Occasional stories, food and travel inspiration
The other day, my boyfriend and I went to see British comic Chris Turner in his show, Observational Tragedy. Alternately witty, moving, and thought provoking, it prompted both spontaneous laughter
When I was younger I thought of life mostly in terms of goals. Everything was about achievements and new experiences. "Live overseas." Tick. "Get a great job." Tick. "Be a published
Regular readers may remember my grouchy Valentine's Day post from a few years ago, when I was newly separated from my ex husband and in no mood for romance. Back then, the very thought of being with
I recently met up with friends for our regular Cookbook Club lunch where we share dishes we've cooked from a selected cookbook. If you're anything like most people, you'll have a number of cookb
I'm a Summer gal so I love this time of year - the baking heat, the endless blue skies and the regular swims automatically put me in a good mood. But even I can get testy after a run of 40+ Ce
I'm a little obsessed with Summer fruit at the moment but can you blame me? This time of year is when my kitchen is overflowing with beautiful berries, stone fruit, cherries, grapes, mangos, kiwi fru
We're a mere seven days into 2016 and I'm wondering how many of us are actually sticking to our New Year's Resolutions? And how many of us are already mentally consigning them to the trash? Well,
Christmas day lunch in my family is not a small affair: each year around 24 people sit down at one long table at my parents' house to celebrate Christmas together. The Christmas day table is mad
This recipe came about when I offered to make a dish for a weekend brunch at my BFF's a couple of months ago. With four kids in the house that morning -- my young niece and nephew had slept over t
I'm dating a man who is racist against salad and most fruit. His deep and abiding hatred is incomprehensible to me because I happily eat both every day. "It's the texture and feel of them," he s
After a particularly long, cold and tedious Winter, Spring has finally arrived in Australia. Hurrah! For me, Springtime is about enjoying the sunshine, catching up with the friends I've neglecte
Vast blue skies, gently undulating land and ancient mountain ranges. In terms of magnificent scenery and great bushwalking trails, the Flinders Ranges in outback South Australia sure does deliver.
Redesigning a blog is like renovating a house. Or getting elective plastic surgery. You start off thinking that you're just going to make a few minor cosmetic changes and you end up with a ho
A month ago my ex husband had a vasectomy. When it was over and he was half the man he used to be -- his words, not mine -- I picked him up from the hospital and drove him home, teasing him onl
Over the years I've learned that regular exercise is not an indulgence but a necessity for both my physical and mental health. So every week I practise hot yoga, a type of yoga based on Hatha and
I had just dropped my son at childcare and was driving my daughter to school. "Book Week is coming up again," my 7YO told me. "This year I want to dress as Sleeping Beauty." "Sleeping Beauty?
I lied to my son the other day. I don't usually advocate lying to small and innocent children but in this case I felt it was justified. You be the judge. My son is four and a half. I've blog
"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world,” Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables As busy as life is, I try to hav
In my last post I blogged about taking professional and creative risks and working outside of my comfort zone. My culinary comfort zone, so to speak, is modern Australian food with an empha
Me: I don't feel like myself. Friend: What's going on? Me: Lots of stuff. Big stuff. Heavy stuff. I've started dating again, too. Friend: That's good. It's about time you got back o
Smoked salmon and I have had a long and regular love affair. I like it with scrambled or soft boiled eggs and freshly steamed asparagus spears, in a bagel with cream cheese, capers and cornichons, or
I'm feeling good. A new yoga studio has opened up two minutes from my house and I am loving downward dogging it regularly again. I've been swimming at least every other day and on Wednesdays I practi
I'm still in semi-holiday mode at the moment, hence my recent lack of posting, commenting and interaction on social media. Between the hot weather, making the most of the school holidays, and my curre
It's still crazy hot in Adelaide so I've been experimenting with home-made ice blocks and sorbets. I can't stop eating the beetroot, carrot and berry flavoured ice blocks I made recently but my kids w
It's crazy hot in Adelaide, South Australia, at the moment. This week it's going to hit 40+ degrees Celsius (104+ degrees Fahrenheit) five days in a row. That's five days of sweltering sun, plants cr
Most home-cooked dessert should be simple - some fruit and yoghurt pots. An easy upside down cake. A boozy sorbet for the grown ups. It's the no-stress, no-fuss type of dessert you can put together wi
Summer is my favourite season and an Australian summer takes some beating. I love the longer days and warm nights, the brilliant blue sky, the steady hum of happy insects in the garden, the endless
It's less than a week until Christmas and as usual at this time of year, I am feeling tired, unprepared and over-full. I'm tired because I'm doing my usual work/family juggling act while also tryi
Can you believe it's almost December? Yes, it's that time of year when the calendar fills up, you try to catch up with everyone you've ever met in the space of a few weeks, you eat your body weight in
The other day I was at the beautician for a once-in-a-blue-moon appointment. A blonde lady in her 40s was examining my skin when she said, "of course people from your country always have an issue wit
