Pete's Birthday

Started the day with a glorious swim at Brighton Beach

Went to see the movie "Tar"....Cate Blanchett was awesome, I hope she receives an Oscar for her performance.

Walked to another local restaurant "Pizzaca" for dinner...Pete and I are quite impressed with how many popular restaurants are within walking distance from our home in Alice Street.  

I think he enjoyed his special day.

 

Graeme and Pete placed some of our paintings on the wall this morning...gosh they look great in this house.

 

Mandy and Graeme are up for the weekend...Mandy, Pete and I had a swim at Trigg Beach...can't remember the last time I had been there...

Our back lane, some houses actually have their front door in this lane. Doubleview is very densely populated...

Mandy, Graeme, Pete and I walked to our local Italian restaurant for dinner...delicious food and a comfortable, family atmosphere.

 

Our bedroom ....morning sunshine

Chris and Michelle at a very swish wedding...I think they look stunning.

 

Pete and I took a short break from the unpacking this morning and we went to Karrinyup Shopping Centre which is literally 10 minutes away. We bought a few necessities for our new home.

Then back to the unpacking...family room is taking shape...the piano was moved by a specialist piano mover and not a scratch on it.

A few plants here and there...

This little alcove catches the sea breeze so is a perfect place to sit on a very hot day.

The many bookshelves under the stairs are a perfect place to put all that was in our huge cupboard in the family room at Nanson Street.

I gave the tiles a good wash .... 

The downstairs bedroom ....

And the little boys bedroom which will double as our yoga room.  

Today our house started to look like home....I love the kitchen...especially the mirror and the black shelves.

The dining area ....not much to unpack here...

The laundry is a bit of a shemozzle...washing machine needs to be connected...

I'm going to get so fit!

The activity room/ study...coming along nicely...

One of the upstairs bedrooms which we will set up  for Will and Ethan...

Our bedroom ...behind the black wall is our walk in robe......I need a stool to hang my dresses..ha ha.. but still loving it.

I was so keen to fit all the hangers in one box......didn't think about what an irritating task is would be to get them out.

 

A gift from our real estate agent, Lewis who popped in today to thank us. We are giving him a gift too as both Pete and I thought he was an excellent agent, very patient and helpful.

Kitchen chaos...where to put everything? There are so many cupboards and draws so I am just shoving stuff anywhere and will sort it out later. We have to give the crates back on Monday.

We are very indecisive as to which TV unit we will use...the grey built in or our wooden one from Nanson Street...

Our clever Siemens dishwasher...this little light on the floor tells us at what stage of the cycle it is at. 

Another colourful sunset...viewed from our balcony facing west. Pete and I had a fabulous day unpacking and finding a home for everything.

 MOVING DAY

I was so excited...having lived in Nanson Street for 39 years. I expected to be emotional about leaving but was so looking forward to a NEW house. Settlement was at 11 ish and not long after that the removalists  arrived. Pete and I packed both cars with paintings and my quilts (to protect the paintings). While the guys (who were very friendly) loaded up the truck Pete made two trips to Alice Street and I began cleaning.

It was a hot day, 36 degrees but everyone was moving quickly and efficiently. Luckily the guys weren't working directly in the sun.

Alice Street...dining room

Family room... we had labelled every crate and piece of furniture and the removalists were placing everything in the correct rooms. 

While Pete went back to Nanson Street with the guys and the truck for the second load (yes two loads, we have too much stuff) I started unpacking the crates of kitchen ware.

What a beautiful sight on our first night at Alice Street. This is the view from our bedroom window...facing east.

 

It was nice to have a break from all the packing and cleaning...I played golf...this is one of my favourite trees...

We are pretty organised now...just hoping it all fits in the truck...for me it has been a huge wakeup call...we do not need so much stuff! 

 

Around 9.30 our crates that we have hired arrived....let the packing begin.

I started with the books and because I had them all in neat rows of similar height, it was easy to pop them all in the crates. Then I moved on to the kitchen while Pete boxed up all the shed bits and pieces. I can not believe how many crates I filled with crockery, mixing bowls, salad bowls etc....and we had already given away a heap of kitchen utensils.

We just love the crates...so much easier than taping cardboard boxes and worrying if they are too heavy.