178/365 Palazzo Versace

Date night alert! Getting into the decadent spirit of things before our dinner reservation at Vanitas at Palazzo Versace last Saturday night.

Sigh. I heart Palazzo.
Dare i say - my fave hotel in Australia?!

So yeah, we like to leave the state on date night ;) That's how we roll - they're rare enough that we need to make them special!! Got to work on that parenting/date-night balance. It's only been ten and a half years. Hahaha!

Droolsome foodie-phile photos to come later this week...
Amber. XO

156/365 The Hotel Brunswick

Friday night.
The Hotel Brunswick.
Brunswick Heads. 

135/365 Laid-Back Wet-Weather Cool

Hanging out, hiding from the rain, and getting inky at Atlantic Byron Bay.
Not a shabby Friday at all...
:)

Spa Days | Byron at Byron

Rest. 

Rejuvenation. 

And a kick-ass massage. 

Isn't that what all of us need a little more of? ;) Umm, yeah!!

My surprise Mother's Day gift was exactly that. But to start, there I was happy hanging out with my munchkins and the dawg in the sunshine on the deck at home, reading the papers - and my new-love: Renegade Collective magazine - drinking good coffee that my 10 year old brewed up (I tell you that kid knows how to make a good coffee!) and eating french toast (again; courtesy of Buster B.) while T carefully deconstructed our bedroom* when out-of-the-blue I was told to pack my swimmers, brush my hair and jump in the car because we were headed into Byron for coffee.

**  Having invested in new soft-box lights and a backdrop for our many creative projects we now realise we don't have enough space for them! Our bedroom would be a great space for a studio - if we didn't need a bedroom that is ;) We took the bed out to have a look, but it's all back to normal in there now. Kinda phew! and kinda unfortunately!! Need. Studio. Space. 

Anyway, I don't say no to coffee. Or Byron. Or swimming. So there was little protesting from me :)

What I didn't know was that we were heading to the beautiful Byron at Byron resort and spa. And that I had a 12 o'clock appointment with the spa. #Ooooo. I love my boys!

So, here are a few photos I took to capture the laid-back beauty of what is one of my favourite Byron Bay escapes. I'm back there next month - staying for the weekend by serendipitous coincidence! - so there will be more photos to come, but for now -  enjoy. x

Do you have a favourite spa?

62/365 Skydive Splashdown

Our new digs has a pretty sweet high-rise / sky-rise pool.

Home for the next four days :) Helloooo Sydney!!

Adventures of a (London Ritz) Mama

It was a 5:30am start.

We were in the car by 6. A two hour drive and 3 hour check in for a 12-something departure.

A stopover in Singapore. Another in Abu Dhabi.

It's 7am-ish when we finally land in London.

But there is still the Underground to negotiate...

We have been on-the-road for about 37 hours when we arrive at our hotel (bless my children!!) but it's still only 9am and not time to check in yet. Oh-my-God.

So we head out. We play. We investigate. And as the rain starts to fall and the afternoon chill sets in... we see the Ritz Hotel, like a shiny-warm-snug mirage right there on the London street.

We bundle in. And head towards the bar for tea and hot chocolates and other yummy delights!! Hurray!
STOP. Huh? T and the boys are in Converse trainers and they won't allow you in without dress shoes. Boo. We go to leave and then my wonderful husband - who knows how much I love drinking tea in beautiful hotels and tells me to stay.
Ohhhhhh...

The offer is too good to refuse :)

T whisks the boys off to Starbucks or one of the other coffee houses further along the street and I get to relish some mama-time - bliss! - even my camera battery dying a few minutes after I sat down couldn't stop me smiling...