The Old Neighbourhood

When Mr Meet-Cute and I moved to Melbourne 5 years ago we got an apartment in North Fitzroy, where we stayed until a few months ago, by which time we were three. Although I loved the area, our place was way too small once Ray came along. I'll always remember the epic walks around the neighbourhood when Ray was small and would nap for hours in his pram.

Walks in Edinburgh Gardens were an almost daily occurrence. So many hours spent walking those paths!

I was surprised to see hibiscus bushes when I came here as I thought it only grew in tropical climates. I made the mistake of picking some, but hibiscus wilts as soon as it's picked, so it's best enjoyed while still growing.

I loved watching the foliage on this house change with the seasons.

My favourite second hand bookstore is in this block, and that cafe is one of many in North Fitzroy which features in scenes from Offspring. I still can't believe I never came across the show filming on any of my epic walks.

I wholeheartedly endorse both El Chino and Pinotta for being extremely yummy.

Wacky place I came across on one of my Ray walks.

Banoffee

Melbourne people will spot some familiar locations in this clip by local lady Banoffee, the song is pretty rad too!

Camberwell to Balaclava

Some lovely friends are in town so we headed out early yesterday to Camberwell Markets. Mmmmm, donuts for breakfast.

From there we went out to Balaclava, where we stocked up on bakery treats and the best ever bagels. Balaclava has a huge Jewish community, so they know their stuff when it comes to all things 'bagel-y'.

Then it was off to Elwood for a coffee stop by the beach. It was freezing though, so coffees were consumed old-person-style sitting in the car.

CERES Saturday

Before I started my pottery class on Saturdays I was a regular at CERES market and shop. There was a break between pottery terms this weekend so it was nice to go and visit CERES once more. I'd been missing it!

There's a lot going on at CERES, which stands for Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies. As well as the shop and market there's the sprawling urban farm, community education and environment centres, an awesome plant shop and nursery, and a cafe, where we had some delicious breakfast. And there's always lots of good dogs there.

My first daffodil sighting! A sign that Spring is just around the corner. Also: BLOSSOM.

This is part of what I bought. Everything at the shop is in bulk so you need to bring your own jars and bags to fill up. The first time I went to the market I forgot to bring my reusable shopping bags - oh the shame!

I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing when I was filling up the quinoa - I accidentally mixed in some red quinoa that I wasn't going for. The perils of self service.