In the market for good food

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Well, lets start with the good news. The good news is I have a fabulous sightseeing day out that I can share with you, that I think you will just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. The bad news is it is mostly weather dependant (which in England equals rain, rain, rain), but when in Rome do as the romans do – and in England if it is raining you just get on with it. Which means that there is ONLY GOOD NEWS!

So now to the important stuff… a day out in London! Our day starts in the idyllic Regents Canal. Depending on how fit/sporty/motivated you are feeling you could start this walk as early as Angel allowing for a leisurely one-hour stroll. Or if you want to get the beauty of the canals without the ardour of a lengthy walk then start a bit further up towards Haggerston train station (this may, or may not have been where we started our journey – hint, it was definitely where we started). The canals are very pretty, with colourful long boats floating past and if you’re lucky like we were you might get the lazy English sun beating down on you as well. 

Either way, the destination is going to be the Broadway street market. Vintage clothes, delicious cakes, fresh produce and the most amazing food (I dieeee for the fried buttermilk chicken burger). 

Now I don’t want to overhype my little day out here, because although I am giving it 5 stars it is not visiting Big Ben, and it is not visiting Westminster Abbey and well, it’s not visiting any of the ‘big sights’ of London. It is a lazy, leisurely Saturday morning devoid of rushing and the big red bus tourist trap. So if you’re in London and you’ve got 101 things planned to do (likely) but you’re two days in, burnt out and craving a break from the rushing this will be the most fabulous day for you. And after you’ve perused the market you can kick back at The Market Café with a drink and let the morning float by (this may, or may not have been how we ended our journey – hint, it was definitely how we ended our journey, and what a fabulous way to do it!).

How to delight in Dalston

So we’ve DONE IT, we’ve moved to LONDON! HOLY MOSES! Ok, ok, I will calm down this is probably only exciting for me and not really anyone else.  

And we’ve started this new adventure by staying in Dalston while we get set up (finding a rental, a job, a cot etc etc etc). Equal parts uber cool and uber grunge there are quite a few hidden gems in this small borough. And although from the outset it is easy to assume that Dalston is not a ‘child friendly’ zone, assumptions (like me) are often wrong and we've definitely found that between the partiers, suits and other renegades there are actually many families. All this said, when we come to the end of our month in dearly Dalston I think we will have a) had a blast and b) be ready to move on.

But before we pack up our lonely belongings to make a new home, I have to share some of my new fave spots.

1.     The Dalston Eastern Curve Garden. Now, when I mentioned ‘hidden gems’ above you probably thought I was being metaphoric and not literal but the Eastern Curve Garden is literally hidden behind a wooden wall. And once you go past this wooden wall you will find quite the treasure trove of goodness, an oasis if you might. A BEAUTIFUL big garden, curving (yes as the name may suggest) down and around between tall buildings and the flats that surround, in the space that was once the railway line that linked Dalston Junction Station to the goods yard.  

There are herb gardens and shared plots, buckets and spades to get down and dirty and a café to keep hydrated. Though be warned, the coffee is served cafetiere (that’s plunger coffee to you and me) – a brutal shock to people demanding a latte in the gardens (me). Beer and wine are probably the drink de jour and well hell, why not, especially when the sun is beating down on this beautiful hidden garden.

For the kids there are trikes strewn over the grass, worn to death, looking both appealing and eery at the same time. There are events and classes running in the garden, spanning across a range of topics including pizza making, herbal remedies and drop in gardening sessions. This little treasure trove appeals to the big kids and kids alike A+

2.     Ok, now lets assume you’ve had a FAAABULOUS time in the garden and have worked up quite a hunger (and hankering for coffee), so now I know the most perfect place to refuel. Just across the road past the Dalston CLR James Library is Route Cafe the most delicious café in Dalston (alleged by me).  The coffee is delicious, strong and not too milky. It is also scorchingly hot (a UK trend?). The food is so delicious, fresh and tasty (try 'the hangover' the most amazing combination of scrambled eggs and cheese in a tortilla wrap topped with chorizo and a warm tomato salsa....mmmmm). There are takeaway baguettes, fresh salads, cheeses and salumi to take home for later and also some wine to round off your meal.

If you’re only in London for a few days, this is probably not a 'go out of your way' destination, but if you’re in the area with some spare time I cannot recommend these two little spots more.

There's no whining with food and wine

Family goodbyes are always hard but don't punch as hard when there's good food and wine. Add a birthday and a winery (Shadowfax in Werribee - yes it was deeelicious) and then luckily the emphasis is no longer on you but the bigger picture of a family get together, gossip and laughter. 

After letting Austin do some running around outside, go son tire yourself out, we headed inside to a packed restaurant of what appeared to be several ladies lunches (fine venue choice ladies) a few Sunday family lunches and a jazz band to boot. 

Austin actually sat patiently for half an hour (not a bad effort) but silly mum and dad gave him his lunch before most people had even arrived which meant there was no sitting still when we all wanted to wine and dine. OOPS. So we will know for next time to synchronise the eating for everyones benefit. 

Luckily the fam were more than happy to take him out in turns, creating a little Austin relay where he got to visit the vines, the herb garden and the outdoor eating area. Lucky boy!

The day was rounded off with crying cousins, basketballs, whipped cream and a delicious chocolate cake.

Austin could not bare to have his afternoon nap, I'm having WAAAAY too much fun mum, so was little Mr Grumpy pants by the time we left. Pat sat in the back of the car to entertain him making me feel like a bit of a chauffeur driver but at least we avoided 40 minutes of wailing. 

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday arvo, definitely a day to remember.

5 reasons I became a mall rat after having a baby

When it comes to kids fashion big shopping centres can be frowned upon: large chains, international brands, nothing unique. But for me after having a baby hitting up the big shopping centres were a god send, especially my favourite Chadstone. Why, I hear you asking? Well fret not, I will enlighten you with my 5 reasons I became a mall rat after having a baby:

1. Parent rooms. They are pretty swish these days. You could basically just hang out in there all day if you wanted (which you don’t because hello there are so many amazing shops to be checked out). TV’s, games, soft cushions… oh and that’s just for the adults! Feeding rooms, microwaves, nappy stations… yep they are pretty decked out. And for a stressed out new mum sometimes the thought of whipping out the boob in the middle of a shopping centre is enough to make you hide at home so THANKYOU for (the politically correctly named) parents room
2. Babies grow like CRAZY in the first few months and although I stocked up on an array of the wonderful and crazy baby shopping has to offer before he popped out, there is always something missing, something grown out of and something new needed
3. The weather is always good in the shopping centre. Searing hot sun? Torrential rain? Fear not! No need to stay at home the bright lights and shiny shops of the mall are a-calling
4. There are SO many good kids stores all in the one place. Now, I am a big fan of the local kids store, especially as this is where you are most likely to find the cutest, most unique, locally made goods….but Chaddy will give these little pockets of goodness a run for their money, simply due to the convenience factor of having everything all in the one spot. Seed, check. Bonds, check. Pure baby, check. Cotton on baby, check. Bardot Junior, check. Armani junior, check (but ahem, they are a bit out of our price range). Country Road, Gap, Zara, Pumpkin Patch, and then of course you have Myer, DJ’s, Target and Kmart…phew! If you don’t find what you need after visiting all of these bad boys maybe you’re looking for the wrong things!
5. There was one other thing that worked a charm in those early few months as well… and that was the constant movement of the pram as I weaved between the shops being the perfect rocking motion to put Austin to sleep and keep him snoozing for a rejuvenating long nap…something that I really struggled to get him to do when he was little. Of course mister one year old is too grown up for that business now, but instead we can take him to the indoor playground before heading off so that he can tire himself for a snooze in the car. Or more accurately just stand awkwardly on the sidelines because he is too nervous to get in to the action just yet.

All this aside there is nothing worse than being lost in a big shopping centre, unable to find what you want and walking around in circles… so no matter if it’s chaddy or highpoint or your local centre, it’s probably a really good idea to make sure you go often so you get to know the centre inside out and reap the rewards of shopping up a storm. 

Toys Rn't Us

So we've been pretty lucky in this household toy wise, as Nana and Grandama have been going a small bit NUTS on buying them for Austin. Although our place is TINY it has been amazing to have so many interesting and fun toys coming through the door. It has also meant that I haven't really needed to do much toy shopping myself. 

So when the big FIRST birthday rolled around, I was in for a bit of a rude shock. Off I went thinking I'd be able to quickly snap up some beautiful toys fit for a little mans first birthday in a quick shopping sesh.... but no. The range available poor, the quality crapola, lots of plastic, and nothing even seemed that interesting. AHH! 

Ok, so it seems we haven't been just 'lucky' we've been pretty damn spoilt. Unbeknownst to me, Grandama and Nana haven't been willy nilly picking random old toys out for the small guy, they've been hunting around and looking for the best toys to get his little mind going. 

Now I am short of time and have to find fabulous toys FAST! So, online I head. My sister has some fab toys for her little one so I search for the brand and voila. Two minutes later I've ordered some superb little toys and I'm back on track for the birthday celebrations.... or so I think. Until it is a day before Austin's birthday and I realise the damn toys haven't arrived. So I double check the email and it says 'expected delivery end of September'. Nooooooooo. I'm sure I saw that they were in stock before ordering. I call up the store. They have supplier issues. NO TOYS!

Back to the drawing board. I have 24 hours, and my ability to be fussy is fast diminishing. I duck down to Little Darcy, and sweet baby Jesus they have just got a MASSIVE order of new toys in. So I pick out a super cute and super soft giraffe (now named Mr Gaff) and a baby harmonica (CUTE) and hope that they will be a hit with Austin.

Toy shopping is TRICKY. More tricky than I thought anyway. Even when you do manage to find what you think is the best toy, that has been ethically produced, made locally, using child friendly vegetable die with activities that stimulate the mind... there is no guarantee that he will like it. He may just prefer the box it came in (HA!) or the $2 bath fish you got in a flurry at the supermarket. 

Well, at least I am now officially inducted in to the world of toy shopping and PHEW he loved the giraffe and harmonica. 

O.N.E

Austin had a smashing birthday

The cutest guy in the world!

This is SOOOO much fun

The joy of balloons

Park hangs post cake smashing

Holy shizballs, this small man turned one this week. A whole year, 365 days, has flown past. And what once was a small helpless screaming pink little baby, is a standing, talking (well babbling), loving, cheeky little man. Raising a baby is the hardest thing we’ve ever done as parents, and also the most amazing thing we’ve ever done as humans. Once that little ball of goodness comes out there is no turning back. For every extreme high there has been a matching low, but the combined result is….honestly the most amazing year of our lives.

To celebrate Austin’s first birthday I thought I would share some little tidbits that I’ve learnt over the last year:

• I used to act crazy when I was hungry. Now I act crazy when I’m tired. And I’m tired all the time. Uh oh. Catnapping and coffeeee have become my new best friends
• Baby poo is a hot topic between new parents. How often, what colour, soft or gooy, how many per day and the size of each. Yep, there is lots to talk about when it comes to baby poo
• Baby wipes can be used for pretty much anything.  And I mean anything. Cleaning my hubby’s Jordan’s, the tv, wiping benches, tables, floors. Cleaning hands and faces (as much as baby hates it). And of course…baby bums. Cleaning cute chubby poo stuck in baby but cracks
• Babies sleeping through the night seem to be a made up fantasy to give new mothers hope
• A new born baby will poo 12 times a day. Sometimes more. Relentless amounts of squirty orange poo
• My husband and I have started talking about the future. And I don’t mean 2 year plan or even 5 year plan I mean… what will we be doing in 20 years time? Where will we be? What will Austin be like? (Mind f*^k thinking about your baby being 20 years old)

What will the next year hold? Who knows! But by god we are ready to grab it by the balls and own it. 

The eight things I swore I would never do

Austin as a bald 3 month old rocking the brows

Soo cute, even when eating books

Oh heeey ladies!

Mama, save me from the horrible car seat

I cannot believe it but our baby is turning one in five days, crazy! Before the little man was on his way there were certain things I swore I would never do and now one year later I can safely look back and eat my words completely. So, here are the eight things I swore I would never do and now do all the time:

1. Speak to baby in the third person. “Mummy’s going to change your nappy then we have to get going!”
2. Speak to baby in public like they understand (including goo goo gaga). Yep, do this all the time. Have completely stopped caring if people hear and think I’m mad
3. Expect people to ooh and aah over my child. What do you mean you’re not interested in my baby? He is surely the most amazing thing on this earth! Right? Right?
4. Change our lives to suit the baby. Ah yeah. This is a good one. Everyone knows how you’re “not going to let the baby change your life. They’ll fit right in!” Sure….. famous last words
5. Phone while pramming. That is walking along with the pram while staring down at my phone so that I weave all over the footpath. Oncoming foot traffic have no hope of getting around. Sorrrry!
6. Ask baby questions as if they can understand and answer. “What do you want to do today Austin? Should we go to the park?” Austin is 11 months old. We may be waiting a while
7. Get angry at people for doing normal things because my baby is sleeping. Talking loudly (or quietly, or at all), laughing, beeping their car horn. You a** holes!
8. Take baby to places that non-baby people deem inappropriate. The pub, a nice restaurant, a going away party. Yep, he’s our permanent plus one and we couldn’t be happier

Running wild in the west

Eh, what you looking at?

Let me down woman

PUPPIES!

It was a crisp morning but the sun was out, and despite managing to scratch his face with a mystery object, Austin was in a good mood. And not only that, the little man had graced us with his first steps a few days earlier, so he was both happy and antsy at the same time trying to wiggle out of my hold and hating life in the pram. He wants to be FREEEEE (run Forrest, run).

Finding a café that is baby friendly, not just in the sense that it has high chairs and change tables, but is really actually child friendly can be difficult, so off on the eternal hunt we went, over to the wild west on my sisters recommendation to Happy River Café.

Austin’s eyes lit up on arrival seeing the toys and trikes strewn across the grass (THE FUN, THE FUN! LET ME FREEE). The few tables in the sun were highly coveted, and I’ve said it before, but we should probably have taken our own advice and got there early (where does the time go in the mornings?).

Inside the décor was a bit drab and the menu a little daggy, but the food was good, the coffee strong and the location great. And really the reason why people come here is to test out some free range parenting and let the kids run to their hearts content. Or in Austin’s case take a few steps and then revert back to crawling (CUTE!). If you’re after a gastro café serving single origin coffee you’ve come to the wrong spot but I think most people would find it hard not to enjoy Happy River Cafe's relaxed, hippy vibe (the view around the back of the building isn’t half bad either).

So we ate our bacon and eggs and drank our coffee (thank you god for coffee), and then we walked around the Footscray Arts Centre gardens until Austin weed through his nappy and and then we were off home.

Wahoo another place to dine and let your kids shout to their hearts content. 

This is how we do

We have a system. And the system works. So don't fix something that aint broke, and follow the system:

1. Baby wakes up (it's 5.30am)
2. Baby dressed and changed
3. Baby play
4. Baby fed
5. And then baby sleep (woo! success!)
6. BABY IS SLEEPING!!! Quick now, let's do everything else that needs to be done....
7. Shower, breakfast, dressed (mum and dad)
8. Prepare baby bottle, snacks and food
9. Pack baby bag (wipes, nappies, toys, bib, umbrella, blankets, beanies, socks)
10. Oops, we forgot the water bottle, add the water bottle
11. Get the pram ready (upright, straps ready, wet weather cover, muslin cloth cover, pram pegs)
12. Oh, we might want the baby bjorn...maybe put the baby bjorn in the basket under the pram
13. Coffee... dear god, why did we not have coffee yet. GET THE COFFEE STAT!
14. We are caffeinated, we are packed, we are dressed, we are ready, we are..... waiting? Hold on, this never happens. Hmmm......ok so now we chill and then when baby wakes we are off on our wonderful walk to The Melbourne Shrine and gardens.

So, finally we were on our way! Walking up St Kilda Road we could see The Melbourne Shrine ahead, standing tall with pride and imposing on the gardens around it, a truly beautiful building. Entering via the visitor’s centre, which allows you to access almost all areas with a pram, we headed down underground towards the 'Galleries of Remembrance'. The gallery is built within the foundations of the shrine, with the exhibits standing between and next to the brick foundations – an awe inspiring site. Where the Shrine above pays its respects to the service men and women of Australia, the galleries below take a closer look at individual stories and memories through the use of relics and photography. I wish I had more time to spend here, as there was so much history to take in but there was only so long I could keep Austin occupied for (and without disturbing the other visitors). I had no idea that there was so much below the large and beautiful shrine; it just shows that I should probably take more notice of our home town, not just when off being a tourist.

A wonderful morning, and high fives to getting out of the house.  

The simple life (or as simple as can be)

Austin LOVES the chickens

Fresh country air, AMAZing

Austin perfecting his "look in to the distance" pose

Yeeha!

I think he likes the country life!

The goat! The goat!

Mmm yum muffins

So we decided, that’s it, we’ve had enough of city living, being squished in our apartment, no backyard, nowhere to go– lets do it, move to the country! Well, not the country, Collingwood, to the Children’s Farm, and not like forever, just for a morning y’all.

The children’s farm was GREAT, and the one thing we’ve done so far where enjoyment levels from both parents and child were on par. Austin LOVED the chickens (and the goats and the pigs), and we loved seeing him love it. The air smelt like fresh bacon (thank-you The Farm Café), perhaps the only place you can view the pigs and smell the pigs (cooking) at the same time. Not for everyone. But hey, we are big bacon fans, so a PLUS for us.

There was so much to see here, and heaps of open spaces, green grass and animals roaming around. FUN. You cannot get this at the zoo or the aquarium. This felt less manufactured, and more real. A slice of country livin’ in the middle of the city.

And there must have been something in that country air because every other family was with one child and one on the way. Bump central. I felt a bit out of vogue actually but we were there to animal watch not bump watch, so all good.

Austin is going to be a BIG animal fan judging by his excitement levels at this young age. Apart from the almost panic attack I had when seeing the 'beware of snakes' sign, the children’s farm was a huge hit and we’ll definitely be back again.