QLD here we come!

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Queensland dream is ALL SYSTEMS GO!

Our removal truck will be here in 2 weeks to pick up our possessions, and then a few days later, the Broadmeadow Park clan (2 adults, 2 teens, 3 dogs and 2 cats) will make the trek up to country south-east Queensland and meet the truck at our new home.

It genuinely feels like a dream. It will be one of the biggest things we ever do as a family, and we are so ready for the change!

There was a point in time, only a few short weeks ago, when we didn’t think we would make it.

We had put our Googong home on the market at the end of June, and 6 months later, with a fallen-through offer and lots of interest but no actual buyers, we were about to call it quits.

We had signed a contract on a beautiful QLD home in the Lockyer Valley. It was conditional on the sale of our Googong place. We knew we were not going to sell in time. We were preparing to lose the QLD house.

But they do say where there is a will, there’s a way. After several phone calls to the bank manager and accountant, we pulled our house off the market and were approved to keep our Googong home and rent it out.

It turns out that sometimes the universe is telling you something. We had just taken our sweet time to listen. We held only one open home, and just over a week later, we had a signed lease. Just like that.

I feel relieved and also really at peace. I love that our home in Googong will become home for another family. I hope that they make many happy memories within these 4 walls. I know we did!

So, here is our beautiful Queensland abode:

It is a stunning, brand-new, ex-display home, in a modern country style. A legit, epic estate home and I am in love. I return to the realestate.com listing multiple times a week just to look at it.

I can’t wait to fill it with eclectic furniture, food & cooking, art, dogs and flowers! Ahhhhh…

It sits on 3/4 of an acre, and it’s a flat, empty (besides the house) block. There are only a few young trees and some small, landscaped gardens. It’s the perfect blank slate for us to potter on each weekend and plant trees, gardens, a veggie patch and a mini flower farm. We’ve also got dog runs and kennels to build; and we can’t forget the chickens and ducks. Eeek – I can’t wait!

The plan is that this property is a giant project that we’ll work on bit by bit as we have time and as we can afford it. Hubby and I both work full-time and teenagers are busy, but we decided that there’s no need to rush, we bought this property for the adventure of making it our own. Plus, the house is like walking into an interior styling magazine, so that’s probably the other reason I bought it. So freakin beautiful!

Here’s the plan for the block:

Directly behind the house, where the alfresco is, will be entertaining and living. We’ll put in a pool, fire pit, arbour and lots of beautiful perennial gardens to enjoy, screen the back fence and frame the view of the countryside. I look forward to watching the sunrise as I drink my morning coffee in this space.

On one side of this space, I will create a series of raised garden beds and try my hand at growing vegetables. Never done it before. So, we’ll see how that goes! I’ll create a composting system and chicken coop, complete with a little garden shed and greenhouse. Do you need greenhouses in QLD? I’m not sure.

On the left side of the block, we’ll put in a large shed with dog kennels to house our dogs. This is where Brad will keep his ute, tools and other toys. He’d like a project car to tinker on at some point. We plan to keep up to 6 adult dogs (we currently have 3) who will be members of our family first and then competition and breeding dogs second. They’ll live out here, except for our current spoilt ones, who may stay in the house. I’m not sure if they’ll be happy being relegated to sleep outside, but we’ll see. We’ll then divide the space on that side of the house up into multiple yards so that dogs can be separated and have plenty of room to run around and also do some training.

I was given an oak tree sapling from a very special person that I plan to plant on this side that will one day become a beautiful shade for the dogs and that part of the block.

We’ll also build a catio just off the laundry on this side of the house. This will be a white pergola, similar to the one at the back of the house, that will then be covered in cat nets. So it’ll feel like outside, but they’ll be entirely safe and enclosed. I want to build them many climbing things, a little flowing pond and gardens to relax in.

The other side…

On the other side of the block is the flower farm. This will be a tiny, very hobby-like operation. We hope to get to the point where we can head to our local monthly market with a range of fresh-cut flowers and bring some joy and beauty into people’s homes.

I’ve been growing flowers for 2 years and this year, due to having our house on the market for so long and being in limbo land with whether we were moving or not, I have not done any gardening this season.

So, my plan is for this to be fun: experiment, try lots, learn lots and enjoy myself. I already run a business so I don’t plan on making this stressful. If you see me getting stressed, slap me out of it please!

The teenage son was promised bike jumps – I’m hoping this gets him off the screens and outside more. Once he grows up, I plan to flatten those jumps and build a tiny home studio at the end of the flower field and rent it out over Air B’n’B. Shhhhh, don’t tell him.

Lastly, this side of the house will have another dog yard. This will actually be the very first thing we do when we get there, so that the dogs have a secure, shady space to chill out. It will be a high Colorbond fence, as I don’t want them barking because they can see the entire neighbourhood. Then, down the track, this will be our puppy yard, when we have a litter. A safe place for them to run and play when they get big enough.

So that’s us – follow along on socials as we prepare for an epic adventure and start our new life at Broadmeadow Park!