My Summer. It's Not What I'd Planned...It's Better!!!

If you are like me you start the summer season off with goals and plans and my list of to-dos for this summer were simple:

-       Do some deep cleaning around the house;

-       Read a lot of books (my reading list is a mile long);

-       Enjoy some sunshine;

-       Take a short excursion to Mexico. 

So far I’ve not managed to accomplish anything that was on my summer list of goals and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to adjust to the fact that family happenings will often rearrange my schedule. One of our granddaughters decided to stay with us this summer and it has totally rearranged our house and our lives and I’m happy to say that instead of getting to do the things on my list, I’ve done some other great things that were on her list. So here is how the summer is turning out.

This was the view from our hotel - unbelievable!!!

-   We went to Greece!  My husband’s brother got married in Mykonos so almost all of the family spent 5 days in heaven!  Sometime soon I want to share more photos.  It was far more beautiful than I'd ever imagined.

Playing dress up with Jojo

     Instead of reading this summer we’ve played Sorry, Yahtzee and other games not to mention spending time sewing, crafting and cooking all sorts of fun things. We’ve made bean art projects, bread dough roses and spent time sketching and painting. I haven’t done this in years. We've also watched Gidget, a lot, and I love it!

 -   The rain just won’t go away but we’ve used the indoor time to play more games and instead of working late every night the way I normally do, I’ve rushed home to be with my granddaughter.  It's been great to get out of the office earlier.  We did go on a canoeing excursion, fell in the lake and lost all of our electronic devices and my new camera...not a fun outing but it was an experience we will never forget. 

-   So the trip to Mexico is on hold for now but this week I received the most incredible invitation to attend an event in DC which I can’t talk about now but will after I attend the event.  I’m going to D.C. on Tuesday and believe me I will have more to share once the trip takes place.  My understanding is that there will be no pictures but my memory will capture the moments and I'm hoping to put into words the things that I see.  I’m still amazed (and somewhat nervous) about attending but I’m honored beyond words to have been invited to attend this incredible reception.  Believe me, I will be back to share more about this next week. (Think American hero).

     I’M GOING TO HAVEN!!!  Honestly, I signed up for it so long ago that I'd almost forgotten about it until the email reminders started coming in.  I can’t wait to attend, meet new bloggers, GET INSPIRED and get ready for a great online fall season!!  It’s just two weeks away!!!!!  

    P.S. I think the housework will have to wait for now.  Guess it's time to start my fall to-do list....

I

My sunbeam

A post dedicated to my favourite picture so far of my gorgeous girl - taken on Wednesday. It is ridiculous how much I adore her. This photo may help you see why.

Back from the Wilderness!

Wow. It has been five long months since I last posted on here! So much has happened it's hard to know where to begin... but these months have simply been some of the happiest times of my life and I think perhaps I'm a lot better at writing about bad times and dark feelings than I am about the good stuff. And there has been an absolute abundance of good stuff lately!

So - to surmise what's been doing on... we finally left the big smoke in March and moved down to my home town in Kent. We took on a small rental house - two up two down - in a lovely little street of red brick Victorian terraces in the 'village' part of the town. It was pretty much the only available house to rent in our price range so we pounced on it, well I did! The Boy didn't even get to see it before we moved in it all happened so quickly! But it couldn't have worked out better. It's a 10 minute stroll from my folks (and my sister and her husband are currently living with them while they try to save to fund a deposit for a house), 5 minutes from my best friend and her family and the doctors, 10 minutes from the station, 10 minutes from the high street... you get the gist. And there is a lovely cluster of shops at the end of our road including a fab cafe, a couple of second hand and antique shops and a very nice card shop. I honestly don't think I've stopped smiling since we got her. The place absolutely feels like home and as nervous as I was about leaving London after having lived in zone one for over a decade, I honestly haven't missed it once. We are completely in the right place at the right time - for once in our lives!

The days rattle by happily. We have a good little routine here - my mother-in-law visits on a Monday morning, my Mum comes Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings I take Lucy to a couple of music classes locally, and then we normally see NCT friends on a Thursday. I keep Fridays for myself and Lucy to spend together to make sure we have enough quality one-on-one time together and that if we have busy weeks or weekends then we can guarantee at least one quiet day at home. I've always loved Fridays, but now more than ever!

It's been a happy time. We've had a few great weekends away in Camber Sands on the coast, Hopton in Norfolk, and more recently in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. Holidays are certainly different to how they used to be - the car creaks as we set off, fully loaded with travel cot and mattress, pushchair, highchair and bags of toys! - but they are still a real treasure. It's hard to explain how much joy I feel from watching Lucy see new sights and places for the first time and how much it invigorates you seeing the world through her eyes - a scintillating and fascinating spectacle of colour and hope.

I am totally besotted with Lucy, who is now - gulp! - nine months old. While the Boy is still everything to me, Lucy rocks my world in a way that I didn't believe possible. I hang on her every word - well, babble! - and she brings such happiness to my life. I could watch her all day, and I fear I have not only become the Baby Bore I used to sneer at in my pre-motherhood days, but far surpassed her! I merrily clog up the Facebook feeds of my poor friends with photographs of her on an almost daily basis. I suspect quite a few pals have hidden my feed away actually! I know I am a total walking cliche - but I don't care. It was a bit of a bumpy journey getting my girl, and now I have her I want to share her with the world!

And on that note - here are some of my favourite snaps from the last few months - mostly featuring you know who; feel free to look away now! More soon xx

Our new street

The cricket ground around the corner

Cuddles with Lucy at 6 months

Starting weaning...

First trip to the seaside, Whitstable in April

Love her xx

Bigger now - 9 months old and in the Isle of Wight 

Uh oh...

Downton Abbey Tablescaping Adventure

“I should hate to be predictable.”  Mary to Matthew at the alter.

The tablescaping teamwork adventure was such a fun experience!   We ended up in third place trailing the HGTV tables but you couldn't have asked for a more exciting and fun teamwork exercise.   Thank you to everyone who offered amazing advice, photos and blog links.  We incorporated so many of the details thanks to your suggestions.  Our team worked hard discreetly tying in many of our firm's values and culture and while I'm afraid those details were overlooked by the judges but we couldn't have asked for a better team assignment.  Everyone pitched in.

We personalized our chargers each of them reflected our work or a firm value.

Our shirts were amazing and each of us had a quote from our favorite character on our backs.

The centerpiece is one of my favorite things about the table.  I spent a week hunting down colored papers that would otherwise have been thrown away in an effort to recycle.   It took three of us 4 hours to hand make the paper flowers and arrangement.   Each of the candles, napkins and place cards were creatively written to combine our firm's core values and that of Downton Abbey.  No detail was overlooked.

Click on the photo to enlarge and view more details.

Though we didn't win, all of us enjoyed the process and the competition.  The weekend was full of lots of learning and training but it was nice at the end of the sessions to go out on the lake for a relaxing evening.  

I'm So Behind But I Need Help With a Tablescape!

It's been a crazy busy spring, or perhaps I should say winter.  With the heater still going it is hard to imagine that it's spring but the calendar says May and my seedlings are up.  Mother's Day is next weekend.  Yep, it must be spring!

So blog friends, you have been on my mind and I seriously need help.   The help I need has to do with tablescapes so Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and the Tablescaper are the perfect resources.  If only they would read my post! 

We tweeked adding our building and a more personal logo

We are having a tablescape competition with some colleagues at work.  A group of us are participating in an upcoming retreat and we had to pick some of our favorite topics (I picked Downton Abbey) and at one of the dinners, our team will have exactly 20 minutes to set a table using the theme and tying it back to our workplace.  We've come up with some great ideas but we want perfection and we want to win!!!  How would you tie the show to a law firm and more specifically, our law firm culture?

We are using black, silver and white (with a touch of red) for our theme.  We've gathered some lovely items and made a few things too but our team really wants to WIN!!! We are battling teams with themes like Exotic Travel, HGTV, Food & Wine, Sports, Toddlers & Tiaras....I mean some great themes and I've heard that one table is bringing in turf! Another is building a doll house....seriously?  We've got some serious competition!

If you are a tablescaper and if you have ideas, please send my way!

Waffle Palace

Have you ever been to the Waffle House?  They’re so common in the south and in my neighborhood that I can easily walk to four locations from my house. Waffle House is a place that began in the metro Atlanta area so most of us in the south have grown up going to WH as children, college kids, after parties and for breakfast “anytime”.  For my family WH is an important part of our Christmas Eve tradition. When my kids were small and I knew there was no way we could get them to bed we would pile in the car and head for Waffle House for a breakfast in the middle of the night.  To this day we always go to WH on Christmas Eve.  My son enjoys giving our server a huge tip each year as we leave and we enjoy sitting in the car and watching as the table gets bused to see the reaction of the recipient.

So, if you aren’t familiar with Waffle House, you probably can’t imagine why this topic is post-worthy. But let me tell you, interesting things can happen at Waffle House. Seriously! If you enjoy people watching, you will love the Waffle House experience and obviously Larry Larson felt the same way when he wrote the play, Waffle Palace.

A few weeks ago my son and I finally got to see Waffle Palace and I was so glad we did.   It’s a wonderful play that highlights a place where all kinds of people gather and a diner, along with its management is trying to keep up with the changes of development. The play itself is amazing because 7 performers play the parts of 21 characters and several characters are nothing short of hilarious. It runs through March 17^th so there’s still time to see it if you live in the Atlanta area.

 P.S. The waffle doughnuts on sale at intermission are worth a try!!!