Bonjour Brunswick!

We're here! The move from Figtree to Brunswick went very smoothly, though as the Cunning Plans Dept commented, what would you expect with two project managers running the show :)

We headed off on Thursday morning, stopping a number of times along the way to swap drivers and give the dogs a stretch and toilet break. After having gone to the effort to get sedatives from the vet, I then managed to misplace them in the packing madness on Wednesday and couldn't find them. As it turned out the dogs were fine (except for the bit where they ate a bag of blood & bone that was in Mum & Dad's garden shed). Hudson was only car sick once. Otherwise they handled the drive pretty well. We arrived in Brunswick around 8:45pm and stayed at a friend's place around the corner from our new digs.

Friday was moving in day and it also went pretty smoothly. The new fridge I'd ordered a couple of weeks ago arrived with impeccable timing on Friday morning, followed by the removalists and the electricity guy, so it was all systems go! Basically I stationed myself in the kitchen by the front door and the CPD was on dog/shed duty and we just directed the removalists where to put things.

By Friday night we'd unpacked the essentials and had our first meal (granted it was Indian home delivery) with the wonderful Dr Krys. Saturday saw some grocery shopping, more unpacking and a visit from Sam & Belle, who introduced us to Apple Cakes, which are apparently a very Victorian treat (they are effectively an individual size apple pie, dome side up, which is coated in a thick layer of icing). Sunday the unpacking continued with a quick diversion out to CERES to meet Dr Krys for lunch after her Sunday radio show. We had hoped to make use of the famous Melbourne public transport system, only to be thwarted by the fact that the 503 bus does not run on Sundays. At all. Which is a bit lame if you ask me. More unpacking, then a lovely dinner with Miss Bethany (home delivery again).

Monday was back to work for both myself and the CPD. I'd managed to set up enough of the new home office to be functional. Ironically, the first main work task for the CPD in our new location was to fly to Sydney for a meeting. It will be interesting to see how we settle in to having both of us working from home. We are definitely going to have to acquire another desk.

There are still a few boxes left to unpack, but we're mostly moved in. The new place has the footprint of one floor of our old place, so we've downsized a reasonable amount. Thank goodness we were fairly ruthless with the cull before moving. The new house has pretty good storage options. Both bedrooms have large floor-to-ceiling built in wardrobes (and the ceilings are tall, so that's extra space). The kitchen has amazing storage space. I am in serious kitchen storage heaven. I've unpacked all the kitchen items and I still have an empty drawer and a few empty shelves.

More tales of settling into Melbourne to come. So far, c'est magnifique!

Farewell Figtree

Today we packed up all our belongings and said farewell to Figtree. The removalists spent the day packing most of our stuff into the containers. And of course today it decided to absolutely bucket with rain, just to make the moving experience that much more of a challenge.

While packing for the move, I commented to friends that I reckoned I could get all of our clothes into two suitcases. It turned out to be 1 large suitcase, 1 medium suitcase, 1 medium box, and one "portarobe" box (for the suit jackets and coats). So I think I can safely say both the Cunning Plans Dept and I have a rather minimalist wardrobe. However, as the removalists were packing the kitchen, I realised that where I may save space in the wardrobe, I more than make up for it with baking stuff. I have a LOT of kitchen stuff. However, as the CPD commented - a naked lady who can bake is better than a fashionista who can't cook.

After a long day, we're now at my parent's place, where we're staying tonight before driving us and the pups south of the border to Melbourne. Next stop, Brunswick West!

Holidays: Melbourne

The great Melbourne-Tassie-Melbourne holiday finally happened a week or so ago, after being in the pipeline for several months. The aim of the trip was to catch up with a bunch of friends, visit the block of land in Waratah, and generally chill out and do some sight-seeing.

We spent two weekends in Melbourne, with the Tassie adventure during the week between them.

I love Melbourne. Something about that city really resonates with me. Even when the weather is awful and unpredictable. First weekend was hot and dry, the second weekend we got drenched with rain. One of Melbourne's attractions is that it currently is the place of residence of many of our friends. We managed to catch up with Sam & Belle, Dan & Jen, Miss Bethany and, of course, Dr Krys.

There was much shopping, well perusing to be more accurate. I was reasonably restrained in my purchasing.

On the first Saturday, we went to the Melbourne Theatre Company garage sale with Dan & Jen. It opened at 9am and we arrived at 9:30am, by which time there was a line about 150m long. So we lined up anyway. By the time we got in, most of the "good stuff" had gone. We saw people coming out earlier with huge boxes of stuff. Still it was an interesting browse.

Sunday I went to the North Melbourne market day with Ms Belle. This was hosted by Thread Den, who I have previously visited and love their stuff. There was lots of vintage and vintagesque stuff and lots of crafts ware.

I have recently become enamoured of this apron. While I have searched in vain for an Australian stockist, many of my friends have suggested I simply make one myself. I have pleaded laziness and a general lack of sewing mojo as an excuse. Until I found this gorgeous fabric at the markets.
It was listed as a cotton, though it has a very papery/crisp feel to it. Like something you'd use for table linen rather than clothes. Still, it will certainly do for an apron. I think there is about 2m, though it isn't very wide. I will do a mock-up in some cheap fabric to see whether I will have enough.

I also discovered that badges and brooches are very popular in Melbourne. There were lots of stalls selling cute badges, often covered with retro/vintage style fabrics. I picked up a set of three ladybug badges that were too cute to resist. I shall be sending one of them to Miss Bethany as I always think of her when I see ladybugs.

There was much browsing of vintage patterns. Much bemoaning that many vintage patterns are in tiny sizes. And also some boggling at the fact that patterns from the 1980's are now considered "vintage" (the shoulder pads still beggar belief!).

The Cunning Plans Dept went to Camberwell markets, but didn't end up getting anything (as opposed to last time when a box load of tools and bits got mailed home).

The second weekend involved the great swimsuit mission. I've discovered that I cannot buy a swimsuit on my own. I've tried several times over the last few years without success. I need a good friend (or two or three), to get me into the store, make me try things on and provide objective opinions. Otherwise, the effort of trying to pick something to try on first, the effort of trying things on, and general fit issues will normally lead me to declare the whole thing hopeless and go home. Huge thanks to Ms Belle and Miss Bethany for being my swimsuit buying support crew. Their optimism, excellent taste and eye for good style were invaluable and lead to me buying the first swimsuit in over 10 years.

There was also a DFO shopping expedition with Dr Krys (as it was raining and we decided that being indoors was a good thing). We successfully found a couple of simple thin strap camis for me (to act as modesty panels under v-neck tops) and a stack of manchester for Dr Krys.

And it wouldn't be a trip to Melbourne without much fine coffee and dining. I love all the little hole-in-the-wall cafes and restaurants in Melbourne. I love the generally relaxed atmosphere. It doesn't seem as insane and frenetic as Sydney.

The trip has strengthened my view that Melbourne is a place I could live in very happily, though looking at housing prices was somewhat depressing. Still, the move the Melbourne option in the next year is looking better and better. Coming home I realised how much I miss my friends down there and how little there is for me here. Now to figure out what to do...