I miss Sydney for the first time. While bright winter days where one can walk around in shorts are appealing, the actual thing I desire right now is options. Options for a variety of tap fittings, options for a ball gown (David Jones and Bianca Spender, I never thought I’d miss you so much), options beyond the generic which flood the market here at triple the price.

When growing up in regional Queensland, there was a rumour about a girl flying down to Sydney to buy her formal/ball gown. It was a bit of a joke on privilege and, now, for the first time almost twenty years later (!) I actually understand why.

This week I settled for a generic vanity and shower in our ensuite – and as I read those words back I grimace at my own privilege. Boomin’ ‘eck we’re so damn privileged. I’m ashamed of my desire for more, but at the same time, incredibly, I’m glad for my design aesthetic and desire to not settle for what’s the easy choice.

In terms of renovations, our timeline has been pushed up by a month due to the speed of our builders (yup, you heard that right). We’ve combined stage one and stage two in order to keep the work continuing apace and as a result we have no kitchen and we’re back living with my folks (thank you)! It’s a great place to be but it has meant that decisions I hadn’t realised needed to be made yet, needed to be made overnight. We walked through the house yesterday though and I picked up test pots of paint (green!) for the lounge and dining room which we’ll try out this week before painting next week. It’s all coming together and while it won’t be perfect, it will be ours and it will be home.

So stuff privilege, Sydney might have David Jones and designer stores and choice and variety. It also has smog and traffic jams and schools we can’t afford and a 490sqm block of land we’ve switched for a slice of heaven that’s all ours. We also have the joy of getting to share this with people we love, like my dear friend who’s already booked her flights! JOY OH JOY!

Note: the dress pictured is by Bianca Spender and oh, I really am tempted to fly over to try it on… sigh.