another day in the country

Retro daddy had this great idea to change everyone's swimming lessons to 7.30am and 8am on a saturday morning. I was a little surprised he did this (he loves a good sleep in) and sure enough last night he was out watching his beloved carlton play the Sydney swans while enjoying beer and sausage rolls. Meanwhile I was home watching the royal wedding (let's talk about the wedding tomorrow). So we slept through our alarms and missed swimming. Uh oh. Thankfully, I did have everything packed and organised for another daytrip down south and so we were on the road and on our way to an 11am open house. I think if you still love a town and it's houses in miserable grey weather then you really like it.

And I just love the gorgeous colours on display. This was the front hedge of the first house on our list to visit. A cute little house well under budget in our favourite place and all was going well until we walked out to the picture perfect cottage garden out back which had a single fibro garage practically falling down. It is the neighbour's unused garage in place of a fence. Ugh it just had the potential to be one huge headache. 

Straight on to the next house which I loved. Huge family house with 5 bedrooms, self contained guest accommodation and a studio, 1 acre, double carport, double garage, circular driveway, prestigious street.......do you want me to go on? Because I could. And I did. A very neat and tidy house but the burgundy carpets and cheapest pool behind the house would have to go. Retro daddy was not such a fan as he just saw all the work. Well priced but there was another family of 6 very much in love with it and I've learnt not to get too attached as you never know what is around the corner. Or what the boss decides. Don't you love finn inspecting the vegie patch with the property brochure in hand! 

every house we visit is fun for the kids with all that space to run around and tire themselves out. Not so great when they get back to the car with shoes covered in mud, wet leaves and grass. We almost need a front door mat just for the car!

I loved the huge lemon trees and the never ending backyard. I always ask the little ones to run to the back fence and back. Always gives me a bit of time to look around and for them to test out the yard size. Oh well, I'll try not to fall in love with the gardens of this house. We saw another house before lunch but it was just way too small, dark and too much work. Oh yes and the doberman and other huge dog in the neighbours yard were not my cup of tea. Moving for peace and quiet not noisy dogs.  

At last it was time for lunch at the best pie shop in town - my roasted vegetable pie tasted like a vegetable lasagne all packaged up in a pie. Retro daddy had lamb and rosemary, he tells me it was good.  Mmmmmm  as if he needed anymore convincing to move. Quick shop for myself in Seed (hello, no country road/trenery in town so I need to test out the shopping for myself before I make any big decisions), toy shop for the little ones, running through the crinkly leaves in the park then back in the car for a little drive around town, mcdonalds chippies to keep little people happy and then home again. Phew. Now back to the decluttering.

more dream houses

I know you've been loving the dream houses so how about a few more as we finish up the working week.  Now is this one big enough for you? There were no photos of the inside but it looks big enough for the six of us.

For something a little more modest and a bit better on your hip pocket we have this little charmer. Now this one comes in at $6.5m so you'll still have money left over for some help around the place as you'll have 96 acres to care for.

very neutral interiors. This definitely has a lived in, comfortable look about it. Give my children 10 minutes in this room and they could really take lived in to a whole new level.

very luxurious but comfortable bedroom

Love this kitchen. It's not flashy and the colours and wood are so warm and inviting. I could definitely make some nice dinners in there.

Would you like a view with your toilet break! I just hope the gardener doesn't see you sitting in there!

Righto, well back to searching for properties in my budget and not my imaginery lottery winnings. You can find all images here plus I know you want to ring the agent to make an offer.

it's all happening

There is something so wrong with me. When people say 'I don't know how you do it'...what they are really saying is 'you are so crazy, Corrie. I don't know why you take so much on'. Like putting our house on the market and agreeing to the first open house in over a week's time. I think that date will be pushed out with the hours retro daddy is doing and my responsibilities on the home front.

my dream kitchen and colour scheme - image source



Anyway, don't you love it how you are thinking about something and starting to set the wheels in motion and researching schools, putting names on waiting lists, thinking, planning, worrying and then ta da you read an article and you think OK, phew, it's all good, we are not the first nutters to want to do this. These are real people like us. You can read the full article here.......I know a lot of you will just nod your head at those crazy ridiculous property prices that are Sydney because it's where we're at and I can't wait to be in my new dream house and kitchen a year from now. And until then I better get my butt into gear in decluttering this house.

back to the grind

Well school is back today, shirts were ironed, lunch was made, her bag was packed, retro daddy was late for his taxi to the airport, two sponsored posts were due by 10am, errands need to be done, appointments made, the vacuum is broken, I still haven't called grandma betty for easter, gymnastics and swimming will start again and the housework is STILL staring at me.

So it must be first day back after school holidays and I'm not ready............I don't feel like I had a holiday but I'd love some more time of keira at home and she loved getting in her new winter uniform this morning. Of course we had to do the serious shot and the goofy shot.............

I miss her already! I told her I was going to miss her today and instead of saying she was going to miss me back she just laughed and smiled at me. Oh poor mummy.

decluttering

For me, one of the hardest things about thinking about buying a new house is the decluttering and getting our own house ready for sale. We were all ready to list our house in January this year but couldn't find what we were looking for in our budget so decided to stay.

This is my house looking at it's best NOT how it looks right now. The reality is toys, show bags, books and more toys. Toys have taken over my house. Oh and fabric, OK I admit it....I contribute towards the clutter with my craft.

so I've gone back to look through my photos on flickr to get motivated, get rid of the clutter, toys and clothes and get our house looking more show home than messy home.

So the garbage bags are out and it's my usual policy at decluttering time - one bag for rubbish, one bag for charity and one bag to giveaway. Works well for me but I clean and declutter knowing that little people will come after me and make a mess again!!!!

But it's a good feeling to get rid of 'stuff'! Do you need a good declutter in your home?

pretty country houses

Moving to the country is so much more than just having a nicer house buuuuut will you please take a look at these houses. Sydney real estate is considered amongst the most expensive in the world (I already knew that) which is tough when you are trying to get into it...........but when you take your sydney budget out of Sydney. Well there are some treats in store for you AND you can reduce your mortgage too. Which keeps husbands happy. 

Now of course in real estate there is usually a compromise to be made or a house that doesn't tick everything on your list. Take this house which we just adore. To me it is like an english country house just plopped smack bang in the middle of bowral on a pretty tree lined street with lots of other old houses

Unfortunately it's not a quiet road, not the busiest road in town but still not the most peaceful tranquil street and most of the garden is at the front of the house rather than the back so it's probably not going to work for us but we'll be taking an inspection just in case. And then I fell for this house below but it backs on to the golf course which isn't too safe for 4 little people running around the backyard. I just love the grand entrance. I'd be taking photos of the little ones every single day as they walked out of the house!

This next beauty is in our preferred part of town and has been beautifully restored. In fact if I could pick my perfect kitchen then this would be right up there. It is so similar to the 'Something's Gotta Give' kitchen and will you check out all of the cupboards.

And if anyone questions why I would want to leave Sydney I'll just go and tell them to read my blog post dated Monday 25th April 2011.

All images of these gorgeous houses from Bowral came courtesy of my new BFF, domain

another easter, another easter show

I hope you have all had a lovely easter. We started with keira waking everyone up to see what the easter bunny had left, 9am mass with some of her little school friends and then the easter show. And although it is hard work and tiring I do love doing the show with all the little ones. And we go every year and generally on Easter Sunday. This year was so much fun as the the twins really got into the action and were super excited to be there. In fact clever marketing meant that finn started jumping out of his seat and squealing easter show when he saw the logo on my takeaway coffee cup today. Oh dear.

We got there later than usual and then realised we couldn't park in our normal carpark as the new van is so high. Retro daddy being the man of the house didn't believe me ( of course) and made us pull over nearby and check the manual before realising that yes I was right. The height of the van is 1.99m and the carpark entrance said 2.0m. Hate to say I told you so, but I did. We drove further along to an outdoor carpark where lo and behold lots of other big vans were parked there.

First stop was lunch - this is pretty normal for us when we go out to make sure everyone is happy and in the mood. Then it was some ABC entertainment for the twins, food hall and straight down to see the cake decorating and crafts. I always love to see the knitting and crochet cabinets and have a little laugh at some of the knits that are displayed and win while the gorgeous modern knits get hidden away or don't win ribbons. This lovely little number caught my eye in the baby section and was so sweet. Maybe one of these days I'll enter something little and knitted in.

I always love the quilts and it's such a shame there aren't more display cabinets to display more of them. So bright and colourful and there was a lovely mix of traditional and modern quilts and it must be so lovely to see a ribbon next to your work. 

Now normally we would do show bags last before leaving but finn was going nuts to get a showbag and couldn't be talked into doing anything else.  So into the money pit showbag hall we went and left with a show bag or two each. Retro daddy didn't believe that I wanted the hello kitty showbag for myself (hello, it's japanese and cute) so of course he made a big song and dance about it when he handed it over to me.

I also managed to squeeze in a teensy bit of shopping for me with a lovely shirt and belt from the lovely Sam at ollie & max. That now takes my tally of their shirts and dresses up to 4 but they are just classic, well priced, easy to wear and last me well. 

Retro daddy wanted to leave at this point and little feet were getting weary but we kept pushing on to see a few animals. I just adored seeing the alpacas, such cute little faces on them. Tillie our resident animal whisperer was right up there talking to them. She is so crazy about animals and always makes a beeline towards them. Retro daddy double checked that the sweet smell of cow manure was ok with me since I want to move to the country. Fine by me. I'm not moving into the milking shed or anything. Last time I checked Bowral was pretty civilised. 

And then it was time for a chocolate covered strawberry and home time. It was such a fun day and I know 4 little people will be asleep nice and early tonight. I know this mummy walked in the door and put on her comfy pj pants and her feet up.

And we'll do it all again next year!

another day in the country

Are you sick of all of this talk about the country yet? I hope not because I've just had another beautiful day down in the highlands again today. We left home at the very civilised hour of 9am since we all slept in and settled on some morning tea at the Wild Food Cafe just as you get into Bowral. From the front it looks like a health food store (probably because it is a health food store) but out the back is a great little cafe and courtyard. The coffee was great, the food coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled amazing and the kids were happy with colouring and great banana bread. AND they were so well behaved, so proud!

It was then on to our first open house. I knew this would be my favourite house and it did not disappoint. I also knew it was going to be too small for us but please can you imagine me on that verandah. The house was a beautifully renovated, luxuriously styled and furnished country house on half an acre in the prettiest street with a pony club at one end. Hello Keira, did someone say pony club? There was also a lady riding her horse down the street, another girl out jogging (ok, that sort of stuff goes on in my street, I'll admit it) and some stunning houses on an acre behind their huge green hedges. I was in heaven.

Anyway, this was always going to be a favourite house for me and as I was driving home I was imagining it's owners probably opening a bottle of red and settling down to a lovely roast tonight in front of the fire in their simply delightful country home. The agent gave us some great advice on the area and steered us in the direction of a few bargains but this one set the benchmark very high. But common sense (and real estate 101) says you should buy the real fixer upper in the street and with a sydney budget there will be money to put in my dream kitchen. Say no more.

The little ones exhausted themselves in the perfectly manicured garden that just seemed to keep going and going. Beth, you were right. Half an acre IS more than enough.  Then it was time to go to keira's favourite shop - Mimi & Fifi - just made for little girls and keira has dubbed it the pink shop. She just loves visiting 'beryl' (aka Bowral) for the pink shop and we picked out some pretty party invitations and everyone got a little treat. I had to laugh at one mum who gave her girls $2.50 each to buy something from the store. Keira would not be happy with me.

Next up another house and no amount of pretty camelia hedge or circular driveway or one acre block was going to wow me. Just the oh so lovely scent of cat wee coming from the hedges as we approached the house.  And if you stood inside then you couldn't hear the cars zooming by the mainroad 2 houses down. So that was an in and out open house for us and we smiled nicely as we left. As we were getting into the car a nice guy who lived in the street came up to chat to us. He had moved down from Sydney with his wife and 4 children last year and gave us some great advice and told us how great life is down there. Trust me, you don't need to tell me buddy. In my mind, I've already packed up my house and moved down there.  

Quick pitstop for lunch a la mcdonalds to keep the troops happy and on to the last house we were inspecting. Wow 1 acre up on Mt Gibralter where the houses are huger than huge. And the house was huge, lovely country style and I loved it but it did lack the wow factor. The kids exhausted themselves with some more running around the huge backyard and rolling down the hill. Oh my poor deprived children who have no grass in their own backyard. Then straight back in the car for a little drive around town then home again, home again, jiggety jig.

Tomorrow it's early morning mass and the easter show. Trust me when I say I'd rather do mass a little later and an easy lunch at home but I'm outnumbered. The tribe has spoken, easter show it is unless it is raining.

real estate talk

Well I should be packing up things for another day trip to Bowral tomorrow but instead I'm enjoying coffee and an early easter chocolate bunny. But I am becoming quite the expert at researching property and areas online since I can't just jump in the car to go and check out an address 2 hours from here. So here is what I'm learning..........the same terms that real estate agents use up here in Sydney are the same everywhere.

Image source

Whisper quiet really means you'd never know you are on the main road with cars whizzing by. Gently elevated means an almost perpendicular driveway but it's lovely when you get up/down to the house. Low maintenance block means small as does cosy. And there is always that old chestnut - renovaters delight -well you all know what that means. Oh and wait - address on request means we're not going to give it to you because it's on the main road/up a steep hill/right behind the high school/2 blocks from the brickworks/opposite the old cemetery and I say this from experience. And here's another one - POA or price on application - means it is so out of your price range that it's on a need to know basis.....and you don't need to know!

And this house is just one of the absolutely stunning, droolworthy estates that come up when I research the Southern Highlands. Sadly it's ruled out as it's so way out of budget I'd need to win the lottery in a big way but you just have to look and say W.O.W. Now that is what I call an estate!

And this lovely property is called 'Hopewood' and just in case you are sitting on...........oh I don't know, $9m then here you go and be sure to have me over for afternoon tea, won't you!

super rich chocolate brownies

I bet that got your attention and it's been long time no brownie recipe around here. And sorry that I didn't blog yesterday but trust me I have some great 'I think we want to move to the country' blog posts coming up for you. Anyway back to the chocolate. I love brownies but losing all that weight after Elodie meant there were no brownies going into the oven. And to make up for lost ground I have baked my 2nd batch in 24 hours and no it's not me eating them all. He's big, 6ft 2 and can't say no to my brownies. I found the original recipe about 7 years ago and it had about 100g of chocolate but over time I've tweaked it to perfection! These are rich and not too sweet but just change your chocolate if you prefer a sweeter brownie.

SUPER RICH CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
200g 70% Dark chocolate, broken up into chunks
100g butter, cubed
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1tsp vanilla
2/3 cup SR flour

Melt on low heat with butter, stirring occasionally. Place into mixing bowl and leave to cool 5 minutes or so. Add in sugar, vanilla, eggs and lastly your sifted flour. Now at this point if you wanted to add some nuts (chopped pecans or walnuts are delicious) then now is the time. Pour into lined square baking tin and bake for about 25 minutes in 180 degree oven. You want the edges to be crispy and a knife comes out clean. Leave to rest in the tin about 5-10 minutes and then lift out by the paper, slice and enjoy.

I put mine in a tupperware container, leave it out on the kitchen bench and let retro daddy get to them after dinner!

still dreaming + hexagons

Another busy day here. Yesterday I had to stop thinking about the southern highlands and focus on getting through my list of jobs. I really think I left my heart down there. In good news, we are going down there (again) this Saturday to look at some open houses (she squeals and jumps around like a crazy lady). I have decided to think about it like moving to another suburb - 90 minutes from here rather than a huger than huge change. When you think about it like that, well it's not so scary. And it's been a long dream of ours to move to the english countryside so I kind of feel that it's a nice local version.

And with so many things to think about I really just am itching for some craft time. And I'll have to keep dreaming of picking up my hexagons and doing a few today because school holidays are keeping me busy, busy, busy. A whole new delivery of charm squares arrived about a fortnight ago and they are florally perfect for my hexagon quilt. I like that I can just pick it up when I need to.

And this is what we're aiming for..............it's really coming along nicely and is going to be my biggest quilting project to date.

This is the Grandmother's Flower Garden from Rosalie Quinlan's 'A Stitch in Time' book. If you're not 'hexagoning' (that is not a real word!) then you should get started as it is the perfect craft for the couch on these cooler nights.

do you dream of the country?

Tell me lovely city slickers, do you ever dream of the country? Moving to where the air is fresh, where everyone knows your name, where traffic jams don't exist, where you can have an acre and not see inside your neighbour's window from your window. Where you can have some chickens, fruit trees, your own vegetable patch, a large white country kitchen with wooden benchtops, an aga that matches your kitchenaid, a barn studio for your craft .........ok I'm getting a little bit carried away now with my own personal dream but I've got to tell you. City life can get to you.

Sometimes I feel so grateful that we have a good life in this city of Sydney, but when you spend your days at home, all day everyday you do wonder what it would be like to move out of the big city and have more space. Retro daddy and I have often discussed it, watched the relocation relocation shows religiously and with 2 of his 3 brothers living in the country it's not hard to convince him of the benefits. BUT it always comes back to that old chestnut,  work. His big city job can't go rural and he has career goals and aspirations and has worked hard to get to where he is. He's also not farmer material. And I'm more country road than country girl. Trust me.

very pretty fabric and quilting store

But today we headed out of the city to check out my favourite area. What could we afford? What are the schools like? What are the shops like? Ladies, you know that is important....don't say that it isn't!  Just to see it all in person. And we were impressed! I may or may not have been quoted as saying ' just leave me here, thank you'. But it is so much work and a huge decision to move. Who knows if we'll end up there or if we'll be city slickers forever. I'll keep buying my country living and country style mags, dreaming of my big kitchen and cream aga and sending retro daddy emails of my favourite houses which we could afford and let me tell you that they are gorgeous houses.

the kids were calling this a camel - time to work on our animals!

So hopefully I'll share more of my research with you and keep dreaming of a quieter life.  And now for the funny part of today. I know one person, just one, who lives down that way. A lovely blogger Beth, whose

blog and country life I love. And as we were getting out of the car to go exploring who should we meet? Yes, she was driving past and stopped to say hi. We are pretty hard to miss - all 6 of us. But I think it was a sign!

finn reminds his  daddy whose banana bread it is

oh and you didn't think I was going to come home empty handed, did you? I picked up this gorgeous baby alpaca from The Alpaca Centre in Berrima AND practised ultimate self restraint not buying 10 balls of each.