My Twilight Saga

My travels to the open home this week took me through Centennial Park at dusk. I had used the opportunity of an evening inspection to do a lap of the park prior to the inspection. In the dying moments of the day, the shrill screech of sulphur crested cockatoos mingled with the dull flapping of wings as hundreds of bats arose to begin their night of foraging in the parks and coves of Sydney.

As I jogged towards the Woollahra Gates heading for Victoria Avenue, a bat flew straight over me scratching the top of my head!

I was a bit spooked. You see I have just finished reading the Twilight trilogy (and have seen both movies). I loved them so much I made Alex call his new Guinea pig Edward Cullen (then we found out it was a girl, so she's Bella now). I only read the books because they had been chosen by my book club. But I was addicted from the first page, opening Twilight on a Friday night and not putting it down till I finished it at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. My night time craving was insatiable, and I read the trilogy like a woman possessed, craving more.

I knew I was just being silly being flummoxed by the flying fox. The bat that flew low over me was probably attracted by the smell of my Jo Malone Jasmine and Mint perfume, being a Woollahra bat of distinction of course. I picked myself up, brushed myself off and resumed my jog into the light and to my 6:30 p.m. Open for Inspection.

The house I entered was beautiful.

Victoria Morish from Di Jones Real Estate was very concerned for me when I arrived and told her my story. Victoria quickly found a tissue and made sure there was no injury to be worried about. Whilst I appreciated her concern, she needn't have worried. The stunning house at 7 Victoria Avenue made me feel better in an instant. It had such a welcoming energy. Apart from three generous bedrooms (which would be perfect for my family), the house had amazing living and dining spaces that lovingly embraced a pretty courtyard, complete with a pond. Josh drives to work early in the morning and comes home late many nights, so the off-street parking would be fantastic and would certainly make his days a little easier.   I also loved the light filled-bathroom. The skylight would certainly make it very easy for me to do my makeup in the morning. (I was also very happy to see my reflection in the mirror, confirming that I was still a loving wife, mother and real estate lover and not a vampire!)

I thought the house was wonderful. I never knew such a peaceful place could be in amongst all the things that Alex, Josh and I love. From its beautiful entry you can almost smell the fresh bread and coffee at Simon Johnson; Josh's and my two favourite restaurants – Buzo and The Centennial Hotel – are both only minutes away; The divine interiors of that fabulous new boutique Cote maison – wow I could spend some serious money there!. And if we lived at 7 Victoria Avenue, Woollahra, I could be in Centennial Park in an eye blink for my morning or evening run, though I think that, just for now, I'll curtail my park running to daylight hours while the bats are still asleep.

After seeing the beautiful home in Victoria Avenue, I jogged down beautiful Queen Street and on to home where Josh and Alex were waiting patiently for me. I love our snug Paddington flat, but I have to say each time I see another one of these new homes on the market, I just get so excited at the prospect of moving. We cooked Thai for dinner and shared our stories of the day. I don't think I'll turn into a vampire after my run in with the bat today, but I added an extra few cloves of garlic to the meal, just in case. 

New York state of mind

Don't you sometimes want to get away from it all?

After the cookie kerfuffle of last week, I needed to de-clutter my mind. I was a little bit sad on not being at the auction of our Kensington dream house that went to another, especially as Josh had decided where to put the flat screen TV and his kayaking medals.

So my Open for Inspection Girl dreamings this week covered a lot of lovely Paddington streets that I could easily jog to, de-stressing as I poked my nose into renovators delights in cul-de-sacs and strolled through light-filled terraces with lace balconies.

I love Paddington. It's pretty as a Parisian postcard and cheaper to get to. But, needing a break from the here and now, I took my imagination and went to New York and Paris, all in the one morning of my Open for Inspection Girl dreamings. Underwood Street was my launching pad. What a great street – two pubs within stumbling distance and Collette Dinnigan a five minute stroll away!

At 154 Underwood Street, I travelled to New York. Josh and I went to New York for our honeymoon and when I walked through the house I felt the excitement of being in that city; I swear I spotted a yellow cab flashing by the house when I looked out the window from the attic retreat.  From the street, the house was a beautiful Paddington terrace, but inside I felt like Andy Warhol or Joan Didion might somehow be in the next room, drinking Manhattans. Kim Jones from Di Jones Real Estate explained that the house had been designed by Thomas Hamel, who is the designer for all things sophisticated East Coast USA, apparently. I took a holiday from my neighbourhood and my 15 minutes in New York (via the lovely friendly people at Di Jones Real Estate) put me in a much better state of mind.

After a restorative jog through Centennial Park (which I think is a lot like Central Park) and a few more property viewings, I returned to Underwood Street (having a little window gaze in to Just William chocolates on the way; are their calories in the smell of chocolate?)

I love Paris in the spring time; and it is spring in Paris right now. 84 Underwood Street took me to the city of love and lights in an eye blink. The house is brimming with energy and happiness. The kitchen has an amazing terrazzo floor that would be great to dance on with Alex and Josh as a soufflé cooked in the Smeg oven. The outdoor area is so peaceful and the scent of jasmine hung in the air as I walked around. Who could imagine that a house could be so zen-like and only a five minute walk from Oxford Street?

The sun was smiling today, a perfect Sydney autumn day. By the end of my morning of Open for Inspection Girl dreamings, I was smiling too. I love Paris, I love New York, but I think I love Sydney most of all.

Nuts Ahoy!

Remember that old saying that "for want of a nail a horse was lost"? It was said a lot in days of yore and was a 15^th Century precursor to the Chaos theory. I remember having to write an essay on it for my third form English exam.

Well this week I experienced fully blown Chaos theory up close and personal; and for want of a peanut a house was lost! All because of my silly mother-in-law.

She and I have never been the cosiest of couples; we definitely rub along.  The only reason that our mutual indifference hasn't turned into a war is because of our shared adoration of Josh and Alex. And that we live in sunny Sydney while she survives chilly Melbourne also helps. Somehow I knew her offer to fly to Sydney to "help out" with our planned auction purchase of our Pavilion Dream house in Kensington spelt doom as soon as Josh told me.

She arrived at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday (four days before the auction) and was soon ensconced on the floor of Alex's room on our inflatable Aero bed. Apart from telling me how to run a healthier and cleaner house and just how lucky I was to marry Josh (wasn't he lucky too?), all was going fine.

The auction at Di Jones Real Estate of our dream house was this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m, my parents arrived at our house to discuss auction tactics (don't forget to register to bid; don't bid twice in a row; don't bid lower than the last bid). I provided a cup of tea and a fresh batch of my yummy peanut cookies to fortify us; my parents said they'd shout us all dinner at Love Supreme afterwards to celebrate or not, as the case may be.

At 6:15 p.m. we were all ready to go and my mother-law-assisted in the clean up by eating all the left-over cookies.

Everyone headed to their cars while she followed me to the kitchen. I was putting the dirty cups in the dishwasher and she was mid-sentence telling me why dishwashing liquid was so much better than the dishwashing tablets I used when she suddenly stopped talking. That was strange enough in itself, but I counted my blessings and closed the dishwasher door with a thud. I turned and grabbed my handbag and keys. I looked up, about to tell her to get a wriggle on. Dear old Shirley was as blue as the tongue on a blue tongue lizard! She had stopped halfway through her diatribe to draw breath and had inhaled half a cookie.

She was choking! What should I do? The auction started in 15 minutes. Sorely tempted as I was to keep on walking to the car (I really wanted this house), I let my conscience have free reign and spun Shirley around, attempting the Heimlich manoeuvre (or my version of it) to dislodge the peanut cookie.  No dice. I tried again. The wheezing continued, the breathing didn't.

This was serious. I raced to the cars outside, with their motors on and called for assistance from my family while Shirley did a crazy dance of distress across the kitchen linoleum. In an eye blink they were back. Josh tried the Heimlich too then put his fingers down her throat trying to dislodge the cookie, to no avail. It was a terrible thing to see, I must admit. He pulled out her dentures by mistake and they sat smiling at us from the kitchen table. My mum made worried noises and my dad range 000 from his mobile. Alex saved the day. He had learnt First Aid at school that week, when the Red Cross people came and discussed safety rules. He went up to his granny and hit her hard on the back. Five times. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. On the fifth bang, the cookie dislodged, flying through the air, jettisoning peanuts on the way before it landed in a sodden heap on the table next to Shirley's teeth. Shirley breathed freely. Yippee! If I knew that the calamity could have been solved by repeatedly hitting her hard on the back, I would have definitely done it myself.

Shirley was distressed and insisted we take her to the hospital. I did feel sorry for her as it must have been so scary. But it was already 6:30 p.m. and we would miss the auction! But duty prevailed. Josh is a good son and I am a dutiful daughter-in-law. Mum and Dad looked after Alex, taking him back to their lovely furnished short-term rental apartment for a sleep over. So on Tuesday night Josh and I didn't bid on our dream home in Kensington, we sat next to sick people in the Emergency ward at St Vincent's Hospital with his mother. We didn't have champagne and pizza, we had crisps and coffee from the hospital machine. His mother saw the doctor after four hours. He said she was fine.

Gary Sands and Jane Schumann from Di Jones called while we were at the hospital to see why we weren't at the auction as we had appeared so keen. We explained our dilemma and Gary explained that we could have sent my Dad along with an authority to bid on our behalf. Drats! He was ever so nice though and the next day, following a phone call out of courtesy letting us know that the home indeed had been sold last night, a bunch of flowers was delivered to my house to wish my mother-in-law good health.

Oh well, on the positive side of things, Shirley goes back to Melbourne today, bustling with energy (the flowers must have worked) and I will have every good reason to continue with my weekly Open for Inspection Girl dreamings.....