Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Melbourne - Last Days

It's hard to believe that we leave Melbourne this Saturday to fly back to Canada. Only 4 more sleeps! We've been doing lots of organizing, sorting, selling, packing, cleaning, booking, but most importantly, we've been doing lots of enjoying. Here's a few little snapshots of what we've been doing during our last couple of weeks in Melbourne, as captured on my trusty (very cracked!) iPhone...







Pedicure dates, coffee dates, breakfast dates, lunch dates, dinner dates, drink dates, walking dates, and let's not forget just plain ole relaxing in the park dates. It's been really, really nice. We truly have such wonderful friends!

Also, here's a little slideshow one of the girls I worked with made for me...

Click here!

It made me cry the first time I watched it. So sweet. I miss those ladies already!

Ah, goodbyes are tough but I'm looking forward to being settled in a new routine and new surroundings in Montreal. I'm a routine kind of girl and it sure will be nice to have things a little normal again. You know, things like having a refrigerator again and not having to store our milk in a cooler! :)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Borassa Valley - South Australia

We recently visited Adelaide and it's stunning surrounding areas, which just so happen to be Australia's most famous wine region. It was one trip I really wanted to do before we left Australia, and so we set out on a 5 day road trip adventure. The time that we spent in the Borassa Valley was magical. Steve had booked the most amazing cottage for us to stay the night in. It was truly an enchanted place with beautiful gardens and a pathway of roses leading to our front door...
Inside was just as pretty and came complete with our own private outdoor courtyard (where we sipped wine and chatted while snuggled up in the coziest blankets ever!) and a luxurious spa bathtub...

It truly felt like our own private little oasis. We had such a blissful stay, which felt like just what the doctor ordered after a few weeks of uncertainty and change! I'd truly recommend Jacob's Creek Retreat to anyone wanting a romantic getaway in the Borassa Valley. Well done to my hubby for finding and surprising me with such a lovely place. You're the bestest!
After dinner on the evening of our stay, we took a walk through the gardens, along the creek named Jacob's Creek, around the property and through a nearby vineyard...
It was absolutely gorgeous and oh, so peaceful. The sun was setting and there wasn't another soul in site. The highlight of the walk though was by far the cat that joined us just outside the gate of the retreat's property, followed us on our entire walk (even waiting for us while we stopped to soak it all in), and all the way back to the gate of our cottage. Once we were safely inside, the cat laid down and relaxed by the gate. It was incredible!
It was such a loving kitty and really took to Steve. This is the third random cat that has come into my life in the last year (remember this and this?), which kind of got me thinking...what does a cat symbolize? This was pretty interesting to read. :)
The next morning, we visited Jacob's Creek winery. I've wanted to go to this winery since we first moved to Australia. It's a wine I used to drink in Canada and have always thought it would be cool to see it in Australia. We did a winery tour, which ended up being only me, Steve and the wine expert guy. We had 2 hours of one-on-one wine lessons from a guy that knew his wine! It was awesome. We learned so much!

We even got a private wine tasting and learned lots about matching wine with food. It was all so interesting! I had endless questions!
We bought 6 bottles of wine that are exclusive to the winery and are sending them back to Canada. We even had one bottle labelled, "Cari and Steve's Borassa Valley Adventure 2011". Yup, we're lame like that and love it! :)

We had the best time in the Borassa Valley. It will always be a special memory and hold a special place in my heart. As someone said to me, the best way to describe that area is a "gentle place" and I couldn't agree more!

More road trip photos to come! xoxo

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Are you for real?

Things are slowly starting to disappear around our house, like today, the wardrobes went to a new home and our clothes are currently living on our bed. We spent the weekend seeing friends and saying lots of goodbyes. It's Sunday night and I don't have to pack a lunch, iron an outfit or prepare anything at all for work tomorrow (I finished work last week....photos to come!). One might think we were moving, yet somehow I don't think it's actually hit me yet. WE ARE MOVING TO CANADA in less than 2 weeks (Nov. 26)!! Seriously, when is it actually going to feel real? It's all a bit strange!

Monday, November 07, 2011

Upside-down and inside-out...

...that's sort of how my life feels at the moment. Just take a look at our spare room. Yikes. Here's a closer look, just so you can really see the...work in progress...? Yes, let's call it that.
Random Cari Fact: I don't actually cope that well with change. You'd think I would be pretty good at it by now. This is going to be our third big move in just 5 years but I always find it tough. I usually get my head around things after awhile but there's always lots of ups and downs to get there. I'm an emotional person, what can I say! According to my naturopath, it's my blood type, I lead with emotions, it's in my biology! :)
The last few months have definitely been a roller-coaster but slowly, day by day, more and more things get checked off the to-do-list and my poor head gets a little bit more quiet. Yesterday, we washed Jesse's crate. It's been stored in our outdoor shed for the last couple years and definitely needed a good clean.
You may remember this picture from 2006? Funny how so much changes, yet so much stays the same! Also funny that having this crate clean and set-up for Jesse to get comfortable being in again totally helped to settle at least a few of the many thoughts running through my busy head. As Steve kindly put it today, I'm a mental monkey at times. I won't deny it!

In the middle of all this change and upside-down craziness, I feel more grateful than ever for a few little things...
...my amazing co-workers (you know who you are!) who make me laugh out loud several times a day (I'm gonna miss them!)...the sunny warm weather that's offering us a little taste of summer in the middle of what's going to be a very long winter...all the hard work Steve has been doing to organize oh so many things...a chiropractor who keeps my headaches at bay and my emotions in check...last little catch ups with extra special people...my new face wash that leaves my skin feeling super soft and my spirits lifted (it really is the little things! It smells good too!)...a half price sale on plane tickets that meant booking my trip home to Nova Scotia from Montreal for Christmas and a niece who thought to inform me of the deal...coming home yesterday to find Jesse sleeping happily in his crate (he likes it!) and lots of kind emails, facebook messages and texts from friends who make me feel very loved.

Even if things do get a little crazy at times, I'm one lucky girl! xoxo






Sunday, November 06, 2011

A day at the beach.

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday, so we hit the beach! The weather in Melbourne can be quite fickle, as Melburnians say, it's not uncommon to have 4 seasons in one day. Yesterday was fabulous from start to finish, however and we enjoyed every beautiful moment.
There was lots of relaxing on the beach, soaking up the sunshine, laughing at playful puppies frolicking on the beach, a delicious lunch with a cool glass of wine, ice cream and even enough time for a late afternoon nap. It was blissful...
...and just the sort of day we are currently making a point of taking full advantage of before we move back to Canada (just in time for winter!).
Oh, did I neglect to mention that on the blog? I'm sorry! Yup, we're heading back to Canada, Montreal to be exact in just 3 more weeks. It's a busy time for us but exciting all the same. I'll be back soon with a few more details about our move.
Until then, hope you are all happy and well! xoxo

Friday, October 07, 2011

A very patient puppy...

Poor Jesse. I think he'll be happy when Steve goes back to work...

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Ah, weekends...

We had a really lovely weekend. Actually, it was sort of my idea of the perfect weekend. I thought I'd share a few photos from our last two days with you. They were all taken on my trusty iPhone (I'm so spoiled having a phone with a camera, I rarely bother lugging my camera out and about with me). This weekend was the perfect balance between being social and being a bit of a hermit. Love it! I'm also loving the flowers I picked from one of our neighborhood bushes, shown in the photo above. I consider them the Aussie version of lilacs. :) They smell very similar. Does anyone know what they are actually called?
We spent Friday night eating take away, drinking wine, chatting and laughing with friends. It was great! Saturday morning, we met up with the same friends for breakfast and coffee (x2). My most favorite thing to do on a weekend morning! The rest of the weekend was spent napping, calling home, doing a few things around the house, and exploring the Prahran Market (complete with self serve fresh mussels!:)
There was lots of eating in the last couple days...
... but luckily also walks with Jesse Jay...
...soaking up all the signs of spring...

...and watching movies with more eating!
Let's not forget the time we spent just chilling in the grass and enjoying a take away coffee.

A lovely weekend, indeed! I'm back to work tomorrow with a busy week ahead. Thank goodness for weekends to refresh.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend too! xoxo

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Steve's Marathon Training...

Steve's been training for a Marathon that's coming up on October 9th. Sometimes when he comes home, he looks like this. Yup, his nipples actually bleed. I show him lots of sympathy and love, after I've snapped photos of him, of course!
(Steve edit - this pic was taken after a 3hr, 35km training run, which rained for a lot of it causing much more friction than usual)
Then he takes an ice bath to help stop his muscles from swelling. I can't help myself, the sympathy goes out the window and I just laugh. I mean, seriously, look at that face! You'd laugh too! It's okay though, it's loving laughter! :)

I wish I had half his dedication. It's pretty impressive. Good work with the training Babe, not long now until the big day! xoxo

Monday, September 19, 2011

Neutral Space

Steve's studio was closed today. A lot of really talented people and friends are out of work, including my handsome hubby. We're not sure what we'll do next but if there's one thing I've learned it's that there are always negatives and positives to everything that happens and it's all happening for a reason. The sun was shining this afternoon and temps hit 29 degrees, so we headed off to the beach to clear ours heads...



...and if there was ever a neutral space, snuggled right in between all those negatives and positives, this was a little taste of it. I'm trusting in my heart that the right thing will happen and we'll be okay. I'm staying neutral and planning to just enjoy this roller coaster ride of life and will wait to see where it lets us off. xoxo

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Cranky moods call for...

I've been fighting a viral infection (sore throat, sore glands, fever, etc...) for the last couple of weeks and it's really knocked the energy out of me. That along with some more (this time, unexpected) unhappy news this past week about Steve's job found me waking up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday morning! Steve was already up and at it and out for a bike ride, probably just what he needed to clear his head. I was determined to get myself out of my funk and opened every curtain in the house to let the sunshine in, wrote in my gratitude journal, called my Mom for a nice chat (does wanting to talk to your Mom when you're feeling down ever change:) and once Steve got home, we headed off for breakfast at an adorable little cafe we've been wanting to check out...
The cafe is called "MART", which is "TRAM" spelled backwards. It's a cozy little place with lots of pretty flowers and herbs growing in plant pots and it's located right on the tram line.
We had to wait for awhile to get a table, which was okay with us because it was a beautiful day (yeah for spring!) and we just watched the trams and people pass by, while sitting on the brick wall in front of the cafe, chatting.
They also served us lattes with pretty saucers while we waited, so who could possibly complain? :)
This guy, who I later found out is named, Hercules kept us quite entertained while we waited. These dogs seem to be all over Melbourne and holy crap, they are cute!! Their teeth and tongues make me laugh!
It really is a charming little place, if you ever get the chance to check it out, please do...
...because the food is pretty darn good too! And they served our pancakes with a brand new bottle of real Canadian maple syrup. Gotta love that! :)
After brekky, we took a little drive, stopped at an op shop and just explored new areas. It was nice. We ended our day with a walk with Jesse, followed by a rye sourdough, cheese, dip, red wine spread and a movie.
I have to say, by the end of the day I had pretty much forgotten all about waking up on the wrong side of the bed! :)