Epilogue

Today marks six months since we left Australia.  And the truth is, I still think about it every single day.  I miss the beach, and my apartment.  I miss our friends and the stunning natural beauty.  I miss the sunshine, and the harbour.

Our last family photo in front of our apartment.  On our way to the airport. 3 July 2011

And even though I am happy with the decision we made to move to the UK, there have been times when my husband and I have asked ourselves, "Why did we ever leave Australia?"

When we first considered moving to the UK I wondered if having a second expat experience would in some way diminish my memories of Australia.  I can now answer definitively-no, it will not.  No matter how many places I live or how much I travel, I will always look back on our time in Australia as sort of magical. 

It really is a "Lucky Country" and I feel lucky to have called it home for over two years.

Jewel Bugs

While hunting for spiders in the garden today, the kids discovered these:

Anyone know what they are?

The little buddy proclaimed they were "blue back spiders".  I think these little beetles look like jewels.  Such amazing colours!  I've never seen anything like them before.

A Reminder

If you're a parent, you've had days like this.
I didn't get much sleep last night (hello- I have a six week old baby)!  My three year old woke me up way too early this morning.  We've had tantrums, and unexplained crying, and plenty of sibling conflicts.   We went to church but I didn't get to hear any of the message.  (See above re: unexplained crying).  The noise level in our apartment is deafening at times.
So today, this song is a perfect reminder for me. 
It won't be like this for long.




Linking up to Sunday Song over at 5 Minutes Just For Me.

Holiday Everyday

Springtime Saturday at Balmoral.
It doesn't get much better than this.

Who needs a holiday when you live here?

Grandma (on her sort-of a holiday) and the kids on the beach.

Best Seat in the House

Here's where I like to sit whilst blogging.

It's a little space at the end of the kitchen. From this spot I can see all the people coming and going at Bather's Pavillion, watch mums pushing prams and toddlers flying on scooters along the boardwalk, see the rangers dishing out parking tickets to offenders, and generally remind myself that this is Australia baby!

The view is pretty nice, too.

Check out the "Where Do You Blog" party over at Centsational Girl today and see where everyone else spends their blogging hours.

Bird War

I am declaring an all out war on Mynah birds. They don't belong here. They are chasing all the beautiful native Australian birds away and they are covering my balcony with poo at an alarming pace. So far I've limited my attacks to spraying them with water bottles and sending my three year old out to scare them off with his ferocious roar. But I'm getting ready to take things to another level. Consider this a warning- you awful Mynah birds.

Best Deal in Town

To all our friends and family back in the U.S.

Available:
Beautiful private guest room with built in wardrobe, marble ensuite and sunny courtyard. Directly opposite gorgeous harbour beach with easy access to cafes and public transport. Currently accepting bookings.

We accept the following forms of payment:
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Jet Puff Marshmallows
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packets
Italian Dressing seasoning packets
Honey Maid Graham Crackers
Girl Scout Cookies
Bounce Sheets
Glide Floss
Tide to Go Sticks
Nestle Toll House Semi Sweet chips
Clorox Bleach Pens
Red Vines
Dial Gold Bar Soap
Trident Gum (with xylitol)
Children's Motrin
Tylenol Jr. Melt Aways
Goldfish crackers
Crest toothpaste
Jello Pudding mix
Did I mention Reese's Peanut Butter Cups?

Any takers?

Thanksgiving Top ten

The top 10 things I learned by hosting an American Thanksgiving in Australia

10. German engineering isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Our apartment has these high-end German appliances. The oven is slightly larger than a shoebox. No self respecting turkey could possibly fit in there. That's why we had to take it outside and throw the turkeys on the barbie. That evil oven persisted to heat unevenly and burn a beautiful pan of Pioneer Woman dinner rolls. Even the fancy microwave-that-also-doubles-as-a-second-oven cooked at warp speed but luckily no damage was done. In the battle of me vs the German appliances I think I came out on top. But oh how I miss you, Viking range.

9. Don't be afraid to substitute.
So what if they don't sell evaporated milk, Crisco or pumpkin puree at Woolies? A dedicated American baker like my awesome friend Cristina won't let that stop her from making the most delicious pumpkin pie you've ever tasted. Really, it's not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.


8. eBay + IKEA + my friend's cupboards + the internet = a lovely Thanksgiving table.
It's true that as of last month I had exactly 8 dinner plates, 5 glasses and not a single tablecloth. But somehow I managed to host a sit down dinner for 20 people yesterday. And it was quite lovely, if I do say so myself. I made the table runners with this gorgeous Amy Butler fabric and found these cute printable decorations at Paper and Cake.


7. Native Australian flowers are beautiful.


6. Having a back-up meat thermometer (or helpful neighbors) is a good idea.
Grilling turkey is a nerve-wracking experience. Keeping the temperature steady and dealing with the wind was challenging. Right at the critical moment our electronic meat thermometer malfunctioned. We were all so thankful when our neighbors showed up with not 1 but 2 meat thermometers! And the turkeys were cooked to perfection.


5. They don't eat turkey in the Czech Republic.
I employed a lovely young woman to help with the prep and clean up during our celebration. She's from the Czech Republic and here on a work-holiday visa. She had never tasted turkey before! Her verdict? "Like chicken but drier." I think she liked the pumpkin pie better.

4. Celebrating Thanksgiving in Spring is strange, but has its advantages.
After standing over a hot barbie with a cold beer all afternoon and stuffing ourselves with rich Thanksgiving foods, we headed down to the beach. The dads tossed the football around, the moms had a chat, and the kids splashed in the waves.


3. Be prepared to spend a small fortune if you want a fresh turkey.
Aussies love ham. Ham on the bone, champagne ham, honey roasted, you name it. They do not seem to have the same fondness for turkey. Most delis don't even have sliced turkey. You won't find a fresh whole turkey at the supermarket. I ordered 2 turkeys from our local butcher- at $17.95 a kilo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Costco will open in Sydney and I'll be able to get a turkey there next year for one tenth the price!

2. Include a little taste of home.
We put this candy corn my mom sent to good use. You can never have too many desserts!


1. Having wonderful friends makes it a little easier to be so far away from family.
I have so much to be thankful for!

Beautiful Bather's Pavillion

For nearly six months I've been looking out my kitchen window at a beautiful 1920's art deco style building known as the Bather's Pavilion. It sits right on Balmoral Beach and houses a kiosk (where the kids can get their babyccinos), a cafe (where we've been known to order a basket of 4 pastries when there's no breakfast food to be found in our place) and a fine dining restaurant (which, before last night, we had never set foot in).

We've recently added a weekly date-night to our schedule. You know, we hire a babysitter and go to restaurants that don't have macaroni and cheese on the menu. It's so refreshing! So last night we decided to walk across the street and see if Bathers lived up to its reputation as one of the best restaurants in Sydney.

We weren't disappointed. Like many fancy restaurants around here, Bathers has a set menu. You select one entree (aka appetizer), one main (aka entree), and a dessert (this term is universal around the world) for a set price. They also bring out a little something before your selections to, I suppose, whet your appetite. Last night it was a teeny tiny thimble sized mug of potato and leek something and an equally teeny tiny spoonful of jewfish something or other. It is very hard to understand Aussies when they are speaking about fancy food. Suffice it to say, everything was delicious!

The restaurant also features a vegetarian and a degustation menu. Since I'm not a vegetarian and I had to google "degustation" I just stuck with the standard menu. Everything we had was amazing. Bather's isn't one of these overrated, over the top type of restaurants. The food was "beautiful", the service superb, the location perfect. All in all it made for a lovely date night. And we didn't have to worry about how to get home.

7 Years of Bad Luck

I knew it was only a matter of time before we jacked up this gorgeous apartment. I just figured it would be the kids who did it. I was wrong.

This afternoon as I buzzed around unpacking from our weekend getaway I opened the medicine cabinet a bit too quickly. The heavy mirrored door slipped from my fingers and bumped (ever so slightly) into the lovely glass subway tiles on the adjoining wall.

For a moment I thought to myself, "Wow, I should be more careful. That might actually hit the wall next time." Then I closed the door. And saw the damage.



I called the project manager to report my "accident". I was not at all surprised to find out that this is a custom made door. I'm guessing it's not cheap either.

I did feel a little better when my six year old informed me that the whole 7 years of bad luck thing is probably "just a myth." I hope she's right!

Unpacking

Hooray! Our shipment has arrived! 18 days door to door (including one completely lost day due to the time change). Everything made it through customs and quarantine- no worries.

It's a little hard to get motivated to deal with this:




When I am staring out at this:



Luckily my cool reclining backpack beach chair and nifty polka dot umbrella arrived in perfect condition. I'll be putting them to good use this afternoon.

Welcome to Balmoral

I thought I'd do a little research about Balmoral Beach since it is going to be our home for the next two years.



Here's what About.com has to say about Balmoral:

Balmoral Beach in Sydney's Middle Harbour lies just west of Middle Head, a picturesque crescent-shaped beach with its own island — Rocky Point.





In summer, the Balmoral Rotunda is the place to experience Shakespeare by the Sea. The rotunda and rocky Point Island are popular for weddings and photographs. Restaurants and cafes are at beachside. The Bathers Pavilion, a 1928 Spanish-Moorish-style building, is noted for its restaurant serving modern Australian cuisine.





Aside from off-street parking, there's a dedicated parking area at the southern end of the beach. Parking fees apply.

There is an area of enclosed public baths by Balmoral Wharf and and just north of Rocky Point Island is a netted shark-proof pool.

Picnic and barbecue facilities are available.

The beach is not patrolled by surf lifesavers.


This beach is going to be my front yard. Somebody pinch me!

Drumroll Please . . . . .

For those of you waiting with bated breath to see which rental we selected . . .
The wait is over! Our rental application was approved this week!

Take a look at where we will be living for the next two years.
The apartment on The Esplanade. Doesn't that sound glorious- to live on a street called "The Esplanade"? It is 230 sqm (translation: 2400 square feet) of brand new luxury living.




We'll be eating breakfast on the balcony looking at this view of Balmoral Beach:



I'll be making lunch here:




Soon this gorgeous living room will be scattered with toys and this beautiful dining room will be littered with crayons and biscuit (translation: cookie) crumbs.



Yes, it has a guest suite and yes, you are invited.

House Hunting

The main reason for our jaunt down under was to find a suitable place to live. To help us on this quest we were paired with a friendly and ultra-knowledgeable relocation agent. We spent two days peeling ourselves in and out of her 2 door Saab convertible looking at about 20 rental properties. The homes were gorgeous, the views world class, and the weekly rental prices sky high. But hey, we've got to live somewhere.


How would you like to wake up to this view of Balmoral Beach?




Or maybe take a bath here:




We also loved this one:



There are definitely worse places in the world to live. Stay tuned to see which one we get.