School Holiday Staycation. Bonus Summer Pros and Cons.

My last school pick up for term one already seems like it was weeks ago and not just the Thursday just gone.

The all important snacks for the last day of term pick up.

It took about one night to get into this new routine of having no routine.

Nothing says staycation like a late afternoon glass of rose sipped while decluttering your wardrobe…

It’s an odd feeling having no plan or urge to rush while those around you are still very much in work mode.

We’ve been on quite a few commutes into the city already since term ended and it’s odd but I’ve actually felt like a tourist on these little trips. I’ve been doing touristy things like picking up just that one mid morning banana at the Woolworths on George Street.

I’ve already succumbed to the lure of a Bath & Body Works flash sale. Shower gels were $10 each this week (down from $24) and I stocked up on a few in a variety of cool weather fragrances. Again, I’m hoping that the weather will finally get the message with all the autumn/winter purchasing that I’ve been doing. Bath & Body Works stores always make me think of holidays and getaways. I always have a PocketBac hand sanitiser attached to my traveling backpack and just walking into a store brings me back to my trips to the US.

In the spirit of the school holidays, the rail network on the floor of the lounge room now features its own Central Station. Any Brio figurine who stands where this lady with the purple top is will set off some realistic ticket scanning sounds thanks to the thoughtfully pre-inserted batteries that came with this set. Thanks ever so much, Brio for saving me that job.

When I haven’t been out and about being a tourist, I’ve been pottering around the house doing things that need to be done. The lawns been unprofessionally seen to because I forgot to book the gardener and I’ve rotated uniforms from summer to winter and even labelled the new gear. Again, I’m hoping the weather does cool down enough over the next few weeks to make it bearable to wear track pants and a rugby top during the day.

This extended summer is going to be in my stream of consciousness until I see consistent maximums in the high teens tops, Sydney… #justsaying

We finally made it back to Potts Point and Kings Cross for breakfast at the markets and coffee en route. I love how everything is (predictably) so … extra… compared to the rest of Sydney. District is a cafe on Darlinghurst Road and it’s the last word in minimalism. I managed to get a photo of the espresso machine with its blond wood accents and what I think are a pair of cold press coffee machines in the photo below.

There’s also an excellent range of brought in baked goods including a banana bread from Infinity Bakery that Master SSG rates highly. The coffee is anything but spartan. It’s constructed around a perfect shot of espresso that’s creamy and rich.

We scooted around the markets in search of our favourite spendy cheese toastie stall to no avail. Thank goodness for the French patisserie and its almond croissants and croque monsieur which were excellent plan Bs. I brought home a couple of punnets of organic raspberries and they went into this fruit salad that we ate with our McNuggets for lunch. One of many conflicted parenting moments I’m sure I’ll have over this break.

Royal Stacks is a burger restaurant imported to Sydney from across the border in Melbourne. I’ve heard wonderful things about their potato gems and their frozen custards. I’ve scheduled a day next week to return for both as well as a burger. The Queen Bee, perhaps.

I did as much window shopping as I could with a five year in tow at the new Muji store in the Westfield.

Even Muji is in on the plan to make Sydney’s weather autumn already.

There was a whole array of beauty and skincare on display as well. There’s a Muji cleansing oil and also a range of makeup brushes. The brushes were in the over $30 category so not the kind of thing to be impulse buying.

The old school sneakers and comfortable looking flats looked tempting but I’m on a mission to buy more responsibly and to only buy things that will both work with what I have and are not variations of what I already own. Quite a challenge as long term readers may appreciate…