It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for*: my first ever book, How Not To Be A Supermodel, is available for pre-order! Here! An actual book that you will be able to hold in your hands. Or, if you prefer my dulcet tones, listen to with your ears. You’ve loved my revealing life updates, over the years, and you’ve diligently read through my farcical tales of woe (remember when I almost accidentally penetrated myself with a bath tap?): now it’s time to let me take you all the way back to 2001, when I was a mere slip of a thing, leaving my law degree to become an instantly rich and famous super ..read more

After a rather lengthy foray into Disney parks and Florida road trips, we’re back on home turf for a bit of “UK staycation*” action. I’ve been meaning to share these little self-catering gems with you for a while: my favourite finds, the houses and cottages and cabins that have been a cut above the rest. That have had that holiday rental je ne sais quoi that’s so difficult to define but that might combine, for example, good location with a dash of interiors flair. Or blends perfect solitude with well-thought-out details, like an outdoor bathtub or a cosy reading nook. (*I know I’m using ..read more

I really thought I’d planned the dream holiday. One of those “once in a lifetime” sort of affairs that the whole family would enjoy and treasure forever. A holiday we’d all love so very much we’d still talk about it years down the line, when the kids were teenagers – when they were adults with kids of their own. Do you remember when we all went to America? And Mummy had organised a whole roadtrip and researched all of those places to eat, and she spent every evening when we were there reading those guidebooks and looking at maps instead of actually having a break because she always has to be ..read more

A quick post today because I am writing this on Easter Sunday, when strictly speaking I should be trying to talk my kids down from their rampant sugar-high. One of them is currently gyrating to the Wonka soundtrack, the other has filled up a water pistol and is “cleaning the insides of the windows”. I have a feeling that hell is about to be unleashed. This week has already seen hell unleashed, actually, in the form of Dexter the cockapoo’s severe bout of canine gastroenteritis. Never has the Dettol spray seen so much action. The entire house smells of egg, boiled chicken and rotting guts. It ..read more

Fancy a delve into my springtime makeup bag? Why does that sound so dirty? Is it just me? This is what happens when I spend days editing content all by myself without any sensible adult conversation… You should know that I very rarely change my makeup looks according to the season; if you’re expecting spring-appropriate colours here then prepare to be bitterly disappointed. There will be no pastel lip shades or eyeshadows in hues of mini egg blue and daffodil yellow. I do not suit those colours in the winter, so why would they suddenly look good now? Ditto the fiery auburns and reds that appe ..read more

I’m growing out my shorter hair so that it will sit just above the shoulder and am told by my hair stylist that what I am officially doing is going from a “bob” to a “lob”. For the past two years I’ve swung between these two comically-named hair lengths and have had (obviously) every length in between and so I thought that I could share some expertise on the matter: namely, how to grow your hair through that tricky middle phase. When it no longer hugs the jaw and looks cool and choppy, but is not yet long enough or weighty enough to hang nicely. The Lord Farquaad Stage. The Triangular Era. Wh ..read more

In a surprise turn of events, I’ve become rather attached to a pair of camo-print cargo trousers. In fact I’ve barely taken them off for an entire week, wearing them with everything from cashmere jumpers to pretty blouses and cotton t-shirts. It’s a surprise turn of events because I’ve had a bit of an aversion to camo print since I got together with my husband. In 2003. When we first met he was camo mad – he wore camo trousers, a camo shirt, a camo jacket and I’m pretty sure he owned camo-print trainers too. It was like dating a giant Action Man. Anyway, he single-handedly managed to put me of ..read more

Five February Favourites, including the very timely rediscovery of a skincare marvel and a book of short stories that could quite possibly be my book of the year. And we’re not even into spring yet. But let’s start with the boots I’ve fallen for. Oh, the boots. If I told you that I’d been searching high and low for the perfect western-inspired boots since October, would you believe me? It’s true. And I’ve had a grand total of eleven different pairs of black leather boots, all subtly different, delivered to the house and then unceremoniously sent back. How I didn’t see these Whistles beauties ..read more

Well, I was seduced again. I went on the Sézane website, saw that absolutely everything on there would almost definitely make me look like a twenty year-old Parisian sex-kitten from the seventies and then ordered a load of stuff. It arrived, I unwrapped my haul from its très pretty paper and then immediately tried everything on. Did I look like a twenty year-old Parisian sex-kitten from the seventies? Mais non. Probably something to do with the fact that I am not twenty anymore and my boobs, absolutely fine though they are, do not have the sort of lush, rounded fulsomeness that can make a bo ..read more

My three best beauty buys this month – picked out from the quagmire of new launches for their excellent performance, high quality and price-tags that won’t cause immediate heart palpitations. Ad info: no paid or sponsored content. Contains press samples and affiliate links are marked *.   The first little gem: e.l.f. Cosmetic’s brilliant Camo Blush, a liquid blush that requires just the tiniest speck of product and gives intense, long-lasting colour. Quite honestly I think that most people could just buy one of these to last a life time – it almost needs to come with a pin head to apply ..read more