Holiday time...

We're off for our final holiday of the year, until Christmas that is. Two locations, down to see the in-laws for a few days of relaxing with them and then off abroad for hopefully a bit of sunshine!

Things have been busy but I'm getting much much closer to being able to spill the beans on the Big&Scary, hopefully in a couple more weeks! And feeling a hell of a lot more positive about it all, so all's good.

Wishing all UK bound bloggers a fabulous long weekend and for everyone else hope you have a lovely weekend!

Babies

I found out this morning that I am now a thrice Auntie and the two most recent additions to my brood have come in the last four weeks. Which has all been very exciting. Both are little girls and both born with lots of hair! (Which I happen to think is very cute in a baby)

But what's so nice about all of this is that I have been learning (a little) about pregnancy and birth from my sisters. Which both fascinates and scares the s**t out of me. I think pregnancy is such a miracle and all that the body does is amazing. There was a time when I thought about midwifery but I think I'm not cut out for it. Although getting to help with the experience of bringing new babies in the world every day, wow. So for now I shall stick with the delight of babies without actually having one.

This is because I don't think that just yet I am at that baby stage. In fact I'm more than certain I'm not ready at the moment. There are too many other things I want to do first, which is not to say I don't ever want to have babies but not just yet.

It gets you thinking though, seeing other people's babies, especially those related to me, makes me think about my own one day...

Paris Photos - Just because...

A little taste of our weekend in Paris. If we had food markets like this in the UK I would be a very very happy lady...

Paris

Paris was lovely, just the tonic we needed, we strolled around, chatted, laughed, ate some reasonable food and drank some yummy red wine.

And then it rained all Sunday...

Another year older

Yesterday was my birthday so I celebrated with a wee party for a few friends. It was a great way to celebrate turning older, although at times I'm still like a child when it comes to my excitement for my birthday!

Birthday's are always a time to reflect a little, at the year that has just passed and at what the future may hold and I'm hoping that this next year will be exciting! In fact I'm pretty sure it will be. That thing I was worrying about a while back, well stuff is happening and hopefully it'll be good news. I'll be sure to let you know!

Having the time to stop

This weekend we had nothing planned, nothing at all. And for once I was delighted (I'm a planner as well as a worrier). Things have been busy, work for both of us has been busy and we've had functions booked in for weekday evenings and weekends for quite a while now. So much so that I got ill at the beginning of the week, my body's way of telling me to slow down and relax. So I slept most of Monday.

And then this weekend. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Bliss.

We have made the most of it, cooking most of yesterday, making Lebanese, some of my favourite food, but time consuming to do properly. Making ice cream, from scratch with no machine and then just sitting and not doing.

This weekend has made me realise the value of stopping. Of sitting down together, sometimes in silence, sometimes chewing the cud about whatever is on our mind. We've had the time to appreciate all we have, how lucky we are to have each other and all else that we have.

What joy nothing sometimes is...

Verona Arena - A night at the opera!

The whole reason for us to go to Verona was for a night at the opera. Every year they hold an opera festival which lasts during the summer and is held in the Roman arena in the middle of Verona. We went to see the first night of Carmen showing and it was just fabulous!

The sets were all done by Franco Zefferelli and were beautiful. Plus the stage is about three times the size of a normal theatre so you fit many more singers and animals on stage! As you can see by the horse above...

It was a great opera, a wonderful experience and one I won't forget for a long while.

Whisked away to... Verona!

What a lucky lucky girl I was, early on Saturday morning we hauled ourselves up, me excited to go away but tired. And then at Victoria we met some friends who were joining us on our mini adventure and were off on the Gatwick express. We left a very cloudy grey Gatwick to arrive in a scorching Verona, a city I have never visited before. And what little we managed to see of it was lovely.

After lunch we hopped in a taxi to our hotel, again no idea where we were staying so to turn up to the below driveway I was excited to say the least...

And then we walked into this entrance hall, wowee! And we were at the Byblos Art Hotel, just outside of Verona. Another post to follow on the hotel, we spent most of our time there!

2 days in Devon Part 1

To start my holiday this week I tottled off to Devon. It was a grey miserable rainy day and as I sat on the train I thought just how leaving London was taking some of the stress from my shoulders. And then the sun began to come out and I steadily was getting closer to my destination. I arrived in Ashburton and joined my sister and her friend in a little cafe with a garden. Lunch followed by the yummiest cream tea. Great homemade scones with yummy cream and jam. And to continue the Twitter debate I must admit to putting cream first then jam...

We were staying at the accommodation which the cookery school ran. Our room above we both thought was just lovely. The cookery school was Ashburton Cookery School, of which more on the next post... Then a gentle afternoon, a stroll in the sunshine and catching up with my sister. She's very patient with my moaning but also offers a different perspective on some of the things I moan about. So we dined and then off to bed to make sure we were ready for the next day!

Baby Picture This the results!

Above my beautiful Baby Picture This prints in their new frame from Cargo. Aren't they lovely! Soon to be gifted to a friend of mine as a very belated Christmas and birthday present. Although now I've got them on my wall it'll be hard to give them away!

New Purchases!

Following on from my wardrobe edit I have been shopping! So I thought I would share with you my recent purchases :)

This is the Wonder dress from French Connection. I saw it and thought it looked like the right shape but they only had a size 10 (US 6 I think) and I'm normally a 12. Anyhow I figured best to try it on, following Kate's advice, and so on it went, just.... It fits really nicely at the top but is very tight around the bottom. So I bought it anyway! Just in case there's not a 12 for me to try on somewhere else and exchange it with.

My next purchase was on Sunday. This is the same belt which Make Do Style has posted about before. Ideally I would have bought the Citrine belt but it seems they have sold out. So Coral it is. Belt from Karen Millen.

I'm therefore feeling quite excited about my purchases and hoping they're good ones for the future. Now to check J likes the dress and doesn't think it too tight and then we're away!

Wardrobe edits and shopping lists

Today I was very very lucky and got treated to a Wardrobe edit with the very lovely Kate of Make Do Style. To be honest I was a little terrified as I knew how much my wardrobe really needed it. A lot of it is very outdated and I've never really know what suits me or what my body shape quite is. I've also been feeling a little uncomfortable in my body recently, my hormones have been a little all over the place with the introduction of Mirena and this comes out with me feeling lumpy and fat. J tells me it isn't the case but I still struggle to let myself believe him when he tells me.

So armed with my new advice I have decided to create a shopping list so I can shop to list from here on in and hopefully inject some youth and style into my wardrobe. I shall report back following purchases!

1. Belts - one coloured and patent, one brown
2. Boyfriend cardigan
3. New bras
4. Maxi dress
5. Dress (above the knee)
6. Skirts (above the knee)
7. A couple of t-shirts

And then my guidelines for shopping are buy the right size (I tend to buy clothes too big because I believe I am that size), buy shorter, always above the knee, tighter and less fussy on the hips, plus more youthful!

Kate - I hope I've got this right and thank-you again, I so very much appreciate this. I am looking forward to shopping now in the hope that I really can buy the right clothes!

Oh and finally I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who feels like they're a bit stuck with their wardrobe and body image. It is wonderful and so worth it!

Orange Poppy

Taken by me in my parents back garden on the weekend. In the small moment of sunshine we had before the pouring rain which threatened to wash away the garden party. Although being hardy souls we put up the umbrellas and stayed outside drinking wine... True Brits!

Help Needed! Hotel recommendations in Paris

Still on the list of things to do... Having completed number 3 by making creme caramel I am now looking at the others on the list. Number one on that list was to go to Paris for the weekend.

Last week I booked our Eurostar! And we're going in August, a long way away I know but I shall start planning now.

So I am looking for your help. Seeing as you lot are a well travelled lot can you give me recommendations of both areas and hotels to stay. My budget isn't huge and I know Paris is expensive so if it could also not be ridiculously expensive that would be wonderful!

Ideally we'll be based centrally, I don't really want to have to get the metro a lot. Especially as I imagine in August it'll probably be sticky and hot.

Looking forward to hearing all your ideas :) M x

Creme Caramel - Success!

So on Monday I managed to tick off number 3 from my list. Which made me very happy! It also made J quite happy and our friend A who was joining us for a Bank Holiday lunch.

I got the recipe from Larousse, amazingly enough the only cook book I had with the recipe and off I went... Below the little beasts before they were turned out on to the plate.

The yumminess in its glory. Sorry I am bragging but I was amazed they worked and looked like they should, plus they tasted pretty good too... Hopefully you can see the vanilla throughout the caramel and custard (I only put it in the custard but somehow it ended up in the caramel too).

The only slight problem I had was with the caramel, I think I did something wrong as my moulds now have a rock solid layer of caramel at the bottom. Exceedingly hot water will be the only thing getting that out, although I have tried I promise!

If anyone wants the recipe I used leave me a comment and I shall get it for you!

Quilting Part 2

The leadership debates and bank holiday weekend have allowed me time to crack on with the quilting project I started a while back... The plan is to make two smallish quilts, one for each of my sisters and their new little ones (when they arrive).

So below is number 2, very similar to number 1 but slightly brighter in th greens I used.

And here we have both quilts side by side. I'm pleased with how they turned out and now just need to buy the backing material and sew them all together, for which I shall be using middle sister's sewing maching hopefully next weekend. And then we shall have some finished quilts (fingers crossed) which I will of course show you.

Hope you've been having good and productive long weekends. M x

Have you heard the news?

Baby Picture This has opened her shop on Etsy!

Quick quick, follow the link go see for yourself...

And then hop on over to her blog where she's offering entry into a competition to win some of her prints! What more could you want for a Friday?!

Thoughts and happenings

Photo from Baby Picture This

Today I feel like I need this photo full of hope and spring. I have a spring cold and am feeling revolting and it's suddenly brisk outside again and not warm like it should be. Spring seems to be ebbing and flowing instead of powering on and I am bored of the cold and ready to have my skin warmed by the sunshine.

And then a little something else, far away on the horizon which is taking up a lot of my thinking time right now but which I just cannot share about yet. Probably not for a few months anyhow. But I wanted to mention it as it feels better to have told that there is something, even if not what!

And finally Baby Picture This today announced that she is planning on setting up an Etsy shop. Very very exciting as she is a hugely talented photographer (see above photo) and I think her shop will be absolutely delightful.

Happy Easter

Aren't long weekends just lovely? Although a shame the weather is misbehaving and being grey and rainy instead of blue and sunny. So to make up for that I thought I'd share some pics I took 3 years ago when I was home for Easter. And no we don't have roosters in our backgarden, I saw these on a walk, although it would be fun to have roosters!

New Rhubarb shoots, rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits ever. I just love, love, love it.

The Cherry blossom on the trees in the backgarden, finally beginning to see a little blossum in St James Park, but much later this year.

Hope you all enjoy your long weekend's and have a wonderful Easter break! M x

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!