ABOUT ME

I’m Sarah! I moved to the UAE 12 years ago as a fiercely independent and career driven journalist to take a job on a glossy celebrity magazine, devoting the first half of my ‘Dubai life’ to meeting deadlines and keeping up with the city’s (amazing!) party scene. After proclaiming that I would “never meet anyone worth settling down with here”, I ate my own words, got married, had two beautiful boys (Riley, 3 & Miller, 1) and joined forces with my husband Greg in our marketing, events and communication consultancy – Creative Noise

WHERE IS HOME?

I was born in Chiswick, North London and raised in a village called Pinner in Middlesex. It’s right at the end of the Metropolitan line for any Londoners!

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? 

A writer from a very young age, and also a lawyer, until I realised it would take me 7+ years to earn any money. A journalist seemed to be the perfect mix of both, and allowed me to prove my point, on paper!

WHAT DO YOU DO?

I look after the PR and communications side of the joint marketing, events and communications consultancy I have with my husband, Creative Noise (https://www.creativenoise.me). My forte is establishing the ‘voice’ of a brand or business, and I love supporting SMEs to raise their profile particularly.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ACTIVITY TO DO WITH YOUR CHILDREN?

I have found it quite hard to ‘split myself’ since having my second son, so I would have to say that my most special moments are the ones I steal with them separately. I try to whisk them away alone for a few hours at least once a week, whether that’s just going to the supermarket, a swim, or something more exciting.

HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR WEEKENDS?

Totally devoted to family time, as this is the only way I can balance out my working mum guilt! We signed up for the Privilee summer membership in June, and it’s been the best decision of 2020 for sure. We will be in one of many gorgeous hotel pools on Friday and Saturday mornings, before we drive for as long is necessary to get both boys to nap!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE?

I genuinely haven’t watched a film for years. My husband doesn’t even bother suggesting it any more as I will watch 10 minutes then wander off and put the washing machine on, sort out the toys or something else equally mundane! I would say my favourite movie of all time would be Armageddon, which reminds me of a cinema trip with my dad as a teenager, and him, embarrassingly, pretending our car was a rocket on the way home

IF YOU COULD EAT ONE MEAL FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Chicken korma! I’m very boring in the curry stakes, but it is just so good.

WHO’S YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH?

Ben Affleck and I used to like Prince Harry until he disappointed me this year!

WHICH DESTINATION IS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST TO VISIT?

I feel very lucky to have travelled fairly extensively pre kids, and I’m quite content with how much I’ve seen of the world, with and without them. Once the boys are a little bit older I would love to take them to Lapland, and also biking around Europe. We actually did this around Austria and Germany as a family of three when my oldest son was 18 months old and it was an incredible experience, but I don’t think I’m ready for the logistics, packing and toddler mood swings required to take both of them yet!

WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE?

Cooking with my own choice of music and a large G&T on the go. We use Hello Chef for our weekday meals and it’s become my ‘happy hour’ to put my baby down to sleep, start the dinner, and hope my three-year-old will follow suit by the time it’s ready!

IF YOU COULD HAVE A SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

To freeze time. I don’t cope well unless I’m on top of absolutely everything in my life, which is of course impossible. It would be very helpful if I could just pause everyone and everything for a couple of hours a day to catch up on self-imposed To-Do List.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT LIVING IN DUBAI?

The melting pot of culture. With every year I am here, my understanding of the world and its people gets broader. I love the fact my children are absorbing this without even knowing it yet.