Onya Magazine: The Best Vegan Eats In Melbourne

My sweatshirt really says it all ❤️ (Naarm is a word in the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung languages of the Kulin nation which is the Traditional Place name for Melbourne).

Continuing on from my best Sydney vegan eats article earlier in the year, Onya Magazine have just published a follow up - the best vegan eats in Melbourne, the city of my heart. So if you were wondering where we ate and what our favourites were on our last few visits, here they are!

Honestly, I would walk (well, I’d also have to swim some of the way too, gulp!) back to Melbourne for some of the food we enjoyed last time we were there. The city has some incredible plant-based places that are truly exciting, indulgent and very, very delicious. Everything you want when you’re on holiday and feel like spoiling yourself!

The oyster mushroom “calamari” at the Green Man’s Arms, Carlton. Exquisite! Even Tom (who normally hates mushrooms) dug in!

Rereading the article has made me very hungry and wish we could just hop on the 86 tram and head up to Red Sparrow or Brother Bon for dinner tonight. Hopefully our next visit isn’t too far away…

may

An autumnal bounty from the New Norfolk markets in early May. The last blackberries of the season!

Friends, how is it June? How?!

I figured if I don’t write you an update soon, it will be Christmas before you hear from me again - so here I am. The only excuse I can offer for my lengthy silence is busy-ness and so much time being spent writing and thinking and reading that in my leisure time I yearn to look at something other than a computer screen.

You may have guessed, the heat has been turned up on my PhD - I am now almost 75% of the way there with it. If we apply the metaphor of running a marathon to the PhD (it’s one of my favourite metaphors, as I’m sure you’ve noticed over the years), I am at the equivalent of almost at Mile 20. To be honest, this is the part of running the London Marathon that I don’t remember. Miles 19 to about 23 were a real blur! It’s an apt comparison. I don’t know where the last few months have gone.

But, as I said to a friend last week, I have waited my entire life to do this so I am determined to savour and enjoy it as much as I can, rather than give in to the overwhelm. The marathon at the 75% stage was just a matter of staying mentally strong and getting through it until I was really on the final stretch, but I don’t want to do that with the PhD. It’s the most momentous thing I’ve ever done. Sometimes I find myself, sitting in my cosy office on campus, looking at all my books on the shelves, the post-its on the wall, the resident possum in the gum trees outside (who comes out during the day A LOT) and am in awe that it’s finally happening, I am doing it. I allow myself to feel joy, amazement and gratitude, even a little pride, in those moments.

Life has always been a constant balancing act for me, and perhaps it always will be. I think a lot of it comes down to self forgiveness - I’m not perfect nor am I a machine that can keep going and going without enough rest and replenishment. I wish (and thought) I was but adding productivity guilt into the mix is not serving me. Self care really has to be a priority if I want to enjoy the process, not to mention keep my creative work and practice sustainable. I’ve been trying to bear that in mind these past few weeks.

So, yes, April and May have been MAMMOTH months for me and Tom but we have happily managed to find lots of fun and exciting things to enjoy along the way. “What a year this is turning out to be,” Tom said to me at the start of May. My sentiments exactly!

Let me fill you in on May then, friends. The month of Philmas!

Favourite experience/s of the month

May was full of wonderful experiences but the best one, hands down, was returning to the great city of Melbourne for a birthday trip which consisted mostly of shopping, eating and seeing friends. We also made another trip a week later, for a wonderful wedding, but more on that in the June wrap-up!

Other highlights of May included:

• Giving a paper for the Professional Historians Association (Vic/Tas chapter) at Hobart’s State Library, which went better than I could have hoped (apparently there’s a video of it on YouTube which even our postman has seen!)

• Making my baby nephew laugh for the first time (he’s so adorable!)

• A day trip with a dear friend to New Norfolk where we bought locally-grown blackberries, garlic, apples and secondhand books

• Publishing an article in the Guardian, and the wonderful response to it - in fact, it went live while we were asleep so both Tom and I woke up to texts from friends in the UK who had seen it before we had! The whole response to it was really amazing. I honestly thought that it would be like most things I write, that it would go live and within an hour or two it would be yesterday’s news! It was so touching (and thrilling) to be read and understood so generously by people all over the world. It reminded me that I do have relevant things to say and it’s always worth the agonising discomfort of putting myself out there.

• Turning 42 in one of my favourite cities and then coming home and celebrating with my family. When we went round to see one of my sisters, her daughter (nearly 4) proudly announced they had made me a cake, which melted my heart (and it was so delicious). More birthday thoughts further on.

• My dad’s 70th, which was a fitting celebration for a wonderful man I am proud every day to call my father (I said as much in my brief speech - Mum’s speech was by far the best though, there was barely a dry eye in the house!).
  
  

Reading

I feel like I’m always reading at the moment! I’m trying to remember what I read for leisure in May….

Far out, I loved this book - Edwina Preston’s Bad Art Mother, shortlisted for this year’s Stella Prize (my friend Tash got me the winner’s book as a birthday present which I’ve been saving for a post-deadline treat in July). As I read, I thought this reminds me so much of Gwen Harwood, if she had been more like Sylvia Plath (having read and reviewed the excellent Ann Marie Priest biography last year) and it turned out, Preston had read Harwood’s letters as inspiration. Fascinating! I am finding myself more and more drawn to fiction set in 1960s and 1970s Australia, particularly Melbourne, so I loved this book’s setting, as well as its premise. I don’t think enough books deal with the reality of how deeply, painfully selfish most women have to be in order to make their art a priority, even if they don’t have children. I think this is what I’ve realised, both in my own life and through the reading of books such as these, that women are still expected to, as Mary Wollstonecraft put it in 1792, “make themselves AGREEABLE” (!) and put the needs of others first, regardless of whether they’re mothers or not. It’s something we always seem to be pushing back against. Bad Art Mother was a refreshing look at this, from both sides of the coin. It has a nostalgic but also quite sweeping, all-consuming energy - Christos Tsiolkas was quite right when he described it as a “panorama” of a novel - as all the women, of varying marital statuses, in the story push against the gender barriers of the time and fight to be recognised as legitimate artists. It also made me realise that we might have come a long way but there’s still a long way to go. Worth a read!

I found Patti Smith’s Just Kids on the shelf of our Melbourne Airbnb, a book I had heard praised and much talked of for years and it was 100% worthy of the hype. I love Patti’s writing (I have a few other books of hers) but I must confess I didn’t know much about her and her life. There are many haunting moments in Just Kids but the one I keep thinking about is her description of giving birth to a child she had to put up for adoption, how cruel the medical staff were to her as an young unmarried mother, and how “carrying a child had literally opened the skin of my belly” (51). I loved it so much I procured a copy on my return (I only got three-quarters of the way through it during the trip) and have also treated myself to Patti’s A Book of Days.

I picked up one of my favourite Youtuber’s cookbooks while we were in Melbourne, from a great bookstore called Brunswick Bound - it’s fabulous (both the book and the bookstore).

I recently discovered the work of photographer Alan Villiers and was astonished at how beautiful and modern these images of early 20th century merchant ships are - the people look like they could be walking around today!

Why winning the Booker didn’t make this author feel she’d reached the top - I love Bernardine Evaristo, her writing, her wit, her thoughts on everything from politics to self development. Her energy is so motivating. She’s awesome.

Listening to

In the lead up to my talk for the Professional Historians Association, anxiety swirled around my body like an electrical storm. I found re-listening to this episode of The Imperfects very handy. I also enjoyed this episode of The Imperfects where they discussed a “40 Things I Wish I’d Known at 40” viral article and which items on the list resonated with them the most. Eye opening!

Therapy Works: Trisha Goddard on overcoming enormous adversity and finding love and happiness - this was excellent, though very difficult listening in parts, especially hearing about the racial abuse she has endured, particularly as a child. I gasped aloud in the street when she recalled something a teacher said to her. Trisha said she realised that the Black Lives Matter movement had helped her appreciate how much she had internalised over the first five or so decades of her life, thinking she was the problem. Listening to her articulate that, I realised that perhaps #MeToo has done the same for me. I always loved seeing Trisha on TV when I was a child. She was Australia’s first Black TV presenter - she did Playschool in the mornings, and The 7:30 Report in the evenings. What an icon!

James and Ashley Stay At Home: interviews with Anna Spargo-Ryan and Lee Kofman, both excellent.

Films to be Buried With, with Brett Goldstein: I only just discovered this podcast and it’s really fabulous! I have listened to the Dolly Alderton episode which was hilarious and highly relatable, as always.

Otherwise, just Poppy Ackroyd’s marvellous album Sketches on repeat, throughout May. Perfect writing music.

PICKING / GROWING

Another highlight of May - I have an allotment now! Dad gave me a packet of broad bean seeds to celebrate, so they were the first things I planted. Look how well they’re doing already! I also have a broccoli/kale hybrid growing in there, that was given to me by another gardener. September will be the time to get really excited and start planting other things - I have many other kinds of beans, as well as peas, silverbeet, zucchini, kale and broccoli seeds in my seed tin ready to go.

Eating/COOKING

Porridge bread has re-entered my regular repertoire and I am glad of it - it’s the most delicious bread which has an almost crumpet-like quality. Porridge is an essential winter breakfast so I always make a little extra so I can make this bread. I often double the original recipe and bake it in my enormous German bread tin (that I bought for something like €4 on one of our trips to Berlin) which gives us a loaf big enough to last the week! Do try it if you’re curious, I can’t recommend it more highly. It’s particularly good with sweet toppings like jam, marmalade or honey, but it’s also pretty great with avocado and Vegemite.

The food in Melbourne deserves a post of its own - I have written an article for Onya which I hope will be published soon so when it is I will send you there to read about all the wonderful things we indulged in on our little holiday! I keep thinking about the king oyster mushroom ‘calamari’ from the Green Man’s Arms (which Tom and I now refer to as our local), the vegan lemon delicious ice cream at Girls and Boys, the pizza at Red Sparrow and the ‘chicken’ katsu sando at Brother Bon.

And, confession time, this was my first ever trip to Melbourne where I didn’t go to the Shanghai Dumpling House. I know, I’m shocked too.

At the start of May (or perhaps it was the end of April, who knows!) I made green tomato pickle with all the green tomatoes from my home garden, and the box that was generously given to me at the allotment! I have about 10 jars maturing in the cupboard now, ready for spring and summer deliciousness. It’s my great-grandmother’s recipe, which is really amazing.

I have become quite addicted to fresh blackberries again, after years of not having them (the last time I had them might have been when I went foraging while I still lived in England!) - I particularly like them in a crumble with apples or apricots. I also have a jar of plums in my apocalypse cupboard (you had one too, right?) which I’d like to use up, so I daresay a plum and blackberry crumble is in. my near future.

I made Asma Khan’s aloo gobi mattar which was delicious, and continued to stock the freezer with this vegan bolognese which is seriously sensational.

We went to the Thai Veggie Hutt in the city (Hobart, that is) for lunch a few times in May - all vegetarian and vegan, and I had forgotten how utterly scrumptious all the food is. The pumpkin curry was a winner, both times, I loved how spicy and layered with flavour it was.

Not that much cooking in May, mostly eating, as other people did the cooking! It made a nice change.

Drinking

T2 French Earl Grey - I had written this tea off for years, thinking it too floral and overbearing for my palate. I accidentally ordered it in a quaint New Norfolk tearoom that used to be a church hall, and it was delightful. The trick, for me, is only to use one spoonful and brew it for 60 seconds, no more. Then it’s light and fragrant and truly delicious.

My favourite drink in Melbourne was the incredible Cos-no mocktail at the Green Man’s Arms - cranberry, blackberry and lime juices - sharp, fruity and very sophisticated!

Watching

Colin from Accounts (Binge): OMG this was fabulous. A fresh concept, clever writing, great acting and SO funny! And I loved that it was set in Sydney.

Call the Midwife (Binge and ABC iView) - Binge is the most appropriate channel for this show, as that is exactly what I have done over the past few months!

I think I’m in the minority on the finale of Succession (Binge) - I thought it was a complete anti-climax and I came away feeling very numb, in disbelief and unsure what the point of any of it had been. It reminded me of how I felt in the immediate aftermath of learning the Leave vote had won and when the news broke that Trump had won the US election (oh, 2016, you were a shitshow). If that was what Jesse Armstrong intended for the series - to show us that the people (the families!) who control the media are in fact very dangerous because the decisions they make in their own self interest have wider repercussions for the rest of the world that they never even consider - then he succeeded! The Times seemed to agree with me.

The finale of Ted Lasso (Apple TV+), by comparison, was sublime. That is how you end a show. It was so good, we’re now watching the whole series again from the beginning.

Wearing/ using

These amazing earrings (the lemons and the female sign) from Snafu Designs in Melbourne - I have barely stopped wearing them. They even look great with a hoodie! Speaking of the hoodie, I haven’t stopped wearing that either! A Reconciliation Week special from Captain Robbo.

A lime green roll-neck crop jumper from Tassie icon Keshet - it goes with everything.

Beautiful homemade socks that my aunt made me as a birthday gift - they are so comfy and warm, I never want to wear any other kind of socks.

Adventure pants from Captain Robbo in Northcote - I wasn’t sure these would suit me but they are wonderful and I can’t stop wearing them! I got the Magic Mushrooms and the Hot Pink Plane Trees. And if you pop into the store, make sure you meet the resident pooch, Twiggy!

Perhaps “not wearing/using” might be a category in future, because I feel moved to tell you I’ve been wearing my Fitbit less, certainly not to sleep as I had been doing this past year or so. I felt my “performance” was being evaluated and I’ve learned (the hard way) that’s not a good space for me to be in when I already feel under pressure in other parts of my life. If you are similarly moulded, I encourage you to give yourself a breather from your devices that measure your daily activities. Streaks can be motivating but they can also add more pressure when that’s the last thing you need.

feeling grateful for

I’m sure most of you recognise this woman - here’s a reminder if not!

My friends. People who show up for me time and time again, who are always full of warmth and ready with a kind word, whose assumptions are always generous. People who start a text with “I know I can tell you this, because you won’t take it the wrong way...” (and I likewise!). I am particularly grateful for two writing friends who always pick up the phone or reply to a text when I reach out in the midst of a crisis of confidence.

I am also grateful to have turned 42, an age quite a few people I’ve known in my life tragically never reached. I remember, in my late twenties, wondering what it would be like to be this age, the same age Virginia Woolf was when she wrote To The Lighthouse. Now I’m here. What does it feel like? Like I’m more myself, and that life is richer. It’s not as simple as it used to be (and of course I can only see it was simpler from where I’m standing now, 15 years on), but it’s undoubtedly richer.

I felt so lucky, marking turning 42 in Melbourne with my darling husband and our many friends there. It was a wonderful birthday, the best I’ve had in a while. These days my birthday is a day of real contemplation, a bit like a New Year, where I reflect on the year that’s gone and try to release anything that might have dragged me down, as well as any past ambitions that don’t really match up with who I am now. It’s a day where I remind myself how far I’ve come, how grateful I am for all the good things in my life, and think about what really matters to me, now, in this present moment. Perhaps I am starting to appreciate the limits to my time here on this planet. I am trying to use it well.

Quote of the MONTH

“Sometimes there are no rules.” - Mary Oliver

If you’d like to share your thoughts on this post, or anything else, with me, please do! I hope you also had a wonderful May….and I’ll look forward to sharing June with you very soon!

Please note: this blog post has affiliate links with retailers such as Booktopia which means I may receive a commission for a sale that I refer, at no extra cost to you.

city of my heart

Warning, mammoth catch up post ahead. Grab a cup of tea. You’ll probably be hungry after reading it too!

A few weeks ago, Tom and I spent some time in Melbourne, a city that was home for a few years, quite a long time ago now (it feels recent, but it really wasn’t!). We had not been there since 2019 and at the height of the pandemic, while it was the world’s most locked down city, I wasn’t sure when or if we would ever get there again. It was a joyful reunion indeed.

I expected to find the city very different, given all it has endured over the past few years, but I was surprised to find it very much the same vibrant and inspiring place that I had loved so much, and that had loved me right back. There were some subtle changes, of course. I went looking for places that I slowly realised had probably been gone long before the pandemic!

But many old favourites remain, still standing, thriving even. Being back in Melbourne reminded me that, whatever might get thrown at us in life, and despite the scars it leaves, we can survive, endure, and emerge stronger.

There’s something to make you smile on almost every corner of the city. Perhaps it was because we were staying in the CBD (right in the centre of things) but it felt like everyone wanted to be out - dancing, laughing, seeing, seizing the day. We saw a hen party on Swanston Street one evening, on our way to a dear friend’s birthday party (one of the reasons for our visit), some 30 women in ponchos (it was raining!) laughing and dancing in a silent disco who suddenly all started singing in a joyful chorus, like birds at dawn. Everyone who saw them couldn’t help but grin.

On our balcony!

A friend messaged me while we were there - Tom had put a photo of the two of us on his social media, which she saw. She felt moved to email me and tell me that it was nice to see me looking happy. "There's an ease in your face that hasn't been there for a while," she wrote. That got me thinking.

One day, my friends, the truth about everything that has happened this year, and the years before it, will be told. But for now, Amanda Palmer said it brilliantly: “I try to accept and embrace my own thin skin in the face of yet another catastrophic blast to my psyche, trying to hang onto the mast of my own ship…I have found my power in shutting up…My power is only just beginning to emerge.” 

This trip to Melbourne with my wonderful husband, and the words of my dear kind friend who took the time to message me, reminded me of that. That I survived everything that was thrown at me while I lived there and clung to my dreams for dear life, and got to the other side. I returned, battle weary, but still hopeful, still striving. Full circle moment.

Having a change of scene was just what Tom and I needed too. We love Tasmania and both agreed, unprompted by the other, that we feel comfortable, safe and happy in Hobart, but I cannot deny what a tonic visiting the mainland is. It’s like we’re in a different, yet very familiar, country. Soaking up a different energy and vibe, I felt renewed and energised after what has felt like a long, cold winter.

Of all the places I’ve ever lived, Melbourne is the only city that felt like home immediately. It will be the city of my heart, always. And like all the true, long-standing friendships in my life, once we were reunited, it was as though we had never been apart.

So without further ado, let me catch you up on the Melbourne trip with the usual headings!

Favourite experience

I’m sure most of you will recognise this lady - she needs no introduction!

Speaking of friends, seeing them again was without a doubt the best part of the trip. What a joy it was to be reunited with these wonderful people (not all of them pictured!). We saw as many as we could, but alas illness, weather and simply not enough time got in the way of us seeing everyone. I’m so grateful for the time we did get though. And I am determined, once flight prices return to some modicum of reasonable (what is up with Hobart to Melbourne flights being nearly $1000 at the moment?!), to visit again really soon. My Melbourne friends are some of the most important people in my life. I felt so seen, so safe, so unconditionally supported in their company. I hadn’t realised how much I’d needed that. And I heard from my sisters and quite a few Hobart friends while we were away too, so the whole week was just a wonderful reminder of how many good people we have in our lives, people we don’t have to prove ourselves to, people we don’t need to convince that we’re worthy of their love - we already have it. Like I say, much needed.

Reading

I didn’t read much! I finished Shonda Rimes’ Year of Yes which I really enjoyed. Paid a visit to the Book Grocer on Bourke Street, of course (why oh why did Hobart lose Book City? I know, I know, I’m living in the past) where I found a few great vegan cookbooks. Have already made some recipes from them which I’ll share in my next weekly update, which will also be a mammoth read, just to warn you.

Eating and drinking

Unsurprisingly, I have a lot to share! Where do I begin…. I’m just going to tell you about all the places we loved!

My long time readers, especially those who have been reading since I was a resident of Melbourne, will not be surprised to learn that dumplings were a high priority. The priority, truth be told.

I googled “best vegan dumplings in Melbourne” and so we went to ShanDong MaMa where the vegan zucchini dumplings were indeed sublime. The only mistake I made was adding chilli oil - I had a throat infection and had thought, stupidly, that chilli might nuke the lingering bugs. No, it only resulted in a massive coughing fit which, unsurprisingly, prompted many worried stares!

I had been informed that my old favourite Shanghai Dumpling House had been a covid closure, but nevertheless I wanted to stroll down Tattersalls Lane for old times sake. Lo and behold, it was open! Shanghai Dumpling lives! We went for dinner a few nights later and it was delightful. Delicious, simple, filling, hot and tasty. I did not have any chilli, as tempted as I was. Has Shanghai been restored to its former glory as my favourite Melbourne dumpling place? Absolutely.

Union Kiosk was probably the discovery of the trip. Incredible coffee (OMG Melbourne coffee, how I had missed it!) and an all-vegan menu of delicious jaffles (in Tassie they are called toasties). Tom and I couldn’t believe our luck to have stumbled upon the place. It was so difficult to pick - we shared one on our first visit but soon realised that was a mistake. On subsequent visits we got one each! Seriously sensational. We sat at an outside table, eating the delicious sandwiches, sipping the glorious coffee, and gazed around in wonder and gratitude, pinching ourselves that we were there at all. I am still dreaming about those toasties. Number 6 was our favourite. And next time I’m there, assuming I’m not under the weather, I’ll be brave and try something spicy, maybe the kimchi gochugang one.

We walked to Abbotsford on the Sunday to have lunch with some friends of ours at the Caringbush Hotel, a wonderful pub with a fully vegetarian and vegan menu. Bliss! Again, glorious to have the entire menu to choose from rather than just one or two tired options. Tom’s “lamb” ragu with gnocchi was startlingly realistic. “Are you sure this isn’t meat?” he whispered to me more than once!

I went with a roasted cauliflower, salad and tahini yoghurt as I was feeling the effects of 48 hours of mostly toasties and dumplings. It was also magnificent. Our friends, who are not vegetarian, loved their mains too.

Every cake in the box below is both vegan and gluten free. I know, I couldn’t believe it either! This was dessert one lovely evening that we spent with our friends - old friends from London who moved back to Melbourne recently. There was so much to catch up on! The cakes were so good. I’m still thinking about them. I have forgotten the name of the place but I’ll check and edit the post accordingly…trust me, if you live nearby you’ll want to check it out.

EDIT: Tash saw this post and texted me the details! The amazing cakes were from Voila in Coburg North.

In terms of vegan burgers, we were spoiled for choice with Lord of the Fries and Grill’d, both of which I sorely wish were available in Hobart! Grill’d was particularly excellent value, with 2 for 1 Meatfree Mondays.

We were also in Melbourne for work, and after that very successful, satisfying and rather epic day, we took the tram out to Northcote to try Brother Bon, as highly recommended by Cindy and Michael of Here’s the Veg. Sidenote: if you are a vegan and visiting Melbourne (or Brisbane, they recently went there), check this blog out, it was endlessly helpful in deciding where to eat!

Brother Bon exceeded every expectation. We were exhausted, starving and utterly high on life after our wonderful day, and so probably over ordered but we were so hungry and it was all so delicious, we didn’t care! Everything on the very extensive menu is vegan - yes, we double checked as we were in such disbelief - and it was very hard to choose. We ended up having the tofu bites and dumplings to start, and then Tom went with the very generous “fish and chips” - battered banana blossom, not unlike what we had at Erpingham House in Norwich six months ago! - and I had a gorgeous wok-smoky noodle dish, char kway teow with “chicken” (six proteins to choose from). We walked halfway back to the city after that meal, it was much needed! Absolutely phenomenal.

Non-alcoholic Prosecco, and very good it was too.

Finally, a dear old favourite bar which I was delighted to reacquaint myself with, Naked for Satan on bustling Brunswick Street. I met a friend there, and it was a beautiful warm afternoon. I had some wonderful, unexpected news that afternoon and so my friend was the first person I told (sorry Tommy!). To sit on a rooftop gazing at the Melbourne skyline in a bustling bar with one of my best friends and toast a much-wanted success was very special. Utter bliss.

We didn’t get to Brunswick Aces, nor a few other places we were keen to try, but all the more reason to come back again soon!

Watching and listening

We went to a party where our friend, who is a DJ, got on the decks and played some bangers! Most of which I have added to my inner summer playlist. Shazam on the iPhone is awesome!

We also spent a day on a video and photo shoot for an amazing indie musician, whose new songs are truly beautiful and memorable. We’ve been editing that EPK for the last few weeks - Tom has really outdone himself this time! Her new album is dropping next year - stay tuned!

Wearing

All I can say is I’m so glad I took my winter coat - I wore it pretty much every day! Poor Tom was hoping to buy a new coat while we were there but we had no luck. No wonder he, sadly, caught my cold!

I also wore my new Converse Chuck 70 recycled canvas sneakers non-stop - I love that I can wear them with both dresses and jeans. They look very stylish and are so comfortable. The main criterion for any shoe I buy is - can I walk in them? One of the best purchases of the year, for sure. Super handy for a city break.

Quote of the trip

It would have been Sylvia Plath’s 90th birthday a few days before our trip. I have been reading a wonderful recent biography of her, as well as her collected Letters, and came across this. It sums up how I feel about the trip and about life right now. I take every chance I can to ground myself in the present, express gratitude and try not to take things and people for granted. However, the only word that doesn’t sit right with me is cling - because I am trying not to do that. Seize moments, be acutely aware of the preciousness of life and love, but not cling to anything, where possible. Very much a work in progress.

“Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Life it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.” - Sylvia Plath

It was an incredible trip, a much needed change of scene, and a week where Tom and I felt bathed in friendship, love and good energy. It’s been a tough year but we’re both really ready to cast off that heaviness and regain a sense of fun and promise, and to prioritise joy. I think that will be my mantra going into 2023…which can you believe is only a month or so away now?!

Lots more to tell you, which I promise will be soon. I hope you’re doing well xx

See you again soon, Melbourne!

Please note: this blog post has affiliate links with retailers such as Booktopia which means I may receive a commission for a sale that I refer, at no extra cost to you.