Simple pleasures

Treating myself to indulgent alternatives to tea and coffee makes the dark nights so much easier to bear.

Sadly I have been hit with the worst bout of toothache and until I can get to a dentist I won't be able to enjoy my warming treats.

Until then, it's nurofen and a lot of whining for me!

The real London

On my 2 hour walk home from work this week I headed to Regent's Canal, and walked from City Road in East London all the way along heading North through Islington, on to King's Cross and then ending up in Camden. I could have headed on to Warwick Avenue and home to Maida Vale, but I met the boy and hopped on the bus to meet friends for dinner, by that point by feet were aching due to fairly impractical shoes.

I am going to try and do this walk more often as I find the tube is so hot and uncomfortable in summer and I am too much of a wimp to cycle.

I had never explored the East end of the canal, and I was so amazed when I reached it to find the City Road basin where kids were canoeing and swimming, workers had gathered with cold beers in ice buckets and a group of barges gathered to enjoy the evening sun. I walked on to Islington where I made a detour to the high street and found the amazing pound store where I discovered the incredible knick knacks pictured above. 

I then returned to the canal where I snapped the couple standing, in what seemed like Victorian dress, on a bridge over a lock. You will notice the Eurostar going past, a nice little moment of old meets new I felt! It turned out the couple were street performers, and there were a group of people following them along the path as they played out their scenes. There was a violinist playing woeful music to accompany their sad tale. I wanted to follow too, but I had to get to dinner as quickly as I could.

On to Camden, and a gathering of punks and goths in a large gathering by the canal. Everyone I saw was just lapping up the sun, enjoying the warm evening and loving the free outside space. It felt like one of those insider secrets, while everyone else was heading to the beer gardens of London early, and desperately scouring the place for a seat, those in the know headed to the best outside space in London.

 

Hot hot heat

This weekend the temperature in London rose to 25c. So for now it is goodbye to 40 denier tights and thick cotton leggings and hello to sandals, bikinis and sarongs.

It was finally hot enough to wear my new Insight panda print dress and on Saturday morning I sat on the balcony and devoured half of The Amber Spyglass, (although I am now dreading the end as it means saying goodbye to Lyra and Iorek and Serafina and Will and Lee forever).

Saturday afternoon was spent on my dear friend Katy's roof terrace in Covent Garden where we barbecued burgers and forgot to brainstorm business ideas.

Saturday night was the BIG FINAL and although I was bitterly disappointed that my much loved Stavros Flatley (a father and son dance team who made mum and I laugh until we cried) didn't win, I was most impressed by the dancers who did.

Sunday; more barbecue, more sun and the growth of a deep sense of relaxation which caused me much distress when the alarm went off at 7am this morning.

Scenes from London

I can't get my head around the fact that we are fast approaching the half way point of 2009. This year has already thrown a lot at me, including the end of a quite new relationship and the re-kindling of an old one, along with dealing with the very recent loss of a much loved and deeply missed relative and coming to terms with how that will affect another loved one.

I have come to a much deliberated over decision, and have decided to leave my current job for a new career, and this will mean returning to full time study for 3 years. But this is a long-term plan and entails spending the next year and a half living extremely frugally so I can continue to live in London without a salary.

Despite these activities and decisions, this year is still passing in a combination of frantic activity and a slight feeling of montony. Without any trips away on the horizon, and having had several grey and drizzly weekends, I am feeling like I need a change of scenery or a new challenge to focus my attention.

This will probably take the form of trying to get into shape for summer, which will mean getting out of my new daily habit of eating quavers and chocolate at 3pm. I also hope to cook some new dishes over the next few weekends, and save some money while I'm at it. I have been a glutton when it comes to eating out this month.

The pictures above have been taken over my last weekends around London. The lovely looking couple are Ramona and Nemo, a Swedish couple I spotted in a bar and managed to snap a photo of. We ended up chatting, with me insisting I write up a list of London highlights for them. I also invited them to a party we were organising in Tuffnell Park (which is not the easiest place to get to) and I was so thrilled when they rocked up on the night. I hope we made their trip to London a little bit special, just as it should be.

Snaps of: Marks & Spencers Roses for my grandpa, a gorgeous bed and co-ordinated decor at Cologne & Cotton, a sweet couple lost in their books outside the Wallace Collection, children's books on display (I adore the imaginative design of most children's book), hot chocolate and Northern Lights in bed, one of the many beautiful churches in Maida Vale/St. John's Wood (I will check the name), a simple dinner and a cold glass of wine to celebrate Friday, a movie at The Gate Cinema (we saw, and loved, In the Loop), a jaunty note left outside an expensive house in Marylebone, scrapbooking on a Saturday morning, my new kitten heel gladiator sandals, Nemo and Ramona.

A few of my least favourite things

I always read top ten lists of "Things That Make Me Happy" or "Little things that made my day" with a heavy dose of cynicism and British sarcasm. I am ashamed to say if I ever begin making a list in my mind it all too often contains the things that irritate the hell out of me, rather than life's simple pleasures.

So as it is Friday, and I have now spent over 4 hours making playlists on Spotify, I am going to turn my attention to the things that make me happiest. However if I am to do that, I will also enjoy the great indulgence of listing the things that wind me up most.

Without further ado, and we shall start with the goodies:

Simple Pleasures
Fresh Coffee.
Friends who make me laugh and strangers who are kind.
Sitting right by the fire in my parents house with a glass of champagne in one hand and my dog Danny in the other. Throw in Britain's Got Talent/an old Poirot, and the company of the parents and you've got my perfect evening.
Leaving work early and meeting friends in town to mooch around Topshop, Urban Outfitters and Muji before heading into Soho for dinner.
Somebody else doing the dishes.
An impromptu dinner out.
Freshly washed and ironed sheets and duvet covers.
A sunny weekend.
Getting posters and art work framed.
Planning my outfits in preparation for the next day.
Going to bed at 10 with a good book and turning my phone off.
A long run around the park with a good soundtrack and no-one else around.

Misery Makers
Cleaning out the coffee granules from my cafetiere
Waiting anything over 5 minutes for my bus/tube (this is shameful impatience, but it is also shameful that I pay £25 a week for a travelcard so I feel justified in this grievance)
Eating too much rubbish, which always seems a great idea beforehand but not so much afterwards.
People who walk slowly up steps when they know someone is behind them (this is especially annoying when they are walking to a train platform with a train about to pull away, and it happens far more than you'd hope!)
Dishes left until the next morning.
Rainy weekends and grey days.
Having to pander to the requests and boundaries of people without imagination or who do things because they've always been done thus.

Greens in Spring

All found at Queen's Park Farmers Market. 

And some friendly feedback from the customers...

Radio Silence

The silence of the last few weeks has been due to holidays in Scotland, South Devon, Suffolk, a few very lazy weekends and the small matter of my 25th birthday in amongst all that.

More pictures to be loaded tonight..and lots and lots of words to come. 

Shots of: St. John's Pet Shop (the pet's wanted in), fresh asparagus from White Cross St. market covered in butter and sea salt, birthday cake devoured in Devon by the pond, sunset over Dartmoor from my garden, Edinburgh (featuring my mum and dad walking arm in arm)

Snapshots

Snaps: My weekend to do pile includes knitting, baking cupcakes and framing a bunch of images, ironing my white cotton summer duvet (Muji) while catching up on the Apprentice, pizza at my new found favourite Story Deli on Brick Lane, Primrose Hill from the bottom for once, 

Stephanie's story

I am sure many of you read Stephanie Nielsons' blog. For those that do not I will give a brief introduction to it:

Stephanie is a young mother of 4, married to a handsome husband named Christian and, until recently, living in Arizona. She is beautiful, creative and shares pictures, recipes and craft tips with her large readership. Her little home was so sweetly decorated that Cookie magazine featured a tour.

Stephanie's husband loved to fly planes. For his birthday she bought him flying lessons and in August '08 the two of them flew off together to pick up boots she had spotted and decided to buy. They were joined by Christians' flight instructor, Doug. 

The small plane crashed on take off and tragically Doug did not survive. Christian and Stephanie both suffered extremely severe burns, with Stephanie's injuries covering 80% of her body.

For a while her readers, myself included, did not know if she would survive. Her sister, Courtney Jane (CJane to those that love her), took in 3 of her children (the youngest went into the care of another sister, Lucy, who lived nearby) and wrote daily about the unfolding tragedy that had shattered her family. CJanes' writing was tender and honest, and thousands of bloggers and blog readers flocked to her site every day. It was a phenomenal response from a world of people who had never met this couple. People from around the world held fundraisers, balloon releases, wrote long and personal comments of support and took Stephanie and her family into their hearts.

Stephanie is now in recovery and has moved to Utah, where her family - including CJane and Lucy - live. She has also started blogging again though the tone and subject matter on the blog has changed. I can tell from her writing that she desperately wants to be the woman she was, the mother she was and to share the same simple stories of a day spent with her children cooking, laughing, smiling and singing.

But for now she cannot, and today she posted the most touching post about the struggles she faces with who she has become. Is she a different person because she looks different? People used to stare at her because she was so beautiful, now they stare at her for other reasons entirely. She reveals for the first time that one of her beloved sons won't go near her.

I wanted to share her post with you because I think it is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have come across on this cyber space we inhabit. Perhaps it is because I have followed Stephanies' story for so long, but I think some of you may agree. For me this came as a much needed reminder to appreciate the little gifts we get everyday.