Filling up her week

We haven't been up to much around here. Just our usual routine. Twice a week Z has AllSportz where for 3 hours each morning she gets introduced to an array of different activities starting with scooters, bikes, electric 4 wheelers, then the bouncing castle, then fun kiddie versions of tennis, hockey, and soccer.

 

For an apartment-dwelling kid with such a high level of energy that she has a program like this has been a real blessing. Plus it also gives us a chance to run off to have breakfast together. This week we tried Coin Laundry in Armadale and Spoonful in Prahran East. While A is on the constant search for the perfect bowl of bircher I'm a lot more eclectic with my breakfast. No pictures as I always am too ravenous to wait.

 

The rest of the weekday week is dedicated to daycare. The above is evidence of the carnage before I kick them both out. (I swear to God, if I step on another block ...!)

In other news, even though I said we were going to be staying put we may be swayed. On Thursday we're going to inspect a property $120 cheaper than what we're paying now in a neighbouring suburb. That extra $120 to save towards buying a house is pretty enticing. The idea of compound interest excites me, what can I say?

 

(Cardi, Gorman; dress, Kookai; leggings, Barkins; taupe boots, Sirrico.)
I'm going to make it a priority next week to add some more winter clothes to my wardrobe. Tights especially! Digging around my drawers today all I could find were some grey gym leggings to wear with my outfit. It's starting to actually get cold now. Today I wore this and it was not nearly warm enough. Whoops. That sun is deceptive. As is the fact I have the heater going non-stop at my place.



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Perfect Poached Eggs

(Note: This post was entirely inspired by the lovely Domestic Divinity and her call out for the secret to poached eggs.)

I'm gonna give it to you straight: I am lazy. Not only am I lazy but I am impatient. Especially when it comes to cooking.

Years ago prior to the whole Masterchef cooking craze I did a year long certificate in commercial cookery. I wanted to learn how to cook so I decided to throw myself into the deep end. Instead of spreading school and exams over a 3 long period the way apprentices do it, we did the same thing squished into one year so we were basically learning, cooking and prepping for exams all week every week. Let me tell you this: IT WAS A LIVING HELL. It was so stressful.

To cut a long story short I failed when it came to the part where you're supposed to master poaching eggs the traditional way. Whatever. But since then I've also failed poaching them the vinegar method, the cling film method and any other method that's ever been suggested. And there's not always time to dash out to a cafe to get my poached eggs fix.

So the other week I was wandering around my local Woolies trying to avoid the confectionary aisle when I found these. I may have hyperventilated in excitement. Perfect poached eggs every time. Every time!!

Behold!

 

 

 

 



 





The instructions say to leave them in the pot for 4 but because I like super gooey eggs I leave them in for 3.

Anyway. Voila!

The first birthday flop

In exactly one month it'll be Z's second birthday. We've decided to make it a family affair again this time and so because the Sydney relo's have already organised to come down we better make it somewhat worthwhile for them.

Z's first birthday was a disaster. I thought I'd be clever and outsource everything. But the food was pretty much the only thing that went off without a hitch.

Basically, I overslept that morning after staying up all night making stupid tissue paper pom pom party decorations and didn't have time to ice the cake. We invited way too many people because we thought it'd be awkward for just our families to be together as they're not the most social people. We forgot to sing Happy Birthday or get a birthday cake. Z ended up sleeping for 1.5 hours of her 2 hour long birthday.

(Z just before passing out.)
Thankfully the decorations were awesome. Lots of posies from a florist in Armadale, pussy willow branches covered in ivy and silver balls from Prahran Market, and of course those tissue paper pom poms that I had Pinterested the previous week (never again.)

The food was a hit because it was all ordered from Phillippa's (God bless you Phillippa's!!) and we drank copious amounts of Prosecco. The only downside was that I didn't get to enjoy any part of the party or talk to many people because I was heating up dozens and dozens of gorgeous sausage rolls that people couldn't seem to get enough of.

This year I vow to do things differently. Simplify. Not only will be just inviting Z's nearest and dearest plus her little cousins but I will plan it properly in advance and it will be themed. I'm thinking Dora. And the cake will be from Woolworths. Maybe we'll all be able to actually enjoy it this time as opposed to running about like headless chickens. And sausage rolls will be a must have! I will also not make the same mistake of underordering. Who knew people loved sausage rolls so much?!!

Breakfast at our Local

Breakfast: Roasted beetroot, asparagus & goat's cheese omelette from Oscar Cooper, Prahran
Outfit: Jacket, Arthur Galan; Dress, Juicy Bear; Stockings, Sportsgirl; Crochet scarf, Sophie Digard; Boots, Siricco.

I'm not going to lie, savoury breakfasts are just fine, but this is what I come to eat. White chocolate lamgington from Oscar Cooper. Hidden within a paper bag clutched tight to my chest to be eaten off site so no one can steal a bite of it. Mine mine mine. So good.



Daycare Days

From the moment I felt her presence in the womb I knew Z would be a handful. I suffered chronic 24/7 morning sickness from 5 weeks till about 6 months and for the last 3 it would come and go. From the moment she could kick her legs I was in constant pain.

Z is a livewire and we love her for it, but as soon as we felt comfortable sending her to daycare she was enrolled immediately and she has loved it from day 1.

On the weekends Z stays with her grandparents (A's parents one night, my mother the next night) as it fosters the sort of close relationship I had with my grandparents and cherished. Sometimes she needs a break from us. To run around 2 big houses and do as she pleases. And we definitely need the break from her. Plus it gives us a chance to miss one another. Though sometimes we can't resist and we gatecrash her time with her grandparents and spend night because her antics amuse us so much we kind of don't want to miss out.

On days where she isn't at daycare A has her enrolled in morning sports activities. Like him she is very physical, very active, and we were told from an early age this needs to be channelled into something sporty so off she goes twice a week for 3 hours at a time. Unfortunately she loves it so much she sometimes doesn't want to leave.

Every day is the same with Z. She wakes up at some ungodly hour. Today it was 4:30AM, she insists on her set routine of  breakfast in the high chair watching Dora the Explorer, then after about an hour she starts to roam around our tiny apartment while I battle to get her out of her pj's and into her day clothes. A struggle always ensues. After going through all her board books, playing with her blocks and Duplo she decides she's bored and climbs on all the furniture and if we've accidentally left a chair out she'll attempt some risky move like climbing onto the kitchen bench or try to climb up her bookcase.

By then I'm fed up. Bag packed? Yep. Car keys? Yep. Wallet, phone? Yes, yes. See ya!! And A takes her off to Daycare. Sometimes she happily trots off even, worryingly, putting herself in the lift, sometimes she chucks a tanty and throws herself on the hallway floor much to our embarrassment.

Come on Dad!

Quick pose for the camera

Later, skater!

Ship Shape

I'm not what you would call a homemaker. I love cleanliness, I love a tidy home, I despise mess and I love everything to be organised and neat but I seem to have this inability to do all these things for myself despite recording Martha Stewart and watching it daily when I was pregnant with Z and reading Shannon Lush's books cover to cover. Actually, when I was pregnant with Z I think I got to week 38 before my mother expressed grave concern wondering when my nesting instict was going to kick in. Uhh ...

I'm just going to put it out there and admit I'm messy. So is A. The problem is that we both grew up in households where our mums did the lions share of the housework and they did it so well that anything less than perfection was not acceptable. They tried to train us, tried to make us more accountable, but in the end our chores got done for us, our bedrooms cleaned out tidied and made nice, our clothes laundered and folded, and we never had to lift a finger.

Then we moved out of our respective homes and into our apartment and quickly discovered a person's abode does not keep itself magically clean. You actually have to clean it regularly and tidy it every single damn day.

We've experimented with a variety of cleaners and housekeepers (none up to the standard of our mothers so in the end not worth the money), we've even had our mums offer to come and clean for us but it always makes us feel guilty. Although the last time I was ill A's mum came over, took one look at the clothes pile badly hidden away in the corner of the bedroom, berated A for not helping out, and promptly folded every last item before leaving. Little did she know our pile always looks like that ...

Sadly, as the female of the duo and the least inept at housework although A is starting to find laundry to be his forte, it's come down to me to start running a tighter ship. I can't live in mess. I don't want to live in anything less than showroom tidy (even if it only stays this way during daycare hours - if you know what I mean) so perusing Pinterest I found this and I think it breaks things down to become entirely doable.

 

Source: classyclutter.net via imane on Pinterest

 

I know, I know, it's hardly revolutionary but it's a start. A is constantly bleeting at me like a football coach about how we need structures in place well, here's my contribution.

I've been known to have a tipple now and then

I need more of these in my life. Sadly, A is becoming older, wiser and more responsible. I need a companion, a sidekick. Someone who'll direct me towards my apartment at the end of a long night drinking.

Back in the day when I was looking to move out of home and into a shared flat I went and inspected two properties prior to finding the place I ended up living in. The first place was in Carlton. A gorgeous residence inhabited by a professor ... and his cat. Unfortunately I am allergic to cats so that wasn't to be. The second was in St Kilda with a young structual engineer who I felt a sense of comfort with almost immediately. But because I travelled a lot between Brisbane and Melbourne for work at the time he ended up choosing the other applicant. I didn't take it personally, but we got along so well during that first meeting we decided we needed to catch up and go out as he was relatively new to Melbourne and didn't know too many people.

We ended up meeting for casual drinks and a bite to eat at The Station Hotel in Windsor. What became of that night was possibly one of the best non-dates I've ever been on. Basically we sat at the bar and told the bartender or "mixologist" as he wankily referred to himself as and let him put together all kinds of concoctions until we could barely see straight. It was like being at the mercy of a sushi chef only he was imbibing us with alcohol not food until we couldn't handle any more.

As classy as we kept ourselves in the setting of the bar, it soon fell to bits on Chapel Street where we went from club to club dancing badly and "refreshing" ourselves with vodka sodas.

From there we ended up in a small upstairs lounge on King St where I ran into and introduced him to old school friends and thought it would be an even greater idea to order Long Island Iced Teas.

Let's just say I did not make it home that night but instead found myself on the couch of my ex-school friend and upon waking was delighted to discover that Dominos began delivering their pizzas from 11am.

Sadly, my new friend ended up moving back to Perth after his contract was up and I have never met anyone since who could match me drink for drink over the course of an evening. But perhaps a I need to lure a girlfriend out to Fog so we can plant ourselves at the bar and indulge in what the bartenders have to offer. It'd be interesting to taste the difference in quality and style.

Staying put

 

For months we've been complaining about our apartment. That it's too small, that it's in a location not exactly suitable for raising a child (drug addicts, weirdos, etc), that the layout is poor. We're coming up to the end of our lease and our property manager has asked us if we'd like to renew it. At first we thought heeeelll no, but now ... I'm not so sure.

At first I was happy to pay the extra $ per week to rent a decent sized 3 bedroom house in Albert Park, Middle Park, Carlton North or Fitzroy North. Then I thought, ugh, can I really be bothered moving? What's one more year? Especially now that we're grown ups and have to start doing grown up things like saving for a deposit on a house and that extra $250 a week we'd be saving would come in handy towards our goal.

Not only that but you can't beat the location we're in. Right near the CBD, 3 different modes of accessable public transport, 15 minutes drive from Z's daycare, a gym directly below us, Prahran Market near the end of our street, 2 supermarkets in short walking distance, walking distance to some great parks including Fawkner Park and the Botanic Gardens, close to my work, close to Z's extra curricular activities. And all for a bargain price per week.

So much to A's shock I decided nup, stuff it, we're staying put for another year.

But this means I need to redesign our apartment in order to get the most out of our space. 2 big purchases i'm looking at are the King Furniture Jasper chaise and some bunk beds from Domayne.

Pay no attention to those colors, but it should be interesting to post the before and after photos when I'm finished.

After the wedding

It's Wednesday now but I feel I'm only just starting to recover from the weekend. On Friday afternoon A's sister got married to a charming surfer from up North and we celebrated with cocktail style canapes and lots of booze.

 

A was sensible. Just prior to the reception ending he took a cab home and went straight to bed. I on the other hand took a cab to Siglo (it was either Siglo or Men's Gallery and though I'm sure naked ladies would have gone down rather well at that hour we choose the establishment with the better drinks list) to keep drinking with his sister, BIL and cousins.

And that's where I discovered the Amaretto Sour. Come to mama! After throwing back 4 more, and after a long day of drinking champagne, we decided it was best to call it a night.

Even though A's mother made up a bed for me in the study and carefully laid out pyjamas I ended up passing out in my party dress. As did the bride we later found out, but that was from 5 hours of non stop dancing. She earnt her rest. I was just drunk.

I don't really suffer from hangovers but I felt rather seedy the next day. When the market opened I went down and gathered the ingredients for green smoothies (coconut water, kale, green apple, spinach & banana) and a nice salad along with lots of fresh fruit to subsist on for the next few days.

Also when I'm lazy and can't be bothered making anything I go and get a tub of Detox Soup from Organica.

 

So now that I'm feeling somewhat myself again me and A decided to go out for breakfast. Or rather, I decided to join him for his daily bircher at Oscar Cooper. Which was nice since we barely got to see each other the whole weekend what with me wrangling the little one and him attending various sporting activities. Now with the weather getting colder I indulged in a goat's cheese, roasted beetroot and asparagus omelette that felt like a warm hug from the inside. And it's healthy too!



Here's my going to brunch outfit today. Clearly i'm still trying to cling onto my summer wardrobe with the blue pastel jeans. This is also a reminder I need to buy a pair of ankle boots. Those Volleys were only supposed to be for playing tennis in but damn they're so comfortable I run around everywhere in them now. So stylish, not.