Summer in the city

Hi all

Well we're still ticking along quite nicely here - enjoying our time in Melbourne and getting things organised.

Most importantly - we've found somewhere to live!!!

Not that living in a hotel for 3 weeks hasn't been sweet - having someone come in and make your bed every day is rather nice as is the close proximity to the CBD's shops, cafes and restaurants. However having our own space - indeed having a home is something we are quite looking forward to! .

It ended up being a lot easier than we thought. We spent last Saturday racing around to a ridiculous number of open inspections and every one was attended by between 20 - 40 people, many of whom already had the paperwork filled out and were offering more money than the asking price. I started to feel a little stressed thinking we had played it all wrong and that we would be staring down the barrel of having nowhere to live, having to put our shipping container of goods into storage at an exorbitant cost and having nowhere to take our baby. So I hit up the agencies first thing Monday morning and put 3 applications in, hoping for the best but not feeling overly confident.

And then we found out that all THREE of our applications were successful and it was then up to us to choose the place we liked the best! How's that for an unexpected outcome?!?

I jokingly said to M "it's my very own Sophie's Choice"!!
M, being slightly ignorant at times of great literature/cinematic lore asked me what Sophie's Choice was ... so then I had to briefly explain the plot and emphasise that I was being ironic ...... yeah? M gave me a fairly disgusted look and told me it was a terrible analogy. Hurumph. I hate having to explain witticisms, they totally lose their effect.

Anywhoodle - we eventually went with a great 3 bedroom house with beautiful polished floorboards and a modern kitchen in a good location close to public transport, shops, parks and cafes. Here's what it looks like from the front:

We get the keys on Friday morning and can move our small amount of belongings in over the weekend, borrowing from generous friends the bare necessities until our shipping container arrives.

Very excited!

All is going well on the baby front - getting bigger and heavier every day it feels like so walking long distances is less fun than ever and rolling over in bed requires a 3 point turn manoeuvre. I've been enjoying my Yoga classes though and trying to swim when I can. I had the most AMAZING massage last week - my mum gave me a voucher for a 1hr pregnancy massage at a beautiful spa for Christmas and it was incredible - I basically got to lie on my side on a bed, surrounded by supportive pillows and have my back, neck, legs and feet rubbed expertly by Bart, my Swiss masseuse. It was soooooo good. We also started antenatal classes yesterday which was very informative .... and graphic!  And we met some other nice couples expecting their first babies, so that was great.

Other than that we're enjoying catching up with friends, watching some great tennis at the Australian Open and M is working hard.

I'll try and put up some photos of our new place once we're all moved in. I feel like it will look very empty as the furniture that worked in our small apartment in Cannes may not be enough for a solid 3 b/r home - but that just means some fun furniture shopping is ahead! Woo hoo!

Hope everyone is well
Raj says hi!

B 
xxx

Alive and kicking!

Thought I'd better do a blog post to let those of you en France (and of course my huge readership worldwide *ahem*) know that not only am I alive and kicking but thriving!

It would be pretty much impossible to try and re-cap the last  few weeks in detail but I'll give it a whirl.
Suffice to say it has been hectic.
Hectic and awesome.

We arrived tired and rather discombomulated in Melbourne late on the 10th of December. All of our luggage arrived too, thank goodness and I was less tired than normal thanks to the benefits of Qatar Business Class. Oh yeah baby. Travelling in luxury is where it's AT.

I sent a text to my sister during our 6 hour lay-over in Doha that reads "I now understand why people pay a lot more for Business Class. Because it's f*cking AWESOME!!!" And it's the truth. So good.
Though I fear International Travel may now be off the cards for me as I don't know if I can go back to Cattle Class.It was that good.

Our first 2 weeks in Melbourne were a festival of eating, catching up with friends, celebrating my birthday and trying to get things organised. Staying with my bestie Sarah and her husband Ash was so nice as I was able to find some time to relax in amongst the craziness; watch some TV, go to Yoga,  do Christmas shopping, go to various doctors appointments, take long walks and eat brunch with Sarah ........ several times. Mmmm. Bacon.

M however, didn't fare quite as well having to jump quickly into new job mode which, coupled with our very busy social calendar where we were eating out pretty much every night meant he was one tired boy by the time we packed up for the road-trip back to Adelaide for Christmas.

Being back home in Adelaide (after a long-ass 8 hour drive) was wonderful - it never changes so is immediately comfortable and familiar and we were both taken aback once again by the sheer space and openness compared to France - it's so flat and expansive and beautiful, and the amazing quality of life we enjoy is hard to beat.

The festival of eating and social events marched on - more BBQ's, lunches and excessive amounts of food which characterise the silly season. We had a lovely - if busy - Christmas Day and I received my new BFF as a surprise present - an iPad. I love her. She is awesomesauce.

M's Grandma's amazing Christmas Pudding. 

I love this photo mostly because of Tessa and Drew's faces! 

So much foodie deliciousness - this is Pork Belly in the foreground. 

And a lot of it got in my belly. Sooooo good

Check out the yabbies behind the pork! huge!

My sister and mum also threw me a wonderful baby shower. Lots of  my best girl-friends and a handful of female family members spent an enjoyable (if very warm) afternoon drinking champagne and eating chicken sandwiches and cupcakes. I might try and do a longer blog on this as Sarah took lots of great photos. Raj and I were utterly spoilt too - it's safe to say that Raj will be the best dressed bubba in the southern hemisphere! SO many gorgeous outfits.

Me and my friend Holly who is due a month after me

We rang in the New Year with a costume party "Come dressed as someone famous". It was a double celebration as my darling friend Kate (who you might know from this blog and this one and this one .... and this one) announced her engagement to the lovely Roger. They are both so happy and I am beyond thrilled for them. The party was such fun - everyone embraced the fancy dress aspect and there was a delicious dinner and then lots of dancing and silliness.

Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter; Kim Kardashian, The Virgin Mary, Audrey Hepburn

Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, a Fairy and Angelina Jolie + kids

Little Red Riding Hood, (me) Katy Perry  

                                      

      Katy Perry and Russel Brand  (who had divorce papers in his back pocket!)

 That's Lance Armstrong on the end - he even had a band-aid patch over the missing left testicle and a syringe in his arm. 

Attention to detail = me likey. 

A strange assortment of guests for dinner

Russel Brand enjoys Pavlova. 

All the boys doing the "Shuffl'in" from LMFAO "Party Rock Anthem"

I begged M to remove the hideous blonde wig early in the night. 

He refused. 

Now we are back in Melbourne - after driving the 8-hours again in 41 degree heat (nasty) and living in a hotel for a month while we try and find a house to rent. The hotel is great - we have a "suite" which means there is a kitchen and living room and I spent a bit of time yesterday unpacking as we are both over living out of a suitcase.

Raj is doing well and I'm feeling pretty good - getting a bit of pain in my hips and lower back and having to use an assortment of pillows for comfy sleeping but other than that, no complaints. I get lots of  kicks and movements every day - and hiccups every now and then, and my belly is doing that cool alien-like roll/undulations which is wicked. We're really happy with our hospital and Obstetrician and we start antenatal classes in a few weeks, which should be good. M continues to be awesome and urges me to take it easy. Which I should, finally, be able to do! Once I find us somewhere to live ..... before Raj arrives .......

I hope you all had wonderful Christmases and New Years with loved ones and that all is well in your worlds. I will try and post more regularly too. Next week, Mum is visiting and we plan to do some touristy stuff, so I might have more of interest to blog about!

Hope you are all well
Gros bisous

B 
xxx