Going Green

I have been noticing a penchant for greenery on instagram lately, which is good as I have been wanting to add some greenery to my home for a while now. Good for the environment, beautiful to look at, they are great to add a little interest to a room.......and who else feels better in a green space? Me! Definitely!

So, here I introduce plant #1. The first of many for my home! It's a Spathiphyllum commonly known as a Peace Lily. She is living on the kitchen table and looks fabulous against my natural stone wall. What do you think?

 Bringing it home! So green and healthy!

Hope it stays green and healthy!! 

So, what to add next?

XX

Naughty Eats This Weekend.....

Ok, so this weekend my healthy eating went completely to pot. Chocolate, yup! Chocolate digestives, yup! Chinese, yup! Pancakes, double yup! Sat here writing with a double Amaretto on the rocks? Hell yeah!

So, what am I thinking. I've cocked up all my hard work? Might as well just carry on eating all the things I haven't had in an absolute age? In giant size? 

300 gram Cadbury's I ate last night with Mr.L!!!

At Christmas I ate so many things I hadn't had since doing my juice detox and to be honest hadn't missed either. The result.......spots & heartburn and actually felt like I was poisoning my body. Really.

This doesn't mean that I deny myself, but try to eat things that may be 'naughty' in moderation. I savour my food, eat more slowly, think whilst I am eating. Try not to eat whilst perusing the internet or doing work. You know, you suddenly think, wow, my lunch is gone and I didn't taste it!! 7 I'm absolutely stuffed - stopping eating when you are full is one of the best things for weight loss. As is eating when hungry - not because it is 12 o'clock ;-)

So, am I going to get depressed about what I've consumed this weekend. No! Of course not! Tomorrow is another day and I will start it the way I usually do. By finishing my pint of water on my bedside, sipping on lemon and ginger in hot water and making my green juice. After all, it's what you do most of the time that makes the difference!

Back soon to share some of the changes I've made to my diet and how I've upped my fitness.

Hope you've had a fab weekend!
XX

Being A Mama

I said here that I hope to post more often. But I'm sure others find that whatever good intentions you may have something needs to give. 

Last week my Daughter needed me. Baby Sebastian is 10 weeks old now and is an absolute delight. He is smiling, chuckling, reaching out. But last week he had a poorly tum. He needed his Mama all the time, the comfort only a Mama can provide, which meant that she felt she could not do anything, or go anywhere. She needed & wanted to nurse him. 

So, cue her Mama to help out! :-)

Sometimes it's just a listening ear and some practical solutions that make all the difference.

I came across this poem last week, so copied it and shared it with her. So true.

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could just parcel up all those 'last times' and keep them and re-experience them whenever we felt like it?
XX

Snow Day

& this weekend has been all about keeping cosy! Layering - the bed, the sofa, me!

White Company faux fur throws for our beds bagged in the sale....sumptuous & warm

Hush roll neck jumper perfect for cosying up! Bag it now 71% off :-)

Cushions, sheepskins.......perfect for early morning blog reading ;-0 

 Scented Winter candles.......

 More layers for me - this wrap I live in when it's cold outside! 
I live in an old, draughty house, built 1650, I need layers!

 Tea - copious amounts of tea, caffeine free where possible - these are my faves

 & a warming tot of Disaronno before I go off to my cosy bed :-)

How do you keep warm?
Hope you've had a lovely weekend & big thank you for dropping by!
XX

Friendship

Its funny how  throughout our lives we make friends. & how some of those friends come and go and others stick around. New friends are made along with new jobs/experiences, we then move on and may meet up with those friends once or twice, but slowly the friendship slides, not leaving an emptiness or space in your heart.

Other friends you meet, there is that connection, that something that binds you together. Those sorts of friendships are so precious and you would never want to lose, they would leave an emptiness, an ache.

I have a small group of friends from when I worked on a children's ward, I look on those years as my formative years. Its where I fell in love, married, became a Mum & all the angst in-between. Positive influences from great girls, who helped me to become the person I am today. I meet up with them once or twice a year and love the catching up, the laughter and the memories. See below!

Other friends made through children's activities, Mother & Toddler groups, Kinder Gym and the like. This is how I met my best friend. We share so much, deepest darkest secrets (yes, I have some of those - don't we all?) My husband will ask what we find to talk about. The answer EVERYTHING & you!! Lol! My life is so much richer for this friendship. A guiding light, her for me, me for her (I hope).

One friend I had lost contact with and it did leave me feeling a loss, time marches on, you think about that person often. How are they doing? How are the children? You call, it's the answer phone, they call, get the answer phone.....exchange of Christmas cards......and so it goes.......

This week I met up with her. We spent the most fabulous afternoon catching up in a lovely tearoom. It was like there hadn't been a three year hiatus, like we'd seen each other only a week ago, just with older children! We have promised that each time we see each other we will plan our next meet. 

When I got home, I had a beautiful text from her  - something she had read;

"Good friends are like good quilts; they never lose their warmth."

So true, don't you think?
XX

Happy Monday

Wishing all you lovelies a fabulous week!

XX

Weekend Recap

I have just waved goodbye to my boy - off on his way back to Uni - truly signalling the end of the festive season. You'd think I would be used to this after four years, but no, the tears still fall and a little piece of my heart is empty. Miss my kids being home so much.....

Last night we enjoyed drinks with good friends - really good friends - our ski group friends who we live with on numerous holidays kibbutz like! ;-0

It was very chilly, so I wrapped up warm in my purple sheepskin which went missing at the dry cleaners in November and I was so happy to get back yesterday!! 

Can't say how much I am loving these Hush Biker Jeans. They fit me so well and make me determined to keep the weight off that I lost this year. Great incentive and for that alone well worth the money.

This striped linen top I bagged in the Zara Sale and looks great with my christmas necklace from Noa Noa - simple and understated.

The details on the bikers are what makes them - zips & stitch details.

What's your favourite item of clothing at the moment?
XX

Also wearing purple boots now in the sale & purple sheepskin, similar here donkeys years old!!

My Word For 2015

I have never had a 'word of the year'. But this year I have. I don't make resolutions as I think January is the worst time of year to start anything new, after-all we should all be hiding from the dark, cold nights under duvets, lighting candles, eating filling seasonal stews whilst holding the remote control!!

I hope it brings me focus and clarity. Its a word that can be applied to so many different areas of life. Here is the meaning taken from good old google;

synonyms:

purify, clarify, clear, cleanse, strain, sift, filter, rarefy, distil, concentrate, process,treat;

antonyms:

adulterate

•        make minor changes so as to improve or clarify (a theory or method).

  
  

  synonyms:

  improve, perfect,  hone, temper, fine-tune, elaborate, touch up, revise, edit,

• 
  

I will come back to share how I apply 'my word' but want it to reflect how I live my life generally, be it continuing the good habits I started last year, my eating and making changes to my diet, running, spending time with the people I love or culling my wardrobe along with every drawer and cupboard in the house!

Please join me on this journey, I hope to post more often!

XX

Repro Rockers

One of my best buys lately has been these Charles Eames Repro Rockers.

One for my daughter for her birthday (in black)and one for my Sons girlfriend for Christmas. Available in a host of colours, I got this zingy orange for 'S'.

Despite their looks they are so comfortable and their compact size is great for bedrooms or smaller homes. Warmth can be added with a sumptuous sheepskin like this one from John Lewis.....which sits on my daughters rocker. 

We surprised 'S' on Boxing Day with hers!!

I now want one myself - the only thing is, which colour to choose?
Happy Weekend!
XX