Marshmallows & Merlot

The  starter  was tasty simplicity , the  main course  was a little unconventional and now all that remains in my attempt to sum up Sydney is a sweet ending... and it doesn't come much sweeter than coconut mojitos and Tim Tams. These two treats for the tastebuds will always make my tummy rumble and my brain waves take a trip down memory lane. Having explored Sydney's CBD, sampled its nightlife and taken a bite out of the backpacker's handbook, the last chunk of my time in Sydney was spent exploring the bits that most people neglect. Your average visitor to Sydney tends to hover around the harbour, taking in the iconic sites and steering clear of the parts of town that aren't quite as polished as the pics on the postcards.  For me and my fellow cocktail stalkers, landing up in a 'dodgy' part of town as a result of our 'accommodation' turned out to be a stroke of luck... a little bored of the city centre (and a little more cash-strapped than the day we a

There are few things in life that put a spring in your step quite like a great accessory... Especially when said accessory is something you picked up on a whim at a vintage store in Melbourne for the 'so cheap it's almost robbery' sum of five Aussie dollars. I always knew that a Dior-esque scarf with pink and red and green print framing a stylized saddle and stirrups with gold sparkles in the fabric would make me smile, but I never thought anyone else would like it. It turns out that I am not the only woman on this planet who thinks a scarf can take an 'I can't be bothered, it's raining outside' outfit from drab to fab. Since leaving the house today my outfit has received the nod of approval from two of my co-workers... And I am pretty sure that my brown v-neck charity shop jersey, skinny jeans and neutral flats combo can't be given any credit. All credit must go to the scarf... The wardrobe staple that added some oomph to Audrey's classic white

Well, it's not really a theory she thought up it comes from some other clever psycho-something expert. Basically, my mom was telling me that to be an expert in something you need to have spent 10,000 hours doing it. People like Bill Gates didn't just happen to be good at the thing that made him a household name, his bright idea didn't come out of nowhere... No, he had been fiddling with computer-type stuff, namely programming, for years. Similarly,a young Mozart practiced music "with ferocious intensity for years" and Bobby Fisher's "utter obsession with chess" is well documented. You can read about the 10,000 hour theory in more depth by reading Michael Gladwell's 2008 book titled 'Outliers' or just having the modern day knee jerk reaction and 'Googling it', but harping on about the theory is not what this post is about. It's more about a realisation I came to recently as a result of what my mom mentioned.

T-shirt bra's, cycling shorts, certain types of hospital cells and yes - you probably saw this coming - even cutting edge technology. If I could add a sound byte to this post you would be hearing the pidder padder of tiny electronic feet because... Drum roll, please... I am the proud owner of an iPad. Yip, I have the big daddy of all toys at my fingertips and am just dumbfounded by the cleverness of those innovative dudes at Apple Mac HQ. Yesterday, I actually smiled while doing my banking and did a little dance around my desk when I figured out how to zoom in on my Discovery credit card statement. Now if that's not a bizarre turn of events then I don't know what is. Admin that usually bores me to tears (honestly, sometimes my credit card statement makes me reach for the budget chardonnay) has become an excuse to play with my new toy and have another 'that's just soooooo clever!' moment.