No Place Like Travel

Being invited into someone else’s family is like watching a reality TV show. You know the people, you get to sit back and be entertained and there are clear moments of truth that cast light on your own life. We’ve just spent dinner and breakfast with our old friends Amazing Mom and Christmas Pudding Dad. […]

So the original plan was to pack up the apartment, put everything in storage, pick up the RV from the dealership, head to Cape Cod and keep motoring north through Massachusetts and Maine. In some strange time warp continuum this would ideally happen in 10 days. How wrong we were!   Of course we had […]

A year ago magic happened. Two cells became four, four became eight, eight became sixteen and on and on and on. Life took hold. Our long awaited Little Baby O came to us. So wanted, and much loved even though we had not yet met him. We knew him in our dreams and now he […]

In a world where news headlines scream death, destruction, war, planes that fall out of skies and so much sadness, it is nice to pause and be reminded of everyday kindness and love. The Dalai Lama once posted (yes, on Facebook!) that at every moment countless mothers (fathers and caregivers) around the world wake to […]

We’ve been invited to Cape Cod by our dear friends JJ, N + C. It’s a magical way to begin our journey, hanging out with people we love. We arrived on Tuesday and the days seem to have blurred into a flowing rhythm of wake, play, eat, beach, fun, laughter and sleep. It feels like […]

Over the last 24 hours our lives have changed. We are now of no fixed abode, we are owners of fewer possessions and we are reveling in our new status as nomads as we hurtle down the I95 toward Cape Cod.   It’s hard to imagine that just this time yesterday we were swimming in […]

When will it ever end? How did we accumulate so much stuff? More packing, this time attacking the kitchen with a little picnic interlude with Big Red.       Previous post: Getting Nostalgic Next post: And Away We Go    

Already getting nostalgic. There is much we will miss in New York City. It is farewell for now, not forever.       Yesterday’s post: No Longer Our Home Next post: And More Stuff    

Packing up our life – pictures no longer hung, walls are bare, boxes boxed. Our apartment no longer feels like home.       Previous Post: The Road Less Travelled Tomorrow’s Post: Getting Nostalgic    

It’s 4.30 in the morning and the gravity of what we are doing has just hit. Why not have a baby, take a 15 month career break, vacate your comfy Manhattan apartment, sell your worldly possessions, leave your dear urbanite friends (and substitute family), buy an RV and drive off, destination unknown. And throw in for […]

England has a cosy place in my heart, and nothing is quintessentially more English than an afternoon pub lunch. Piling into the car with the in laws we headed off into the countryside of Kent. We meandered down a small country lane, passing an old stone church where the groom was standing in the doorway […]

I’ve always liked the newness of an idea, project, thing, time or interaction. That’s why Chinese New Year is exciting. Wearing something new is a tradition. Each year as kids we looked forward to smoothing out a dress that had sat in the back of the wardrobe, still with price tags attached. Crossing our fingers […]

Baltimore has its many charms. Crab cakes at Phillips, the zealous adoration for the Ravens and the friendliest people ever who work behind the counter at Starbucks. However when it comes to hotel room decor, it falls woefully short. Staying in an over textured room for four days has taken its toll. Indulge me whilst […]

Sundays like this feel as if they should be bottled in time. The essence stored, concentrated and used wisely. Here dear reader are a few snapshots in time to commemorate such a magical moment. Returning into the warmth from a walk in Central Park.   A walk in the park. The chill of the season […]

The is nothing more beautiful than a Sunday morning walk. As English Hubby and I strolled from the pristine comfort of The Surrey to our lunch spot on 79th and Lexington, I was stuck by the random hidden gems that were hidden in plain sight.   We walked the streets armed only with an iPhone. […]

Our New York city lives have been chaotic of late, and English Hubby and I have been seeking out ways out time whisk rom the flurry of activity that has made the month of January feel about a week long. Last weekend we focused our frazzled nerves and surfed the Internet for last minute vacations […]

When the clock strikes midnight, all the baggage of the previous year is neatly folded away and new doors open. Doors that lead forward, that swing wide to new ideas and we step over the threshold to a new you and me. This year is the year of self improvement and growth. What will I […]

Sometimes you can just feel alone. Standing quietly in the line of life waiting. Just waiting. Waiting then turns to impatience. Impatience to frustration. Frustration to anger, then anger ricochets into a million tiny pieces of self pity which can pool quietly in some corner of your soul, and manifest itself in ways so intricately […]

It is funny how the stuff you own starts to own you. Not long ago I splurged on two very extravagant items – a handbag and a wallet – a frivolous ‘investment’ that amounted to our monthly mortgage payment. Was it love at first sight? Yes. Did I feel I deserved it? Absolutely. Did it […]

Dear reader, today I went over to the dark side. I don’t like guns, let alone ever thought I’d be capable of firing one, but that all changed about twelve hours ago. C (of the lake house fame) suggested as a lark that we go to the pistol range, and in a swashbuckling moment characterized […]

It’s snowboaring time again and English Hubby and I find oursleves in one of our favorite places in America, the itsy bitsy town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado.   We discovered this hidden gem almost seven years ago on our RV road trip around the States. My two best Aussie friends, S + N we’re road […]

  Email is a strange addiction. You battle with it daily, feel the need to check for replies, get that buzz when something interesting arrives, feel overwhelmed then you have too much of it, yet empty when it gets taken away. I came to the conclusion that my personal email traffic must be actively reduced. […]

I found you in a op shop on South Road. They no longer had use for you, but I did. You were the very first piece of furniture I bought. You were the wooden embodiment of the hope that one day I would move out of home, have a place of my own, throw fancy […]

Every now and then there are words that ring so true that they stop you in your tracks and you feel as if you’ve stumbled across a secret key to unlock your own universe. It is Sunday. I am reading the next installment of The Happiness Project. The words are: “but I didn’t want to […]

Tonight I read an article on BBC News about how the internet is changing our memory.  Researchers say that the internet acts as a “transactive memory” that we rely on to remember for us.  This particular study illustrates how our brains have adapted to the technologies around us.  We no longer need to remember the […]

Our friends N + C have a lake house near the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, and they foolishly invited us over again for long weekend.   The “compound”, as it is affectionately known, sits in one of the gated communities that line the shores of a cluster of lakes made millions of years ago as […]

English Hubby and I have just come back from our a birthday party for our dear friend’s twin 3 year olds, and we are knackered! On one hand it was great to be part of the raw excitement and circle of fun that always seems to surround three year olds; on the other hand, it […]

My dearest friend B asked me why I started this blog.  Good question.  Honestly, I’m not quite sure myself.  It defies the gravity of logic to take on a new, very public endeavor especially when I barely get a humane amount of sleep each night, have a career that demands more than a pound of […]

It has been one of those weeks.  Early morning conference calls, followed by back to back meetings and capped off by late night battles with an email inbox that seems to multiply faster than two rabbits on heat.  Final email inbox count = 1,462. Care factor = 0. How I’ve waited impatiently for the end […]

I have a dirty little secret – I went to see Thor last night.  Norse legend, big hammer, lots of lightning and thunder, manly vikings saving the world…ring a bell?  Not only was it a voluntary move to see an action movie with English Hubby, but I have to admit that I actually enjoyed it. […]

Another gorgeous afternoon in New York City.  Especially on a day like this, food should match the sunshine. In my mind’s eye, there is a simple equation: sunshine + blue skies + light breeze = fritatta for lunch.  I’ve always pictured beautiful people in Spain sitting outdoors, drinking cava and devouring delicious fritattas.  They are […]

Summer has finally arrived, kissing New York City with glorious sunshine and crystal blue skies. English Hubby turns to me this morning and sweetly coons, “let’s do something together”.  So, where else would we be but (note a hint of sarcasm here) sitting in our local pub watching football [aka soccer, dear Americans].  English Hubby has […]

Here she is.  Let me introduce to the world…Eve.  She arrived May 25, 2011, early evening.  Perfectly formed, all shiny and new. A delicious reminder of last week – under the Tuscan sun, where we learned to turn glorious eggs, 00 flour and water into golden pasta. Ah, Eve – she who offers up temptation. […]