It's all about the lifestyle

One of the big deciding factors in our move down south of Mandurah was the lifestyle. We wanted to have wide open spaces and places to explore and adventures to be had without the hustle and bustle of the city, but still being close enough not to feel completely cut off. I love the beach, you can call me picky but I hate the overcrowded ones that you can hardly swim without accidentally touching another swimmer, how awkward is it when you kick someone in the face by mistake when you are showing off your breast stroke skills! Our desire to move down here was driven by a need to get outdoors more, have fun as a family and just relax and enjoy our surroundings. With age (all 30 years of it), I care less about going to cool cafés and fancy restaurants, maybe because the enjoyment factor of going to those places with young kids is severely decreased and makes the thought of overpaying for food that is quickly wolfed down whilst trying to keep kids entertained makes me cringe! One day, I'm sure I'll have the desire to go back and often, maybe when the kids are in school, but maybe I'll just pocket the extra money and buy some new shoes instead!

This weekend re-comfirmed to us that we made the right decision moving down here, it was kind of the epitome of the Mandurah lifestyle weekend that we have been chasing. Saturday consisted of heading out on the estuary on Pop's boat, where Ezra got to see dolphins close up as they raced the boat and jumped out in front of us, he was so excited and kept asking me for more (you can see my video on Instagram @yellowdandy), then a classic fish and chip lunch at Dolphin Quay. Sunday we had a friends birthday breakfast cookup on the beach, a beach that can only be accessed by 4wd, which our Ford Escape only just classifies as. A beach that is fairly empty and secluded. We were sun soaked and exhausted after our weekend, but that good kind of exhausted where you feel satisfied and relaxed and you sleep so well (apart from babies waking you up for milk).

I'm so excited for my kids to grow up here. I'm so excited for this summer! This is the life for me.

Linking with the wonderful Jess for #IBOT 

A new wetsuit, and no more excuses

So, I bought myself a wetsuit last week. It was on sale, and then another 30% off the sale, so it was a bargain that I couldn't refuse. I have a surfboard, we live across the road from the beach, and now with this wetty purchase I have eliminated all of my excuses for not getting back out surfing again. It feels like a long time since I've surfed. I spent a lot of my childhood on the beach, I've been around the ocean for as long as I can remember and I feel like it's such a big part of who I am. Sunday mornings growing up were often family surf days that finished with us begging Dad to buy us pies and sausage rolls from the local shop. I was never a great surfer by any means, but I could stand up and kind of bottom turn, ride the wave and that was about it. I'm sure now though that most of that basic skill has been lost, I'll be lucky if I can even paddle out with these jelly arms, and if I stand up at all it will be a slow clamber rather than a 'pop up'. But I have to start back somewhere right. I miss sitting out in the ocean and just bobbing around waiting for the waves (and scanning for sharks eeeek), I miss that exhilarating feeling when the strength of the wave propels you forward, the feeling of the waves crashing over you when you duck dive and the sense of relief when you actually make it down the face without wiping out.

We're Building A House: We have WALLS!

Our brickwork is finished! Our house has all its exterior and interior walls! And, as you can see all of our roof timber has been delivered. I am so excited to see it coming along so fast. It's so great to walk through and just imagine the rooms when its finished and how I want to decorate! It also reminds me of how much I need to sort out and organise, but I cannot wait. I've been pinning like crazy on Pinterest, if you want to follow along on Pinterest you can follow me HERE. I'm trying to come up with decorating and design ideas, ones that are creative and fit within our budget. I like a mix of old and new andI'm a huge fan of retro (and retro style) furniture, mint green and neons at the moment. I sourced a lot of our furniture from our old house on Ebay, like my mismatched retro dining chairs and my recently repainted mint green kitchenette (that needs a little tlc, like fixed hinges and new handles). So, I am starting the Ebay, Gumtree and Opshop hunt again for some bargain pieces that suit our new house!

 

Above is my old dining room in our little 40's cottage. The dining table is one of my favourite pieces of furniture, it is super 60's and it was Joel's grandma's and we shipped it, and a number of other things over from the USA when we moved back to Perth.

 

Anyway, the bricks look great, although we discovered a few chipped bricks in our alfresco area so we will be insisting that they are changed out, there are a couple of other queries we have as well, but I won't bore you with the details!

It's such a shame that there will be another house behind us, blocking out the ocean views. But, I love that we will be able to walk to the beach!

Karen xx

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Things I miss about Freo

 

It's always strange going back to a place that was once so familiar. Things change, and you feel very disconnected from it. You feel like a stranger in a place that you once felt so at home. It's amazing that it can feel that way in only 6 months.Yesterday we spent the morning in Freo, our old stomping ground, it's been just over 6 months since we moved away. We didn't move far, just an hour south. We drove past our old house, and had a bit of a sticky beak, we noticed the new owners are just as bad at maintaining the front yard as we were! That made us feel a little better. We noticed the council still is terrible at maintaining the verges!

Going back reminded me of all the things that I miss about Fremantle.

I miss all the facilities and programs for kids, like Buster the fun bus, I miss having an almost endless choice of restaurants and cafés, I miss Run Amuk hotdogs and Missy Moos Burgers. I miss meeting my Mums group down on South Beach, I miss our favourite patisserie that was on the street behind our house, I miss the IGA and all their hard to find food selections, I miss the great Drs surgery just across the park, I miss Little Creatures and their awesome frites, I miss having so many great shops so close, I miss walking to the toy library, I miss having grocery stores within walking distance, I miss our friends.

But, I don't miss the crazy people walking in front of our house and having domestic disputes and having to call the police multiple times, I don't miss the busy road, I don't miss the drafts in our old house, I don't miss only having a gas heater in one room, I don't miss having a shared driveway, I don't miss the weekly teenage parties at the hall across the road, I don't miss our neighbors, I don't miss the busyness and the run down places.

I'm glad we made the move, we are more 'country' now, still very much in a built up area but without the atmosphere that Freo has. I still often miss so many things about living in Freo, there is just something about it! It's nice to spend the morning wandering around, even if the weather was fairly average. I would visit more often if it wasn't just a bit of a mission driving a two hour round trip with two small children!

Karen xx

Linking up with Jess for #IBOT

PS. Gooo Dockers!!

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

We're building a house: Bricks and Mortar

We got a bit of a shock this week when my parents called us to let us know they did a night time drive by of our block and thought they were looking at the wrong house because a whole wall of bricks had been laid already! So, of course Saturday morning we hurried down to the block ourselves to check out the latest development. It was so great to see all the bricks, window frames, door frames had been delivered. So now, we have a real brick and mortar house in progress!

And, Tan mortar that is, tan mortar which is apparently an upgrade from the standard cream mortar, and for this upgrade we agreed to pay an extra $900. It seems a bit ridiculous, but if you've ever built a house, you would know they charge you through the nose for everything and apparently that is the cost to add the tan olour, and this colour brick colour with the standard cream mortar looked horrid, so we sucked it up and paid the extra money.We chose this brick colour because we really liked how it looked on the display home, it's called Tourmaline, by Brickmakers. I think it looks awesome but it is hard to capture the exact colour in the pictures but its a browny/grey, I definitely like that it is different from the cream or red bricks that seem to be really popular. You won't see them on the front of the house, that will be rendered, but the rest will be open brick.

The builders seem to be moving pretty quick, so who knows what will happen by next week!!

Karen xx

{I have a fortnightly newsletter now, an easy way to get updated with posts, reviews, competitions and all the rest. Click HERE to subscribe}

 

Posted with Blogsy

New Places: Old Coast Road Brewery Myalup

On Saturday, after a week of feeling a little housebound, we headed out to visit the Old Coast Road Brewery in Myalup (about 30 min drive from where we are in Mandurah). We had never been there before, but had heard good things! It was our first major trip out with two kids. We all needed to get out and all clear our heads, let Ezra run off some pent up energy, and just have fun as a family. It turned out to be a great place that had something for everyone. Willow sleeps most of the time right now, apart from waking for a feed, so it really wasn't that much more difficult than with one child, except we just had a lot more stuff! 

Joel, had the idea to head out to the brewery (of course) and it just so happened that they had all these activities set up for kids as well. BONUS! A bouncy castle, a petting zoo, pony rides, a big grassed area with footballs and cricket and playground including cubby houses. It was seriously toddler heaven.  The pony ride was such a big hit that every time he sees a pony on TV or somewhere he says 'more'. No wonder he had a massive meltdown when it was time to leave. It was also parent heaven because it was all FREE! I love when places think to cater for kids, it makes it so much more enjoyable and relaxing for us parents.

 We went with the expectation of their Saturday special Spit Roast, but were disappointed that they had sold out by the time we sat down to eat, note to self: Get there early. They made the disappointment a little easier by giving us two free middy's of their beer. Yep, my first beer in a LONG time, I had the Wheat Beer, and I really liked it. Joel had the Apple cider, and claimed it was the best local cider he has tasted to date, and he has tasted a lot of local cider. 

Our food was really lovely, even though it wasn't the spit roast. In the ordering confusion they had forgotten Ezra's meal. But, once we notified them of the omission, they delivered it within a few minutes, and then offered him a free Simmo's ice-cream, which he happily obliged them by eating. I have had too many bad experiences customer service at restaurants in WA that it was actually really refreshing to go to a place that went out of their way to make us happy after they had made mistakes. 

So if you're looking for somewhere to go with the family, I highly recommend the Old Coast Road Brewery, it is about an hour and a half drive south of Perth on the turn off to Harvey. On their website (HERE) they have heaps of activities listed for the rest of July. We may have to head back to sample some more of their food and beers very soon! 

I hope you had a lovely weekend too!! 

Karen xx 

 

Their life seems so perfect

Have you ever had someone, or a few someones in your life that you think have such a perfect life? I often find myself (especially now with so much social media) looking at some of my friends 'glamourous' or 'rich' lives and being envious of what they have, wishing that I could have those things too. There are just those people, who seem to have everything. They have the great house, the perfect family, the exciting and adventurous life, the awesome job,  and here I am at home with a toddler, and almost a newborn struggling to get up the stairs, dried snot covering my jeans, and they are out tripping the life fantastic. They seem so confident, so put together, so in control and loving life.  It is so easy to find yourself thinking your life is boring, and no where near as glamourous. It can then cause you to start doubting that what you have is enough, and you spend too much time pining for the things you can't have, and feeling a bit ripped off by life.  And then.  Well then, you get the opportunity to catch up with them again. And then you really start talking.  And you realise that things are not as they seem on the outside.  Things are rarely as they seem on the outside.  You realise that they aren't completely put together, that they still have the same insecurities and struggles as you do.  They reveal to you that their marriage isn't as perfect as it seems, or someone they care for is battling a serious illness, or they are in credit card debt up to their eyeballs, or they are dealing with depression or a number of things that I never would of imagined they were going through.  And again you start to see them as the real person that they are, and not the facade of a person that you see in photo's or status updates. The person that you care about and not the person that you are jealous of. You start feeling a little silly for wanting everything that they have, and not enjoying the things that you have, that funnily enough, often they are envious of.  For me, it is something that I have to remind myself of often. It is so, so easy to look in from the outside and think someone has everything, when very rarely people actually do have everything. Sure, there are people who will be richer (a whole lot of people), who are prettier, who are smarter and who have more friends or who have a better social life than me. But, that doesn't mean that their lives are anywhere near perfect. Of course, it is ok and beneficial to want to improve things in your own life, but I have to remind myself that people often put on their best faces and you don't always know what is really going on, you hear about all the good, but not as often about the bad. When you do get those precious opportunities to have a deeper glimpse into what is really happening in their lives, to be there for people and to support them, you realise that nobody has EVERYTHING, and most of us have people or things that we are envious of.  It is such a good lesson and reminder for me not to take the good things I have for granted, to not take everything on social media, or things you've heard through the grapevine for face value, and to remember the importance of being real and vulnerable with people. It is what makes real lasting friendships and a good supportive community. 

"The person you envy the most is certain to feel their life is incomplete in a hundred ways" - Alain de Botton

Do you ever feel like this too?  Karen xx 

I'd love for you to follow me on FACEBOOK or TWITTER or INSTAGRAM or PINTEREST or SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER (or everything)

   

Riding on a Steam Train: Hotham Valley Railway

 I had such a great weekend this past weekend, and as an added bonus it was a long weekend (for WA day). It was full of friends both old and new and just some funny and silly family time with my boys, which we all were in need of. I really cherished this weekend, because I know that soon enough there is going to be a little bit more chaos thrown into the mix, and it was so nice just to really take advantage of not having a newborn just yet.

On Monday Joel convinced me to take a train ride. It really wasn't for us, it was for Ezra (maybe it was for Joel a little bit). He is a pretty big fan, like most boys his age, of trains, and it isn't that common to have the opportunity to go for a ride in a classic steam engine. His face lit up when we first spotted the train and he was desperate to get on board the carriage. He loved running up and down the carriages and looking out the windows. He was amazed when we stopped and he got to watch the train changing to the other end of the carriages. All of my lack of enthusiasm went out the window when I saw just how excited my little boy was, it makes all the effort worthwhile. 
It was a two hour round trip, mostly because the train does not move that fast, and there is a 20 minute break in between to turn around. It may have been just a tad bit long for a boy who does not like to sit still. I had a really relaxing time, just sitting and enjoying the passing nature. Joel spent most of the ride chasing a toddler up and down the train. We forked out and bought him a mini train, that was worth the $5 price tag just to have him sit in his seat and play with it for 15 minutes. He also had to take the train to bed with him that night, so, so cute! 
If you live in Perth and you have thought about heading out to check out the Hotham Valley Railway in Dwellingup, it is definitely worth the trip. If you don't want to pay the money to ride the train, you can watch it leave, or come back, which is pretty exciting for kids on its own. I also noticed they have a dinner train, for the adults of course, with a 5 course meal. Sounds rather old timey and romantic to me!