Girls trip. In Alicante. Need I say more? There is really honestly truthfully I-swear-on-my-mother’s-grave (oh, hi mum!) nothing more invigorating, more empowering, more fun and infinitely more daggy than a girls trip to anywhere. And anywhere with blue skies and endless velvet beaches is a definite bonus. I mean, girl-bonding is really nothing like boy-bonding. … Read More →
I read Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner a few months ago. It was such a tear jerking, soul wrenching story, so far from the usual trash that I read (chick lit, Steig Larsson, The Twilight Saga! Eeek!), that it moved the emotionally stunted mountains within me. I don’t even know what it is, I mean it’s … Read More →
Monday July 6, 2009. The single most painful and least productive morning of my life. Don’t tell my boss. And get comfortable, this is a fat post (and I don’t mean phat). 10.00am. I pick up the phone and dial 01628-580-333. I’m trying to get a booking at The Fat Duck, the second best restaurant in … Read More →
My boyfriend’s been away in Finland all week and I’ve been on my lonesome at home. You know what, I have to stop calling him “my boyfriend”. Much like you and I and that cute puppy I wanted to kidnap today, he has a name. His name is Panu. Equal emphasis on both syllables ~ … Read More →
He loves me, he loves me not. Don’t pretend you don’t know that game. Because everyone knows that game. You know, you pick a flower and remove its petals one by one and as you do, you think of a guy and meticulously chant “he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me…” and well, what … Read More →
My friend Khrystyne just had a baby. She had a baby! I mean, after the endless hours of contractions, anguish, pain and sweat, she made a baby, and they let her take it home. Little baby Emmerson, and OMG is it legal to be that cute? She gurgles and coos and gurgles some more, and … Read More →
I’m gonna ask you to do something really hard. Really really hard, but bear with me ok? Because there once was a time when I was young, and the world was a very different place, and I want you to go with me there, just for one moment. So sit still, close your eyes and breathe. … Read More →
A very weird thing happened yesterday. I was just plodding along minding my own business in Twitterverse when someone asked me for my opinion on something (read: Snog Soho) and I told them how I felt (read: I wouldn’t go there) and to my utter surprise, she didn’t go! Because of what I said! I … Read More →
Last weekend saw me pack my little red suitcase for what was to be a hectic weekend: flight out to Stockholm late Friday night, a day in Stockholm, cruise to Helsinki overnight on the Silja Line, and a day in Helsinki, then back in the London gloom. It was my first time in Stockholm, but I’d … Read More →
Sometimes Panu goes to work and comes home with little gifts. Mostly they’re techy gifts, like this awesome teeny tiny unbreakable water resistant usb stick (I love techy gifts by the way, because I’m too much of a numpty to buy them for myself) or a new wireless mouse or an awesome KEF surround sound … Read More →
We all know that I like thai food, I mean heck I even go to Mango Tree for a serve of awful service along side some tasty lobster pad thai. Anywhere, any time, in any state, I can always go a pad thai. So months ago, when I first saw the queues of people outside Busaba Eathai in Soho, … Read More →
So we had a friend over for dinner the night I cooked my pork & prawn fried rice. He’s an English guy, born and bred, about five heads taller than me and clearly far more intelligent. Because here I am cooking away, he pokes his head around the kitchen door and says “hey what’s for dinner?” to which I … Read More →
Tw-eat-ups! Twee-eat-ups. Tweet. Eat. Up. No matter how you spell it out, tw-eat-ups are paving way for friendships of the 21st century. Well, in my world anyway. Despite the glaring dangers of meeting up with near strangers for the sake of a decent meal, my primal necessity to seek out good food with gooder company triumphs time and … Read More →
So I accidentally went to yet another Michenlin star restaurant. Accidentally. Planning for my weekend trip to Lille, some friends who had been before suggested I check out this restaurant called L’Huitriere, which is French for The Oyster. They said this so casually that they could’ve been telling me to go grab a croissant there, you know … Read More →
I really do think that I am the worst ever foodie in the world. Not only do I have a completely unsophisticated palate (although I don’t really think this makes me a bad foodie, just a very easily pleased one), I also never shop organic, well, unless it’s convenient anyway. It’s not that I don’t … Read More →
I think the thing I miss the most about living in Sydney is the hot summers, spent with days lazing on the beach (my favourite: Clovelly), then heading home to enjoy the balmy sunset on the balcony with a freshly squeezed chilled watermelon juice in one hand (vodka, rum, tequila optional but highly recommended). Now that I think … Read More →
My girlfriends and I get together for our regular date night once in however-often-we-feel-is-necessary. Away from our taller, hairier and decidedly less intelligent masculine counterparts, we are free to wile away the hours discussing make up, travel, careers, weddings, designer bags, child birth, bling, shoes, eye creams, hair styles, fashion, and where, on our infinitely long list of … Read More →
So here’s a nice short post, with one resounding message: Simple always wins in the end. A friend of mine hosted a Fourth of July BBQ on Saturday, which for us was really just an excuse to fire up the barbie, because we live in England and well, we’re Australian. The closest I’ve ever come … Read More →
One of the things that still completely amazes me about living in London is its ridiculously close proximity to all things European. And considering the fact that I think everything is in Europe, I propel myself at every opportunity to travel (because travel is why I’m living 500 gazillion miles away from my friends and … Read More →
During dinner at Kai Mayfair last Friday night, somewhere between indulging in the perfectly cooked Chilean Sea Bass and me licking my plate (for reals), the question of ‘how does one cook fish at home?’ was posed. I’m surprised at how often this question pops up in conversation, I know a million people who refuse to cook … Read More →
It’s officially been three full weeks since the passing of arguably the greatest legend of our time. Michael Jackson bid this earth adieu to continue his jammin’ existence with The Hound Dawg, The Princess, and his thugz Tupac and Biggie… and now that all his songs have been blasted in every permutation possible in the realm of MTV and mathematics, I’ve finally found some … Read More →
Y’all remember in Charlie’s Angels? When Lucy Liu baked those little muffins and Drew Barrymore hurled it at the door and it was so rock hard it left a dent gaping hole? Well. After my second foray into baking last week, I can safely announce to the whole wide world that yes, my muffins are just like Lucy Liu’s. … Read More →
Did your mum ever tell you not to talk to strangers on the internet? And not just any strangers, but guys in particular, because isn’t that what guys do? Prowl the internet day and night, seeking out the next naive young thang? And don’t ever ever never ever meet up with someone you met on the … Read More →
There is something to be said about returning to a restaurant after repeatedly bad service. Not bad like ick, but bad like they-once-basically-accused-me-of-lying kind of bad. And I don’t know, maybe this is a question about my pride, my self worth, my self love, but do you think that despite public humiliation, returning to the … Read More →