Washington DC - In Pictures

If you look closely in this one of the White House you'll see Bo Obama! I was so excited when I saw him, very cute but poor thing has to stay on a lead and close to the house...

J and I were in Washington DC at the beginning of March. We were incredibly fortunate to have had glorious sunshine for the few days we were there rather than the blizzards they'd had a few weeks before. It was my first time there and I liked it, it's nice and open and green.

Thanks to all who gave me tips before I went, they were much appreciated!

Quilting - Part 1, half way through

Yesterday I dragged J into central London with me to try and find some fabrics and equipment for making a quilt. As I mentioned a little while back I have decided to try and make two quilts for my new nephews/nieces who are due later this year. After a fruitless search around Soho we headed off to John Lewis and ended up in Liberty. Here I found a treasure trove of quilting paraphenalia all ready to spend too much money on and attempt to make something vaguely quilted. Above is the haul I bought home. With a reel of V&A for Liberty printed fabrics with some great patterned fabrics.

So I set to, measuring, cutting and then hand sewing my squares together. I don't have a sewing machine so needle and thread was the only way forward... And below is my first attempt at quilt number 1! The patterned squares are both the V&A design fabric.

Now I need to purchase the backing and wadding and put it all together to make a finished quilt, hence only being halfway through. And of course to make the next one...

29 gifts - update

So somehow the 29 days is over and my gift giving was poor to say the least. I did manage a few cards, and still have many more to send if anyone is interested. I gave my sister some clothes and I tried to make an effort to give more compliments and support. I think there were some others but nothing too exciting.

I think overall it was a fun way to try and make a small change in the way you behave. And I hope it's worked. I do find myself saying compliments now instead of just thinking them. And I do think of how I can give people gifts to help cheer them up when I feel like that's the right thing to do.

Plus it really made me think about giving. Partly why I agreed to go ahead and be a school governor, as a way of giving my time to help govern a school. I shall try and build on this small step by thinking more about ways I can give in the future.

Thanks for the support in this small endeavor and here's to small changes to forge a better path!

Woppee! An award for me!

The lovely Make Do Style has very kindly passed on the above reward. Which I am very excited to have received. Blog awards are such lovely things to get. And so the rules are as follows, tell seven things about yourself and then pass the award on to seven other beautiful bloggers. Now I always like talking about myself and sharing the love so here goes:

1. I am now a School Governor for a school in Mayfair, longer story behind how that came about and no I don't have any secret children
2. I have two older sisters, they are both currently pregnant and people keep asking me if I am going to follow suit, I'm not... (yet)
3. I walk to and from work almost every day and think I would go crazy if I didn't
4. I absolutely love University Challenge and get so excited if I get a question right
5. I am an organised messy person, untidy but I normally know where in my untidiness things are
6. I still love looking at wedding photos. And wedding dresses. And choose ones I would wear now, normally the more crazy ones now my simple one has been worn
7. I am preparing to try and make quilts for the nieces/nephews on the way, eek!

And on to the sharing of the love, here goes:

The Imaginary Cafe
Anna and the Ring
Color Me Green
I go by Katie
Peacock Feathers & Diamond Rings
A girl's world
Puppies and Pancakes

Thanks again Kate! M x

Bread

First apologies for the appaling picture quality but I somehow wanted to show you the bread I made on the weekend. Having not made bread since I was a little girl and had mummy's know how to guide me on the way I was a little concerned as to how it may turn out. I also had foolishly decided that I was to serve this to my dinner guests as I had not form of biscuit to go with my cheese.

It was great fun making it, feeling the lovely dough between your fingers is just wonderful and working the dough as you knead it makes both your hands and head feel better. Kneading while thinking is something not to underestimated. And the pride when it came out of the oven, was hollow when knocked from the bottom and tasted like bread!

I used a recipe from The Imaginary Cafe and it was both simple and successful and so now highly recommended from myself also. I then tried a slight variation on Sunday having discussed with sister recommendations for making it and purchasing a loaf tin. I am yet to try my next loaf but it looks better and I am looking forward to giving it a shot.

So there we are, all my quietness and then all I've been up to is making bread!

Washington DC Botanic Gardens - Orchids

My quietness last week was because I had gone on a last minute trip to Washington DC. It was my first time there and it really is a lovely city. One of my favourite bits was the time I spent in the Botanic Gardens. They're free, small and full of lots of lovely plants to look at. Plus when I went there was a special Orchid display on, which was amazing, if you're nearby try and go before it closes as it's worth it. Hope you like the photos!

I have been thinking of getting a new perfume. For years I have worn Coco Chanel Mademoiselle and I still love it, it feels like me when I smell it and I love that with a little splash in the morning it's still there (just) in the evening. But I think it's time for a change, I'm growing up and want a different scent with which to mark my trail.

So I currently have three contenders (I think) which are as follows:

The 'upgrade' to Coco Chanel. A fragrance I am growing to love. I tried it on before getting on the plane yesterday and enjoyed smelling it throughout the airport and on the flight, plus I love Chanel bottles and fragrances in general.

Ormonde Woman - A fragrance I have heard much about, especially from the very knowledgable Rose and Mrs Trefusis but one which I am yet to smell. I just loved the way they described this scent so I feel I really must try and see if I do like it enough to wear it.

Prada - L'eau Ambree, yummy, heady, musky warm scent. Again I tried this recently and do very much like it. I have liked other Prada perfums before and this one is a winner again. Perhaps a little too much as an evening scent but there was another Prada one which was lighter for daytime I was thinking of.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a signature scent? Can you imagine any of these scents working on me? Do they suit how you imagine me? Tricky I know but I thought I'd ask all the same!

Orchids and Absence

I'll start with an apology for my absence, I've been away from London for a few days and have enjoyed being fully away. Time just to think and relax has been gratefully received. Lots more news to catch up on, I've been taking lots of photos too so a few of those to share. Oh and very excitingly one of my cards has reached it's destination, so when I'm back I shall get on with sending more out and trying to give more gifts.

Hope you're all well. M x

1 year anniversary

Yesterday was my second one-year anniversary this year. Except this time it was one year since I first posted to this blog! I feel like the little boy above, excited!

So this gives me a great opportunity to thank all of you fellow bloggers and readers who leave comments (I love getting comments, makes me smile all day), have led me to new exciting blogs and post beautifully on their blogs which I so enjoy reading. I truly appreciate the support that I have received and hope that this blog will continue for another year yet!

Anyone who is new round here it would be lovely if you could introduce yourself, say hello and let me know about your blog so I can pop in too.

M xx

29 gifts - Cards

Dear bloggers,

Would you like to receive a card with a little handwritten note? If so leave me a comment with some contact details and I'll be in touch. I ordered some cards the other day from Moo and they arrived this morning so now I need to gift them to you lovelies who have supported me so much! And just to confirm this is open to anyone anywhere, although if you're further away it may take a little longer for them to reach you.

M x

Monday thoughts

I have become rather entranced by Innocent's veg pots. These little pots of goodness give me two of my veg a day and are low in fat. Wonderful! Plus they taste pretty good.

I managed to give my first proper gift yesterday, I gave my sister a babygro I picked up in Buenos Aires. This is not as random as it sounds as my sister is 19 weeks pregnant. Very pleased to have given my first 'real' gift!

I still ache from Thursday evening. I've started Pole Dancing again, this time Level 2, and the leap in difficulty is tough. But hopefully it'll help tone me a little bit more!

The sunshine this morning lifted my heart. As did the heads of the crocus beginning to show in St James Park. I am hoping this really does herald the beginning of spring!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.