The first B&B in the family.... and it's not ours!

Who would have thought that Molly would beat us to it?

We've just come back from spending one and a half wonderful weeks with Moll, both at her fabulous place in Sukhumvit and at Railay Beach, this most fabulous place that she took us to celebrate Gareth's 40th. Whilst we were away, we were discussing her plans to turn her place into a B&B.

Well, never one to do anything by halves, she had the gorgeous Carlos Melia who came to stay the day we left post a few words about how marvellous her place is. Good one Moll, getting your first review (you need to check this link out) from a man who is a most respected travel writer with literally thousands of followers. I do hope we can get a room next time we head up.

Oh, and by the way, I know we've only met Carlos once - but put in a good word for us, will you. We'd love a review once we're open! xx

Step by Step, Bit by Bit

Stone by Stone (yeah), Brick by Brick (oh yeah)
Step by Step, Day by Day, Mile by Mile (ooh).......

Nothing like the inspiration of a Whitney Houston Lyric!

Council agreed to a S96 application (variation) this week (that means no new development app and a much shorter process). Yeah!

As the song says.......

All good things come to those who wait

I've never really been good at waiting for anything. Instant gratification. I want it now.......

Well, I guess there are some things that you have to wait for. Like building our dream. On that front, you've been probably wondering why we've been so quiet lately when it appeared things were moving along again.

Gareth reckons it's the mid life crisis I've been having (now I know the marvels of modern science have us living longer but I hardly think I'm going to make 100). Anyway, it was a crisis of sorts.

As most of my friends know, I've always jumped in regardless of consequence and fortunately luck has been on my side. This time, it's about both of our futures, so I wanted to make absolutely sure that the financial commitment we are about to make stacks up.

Recent world events don't make things easier either, however, despite the numerous setbacks we have had  we're now back on track. Thank god for Luke our accountant, I'm now 100% confident of the direction we are heading.

So I plan to be back on line more regularly and sharing our dream.

And for any of you also in the midst of change in your life, all I can say is embrace it ..... chances are we only get one go at it! xx

"Rocks r Us"

Remember the 70's (well some of you don't but hey, work with me).... remember when everyone wanted that prized piece of expensive bush rock for your new swimming pool backdrop or for that 'feature stone' in the middle of your front garden. Yes, Sydney bush rock adorned only the luckiest of my friends gardens in those days. We sadly we had to settle for a more modest adornment in the shape of river pebbles.

I'm pleased to say however that this is not the case for us in Carool. We have bush rock in abundance. In fact, I'm thinking of putting a sign out the front "Rocks r Us". We dig, U find. Yes, pretty much anywhere you dig a hole on this property, you'll find a boulder of some description, or if your lucky you'll manage to avoid that rock hiding in the grass that sends the ride on back to the repair shop yet again.

Given this bounty, our enthusiasm for bush rock uses knows no bounds. This week, we started building the "Great Wall of Carool" - an 80 metre retaining wall. Apart from stopping erosion on the hill (always handy when you are building a new house above) it means that we can now finally surface the road we had built last year..... which of course was washed out from the 6 months of rain that started immediately the day after it was completed.

So if you ever have the need for some rock, you know where to find us.

Here we go.....again!

June 2011 will be known as a defining month in our lives. The month Pete turns 50. The month we get to enjoy some time on an island paradise with 20 or so of our friends. And the month that we got back on the road to our wonderful new adventure.

As most of you know, we hit a rather large speed bump on our way to creating our little piece of paradise last year (if you don't, you'll find the story in an earlier blog). Well, I'm pleased to say that we have now put that behind us and are moving full steam ahead to realising our dream.

Today we signed up with a building company Civic Steel Homes. We met Kirsten and Kelly (the architect who has designed all their homes) a couple of months ago. After much comparison, we decided that they were the best option for us. 

What I love about them is that they are passionate about our project. They read our business plan. They spent time on our property to feel the ambiance. They understand our desire to create something beautiful but mindful of our budget. There are some design cues from our last design - we spent 2 years on it so we haven't let every idea go - but I'm confident that we're about to create something pretty cool.

Can't wait to share the journey with you all xx

Grand Design Annus Horribilus

You may have been wondering why so quiet?  No posts for some months. Well, you've all watched the show Grand Designs? Unlike the show, we managed to have our own Grand Design meltdown even before we started building. Without boring you too much, here's the snapshot.

Basically, before we began the process some two years ago, we consulted builders to get a 'ballpark' figure for the development, not wanting to proceed unless it made economic sense. Well let's just say after 2 years of consultants, council and the occasional tantrum, the 'ball' was well and truly out of the 'park'  - the estimates we received from our 3 tenders were significantly above our previously set expectations. Hard to fathom in these times of massive downturns in new builds, little work for trades, a strong aussie dollar and the ability for immediate starts, but to proceed on this basis would have almost certainly seen the 'dream' become a 'nightmare'. To say ditching our plans was devastating was an understatement, given all the hard work Mark had put in with Gareth and I, but it had to be done.

After a mild implosion (putting behind us the 2 lost years and significant $$) we are moving to Escape Retreat Version 2. We're going back to council with a new design and a construction model that will make our development financially viable. Fortunately, as luck would have it, we have met someone who has provided us with a lifeline, working with us to realise our dream. More of that later.

I (Pete) have wrestled whether or not to write this post, as I really find the airing of most peoples problems rather boring. I'd always prefer to tell you all the good things that are happening on our journey. Those of you who know me well know that I will always look for the positive in things and rarely dwell on the negative, but I didn't know any other way to explain to you what has happened with our plans other than to tell it how it is.

Maybe this time, having someone to help us move forward land right on our doorstep has surprised even me on my usual scale of 'luckiness'. Who's fighting it? Not us!

Dream big for 2011. Extra love from P & G xx

Escape - what's in a name?

Can you believe it? It's been over 3 weeks since I last wrote about our journey. And you know, it's never felt more appropriate to have called it Escape than ever.

3 weeks, do we ever stop to realise just how quickly our weeks pass by? I know its such a cliche, but I've never felt weeks pass by so quickly as I do now that I am commuting between Sydney and the Coast. Yet, my weekends seem to last such a long time and I'm sure that it's down to the change of pace. Every weekend, I get to "Escape" city life. Every weekend, I get to recharge and it's amazing what it does for your well being.

Like yoga down in our Community Hall every Saturday morning. I bet when the local farming community built this hall a hundred years ago it would not be possible for them to have imagined the serene setting it provides us with for the practice of yoga (and i mean practise - how does Judy get into those positions!)

Anyway, back to calling our luxury B&B Escape. That's what it was all about, to Escape for the weekend, to Escape all your worries at home, to Escape the day to day and for us, to Escape the motions of a life in Sydney and stop and smell the lillies (sorry, there ain't no roses growing in these gardens).

Molly, how lucky we opened that magazine where Gareth was showing us those daybeds for the pool and we saw that name!