Leonardo's Beach Houses

It's always nice having a peek in celebrity beach houses and dreaming of staying there or in this case, being invited to a Gatsby like party at one of Leonardo's houses!

First up is his former Malibu compound (3 separate buildings on the property) which he sold last year but you could have rented it out for $75,000 per month!

 
Earlier this year, Leonardo bought this Donald Wexler designed house in Palm Springs. 

 
How nice is the the bar in the living area?! I think you could have a few good parties in this area.

 
Loving the colour of this bathroom and the outdoor tub.

MP

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Coconut Water

I am a big fan of coconut water. Ideally I would choose to drink the water from a coconut that has been cut from a tree that morning. However, it is not that easy to source fresh young coconuts when you don't happen to be somewhere tropical, so I have tried many of the various brands of coconut water that have appeared at shops and cafes over the past few years.

When I was back in New Zealand I tried the Coaqua brand while I was at Best Ugly Bagels. I was immediately drawn to the beautiful, simple glass bottle and was delighted to discover this sweeter tasting coconut water.

I find that coconut water is delicious and re hydrating when you have over-indulged in alcohol the night before. But, I have also found that it works well as an ingredient in lots of cocktails. At Bob's Bar at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore I tried a mojito made with coconut water, served in a coconut. I am going to experiment with a few coconut water cocktail recipes of my own this summer.

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Desert Island Beauty Pick - Pedicure Tools

 
Right before a holiday I'll often get a pedicure and one of my favourite places to get a pedicure is at The Cowshed at Shoreditch House as mentioned here in a previous post. I love how your feet look and feel afterwards. Unfortunately after a few weeks the baby soft feeling of my feet tends to go (not helped by always wearing sandals and flip flops) and I always turn to a foot file to help my feet get back to looking great again.

These are two brands that I will try this summer. The first is by Maragret Dabbs. She is an award winning foot specialist and has a pedicure spa at Liberty. Margaret recommends using a foot file 3 times a week.

 
The other brand which is big in the US is Diamancel. This foot file is made from diamond chips and lots of reviews I've read say the file lasts a long time and never dulls.

 
Not the prettiest looking things! But highly effective and definitely a Desert Island Beauty Pick for me.

MP

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Holiday Rental Essentials - Fans

If your holiday rental doesn't happen to have air conditioning or ceiling fans - we definitely recommend purchasing a couple of free-standing fans. While we love warm balmy nights, sometimes you need a bit of cool air to get to sleep.

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Easy Travel

I'm not sure if there is such a thing as "Easy Travel" but there are things that can make travelling easier. AD recently pointed me towards a luxury travel blog called Mrs O Around The World and one of her recent posts was on this subject. Last year she took 50 flights and spent over 100 nights away so I think she knows what she's talking about when it comes to travelling! These were her 5 things:

1. An Apple World Travel Adapter Kit

2. Aromatherapy Associates Toiletries

3. Mont Blanc Travel Wallet

4. Tumi Luggage and a Bottega Veneta carry on

5. L'Occitane Lavender Mist

I thought the travel adapter kit looked really useful and would love a set of Tumi luggage. A decent size Tumi suitcase (one that you can check in) starts from around £800 so I don't think I'll be getting one of those soon! Another suitcase that I'd be happy to have is the Samsonite Cosmolite pictured below with Vicky from Bikinis & Passports.

 
My husband has the carry on size which he uses when he travels for work and it's so light and easy to manoeuvre. Samsonite say these are the strongest and lightest suitcases ever made! A 75cm one costs £349 and is available to purchase here.

Which products would you recommend to make travel easier? Love to hear from you! 

MP

Water Coolers

I am always trying to remember to drink more water. I know that I generally feel better on the days that I do and on days that I don't I feel tired and my skin feels really dry.

A couple of years ago we stayed at the Orbit In in Palm Springs. This is a really cool little boutique hotel where the rooms are set around a central swimming pool. They have a breakfast/bar area at one side of the pool where they have a complimentary cocktail hour every night. During the day you can help yourself to cold drinks and snacks as well. I loved the water cooler they had at the bar that was filled with citrus slices. It was such a nice way to drink chilled water all day.

I came across this Sneak Peek of a fabulous Los Angeles loft on Design*Sponge last year - check out the full post to see the light, airy, tropical style. One of the items that caught my eye was the Anthropologie Bubbled Beverage Dispenser. What a great way to ensure that you drank lots of water every day. I don't think this particular product is in stock anymore, but I am definitely going to be on the lookout for something similar this summer. This would be great at our future bach too.

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Weekend Dinner Update

A few weeks ago I posted about trying out some new recipes. See post here.

So this week I thought I'd update you on how I got on.

Firstly, the chicken pot pie. It was pretty simple to make and was yummy. First step was to chop up some chicken, carrots, celery, potatoes and thyme and simmer this up in some stock. After this is finished you reserve the stock to make a roux.

 
The roux is made in the usual way with butter, flour and the reserved stock but it also included the juice of a lemon which was a nice addition. Then mix the chicken mixture with the roux ...

 
Finish with a layer of pastry and done!

 
Now I love potatoes but next time I think I wouldn't serve it with mash as it felt a bit too stodgy and I also might try using shortcrust pastry as a topper.

Next, the Vongole. This turned out pretty well except the quality of the vongole weren't as good as I had hoped. You're not meant to use any clams that are open or don't close upon tapping so about 30% of them were thrown out before even cooking them and once cooked there were probably about another 30% of them that didn't open! However the simple combination of olive oil, garlic, wine and chilli is so good that it didn't matter too much there weren't that many clams to eat!

 

Have a great weekend! MP

Desert Island Beauty Pick - Lucas' Papaw Ointment

 
I'm only a recent convert to Lucas' Papaw Ointment, but I would definitely be taking a tube with me to a desert island.

When my daughter was born she had really dry, cracked skin on her hands, ankles and feet. I tried a variety of products - from L'Occitane's Shea Butter and a nice Pure Baby Oil from Neal's Yard Remedies through to standard virgin olive oil from the supermarket. The product that I found to be the best though was Lucas' Papaw Ointment.

I now keep a tube in my bathroom and ensure that I pack it whenever I go on holiday. It is soothing on insect bites and mild sunburn and can be used on chapped lips and dry skin.

Many people have their own favourite multi-tasking products that they would use in place of this ointment. Perhaps Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, Bach Flower Remedies Rescue Cream or something else. Write in and let us know of your favourite product in this category. We always like to try something new.

When I was in New Zealand I had my make up done at Mecca Cosmetica. The assistant at the store asked if I had tried Egyptian Magic and recommended it to me as another great all purpose product so I plan on buying a tub of that to try soon.

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Holiday Rental Essential - Hair Dryer

 
Wouldn't it be great to look like this at the beach?! On beach holidays, my hair is tied up nearly all of the time and generally the only time I leave it down is when I'm heading out in the evening. I'm not a big blow dryer of my hair, my technique (if you can call it that!) is to tip my head upside down and dry but I do like to dry my hair after washing as often as possible otherwise I find my hair looks a bit lank. Having said that, I would never pack a hair dryer for a holiday so I would expect it to be a holiday rental essential!

The hair dryers that I have owned in the past have lasted for years so I think these two below retailing for around £20 is an investment worth making for your holiday rental. BaByliss and Remington are both great brands that I've used before.

MP

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Fit For Travel

Now, the travel tip that I am writing about today might seem obvious to most of you, but I thought I would write it down anyway...

On our way back to London from New Zealand we had four nights in Singapore, staying with a friend. My friend always books great places for us to go to when I visit, and this stopover was no exception. I'll write about the various places we went to including the spa treatment and champagne brunch in a few days.

I mentioned in a post back in January, that my friend was taking place in a boot camp challenge. The challenge has finished, but she is continuing to see a personal trainer 1-2 times per week in an attempt to get fit and lose a bit of weight. On Saturday I joined her for a one hour session prior to going to brunch.

As I usually only use the treadmill at the gym, I really enjoyed the PT session. The trainer had us jumping on boxes, doing planks, using medicine balls and then even took us outside into the super hot Singapore heat to flip 70kg tractor tires. We also did alot of squats.

Brunch was fun, then we spent the rest of the day in the pool back at my friend's apartment.

Then, the next morning I got up and could hardly move! Walking down stairs was agony and I shuffled along at a snail's pace in the huge downpour that we got caught in when we went out for lunch.

I still feel a bit sore now, three days later. I was lucky that the plane home from Singapore was only half full, so I was able to stretch out across several seats. I was also lucky that my husband was travelling with me on this leg of the trip as there was no way I could have lifted the suitcases, buggy and my little girl on my own in this state.

So, I just wanted to say that I don't particularly recommend partaking in any new activity that involves using muscles that you don't usually use just before hopping onto a 14 hour flight!

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Book Collections

I was going to call this post 'libraries', but that is probably too grandiose a term to use, as I am really just talking about book collections - no matter how big or small they may be.

I love to see books when I go to people's homes. It is fun to browse through and see what genres or authors they favour. I have some friends who keep collections of recipe books on their bedside tables, others who read only non-fiction and others who are avid readers with books piled up in all the rooms in their house.

I mostly just buy books in Kindle format these days, but if there is a book I love then I buy it in paperback as well so I can lend it to friends and my mum. I also love to buy recipe books, so I have a growing collection of these.

We currently have books on shelves in our dining room, living room and spare bedroom. Then a great pile of books on our bedside tables.

When we buy our bach I think I will tranfser over most of my paperback collection to the bach so that guests have a great selection of books to read on rainy days or at the beach.

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Fresh Juice

We arrived in Singapore last night. I love the blast of heat that hits you when you step out of a plane or airport and into a tropical country.

Another thing I love about warm countries is the selection of tropical fruit.

Today we picked up some fresh watermelon and pineapple juices from the local hawker centre then brought them back to my friend's house and mixed them with vodka and ice to drink down by the pool.

I definitely have moments when I wonder why I am living in London and not somewhere permanently hot, with all those fresh fruits available daily...

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Desert Island Beauty Pick - Body Moisturiser

So far what are our beauty essentials? We've posted about:

Lip Balm
Mascara
Face Moisturiser
Nail Polish
Eyeliner
Hand Cream
Concealer 
Tweezers
Hair Ties
Fragrance

My pick for this week is a body moisturiser. Obviously if you're stranded on a desert island you'll need a heavy duty moisturiser to slather on your skin.

The two below are my favourite. I love their rich, thick, luxurious consistency and scent. They're also quickly absorbed leaving behind no greasy feeling.

For a moisturiser that's kinder on your wallet but just as effective is Palmers Cocoa Butter. I've used this since I can remember applying moisturiser! And never tire of it.

MP

Images: 1, 2, 3

Holiday Rental Essentials - Accurate Photos of Your Rental

 
Once, about 15 years ago, I went on holiday to Noosa in Australia with a couple of friends. We picked up a travel brochure and selected a hotel from the many depicted there. Fascinated by the endless photos of seemingly enormous swimming pools we also visited a few different hotels while we were there to check out their pools and see if they really were as good as they looked.

As a side note, have you ever visited hotels other than the one you are staying in to use their pools? Sometimes you can do this for free. Often you can use their facilities if you are dining there, if you have a treatment there or for a small fee. It can be a great treat if you are staying in much more basic accommodation. We always pay to spend the day at the pool at Jamahkiri in Koh Tao, Thailand, after having a treatment there.

Anyway, back when we were in Noosa we discovered that some photographers have amazing skills at photographing pools at such an angle that they look three times the size they are in reality. After seeing the photos then discovering the reality we were disappointed. Now, as we hadn't paid to stay at these hotels, it did not really matter. But, today I am recommending that whether you promote your holiday rental through a rental website or with your own website, it is really important to have photos that accurately depict the size and condition of the various rooms and facilities.

The image at the top of this post is from San Alfonso del Mar in Chile and truly is the world's largest swimming pool.

But, this isn't just about pools, although they are certainly the first feature that I check out. We would recommend that you provide photos of most if not all of the rooms in your holiday rental and extra photos of the outdoor areas as well.

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Chalet in the Alps

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to get away to the mountains for a few nights. We're now tied to the school holiday system which generally means you need to book holidays at least 6 months in advance! We managed to plan this pretty last minute as we didn't want to book a full week's holiday skiing and we were lucky that the chalet we found allowed shorter stays. This gorgeous chalet was called Ferme du Ciel located in Samoens, France.

 
The chalet is owned and run by a couple of British ex-pats, Su & Andy. They oversaw the incredible transformation of a 350 year old derelict barn into a luxurious, modern, light filled chalet.

The double height living areas framed by huge glass windows with a view over the valley and surrounding mountains were a joy to relax in. There is also a games / tv room filled with books and toys and a Nintendo for the older children. 

Food was included so every morning there was a fantastic breakfast spread including bacon and eggs. After a day on the slopes you came back to some freshly baked afternoon tea and I was really impressed with the 3 course dinners that were served up. One night we had a bbq served with a great array of salads and another night we enjoyed the quintessentially French Beef Bourguignon. We stayed at a catered chalet a few years ago and every night they had classic dishes from the Haute Savoie which tends to be very creamy, cheesy and rich so I think it's a good idea that they try to mix up the food here. Also they cooked up separate dinners for the kids that was served at 6pm which was perfect and my girls loved their mini toad in the holes they had one night!

 

Another highlight was the outside jacuzzi and sauna room, perfect after a long day's skiing.

 
You can stay at the chalet all year round and it would be great in summer to dine in this inside / outside dining room.

 
As I'm writing this post I'm thinking about what a fantastic stay we had there and what made it stand out? One of the big things has to be the chalet itself and what has been achieved with the renovation. I loved the huge glass windows paired with big old wooden beams, the airy living spaces, the double height fire place. This combined with really great hosts and also a friendly team running the chalet where no request was ever a bother. Other things that made it feel luxurious were an electric drying rack for boots, a drying room for jackets and gloves, spare towels for the spa and sauna and the rooms included Molton Brown toiletries. Heated towel rails in the bathroom were nice as well.

We hope to be back sometime in the future!

MP

Sunrise and Sunset

 
Living in urban London, it is not very often that I get to see the sun rise or set. Yet, I remember years ago when I lived in Sydney and I got up early to walk from Bronte to Bondi Beach that I declared to myself that I needed to live somewhere where I could see the sun rise or set every day.

If I had to choose, I would opt to have the sunset view as I am more likely to be awake at that time of day! As MP wrote last Monday, Fizz Bar in Thailand is one of our favourite spots to watch the sunset. Although it is quite different, watching the sun go down in San Antonio, Ibiza is also for me a must-do experience.

Wherever you are in the world, watching dawn break or the day end is a magical experience. Although we may not get to have a waterfront view like the one above in our future bach, I am hoping that we might at least get a glimpse of the sunrise or sunset each day.

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Weekend Dinners

When I first moved to Switzerland I was horrified to learn that all shops close on Sunday. I'm used to it now but it does mean you have to plan your weekend meals in advance. Also I hate going to the supermarkets on Saturday as they're really busy (everyone cramming in their shopping before Sunday) so I'd rather think about what I want for the weekend and shop on Friday.

Every now and then I'll research specific recipes that I want to make but generally I just end up getting a selection of meat and vegetables and whip up whatever comes to mind!

This weekend I'm going to try a couple of new things. One of these is a Chicken Pot Pie. I've made many chicken pies before but I usually freestyle. A chicken pot pie includes lots of things I know my girls will like. I'm going to use a BBC Good Food recipe (image below) although I'm undecided as to whether I use short crust or puff pastry?

 
The other thing I'm going to make (which is something that I've always wanted to try) is Spaghetti alle Vongole.

 
Most of the recipes I've looked at are similar although some include cherry tomatoes but I think I'll stick to the original for my first try.

I'll post pictures next week! Have a great weekend.  

MP

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Desert Island Beauty Pick - Fragrance

I love perfumes. The way a certain scent can instantly evoke a mood or memory fascinates me.

The clean, fresh smell of L'Occitane Shea Milk Soap will always remind me of a super hot summer I was in New York.

Guerlain Samsara and Calving Klein Eternity remind me of my teenage years.

I would definitely take a fragrance to my desert island - probably something fresh, green and floral.

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Image is of my current selection of summer scents.

Holiday Rental Essentials - Kitchen Appliances

AD has mentioned in this previous post about coffee makers being a holiday rental essential. I think the only other kitchen appliances that are essential are a kettle and a toaster. 

Dualit are pricey so I don't think I would put those in a holiday rental although I've had my toaster now for 6 years and it's still going strong!

There are many reasonable options available from reliable brands. After a quick scan on Amazon I'd go with the Breville set with both retailing around £20

 

MP

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Dining Alone

Do you like to go out to bars or restaurants on your own?

When I go on holiday I usually have a (long) list of bars, cafes and restaurants that I am keen to check out. Last week when we went to Queenstown for just 2.5 days was no exception.

My husband flew down to New Zealand from London and arrived on Monday afternoon. We were then up at 5am on Tuesday morning to shower, dress and catch an early flight down to Queenstown.

We had a great first day down there (I will write up a full trip report later) but my husband crashed at about 6pm. His 'nap' went on and on until eventually at 8pm I asked him if he was going to get up. He barely managed to shake his head to say no. I quickly decided to head on into the main shopping/dining area of Queenstown by myself. This happened again the following evening. Flying across to the other side of the world is not easy!

The first night I ventured out alone I just had a good look around Queenstown and grabbed something to take back to the hotel from Fergbaker. The following night, I was determined to check out something a bit more exciting so I went to Eichardt's Bar.

Although the lighting was dim, this was a nice bar to spend a couple of hours alone. I ordered a martini and a couple of tapas dishes, including their calamari in a black (squid ink) tempura, then sat reading my Kindle.

I then caught a bus back up the hill to The Heritage hotel and was glad to have crossed Eichardt's off my list.

Do you like to go out on your own? Or would you stick to room service?

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Bean Bags

 
Bean bags are synonymous with lounging and relaxing so they would be a perfect addition to any beach house. One of my favourite beach bars would have to be Fizz Bar in Koh Tao (pictured above). We spent many early evenings perched on those green bean bags while sipping a cocktail and watching the sun set. Great times on our 2010 Thailand holiday!

I think I could easily do a spot of bean bag relaxing here as well ...

 
Fatboy is a well recognised brand and even though they're expensive they are 
ultra durable, machine washable and you could use them both in and outside.

MP

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