Those of you that know me will be aware that I rely heavily on cabs and am expert in seeking the best deals and quality cars for getting around town when public transport won’t do. I don’t own a car and don’t plan to as I hate driving and think we pollute the world enough [...]

Is there a better way to start 2013 than to have a bit of a look at a philanthropic business venture which aims to help everyone? Hangovers spent under the duvet aside, of course there isn’t. Last month, I went to a launch event in Hackney at a place called Degree Art. Funnily enough, it’s [...]

When we stayed in Ibiza this Summer, our friends introduced us to a lovely local cafe which made traditional Ibicencan food.  We delighted in lamb casseroles, chicken wings, tortillas and ribs and let’s not forget the bakery.  I’ve never liked ribs but these were something else and my daughter became an instant, carnivorous fan. Needless [...]

This is where I spent the best part of last Saturday and hopefully left it in a better state than I found it! It’s the sixth form common room at my daughter’s school and Go London came in to join the PTA stalwarts and splash some paint around. Faced with coffee stains, dried chewing gum, [...]

It’s been a busy week for me as I’ve been to three events this week; all of them digital and each of them unique. First was the Cannt (the antihero of Cannes), the second was the NMA Awards at The Grovesnor (where my fabulous colleague Laura JB won The Greatest Contribution to New Media Award) [...]

Theatre purists often snort with derision when stars of the small and silver screen grace the stages of the West End. But why should they? I’ve seen great productions such as This Is Our Youth with Matt Damon, Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix and not so great with Phil Jupitus in Hairspray. That’s the nature [...]

We’re spoilt for choice in London when it comes to museums and attractions, so spoilt in fact that when it came to choosing where to take my daughter to see ‘some real war stuff’, we ended up going to two places; Britain at War and the Imperial War Museum. I didn’t think we would be [...]

We rocked up at The Royal Court Theatre yesterday to see Get Santa! The show is in the downstairs Jerwood theatre and as you enter the room you are greeted by a domestic tableau of any average house in the UK during the festive season. And that’s where normality ends – and thank heavens for [...]

What do you do for Hallowe’en? Are you a dress up and go crazy household or do you ignore the whole thing? We love Hallowe’en and while cynics say it’s a vastly commercial enterprise, I don’t think forking out £3 for a pumpkin and £5 for sweets to give to kids at your front door [...]

For those humbugs who say community spirit has gone down the pan, well I say, have a look around you and you might just have to get involved to find out where it’s at. We had our Summer street party a couple of weekends ago and it was a brilliantly organised day with everyone mucking [...]

I love ordering flowers but I often feel a bit disappointed by the selection on offer from the mainstream flower delivery companies so I do tend to shop about for something a little bit unusual. I may think again however, as Interflora has come out with a range which taps into the new prom trend. [...]

Pop along to the BBC Summer Good Food Show, which also has BBC Gardeners’ World Live running alongside, to get some top chef tips. It’s in Birmingham from June 16-20 2010.

‘Mum, when can we go back? Tomorrow and the day after?’ Yes, I’m being nagged about going back already. We went to Legoland yesterday and found it a pretty good experience. I think we were quite lucky because it was the first day of half term on bank holiday – it wasn’t too busy. The [...]

Sex and the City 2 – spoilers – fabulous scenes from the movie

The irony is not lost on me in the least; with the Tories back in power and harem pants back in fashion, I think the Hot Tub Time Machine has taken us all back to the 80s… However, photoshop and airbrushing didn’t quite exist the same way they do know, but my question is; if you went back to the 1980s, what would you bring back to 2010 and what would you bury there?

Choosing the right education for your child is not just a personal choice, it is heavily laden with responsibility. That choice will help define the future in some way. But how much?

I’m on the frontline of parenting. I’m a Mum who understands the issues around food and nutrition, not a journalist on a deadline who is looking for a headline. Is it lazy PR to send me a press release meant for a print writer or is it failure to understand the mindset of a blogger? Even worse, is it spam?

I often rave about Jezebel the straight talking women’s blog based in the US. It’s often surprising and I just loved this story about an art installation at the MoMA, called The Artist is Present, from March 14 through May 31, 2010…if only I could make it over there to see it myself. And thankfully, [...]

I’m such a sucker for all things SATC – it gets worse as I get older…but I can’t wait to see the movie when it’s out and there’s another trailer too.

Now fess up, ladies, we all like a splurge on girlie goodies now and then don’t we? I love a bit of luxury but I wouldn’t say I spend as much as £24,000 per year like some. Neither would I say it’s a feminist principle to pamper or not, it’s just about feeling good and [...]

Mothers’ Day is so lovely. When I was 21, I was so skint, I couldn’t afford the train fare to my Mum’s house. I walked the whole way, nicked some daffs and made a card, then turned up late but jolly and was greeted warmly with a knowing smile from my Mum. Yep, I was [...]

Last Sunday Miniminx and I had the privilege of being invited to the celebrity preview screening of the new Disney Movie, The Princess and the Frog. It was at the fine and dandy Mayfair Hotel in town which is very swish and glam, and famous for it’s famous guests. It is gorgeous hotel, and the [...]

Living and working in London and bringing up a child in one of the most cultural capitals of the world is a rich and rewarding experience. There’s no way you can really slow down unless you leave town for the weekend or take a holiday, so my advice is just enjoy the ride. If you’re a working Mum like me and need to be firing on all cylinders 100% 24-7, you might find these ideas useful.

Hello snowdrops! I spent nearly three hours walking round Kew last Sunday in search of these wonderful little flowers. For me they are the first sign that Winter is on it’s way out.

There’s a well worn phrase which was pretty popular back in the day…’Behind every successful man there’s a woman/wife at home…’ And when I say back in the day, it’s probably back in the day when men thought they could still get away with saying it. Because it really is an old fashioned belief. Now [...]

I really wanted our Christmas day to be different, and it certainly was. I had booked lunch at my favourite hotel in Soho so all we had to do was get up, open presents, throw on something festive to wear and roll into a taxi – bliss, bliss and triple bliss. We got a taxi [...]

This image might look a bit familiar – it’s not quite the original from my banner. Those are my almost but not quite really all time favourite Miu Miu shoes and my daughter’s gorgeous tiny red ballet shoes which I hand sewed sequins on for her when she was three. And there they are, large [...]

Why did I turn to blogging? Well, I’ve always loved to write and I’m a total chatterbox so it was pretty easy to find my conversational flow in blogland. And there were many great surprises and new experiences in store. Incredibly, this story I am writing is post number 149 which means over the last [...]

Thanks to the Royal Mail strike, my review samples from Simple Human are still sitting in a depot somewhere but the company has kindly sent me an extra 2 of their stackable recycling units. From the photos on their web site which I’ve used above, they looked like they would fit nicely in my Ikea [...]

I love a film screening, especially when it materialises out of the ether via twitter. Earlier this week Annie Mole, one of my favourite bloggers, posted a link to the invitation so I nabbed a couple of tickets. So off to the Courthouse in Soho I went with a friend last night. I made a [...]

Yes, this week has been a mega one. So Wednesday night I was out again. Off to the Grovesnor House Hotel in the pouring rain and smuggled from taxi to the safety of the reception beneath umbrellas, we launched ourselves on the evening. Bumping into Tara Palmer Tompkinson, spotting Ginger Spice, and stars from Strictly [...]

Just because I blog, doesn’t mean I’m a trainspotter but perhaps it’s seeping into my existence. Only a month ago I took a steam train up to Corfe Castle and loved it. And then we got invited to see Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. We popped in to see at the Vue Leicester Square [...]

A little trip down memory lane for me is always a jaunt around South Ken to see the museums. I love them dearly, and when we were kids, we went there all the time. My favourite was always the Natural History Museum. The Victorian architecture is, even now, quite scary but there are so many [...]

If you can’t quite get the slant on my little pun, well let me explain. I may be able to cook and sew, change a fuse and put up shelves but when it comes to day to day drudgery barefoot in the kitchen streamlined housekeeping I’m severely lacking. I think Nomestic is the new nom [...]

When we checked out on Wednesday, the place was really open for business and as I was chatting to the staff on reception, I spotted a few people coming to check in. And that really is the main event – now the launch is out of the way, there are lots of people who are very keen to come and see the embodiment of the new Butlins Hotel – it’s bright, breezy and unashamedly bubbly.

Ooh la la, la la. Tara, Tara, Tara, just blame her for this Mamma of Memes – she’s even become a TweetMeme topic today so she must be good!

Wow – it looks like mobile phones have finally killed off the phone booth, here’s what I saw at the tube station recently and I couldn’t help but grab a snap. Then I spotted the demise of good old fashioned 35mm – the closed photo shop… The image below looks like something out of a [...]

Tempted as I am to name names, I’m just going to allude to the places I went in search of an au pair bike and a sparkly creation for me and my little one. So, off to the local bike store on Chiswick High Road – the good old local store which knows the community [...]

I love to spot a trend and I think the magazine industry may finally be finding a place for itself. My wall. I have for the most part given up on paper; I do most things online and I like to save trees. I don’t even use Post It notes or business cards anymore. But [...]

It seems we no longer want to hide behind our blogger handles I’m no longer just a gravatar – since April, I’ve become less reticent about hiding behind my nixdminx name. Yes, I am actually a real person, so why hide from it? So when the lovely Tara asked me for a photo for her [...]

Thanks to Katherine at Supply and Demands for this lovely cuppa. Such a beautiful cup and saucer, so dainty and sweet, but never judge a cup by it’s saucer honeys. My one contains two packets of Proplus, half a can of redbull and a double espresso but you’d never notice…. As you all know……..I’m very, [...]

I’m really looking forward to this weekend.
I need some rest.
I’ve been working hard.
Here is my walk to the station from work…

I’m am so chuffed – in fact gobsmacked to be a new entry in the Top of the Pops (well Moms and Pops) – it’s brought back memories of me and my brothers and sisters (six of us, a veritable bratpack) dragging out the dressing up box on a Sunday night, sticking polystyrene cups wrapped in foil on the end of bamboo sticks and dressing up to sing the Top 40 to an audience of two parents helpless with laughter for two hours on the sofa.

Thanks to Violet Posy, I’m now part of the meme gang. It happens that Kate Morris has recently started blogging on Blogger and asked that people volunteer.

House rules of the meme. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 8 people and so on.

Do you ever have those really smug mornings? When you think you can take on any challenge and pull it off with panache and aplomb? In my household they mean one thing – something is definitely not quite right – in fact, it’s usually just the eye of the hurricane.

If travel doesn’t broaden the mind, it certainly widens the eyes. This has been a great and adventurous Easter holiday. We went to visit friends in Brighton for a couple of days and then, after deciding it was time to make a longheld dream of mine come true, we went to Florence. Arriving at Pisa [...]

Ladies and gents, if your Easter Sunday gets too much don’t worry. When everyone hits the chocolate high from too many eggs, you may start to feel the exasperation of being chained to the kitchen and that irksome feeling when the champagne runs dry. Fear not, just remember this clip from Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown.

‘Wasdrobe’ is my new name for what was my work wardrobe. It came to me as I opened up the white doors to find something to wear for my child-free bout of weekend socialising. I rifled through the rails marvelling at all this smart stuff I haven’t worn for months and had a small but perfectly formed revelation. A very obvious and great divide had evolved….

You know me, I’m always at a loose end these days but I do manage to keep myself pretty busy. So today’s ‘job’ was to get back to basic communication and create a flyer and publicise my ‘Lost’ notice to my neighbours and use some good old fashioned door to door leafleting.

Hello you thrifters and penny pinchers, welcome to the Credit Crunchista Carnival.

This surely is frugaletarianism at it’s absolute best, happy reading.

Thank heavens I took off my Amy Winehouse wig before I answered the door…actually, hang on a minute, maybe I should have just kept it on and screamed ‘Blaaaaaaaaaaaake Incaaaaaa-arse-errated’ …that would have stopped her in her tracks.

Raise your eyebrows (if you can) this isn’t one of those too proud/too scared ‘botox’ diatribes. But it is fuelled by the tiniest bit of envy, plenty of fear and loathing and more than a touch of outright morbid curiosity.

Sometimes I think there is a greater power. Take this; we have started to get so sick of the hideous morning news full of carnage and mayhem. So, I know I shouldn’t have, but when the news came on the radio about a plane crash, I looked at Miniminx and she was about to start [...]

Pop your lip gloss (with the lid up) in hot water for 5 minutes and it magically melts to the bottom of the tube and gives you lots more wear.