Well. It’s been a year since my last attempt at a blog. Possibly more. Not sure if I can pinpoint the exact reason for my hiatus. Can I blame the global pandemic? Navigating the emotional roller coaster that is lockdown? Or perhaps just navigating life in general? Whatever it was, I really lost my writing mojo there for a while. But it’s back now. And I hope it stays this time!
If you followed me on the Rebellious Foodie or even prior to that, welcome to my new project and thank you for still sticking around! I wasn’t entirely sure what my first post should be, but perhaps a little catch up of the year so far will be a good start?
Home
I suppose the biggest change this year for us was our move. For a year and a half we lived in an apartment in the Northern Beaches. It was tiny, there was barely enough room in it for the two of us, but it was special because it was the first place we moved into together just the two of us. It was within walking distance to Manly Beach and we spent so many mornings watching the sunrise together over the water. We also spent many weekends at the Corso drinking pints of beer, we went for cold winter morning dips at Shelly Beach, and we had our favourite coastal walking route that we did almost every day for months on end. It was a special place, and a special time in our lives.
But we craved more space at home. We wanted a yard so we could have a proper garden and a dog one day. We wanted room inside so we could have more than a few friends over for dinner at a time. And with both of us having families and friends interstate, we wanted a guest room in our home to be able to house them comfortably on their visits. And to be honest, we also just wanted a little space for ourselves too. We love each other, but with me working from home all year and there being absolutely no extra space in the apartment, it started to feel very cramped very quickly. So a move was needed. And unfortunately that meant moving away from the Northern Beaches, as a house in that area was well outside of our budget. So back over “the other side of the bridge” we went.
House hunting was disheartening at first (isn’t it always though?). We applied for places we were in love with and didn’t get them. We spent weekends looking at places that were absolutely shocking and we couldn’t fathom living in. And then we finally found the home we are living in now. An old, 4 bedroom home. She needs a bit of work, but she’s cozy, has character, and all the space we could want. Our backyard is huge and the owners love gardening so there were areas already constructed for us to use as veggie patches. The house also backs out onto a lovely bushwalk which came in handy during the lockdown this year. And we’ve only got one neighbour, a sweet old lady named Emma and her small dog Maggie. We love our home, and we spend most Sundays in the garden together. I have called Jamie a “lawn dad” on many occasions, as he has taken the job of lawn maintenance very seriously and often stands back to admire his own handiwork after a good mowing and edge trimming session. It makes me laugh every time.
Work
I’ve been with the same company for close to two years now in the insurance industry. I was recently promoted to a management position 3-4 months ago though, which was equally exciting and terrifying.
Travel
Like many others, COVID/lockdown put a pause on a lot of our travel plans this year. But we did manage to get away for just over a week in Easter. It was actually our belated Christmas/New Years trip that we had to postpone because of the lockdown in the Northern Beaches. We hired a campervan and travelled up the coast to Queensland. A campervan that was painted like the Mystery Machine, no less.
And despite visiting places called “the Sunshine Coast” it rained for 80% of our trip. But we persevered. We visited some beautiful beaches, Noosa being our favourite of the lot. We ate well, a seafood platter in Byron was the highlight of the trip.
We slept on $5 Kmart pillows that hurt our necks (lesson learned to fork out a little extra next time). We also drank lots of beers in lots of pubs in lots of country towns, which is a favourite road trip past time of ours. We also caved and spent a night in a hotel about 3 days into our trip because we desperately wanted a real bed and shower. It was fun, it was hilarious and it will be a trip we remember for years to come.
Life in general
There’s not much else to report from this year. Jamie and I are doing well. We hit the two year mark earlier this year, and despite it being in the middle of lockdown, we celebrated in true Laura and Jamie fashion, with lots of food and lots of drinking. We ordered a big seafood platter from Get Fish, bought a few bottles of champagne, got dressed up and pretended like we were out on a fancy date night.
I also turned 32 this month, which is just wild to me. Didn’t I just turn 30? (Smashmouth was right, the years really do start coming, and they don’t stop coming). To celebrate, Jamie planned a surprise party for me. We had gone out for a birthday lunch together and when I got home, my friends were waiting for me in the house. They had completely turned the place into a Mexican fiesta themed party, complete with a margarita station and decorations set up all over the house. I almost cried. I felt so grateful to be celebrating my birthday with such beautiful people.
And that’s been life so far. I think we’re all caught up now. Hopefully it’s not another year before I post again!
Laura x