A Place Called Home

 

 Today brings back fond memories of my engagement back in 2007 - It was perfect. We were in Australia at that time and Luis was already working in Sydney.  So when Luis bought me a ticket to visit him, I was more than happy to take a bit of a break from work and study. We had a marvelous time overlooking the Opera House and the Sydney bridge - I indeed felt on top of the world. 

That following Monday,  I resumed life in Melbourne with my diamond ring on my finger

 and Luis in my heart.  Thoughts of that afternoon bring back all the giddiness I felt and still feel when I think of it all.




Thai Dinner ( Restaurant Papaya ,North Sydney) in celebration
with our engagement

       



McMahon's Point 



  We got civilly married in Sydney shortly after that at McMahon's point -  the very same spot we got engaged at and enjoyed our very first home together not far away from that spot too.  We've been very privileged to have lived in beautiful cities with exceptional views from our homes.  Sydney was just gorgeous with the view of the harbour and again in Kuala Lumpur, with the views of the Petronas and the Kuala Lumpur Tower.  Now we're stationed in Santiago, Chile and have been in serious search mode for a home,  something that represents "us" - surroundings that we can have night strolls in the evening, a run in the park,  a view from the windows, a great living area that we can entertain, a good terrace to have bbq's and a kitchen big enough as we both are passionate cooks and also enough space for our paintings and collections from the travels that we've done -certainly sounds like a handful aye?

Definitely no joke to get all that in a space. The key I believe is  balance. Your own balance. The things that will actually give you the satisfaction and great combo you've been dreaming up. What actually caught me by surprise was the big housekeeping question this time - do we actually need a stay in housekeeper?  For of course that equates to an extra room for the housekeeper and most likely
 a give- in for a smaller kitchen or worst still

- more space but without character. Ouch.

Believe me, we spent a lot of our time pondering and discussing this with family,friends and fast forwarding our lives to the point of having a couple of Baby Undas.  After much thought, we decided happily against it and we are almost the proud owners of our very own first apartment in Santiago.  All this home-hunting has given me a chance to look into the type of people we are. The type of person I am and to see what's really important for this partnership.
 The few things that have really stuck with me throughout is that initial feeling I feel when I walk into a certain place, the feeling of excitement with the thoughts of imagining friends over, dinner dates on the terrace , the fancy cook-outs with family, friends and also a place to escape it all and just relax - to be able to loose myself with the view and ourselves with each other.  I believe it's not really the size of the place or what other people think but what's really important for the partnership to work as a whole .
I feel relieved to know Luis & I are on the same page.
 ( though Luis does have a fascination with people's faces on walls and I just really love taking photos of them - still, I guess we're on the same boat as long as they're not too old of an age and have happy faces I'll be fine -  sorry if I've offended anyone but they've always given me the creeps )
   This experience of home-hunting has been wonderful,  this whole journey . I'm waiting patiently to walk in through those doors and unpack and decorate -  hopefully God willing for a good solid few years too.  In the meantime, I'm savoring these recent window memories from our apartment in Kuala Lumpur.

We got to watch the light show from our living room every night in Kuala Lumpur