lost in transmission!

Sorry for the break in transmission, normal blogging will begin shortly….

Oh,  Technology,  it's great when it works and it sucks when it doesn't. For some reason unknown to us the internet and cable in our apartment has gone MIA and so I have been trying to find wireless access and not having much success.

So I have decamped to no. 1 birthday girl daughter's place to use their internet.

So I know what you are all asking, what have we been up to?

Well,  the ladies who lunch had a wonderful time at abc kitchen It's a bit like a winter wonderland inside, all white and they pride themselves on sourcing local and organic produce, (right up my alley).  Lunch started out with a cheeky glass of a crisp chilled Sancerre, and then another and then a bottle  (or 2 or 3) of Rose. 

Well we are on holidays after all.

It was great to catch up with favourite youngest daughter's best friend and her mom, (Hi, Monique and Sarah!) and sit back and enjoy our lunch and some celebrity spotting, yes indeed.  I can say I have had lunch with Sofia Vergara  (yes, Gloria from Modern Family, who must have just got back from LA where modern family won an Emmy for the best comedy. ), she was sitting a few tables away from us. I took a couple of pics with the i-phone, not the best quality but I think  you can clearly see her.

So what about the food?  Well I give it 10/10. We shared some starters, a fresh tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil pizza and a charcuterie plate.  For the main course 3 of us had wood oven roasted Maine lobster with oregano and lemon-chili vinaigrette, which was exceptional, especially the price compared to what you would pay for it back in Sydney. We had a side of roasted summer beans, hazelnuts and lemon, which I am definitely going to try when I get home.

We had to try desert so we shared salted caramel ice cream, with candied peanuts and popcorn, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. All in all a fabulous lunch!

Ladies, who lunch, clockwise from left, Goddess Jnr, GG, favourite youngest daughters BFF and her mommy!

after lunch we poured ourselves into a cab back downtown to our apartment and a siesta, followed with a 30 minute foot massage and a night in with the 6th season of Mad Men, a perfect end to a near perfect New York day.

Painting the town red....

Today was a rest day, a day to read, nap and have a bit of a pamper with a manicure and pedicure.

After a leisurely breakfast, a long linger over the papers and a pre-afternoon nap, I ventured downstairs into the village and sat down for a 2 hour pamper session of deluxe mani/pedi at a nail spa just down the street from our digs.

I can't remember the last time I had a pedicure but I am sure going to make sure I have them more frequently when I get home, it was so wonderful to have my feet massaged, and a leg massage. I opted for some colour on the toes and a classic french polish on the fingers.

tomorrow is the big party night, so keep watching this space for the latest updates from #dirtythirty

Shop till one of us drops!

OMG, I am exhausted, we just got home from here, Woodbury Common Premium Outlet Mall, and boy did we shop until we dropped here back at our apartment. 

We left on the 10am bus from the Port Authority Terminal and 60 minutes later were transported to shopping nirvana!

Didn't make it to Prada today, maybe next time.

I have taken some photos to share with you some of my bargains, so here they are....

6 pairs of shoes, because you can never have enough shoes, or can you?

Yes, I now have a Coach bag!

A sparkly cami for that special occasion

couldn't resist this long sleeve T, can you guess why?

Or this, it does have an Eiffel Tower on it, after all!

My new summer LBD,  I like the leather detail across the top.

I also bought some other things, like underwear, (which I am not going to share with you!), some other tops and a lovely wrap dress from Banana Republic.

We got the bus back to the city, and then subway back to our apartment and we are now both sitting here with a drink, me a G&T and the junior goddess a French rose.  We are off to daughter no.1's for pizza night a little later.

So, I'm signing off for today, tomorrow we are having a ladies lunch at ABC kitchen with daughter no. 3's best friend and her mom who is in town as well, so see you later!

Another bite of the Big Apple

Well,  here I am in NYC!


after our celebratory champagne and OJ in the Qantas club ( the OJ was a concession to the early morning!)

we boarded our flight and arrived pretty much on schedule yesterday evening, and it was a great reunion, and YES she was surprised! After our limo ride back to town, we checked into our apartment in the east village. It is really convenient as it is only 1 street away from my daughter's place.

The neighbourhood is very vibrant and there are places to eat everywhere, and all types of cuisine. We spent our first night having dinner with my daughter and her husband at their local Mexican place where we downed some jugs of sangria and some great tasting Mexican food.

Today we have explored Soho and bits of East Village. I think we walked over 7 km's today and we found my all time favourite food store Dean and De Luca on the corner of Broadway and Prince St. I had to introduce the junior Goddess to it, so we ventured in and came out with...
our dinner!

Yes, she bought the bag as well!

 We also found a cute little place in SoHo where we had lunch. They had a lovely courtyard and as it was a perfect day with not a cloud in the sky we decided to sit in the sun and get our body clocks on NYC time. 

I can recommend Pera, the food  and service was really excellent and they have a roof top bar open Thursday to Sunday. 

Tonight we are eating in with our goodies picked up from Dean and De Luca, so I'm off now to enjoy them.

thanks for reading.

Secret Agent Business

By the time you read this.........







I will be here.....

now hear the story of this adventure.....

so, I'll see you on the other side of the world, stay tuned!

Chalk and Cheese

Last week I had the opportunity to spend 5 days in Singapore for work. It has been over 10 years since I was last there,  (apart from  stopovers at the airport en route to Europe) so I was interested to see how the city had changed in that time.

Boy,  was I impressed. Last time I was there (again for work) I was not that impressed with Singapore, it just seemed a crowded, hot city.  Although first impressions are usually sound, I must say on second look Singapore had a lot to recommend it ( for me at least).

My big love is architecture and Singapore does not disappoint. Unfortunately I did not get much time to take photos,  but on the way to the office each day on the bus I  got to see lots of interesting and forward thinking designs so I have put a couple up here for your consideration.

Now,  fast forward to the following weekend and we took our new kayaks out for a paddle. We are lucky that Kangaroo Valley is only 20 mins from here and we have access to a national park, Morton National Park via Tallowa Dam and into the wonderful Shoalhaven Gorge.

This time I had my camera and managed to get some pics, but what really struck me was the difference between where I had just been, Singapore  (only 36 hours before) and now.  I was in an area which looked almost untouched by humans.

My Kayak heading towards the Gorge 

Entering the Gorge

wonderful sandstone surrounds you on both sides

looking further into the gorge

Significant Other in his blue kayak

My selfie!

Our  speed, not bad!

 We paddled an hour up the gorge and then an hour or so back, just a short kayak as I was still a bit tired from the flight home.  We are planning to do a proper trip up the gorge where you can camp overnight as soon as the weather is consistently warm enough,  so stay tuned!

So,  I think that both the city and country can offer something for all our senses, which is your favourite?