Playing Tourist in My Own City

Oh it's been a while. I know. Complete slackness really...sometimes you have to leave your home time to get inspired, which is what I did a few weeks ago. I had a flight credit that needed to be used so off I went to see one of my favourite people Jacqui Simpson, who moved to Auckland about 7 years ago. For love. I haven't seen her in 5 years. Again, complete slackness.

We had a lovely time. There was champagne cocktails, which we both regretted the next morning. And red wine. Ditto. There was luxuriating at a day spa (mmmmm....relaxing) and girly shopping to try on things that were a stupid amount of money, and we both needed new boots. Of course. Then cocktails and a girly dinner at one of Auckland's hot restaurants Soul Bar followed by a drink we seriously didn't need in a very trashy bar-come-nightclub where some dancing was undertaken, surrounded by 18 year old males who really should invest in some regular showers and deodorant.

I got back to Sydney on Sunday night after 3 days away (Aiden and Charlie were SOO excited to see me) and Monday was the most beautiful Sydney winters day. I decided that if Tuesday looked to be the same I was going off to Bondi. Being unemployed and all. It's pretty nice to play tourist in your home town, when the weather is so gorgeous.

Most Sydneysiders detest Bondi Beach, preferring any of Sydney's other amazing beaches which are less crowded with tourists. Not me. I love Bondi Beach and the surrounding shops, bars and cafes. All the different people that visit, work and live at Bondi. If we decide to go to the beach, that's where we go. In summer we take Aiden there for a swim. We go late in the afternoon and then have fish and chips at Mongers. In winter, often on Sunday night we head out for an early dinner at The Italian, which I first visited during a work function at Bondi.

I had a really nice day playing tourist. I started with coffee and scrambled eggs at Trio Cafe. I sat outside in the winter sun and watched the world go by.

Campbell Parade

Then I wandered down and sat on the sand at Bondi Beach. This beach has the best people watching. While I was there taking a few shots, these two came down to the beach in front of me and started doing some yoga type stretching as well as some dance moves and acrobatics. I put on my zoom lens and indulged in some pap-style shots of Bondi's beautiful people!

 

I walked back to the car, along the beach and these two jogged past me about half way along. Such an obscene display of health and fitness!

Winter's day at Bondi Beach

Surfing with your mates, Bondi Beach

Out for a stroll...

Multi-million dollar properties

After Bondi I drove around to Coogee where I discovered a couple of Ocean Baths. These are dotted alongside many of Sydney's beaches and most have been around for generations. I'm a bit fascinated with them. On doing some research, there are apparently over 100 Ocean baths in NSW and there are 4 in Coogee!! If you would like to read more about Sydney's ocean's baths there is a good article here The day I went to Coogee I only found 2, my favourite being McIvers Baths, also known as the Coogee Women's Baths (Beach Street, Coogee). It's a women's and children only pool, the only one left in Australia. It's really beautiful and quite private and sheltered, which would explain the couple of topless women taking in the winter sun. Here is a short blog post about this pool.

Picture postcard taken from the change rooms

Honesty system entry fee. Flash sign!

Book swap going on in the change rooms.  Nice

 After checking out the pools I walked from the North end of Coogee beach around towards Maroubra for a km or so, and then back to the car. I slept well that night!

2011 The year that was....

It seems to be a tradition in many families to put together a newsletter detailing the last 12 months activities, to send to their family and friends, usually in a Christmas card. Well I’m crap at writing Christmas cards. I often buy a pack of pretty cards with the very good intention on sending them. Some years I have even bought stamps! As a result I have quite a good selection of cards.

During 2011 I started writing a blog and got a really good camera so I have combined the two. Consider this your Christmas and New Year greeting plus family newsletter from Arran, Aiden, Charlie and I. Here are some highlights!

 

Aiden learnt to ride a bike

We went to the park a lot and had fun on the slides

We went to Brisbane for Mum’s 60^th Birthday

Mum and Dad at the Party

Aiden had fun with his cousins in Brisbane

Jordi, Aiden and Marley

 We went to cafes and restaurants

Me on a work trip in Singapore - Gotta love chilli crab!

 Winter in Sydney was very cold. We had to "rug up"

Marley and Jordi Vaggs (the cousins) came to visit with their parents Emma and Brett

Emma, Aiden, Marley and Jordi

The Vaggs: Brett, Marley, Emma and Jordi

We went on some road trips

And read some books          

I started a blog

Aiden got his hair cut

One of the times he didn't throw a tanty

Said goodbye to the mini  *sob*

Had some great photos taken by Andrea Thompson and wrote about it here

  

Had a little break

Read some more books and kept clean

Did a photography course

Played with some trains

 Went swimming

And went to the museum

Practised my photography skills

Did some stuff around the house

Practised some more photography skills

Played with some dinosaurs

Got some new summer clothes, which seemed a little premature (bloody Sydney weather)

Went to Bondi Beach

Met a birdy

Had some toast

Welcomed Charlie

Took a trip to Bowral

Went to playgroup at Vision Australia

Went to a cyclo-cross race

Arran in action

Had some more toast

Hung some art

Salvage chic!

 Thanks to everyone who follows my blog. Happy New Year. Looking forward to 2012!

A little break...

So I have been on Maternity leave for two weeks. It’s been lovely, apart from the fact that I thought I would have had the baby by now. At least I have not been as tired and cranky as when I was still working. It has made a difference not having to get dressed up each day, do my hair and make-up, drop Aiden at daycare and drive 45 minutes to work. And then work!
 

It's weird though, when I'm really busy and tired I find it easy to be creative and write blog updates. When I have heaps of time on my hands its more difficult! Maybe because its a different outlet to what I do most of the time? In any case this blog update has lots of photos to make up for the lack of writing!

Me being at home has given us the chance get some things around the house that are hard to achieve when Arran and I are working full time. We have lived in our Bridge Rd home for a year and a half and while we have managed to do a few things since we moved in, once you live in a place for a bit you discover other things that need to be fixed. So I thought I would tell you a bit about what we have achieved during the past couple of weeks as well as some of the other things we have been up to:

-       Aiden got a new room

 

-       The light switch in Aiden’s room finally got fixed. It’s one of those old fashioned cord-pull switches which worked intermittently.

-       The lights in our kitchen/family room also got fixed. There were 16 halogen lights set into the roof and only 13 worked reliably. Two came on and off like they were possessed. All the halogen lights have been replaced with lovely bright LCD’s which over time are more energy efficient and therefore cheaper to run.

-       Returned the Mini Cooper S at the end of the lease (sob!). This ended up taking 5 hours in the middle of the day!

 
Weather is starting to look like summer so spent some time shopping for Aiden's new summer wardrobe!

Hat and shoes from Seed, Polo's from Mothercare, Shorts from Pumpkin Patch

Shorts from Target, Shirt and T-Shirts from Cotton On

Had some acupuncture at Sydney Essential Health (to try and bring on labour). Brooke and Nicola are great. Very relaxing. So much so that I floated out from one of the treatments and floated into a shop called White at Woollahra and bought a dress and necklace   

Finished the photography course I have been doing. Here are a couple of images from the field trip:

Circular Quay

-       Caught up with some Mothers group friends for morning tea

-       Filed away all the bills and paperwork that usually lies around our kitchen in big piles

-       Bought some plants to replace the last round I killed. Arran was very unkind saying he gives them 2 days to live. I give them at least a month!

Just added the grass in the middle. Apparently grass plants are hard to kill!

Kangaroo Paw. Cheap and hardy (I hope)

Succulents. I have a few different ones that seem to survive despite me, so bought some different varieties.

-       Had a lovely pre-baby Sunday lunch with some girlfriends at Glebe Point Diner

-       Had a lovely pre-baby dinner with more girlfriends at El Bulli

-       Been grocery shopping twice during the day. Much more pleasant than at 6pm.

-       Had a few nice sleep-in’s when Arran took Aiden to daycare

Celebrated the great Sydney spring weather last Saturday afternoon by heading to Bondi to have fish and chips from Mongers. Yum.

End of a beautiful day at Bondi Beach

On Sunday morning Aiden and I went to the park and then walked home via the flower man to see the "birdie"

 

Luella came and hung out Sunday afternoon and helped me choose plants to kill at the nursery. We then had Simon, Julie and Henry, and Iain and Rebecca and Luella stay for dinner. Julie made cupcakes for dessert!

We don't know what 'flavour' the new baby will be so Julie made green and purple baby-cakes! Isn't she clever?

And here is who we are waiting for. Nice pic at 34 weeks