I guess I’m not alone in feeling slightly down in the dumps tonight as two weeks of Christmas holiday and family time draw to a close. Tomorrow the kids go back at school and preschool and I’m back at work (luckily I work from home so no commuting in the rain). It does feel like we’ve had a proper break and, although I don’t relish the thought of having to drag the children out of bed at 7.15am, hopefully we all have a bit more energy than before the holidays.
We kicked off this week with a trip to Hampton Court ice rink. The boys did really well, ice skating in the pouring rain and howling wind, and were rewarded with hot chocolate topped with whipped cream afterwards.
Rain, rain and more rain meant that indoor activities were mostly on the agenda this week. Luckily there were lots of new Christmas toys and games to keep us busy like this ice cream play dough set:
I didn’t manage to take any pictures at all on New Year’s Eve. We were invited to a party at a friend’s house but as Clemmie had a cold she and Daddy stayed at home while the boys and I went for a couple of hours. All the kids were tucked up in bed well before midnight and the hubby and I gave the televised Big Ben countdown a miss and watched a couple of episodes of Breaking Bad instead. Does it get any more rock n roll?
The highlight of my week was without a doubt our trip into town last night to see the English National Ballet performance of The Nutcracker. With the children safely deposited at the grandparents, we took the train up London just the two of us, for the first time in ages. The weather had brightened up so we went for a walk around Covent Garden, taking in all the festive decorations like the giant red baubles..
..and the massive Rudolph complete with shiny red nose.
We had dinner at Balthazar, which opened its London outpost a few months ago.
Delicious food and a glass of bubbly to set the mood..
..before we made our way to the Coliseum for the performance.
I saw The Nutcracker a few times as a child but my husband had never seen it before. We both agreed that it was a great night out and I’m sure we will go to the ballet again in the not too far future.
As we had some time before our train, we decided to walk across the bridge to Waterloo Station…
..and I was reminded of how much I love this city and how lucky we are to have all that it offers right on our doorstep.
Today has been spent taking down the Christmas decorations, hoovering up thousands of pine needles (those things get everywhere! I’m sure I’ll still be finding some under the sofa come June), and getting the boys’ bags ready for school. With the alarm set for 7am, I’m going to have a cup of tea and some chocolate (no need to rush into the January healthy eating regime!) in front of the TV before heading off to bed. Wish me luck for tomorrow morning! X
Happy 2014! Looks like you had a pretty action-packed holiday season! Lovin’ all the beautiful photos. I saw The National Ballet of Canada’s performance of The Nutcracker last week Sunday and it was pure magic. Thanks for sharing! – Donna
Thank you. Happy new year to you too. The ballet was gorgeous, I want to go back soon! xxx
It’s back to reality for us too. Seems like you have had a lovely break though, good luck with tomorrow 😉
Hope your week has gone well. Glad there are only two more days until the weekend! X
My heart is with you. Dreading tomorrow! xxx
Hope it all went well. Over half way through the school week now, yay! xxx
Covent Garden did us proud this year didn’t she? I have always loved Balthazar coffee an cake next door so must try the “big one” now. Glad you enjoyed your treat.
Yes the Christmas lights looked spectacular. I’m planning to take my friend for afternoon tea at Balthazar next month for her birthday. X
Definitely feeling down in the dumps too. I have to say that I envy your week of rainy weather. Toronto has been hammered by an intense ice storm (almost a week before Christmas) that wiped out power (and heat!) for over 300,000 and some people didn’t get it back for a week. We’ve had more extreme cold weather alerts in the past two weeks than I can remember, a “frost quake” that scared us all awake and last night we were pummelled by more snow and ice (making this morning’s commute back to school and work . . . interesting).
But it’s better than some places in the prairies where we were told it was colder than Mars.
Silver linings, right?
That sounds horrible! Give me rain any day. Hope it passes soon and stay safe. X
London at Christmas looks spectacular. I must try it sometime!
Yes you definitely should. It’s been a bit rainy this year but the Christmas lights are always amazing! X