what a hubby

 

so yesterday we got great news!  financing was approved on our house and we can probably move in by the end of June...at least we hope so.  SUPER excited! everyone should come and visit us.  jose also experienced his first trip to a drive through fast food shop which was fun for him.  he's also been practicing his driving and doing very well!  today i had a busy day at work as usual and came home to a wonderful honey mustard chicken with stir-fried veggies for dinner and an amazing lemon cake for dessert! how lucky am i?  celebrated our new home with some nice Chianti.  mmmmm.

fishy treasures at middleton beach

over the weekend we visited the beach so miski could burn off some steam...but she was rather naughty and had to be put back on the leash.  on our walk we came across all kinds of fun fishy finds.  a huge jelly had washed up on shore...and i mean massive. it was as big as a large serving platter.  and really pretty.  we also found a blowfish that washed up too.  we took lots of beautiful walks, went to garage sales, made yummy food and rested.  then today we got the great news that our financing came through for the house so it's not all just some distant pipe dream after all!  SO excited :)

oh the views

after our shopping spree i was really tired so the rest of saturday was pretty tame and relaxing.  today we went to a few garage sales and then to the hardware store to look at paint samples and kitchen counter tops and all the things we really don't need for the new house but it's fun to browse.  anyway one of the garage sales was right on frenchman's bay in a suburb called little grove.  these photos are the view from the road and the lovely, long biking trail that goes along its edge.  some people are lucky enough to live just across the road from this - they can literally drag their kayaks about 20 feet and be in the water. how amazing. even better it's less than 5 minutes from the centre of town. 

saturday shopping spree

had a really good week at work. i am really enjoying the position and the team is awesome.  working on house paperwork this week too but that was fairly painless. saturday rolled around and we couldn't help ourselves so we went shopping.  grabbed great food at the farmers market first of course and then hit a garage sale where i found some really lovely copper etchings of horse and farm scenes.  will look great in the guest bedroom (especially you mom!).  then we went to target and bought random things just because we now have access to stores :)  then went to see a suede couch for sale at someone's house and ended up buying it, renting a truck, and bringing it home right away.  after that we hit several stores on the way back into town. almost got a tandem kayak but jose was able to reign me in on that one...sigh.  maybe once we move into the house. went to several more stores on the way home and finally got back, exhausted and hungry! maybe tomorrow we'll go for a hike.  miski enjoyed her outing and her super cute hoody :)

garage sales and emu point

well after such a busy and successful saturday shopping experience i was still tired sunday morning, even after a very good nights sleep (on my new fabulous pillow!).  but still got up early and had a great chat with the family to say happy bday to uncle and bro...happy birthday guys!!! miss and love you :)  then jose and i went to two garage sales...both of which were pretty boring.  they have nothing on derby sales...nothing.  sigh. took miski for a romp in one of the many large grassy parks and then lounged around for a bit at home but it's so cold in the house that we decided to go to the beach because it was actually quite nice outside.  went to emu beach at emu point and jose tried fishing off the beach...not the right place to do that apparently because all he caught was seaweed.  miski and i enjoyed the outing though. it was very beautiful and quiet with nice soft sand like all the beaches here.  came home and did some chores around the house and jose made the best chicken and veggie soup! yum!  then we made a cake that didn't turn out the way we hoped but sure tasted good!  what a great weekend! albany photos here

saturday shopping spree!

super fun saturday!  we got up just in time to sprint out the door and go to the farmers market.  grabbed a bunch of fabulous fresh food and then raced to a few garage sales that were...ho hum really. then we spent the day window shopping at every store i could think of and find.  wrote down all our favorites.  sadly we can't afford everything we like...and of course i always always like the most expensive things in the store.  why?!?! but we did manage to find and order the most awesome king sized mattress ever! so excited to get to sleep on it in a few months.  got some proper, amazing, fluffy down pillows and soft black sheets for the bed :)  then, as per priorities of course, we bought a wine rack and buffet.  it was a store that gets a few pieces of random furniture and sells it pretty cheap so if you don't buy it right away you won't get it ever again.  we'll have to wait for all the other furniture until we move in but at least we have a few pieces to start with.  had a relaxing saturday night watching movies with the pup.

TGIF

Yay! The weekend is here. First week in the new job over and I'm pretty mentally fatigued. Great team and workplace. Interesting things going on and lots of upcoming changes. Exciting but it will take me a while to get to know the job, which is ok but I'm looking forward to being settled in. Postponing travels for a while to focus on the new house. What a great birthday present! Going window shopping this weekend for house stuff :) it's fun to dream. Jose had a productive week too and even made us an amazing dinner tonight-grilled sirloin steak and sauteed veggies. I'm very lucky.

job hunting, buying a house, and pizza!!!

good day at work for me. very interesting things going on there and lovely people.  it's a lot to take in all at once but i'll settle in eventually.  got a call from jose in the afternoon saying that he was interviewed for a job and they really liked him and are going to hire him!  so that's exciting :) after work we met at the real estate agent and put an offer on the house we fell in love with.  after some negotiating back and forth we came to an agreement and we have a home!  well...assuming i get financed that is.  so fingers crossed. not bad for a week in town.  it really is an awesome place to live and i think it's a well kept secret. to celebrate we got some pizza on the way home and miski even got to have some :)  once we move in and get some furniture we hope to have some visitors!!!

First days at work, house hunting, and huge grocery stores!!!

My first two days at work have been great. Everyone is lovely and the position is diverse and interesting. My orientation has been good and not hectic or overwhelming. Nice relaxed pace. Excited to get to know the job well and settle in. Narrowed down house choices today and are going to put an offer in on one...super exciting!!! And also kind of terrifying. Grabbed a few staples at the store-a HUGE woolies! So fun to have loads of options again. I also found a candy called nuffles...which is my new favorite word :) And we even had energy to make a good dinner: baked snapper with onion, chili, and peppercorn, baked yams, and an amazing salad with spinach, lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, avocado, apple and mint. Yummmmmmy!

Fish market and waffles!

I slept like a log last night and we both slept in today! It's another beautiful day here in albany. Went to the boat shed fish market this morning at 10 and I bundled up for the cold only to find it was beautiful and warm outside. The markets were great! Fresh fish (we got mullet fillets, pink snapper fillets, and a saddleback fillet), crafts, jams/jellies, wine, chocolate, veggies, coffee, Belgian waffles made to order an more! I got a waffle because I love them and ate it on the jetty. Beautiful scenery! Waffle was so so. Need to get a waffle maker asap. Our plans are for a very lazy day :)

albany 2012 photos here 

farmers market, garage sales, great food and lake seppings

albany 2012 photos click here

incredible.  albany is so beautiful.  friday after the beach we looked at houses as i mentioned, window shopped, made dinner, etc.  today we started the day by going to the local farmers market!  it was awesome...and absolutely freezing!  it warmed up by 9am but man was it frigid at 8.  we got all kinds of beautiful produce, poultry, meat, eggs, cheese that was all organic, free range, home-made.  very nice. i've really missed stuff like that. then we hit a few garage sales and of course got a few items...picnic baskets, a few movies, a hammock.  just random stuff.  we made a great lunch together - free range chicken with organic salad.  i even got heirloom tomatoes!  my favorite.  the flavors of the fresh produce was unreal...i forgot what really good food tasted like.  they even had a beautiful fragrance...which all the produce we got in derby lacked.  it was like wax basically. anyway i'll stop complaining.  it was super yummy.  then some great organic tea followed by a lovely nap and another stunning walk at lake seppings at sunset with the dogs.  now...a glass of wine and a movie.  doesn't get much better than this.  i must be in denial that i actually have to work for a living soon :) tomorrow we are going to the local fish market! so excited :)

Middleton Beach, alpacas, lake seppings, and bean bags

 

more albany photos here 

We had a rather full day...slept in again (delicious!). The weather was perfect all day! Went for a walk on middleton beach (dog beach), which miski loved and was absolutely stunning. Then perused a few local shops for bed frames, furniture, stereos and such. Grabbed lunch at Tonic which was SO good!!! Then went to view more houses for sale. Fell in love with two and now cannot decide between them or if we want our own home at all. Decisions decisions. Saw alpacas on the main drag...random. Went to a few 2nd hand shops and then took Miski for a lovely long walk around lake seppings just down the street from where we are staying. Watched the sun go down over the lake and all the birds flock in. Saw our favorite house again at night to experience the views. Relaxed at home with wine and Miski on her new bean bag bed ;) a great day! Tomorrow = farmers market and garage sales! Yay!

House hunting

True to my style I've hit the ground running here. We should really get to know the area and what we like and if we want to be here long term but it's so fun looking at houses! Maybe we will find a good deal in the area we like so far. Slept in today and then saw tons of houses which helped get to know the city actually. Ate lunch in the center at a great hotel pub restaurant called CBD. The best part of the meal for me was the amazing pumpkin feta tart with salad. It was big enough to be a main and so I saved my main for dinner. It's a block from my new office...yes! Loving the food here and the prices too. Then we went to see two gym options in town and then relaxed at home and took the doggies for a walk to lake seppings just down the road. It was so stunning but I forgot my camera so I'll take pics of it next time. I want to live in this neighborhood for sure-close to the park and lake and walks and the dog beach. It is so pretty here. Overall people are not as friendly but that was to be expected from a bigger town. Tomorrow we'll see some more houses and take the dogs for a walk and maybe go out to dinner. Everyone should come visit us once we get our own place!!!

Exploring Albany

Last night was seriously freezing. All three of us snuggled up for the night and it was quite cozy. Lounged in bed very late, a nice treat, and then went out to explore the town and do errands. It was so easy and fast to get around - not a big place. Went to the tourist bureau, a few local shops, the post office, and then had sushi for lunch. Yum!!! All that's missing is frozen yogurt. Walked along the boardwalk on the bay which was stunning. It was a lovely warm day today too! Went to target and woolies for supplies and then registered Miski at the city hall. Grabbed her some food and checked out bikes before coming home to read all the pamphlets and flyers we got today. Jose is making us dinner and te macho to warm up and I have a lovely warm robe, mittens and slippers now! Yay! All ready for winter. Tonight isn't as cold, in fact it's rather nice out - apparently last night was the coldest one they've had this year...figures it would be the first night we got here :) Have my eye on several walks already. The town is so beautiful. I love it here already!

Camping to Albany day 8 - day of rainbows

see all our camping to albany photos here

we both slept pretty well after getting home in the pouring rain.  woke up late, had a leisurely morning and were surprised with a lovely loaf of home baked bread by our hostess!  we are so spoiled!  also miski was given the meat covered lamb bone from dinner the first night and a cooked chicken breast for dinner last night - so spoiled. i've never seen her so happy and later so dejected when we were leaving.  i think she's found her favorite people ever and no longer cares for us as much...sniff.  traitor! anyway went to a camping store (of course) and bought a bunch of sale things and then hit the road. drove through perth on a big new freeway (lovely) and then down albany highway for another 4 hours or so.  drove through beautiful forests and national parks.  it rained a lot but wasn't too bad really.  lovely farm country on the way down - it's the bread bowl of our state apparently.  very excited to see the produce!  drove through mt barker (middle two pics above), a wine region just north of albany and on the way out of the town we saw the most incredible rainbow we've ever seen. you could even see it shimmering in front of the trees it was so vivid and strong.  and just before that i got a speeding ticket! hooray...so started the trip by killing a kangaroo (and now need to fix the car) and ended it with a ticket.  super.  and i actually thing it was crap too because it was an honest mistake. i made sure the entire drive that i was never over the speed limit, i just missed a speed limit sign and assumed it was one speed and not another.  stupid cop.  anyway enough about that. the rainbows were great.  got to the house where we are house sitting, unpacked (in the rain of course), settled in, made yummy spaghetti, and curled up with the dog to watch some zone out tv.  it is seriously freezing here. and it's rained aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall afternoon.  oh well i'll adjust.  at least i have loads of warm clothes. anyway - tomorrow we will explore the town more and do a few errands. what we've seen so far - the town is beautiful, well kept up and has great shops and amenities.  very very very happy to be here.

Camping to Albany day 7

Well we aren't really camping anymore but you know what I mean. Today we slept in, had a late and leisurely brekkie, then went into the city and did some shopping. We ate yummy sushi at a cute place called iku sushi and then went to see the avengers. It's been at least a year since we saw a movie in a theater. We even went to try out mattresses - of course the one i want is the most expensive :) Then we went to leederville to meet our good mates Emmett and Brooke for yummy Vietnamese food. So great to see them both again! I had to have frozen yogurt after dinner because it's been over 5 months since and it's my favorite treat. Great day and very excited to finally get to see Albany tomorrow!