The ethanol crowd really know how to party. I was invited to the Manildra Christmas bash last night. It was on a fancy boat called Kokoma 2. Kokoma cruised around Sydney harbour while we sipped sparkling wine and supped on arancini balls and gourmet sausage rolls and oysters. I was there because Manildra is an […]
Once upon a time, I lived in New York. It wasn’t for very long, just a little while. I can’t quite believe it actually happened. But it did – we had an apartment on the Upper, Upper, Upper West Side. I was a stay-at-home mum while my ex studied business journalism at Columbia University. As […]
One of the final nails in my marriage coffin was a swimming pool. And Hama beads … but that’s a story for another day. Have I told you the swimming pool story? I can’t remember. I’m so vague at the moment that I wrote my name on an official document as “Ala” yesterday. Yup, totally […]
I peered in the windows of my dream house over the weekend. The real estate agent’s ad describes it as “a modest circa 1912 Canadian red cedar residence steeped in historical significance and on the market for the first time in 80 years.” That doesn’t make it sound like much, but the location is out […]
Everyone loves a good reunion and here’s a corker for anyone who grew up watching The Brady Bunch like me … A US TV network is getting ready to film “A Very Brady Renovation” after buying the iconic house that starred in the original series. HGTV bought the house in August, winning out over seven […]
Celebrities as a species aren’t particularly wise. They make just as many dumb choices as the rest of us. Probably more. But people seem to listen better when a star suggests something, so here goes … When Gwyneth Paltrow “consciously uncoupled” from Chris Martin a month after my own marriage ended, I thought the phrase […]
It took me four hours to collect my kid from art camp yesterday. The things we do for love. I battled the driving rain to Springwood in a journey made extra harrowing by the RTA’s decision that signage to the Blue Mountains isn’t necessary for the first eleventy seven thousand kilometres of the motorway. I was […]
Xanadu and comfort food were on the menu at my place last night … it gets pretty trashy in the Household when the eldest isn’t around. The youngest and I feasted on sausages and mash – the eldest hates mash – and curled up together to watch one of the best-worst movies of all time. […]
I was hoping to get to bed early last night and recover from my busy weekend, but love had other ideas. I finally pulled into my driveway around 10.30pm. I stepped out of the car and was enveloped in the scent of orange blossom, drifting from hedge. It was divine. As I walked towards the […]
I had an awful … and wonderful … weekend. That seems to be par for the course in my life lately. I’ve been a bit under the hammer – escape was on my mind. I decided to fly north to visit my friend Paul. Paul has been a rock for me since I was about […]
