Cupcake decorating is a fun and challenging way to get creative in the kitchen. Bronwyn Sell has a go.

A crowd of about 100 at Auckland Airport is welcoming a contingent of Commonwealth Games athletes home.

Who: Kids of 88 and The Naked and Famous When and where: Saturday night, The Powerstation

Swimmer Daniel Bell, sent home from the Commonwealth Games for having two beers, has been defended by his father.

A delicious Indian feast awaits you in a pretty Parnell setting.

A heritage architecture award for the remnants of Auckland's Jean Batten Building has offended preservationists.

The atmosphere, if not always the food, is right on the money at this buzzing Italian joint.

The recent conviction of two Auckland cabbies for working excessive hours should be a lesson to others, the New Zealand Transport Authority says.

Mecca Cosmetica has become the New Zealand stockists of Diptyque, the cult French candlemaker.

The Laneway festival has a lineup that will ensure a dreamy, then magical, then devastatingly angular musical experience.

She belies the conceit that readers only want primary characters who are likeable.

The weather isn't always a headline maker but it certainly affects us more than many of the news stories that we read about each day.

Alistair Bailey of Whitianga enjoyed some well-prepared bread from Mr Burns at Glastonbury in the UK.

The French are the experts when it comes to all aspects of culture. Julie Harries explores Auckland's Gallic connections in a quest to gain some quintessential French style and attitude.