big news!

So one of the reasons I have been a bit everywhere lately is that I have been in the process of change – and that change finally came through yesterday when I handed in my resignation! I am moving to a new company, much closer to home, and with great perks in terms of me being able to head back to Perth quite often. I am really excited, but also nervous about the move – but hopefully now this is all in place, and I can spend less time stressing and more time blogging! (or at least doing things which are blog worthy!)

perth: day two, three and four

So it seems I got lazy after day one and stopped blogging – so below is day two, three and four!

Day two

My second day in Perth was mostly filled with family time, napping and then a night out.

I headed over to my friend’s house for catching up and a few pre-night drinks. After a few hours of catching up chatter we moved onto the first location of the night. It had been over a year since I had headed out in Perth – and a lot has changed. With the change in the liquor licensing laws, smaller and more niche bars have blossomed – we visited one of these first. It was a cocktail bar just round the corner from my friend’s house. There was no official cocktail menu, but as long as you give the bar tender a direction (we went with ‘fruity’) you will no doubt end up with a delicious drink. We ended up with:

all I know is that marmalade was involved – and it was delicious!

The night then lead onto another bar – this time down a little alley (very Melbourne) and then onto our last destination for the night – the Bakery, where we had tickets to see Seekae – a Sydney electronic act. The Bakery fit out was amazing – with the exterior of the club being constructed with old shipping containers, at least two storeys high. The gig itself was also amazing, I’ll need to keep an eye to see whether these boys come out to Melbourne. Below is a video of one of their tunes in case you’re interested.

The night ended around 1ish as I needed to head home for some sleep before the City to Surf the next morning.

Day Three

Day three begun bright and early at 630 – so after 4 and a half hours sleep – and involved me getting ready for the run ahead. My parents dropped me and my brother at the Floreat ovals for the start of the City to Surf – we were only attempting the 4k run as my brother is new to the running scene and we didn’t want to scare him off with the 12k run. The run itself was over in only 25 minutes, but it was a fantastic start to the day – really reminded me that I should go running more often.

After a quick costume change back home (and a shower), the family headed to the golf club for brunch, where I indulged in my favourite Eggs Benedict (everything is made better with hollandaise sauce). This was followed with the post brunch sleepyness and then an immediate nap as soon as I got home. Awaking much, much later in the day, the rest of the afternoon was spent lazing away, and enjoying my parents foxtel!

Day Four

Was mostly filled with all the little tasks that I had left to last, as well as brushing up my physics skills whilst helping my brother with his homework – however we did manage to pop out for lunch at my favourite Japanese lunch place – Edo in Subiaco. Mum and I both got the Chicken Katsu Bento Box – probably too much food, but worth every bite:

The remains of the day was just taken up by last minute family catching up – and also last minute packing, and then heading to the airport for my flight back. I arrived quite late last night (1230 land – home by 1:15) and I am still recovering today, but it was worth it for the weekend away.

perth: day one

Last night I headed to the airport for my flight from Melbourne to Perth and I couldn’t be more excited – four days off, at least over 2o degree weather each day, and catching up with family and friends (with a 4k run in the middle there somewhere). The flight on the way over was without issue, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t bring my laptop with me, so I managed to finish my August book in one sitting (Time Traveller’s Wife - highly recommended read).

This morning I awoke at the crack of dawn (well 630ish), still being on Melbourne time, but it was comforting staying in bed whilst thinking I would usually be at work! The morning was busy with things to get checked off my to do’s – I got a much needed trim of my hair at my old favourite hairdresser, grabbed all the bits I need for my City 2 Surf run here on Sunday, and managed to pop in Floreat to get a book for my flight home (Catch-22) and grab a bite to eat. I had insisted to Mum before I came over that I would like to visit Delish for Lunch – they have the most amazing range of sandwiches, and one particular toastie that I just love:

my amazing Tex Mex Chix toastie – not exactly sure what is in it (I think chicken, avocado, cheddar, cream cheese and some sort of tex mex flavouring)

mum’s beef and caramelised onions sandwich

and james’ (couldn’t be patient enough for me to take a snap first) chicken and avocado sandwich.

I am sure there are many places that have popped up in Perth since my absence with better food – but this food just reminds me of when I lived here, so it is always a required re-visit.

After the delicious lunch, a much-needed nap was taken (how come you always sleep so easily on holidays) and the rest of the day was spent relaxing at home before another requested meal – fish and chips from my local fish and chip shop. Good fish and chips is just something I haven’t found in Melbourne, probably as I live in the North, so it is another must eat when I am back home.

Today is likely to be catching up with friends – but we’ll just see how the day turns out.

perth eatings

As promised here are some pictures of my eatings over my long weekend:

delicious caramel hot chocolate from choc block in karrinyup

the scrumptious chicken katsu from edo in subiaco (all that for just $9)

fish and chips from our local shop – eating it the way its supposed to be eaten – still on the paper!

eggs benedict from the karrinyup golf club

 

and although I left a few days too early, a special note to a special someone:

Happy Birthday Mum!!

heading out west

Tonight I am heading back home for a long weekend and I can’t wait! Although I’ll be getting in at midnight Perth time (three am Melbourne time) I imagine I will be full of energy, just excited to be back home. Although I have been in Melbourne two years now, and have even bought my own house here, I still call Perth home, maybe more because it’s where all my family is.  The weekend is fairly unplanned as the thing I love best about going home is just relaxing at our house, and being around my brother and parents.  Although some must do’s for when I go home to Perth include:

• Buying some Biltong from the South African shop. Not many South African expats seem to make it over to Melbourne, which results in a severe lack of good Biltong here – Perth has heaps of good South African stores so I will definitely be chowing down all I can eat whilst I am there
• Eating Fish & Chips – no fish & chips in Melbourne have yet to come close to the deliciousness of the fish at our local fish and chip shop back in Perth
• Visit Shoe Show – I am sure I just haven’t found the equivalent yet in Melbourne, but Shoe Show in Perth is a chain of stores that carry brand name shoes (think I Love Billy to Tony Bianco) for cheaper prices. It is always good to pop in there when I am in Perth and see if any good bargains are to be had
• Head to Edo in Subiaco for a Chicken Katsu Bento Box – best chicken katsu I’ve ever had! And so reasonably priced, I highly recommend you pop in and grab any one of their bento boxes for a lunch or a takeaway dinner.
• Visit Karrinyup shopping centre – I worked in this shopping centre for over 3  years whilst at Uni, and love to pop in to see what has changed. It also has a really great range of shops now, so perfect for a quick shop and coffee with mum!

Now a lot of my must dos seem to centre around food – but I suppose that is just how most of my life is – I certainly live to eat, not eat to live! I’ll have some updates on how my Perth adventures go over the weekend soon.

the week that was

Being back in Melbourne for a week now and I am already reminiscing on the fantastic relaxing week I had up in Kalbarri with the family. Some of my favourite photos from the week below:

 

ahh….to back in the sand!