Above is a picture of the cute little flowers we planted on our windowsill...all but one are dead now, of course, but they lasted longer than cut flowers.

Just one short week after my brother, Chris, returned to the states, we moved from our closet in the city to a one-bedroom flat in the trendy suburb of South Yarra, just two short train stops from Melbourne City, and two train-stops closer to my lab at Monash University.

South Yarra is what we would call "yuppy-ville." Lots of people dressed in black, wearing thick high-heeled shoes and puckering their lips as they gaze into expensive shop windows. But, as my brother said, Mike and I are "huppies," a contradictory combination of the hippy and the yuppy...so we love it in South Yarra, particularly because we can walk around in our crappy jeans and t-shirts and secretly condescend to all of the materialistic snobs that seem to surround us.

It is extremely expensive to buy even a small flat in South Yarra, and the rent can often be exhorbitant, but we found a flat in a rather old brick building on a street very near the train station for $160 a week--which is cheaper than our old place and includes a small private garage! The houses that surround us are gorgeous, and we live in the ugliest place on the block...but who's complaining? We tell everyone we live across the street!

Below are some photos of our new place...it's about twice the size of our old flat, but I'm sure it still looks small to most people!