Unnecessary things

It's been so nice to feel excited and not stressed about the future again, post-move. I suddenly have time for unnecessary things, like making Alison Roman's key lime pie. I treated it like a project and bought the exact pie plate she recommended, re-watched the video, then missed the plate when serving a slice 😂

We're slowly hanging art, including two poems we brought home from our New York honeymoon, which we've never actually hung (I framed them for our first wedding anniversary... six years ago!). And after more than a year of WFH, I finally bought myself an office chair that looks nice too.

Still to come... finishing this book (which reminds me a bit of Sorrow and Bliss), making slightly bigger plans in an XXL Moleskin I bought while procrastinating, re-watching Your Name before it gets made into a live action film and taking more week-long Instagram breaks to make room for other things.

A holiday in the mail

My week was off to a very ordinary start when a surprise package arrived this morning. Inside was a rainbow striped dress and a card from my friend Angie. It was a just-because gift, and somehow exactly what I needed. It's suddenly raisin toast weather in Canberra and it feels nice to be settled in our new place just in time for winter. Here are a few things I've been saving to share, hope you find something to enjoy:

Tony's making carrot and cabbage okonomiyaki for dinner tonight, a Hetty McKinnon special.

This episode of Esther Perel's work podcast helped me understand why WFH has felt so much harder this year. It was such a relief hearing her join the dots of a very disjointed 12-18 months.

On a simpler note, a reminder to choose good things for yourself throughout the day wherever possible.

Very happy to have the Modern Love podcast back for another season.

A cult lip balm that's saving me from putting on the regular stuff every half hour.

Pandora Sykes on letting rigid routines slide.

A foster child's first birthday.

Fascinated by Haley Nahman's Grub Street food diary.

Also James Park's hotel quarantine food diary from South Korea. Wow.

And The Cut's very good episode about anyone on the fence about having kids (guest starring Anna Sale!).

Moving in

Hello, here are a few photos of our new place. We moved in last Monday and have spent the last few weeks packing, unpacking and watching Twin Peaks :) If anything, it's been a huge relief to know where we'll be for the next year. It's even nice to work from a new home office!

My favourite part of the apartment is the balcony, which is huge and has planter boxes around the edges filled with succulents and flowers. It started pouring the night we moved in and the rain has only stopped today, so I hope to get a few sunny afternoons out there before winter kicks in. 

This move I got heavily into our local Buy Nothing group. It was a really efficient way to pass on some things we weren't taking with us, plus I managed to get 85% of our boxes and packing paper for free before passing them on when we'd finished.

Our old place looked tiny by the time we'd finished moving all of our things. I'll definitely remember it as the place that sheltered us from many unexpected things - from the horrific bushfire smoke to those very early days of the pandemic, where watching the news each night in lockdown was frightening. 

It's really nice to be unpacked and settling back into regular life again. I'm making my first loaf of sourdough in the new place and have been cooking again (mostly from Julia Turshen's new book - it's excellent).