September 29, 2016

Picked by my family…

Picked by my family… Enjoyed by yours

My fascination with olive oil began five years ago when we bought an organic farm in Tuscany. Even though our rundown pile of buildings needed years of renovation, the olive harvest from our 800 trees waited for no one. As complete novices we rolled up our sleeves, threw down nets so large they could have caught a live tuna and climbed rickety ladders precariously balanced against olive branches full of ripe fruit.

August 26, 2016

Just Married

I am alone on my Tuscan hillside. It is quiet. Blissfully quiet. So unlike a week ago, when every nook and cranny of my property echoed from an abundance of chatter. There was a vibrant mix of screams of naughty laughter from 20-year olds mixed with emotional conversations from long lost friends and endless chatter as the next meal for this large mob was discussed.

June 27, 2016

A very emotional day

Today is June 24 – well not when you’re reading this, but when I wrote it. It’s always been a very special day to me. Not because of someone named Jean Baptist but my hero, Josh. It is his birthday – my first born. A child’s birthday is always emotional for a parent – all those memories, but today was packed with a lifetime of intense feelings for me and not just me,

April 27, 2016

Every home tells a story

I am not a particularly spiritual person but I do believe that homes have a soul, a spirit. I also believe that we are just fleeting guests within the
walls of our homes whether we live there for a couple of years or a lifetime. The front door that we enter and those walls that protect us are an integral
part of the chapters of our lives.

March 18, 2016

La dolce vita

La Dolce Debbie, the documentary series about my journey renovating an ancient property in Tuscany comes to an end this week. I have to say my heart is full. The response has been overwhelming. I’ve received thousands of emails from viewers who have shared their dreams, their joys and pain and their hopes for tomorrow. This documentary has hit a chord with so many of you.

February 11, 2016

Hello again Oprah

LA DOLCE DEBBIE airs on OWN Canada 16th Feb 2016 at 8.30 PM

I am convinced that life is just one big circle. I find it truly amazing how people and events constantly pop back into your life. In the last few weeks
I have been having conversations with childhood friends who were at my wedding 30 years ago,

December 23, 2015

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas

“The mystery of human existence lies in not just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.”

– Fyodor Dostoyevsky

As I am saying goodbye to 2015, I would like to share what I have taken out of the turbulence and atrocities of this year. It is simplicity. The joys of a simple life.

November 28, 2015

The entrepreneur – the perils & the pearls

I have been speaking in auditoriums filled with budding entrepreneurs for years – nowadays they seem to call them ’Start Ups.’ Wikipedia says “an entrepreneur perceives a new business opportunity and often exhibits biases in her perception and subsequent decision to exploit the opportunity.” Not quite sure what this means, but what I do know is this. First and foremost,

October 8, 2015

Plump & juicy

The intense heat of our Tuscan summer has now cooled, the leaves begin to turn, the walnuts drop continuously from their branches, the fig trees continue to fruit and our pomegranates burst open, ripe with luscious seeds. It is autumn here in Tuscany in all its splendor.

Our land is dotted with 800 olive trees, some as old at 700 years,

September 4, 2015

My Tuscan reno is finished

The names of the workers on the massive construction site board on the perimeter of my Tuscan property have long since faded. The crane has gone, the orange
security fence has come down, and the plumbing and electrics are finished. The gravel is down outside and the furniture is in. Air-con is on, bedside
flowers picked,