Our household at the moment is undergoing what I like to call the ‘Age of Austerity’. Completely separate from these economically challenging times, we’re having a somewhat expensive year so I’ve enforced a bit of a temporary spendthrift approach. After moving from London to New York, furnishing a two-bedroom apartment with new furniture, having a baby, taking said baby to Australia to meet the family, we needed to – shock horror – actually, you know, BUDGET our finances. Or at least I was forcing ACT to do so until I am working again and we are a happy double-income household again.

So, getting back to the topic at hand – I wanted a sunshine break for my Christmas present, but I didn’t want it to cost a lot. So we bought some cheap flights to Miami for a long weekend (missing the January snowstorm, hurrah!) and I booked us in to the very average, albeit Tablet-endorsed Townhouse Hotel. The hotel, as anticipated, was rather dull, but thankfully it was just a few doors up from The Raleigh.

Our genius idea? Spend $200-ish an night at the Townhouse and pay the $25 charge to sit by the pool at The Raleigh all day! The Raleigh poolside was an exceptional hotel experience – the staff were friendly but not overly chipper or intrusive, the poolside menu was delicious (get thee a chicken club sandwich and those amazing fries), and the poolside ambiance just right – clever choice of music; Adele, Amy Winehouse, Rafael Saadiq, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and so forth, at just the right volume. Warm enough water in the pool for the baby to have a happy splash. Enough loungers to satisfy all who wanted full sunlight, partial sunlight and full shade (the latter us from about 11am onwards!). It was a good mix of posers, families, couples, young, old, pretty, not-so-pretty…

The Raleigh just got it right on so many levels, and that is really what makes a luxury hotel stand out. It really was just perfect for us, especially so as our days come to an abrupt halt at 6:30pm when the babe goes to sleep. So for this time, it worked out really well. Next time? The Raleigh all the way!

Can’t get a dog because the building won’t allow it? Always wanted to the view of Paris outside your window but never learnt French? Live out your dreams and customize your home with these gorgeous stickers for grown-ups at Paristic!

Sur les toits vue C - €55-149

Les Cages aux oiseaux – €49

L’équerre 01 - €19-39

* Note: you might want to find a French-speaking friend to navigate the website with you!

ACT treated both me and himself to some new kicks for spring. Nice!

Nike Oceania women’s shoe $65 – buy at nike.com

Nike Air Max Lunar men’s shoe $110 – buy at nike.com

When we were packing up for the move to NY I put EVERYTHING in the shipment going with the movers – including my trench. And it won’t arrive for another 6 weeks. With mild weather on the way and our shipment still in ol blighty, I am going to get myself down to my nearest GAP this weekend to pick up a new one. For a sweet $50. Nice!

Isn’t it pretty? This one is in ‘Winter White’ – it’ll set you back USD$395 at the Milly website

Metallic Crosshatch Tweed. Empire Bow Dress. 61% WO, 34% Poly, 3% Viscose, 2% PA. Tank empire waist dress with satin bow belt. Pleating from empire line and concealed side zipper with hook and eye closure. Fully lined.

Time to get your fella a new tie (or yourself a treat)?

Then get yourself down to the Hermes sale this weekend for up to 60% off!

Hermes Sample Sale: London – January 2010

When: 15 January 2010 – 16 January 2010

Time: 8.30am – 7pm Fri, 10am – 6pm Sat

Where: Music Rooms – 26 S Molton Lane, London W1K 5LF

Nearest Tube: Bond Street

more information at viewlondon.co.uk

A sweetly sized 39 room hotel in the centre of bustling Soho, the Dean Street Townhouse pretty much covers everything in my hotel wish list. It’s small – check, central – check, low key – check, good food that’s not stupid expensive – check. The Cowshed spa around the corner is an added bonus. Ever had one of their pedicures? if you haven’t you should – for the foot sanding alone!

The location is great – walk up to Chisou in Princes St for lovely Japanese food (restaurant ££, cafe £), catch a film at the lovely art deco Curzon cinema in Mayfair, splash some cash around at Liberty – the options are endless!

One of the more recent offerings from Nick Jones (Soho house, Cowshed), I can’t wait for the day where I’m a visitor in London so I have a legitimate reason to stay there!

Want, want, want. I would probably get extremely frustrated trying to build it, but it’s very cool!

Available to buy at Lego.com from 1 October 2010.

I had a very London experience yesterday….

For the past five years or so, my fella has been getting his suits made-to-measure from Gresham Blake. So I joined him on his  visit to their London fitting rooms. Not only did I become a little obsessed with Gresham & Fal’s (the couple behind the fabulous suits) gorgeous pug dog, but I kind of fancied being a man for a day so I could dress up in all the fineries!

According to Quintessentially, high-profile fans of their edgy suits include Jimmy Page, Norman Cook, Nick Cave, Tracey Emin, Steve Coogan and Christian Slater. Nice!

Check out their ‘Off the Peg’ range in the Brighton store – 20 Bond Street, Brighton BN1 1RD – Ph: 01273 609 587

It’s been a long while between posts on this blog… but all for a good reason! I’ve been busy producing a big event at work, so my days were reduced to wake / eat / work lots / eat / work lots more / eat / sleep – repeat. Not that I mind at all, it was the most exciting project I’ve worked on since I started at the BBC.

So, the context is – my team at the Beeb have a quarterly ‘knees up’ to share ideas, projects & new developments. The last one was a bit ‘death-by-powerpoint’, so this time, I suggested we shake things up a bit. The new rules? no powerpoint, a theme (this time = innovation), lots of opportunities for staff to interact &  feedback via social media and a working group of staff to pull together the content for the day. And it all worked out beautifully.

The meeting was a lot more open than usual, with staff encouraged to tweet or text their feedback while the event was taking place. We put a big plasma screen on the left of stage, and via the genius of Richard Morland and Steve Bowbrick, a hashtag for the day #amint and visible tweets, the virtual conversation kicked off and didn’t let up until well after the event. There were about 400 comments over the course of the day, and many more after the event had ended. Lots of people shared their thoughts, observations and links about innovation through our (very innovative) virtual live conversation.

Guest speakers included Vicky Williamson talking about having an #earworm (check out http://earwormery.com), Tom Taylor talking Newspaper Club, Alastair Dant on how The Guardian visualised tweets for the World Cup (waaay more entertaining to follow than the onscreen commentary methinks), and Michelle You talking all things Songkick. We also sent staff off to see how they innovate at Absolute Radio Labs, the Media Trust, and the Telegraph; and to talk about innovation with our friends from PhD, Poke and Somethin’ Else.

Thanks to all who volunteered their time & effort, especially Nigel Smith who came up with most of the suggestions and organised the guest speakers – I’m so pleased with the way things turned out. Read more about the event on the BBC Internet Blog.

Red Button masterclass with Jac P