Of the many perks that come with living in Melbourne, being close to this beautiful lady has got to be the best.

You've had the pleasure of meeting Nandi a number of times (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), which is a testament to how much time we spend together. Despite knowing her my entire life (we are cousins after all!), living in different states and travelling to far flung places meant growing up without each other's company... something we are quickly making up for!

At the moment, I am calling Nandi's native Castlemaine my home. It's a beautiful town in rural Victoria, about an hour and a half (by train!) from Melbourne. Last weekend Nandi ventured up to the country for a visit and immediately set about showing me her hometown.

We went op-shopping (everything was $1!!!!), watched Arlo (Nandi's little brother) play futsal at the local high school, and went grocery shopping at possibly the best supermarket in Australia; it's as though everything has been crammed into any available space, the aisle numbers rendered useless... plus there is a fantastic selection of tea!

Our Castlemaine adventures soon took us to the train station, then to the city, then to Nandi's second home. With Elwood came the rain, which triggered the baking of homemade granola and the sipping of many, many cups of tea. 

I also made friends with the wonderful mustached lady residing in the lounge room. What a babe.