The Weekender

After such a big week, I really needed this weekend to be a quiet one.

My Saturday morning walk was an attempt to return to routine, I wanted to make it to 6km, but only managed 4km.  I made pancakes with fresh berries and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Then I attempted to relax for a while, but it wasn’t long before I had to get ready for the theatre.

Thanks to HerCanberra, Mr. J and I went to the Canberra Theatre to see Bell Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.   Great show, great seats.  It wasn’t that long ago that I saw Much Ado About Nothing.  I am never disappointed by Bell Shakespeare’s performances.  It was a lovely Saturday afternoon

After, it was a quick trip to get groceries we didn’t get at Costco.  Then home to relax before making dinner – Terriyaki Chicken, using our NewWave crazy 5 in 1 Multi-cooker, just for rice    I will have to do a slow cooker recipe soon, now that it is out of its big box!

Finished the night with a movie:  X-Men First Class.  Minus a few cheesey lines and James Bond stylising, I enjoyed it.
Sunday was a very lazy start, I am still really feeling exhausted(!)  Mr. J made poached eggs with bacon; I had one slice of bacon, jarlsgerg cheese and one egg, on one slice of grainy toast >YUM.

Not sure why, but I wasn’t feeling to well… So took it pretty easy before doing some more sorting around our new home.  A quick trip to Bunnings and we got some hooks, picture hangers, and a kitchen bin.  It is so nice to make changes to the place, without worrying about a landlord!

After that I was off to yoga.  It was so tough – I swear each time I go I feel worse than the last.  I have to remember that I have only been about four times now though, so I need to be patient.

Now it is time to prepare for tomorrow – first day at a new placement.  Paperwork ready, lunch made, profesh atire and gym clothes ready to go for after work.  I must make it part of routine.

21 days to make it a habit, right?

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The Big Move

I … am … SO tired.  And so sore!  Some good sore, some not so good sore!  My guns are seriously starting to take shape.  I have never been so active over the past couple of days – my Body Media tells me it is so.  How’s 15000 steps?  Or, 8 hours, 50 minutes moderate activity in one day?!

Four days of craziness.

- Sunday, packing, then loading up the cars
- Monday, hoping we get the keys after the dramas the week before.  Got the keys(!) then doing the first couple of trips.  Monday night more packing, then re-packing the cars and doing a late trip over with a couple extra hands helping  (in the dark, as we didn’t have any power) 
- Tuesday, I made one trip over on my own, then tried to unpack as much as possible, with power(!) … Tuesday night we attacked the fridge, packed up the TV, all the big items.  Then loaded the cars up again.
- Wednesday, removalists arrived at 8am, we helped as much as we could.  Everything was in our new place by 11am   Awesome effort.  Another trip back to the old place, let the cleaners in to do their magic, plus pick up our bedding.  Spent the rest of the day getting everything sorted so we could sleep here.  Plus our carpenter came to help make the fridge fit – It fits(!)  Then washing, unpacking, more unpacking, and furniture putting together and arranging
- Thursday, today – first trip to uni for supervision, traffic wasn’t an issue   Supervision, then a quick catch up with a friend, who is getting married!  YAY!  Then home to do more unpacking and sorting.  When Mr. J finished work, we went to Costco and spent too much money

And now, I am wrecked   But our place is starting to come together -Slowly, but surely.  I will have to do before and after pictures, when it is looking a bit more home-y    And when we have the internets!

It is SO nice to have our own space, no more sharing!

And a little something special from my fam to make it real >>

I could really do with a massage right about now though…

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The Fury!

Err … I mean Furi Pretty awesome!  Can’t wait to move … 12 days and counting!!

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The Pack Ahead

This week has been a tad hectic, which I definitely was not ready for, especially following last week (interview etc).  I need a breather, like, now!  But I will compose myself because the good news is that tomorrow is Friday.  So one more day, and then I get a breather, well a ‘packer’… Ha!

Yes, Mr. J and I need to start the arduous task of sorting out all of our shit!  -I mean, possessions.  I really don’t want to take anything unnecessarywith us when we move.  It will be nice to have a clean slate, and start to build a place that is really ‘ours’.  Not just me, ‘stayin over’, with free rent

I came home to a nice home-related surprise though.  Ony good things come out of Amazon boxes!

Hello JosephJoseph ‘Elevate’ Utensil Carousel!  You will be a nice addition to the kitchen bench in our new place!

8BPANWZRMRRM

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The Brevilles

Had some store credit at Harvey Norman so decided to splurge on some new home stuff!  Shame that they are sitting in the attic in their boxes   Only a month or so till the big move!

Hello shiny new kettle – It is ‘Quite Boil Technology’.  The reviews out there are both good and bad, so fingers crossed it does the job!  And our new toaster!  It has a pretty cool ‘Lift and Look’ function and toasting progress LED indicator   Ha!I also seriously have my eye on this awesome ‘Tea Maker’.  Seems crazy that a kettle can’t do the job, but this is for the serious tea lovers out there.  Timer, various temperature and tea strength functions, keep warm function.  What more could you want?!   But thinking that perhaps it can wait for the wedding registry perhaps?  Pretty …

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Tempur

I thought I should share one of our bigger home-related purchases of late -

The Tempur … Don’t know what I am talking about?  You need to know, if you are looking to buy a new mattress anytime soon.  Or pillows for that matter 

Tempur material is visco-elastic, recognised and certified by NASA!  And all the extra details really don’t seem to matter. It is a-ma-zing!

I am sure it is not for everyone, and it does take getting used to.  But it is a mattress like no other.  It conforms to you, no springs, no memory foam/latex topper, – just a mattress. It feels hard and cold when you first lie down, then as your body heats it, a second later = clouds!  I also have a Tempur pillow, which is heavenly.  Mr J got one too, but he isn’t as big of a fan, I think it is too low profile for him.

The main reason that Mr J and I were looking in the higher end market was because I was a struggle-street sleeper.  Every time he moved, I woke up = cranky Jen.  We definitely needed a new mattress, but I have to admit, I may be a tad ‘sensitive’ sleep-wise.  We initially looked at different types of spring mattresses to remove the ‘partner disturbance’ issue (see I am a mattress expert now ), but we still couldn’t find a stand out.

And then it was convincing time – I had come across the Tempur ages ago, but knew it was way out of our budget.  But of course, there is always a sale on somewhere!

Note: This post is not sponsored in any way (but how I wish it was! Ha!)

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To shop, or not to shop?

Mr J and I viewed our soon-to-be new apartment this afternoon.

The good news -  I still love it!

The not so awesome news -  After doing some measuring, our fridge does not fit   We only bought it last year, and it was about $1600.  Seems so wasteful to have to buy another one, plus it is hard to give away a fridge, let alone sell one!  I am thinking that maybe it might be possible to reno the kitchen so it will fit.  But not sure if it is worth the cost/hassle…

So working the fridge situation out, and deciding whether or not we want to buy a new couch, are the last ‘big’ things to consider.

For the smaller house-related stuff, Mr J and I are going to Sydney this weekend!!  To shop!  Depending on Mr J’s shopping ensurance (tolerance!), I plan to visit a few awesome home stuff shopping haunts – Victoria’s Basement please(!).  And maybe a trip to Ikea just for fun

What are your shopping “must visit’s”? 

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Nesting

At the moment Mr J and I are sharing.  We live in an apartment with two others, but we are lucky to have an ensuite and a large master to ourselves.  Plus the benefit of very cheap rent.  As I am studying, I have tried to be patient.

So we bought off the plan.  A brand new eco-awesome apartment, due to be completed mid 2012.

But I became impatient.  Well “we” became impatient

So we started perusing the property market once again.  We were conservative, … yes a one bedroom apartment will do.  No need for anything fancy, just something that is a good investment, with a good rental return later.

And then … Mr J is told of a two-year old, two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-carspace apartment.  The apartment of two’s.  It is not listed (shhhh), but the vendor is interested in selling.  It was previously listed under the current market value, so we tentatively offer a few thou under that.

And …  First offer = accepted!

I have gone from YAY wedding planning, to OMG shiny new home.  Must have shiny new things for shiny new home(!)

It’s the first ‘Us’ thing, so I think I am entitled to a little bit of (sensible purchases) nesting  – yes?

So I look forward to posting any nesting decisions for our soon-to-be NEW home!

What are your home essentials?  (e.g. what do I have to buy right now?!)

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