I am a big fan of The Trader Bar. It's new, has a really lush interior and attracts a completely different crowd to Mitchell Street. I've had a few girls nights out there and the drinks are always delicious. It almost feels like it's not in Darwin, that's how different this place is.

I was pretty excited when we got our members invitation to the launch of Excellence in Building and Construction Awards for 2017. Owning a business with your husband means industry nights like this double as our date nights! Hosted by Master Builders NT, who really stepped it up a notch by selecting such a cool venue. It didn't feel like a normal stuffy building industry event, held at a hotel function room.

The music was modern and loud, in a good way. The pop up fashion show was a genius way to showcase local designers, retailers and models. The antipasto platters were absolutely bloody sensational. I honestly could not get over how good the food was! We mingled a bit, did some not so subtle networking and caught up with some close friends from Wigg Plumbing and Northern Cloud Consulting.

Awesome way to kick start the year and get us local businesses excited about submitting award nominations. I know the market is slow and times are tight but we are survivors. We're Territory tough. We adapt and overcome. Building and construction in Darwin is not over yet. Not by a long shot.

Big love, Nickie x