Simplicity

Love the understatement of this house's exterior.

The docks

I've definitely got a thing for the docks. Love this view from Lonely Planet's head office.

Not half a tree falling on your house

It was not so much the terrifying 1am wake-up call or the minor damage to our house that upset me, more the fact that the council will have to remove the remainder of this lovely tree in front of our house, the one I referred to in my 4 January post.

A groovy typeface

Hopewood is a health retreat I visited this weekend for some research I'm doing. It's one of the oldest retreats in Australia, reflected in this wonderful font reminiscent of 1950s Los Angeles.

An empty deck chair ...

... just begging for someone to recline in it.

Flying

I know people say you get sick of flying if you do it too much, but I really don't think I could ever tire of it.

A grassy hill

There's a perfect grassy hill at the end of Collins St in Docklands that makes me want to get out of my car and run up it every time I drive past. Today I finally did, although I had heels on, so it was more of a totter than a run.

Dusk

Even a 7-Eleven can look a bit romantic in the twilight hours.

Cannoli

T Cavallaro & Sons on Hopkins St in Footscray makes arguably the best cannoli in town, with the perfect balance of crispy-crunchy on the outside, creamy-custardy on the inside.

A cuddle

Sometimes that's all you need.

A joy flight

We were driving to Williamstown today with the intention of visiting the botanical gardens there, but on the way Mick pointed out a seaplane in the sky, saying that he thought it did joy flights. I half-jokingly said 'let's go for a joy flight!' and before we knew it, the idea had taken hold and we were up in the sky. It only went for 15 minutes but it was so much fun doing loops over St Kilda, the city and the docks. I especially loved seeing the docks from the air - all the crates and cars looked like little Lego pieces.

Watermelon

Nothing like watermelon on a sunny day. These are two of my nephews, brothers Eliah and Matteo, savouring the sweet stuff.

Baking

This is my first attempt at making a child's birthday cake (for Jeannie's party tomorrow). It was so much fun, but I had no idea how hard it would be to find black food colouring!

Clean energy

It hadn't been that long since I'd last visited Daylesford, so I was surprised to see two huge wind turbines had been erected on the Ballan-Daylesford Rd (or maybe I just didn't notice them last time). I think they're incredibly beautiful to watch, and this one's grace was emphasised by a brewing thunderstorm and the nearby peacefully grazing cows.

Dog humour

'Eat like nobody's watching.' These dog bowls in a local pet shop window cracked me up.

A funny valentine

I saw these amusing cards in the window of Curious Grace, a great shop that started out as a second-hand bookshop and now also sells beautiful gifts, furniture and other stuff for your home.

Turning 2

Jeannie, or Dr Jeannie I should say, turned 2 today! Don't you wish you could remember being 2?

A heavenly queen

This is Mazu, or the Heavenly Queen I referred to in my 17 January post. We rode our bikes past her this morning; I think she's so beautiful.

Being unique

Driving along Gordon Street Footscray today, this box jutting out from the rest of these commission flats caught my eye, so I stopped to take a photo. While I was doing so, one of the residents walked past and I asked him what the story was. After telling me he thought it looked bloody ridiculous, he said that many of the flats were going to get a makeover like this, giving them a little balcony of sorts. But after they did the first one, they realised it was going to be way too expensive, so only this one lucky resident got to stand out from the crowd. (I just hope they still get invited to street parties after the special treatment ...)

A comfortable chair

I found this chair about five years ago and have sat in it almost every day since.

A good ol' fashioned milk bar

I'm all for the latest cool cafe and groovy renovated corner store, but it's also nice to see some old-school stuff hanging around.

An old car in good nick

There are so few old cars on the roads these days, so when you pass a beauty like this old Chevy, it really stands out. It was in immaculate condition.

A warm welcome

Welcome to my suburb! This cute Che stencil is on the corner of Buckley & Victoria Streets.

Other people's front yards - part 2

I'm not sure whether these little happy flowers are meant to be mini planters or just decorations, but either way, they make me smile every time I walk past this house.

Pop-ups

While pop-up bars, restaurants and shops have been around for a little while, the pop-up park idea is relatively new. This one is in Ballarat Street,Yarraville, and will be around for a few months. While it's more outdoor seating area with synthetic turf than actual park, it's still wonderful that this space has been temporarily reclaimed from cars for the public to enjoy.

Bobbing boats

The view from Williamstown to the city is so pretty and cheering.

Collectives

For the last two years I've been on the waiting list for our local organic collective, so I was very happy to receive the call late last year that let me know a spot had come up. So now, in return for me sorting fruit and veg once a month at someone's house then delivering it, my little family gets a lovely big box of fresh organic produce delivered to our doorstep every Friday for just $20. The quality is excellent, and what I particularly like is that it's seasonal, so what you get changes each week. Plus there's often food in the box that I wouldn't normally think to buy, resulting in me cooking fennel for the first time ever last week.

Acupuncture

This is the lovely Amber, who I see once a month for acupuncture at Three Lanterns in Williamstown. She is an angel. Really. And she helps to keep me in good health.

Hot springs

Today I went to a wonderful place near Rye called Peninsula Hot Springs with my sister Cal, and two nieces, Rose and Rose, as part of some research I'm doing into spa and health retreats around Australia. I can't recommend this place highly enough; there's nothing else like it in Australia.