Beyond the Edge of Adventure

We are very blessed to have a new car sitting in our driveway for our use. We farewelled our trusty Hyundai iMax a week ago and we're now in the possession of a Volkswagen Caravelle. Given that I've always been a bit of a car buff, I thought I'd offer my opinion on what we've found useful for our family. There are general car reviews - usually written by men - but there's a whole new world of potential and mystery surrounding the family car that mothers can shed light on. So, here goes. The inside of our iMax, just after we purchased it. The Hyundai iMax is a great family car! It's very popular and prior to us purchasing ours in 2012, it had won RACQ's 'Best People Mover' for four years in a row. As a hard-core Ford-Holden-Mazda-Mitsubishi-type girl, I struggled with owning a Hyundai because of their reputation for cheap, plastic cars, but the evidence was clear: we needed an 8-seater van that was economical, safe and roomy and the iMax m...

Walking inside the conference room at the Mantra, there was a soft gold glow in the atmosphere. It was immediately soothing. Each table had a gorgeous shabby chic red-and-white lighthouse in the middle. In the top of each lighthouse was a tea-light candle. It never ceases to amaze me how much serenity candlelight emits, no matter how few of them there are and no matter how big the room is! Around each lighthouse was an array of shells and there were two sweet sailing ships made from a stub of stick, wire and newspaper. I was also rather pleased to discover that there were Mentos in dishes, too - perfect for the post-lunch-session-pick-me-ups.     The whole effect made me feel like I was drawing into a safe harbour with a lifeline. The rush of the previous 12 hours slipped away and a great sense of safety and calm flooded my soul - I was with people just like me and I knew that I would receive nothing but good advice and encouragement to re-stock the cargo on my pat...