I had the most terrible realisation yesterday. As I trawled through my Facebook feed, I spotted a post from my sister-in-law, thanking everyone for the birthday messages she'd received on Sunday. I spent Sunday with my sister-in-law. I did not wish her a happy birthday. I forgot. She'd travelled to Sydney with her three daughters... Continue Reading →

I'm short on words and big on pictures this morning. Yesterday was HUGE and I'm still recovering. We celebrated the 11-year-old's birthday at a local harbour pool (if I told you which one I would have to kill you - it's a gorgeous secret that far too many people are discovering) on a blisteringly hot... Continue Reading →

I'm a crazy planner. Noticed, much? So you won't be completely surprised to hear I spent many, many years concocting my first child in my head. She had red hair (like me), loved eating exotic foods (like me) and was called Ruby, after my great grandmother. Now, there are many things you CAN plan in... Continue Reading →

I resisted getting an iPhone. I clung to my ancient Blackberry because I liked having buttons to press. I hated the smeary iPhone screen and the way my fat fingertips always pressed the wrong keys. But mainly I'm hopeless with change. We were an Apple household, however, with a "cloud" containing an Apple TV, various... Continue Reading →

It was politely suggested during a pow-wow with the youngest's teacher that she might be juggling too many after-school activities. Guilty as charged. The youngest is a pocket dynamo. Her average week looks like this: saxophone lessons, gymnastics, swimming lessons, netball training (in season, with game on Saturday), and two separate skipping sessions (double dutch... Continue Reading →

There's so much icing in my life at the moment. The metaphorical stuff is a total buzz: just as sweet as the real thing, without being messy, calorie-laden or complicated. Yet. The sugary real stuff, on the other hand ... There's a vast, terrifying chasm between deciding you are going to make THIS for your... Continue Reading →

People sometimes ask me what HouseGoesHome was like in its early days: patchy quality; frequently bleak; poorly illustrated. I remember my mother-in-law nervously suggesting to my ex-husband that it was "a little dark." Looking back, I ache for the woman who wrote those posts in that primordial blog swamp. She was a mess. For example,... Continue Reading →

Sydney's Northern Beaches are a funny old place. So near and yet so far from the city. Many moons ago, I yearned to buy a (vaguely affordable) beach pad, so I made the trek to Newport for an open house. About halfway there, mired in horror weekend traffic, I realised it was NEVER going to... Continue Reading →

Today is going to be tough. It's something I can't blog about ... because there are certain things even the ultimate over-sharer knows aren't appropriate for public consumption. Especially when it involves my kids. Anticipating this not-for-public-consumption event has contributed to my roller coaster of emotions over the past week. I'm not happy to be... Continue Reading →