Where and how long have you lived in Sydney’s east: My husband and I moved to Surry Hills 2 years ago from the UK. However, we are just about to move to Coogee to be by the beach – Surry Hills has a great bar/restaurant scene, but we’re not going out quite so often with a baby!
How many children: One 6 month old boy called Teddy
Favourite Park: The Botanic Gardens – that view of the Harbour Bridge never gets old. You also can’t beat a picnic by the Rose Garden in Centennial.
Favourite Beach: Coogee as an all-rounder, but Milk Beach in Vaucluse is one of my favourites
Favourite kid friendly cafe: Not strictly a café, but the Coogee Pavillion is a great spot to hang out, as they have an area where the kids can play (downstairs of course – my days on the over 18s roof terrace are long gone!)
Favourite Coffee Spot: I am a quintessential Brit and a tea drinker. But I love Reuben Hills in Surry, their milkshakes were my pregnancy go-to.
Favourite date night place: We haven’t had a date night since our son was born! Pre-baby we were regulars on the Surry Hills foodie scene, we loved Chin Chins and Goryonsan.
Favourite Local Day Out Activity: The Bondi to Coogee walk is an oldie but a goodie. There is also a lesser known coastal walk from La Perouse to Little Bay, which is such a great spot for little swimmers.
Favourite Local Shop: Since having Teddy, I only seem to buy things for him! I love Kido in Paddington for everything baby.
Favourite wet weather location: Surry Hills Library or the cinema (mums and bubs at Bondi Junction), pre-covid, of course.
Describe an ideal day in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for you? A walk along the Hermitage Foreshore track, stopping to dip our toes in the water at some of the secret beaches overlooking the Harbour. Finishing up with fish & chips from Doyles at Watsons Bay, while watching the sun set on the city.
What area of the east have you yet to explore much but would like to?
I haven’t spent much time around Bronte and Clovelly, so am looking forward to exploring once we move to the beach. I’ve been meaning to go to Three Blue Ducks in Bronte, as we went to their restaurant at The Farm in Byron Bay and it was awesome!
Work or SAHM:
I’m currently on maternity leave, but only for a fortnight longer. It’s going to be a huge juggling act, I have a day job in financial media but am launching a sustainable baby clothing company called Conscious Koala www.consciouskoala.com which allows eco-friendly parents to rent clothes by monthly subscription. The aim is to tackle textile waste and keep clothes for fast-growing
babies out of landfill.
Motherly advice :
Find your mama tribe. As an expat with family overseas, I underestimated how challenging raising a small person would be without any support. Finding groups of other first time mums in the same boat has been invaluable – 4am feels a lot less lonely when you know someone else is awake too. If you weren’t able to get into a mother’s group due to Covid, Facebook groups can be a great resource.
Discount code for Eastern Suburbs Mums: get $15 off your first month’s subscription with discount code ESM2020
