Brisbane Adventures Part 1

Hi everyone!

It's been over 2 months since I've posted here and so much has happened. I don't even remember what I've posted and on which platform these last few weeks. I really should work on that.

I last posted about all the floods up in Cairns and how we were isolated for quite a few weeks. It was difficult for so many people and even worse for others. Many people lost their homes and our roads need a lot of work to get them functional again. Thankfully Cairns people are a wonderful community that came together to help everyone out. I made it out of there in a little pocket of clear skies and calm weather. I was able to drive through when the last area of flooded roads were just clear enough for traffic again.

This was the view for most of the trip. It was either a raining and cloudy day with either trees or mountains next to us, or stopping off somewhere every few hours so Leo could check out the car outside of his carrier. He was a much better traveller than he used to be! I promise that while I was driving, he was in his very comfy carrier on a leash: 

This is the Big Mango in Bowen, QLD. Australia has a thing for massive statues of the weirdest things. But since my last name is Bowen, I had to do something here :D

We made it to our first AirBnB in Brisbane on the 18th of March and the hunt for a new house began right away! I did multiple inspections a day for a whole week and put in 43 applications. We weren't very picky with our first home here because it could have been just a temporary home until we can find one that fits us a bit better. We just needed to get settled here in the meantime. 

But much to my surprise, the very last house I inspected ended up being the one we were able to get! It was one that I had seen months ago and put it on my 'dream house' list to one day aim for. It's honestly perfect for us and I still can't believe we were approved! In the light of the massive housing crisis here in Australia, I have to say that I have done everything I possibly could to be a great tenant. And yet, I know that I am very lucky to have gotten such a great home. I'm not in there quite yet as we're waiting for the previous tenant to move out but everything is confirmed and the bond has been lodged. 

We are now in between AirBnB's around Brisbane and honestly it's been a great way to see the area before we settle in. All of our hosts have been wonderful and AirBnB itself was great when we had a few hiccups here and there. Everything has worked out fairly well under the circumstances. I don't think I've been under this much stress in a long time but prioritising my health and sleep schedule has made it much easier.

Honestly, it has been very difficult to keep working, post on social media and be in such a stressful situation. I'm really only able to now because our new home has been secured and we have accomodation until the day we move in. Now that I know my family will be fine, I can focus on getting back to work. Hence why I'm finally able to post on here again after 2 months.

Here's a few more pics of the start of our journey:

Left: Leo finding the only sunspot at our first AirBnB.

Middle: We found a great Indian restaurant near our second AirBnB.

Right: This crow was staring down our maccas breakfast while we were on our way to the third AirBnB. 

We only have about 12 days until we move into our new home and as soon as I do....... time to go to IKEA baby! Oh man I have been watching IKEA sewing room hacks for YEARS! Now's my chance to too what I can do! I've only been there once and was quite overwhelmed. So let's hope the next time I go there, I'll have a proper plan in place and get everything I need! I'm going to have an entire (small) room to use as my sewing room so let's go nuts with the storage ideas! Ahhhh I'm so excited!

Many of you would already know that I have applied for a Bachelors in Fashion Design with QUT and I've already been offered a position!! I wasn't expecting any news until the offer rounds begun in June but looks like I got in very early! My son and I went for a walk around the uni and spoke to the lovely helpers there so I can get fully enrolled in my course. I start in July!

I will be doing it part time so I can keep working and still homeschool my son as well. He's going through his senior years right now so we're making some big transitions. I have dreams of the two of us sitting a little cafe at the uni or somewhere close to home and we're both studying. For some reason we have both loved doing that over the years. I can imagine us hunting around for the perfect cafe we can sit and do our studies/work while having a matcha and foods. I'm very happy to finally have the chance to do this and not have to constantly think about the oppressive heat in Cairns.

So I will spend the next 6 years studying here while living in our new home. My son has a lot more opportunities and the future is finally looking much brighter than it was in Cairns. I know Cairns is a lovely place for many people, but unfortunately not for us. We weren't thriving there so it was time to move on. Time for the next stage in our adventure!

I hope you've enjoyed this update and I will let you know a lot more about what else is going on right now. I have lots of corsets, gowns and more coming very soon! 

Andi xoxo