hello broadband, I missed you X

 It's been a turmultuous few weeks. We've had no kitchen (still have no kitchen), no money (ditto) and no broadband (yay! now we have broadband! thank the gods) The house is chaos with mess and wood and bags of concrete and tools everywhere, and we've been living in the middle of it like a family of bewildered, foraging tramps. 

 And now December is lurking like a ninja in the coming week ready to ambush us with its sparkly awesomeness and I'm thinking that the first Christmas we spend in this house isn't gonna be like the one I'd played out in my head. What with having no kitchen and all. No, it's gonna be better! No cooking, no washing, no ironing! Oh happy days.

 But, honestly? I had big plans for festive house warming parties and clean clothes etc that are fading fast. There's still hope though, with a little Christmas magic we might have an actual sink by Christmas Eve. To wish for a washing machine and oven seems too daring though, and I can't put my heart on the line like that.

 I've decided to post a photo a day throughout December, to get me back into the swing of blogging. Small things, little winter. I missed this, you and all your loveliness and gorgeous blogs, missed the inspiration and the advice. I'm happy to be back. 

stuffing our faces in LDN

 Two days and a night in London. A whirlwind trip, a taster. We used to live in the capital, a long time ago now. Ah, happy days.

 We did the Natural History Museum first and, wow, it's even more beautiful than I remember. Taking Edie into the huge Central Hall and seeing the Diplodocus stood there in all his colossal bony glory gave me shivers. I sometimes get a bit overawed in foyers and entrances to wonderful places, like in Disney World, on Main Street, where all I can do is stop myself from erupting like a geyser of emotion at how damn awesome the world is. Well, the Central Hall in the Natural History Museum made me well up. And the Deli Cafe does great food and I bought a pretty and clever book called Kaleidoscope Sky, so all in all I was over the moon.

 The Science Museum was a little shabby but still well worth a visit. We managed to take some time out in the Shake Bar for chocolate chip milkshakes (we missed no opportunity to fill our tummies with tasty stuff)

 And, yes, Edie missed the milkshakes. But she made up for that x10 when she ate the biggest ice cream sundae I've ever seen at Fortnum and Mason which was meant to be shared between the three of us. But, hey, I guess two year olds don't have the whole sharing thing down pat quite yet. That girl can EAT. 

***Important note to all lovers of hot chocolate- the child's hot chocolate at Fortnum and Mason is amazing. And that's not a blog exaggeration. That's a fact. There cannot be a better hot chocolate anywhere on this Earth.***

 Now that makes it sound like all we did was eat and drink liquid chocolate stuffs but we did manage to fit in a few other things. Like going to Spitalfield's Market, where we went to Leon for lunch, admittedly an eating activity again, but have you been to a Leon? Well, if you can you should. I recommend. 

 Now we're home and looking forward to a weekend of painting and getting ready for Phase One of our move. We're aiming for a week Saturday for a partial move into our new home. Eek. Can't wait.

blogging and the bad stuff

 I love getting comments on my posts. It's a great feeling to know that someone out there's reading them and is at least vaguely interested. There are some amazing and utterly inspiring girls out there whose blogs I visit and who sometimes come and say 'hello' by dropping in on mine. 

 Thank you ladies! It's always a pleasure to meet you. 

 But then, once in a while, there are the comments that make you go 'mmmmm', the ones that have a masked aggression or a sarcastic tone. I admit I'm lucky to have avoided that so far, probably because not that many people read my blog, but the other day I noticed a comment that made me a tiny bit unsure about the way it was intended. Not that it was out and out bitchy at all, just a leetle bit snarky. Anyway, it got me thinking, about what I write about in this blog and about what kind of image I'm projecting here.

 I know what pisses me off about certain blogs, no matter how much I love them or how cool the author is. It riles me when people's lives are protrayed as being uber-perfect, whatever kind of lifestyle they have chosen to project. These blogs are so inspiring but can also make me feel a little inadequate, like one of life's losers, even though I realise that even the most sorted, confident, beautiful and successful of us have mood swings, disasters, illnesses and annoying habits just like we all do. Now, I'm not saying that I've set myself up as having a 'perfect' life here at all (I wish) I'm just wondering if I need to show a bit more of the shit that goes on in my life as well as the lovely stuff. Cos, there's a lot of shit, believe me. And doesn't make that make life more interesting? The way that we're growing and learning all the time, looking for the beauty and the love in life even through the not-so-great times?

 But then... I do find I return to the 'beautiful lives' blogs again and again. The ones that hold the promise of a life more lovely. The ones that make my tummy ache a little because it's all so damn perfect.

 I don't know what the answer is. I suppose sharing and promoting the good things in life is a good primary motivator but then I can't turn my blogging back on the darker side of life either, or the hum drum side, or the ugly side, not completely. 

 Life isn't all perfect days out and new shoes and macaroons and thrifting that perfect coffee table and constantly being the confident, self- worshipping goddess that we'd all like to be.

 But then how much of the truth do you put into your blog? Are you writing almost as a character, self-editing your life for the pages of your blog, or as yourself as best you can? Yourself with a hangover, and PMT, and backache, and when your best friend is pissing you off? When you're lonely or sad and wondering what the hell to do with your life?

 What do you think?

getting there, slowly...

An actual picture of the actual paint we are using

 OK, so nearly 2 months on and we still haven't moved into our new home. But it's coming, slow and steadily. As they say- good things come to those who wait and so wait we must.

 This morning I've been to meet with the fire guy, the nice man who's going to make our living room all cosy and warm with a wood burning stove (I'm hugely excited about this, could the reality of a wood burner live up to the one that exists in my head? Yes, I think so! It's gonna be awesome!) Haggling isn't as hard as I feared, in fact I may be a natural, you don't have to be forceful and hard, there is another way that involves being nice . 

(Hooray for all the nice people getting money off you don't have to be a dickhead after all!)

 Plus, my Dad got a little crazy with a sledgehammer and our kitchen and dining rooms are now a kitchen/ diner! Lots more space, lots more light and lots more potential. It makes me happy to see it all take shape, it feels more like our home now, I can imagine it filled with our things, or furniture and bits-and-bobs. 

 So, we're thinking that we'll be in in around 3 and a half weeks. Hopefully. Partially. Without a kitchen. 

 And I'm counting down the days.

a few good things...

This lady's art work is stunning.

27 ideas that make today better. 

Such cute swimwear don't you think? 

Conran at M&S, oh my.

Things We Say Today Which We Owe To Shakespeare - this list is just awesome!  

Emily Martin's greetings cards make me go oooo. 

I'm gonna try my damnedest to visit this shop/cafe when I'm in London next month.

Elsie's tips on photographing your home. To be honest, I haven't even read this one properly yet but I just know it's gonna be great. 

How do you deal with infertility? A great, honest and inspiring post on Sarah Wilson's blog.

(This made me feel warm and fuzzy.)X

Right now I'm reading...

...Luella's Guide to English Style

 'From the sheer rock and rollness of Marianne Faithfull to the 
epitome of English aristocracy, the Duchess of Devonshire, feeding her chickens in pearls and Wellingtons...'
Luella Bartley

 Finally getting around to reading Luella Bartley's Luella's Guide to English Style. So far so good. I've been making little notes on the pages in pencil which is making me feel very naughty (I've always been a good girl when it comes to looking after books) so I have lots of quotes and things to inspire me saved up. Like this one!

 'Money-is-no-object thinking comes at a price. Too much cash means zero creativity and none of the groundwork or lineage needed to figure out what makes a good status purchase. You're not going to find your true self poncing around Harvey Nichols until you've done your apprenticeship in the markets, high street, charity shops and jumble sales, experimenting, altering, and making proper, individual, out-there choices - and mistakes.'
Luella Bartley

 In that case, my apprenticeship seems to be taking forever.

 Here's another great quote that rang true with me (especially right now this minute with my rained on, tangled mess of a hair-do)-
 
'...hair is one of the most telling signs of true English style and the brush is it's worse enemy...'

 
 The book itself is gorgeous too, with an aged look and a bright pink elastic band to keep your page. Genius!

 This book does feel a little like a text book (that's probably why I feel the need to deface it with scribbles in the margins) but it's certainly got me thinking about the joys of style-individuality and the evils of style-globalisation. Luella's love of clothes and dressing up is clear and her excitement and enthusiasm are infectious. If you're a lover of fashion and style books like me then you could do worse than with this addition to the collection.

on the weekend

  Too much good food, a little too much wine, good friends, my Dad's birthday, the opera, after-show parties, wood burning stove shopping, rain, choosing paint colours, counting our pennies, spending our pennies, house warming gifts and one night with no sleep. 

 Today I'm tired. 

 Edie is growing up so fast, she's not quite 2 and a half yet but she is so knowing and funny and charming, she continually amazes me. She's blossoming and learning so fast it takes my breath away. I love to see her little idiosyncrasies and quirks show themselves as I get to know her better. 

 I look at her and I feel so lucky.