About Penny + Laura
Oh! Hello,
We are Penny Phipps and Laura Blythman and we are not from here.
Let’s be upfront: it wasn’t love at first sight when we first met Geelong. You know those people at a party who don’t know anyone and insist on standing there, back against the wall, unsure if they want to get to know anyone? That was us. But then we cautiously started to mingle and little by little, Geelong is warming to us and we are warming to Geelong.
This blog is our space to share the gems we’re discovering, the places we love, the things that make us smile.
If, like us, you’re not from here, we hope this blog helps to make you feel a little more at home.
If you are from Geelong we hope you enjoy viewing your hometown through a newcomer’s eyes.
Last but not least, if you’re one of the folks that we have left behind in Melbourne and Canberra we hope to entice you to visit us by bragging nonstop about the quirks and corners of this loveable lil town.
Follow us for the ride!
Penny and Laura xx
Penny
Born and bred in Canberra, Penny has wandered for the past six years, living in Melbourne, South East Asia and most recently Ireland. When returning to Australia with her Irish beau Rory, Geelong came up trumps as the next place to call home. Penny works as a social worker by day and loves some weekend-time in the garden and the kitchen. Craving good food, shopping and culture and feeling more than a little unsure of where to find it, Penny has been exploring Geelong, leaving no rock unturned.
Laura
From the far eastern ‘burbs of Melbourne, with many years in St Kilda and Northcote, Laura, found herself a little lost in Geelong. Working as a freelance graphic designer and living in a pretty lil home with her photographer fiancé Steve, it was time for Laura to break free from the house and make amends with G-Town. Co-pilot for all explorations is the gorgeous Alexander Eddy, offering a one-year-olds perspective on the highlights of the ‘hood they call home.
Penny and Laura met in Thailand. As legend has it, one dreadful day Laura misplaced her bankcard on route to a foreign country, arriving on Lanta island with not a baht to her name. Penny happily helped out a stranger and they’ve been friends ever since. When fate randomly landed them both in Geelong they reunited for some fun – they make one helluva team!
Photo by Stephen @ Stephen Robb Photography
“it was time for Laura to break free from the house and make amends with G-Town.” – Favorite bit
Haha! Thanks Josh G
It is one of our favourite bits too. Amends are definitely being made…
Cool blog so far. Welcome to Geelong. I expected to see lots of happy snaps from cafe go on the blog after all the shots you took today. Enjoy your time here – its a good little town.
Thanks Owen!
Nice work girls. A good read
Thank you!!
Oh hello ladies, lovely to meet you! Just so’s you know there’s a great event coming up that you may be interested in attending/covering: Artists Anonymous’ inaugural meeting! http://www.facebook.com/events/321443897892680/
Please get in touch as there’s a tonton of stuff I’d love to share and chat with you about.
Cheers,
Miriam
Hey Miriam, this sounds pretty interesting. We’ll try and be in touch soon. Thanks for contacting us! We actually know someone who was looking for a group like this to join, so your timing is fab!
Ohmygosh! totes cuteness Laura! Just discovered your blog via the lovely Jane, who has been writing for me over at Toffee magazine. I’m loving Geelong all of a sudden! Woooo xxx
Yay! Thanks so much Nancy lady!
xxxx
Come visit!
Thank you so much for this blog! I have just moved down here from Melbourne and have been feeling a little lost. Now I can set myself a challenge of finding all the places you mention and actually getting to know G-town.
Yay! we are so glad you found us! Hope we help you feel a little more at home. We know how you feel and we hope to keep you very busy!
cool – I am moving to the Geelong area soon (frorm NZ) – this is perrfect.
Hey there Sally! Best of luck for your move…Geelong fun times await! We’ll be posting about more Geelong gems very soon, stay tuned
Love your work lovely ladies, thank you for sharing your essential discoveries! I too am new to the hood and look forward to venturing out to sample these wonderful local wares.
Your blog makes me want to be a Geelong girl again! I now live in the inner-north in Melb but am from Geelong and still visit regularly to see family. To have little pieces of the inner-city life opening up in a place where everywhere is “10 minutes away”, the beach is only 20 minutes away, babysitters are 5 minutes away and a 3 bedroom house is affordable makes me want to move back! Love it – I’ll be checking in regularly to work out what place I should be discovering on my next visit down…thank goodness for those babysitters!
Oooh thank you sooo much!! Having just made the move to G-Town after being a born and bred Melbournite, I was wailing the loss of all my fav Melbourne haunts! My Irish hubby is already loving G-Town, but this has made me super excited to get out, explore & even fall in love with the G-Town. Ps. Any cool afternoon &/or night spots to visit??
Great blog girls! I was just alerted to it by my sister who read about you on thedesignfiles.net. Like you I’m relatively new to the area (although I’m in Pt Lon). Wonderful insights into the local markets, shops and galleries. I’m a Melb girl who has lived in London (4 years) and Ballarat (2 years) in recent times but now the coast is home – my hubby’s childhood home and a wonderful place to bring up little ones. I look forward to exploring all the places that you have written about.
Hi Penny and Laura
Well done – an excellent blog. My name is Jon Mamonski and I’m at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre where you can be entertained regularly by a vast range of shows for all ages and tastes.
Check us out at http://www.gpac.org.au. I live in Ocean Grove and there is plenty to take in, in this beautiful hamlet with the finest ocean beach on the coast. All the very best with your exploring.
Hello,
Love your blog! Just wondered where you got the three birds from in the photo above?
Many thanks,
Bridget
Hey, Thanks Bridget! They are made by Delilah Devine
xx
Hello P&L… i love this!
looking at your blog i remember mine and my love for design and illustrations…
Thanks for sharing
Hi there to OHhellogeelong.
What a great website. Full of lots of good stuff.
I am a sonwriter, singer, guitarist and banjo player from Geelong.
Presently performing gigs around Geelong, The Bellerine and beyond.
I wondered if you wanted to do an article on one of my songs.
Hey Hey Molly Meldrum. A song I wrote and performed about
the guru of Australian music.. He has heard the song and said some of the lyrics were about some things even he had forgotten.
Would really like to hear from you.
All the best From Steve Thew Geelong.
Ph: 0400028854
Hi Ladies! I’ve nominated you for a couple of blog awards, wooh! You can check it out here: http://hellkatdesigns.wordpress.com/2013/01/19/shucks/
Please don’t feel obligated to follow the meme in any way, I just think of it as a nice way to spread some blog love.
You girls have done a fabulous job on this
Hi Penny and Laura. I am moving to Geelong in the next few weeks from Northern NSW with my boyfriend (first time out of home for both of us) and I just wanted to say a big thank you to you both! Your blog is very warming and I am much more optimistic now that I will find a home away from home in this beautiful town. You’re both doing a great job