apartments in Manly, Fairlight, Manly Vale, and Freshwater. I don’t even know how, but there always seemed to be exactly enough time for me to get from one inspection to the next on foot, with no overlap – I mean seriously, what are the odds!

After the house sit, I took the train up to the Central Coast to visit Anna for a couple days. That Monday, I got word from *3* of the apartments that they wanted to move forward with our application! We went with the first one that offered it to us, which was a cute little 2BR unit in Manly Vale :)

Hi I live here now!

Home sweet home!

November – December: Australia (Sydney, Melbourne)

We moved into our Sydney apartment on November 2 and OH MY GOODNESS did it feel amazing to finally have all my belongings in one place! And to not be existing in someone else’s space!

It did take us a couple months to fully set the apartment up, but I am SO happy with it – in fact, I’ve never been happier with a home. I ended up selling a lot of old furniture and clothes because space/storage is a bit limited in this apartment, and we gradually replaced some of my old things with better things. The only thing we really need is a new/bigger couch, but there’s no point upgrading until we live somewhere with more space to accommodate it. But overall, I love our space: it’s got lots of light wood and bright white, which we complemented with earthy tones in our decor. We’re in the process of setting up our second bedroom as an office/podcast studio, it’s just taking some time because I’ve had to clear out some of my excess belongings that we don’t have room to store anywhere else. We’re getting there!

In terms of location, Manly Vale is nestled between Manly and Freshwater, and it’s a 10-15 minute bike ride from a dozen different beaches nearby (or a 30 minute walk from the closest beach). I am LOVING getting around by bike again – takes me back to my days of living in NYC! Sydney in general is quite hilly and not the best for biking, but where we are there’s more flat land and SO MANY designated bike lanes.

In mid-December, I flew to Melbourne for a weekend to attend an awards gala and holiday dinner with the agency I’ve been working for for 9 years(!).

And then, to round out a crazy year, we did something even crazier: rented a car, drove to a cat shelter on Christmas Eve, and ended up adopting a kitty! Chloe was about 10 months old when we got her (so will be about a year old in February), and she’s a medium haired calico. She ended up on the balcony of some family’s apartment in Guildford, Sydney (i.e. absolutely nowhere near us), and they couldn’t track down her owner nor take her in, so ended up bringing her to a shelter. She wasn’t registered or microchipped (which is required by law in this state), but was clean and house trained so likely did have previous owners. Their loss is our gain! And now Chloe is living her best life by the beach :)

2024 Highlights

Staying in a luxury villa in Bali and getting engaged – Definitely a life highlight and one I’ll never forget!

Getting back into a fitness routine – We started going to the gym 4-5x/week in April and have kept it up all year, even while not having a home base – go us! I am down about 12% body fat from when I had my last body composition analysis, back in Thailand at that fitness retreat (when I was peak unfit). Obviously the comparison is imperfect, since I was measured on two different machines in Thailand and then in Australia… but even as an approximation, I’m quite satisfied with this improvement! I’m only a couple % off from my peak body comp, pre-COVID. Funnily enough, I weigh more now than I did in Thailand when I had a lot more fat on my body… which just goes to show how stupid weight is as a metric for health.

Returning to Cape Cod – It felt amazing to be back in one of my special places, with the whole family, for the first time in at least 6 years!

Summer days in NYC – God, I have so much nostalgia for the summers I lived in New York. Though the days were really hot (like 90F) and we sweat like crazy, I absolutely loved galavanting around town, frolicking across bridges, and walking around at night in a tank top. Showing Pete around my old home city was really gratifying as well.

Learning about neurodivergence – In August, I was sitting on the back porch at my family’s house with Jamie, sipping my coffee. Somehow she brought up autism, which I realized I knew little-to-nothing about, and hinted that our whole family is likely some degree of autistic. Welp, that immediately sent me down a rabbit hole, and I made everyone take some online test to determine whether we might in fact be autistic (which is a sign in itself of autism, oops!). And yep, seems quite likely! Since then, I’ve done tons of my own research, watched lots of Instagram videos, and taken stock of my whole life through an autistic lens. It’s pretty gratifying to finally have an explanation for some of the oddities in my life thusfar. I also seem to have some ADHD characteristics (there’s some overlap between ADHD and autism). Will I get formally diagnosed, probably not, because it’s an expensive and tedious process, and what would it do anyway? We’ve also determined that Pete likely has both autism *and* ADHD (or AuDHD), a super spicy combo that’s proven way more challenging for him in his life than autism has for me in my life. I’m eager to keep learning about neurodivergence (my new *special interest*, ahem!).

My hair journey – I have very thin fine hair that I’m self conscious of, which I’ve put very little effort into over the years just because it feels akin to polishing a turd (aka what’s the point). I don’t know how or why, but one night in September I found myself going down a rabbit hole watching YouTube videos from this guy who owns a hair salon. He had a video about a 3-step hair care process for fine hair, which made so much sense to me when he explained it that I simply HAD to try it out for myself. I definitely notice an improvement in my hair: no, it’s not suddenly become thicker, BUT… it’s not as weighed down by oils, or dried out at the ends, so it *looks* a little thicker and nicer now.

Getting our Sydney apartment – Oh the relief and joy I feel over having a home again in my favorite city!

Adopting a cat – Chloe is the cutest, sweetest little kitty that’s already brought us so much joy in the few days we’ve had her!

New freelance work – I stumbled upon some extra online work at the PERFECT time (when we moved into our apartment and needed to buy lot of new stuff!). It’s essentially completing tasks to help train an AI tool. The work is very sporadic (i.e. December was nonstop, January is dried up), but I’m very grateful for it when it’s available. If you want to make some extra money from home, you can use this link to apply to Outlier 🙂 (note: if you are not good with details or tight time constraints, this may not be for you!)

2024 Challenges, Mishaps, & Misadventures

A full-frontal massage in Bali – We visited a cheap massage outpost called Dimas Spa in our first days in Ubud, just because it was super close to our Airbnb. We never returned because I ended up getting an unsolicited FULL FRONTAL MASSAGE – yes, this lady literally massaged my boobs (as in, not just a one-time graze but repeated strokes, so it was most definitely intentional). What’s most puzzling is that Pete was on the table right next to mine, so she wouldn’t have been “taking advantage” of me, and also this place had and still has nothing but rave reviews on Google with NO MENTION of any boob touching by other customers. Are people just ok with this? Because in all the massages I’ve gotten in my travels around the world, I have NEVER had my boobs touched. Surely this isn’t considered normal? At the very least, the masseuse should have asked permission or given some sort of warning before doing so.

Broken camera – At the end of 2023, right before we arrived in Ubud, my camera started throwing the dreaded Err01 whenever I tried to take a picture with it. So I had to hire a driver to take me from Ubud to Denpasar (an hour away) and back twice in January to drop off and pick up my camera from the Canon repair shop. It worked out well that we weren’t planning on doing much sightseeing during this time anyway – I’d have been so bummed if my camera had crapped out during the more active travel portions of this trip!

Sprained/broken toe – The day after my birthday, I got my little toe caught between the floor boards of the deck of our cabana in Uluwatu, and when I pulled it out I must have done some damage because it swelled up immediately. It took a couple months for it to completely heal.

Broken laptop screen – My tech products always seem to commit suicide while I’m overseas, specifically in tropical climates (*ahem* Thailand and Bali). On our second trip to Bali this year, my laptop screen developed weird lines out of one of its corners, essentially rendering half of it completely useless to me. Computer repair shops in Bali wouldn’t fix it, and if I’d gone through Apple repairs, my laptop would have to be shipped out to Singapore for a screen replacement, which I didn’t have time for. So I had to spend 6 weeks doing all my work in the bottom right quadrant of my 14-inch laptop, which was as fun and tedious as it sounds. I booked an appointment at the Apple Store closest to my family in Connecticut, and when we arrived in the US in late May, I dropped it off and used my mom’s old laptop for the few days I was without mine.

Bali Belly – I pride myself on having a strong stomach and body in general, so I was NOT expecting to be taken out by Bali Belly. But two days before we were due to fly to the US, my stomach felt very off – it hurt in a way it never had before. I’d just eaten some chicken tikka masala in bed from a non-Indian restaurant, which I’d had before without issue. This time, though… oh, there was an issue. Within a few hours, I found myself running to the bathroom to rid my body of the offending food. If you’ve never experienced simultaneous vomiting/diarrhea-ing, let me tell you: YOU DON’T WANT TO. I was up half the night in the bathroom, and then the next day I stayed in bed all day feeling weak and lightheaded. I am SO glad it didn’t hit me a day later, else I’d have been in very bad shape on our flight out of Bali.

The death of 2 pets – I’d somehow gone 39 years and dozens of pets without ever having to be there for their passing. But this year, the universe decided I was going to face it not once but *twice*: first with Pete’s dog Zoe, and then with Jamie’s cat Foof. Seeing them in their worst state in their final days, when you know their fate is inevitable, was just the saddest thing.

Apartment hunting in Sydney – A demoralizing and exhausting process I’m not eager to repeat anytime soon, thankyouverymuch.

Being lonely – There’s been an undercurrent of loneliness ever since I moved out of Bondi just before COVID, largely because I removed myself from society in a lot of ways (see: caravanning around Australia, house sitting, traveling the world). I find it very challenging to maintain friendships when I’m not within visiting distance of my friends, and as a result I’ve felt so lonely and disconnected for the past few years. I’m hoping that moving back to Sydney and having a home base will help to ease the loneliness and strengthen/build relationships.

Work woes – As usual, I find myself wondering WTF I should do with my (work) life, and beyond jaded with everything. I just wish I could know definitively what I’m meant to be doing, because in the meantime it just feels like I’m wasting my talents. Candidly, I’m also not really sure what to do about this blog: I’ve long outgrown the “frugal frolicker” moniker (I’m SUCH a bougie b-tch now), and Google AI has killed most of my hard-earned traffic. I’m not really keen to chase the moving target that is the Google or Instagram algorithm. So I find myself feeling a little stuck and unsure of what my next step should be.

What’s Next in 2025?

Next year is going to be a little more boring on paper than recent years have been, since I’ve got a kitty to care for and rent to pay in Sydney, and thus will be spending the bulk of my time there.

We’ll be making a short trip to Bali (again!) in May for a wedding, but apart from that… no travel plans on the docket thusfar. And for now, I’m very ok with that.

Here’s to laying down roots in Sydney and exploring ALL of the northern beaches!

READ MY PAST YEAR RECAPS: