I often have themes for my weekly dinner menu. It's quite advantageous for a few different reasons. You don't waste food because sticking to a theme guarantees a repeat of ingredients (e.g. lemongrass for Thai, parmesan for Italian, yogurt for Greek, etc.). Also, I like challenging myself and looking for new things to make. It's a bonus if the dish turns out well and ends up in my fool proof recipes folder. This last week has been a deviation from the norm. My flatmate Rodney aptly calls it Takeaway Week.

Moving house has taken over my life. Save for the bottled pesto sauce that I had on Wednesday night, I haven't really made anything in my kitchen for almost a week now. I'm sick of takeaway and those bottled sauces just don't make the cut. And if there's a way to tell how busy I am now, it's my absence in the kitchen.

August has been crazy busy. Work started picking up over a month ago. I haven't even gone to Sydney in over a month. Just as well... Two weeks ago, my flatmate and I got a notice from our landlord. She wants us out of the house by mid-September. Sure, the place has been up for sale since May but I didn't think we'd have to move out anytime soon because they still haven't found any potential buyers. I heard that they're selling it for an insane amount of money. And I reckon they're kicking us out so they can either renovate the place or get new tenants and charge heaps more rent. Whatever. The real estate agent who came to value the property told us that she's very impressed by how we looked after things. Apparently it looks as pristine as it did ten years ago. If only that were reason enough to keep the place. But it's not and one can only move on.

Rodney and I checked out a few places and admittedly didn't find anything that we like as much as where we're living now. Compromises had to be made and as luck would have it, we got approved for the first property that we applied for. And with one week to pack, we're really leaving 55 Argyle Square.

We went to the real estate agency this morning to sign the lease. We then drove to the new flat to check it out. We already knew that it'll be smaller than 55 Argyle Square but it's even smaller than what we thought. Having seen so many places, I think I just picked the best features of each place that we checked and painted this image of an ideal flat in my head. Oh well... I think the new arrangement will work. With just a some additional decluttering and a bit of getting used to, I think I'll be fine.

I can't wait till this move is over...

... so I can go to salsa and flamenco again.
... so I can play in the kitchen again.
... so I can start making plans for the Havana Nights party.
... so I won't be a walking zombie at work anymore.
... so I won't have to leaf through the yellow pages to find cleaners anymore.
... so my back won't hurt anymore.
... so I'd actually have time to go online and blog.
... so I can get proper sleep at night.
... so I can organise to go out with friends.
... so I can go to Sydney and catch up with the usual suspects.
... so I can have a Scrubs marathon.
... so I can catch up on my reading.
... so I can brush up on my Spanish and surprise Lola by turning up in class.
... so I can start going to the gym.
... so I can get used to the new place and really call it my own.