Tina's wanderings around the world

Check this out: http://www.sarahlorden.com.au/buy_detail.asp?id=1971#container This is our new home. We looked at some pretty crap places over the course of the last month and a half, but I think we've ended up with the best possible solution. I never imagined I would actually get to live in a building with private waterfront access. I also didn't think I'd be living so close to the Masterchef croquembouche man's bakery (Aussie reality cooking show...awesome...). I am ecstatic about the new place, and I will finally feel happy to host visitors. That is, as long as they're okay with sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. :) We get to move in next weekend, so we'll be in a new home by Halloween. It's such a relief! A massive thank you to everyone who put out positive apartment energy for us--it worked!

I love food. This fondness has been increasing steadily over the past two years and it has been manifesting itself on a regular basis. Even outside of the oven! This morning I decided pancakes sounded really good, so we broke out my cookbook from Jessi and whipped up a batch of pancakes (ever conscious of the necessary additions of vanilla and cinnamon to the recipe). While I was whipping up the batter, Marcus set to cutting up some strawberries purchased amidst more apartment hunting yesterday. We were walking about wasting time in between viewings and real estate agent visits when we passed a guy sitting on the side of a very busy sidewalk surrounded by punnets of strawberries. Random. I began to avert eye contact and try to walk by, as per usual when people try to invade my personal space and sell me something on the street. But as we walked by there was no forceful sales pitch. Instead, a very small, unconvinced voice drawled out a hesitant, "Strawberries?" I was so surpr...

I rarely leave the house without a book in hand, and end up going through books fairly quickly. But I find that as soon as I've moved onto the next book I mostly forget about the previous books that I've read. You've seen me make a few book lists, but I think that for memory retention it would be good if I captured some summaries and opinions on the books as well. I think future Tina would some day like to go back to see what I've read. So here are my attempts at recording my literary world. The Beautiful and the Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald This book is about a young couple in the 1920's, the man the grandson and only heir to an old New York tycoon and the woman a fabulously stylish, lazy, non-house wife type. Neither works and they spend their time gallivanting in the country clubs, partying, and spending the interest generated from the man's trust fund. That is, until they have a run-in with the reformist grandfather and he strikes them from his will. Unwillin...

Real estate agents are my new worst enemy. They are despicable creatures on a power trip who, as it would seem, enjoy making life much more difficult than it needs to be. So. The latest and greatest after our weekend of viewing six (count them six!) apartments on one day--well, there's no great to speak of. We put in applications on three of the different apartments with our fingers crossed on two (one of them had a double-wide oven, it was like a dream come true!). Monday rolled around and we heard back from the real estate agent for the apartment with my dream oven. We had made it to the final application stage with a preferred application. Woo hoo! Tuesday morning comes and we discover that our application has been approved and they want us to come over and put the deposit down that day. More positive news! We asked if it would be possible for us to come over the next day to put in the deposit but they refused, saying we had to go to the office that day. Whatever. Marcus made a...