London has so much to offer and a lot of it is still free, including the museums in South Ken. We spent a wonderful day at the Science Museum last Friday. I thought it may be foolhardy to head out to one of the popular museums on Good Friday, but it wasn’t too hectic. As we [...]

Half term in London? Are you mad or what?! I hear you cry. Well, I’m not joking at all. February half term is often the best one to head out in London because it’s decidedly off season as far as the tourist industry is concerned. Only Brits would be so happy to trudge around in [...]

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 [...]

I gave up coffee a few months ago and can happily report back that I have resumed sleeping and reclaimed my teapot. However, judging by the raised eyebrows I’ve received when I’ve told people, it seems that giving up coffee seems is more socially unacceptable than heading to a party and declining alcohol.  Well, if [...]

I recently wrote about the new Lush Fun product and last week, having been invited along for afternoon tea, we popped along to the Lush store in Covent Garden to find out more and check out the Christmas goodies on offer there. If you’re Lush aficionado like I am, you’ll know that on first glance [...]

Well at least one part of it does, this is The Westminster Hub on Haymarket. I’ve just been in the McKinsey session. Always a brave move to do an event on a Monday morning and the sound was awful, my view of the speakers was obscured by a latecomer (and a rather large one at [...]

Lush is instantly recognisable by the aroma that wafts around all of its stores not just around the UK, but the rest of the world.  It’s a great brand, full of wit and wisdom which it dispenses freely on its packaging and in abundance in store.   But did you know Lush has a small [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Well, I’m being dramatic, I have not replaced the entire wardrobe, it’s had a necessary update as a few things need replacing. Actually, these few things are being parked permanently; in the dressing up box or the ‘vintage’ pile for my daughter, never to see the light of day until she asks for them. But [...]

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

These rather grubby fox cubs usually get up at 8am or so and have a stretch out in the sunshine before having a bit of a lark about and then making their way out of our garden and into the neighbourhood to forage or do whatever they do.

Do anti cellulite creams work? You need to use it for one month morning and night and apply it from the ankles up to the waistline. It smells exotic and contains caffeine, menthol, camphor and salicylic acid plus ginseng and biloba. On first application, I was expecting to be glooped but the serum-like gel dries quickly and the tingling sensations do last a while.

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?

Dear Mr and Mrs Fox… It is inappropriate to let your children roam the streets and rile up the neighbourhood after midnight. Waking up the head of the household by trying to break in is akin to burglary. You have been warned. Regards The grumpy person who got woken up last night PS: don’t even [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

There’s a lot to be said for window shopping, especially in the West End. I’m usually agog at Harvey Nichs windows but Selfridges really caught my eye. These Pandas are not just cute, they’re endangered and very limited edition and exclusive, so it’s nice to see some creative campaigning. And also a touch of the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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.

‘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.

Alas, this story of my job hunt has less twists and turns than the M1. I’ve become more of a caravan on the hard shoulder than the Porsche in the fast lane. And not for the want of trying, as you can see from my older posts, I’ve been trying to get a foot in the door at lots of places. But still, it’s hard not to think ‘Why me?’.

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.

It’s a sign of the times, I’ve given up the ghost and I’ve had enough of shopping!!! There are two things I still need in my credit crunch arsenal; a good le Creuset set and a giant pasta saucepan (hopefully for cooking and not pan handling). Otherwise, I’m in the market for nothing; nada, nil, [...]

Being out of work is any oxymoron – I’m am actually working very hard to get a job even though the KPIs below amount to failure. Maybe I should just do nothing…and wait A year ago this would have been an adventure and I would have had  five or so face to face interviews by [...]

So Lesson 1 in Sexducation has been a source of much amusement in our household this week. I know, I know, sex shouldn’t be a laughing matter but if you put 30 eight your olds in a class room and give them pictures of a naked male and female and ask them to label parts of the body, it’s going to be a recipe for hilarity.

All in all, it’s been a pretty good week so far – I’m over the moon to be listed on Alpha Mummy – and I’m really looking forward to a fantastic weekend which won’t really end until Tuesday. Three birthday parties and my own belated birthday present – a trip to see a show. One [...]

Miniminx and I have both got cricked necks from too much Wii Fit and sleeping at funny angles – oh ha ha not. I’ve learned the true meaning of a pain in the neck. Oh yes, kids do say the funniest things don’t they. My reputation is in tatters thanks to Miniminx and her salacious gossip…

When I apply for jobs on corporate web sites, I feel like I’m aiming a pea shooter at the moon. My CV disappears into the ether, I get an acknowledgement and then nothing.

After the Terminal 5 catastrophic launch last year, this news can only lead to more disaster. I predict that Heathrow, with all it’s shopping malls and restaurants, hotels and car parks, will become a city in it’s own right.

For anyone that works, lives or travels in the area, you’ll know how bad things are getting. The filthy air, the low flying planes, the noise and disruption to daily lives is just too much. I don’t know if I want to live around here much longer.

Is anyone else blogging about being unemployed? I seem to be unable to find anyone out there…am I missing something??