Life's a beach

 
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Meg wears: H&M dress (similar here), zimmerman belt (similar here).Austin wears: H&M swim shorts, Cotton-On polo, Cotton-on jumper (similar here), Native sandals.

Meg wears: H&M dress (similar here), zimmerman belt (similar here).
Austin wears: H&M swim shorts, Cotton-On polo, Cotton-on jumper (similar here), Native sandals.

When google says it will take 30 minutes to get to the destination and for some strange reason you believe it. Because you forget to take into account that your toddler will refuse to get in the pram. And then every five minutes you’ll need to stop because he wants a snack. And a drink. Then his hands cleaned. Then he’ll stop to look in every second window you pass. Then you will get to the station just as the train is coming. But miss it. Soooo our short 30 minute journey time didn’t quite work out how we thought it would.

BUT we did eventually make it to Beach Beast. Yay! The colour. The rides. The sand. The boardwalk. Oh GEEEZ. Sooo much fun for small people. Us big people didn’t mind it either. But you know, once you’re over 30 and sleep deprived and needing coffee bad you get a little jaded. If it wasn’t for Austin’s excitement (and the frappuccino’s all round) we probably would’ve wondered why we were there… but toddler excitement is damn infectious. So WEEEE we went on the rides, we ate the food and we dug in the sand.

We could’ve stuck around to sit in the Olympic Games zone, or check out the bar or splash in the paddle pool… but there’s only so much fun a toddler can take in one day. 

 

There's no place like the museum of home

 
Austin wears: Jacadi Paris polo (similar here), JoJo Maman Bebe shoes, cino shorts (similar here).Meg wears: vintage dress (similar here), Free Fish shoes (similar here) and fedora hat from Camden Market. 

Austin wears: Jacadi Paris polo (similar here), JoJo Maman Bebe shoes, cino shorts (similar here).
Meg wears: vintage dress (similar here), Free Fish shoes (similar here) and fedora hat from Camden Market

Why is everything about a hundred times more enjoyable when the weather is good? We are having so much luck with our touristy days lately and I'm pretty pretty sure most of it has to do with the blooming good weather. And hey I'm not gonna complain. Nope. I'm gonna lap it up!

Geffrye museum was a perfect example of the weather making our day out soooo nice. As soon as we got there we parked ourselves on their glorious front lawn for a bit of a picnic (if you can call Austin scoffing biscuits and then running around like a mad-man for the rest of the time a picnic). And just when we thought he would slow down (as if), he ran through the series of gardens in the back as well.

The museum itself shows how people have lived through the times 'museum of home'. Not all of it is suited to a toddler but there is enough to keep them interested (special kids sections on each plaque, fancy 'treasure chests' and other interesting artefacts). Then when you're been suitably 'cultured' there's also a coffee shop with cakes that look AMAZING, and a kids area too with tables for drawing and other activities. 

Austin was pretty stoked with his morning. And so were we because after all of his running Sir "i don't want to nap ever" fell straight off to sleep on the way home. 

Woodberry Wetlands

 
Austin wears: Cotton-On polo (similar here), H&M jeans, Native shoes.Meg wears: Karen Walker sunglasses, Karen Millen dress (similar here). 

Austin wears: Cotton-On polo (similar here), H&M jeans, Native shoes.
Meg wears: Karen Walker sunglasses, Karen Millen dress (similar here). 

We had such a great morning at the Woodberry Wetlands on the weekend. And we managed to do it without Austin having some sort of meltdown or me forgetting a critical element in Austin's backpack or all of us jumping on the wrong bus to god knows where. We had to get a break at some point right? Or maybe we’re just super-amazing-best-parents-in-the-world (hahaha. Ok, I’ll stop getting carried away now).

The wetlands were so perfect for our Saturday morning stroll on so many levels… 

  1. Austin could run and run and run (woooo, you wear yourself out kid!).
  2. There were no roads for him to run on to. Thank gawd. The kid has a knack for giving me heart attacks.
  3. For a family which is used to city living you can get your dose of nature all in the one spot. Beautiful wildflower meadows, ducks on the wetlands, birds flying above. Sigh. It was pretty picturesque. <3
  4. And probably the most important part I can get one of my all time fave London coffees while on the walk. Yess! Lizzy's delivering the goods as usual, let alone the absolute amazeballs menu.

So yeah, we had a pretty good morning. Boom. Not gonna hold my breath, but here’s hoping we can replicate this unicorn of a day out next week. 

Ten ways we just got Britain-ised

 

So we were walking to Father's Day lunch on the weekend, and i couldn't help but notice we're picking up all of these strange habits living here in England. Yep, I think we just got Britain-ised. I'm sure there are a heap more but here are ten ways I've found us acting more and more like Brits:

  1. celebrating father's day in June (say whaaat?!).
  2. thinking 18-22 de grees is a real stinker of a day. Phew, soooo hot. (Hahaha, if only they knew what hot weather really is). 
  3. using sunday as your standard pub lunch day (yep two sunday's in a row and counting).
  4. saying hi to pretty much everyone with 'you right?' Yes my dear, I am "right". 
  5. calling a bug a mini beast.... ok that is a lie! I will never be able to call a bug or a beetle or anything like that a mini beast. Though it does make a normal situation sound way more exciting. 'Pat, come quickly there's a mini beast in the bathroom!'
  6. walk pretty much all over London and always wear runners. Ugh, i know. 
  7. expect to split a restaurant bill by about 10 cards. To be fair, i think this is pretty normal the world over (except for us aussies back home). 
  8. calling the pram a buggy. I really tried to avoid this. What in the hell is a buggy anyway? Are we on a golf course? Where's my caddy to push it? Turns out the name is pretty damn catchy.
  9. catch the bus. ALL. THE. TIME. I think i caught the bus once in my whole life back in Melbourne. 
  10. given up on shopping centres. Oh, this makes me really sad. We're all like 'let's just head down to the high street' now. Yep, every suburb has its own little high street, and although it's no Chaddy Shopping Centre I'm getting used to my local little village. 

The sweetest of summers

 

So after doing two looong winters in a row, summer has finally arrived (wooo!) and a little bit of vitamin d goes a long way in this rainy city.

Everyone goes a bit crazy; half days are given at work so that people can ‘soak up the sun’, it’s a holiday frenzy for young and old, and the sun doesn’t go down until 930pm (what the whaat). When there is even just a glimmer of sunshine people set up base camp at the park for the day. Deck chairs, books, picnics, portable bbqs. They may as well bring the kitchen sink with them.  

And now that Austin has learned what icy-poles are he is completely hooked (let's be real he likes sucking on ice cubes, so an icy pole must seem like a rainbow on a stick). And it is all fun and games until he pushes his callipo too far up and it splats on the floor. Don’t worry I think he will learn very quickly how to master the old callipo icy-pole.

I like piña colada's, dirty nappies and days by the beach

 

Ah, the things we do on holiday with our toddler. To anyone without kids they would seem oh, so very wacky. But this is just normal life people, nothing to look at here, keep it on moving! 

Just a few of our fave holiday past times are: 

  • long walks along the beach holding hands... oh, oops I mean, long walks through back alleys pushing the pram to get your toddler to have his daytime nap
  • afternoons spent lazing by the... couch indoors and out of the sun. Yep, this means coming home pretty damn pale
  • acting like a one hour time difference is a gift sent from god. That's right, a one hour time difference means instead of your kid waking at 6am every morning you get to sleep in until 7am! (I am not even being sarcastic right now, this is actual pure joy)
  • flying with 300 of your closest friends! Yay! Thomas and Lightning McQueen and Pepper and Mr Bulldozer and just about every single toy and book that will fit into every crevice of our beings
  • perfecting your best 'I'm really trying my best but sometimes there is only so much you can do and my toddler will still keep crying no matter what I do' face when walking through quaint little towns
  • treating midday nap time like a vacation from your vacation. Oh my god what are we gonna do for the next two hours? Go shopping? Go for lunch? Cocktails at a bar? Cocktails on the beach? Cocktails on the beach while having a massage? Eh, let's just fall in a heap and sleep. Yeah, that sounds good.
  • Running around the pool like absolute mad people playing dinosaurs. Thank god we rented a house and weren't staying at a resort. Or actually I don't know, that could've been kind of funny too. Raaaaa.

I’m not gonna BS holidays are so different with our little man in tow, but they’re still fun as hell. 

You scream, I scream

 

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream. And in the car seat, and in the middle of the night for no reason. You know, standard business for a toddler.

But we are all screaming (for joy) coz we really love Sitges. Its small and cute, with pretty beaches and tapas bars tucked away in laneways. And also every afternoon everything shuts up shop for siesta time (equally quaint and super annoying). We've eaten jamon, fromage, tapas and paella, fresh pastries, empanadas, whole fish, king prawns, 95 day dry aged steak (holy moses), beef tartare, tuna tartare, and just about everything under the sun. Let's just say the beach diet is in the toilet. 

 

Pretty views on Primrose Hill

 

Sunday Funday didn't fail to deliver this week. We were off on an early start (always the aim, but not always the game), and got to the very pretty Primrose Hill right before the crowds arrived. Austin wasn't overly impressed by the view (and well I don't blame him, he is only 22 months after-all), but he did enjoy seeing the dogs that were on their morning walk, running down the hill and picking out little daisies from the grass (CUTE!). 

I can totally imagine having an evening drink sitting on this hill in summer, watching the sun set, bottle of champagne and picnic basket by our sides... HAHAHA YEAH RIGHT IN OUR DREAMS. But hey, we did get the early morning view which was pretty damn good. 

The Zoo is right nearby too but errrm we didn't go (it is high on our Summer to do list though). After the gardens we walked down Regents Canal and landed smack bang in Camden Market. It was only 10am but who am I to deny my stomach from all of those AMAZING food stalls. So we ate sticky pork buns with crackling and slaw.... followed by ham and cheese croquettes. So very VERY satisfying. If I had room left over the cronut and donut stall would have had to watch out. 

Loving the holiday feels of an average weekend out and about. 

 

The queen of stuff-ups

 

 

Advice to me, from me (which would have been useful about a week ago in Edinburgh aka Edinbra):

1. When the hotel concierge suggests a fancy restaurant for dinner with your toddler, don't be fooled, this restaurant will be fancy (even at 5pm. Come on people, go home and come back for a normal people dinner).

2. When booking an apartment with the most amazing view of Edinburgh castle, ask yourself why does this apartment have this viewIs it because it is high up in the building? Does this mean it is up a flight of stairs? Or several flight of stairs? Coz woulda been hella good to know there was over 3 flights of stairs to carry up the suitcases, portacot, other various bags and oh yeah, Austin sleeping in his pram too. Massive d'oh. (And yes, I was in charge of all of the bookings). 

3. Make more of the time you have on holiday! Travel with a toddler can be stressful - trying to keep them occupied, happy, fed and dry... trying to stop them from running away in castles, pooing on the floor, and breaking all of the ornaments in the apartment you're in... you know just the usual but in an unfamiliar environment. But even worse is getting home and realising there were about 10 other sights you could've seen. Damn, damn, damn. (Mooooooore caaaaaaastles!)

What we did see of Edinburgh was pretty damn good though. Think castles, old buildings, princesses walking around…  ok no princesses but there may as well have been. I wish we had braved the bus trip to see the highlands as well but none of us really thought that would be ideal toddler territory so gave it a miss. Maybe next time we go, or when Austin is older, I don’t know, say in 20 years? 

 

Let's go Glasgow

 
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Scotland was our Easter vacay destination with the fam. And I managed to convince hubby, and my parents and Austin (well let's be real that didn't require much convincing) to all come to Glasgow. Wooo. And then once they agreed I revealed that I had a sort of an ulterior motive (sort of, massively). A friends dancing competition on in Glasgow that weekend meant I intended to sort of (massively) sneak off for some catching up. 

So while I was mostly off at The Royal Concert Hall checking out the dancing hubby was in charge. And there was poo-gate. Yes that is a poo on the floor. And getting dressed-gate, and going-for-a-walk-gate and ..... uuuuh you get the idea. Poor hubby! But hey, as long as the place didn't burn down and everyone was still alive at the end of the day, I think it was a job well done.

We really didn't see as much as we would've liked between everything else, but we did see the Botanic Gardens and Byers street and the Concert Hall.... and then the train station as we left for part 2 of our holiday, Edinburgh. Talk about blink and you'll miss it. Glasgow was cute, and fun and really that's without us even seeing all of the main sights, so not bad eh?