The New Place

I credit my mother and my Aunt Linda for instilling my love of antiques and old buildings. Growing up, they taught me about history through their vast collections of fascinating curios and memorable mini-road trips throughout the small towns of upstate New York and rural Georgia. It's no wonder that I gravitate towards living in old buildings and purposefully seek out places with a past that is at least seventy years old.

I have such a soft spot for Art Deco. Our place in Minneapolis was Art Deco and I really loved that apartment. St Kilda is known for having heaps of Art Deco buildings, which is probably one of the subconscious reasons we decided to move there. Our new place is really cool. It's located on a busy commercial street that leads down to the beach. Our balcony overlooks both Albert Park and the St Kilda Cricket Grounds. I'll post some more photos of the neighbourhood after we get settled, but for now, here are some pre-move-in photos. x

I love a building with a name. To the left is the study, the column is the staircase, and to the right is our balcony

We live on the top floor.

Many Australian homes have open-floor living plans. Our apartment is designed in more of a continental (European) style. This is the main hallway and every single room (with the exception of the kitchen) has its own door. 

The study

The lounge room

The lounge room leads out the balcony. This is the view towards Albert Park. If you look straight ahead from the balcony, you'd see the cricket grounds and a view of the skyline (although it is somewhat obscured by this giant old gum tree you see to the right).

The tile at the entrance matches the tile in the bathroom.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Just a quick glimpse of the kitchen

Back outside again

Our downstairs neighbours have this funny plastic leg in their window. Can you see it? Immediately I think of A Christmas Story and that hilarious lamp.
I must be meet these neighbours ASAP.

This is really a bit sick, but...

I really love cleaning. Like, really, really love it to the point that I look forward to deep cleaning the way that most people look forward to vacations or relaxing with a good book or tv program at the end of the day. I'm not kidding. I feel the same way about doing laundry and organising. It's pretty intense.
Luckily, I've gotten my fix this week and it will continue on to the next. We move tomorrow. This weekend has been filled with packing boxes. Of course, you know your girl here, I've already starting preliminary packing weeks ago. Why delay gratification?
Tomorrow, our movers come and we will be whisked away to our new place in St Kilda. I've posted this link before on Facebook, but just in case, please have a look and learn about our new neighbourhood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Kilda,_Victoria
We were at our place last night, poking around. We rode our bikes down to the new place, parked them in the garage, then walked to a local Mexican restaurant called Radio Mexico. The good news? They have the best margaritas in Melbourne and the restaurant is a twenty minute walk from my house. This is good. Very good.
x

From the archives: Hanging Rock Hike

Here's our picnic at hanging rock: apples, mandarins, cheese, avocado, crispbread and coconut water

From the archives: Greens Bush 14K Hike

On our way to Greens Bush in the Mornington Peninsula 

Pit stop: I'm slowly learning how to drive in Australia. I feel like my fifteen year-old self with my learner's permit again. Start me off on the winding country roads! Good thing Justin is an excellent driver, both here and in the US. 

 

In the thick of it

Kanga trails

Here's a mob of about fifty kangaroos, from a distance

I love all wild animals, land or sea. I really could spend hours just waiting and watching for animals. I've spent years refining my craft, hiking in spots around the world. We were about twenty-five meters away, when I saw a small rustle in the bushes. Then, I spotted two little furry ears. We crouched down low and carefully stalked this little wallaby. We were able to get about three meters away from him and he didn't seem to mind it.

As always, whenever we go to the MP, we visit the sea. It might have something to do with growing up in Minnesota, but being around water has a very calming and centering quality for me.

From the archives: Thailand April 2012

Around Bangkok

Mango with salt and chilis

Rental pants for the Palace

The world's largest reclining Buddha 

Street food... mmm... 

An afternoon in Sukhothai

Little alters 

Thai iced tea

Travelling around the mountains of Chiang Mai in a songthaew

Spending the night in the mountains