We just got back from a long weekend in the south west that ended up being unintentionally unplugged when I discovered our accommodation didn’t have reception. Well. That was alarming. How am I supposed to relax without watching Tiktoks of animals who think they are humans? I should have paid more attention when our accommodation’s online description said it felt like going back in time to the 70s… they were not exaggerating. You don’t realise how much you use your phone until you can’t. Even playing what should be a peaceful evening game of Scrabble became an existential challenge. “That’s no ..read more

The idea of painting Miss Nerd’s built-in wardrobe to make it look like a Frozen-inspired cupboard had been lurking in my head for a while. So when Dulux approached me earlier this year to see if I’d be keen to work with them to create some social media content to help showcase their Dulux Colour Forecast 2022, I was keen. I always love working with Dulux and had worked with them on some other paint makeovers before, but this one was a bit of a risky DIY idea that could have gone wrong pretty easily, so I was happy they had faith in me! And I was really happy (and relieved!) with how it turned ..read more

What would you want if you were about to sell the house you’d called home for the past ten years? The home that you and your partner slowly, fixed up over the years, painting, DIY-ing and landscaping. The house to which you’d brought two babies home from the hospital, and spent hours playing with your sweet, now ageing dog. Well, home selling aside, I’m in almost exactly the same situation as the family I’m featuring on House Nerd this week, and call me sentimental, but I know what I’d want if I were saying goodbye to my house – photos! (And perhaps a sneaky last party or two). But yes, I’d wa ..read more

Wasn’t it exciting when robot floor vacuums came out some ten-odd years ago? Well, perhaps you’re not as easily excited as I am, but as a lifelong hater of vacuuming, I thought it was awesome. It made me feel like, WE HAVE ARRIVED. We have house robots now! Look how far tech has come in our lifetimes! My six year old son is amazed that phones never used to have cameras on them, and thinks it’s hilarious that they were attached to the wall. I, meanwhile, still remember feeling SO important when my classroom got a computer (a clunky, black and orange contraption).  So when we got a time whe ..read more

This post was sponsored by Manovella. Thanks for always supporting my blog’s wonderful sponsors! There are so many decisions to be made when you are renovating an older home or building a new house – if you’ve ever felt a little conflicted or stuck, you won’t be alone! Choosing colours, materials and things for your home can have even the most design-loving of us reaching for the wine sometimes. Especially when you’re factoring in things like: – Picking things that tie in nicely with the rest of your home and that won’t quickly date. – Getting on the same page as your partner (or compromising ..read more

Who’s feeling the cold right now? Yes, I know the whole running joke about people in winter in Perth, where it gets to 16 degrees (60 Fahrenheit for those of you overseas) and people start squawking and moaning that they’re freezing to death. To give people overseas an idea, it never snows in Western Australia. But can I just say that when you have grown up in a city that has warm Mediterranean climes most of the year, when it DOES suddenly get cold, it’s hard to bear! Winter in Perth… it wasn’t cold enough to stop Nala going swimming.Winter walksA chilly evening in Perth. The other thing is ..read more

Who’s feeling the cold in Perth right now? Yes, I know the whole running joke about people in winter in Perth, where it gets to 16 degrees (60 Fahrenheit for those of you overseas) and people start squawking and moaning that they’re freezing to death. To give people overseas an idea, it never snows in Western Australia. But can I just say that when you have grown up in a city that has warm Mediterranean climes most of the year, when it DOES suddenly get cold, it’s hard to bear! Winter in Perth… it wasn’t cold enough to stop Nala going swimming.Winter walksA chilly evening in Perth. The other t ..read more

Forget rose petals on the bed and chocolates for Valentine’s Day. My idea of romance is the Sunday morning I got to sleep in late, then wake up to see Mr Nerd had made breakfast. But not just any breakfast. He had prepared for me a replica of one of my all-time favourite, iconic Perth breakfasts – Eggs Benny Chan, which I may have ordered every single time I have visited Roasting Warehouse in South Freo in the past six years. Except this time, my Eggs Benny Chan was waiting for me on my own dining table, in the warmth of our home on a chilly morning. No wrangling a maniacal toddler out of a ca ..read more

I’m definitely not alone when I say we are constantly thinking about ways we can reduce our plastic use. I think a lot of us are – these days most people in Australia know that single-use plastics are terrible for the environment. We are far from living a plastic-free lifestyle, but we try to reduce the amount of plastic coming into our home, and to make sure the plastic we do use is put into recycling. It’s not the best solution to a big, global problem – but I think even small things can make a difference. A little while ago I thought a bit about some of the posts I really want to start shar ..read more

There is nothing that chills my husband to the bone more than me than the sound of me screeching, “STOP THE CAR. I SEE PLANTS.” I have gotten so, so many plants for our yard – for free – by finding them on the side of the road, in the wonderful scheme that is green waste collection. I seriously think half of our garden was grown from other people’s unwanted plants and cuttings and throwaways. Our budget landscaping. Some of the plants in our yard weren’t even from green waste collection – they were just from people not wanting a plant anymore, so they tossed it on the side of the road, sometim ..read more