Beach Baby

The weekend before last we had a brief glimpse of summer, with some glorious hot sunny days.You'd be forgiven for thinking that was just a dream based the weather that followed.. We went from 34 degrees on Monday to 15 and rainy on Tuesday and it pretty much stayed that way the whole week. Oh Melbourne, you are such a big tease! But seriously, I am ready for summer now, please. (Update: I'm pleased to report that now that I've got around to publishing this post we have had some spring like weather thy past two days, and it seems like it is here to stay).  

Anyway, on the Sunday we decided to take advantage of the rare sunshine and head down Brighton beach with Ella. We decided to leave earlyish that morning, while the temperature was still in the low 20s and therefore not too hot. (It's so typical, all winter I complain about the cold and long for summer, and then bang! It's over 30 degrees and I'm way too hot!)

We stopped on the way at Big W for some beach supplies: a pail and shovel for Ella and a pop up beach tent to provide some shade. We then headed to The Pantry in Brighton for a pre-beach breakfast, which was awesome as they have paper covering all the tables and crayons for kids to draw with while you are waiting for your food. I am so appreciative of things like this now - we don't go out for meals with Ella very much at the moment as sitting still for an hour while we eat isn't her idea of fun. Also, keeping her occupied while I wolf down my meal is not my idea of fun. But the colouring definitely kept her busy and happy, as did her ham and cheese toastie when it came. Andy and I shared the Kabir Scrambled Eggs, which came with chilli, garlic, onion, smoked potatoes, avocado, tomatoes, coriander, sriracha and a side of roti bread. It was so so good, I really wished we hadn't shared! (By the way, I have no idea what Kabir is. I just tried to google it and it's a name of a 15th century Indian poet... so I guess the naming of the dish is meant to imply that it is Indian? Who knows... I should have asked while we were there I guess.) We also had an order of scones with cream and jam, also super yummy. Our friends who live in Brighton always rave about The Pantry and I can see why... we would definitely come back again for another meal. 

Ella at The Pantry

Once on the beach we set up our tent (super easy, love a pop up!), and Ella happily played in the sand for way longer than we expected. She even tolerated wearing her hat the whole time! I am in love with her matching swimsuit and hat - my uncle gave us some money for a birthday present for Ella when my mom came to visit in August and we bought them with it while we were in Noosa. It fits her perfectly (which means it is a little big and will hopefully last the whole summer) and has a SPF of 50 so some good protection from the hot Australian sun.

Ella playing in the sand at Brighton Beach

Ella finding the cooler bag full of food! This girl loves to eat.

We took Ella down to the water to splash around and she loved it! She has always loved her swimming lessons but when we went to the beach in Noosa a few months ago she was a little fearful around the water - I think she was confused by the waves and the fact that the water kept coming up to her and then disappearing back into the ocean again. This time, however, was totally different and I can already see that we will be taking a few more trips to the beach this summer!

Loving the water

Every time we visit "bayside", the area of Melbourne along Port Philip Bay, I regret taking a job in the north east end of the city, far away from the beach. When I initially started thinking about us moving here, I did fantasise about living near the beach, spending evenings and weekends going for walks and lazing around in the sand reading a book. But the thought of an hour plus commute across the city to work was enough to put those fantasies aside, and when I really think about it, I'm not even a huge fan of the beach. Once and a while, yes, its a great way to spend a nice afternoon. But really, sand can be irritating, you get super sweaty, the water is salty, and at times the flies in Melbourne can be pretty annoying. Also, beach weather is limited to 3-4 months a year here. Even if we lived by the beach we probably wouldn't actually go there that often. Much better to live near a nice open air pool! Haha. On a serious note though, we've always lived close to the Yarra River, and I have loved being near all the different cycling and walking trails. You can't have everything!

Once it started to get hot we packed everything up and headed off to visit our friends that live in Brighton. The day was almost perfect, the only hiccup was when Andy tried to pack up our pop up tent. Easy to put up, however folding it back into it's carry case was a whole different story!