Well, I bet you didn't expect a title like that out of me, but in honor of our one month anniversary living in Australia I thought why not? It sort of sums up the last few weeks. Ok, not really, but that is how Ikea describes their new veggie and chicken balls (see the sign for yourself), and Ikea sums up a large chunk of our life the past few weeks, so it seemed fitting. Not to mention, we did consume our fair share of veggie, chicken and meat balls while there...
Ikea's hashtag, not mine.
Emma's favorite bed at Ikea, she sat here every time.
Emma's favorite way to eat Ikea food, like a goofball.
Daddy and Emma contemplating the bar stools, trading sunglasses was a necessary requirement.
We finally got the keys!
So what have we been doing exactly besides eating chicken, veggie and meat balls? More like what have we not been doing. We moved into our apartment just over two weeks ago and in that time and the few days proceeding it Emma and I visited Ikea a whopping five times (Steve joined us on two of these trips), we've spent who knows how much time assembling said Ikea furniture purchased (all of it is now assembled with the exception of the underneath drawers on our bed, which we've now disassembled and Ikea is sending us different drawers - fingers crossed they work this time and it is not just a user error), we've made countless trips to the two local grocery stores in an attempt to stock up our pantry and buy household items (when you're walking you can only bring back as much as you can carry), we have joined a local car share and rented a car three times and with relative success navigated the busy Sydney streets to purchase a few more things we needed, we have also discovered numerous local parks and playgrounds, we purchased, prepared and ate several cuts of kangaroo (yes I know they are cute, but they are over populated in some areas and they taste pretty good too), we tried to make some new friends in local music classes and playgroups, we found some local cafes where we could happily become regulars, as well as the authentic Italian place literally just under us that serves great pizza, pasta and seafood (good thing eating out is a bit expensive here, otherwise I would be eating here way too often as I have a weakness for pretty much everything on their menu), oh and Steve has become an active contributing member of the business world too.
Start the unpacking!
The way you act when you're excited to open all the boxes just delivered to your new house.
A new playground explored in the heart of the city that has a splash area too!
Australian playgrounds really teach kids to climb, they have tons of areas like these - Emma loves them.
While we are more than pleasantly impressed with how settled in we are at the one month mark (in comparison when we were in Zurich we had just barely moved into our actual apartment at the one month mark and would still have another month of rented furniture and kitchenware before our shipment arrived), we still will wait for a little longer to give you a full tour of our new place. Emma has been an instigator to make sure we got every box unpacked as quickly as possible, regardless of whether or not we had somewhere to put the contents or not (and did I mention just how many boxes were full of Emma's toys? Way more than I ever remember packing, we seriously would have hardly shipped any boxes if kids were not a part of the picture). Oh and for the next time I pack my own boxes - I really need to make sure to label which ones have the scissors and other useful household items like silverware, so that I can open it first and not second to last.
Nothing like take away pizza and a kids table to eat your first dinner at your new house.
Surprisingly only a few boxes were opened and inspected at customs and we weren't charged for anything nor was anything confiscated - I guess I cleaned our shoes well enough (they're pretty picky about any foreign soil entering).
This is what happens when your daughter unpacks and "organizes."
She seems pretty happy with what she found.
A few nights after we moved in we already had outdoor dining, a grill to make dinner and picture perfect weather!
Perhaps the biggest problem we have encountered is what to do with all the boxes after we have unpacked them. While the trash and recycling is not crazy complicated like it was in Switzerland, living in an apartment there is still limited shared container space and it may be a slow process over the next few weeks or month to rid ourselves of all the boxes. Luckily our bedroom has a random small sun porch that realistically isn't usable for much, but it does seem like a great storage place for leftover boxes until we can get rid of them.
In between all the unpacking and Ikea construction we have done lately, here's a look at all the random things we have learned in our first month of Australian living:
Many avenues of Australian LIFE seem to be a blend somewhere between European and American life. Perhaps the Sydney lifestyle can most broadly be generalized to be like living in a large American city such as New York or Boston where walking and public transit use is high, traffic is terrible, and housing prices are astronomical. Then throw in a mix of California laid back beach life and beautiful people with gorgeous accents, a little more value around family time and slightly less work time like Europeans and you have Sydney. Anyway, you size it up I think many Aussie stereotypes are in fact true. Most importantly, they really are incredibly friendly people, especially in comparison to Swiss. Perhaps it helps that we all speak English, but they all seem so happy and so willing to help. I LOVE it. Every time I ride the bus I am impressed with how many people getting off in the back will take the time and effort to shout "thank you" to the driver up front!
I have a mixed love hate relationship with the re-introduction to ECO-FRIENDLY appliances like we had in Zurich. Our washer, dryer, dishwasher, and refrigerator all have their eco-friendly stickers on them, which in general to me translates as they won't clean or dry as well, keep food as cold, and it will probably take about three times as long to do what my American appliance did a better job at. Oh yes and don't get me started on the whole two different flush buttons on the toilet. I honestly don't even know why they have the "small flush" button as I'm not sure it accomplishes anything. Every time Emma sees toilet paper left in a toilet she insists on flushing it again before she can use it, and, well, that surely defeats the purpose at all... However, we really did luck out in the regard that our apartment came with a washer, dryer and refrigerator as these are items that the tenant often buys and takes with them to new rentals. AND it has a built in full-size dishwasher. Dishwashers are really not all that common in rentals (at least at our price point) and several places we looked at only had half size dishwashers. For this soon to be mother of two, a dishwasher was a pretty big deal. Oh and I forgot to mention that not only is our laundry actually in our apartment itself, but as our place is a duplex it is on the upstairs level, the same level as our bedrooms, I feel like a I hit a gold mine. I have never before in my married life had laundry on the same floor as my bedroom! It's the little things sometimes... right?
I guess our lack of GARBAGE DISPOSAL might be considered more eco-friendly too? It seems funny to me how our kitchen here, just like our kitchen in Zurich, is a sleek, modern design, yet neither has/had a garbage disposal. Although its really not a big deal at all, I don't think I'll ever become a fan of wiping all the soggy food crumbs out of the bottom of the drain.
Lack of A/C and HEAT. I certainly understand how this is indicative of the climate, and don't get me wrong Australia has one of the most amazing climates. So far spring weather has been pretty darn nice. Its bounced around a bit and been a little unpredictable, just like spring most anywhere else we have experienced it, but for the most part leaving the windows and the patio door wide open is perfect on most any day and I love all the fresh air (it was one of the first things I really missed when I left Switzerland). Yet, come December and January I am not sure I will have the same to say when it is 30 degrees plus every day (that's above 90 for those in the Fahrenheit world) and we don't have an air conditioner and I'm eight months pregnant. The same may be said in July when it may only be in the lower teens (50 degrees Fahrenheit) and I'm freezing cold. I know that's really not that cold, but without heat you'd be surprised. I think I may understand why the Australians all wear their Uggs in the house... And to be fair there are plenty of places that do have small air conditioning or heating units, but it's not necessarily the norm and it sounds like they rapidly escalate your utility bills.
They have TARGET here. One of my absolute favorite places, but sadly it is not the same. They do a pretty good impression (I did my research, there's no connection with the one in North America), but still have a ways to go.
CARPET. They really like it here in apartments. I was shocked, but from what I have been told tenants like it better too because you don't hear your neighbors as much. Which, that does admittedly make sense, but especially in a warm weather climate I am still surprised. Oh and not really what I had hoped for with small children, but oh well. Carpet cleaner was one of my first purchases. On the flip side, we no longer have 80 year old squeaky hardwood floors. At least it will be easier to sneak away from a sleeping baby.
The dreaded HALF SHOWER door/window has re-appeared. This was always a big pet peeve of Steve's in European shower/tub combos where it was commonly found to replace a shower curtain. We didn't have one at our place in Zurich, but we DO now in our new place here. Hopefully at least some water stays in the tub while we shower.
The dreaded half shower as Steve calls the glass door on the tub...
REAL SIZE BEDS. Since we didn't ship our bed this go around I was excited to find out that they didn't follow the European protocol of placing two single mattresses next to each other to make one bed. They do in fact believe in queen and king size beds.
People in our neighborhood really like their Mazdas and RANGE ROVERS.
I thoroughly enjoy learning the little nuances between the versions of ENGLISH we speak and deciding which way I like it better. Small word choices that I'm going to make part of Emma's vocabulary simply because I think it's cute and will annoy Steve. Some of my favorites thus far: Sack pack to replace backpack (especially because Steve had a sack pack issued by work with his laptop instead of messenger style bag or briefcase), sneakers, tidy, lovely, no worries, and have a go at it.
Wildlife and INSECTS INSIDE my house. I don't know how I'm going to feel about this and it's not even summer yet. Too many people before we moved were sure to tell me how many poisonous insects and deadly animals live here, so needless to say the couple times I have spotted a tiny spider inside I freak out and assume it is deadly and go to all extremes in its destruction method. I also read about how some people "bug bomb" their apartment and Steve's co-worker informed us that everyone has a cockroach or two at some point in their place. GREAT. Oh and what about the tiny geckos I have already spotted running around on our terrace? I think they are super cute, but I am not going to think they are so cute when I find them in the house. I'll never forget the summer I lived in Houston and found a gecko in my pants - luckily, before I put them on. However, we already have Emma in training and she makes sure to close the patio door if she sees a gecko. Or more importantly she often double checks as we tuck her into bed that we closed the door because Steve warned her about wallabies or wombats coming in the house at night. THANKS Steve, now I constantly get lectured about "what to do if a wallaby comes in the house." Let's be real, I don't think that's going to happen - especially being on the 1st floor (one floor above ground level), but I must say I would much rather have one of those inside than a potential possum I have heard of finding their way into people's homes in our neighborhood.
The first spider I found was in our temporary apartment on the 24th floor. I really had hoped bugs couldn't get that high. I guess that means there's no hope for our 1st floor apartment.
These little guys are all over on a nice sunny afternoon. Emma saw one about to run right across my legs on a park bench. We'll do our best to keep them outside.
Wildlife and insects OUTSIDE my house. I think I am going to enjoy these much more. They have some absolutely gorgeous birds that live in our neighborhood - although some including this ibis below seem to be a bit more like a nuisance when they come right up to you at a park and try to snatch the food right out of your hand like one did to Emma. We've seen signs to warn us of swooping birds in the area. So let's hope we don't get dive bombed. We've also enjoyed already seeing some large lizards at the park and are looking into some nearby trips where the wildlife should be incredible. I'm especially excited to take Emma to a spot a few hours away called Pebbly Beach where large groups of wild kangaroos evidently live right on the beach and aren't shy of people at all. Meanwhile I could do without the flies, which seem to have a genuine affinity for staying close to one's face. Luckily, was I told this is really just a spring time problem and I shouldn't notice them after a few more weeks.
Ibis at the park.
People like to get outdoors here and fishing is a common hobby. Perhaps I just don't know enough about fishing, but I still think there probably aren't too many bait vending machines out there. However, there's one not too far from our house and it promotes itself for being open 24 hours a day and is stocked with both frozen and live bait. No matter where you live, I bet you haven't seen one of these. I'm still trying to figure it out and how the live bait in fact stay alive in a vending machine...
So it's fair enough to say we've stayed busy. Now it's time to find some more of a routine and new favorite things to do in our neighborhood. We hit the beach a couple more times before we moved out of the temporary apartment and raised our total beach visits to five, all different ones. When we were in Switzerland we had a list of 30+ hikes we tried to do throughout the country, this time we might need to make a list of all the different beaches to try. We are looking forward to celebrating a smaller version of Halloween here, but have already found out a few festive streets in the neighborhood so we will be taking a purple butterfly out to get some Australian candy. And maybe we'll even find a trip or two to take around here before kid #2 shows up. Here's to new adventures the month of November, warmer weather, more bugs, discovering new beaches, and learning how to keep my sanity at home with this three year old!
This is her new "cheese" pose!
She's getting a little braver to barely walk in the water when there are no big waves. I am perfectly ok with her not venturing into the ocean by herself. Her being brave frightens me.
While I don't know the name of these tropical flowers, I love them and they are right outside my kitchen window!
Bliss in discovery of her princess costumes and jewelry!
And her bike!
And we found face paint in her craft basket. You can see the result... Steve said Emma's paint job on my face reminded him of a tribal warrior and he couldn't take me seriously. I don't know what he was talking about.
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