Since my last post, I’ve had my Mum, Dad and one of my best friends visit from Brisbane, I’ve seen three new regions of Victoria, covered the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival for Electrify Mag and most recently, started a new job!

I’ve just finished my first week at my new job in digital marketing, which has coincided with being pretty crook – apart from my non-negotiable brunch date with my boyfriend (which I refused to miss, despite his best attempts at getting me to rest), I haven’t done too much apart from working and sleeping. This post will attempt to wrap up the best of the last month or so, since I have been a teeny bit slack on the blogging front lately.

Explore More: Melbourne Travel Guide 

New Places in Victoria

Very pleased to have got to several more regions of Victoria so far this year, although the Yarra Valley, Daylesford and the Great Ocean Road still evade me (but it won’t be for long!).

• Bendigo, Goldfields
• Dromana, Mornington Peninsula
• Queenscliff, Bellarine Peninsula
• Barwon Heads, Bellarine Peninsula
• Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula
• Sassafrass, Dandenongs

Trendsetters & Style Icons

Melbourne’s events calendar is jam-packed in March. I won’t make it to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year, but I did finally make it to Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival! I was at VAMFF on a press pass, which was exciting, covering the event for Electrify Mag, which is based in New York City. My favourite look of the night was this bold red ensemble by Dion Lee, worn by Australian supermodel Samantha Harris.

Forever Marilyn at the Bendigo Art Gallery is an intriguing insight into the enigmatic blonde bombshell. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos inside the exhibition, but I can promise you it’s worth the (very comfortable) two-hour train trip from Melbourne! For the duration of the exhibition, Seward Johnson’s towering Forever Marilyn statue is on loan to Bendigo, towering over the gardens.

Mum & I also loved 200 Years of Australian Fashion, which is now open at NGV Australia. Moving between each gallery is like walking through time, with each room packing a visual punch. A must-see if you’re in Melbourne!

Eating & Drinking: Tim Ho Wan

If you’re as crazy about BBQ pork buns as I am, you need to get yourself to Tim Ho Wan, to try their signature baked BBQ pork buns. Just when you think the humble pork bun can’t get any better, it gets crispy, crunchy and buttery. The Michelin-starred restaurant originated in Hong Kong, but has taken Melbourne by storm – it’s well worth the queue.

On Easter Sunday, my uncles whipped up an eight (or nine?) course Balinese feast. Where there is lots of good food, lots of good wine is never far away, so it’s safe to say I pretty much rolled out of their place that evening.

Photo of the Week

Autumn has finally arrived! If I wasn’t so sick this weekend, I’d be getting out for a walk in one of the gardens. Next weekend!

Very happy to reach 25k followers yesterday, on Instagram! Follow me @thewanderbugworld.

Illustrations

Some of my first attempts at illustrating some of my favourite places.

This time last year

This time last year I was experiencing the highs and lows of moving to a new city and discovering the difference between moving and travelling. I’m glad I wrote about it then because it is so easy to forget how difficult I found it at first. Happy to say that a year later, I’m well and truly settled in.

I also finally recapped my first couple of days in Paris, from my most recent trip to Europe. We spent most of our first day lost, but our luck improved on the second day, which we spent in the Marais.

Highs

I haven’t worked in an office in nearly two years, so it was such a delight to meet my new team this week. Everyone has been so lovely so far, it’s been really nice to get to work alongside such warm and interesting people all week.

I’m also really excited about the role itself. I’ve started working on a few really interesting projects and have an upcoming trip to Sydney. Can’t wait! I’ve had to pinch myself several times this week, when I remember that my job involves working on websites, Instagram and Facebook for awesome bars, restaurants and pubs. Couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be working right now – how often in your career can you say that?!

Lows

Being the constantly-coughing sick person in the office this week. I was hoping to recover over the weekend but it looks like I’ll be squeezing in a trip to the doctor this week!

Reading

I recently finished Here & There by A.A. Gill, who has quickly become one of my favourite writers for his vivid descriptions and insightful observations. Now I’m on to A.A. Gill Is Further Away.

Watching

A lot of Downton Abbey. Perfect comfort-television.

Wanderlusting

I’m pretty content where I am right now, but I’m really excited for some mini escapes coming up over the next few months – a weekend away here and there, to the Yarra Valley, Daylesford and maybe the Gold Coast!