Before and After

A bit excited this week to see our renovation featured in Home Beautiful.

 It was photographed about 18 months ago so it's been a long patient wait for us to see it in print.  Hope you like it…

Oaks Day 2013 - Tales from the Track

Tale #1 – The Jumpsuit

Sue was very concerned that the jumpsuit I was wearing would produce a camel toe at any moment.  She was with me when I first tried it on – and cautioned me that it was a risky choice for the races.

So risky in fact that I was almost refused entry.  First, I was pulled aside for wearing thongs – my ‘pre-race’ footwear (naturally I had proper shoes to change into) and then I was asked to wait while the gate attendant called across a more senior man – to assess whether the ‘all-in-one’ met with the raceday dress code.  Seriously peeps – get with the program!

Sue in Kirrily Johnston dress and headpiece from Ginger (purchased when we were in Chiang Mai).  Me in Life with Bird and hat by the gorgeous Carla Murley

Tale #2  - The Ugg Boots and the Gladiator Heels

There’s been much chatter on Facebook about Sue’s ugg boots.  Never mind the ugg boots… did you see the gladiator heels that she changed into?   As usual, hers is a look that only the brave… the very brave can actually pull off! 

Tale #3 – Cross species

At one point (later in the afternoon), Sue teamed her Kirrily Johnston cowhide dress with a sheepskin jacket AND the sheepskin ugg boots – taking her fashion bravery to a whole new level.

(SORRY NO PHOTO!)

Tale #4 – The Sunglasses

I left my sunglasses at home.  Tragedy!  As soon as I realised, I texted my friend Kate (who did our beautiful flowers on the day) and asked if she could bring me a spare pair.  I was naturally expecting she would have a cheeky pair of Tom Fords or Prada spares in the cupboard – but the best she could muster was a crooked pair from the dress-up box.  I resorted to squinting all day.

Tale #5 – the Pink Dress

Every girl’s worst nightmare… being seen in the same outfit as another chick.

It must have been living hell for six girls who wore the Country Road hot pink dress.   Oh dear...

Here's one of the pinkys on the train home.

 Until next year...

One Very Hungry Caterpillar

On Sunday I ate:

a tomato

an avocado

2 pieces of toast

1 x kiwi fruit

leftover quinoa salad

a 500ml bottle of Coke (I never drink soft drink and I don’t drink caffeine)

1 x large bucket of hot chips

1 x punnet cherry tomatoes

Pate and biscuits

1 x large (‘Triple T’) pizza with 3 kinds of tomatoes (cherry, sundried and Roma)

1 x mango

Strawberries

Blueberries
Chocolate icecream

Vanilla icecream

1 x Caramello Koala

2 x Whittaker almond chocolate bars

Berocca

I blame Wayne Bradford’s cellar for this dietary blowout. 

The hole in Wayne's cellar

We were in Perth you see – visiting the ‘Gun-fords’ and 'Scott-Robbins' and I got a little too refreshed on our first night together.

We stayed in 'The Chameleon' house - Kath and Wayne's new home.  It's Old English Manor at the front and Tuscan Villa at the back - check it out:

Kath in the kitchen.

The bar

The posh dining room

Even posher staircase

Sitting room and upstairs library

I felt much better Monday, after 10 hours sleep and a morning run around the salubrious Dalkeith (despite getting lost - I was still a bit disoriented).  And feeling even better today after two AFDs.

Got my form back... just in time for Oaks Day today.

Thanks for a wonderful stay guys - so great to see you all xxx

Renovation - 2 years on...

A few (amateur i-Phone) snaps of our house which was photographed today for Herald Sun HOME magazine.  

Top 5 Survival Tips

It’s a jungle out there but I’m just not sure how useful it is to know that I can drink my own urine in case of extreme dehydration or to run in a zig zag when being chased by a crocodile.

I figure if you’ve made it through screaming babies keeping you awake all night, the perils of the modern piranha-filled workplace and the realization that your smile lines are now wrinkles – all while wearing shoes so high that they defy gravity, then you can pretty much deal with anything life throws at you.

But sometimes we need a little extra help – which is where these survival tips might come in handy:

1. Never underestimate the power of retail therapy
2. Happy hour can start at whatever time you want it to
3.  Some days it’s easiest to refuse to give a shit
4. Never, I repeat never, entertain the idea of spending longer than 4 hours in a car with your children
5. In case of emergency – chardonnay can be consumed unrefrigerated

Oh – and it’s also wise to keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times.

Domestic Bliss?

Sometimes things at home just don't go your way!

I love these photos by Lee Materazzi hope they give you a giggle too. (Thanks Yellowtrace!)

Thailand Adventure – 'Off Duty'

In between filming, we managed to squeeze in some extra curricular activities while in Thailand.

In Bangkok we ate and shopped, and then ate and shopped some more.

We tried all of the local delicacies.

Yum - silk worms!

Crunchy crickets

We drank ridiculously priced cocktails at rooftop bars overlooking the sprawling Bangkok city skyline.

Susan F's $47 Kir Royale at Vertigo - Banyan Tree

Bangkok's Sky Bar with Di, Lara and Su

We indulged in the degustation menu at David Thompson’s Nahm – not once but twice – even got to meet David who was slightly odd but very entertaining.

At Nahm, the flowers were almost as amazing as the food - check out those orchids!

We had foot massages with not-so-happy endings, which involved being kneed in the back and violently jerked from side-to-side like a floppy rag doll.

Susan F's massage  'modesty' pants.

Sky Bridge at Flight of the Gibbons

Tandem Ziplining with Kay Caf

We ziplined through the Thai jungle – high above the tree canopy at Flight of the Gibbons – kinda scary but so exhilarating.  The 5km course included lots of flimsy sky bridges plus some abseiling and an encounter with a family of four gibbons including two babies. 

We got up close and personal with the elephants at Elephant Nature Park (www.saveelephant.org) – a refuge for endangered Asian elephants but also for hundred of stray dogs who freely roam the park.

This elephant named Lucky was blinded by circus lights

We cooked up a storm at a cooking class in Chiang Mai with Lara and Di.  God it was sweltering in that kitchen – I managed to get out of cooking one of the dishes by flipping the contents of my wok onto the floor after a chili-induced sneezing fit.

This guy was from the UK - we thought he looked like Phil Collins so we called him Phil all night.  I think his real name was Gary.  We tormented him and everyone else on the course for about 5 hours - including a shared ride home where we entertained them with our singing. 

The 'Talent' van

There was also the night in Bangkok, which began at midnight once filming had finished and ended (for Sue Peden) with Gastrolight and Pad Thai for breakfast.  And another night in Chiang Mai at The Riverside which made for an interesting and hilarious bus trip the next day.  Don’t worry Susan F and Di Parsons, what happens on tour, stays on tour!