Grated Expectations

Natasha Repays Her $5 Loan

April 7, 2017 by Katrina·2 Comments

Natasha takes loans seriously. She came all the way to Australia to pay back the $5 we loaned her on the last day in Mexico. Good thing the interest rate was favourable.

We did A LOT of fun things together. It was great.

We went for a swim and a photo session at Brighton Beach.

Baby’s first snot block. (And by “baby” I mean Natasha! Cripes people ;))

Melbourne has the best alleys. We did a lot of walking.

Top notch Melbs graffiti.

Our favourite work at the National Gallery of Victoria (which is free, by the way).

I tried a macaron from Maccas. It was a confusing experience.

We went to an AFL game at the MCG. The crowd was lively and Collingwood lost so it was a good night.

The view from Arthur’s Seat, on the Mornington Peninsula. You can see the tiny gap in the otherwise enclosed Port Phillip Bay, and the actual ocean in the very back.

Playing on the rocks at Cape Schanck.

At Yering Station in the Yarra Valley. That was a very cheese, chocolate, wine and cider filled day. Thank you Scott for driving us around.

All that was in the first week! The second week I kinda had to get back to my normal routines, and Natasha explored on her own. And then she found a ride to Adelaide and continued on her lap around Australia. I hope she comes back to visit again, or we are able to meet up with her somewhere!

Routine

March 12, 2017 by Katrina·1 Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve done a life update. I guess because we’ve settled into a bit of a routine now.

WORK: Mine is going well. It’s been a bit challenging trying to learn everything when I’m only there a couple days a week, and with everyone sharing the work, but it’s coming together. Scott’s is… going. :/

HOUSE: We moved! We upgraded to a two bedroom apartment a bit more central to work and family. The apartment is small, but nice, and I love the neighbourhood.

EXERCISE: I joined a new gym near our new house and it’s GREAT. They have an epic gym area, swimming pool, and lots of classes, so I’ve been able to add yoga and swimming back into my exercise plan (in addition to weights). Scott started biking to work (10km each way!), and still plays basketball and the occasional extra game of soccer or more basketball.

CRAFTS: My latest project is creating cross stitch patterns that I am trying to sell on Etsy. It’s hard though!! I have to make the patterns, test stitch it, photograph it, list it, and then advertise it. I’ve got two patterns in my shop but I still have SO much more work to do.

I also taught Scott how to crochet, so we’ve been making granny squares to eventually turn into a blanket. The biggest challenge is getting our tension to match each other.

FRIENDS: I’ve still been going to trivia most weeks with my internet friends. They are great. I also get together with a sub-group of them to Stitch n Bitch every month, which is fun. We usually eat lunch, and then crochet/cross stitch.

We used to go to a different trivia night with some of Scott’s friends but the pub changed the night so that is off until we find a good replacement.

We had Jemma and Damien over for a games night the other weekend. We played Wasabi and Carcassonne. I think we are getting close to teaching them Agricola!!!

VISITORS: Cassia and Pablo came to visit Melbourne with two of their Spanish friends. We went to Chin Chin for dinner the first night (1.5 hour wait!!! but really tasty), and then did a mega tourist day the next day at Brighton Beach, Fitzroy, and the CBD. I hope Silvi tags me in her pictures because I didn’t take any. :/

Natasha has arrived in Australia as well. She’s in Sydney at the moment, but we expect to see her in the next couple weeks. I can’t wait! We’ve got the guest bedroom all set up ready to go. :D

SUMMER: One really hot day we drove out to Sorrento back beach to play in the tidepools. It was lovely but Scott severely sunburned his feet which was SO GROSS. It wasn’t that hot of a summer, but it is lingering a bit. It’s still been above 30°C most days, but thankfully it gets cool overnight, so it’s been okay.

SKELETON: My FOMO about not sliding this season hasn’t actually been that bad because 1. I still get timesheets from Whistler to analyze, 2. the World Cup races are on at very convenient times here so I’ve been able to watch most of them live. 3. Instagram stories make me feel like I’m right there, and 4. My old coach Rob has been keeping a daily vlog. So yeah, that’s cool. The final race of the season is next weekend, in Korea on the future Olympic track! Should be interesting.

OK I can’t think of anything else at the moment, so… hasta luego.

Junkyard

February 18, 2017 by Katrina·1 Comment

Despite living directly on top of Junkyard for several months, we only made it down to eat there on our cleaning day after moving out. Ha!

Scott had a flat white. He says: fantastic artwork, café quality coffee.

I got the Dragon Fruit Smoothie, which had dragon fruit, mango, orange juice, coconut and passionfruit. It was super yum, and very pretty.

And we shared the Peanut and Banana Waffles. I let Scott pick what we would have because I mostly just wanted the smoothie, and he picked something I would have NEVER picked myself, but it was G D delicious.

I’m not sure what the waffles are made from… something gluten free according to the menu… but they were chewy and fluffy and awesome. We thought maybe buckwheat? Topped with pools of peanut butter, fresh fruit, edible flowers (hehe), a caramelized banana, and then surrounded by sweet salty caramel sauce and fresh peanuts for a crunch element. It was beautiful to look at and all tasted great together. Perfect.

Milk The Cow

February 2, 2017 by Katrina·0 Comments

CHEESE FEAST!

I’ve found my dream restaurant.

Cider and cheese flight.

The ciders L-R: a pretty normal cider from UK, Kelly Brothers pear cider that tasted weird and vanilla-y, delicious Barossa Valley squashed apple cider, and a very dry very French Cidre Brut from Normandie.

The cheese L-R: Cabots cheddar from USA, Mountain Man brie(?), Meredith Farm chevre, Langres from France. I REALLY liked the last one, it was nice and stinky and creamy. The others were nice, but I preferred the cheeses from Scott’s board. He liked my chevre better than his goat cheese though!

Unfortunately I don’t know the names of any of Scott’s cheeses. But his board came with a quite firm bit of goats cheese, a delicious mushroom-y brie, an amazing cheddar with lots of those crunchy bits (the best!!!), some quince paste, and some salami. The breads and lavosh were also very nice.

Had a bit of cheese-sweats going on after this nutritious dinner. ;D

They also have some hot foods on their menu, in addition to many different cheese boards. I will have to go back again to try some more sometime, I trust that it’s all amazing.