Our New Home!

• Sooo...we bought a house. Well technically Bob bought the house but I am the owner of aesthetics, ensuring things are more "refined shabby chic" versus "bogan bachelor pad". Either way though, we have a pretty good foundation to work with :) (FYI: We haven't moved in yet so all the furniture are display items from the selling process!)

• This is the kitchen in which I plan to finally unveil my secret/hidden cooking abilities. This will be a shock to everyone (possibly including myself) but I have many cookbooks and Pinterest boards for inspiration. We'll see how that goes...

The biggest thing that we wanted in a house was an open floor plan. Bob and I both have so many memories of family feasts with people moving from the kitchen to outside to the dining room and wanted that for our new place. So now we just need visitors to make this fanciness happen...so plan your visits!

• The one room to which Bob is most dedicated is his self-described man cave aka theatre room. It's a great room (albeit a little unnecessary) but we're excited to watch movies and have people over for big sports games. I also introduced Bob to the glory of reclining couches and chairs. Apparently the American-styled couch potato is not as popular here but not for long! Bob is also trying to convince me of our "need" for a 70" TV. Needless to say this is not a priority for me but maybe he can trade me for a KitchenAid mixer? Just a thought...

• The most important thing all friends and family should take away from this post is the following: massive guest rooms and bath! Shower and tub available for all visitors and you'll note the shower head has some kind of rainfall shenanigans happening. Hope everyone is sufficiently excited for their IMMINENT visits. Thank you.

• We move in on 16 Oct and until then we are doing proper Scott Tillson weekend investigating into furniture options, complete with price comparisons, consumer reports and hours spent at the Perth equivalent of Miramar Road. I'd like to think I know what I want but then I see 25 other things that I want and then I am stymied. Bob's engagement in the process lasts until we pass the first television department which means I'm usually on my own to decide between fabrics like beachcomber ice and beachcomber alabaster and full frame or headboard only. And we haven't even been to IKEA yet. Groan. Wish us luck. 

Rainbows and Running

• So I'm not gonna lie, it's been raining a lot here lately. Like buckets. London-style. This goes against everything I was told about Perth winters/general weather and sometimes I feel I have been the victim of a grave injustice. But then rainbows like this appear and Perth starts to redeem herself. But the rainbow doesn't last forever so I better be seeing some sunshine soon!

• In addition to rainbows, another thing that brings me great joy during bouts of biblical rain quantities is food. Especially food that I have had a roll in preparing. This might be ridiculous but seeing your food from start to finish feels oddly fresh and dare I say healthy(-er)? Oh except when there's a copious amount of creme freche as in the case of my recent work "team-building" day to an executive cooking class. We made gnocchi, saffron chicken sauce, jamon serrano salad & a pear tart. From scratch. And then we ate it. Love. My. Job.

• Unlike food, running pains me. You know those people who say "Oh running clears my head." "It's like my personal meditation time." I hate those people. Running for me is like forcing a turtle to walk over hot coals: it doesn't want to do it. It can't really do it. But it must. So when given the option of running a marathon, a half-marathon, a 12K or a 4K, I naturally chose the 4K. I am, after all, an athlete. Thankfully, Bob and I share this begrudging attitude toward running so he joined me. Hearts of champions. Speed of turtles.

Freebies

• I love them. I have been known to put my email address on questionable lists just to get a free tote or water bottle. I'm still getting creepy Tea Party emails because of this. (Damn you CPAC) But one major plus of living in both London & now Perth is the presence of magazine freebies. In the US you have to mail away or enter online giveaways for the free stuff.  Oh no. Not in Pahth (Perth said with an Aussie accent...) Here you can purchase an In Style for $5 (albeit with a random Australian 'celebrity' on the cover) and walk away with a collection of John Frieda travel-size goodies. For free. Hog. Freaking. Heaven.

• So I've mentioned how people are exceedingly nice down undah. As some might have guessed, observations on this blog are not always truthtruth, mainly just Katietruth. But I can assure you that one real truthtruth is that people are freaking friendly. Just happy folk in general. One such example is on the bus: when people get off they say "thank you" to the bus driver. I mean everyone does this without fail. Even when it's raining and he's just dropped you in the middle of a gutter puddle, you say "Thank you!" or "Cheers!" Don't get me wrong, people in DC occasionally do this too (mainly my wee Tiffany Ann) but here it's everywhere. Happiness can exist on public transportation, who'da thought?

• Anyone who liked the US version of "The Killing" I highly recommend you watch the original Danish version. It has a funky Danish name but the translation is still called "The Killing" (shocker). I can proudly say I (mostly) stayed awake during evening viewings of the first season. Anyone who has experienced me at night knows that fact alone is a huge endorsement of the series. Also I can confidently say the series would have been a Scott Tillson favorite. He probably would have learned Danish by reading the subtitles and then attempted to correct native Danes on their pronunciation. This would have surprised no one.

• One element of our movie/tv evenings last week was a surprise bottle of bubbly courtesy of Bob's dad, Dietmar. Between Dietmar's midweek champagne and Ingrid's dinners/breakfasts/freshjuices, our resolve to buy our own place is slowly dwindling. 

• But, not to worry, we have more inspections (aka Aussie open houses) this weekend! In fact, I think I'm a little bit addicted to searching on real estate websites. I even have an app on my phone. Emily "FranFran" Hueber warned me about this addiction because she just casually bought a house herself (yes my friends are way more financially responsible than moi). As per FranFran's suggestion I have promised not to get overly excited about any one property until the keys are in our grubby little hands. Easier said than done, FranFran, but I will keep all readers (aka Pat Tillson) posted on our progress. Here's to years of yard work and paying for our own house repairs!

Carcs are a Thing

• You read that right: Australians love their car-trucks. They even have their own name for them: the ute, pronounced 'yoot'. Hideous name for a hideous vehicle, I know. At first I thought it was like a joke thing, like our version of the carc and only seen in older models, like the El Camino. But no, not in Oz. Here people pay >$30K for them and supe them up and drive them--with pride! Add it to the list of 'Things I Will Never Support'

• One thing I do support, however, is left hand driving. This mainly because I am amazing at it. Bob actually lets me drive him around now. He says it's emasculating but I say I make him look good. He also secretly knows I'm the better driver now. I handle those round-abouts like a pro.

• Also his dog loves me more now. The Beast (formerly known as Texas) has a clear preference for me and follows me on walks instead of Bob. This is probably a little heartbreaking for Bob so I try not to brag about it. Except publicly on my blog.

• This past week, my work had an all-day strategy/training session at an office in the CBD (Central Business District--'downtown' is not used--weird, I know). The office space was donated by one of our corporate partners and we were really grateful to get out of our nice-but-obvious-you-work-for-a-charity space. And boy, do those large banks/financial institutions/oil and gas companies know how to do it. No one has a permanent desk, you can bring your computer anywhere on the floor and reserve a little pod for working/meetings/napping. They have free coffee and snacks throughout and an abundance of well-manicured outdoor space, including giant potted plants. While it was nice to go back to my personalized desk pictures and notebooks the next day, sure did miss the free coffee and views of the CBD.

(Yes, this picture is horrible. iPhone wins some, iPhone loses some.)

Lunch in the Park

• 'Winter' in Perth is pretty similar to 'winter' in San Diego. It gets pretty chilly but by no means is it 'cold'. This means that even in the 'dead of winter', you can still have lunch outside to enjoy the bits of sunshine that pop out now and again. This is especially true when your office borders an adorable little park right outside the CBD (Central Business District).

• Wine is big here. Pretty huge, in fact. Considering the reputation of Australians as drinkers, this should surprise no one. But there is actually a good reason for it; Perth is surrounded by two major areas of wine production: the Swan Valley and Margaret River. The Bob and I went to Margaret River when we were here visiting last year and I fell in love with the chardonnay from Vasse Felix. When I got back to DC, Emily, Beth and the Wills all got to experience my delight at finding it on a menu at Founding Farmers--one of our favorite DC restaurants. There may or may not have been a screech involved.

• So imagine my excitement when the Bob announced that he got us tickets to the Good Food & Wine Festival last weekend at the Convention Centre. Got myself good and ready for some serious wine and food sampling. I was prepared to bring home cases of high quality finds as I have been known to enjoy a glass of wine now and then...BUT then we got there. And it was packed. Some of you might know about my feelings regarding large crowds. No bueno.

• Soooo this is what I came home with:

• Yes, that is in fact a semi-blurred picture of me as a beer astronaut. It was the only booth that didn't have a line. Naturally, the Bob and I chose it as our primary hang out spot. Oh and I bought some curry sauces. For all the dinners I don't make at Casa Voss. #starhousewife. So then we just bought some Vasse Felix at the wine store across from our house. Epic wine festival fail.

• Especially since we'll probably be needing some wine after we attend not 1, not 2, but 4 open houses today. Adulthood for the win.

Cornering the Mum Market

• When you grow up with Pat Tillson as your mum, you learn at an early age that you've basically won the mother lottery. PTills is in a category all her own in terms of #1ness. Few people have ever questioned this truism and anyone who does has clearly never met Saint Pat.
• And then you move to Perth and start living with the Australian Pat Tillson, otherwise known as Ingrid Voss. This is a woman who arrived on a flight from London via Dubai on Thursday at about 2pm. By 6:30pm almost her entire family (2 adult sons, 2 girlfriends, 1 husband, 1 monster dog) were present for a steak feast she had casually whipped up.
• The next morning, as you're rolling out of bed, she has already squeezed fresh orange juice, chopped pineapple, peeled an apple & made you a pre-packed lunch. With your name on it.

• And that's when you and the Bob realize that as products of #1mumness, you have been beyond spoiled since birth and your life will never be this good again. Sigh.

Waterfront Rugby

• It's pretty cool to see large rugby tournaments at parks around Perth. Especially when the men playing are 35+. Reminds me of going to tournaments with my dad at the fields in San Diego. Michael & I mainly played on the playground (meaning my rugby knowledge is about on par with my knowledge of ancient Urdu) but I just remember my dad's crazy intensity while watching the matches. Pretty sure he would have loved these waterfront versions:

• If you want some insight into what an Australian bush walk looks like (at least in suburban Perth), hike Torrey Pines and add a few intrusive plants. Oh and snakes. That can kill you. Yay Sunday outings!

• And if you want to compare your local public train poster to an Australian one, look no further. As you can probably imagine, they're hilarious.

• Life update: everything is pretty awesome. Job is awesome. Driving on the left is (mostly) awesome. The Bob is (smelly and) awesome.
• Not so awesome: being 12-15 hours ahead of all non-Aussies, especially the little nugget who stole my heart and won't give it back, one Benjamin "Jamon" Ruby. As you can see, he wants to be here with me as well but his parents are keeping him in cute baby jail. Sigh.