No. Let me put it more forcefully than that: I FREAKING need a wife because life as a single, working mother who's just bought a house a few weeks before Christmas is so bloody HARD. Diddums, I hear you say. You just went on a free-flowing champagne cruise ... Suck. It. Up. Princess. But I... Continue Reading →

There are worse ways to spend a Monday afternoon than sitting in a spa ... on a cruise ship ... in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge ... sipping cocktails with a girlfriend. Gross understatement. It's a bloody awesome way to start the week. When I scored an invitation to spend a night aboard... Continue Reading →

At risk of being cut down, tall-poppy style ... I'm having a bit of a purple patch with my work-related treats. Last week, I got to test drive the lastminute.com.au Secret Hotels app. Yesterday, I took my night-walking pal Mel on a freebie overnight cruise aboard the Voyager of The Seas. I'll blog all the... Continue Reading →

I'm not one to let the grass grown under my feet. I like to get things DONE. So I took a builder and flood-sanding bloke along to the final inspection for my new house last week because I'm itching to do a mini-reno BEFORE Xmas. Yep, that's me, glass-half-full kinda gal. The builder seemed jiggy... Continue Reading →

This week was BIG: scary, fun, fabulous and infuriating ... all at the same time. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions. Actually, make that a tidal wave ... by the end I felt like I'd been dumped, face-first, into the sand. I did NOT cope well with settlement day on my new house. I was... Continue Reading →

"What’s the good of news if you haven’t a sister to share it?" ~Jenny DeVries It's my little sister's birthday today. Many happy returns, sis! She's heading to Newcastle for the weekend to enjoy some hometown R&R. We're having a belated celebration in her new spa when she gets back on Sunday night ... with... Continue Reading →

I was born with the property bug. The moment I arrived in Sydney, I was desperate to own a piece of it. I would plead – in vain – with friends to go halves with me in apartments. I started on the property ladder when I was 26 and invariably got itchy feet every five... Continue Reading →

Why do you look so terrible when you reverse the lens on your iPhone to take a selfie? Let me rephrase that: why do I look so terrible when I reverse the lens on my iPhone? I tried to take a few selfies during my Secret Hotel stay and it was a very sobering experience... Continue Reading →

There's something deliciously decadent about strolling through the lobby of a five-star hotel - after lazily checking out at 10.30am on a Tuesday morning - then languidly ambling to your inner-city hairdressing appointment in the spring sunshine. I had SUCH a fun time test-driving the Secret Hotels app for lastminute.com.au on Monday night/Tuesday morning. As... Continue Reading →