Wednesday Words - Good Grammar

True!  Bad grammar is my pet hate...apostrophes in the wrong places, was and were, homophones confused...come on peeps!  We all make mistakes sometimes, but surely there's no excuse for sloppy misuse of the English language.  If you're as geeky about this as I am then you may like to take a look at this, 20 common grammar mistakes that nearly everyone makes....it's setting my teeth on edge already!

beauty lust-haves

At the start of a new year I'm always keen to begin new beauty regimes and try out some different products; unfortunately post-christmas penury usually puts pay to that little notion, but it doesn't stop me looking and lusting.  These are a few items currently on my 'to have' list.

I've used Laura Mercier products for a while now; mainly her tinted moisturisers which are a dream to wear and cover imperfections whilst imparting a healthy glow.  My latest obsession tho' is her bath collection in almond coconut.  For Christmas I was given the shower-gel, scrub and body souffle and it is like sinking into heaven.  The smell!  Divine.  Now I'm after the bath cream and handcream to round off my bathroom collection.

Okay.  Now I'm getting to the stage where when I pass a mirror I occasionally find myself 'practising' a face lift.  Do you ever do that?  You know, pull the skin back and see what you'd look like with a bit of work done by an extremely good surgeon!  Hmmn.  Maybe it's just me...anyway, this product has had rave reviews for delivering a younger looking skin without the surgery.  This product claims to deliver a complete skin makeover. What makes this next generation microdelivery peel so revolutionary is, that unlike peels of the past that only exfoliated, this peel delivers vitamin c into the skin as it's being rapidly exfoliated. It is resurfacing and replenishing the skin at the same time which is a new approach to skin rejuvenation. and best of all, it involves absolutely no downtime.

 I do love my Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser, but I'm nearly at the end of my tube and just fancy trying something different.  BB creams have been around a while now, but this particular one from Estee Lauder wasn't available in the UK until the end of last year. Currently only available in two shades, it delivers anti-oxidant properties with an SPF of 35, whilst also giving radiant coverage.

 this works skin deep dry leg oil. is an award winning product that deeply moisturises, transforming and rehydrating dry skin.  I need this.  Seriously, some days I wonder if actually my inner lizard is trying to escape.  There's nothing more aging than dry skin, so this is definitely on my hit list.

What products are you currently hankering after?  Any recommendations?

Winter Greens...

I've always been drawn to the colour green; maybe it's it's supposed therapeutic qualities, or just because it draws out the colour of my eyes!!  Whatever the reason, green has been a lifetime love of mine.  I'm also fairly passionate about eating my greens;  As a child I hated them, despite the fact that all our veg was home-grown in my Dad's allotment.  Now I love the crunch of Savoy cabbage, the subtleties of spinach, and Kale is my new best friend, as you know from here.  I've recently discovered that if you massage kale, yes, you heard that right. Massage.  If you massage kale it takes away it's bitterness and you can eat it in a salad....this is one I'm definitely going to try (because I have loooads of time to be massaging veg, right..)  Recipe for kale salad with poppy seed dressing here.

Anyway, if you don't fancy that, here are some other super green recipes to help you on your way.

1. Spinach, Kiwi and Chia Seed smoothie
2. Grilled kale salad with beets, figs and ricotta
3. Spicy spinach dhal soup with yogurt
4. Chicken with braised savoy cabbage

Images: via google

Friday Fiction - Books by my Bedside

Although I love my kindle, and it's proved it's worth a thousand times over, I still have to have a 'real' book to read now and then.  There's something special about turning the page, smelling the paper, hearing the rustle; it's a far more sensual experience than pressing a button!  It's a bit of a tradition in our family that I receive several books on my birthday and Christmas, along with other gifts, and this year was no exception.  In the mix this year were three books that I don't think I'd have chosen for myself, but so far what I've read has been a hit.  First on the hit list were these two:

Syd Moore's Witch Hunt is a genre 'mash-up' that combines psychogeography, ghost, horror and detective fiction.  The story revolves around the main character Sadie Asquith, a journalist, and her quest to uncover the link between 21st century happenings and the Essex witch hunts during the English Civil War.  It's gripping. 'nough said!

Now, when I unwrapped The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, I wasn't immediately enamoured.  I don't like circus'.  They freak me out.  However, finding myself in a reading desert one weekend, I decided to give it a go.  How wrong can I be about a circus'!  This one anyway.  It's a magical delight, in every sense.  Try this for a flavour...

Also residing on my nightstand are these two corkers:

I've never been a Marian Keyes fan, but first impressions are favourable. I'll save a verdict for when it's finished.   Deborah Levy's Swimming Home takes two middle-class families sharing a villa, when a stranger comes into their midst. There are the usual conflicts and twists but the ending is spiky and unsettling.  Try it and see.

What are you reading?  I'm on the hunt for inspiration...

Gadgets for Girls

It's something else when your children buy you a present because they're too embarrassed to see you using something not quite up to their technological expectations.  That's exactly what happened to me this Christmas.  My present this year was a new camera.  I've been using a Coolpix point and shoot for the last six years and it's served its time I guess.  My kids, in their wisdom, decided it was time I had something a little more up to the job, and bought me a FinePix S4500.  It's not an expensive camera, as camera's go, but provides good quality pictures with a fantastic zoom that delivers.  I'm no 'techie' and worried about getting to grips with the different functions, but I needn't have worried.  A lovely walk along the Wey Navigations gave me ample opportunity to test drive the menu, from scene selection, autofocus, playing with the zoom, to using the panorama setting. As I get more confident I'll have a go with the manual settings too...here's what I've got so far...

{using the zoom lens}

{auto-focus scene selection}

{close up underwater}

{panorama}

So guys, thanks for the presie ... looking forward to playing some more with my new toy!

Petersham Nurseries

Petersham Nursery is a little oasis of calm, residing just off the Thames tow-path near Richmond.  For many years it was the home of Australian chef Skye Gyngell, whose mediterranean food won the restaurant there a Michelin star in 2011.  The nursery itself is a curious mix of plant and plate, vintage furniture and quirky terracotta pots, but there is an overwhelming feeling of love about the place; the plants look happy and the tearoom is always pretty busy, although I have to say that I've never seen anyone buy any of the furniture, beautiful tho' it is; maybe that's because it's astronomically expensive! 

{happy plants}

{gorgeous old glasshouses}

{beautiful vintage furniture, crockery, pedastals}

{huge old mirrors and Venetian glass candlesticks}

{succulents - at a price!}

Despite the prices, a wander round Petersham is a restorative experience.  It's a peek into a lifestyle that I'd like to emulate; it's genteel and cultured.  Once you've pottered around the nursery, you can then take a lovely walk across Petersham Meadows, which have now been donated to the National Trust, into Richmond itself, and then loop back on yourself along the river path to Ham House.

Clean slate

Hmmmn; when I asked for my family's new year resolutions, the only thing I met with was a resolute silence.  When pressed for reasons why they were so unforthcoming, or even, dare I say it, ever so slightly defensive, I got a variety of answers that included; don't keep them so don't make them; boring; can't think of any...etc etc.  WHAT?!  I love new year resolutions...I get ridiculously excited about the whole clean slate thing; new projects; blank pages to fill in in my diary; starting again;  I'm not bothered that I might not manage a whole year of it, the important thing to me is the taking stock and changing tack if need be.  So here they are; my enthusiasm undaunted by nay-sayers...

Give my friendships more time and space to grow

 
Remember that I am good enough!  {See below}

I won't be afraid to stand out

or find a better balance between these two...

I will follow my creative heart

 

 

and enjoy the small moments

I will seek out places that feed my body and soul

and whatever happens, I'll remember I chose it

 

 

I'm going to develop an attitude of gratitude

 
because

and last, but not least, I'm going to remember that I have a spiritual dimension to my life too - whatever happened to my meditation practice?  the restorative silence?

 

what do you think of NY resolutions? 

image sources: 1.The Life Styled. 2 Pinterest

happy new year

 

 

"For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning"

T.S.Eliot

 

 

And so a new year begins....

 

I wish you all a very

 

Happy New Year

 

May 2013 be a year of opportunity,

 

Peace and understanding.

 

A year to celebrate love,

 

A year to laugh and find joy in the small things.

 

Wishing all my readers many blessings in the months to come...

 

xoxo

 

 



Fiction Friday - Mutton

I love India Knight!  She's witty, bright, clever, funny and she almost always says what I'm thinking, but in a far funnier wittier kind of way!!  In fact, whenever I'm asked my opinion now, I'm thinking of trotting out the line "oh, just ask India, she knows" in a light, airy sort of way.

It's not just her Sunday Times column that I love, or her great after-midnight tweets; or her blatant disregard for 'properness'; I just love her normality, the way she just puts herself out there, opinions and all and you either love it or hate it.  You all know which camp I'm in.  So, I've read all her books (even did the Pig to Twig which was wonderfully successful; I mean a diet that allows you to eat fat, no, encourages it! See, told you she was different) and the thing about IK's books, is that they've all made me snort out loud.  Yes, snort.  Her new book Mutton was no different.  Mutton chronicles the life of forty-something Clara; the pitfalls of growing older and the conundrums that brings, especially when your friends are looking younger and younger.  As Clara deals with her kids, her exes, her thin and gorgeous friends, we're treated to her views on pretty much everything she comes across - very snort-worthy it is too.  If you want to read a review before you read/download then take a peek here; but my advice would be, just get it, read it and don't expect to do anything until you've finished it.  I didn't.

Pinterest Projects

I think most people have come across Pinterest in some shape or form..do you have a board?  I know the pros and cons of it have been mulled over; but one of the questions I've heard asked is 'what do people do with their pinterest images once they've been pinned?'.  Do they just end up like our digital photos, languishing on the laptop?  I can't speak for anyone else, but to me my boards are more than just a digital scrapbook.  I do actually use them, as reference and as inspiration, which I then put to use in my day-to-day life. 

Here's some of the recent 'projects' that were inspired by Pinterest.

 The flourless chocolate torte was amazing as were the lemon salted fries. I made the bacon and baked egg dish for breakfast and the kale and garlicky bean stew for a healthy lunch. Perhaps my most successful pinterest 'steal' was the meal in a jar which has revolutionised my lunchtimes...and now my colleagues have pinched the idea too...

I love clothes. I do; and I've found huge inspiration from outfits put together by diligent sartorially-minded pinteresters (is there such a word?!) Seriously, I often browse the outfits on my boards and put together an ensemble as a result. These are some of the things I've been wearing recently

Books.  Glorious Books. The books below I either re-read or pinned because I'd just read, and loved them. 

What's inspired you on Pinterest?  Have you tackled a new project or baked something new because you saw it on Pinterest first?  Let me know, I'd love to hear...You can see more of my inspiration boards here.

All image sources from here

Pre-Christmas Detox - Garlicky Kale and Bean Stew

It's that time of year when parties are knocking on our doors; there's nibbles, cakes, cocktails and fizz.  We usually eat too much, drink too much, in fact there's probably too much of everything (apart from sleep!).  Anyway, into all this excess comes the saviour Kale!  Yes, really.  I quite like to go cold turkey pre-christmas on the usual excesses, to try and accomodate the inevitable overdose over the festive period and the following recipe is a fab pick-me-up and 'health in the bank' sort of meal.  I promise it'll make you feel virtuous...how could it not?  Kale packs more nutritional punch per calorie than virtually any other veg on the planet.  It is chocka with vitamin K which helps prevent bone fractures, postmenopausal bone density loss, calcification of your arteries and some studies even suggest it protexts against liver and prostate cancer.  In fact, it's one of the top cancer-fighting veggies around as it is one of the richest source of carotenoids.  It helps regulate estrogen and regulates blood pressure too, so what's stopping you - stock up on your kale and try it out...it really is delicious to boot!


Garlicky White Bean & Kale StewServes 3-4

You will need:
 
Garlic Oil
2 medium onions
6 cloves garlic (I used the garlic oil instead of garlic)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, but really delicious)
5 bay leaves
Pinch chili flakes
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
1 tin cooked white beans (lima, butter, navy, cannelini…)
2 large handfuls of packed shredded kale leaves
500ml vegetable stock
1 can chopped tomatoes
Cold-pressed olive oil to garnish

To make:
1. Heat a knob of oil in a large stockpot. Slice onions and add to the pot with a couple pinches sea salt, chili, bay leaves and paprika. Cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened, then add sliced garlic. If the post becomes dry, add a little juice from the tinned tomatoes.
2. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil, season to taste, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil (since everything is cooked, you don’t need to heat it long). If you are going to let it simmer for a while, add the kale about 5-10 minutes before serving so that it retains more of its nutritional value,

Thinking Thankful Thoughts

It's easy in the busyness of life to forget how wonderful our lives really are most of the time; yeah it's stressful worrying about work, deadlines, children's health, paying bills and getting the washing done; but how about all those things we take for granted.  Here's some of the things I'm thankful for today:

 

being able to move around with ease (seriously, don't take this one for granted - I dread the day I can't run/ swim/go for a bike ride)

 

for my lovely home and treasured bits

 

for wonderful friends

 

for family I love, that love right back

 

for my new kitten Minxy and her soft trusting eyes

 

for enough pennies to pay for an indulgent manicure

 

for opportunities

 

for love 

 

 

What are you being thankful for today - let me know...

 

image source: here



House envy

I'm still apologising for lack of regular posts!  So sorry....am unbelievably busy both at home and at work (applying for a new job) and there just doesn't seem to be enough time...BUT, I promise after next week that will all improve and posts will be more regular.  But for now, here's a little house envy to keep you going.  It's a Danish home with a very French feel, and of course, it's white!  Enjoy my dream home...

I could...

laze here

find calm here

be oh-so organised here

drift away on dreams here

snooze here

entertain here

image source: Bolig Magasinet