Category Archives: Five on Friday

Five on Friday

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{A family outing to Leith Hill Tower. The breathtaking views from the top were definitely worth the steep climb to get there.}

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{I visited the Designer Showrooms at London Fashion Week for work earlier this week.}

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{Our new kitchen is slowly but surely coming together. And no the doors aren’t meant to be bright blue – they are just covered in a protective film!}

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{I went to see this year’s most talked about film with a group of girlfriends. I haven’t read the book but apart from some sniggering at the more, shall we say, risque scenes it was actually quite dull.}

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{Spring blooms snapped on the walk home from school yesterday. I’m definitely ready to wave goodbye to winter now.}

Hope you all have a great weekend! X

Five on Friday

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{A takeaway latte and almond croissant to start off yet another grey January morning. No New Year health kick for me although I have been to the gym twice this week so I refuse to feel guilty about the little treats}

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{These lovely colourful bulbs outside our local florist were a timely reminder that spring IS on its way. If our house wasn’t a building site I would have bought some to brighten up the place}

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{I’m enjoying trying out all the beauty products from my Liberty London advent calendar. So far my favourites are the Kiehls body lotion, the Laura Mercier lipgloss and the Dr Sebagh repair serum}

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{I don’t mind the cold as much as the rain and this week we have had some lovely crisp sunny days. I snapped this picture on a late afternoon walk}

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{My husband and I are going away for the weekend to Amsterdam at the start of next month. It will be the first time that we are both away from the children for more than one night but I am confident that they will have a great time with their grandparents. Lots of shopping, sightseeing and dinners/cocktails à deux are on the agenda}

Hope you all have a great weekend! X

 

Five (or more!) on Friday

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It’s that crazy busy time of year again as Christmas approaches at seemingly lightning speed. Only six days to go now folks! I am pleased to say that I have finished all my shopping, written all my Christmas cards and even started on the wrapping (unheard of until now as I can usually be found wrapping the last presents at 1am on Christmas Day!) It’s so easy to get carried away with the stress of it all but this year we decided to keep it fairly simple, limit the number of presents we give and just concentrate on enjoying having quality time together.

The only thing I still want to do is find the time to bake some traditional Swedish saffron buns and gingerbread biscuits with the children. I ordered some ready made gingerbread dough so hopefully it shouldn’t be too taxing. Today is the last day of school so we are planning a trip to the park this afternoon followed by pizza. A great way to start the holidays!

Here are a few pictures from the last week or so, via Instagram:

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{I went into town to finish off my Christmas shopping last week and started my three hour shopping session with a gingerbread latte and croissant at Starbucks}

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{A lovely night out with my very best friend from school who came over from Ireland to celebrate her birthday at Zuma in Knightsbridge. Lots of bubbly, yummy Japanese food and great company – life doesn’t get much better!}

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{The festive countdown continued with a Christmas concert at Casper’s Beaver Scout group where he played a wonderful piano solo…}

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{..and a very sweet Christmas show by Clemmie’s little ballet class}

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{The tree is finally up. I tried hard to curb my OCD tendencies this year and put the kids in charge of the decorations. OK, so maybe I moved one or two baubles but I think it turned out OK!}

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{The Christmas cards have all been written…}

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{..and the Swedish Christmas food order has arrived safely}

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{We even had time for a trip to the park last weekend to make the most of the dry weather.}

Hope you have a wonderful weekend whether you’re doing some last minute shopping, preparing for the Christmas feast or just putting your feet up and enjoying the festive mood! X

Five on Friday

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{Last Sunday was the First of Advent so we lit the first of our four Ikea candles. We’re slowly starting to put some Christmas decorations up but have yet to buy a tree..}

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{The best thing about winter: cosy evenings in front of the fire with a glass of red wine and a good movie.}

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{‘Tis the season of the nativity plays and this year I have three (!) to go to. The first one, by Clemmie’s class, was this week and it was very sweet. In case you’re wondering, she was one of six Inn Keepers!}

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{One of my New Year’s resolutions for next year will definitely be to get organised and to this end I have purchased the brand new 2015 planner by A Beautiful Mess.}

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{The beauty goodies from the Liberty London Advent calendar have brightened up the grey mornings this week. So far I’ve uncovered an Aromatherapy cleanser, a Nail and Cuticle serum, a Nars blusher (my favourite item so far) and a £25 discount voucher to the hair salon run by celebrity hairdresser Josh Wood. Not bad and I still have 19 drawers to go!}

Hope you all have a great weekend! X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five on Friday

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{This week was half term and we were so lucky with the weather at the start and end of the week. On Monday we went to a nearby National Trust garden and walked around the lake, stopping along the way to climb trees and skim some pebbles.}

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{I also took the boys to have their hair cut. It was long overdue as they could hardly see from under their fringes, but we only seem to have time to go in the school holidays.}

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{I went to have my own hair cut and coloured the following day. A bit of a radical change but I think I like it.}

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{Today, of course, was Halloween so the pumpkins had to be carved and placed on the porch…}

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{…before my three little monsters went out trick or treating around the neigbourhood, returning with buckets full of candy. Enough to last them until Christmas I think!}

I’m pretty exhausted myself so that’s it from me tonight. Hope you have a great weekend! X

Five on Friday

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Hello! Friday again! The only good thing about the weeks flying by is that the weekends come around sooner than you expect. Yesterday was my birthday so today’s Five on Friday is a bit of a birthday bonanza. It was a great day – the sun was out and I was suitably spoiled by family and friends with cards, presents, champagne and even a cake made by my husband (his first one!).

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{Once the kids were dropped off at school my husband took me out for brunch at a local cafe}

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{I had my favourite – eggs benedict, with a large latte of course}

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{Well, it was my birthday so it would have been rude not to..}

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{Some fabulous cards…}

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{..and presents, including these Dinny Hall earrings and Stella & Dot necklace}

Tonight will be a more sedate affair – the husband is going out and one child is away at a sleepover – and I plan to eat the leftover tacos, maybe watch a movie and just relax. Tomorrow will be a whirlwind of kids’ activities, looking at flooring for the new kitchen, and dropping off three huge boxes of baby stuff at the local Good as New Sale, followed by joint birthday drinks with friends in the evening.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! X

Five on Friday

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{The boys went back to school last Tuesday. For one year they are at the same school, before it is time for Cameron to move on to secondary school.}

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{Clemmie didn’t start school until today so she and I went to Sweden for three nights last weekend to see my sister and her kids. We had loads of time at the airport before our flight so I treated her to an Anna from Frozen doll. Traveling with just one child was so easy and we had a great time.}

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{Today was a big day for Clemmie but she loved putting on her uniform and going into school. Some of you may remember that I was less than thrilled about her starting school so young but after several chats with the headteacher I felt reassured that the focus in this first year is very much on play.}

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{Some new beauty buys: A Rodial bee venom serum that I bought on the flight back from Stockholm and I also managed to get my hands on the much-hyped Multi-colour Les Beiges by Chanel. I feel a beauty post coming up soon!}

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{I am a self-confessed knitwear fanatic and these two jumpers from H&M and Hunky Dory are new purchases for the coming season along with a pair of boots, also from H&M. I love the zip detailing on all of them.}

Now that all three children are at school, I hope to have some more time for blogging. I have so many ideas but time has been very scarce over the summer holidays. Thank you to all of you who kept reading and commenting despite the rather patchy updating.

This weekend we’re going to Bristol to visit an old friend of mine. Last time we went it took us over four hours to get there so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the traffic will be light. Hope you have a fantastic weekend whatever you’re doing. X

Five on Friday

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{Clemmie was happy to be back home with all her toys. She and I are off to Sweden again in two weeks’ time to visit my sister and her family.}

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{I’m still on a shopping ban but the kids desperately needed some new clothes for autumn so I went slightly mad in Zara Kids this week. They really have some fabulous stuff for both boys and girls.}

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{Now that Casper is moving up to the junior school, both boys needed new backpacks and school supplies like pencil cases, pens and water bottles etc. I still LOVE shopping for back to school things just as much as I did as a child.}

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{OK. so I’m not allowed to shop but I can still look, right? The planning for my A/W wardrobe is well underway and this jumper from All Saints is top of the list along with a new pair of ankle boots and winter coat.}

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{Two weeks of pizza, ice cream, chocolate, cinnamon buns and wine (not necessarily all together) have left their all too visible marks. Time to switch up the healthy eating a gear with the help of recipes such as this delicious-looking one for salmon and chickpea salad. More food inspiration can be found on my Pinterest board.}

Hope you have a fab weekend. It’s a three-day one here in the UK and we intend to make the most of it with plans to go to a food festival and to Ikea to check out new kitchens. What are you up to? X

Five on Friday

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A week and a half into the summer holidays and we have settled into a routine of sorts. I do a couple of hours work in the morning, while the children play and watch TV. Then we have lunch and head out to the swimming pool at our local gym or just play in the garden – the paddling pool is still a huge success. The boys went to sports camp for two days at the start of the week and I had a meeting up in London for work but apart from that we haven’t strayed too far from home. Next week they are all going to camp on Tuesday and Wednesday before we go to Sweden for two weeks.

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{This has been the weather for most of the week – although rain is forecast for tomorrow.}

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{The paddling pool is very popular and the kids can now set it up and deflate it by themselves}

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{Cameron prefers to kick a football around the garden}

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{Today I gave the kids the option of going to the Aquarium up in London or to the cinema. They chose the latter and we went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2}

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{Followed by a late lunch at Pizza Express.}

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! We’re going to put the roof box on the car and start packing for our holiday. X

Five on Friday

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{It’s mine! I finally got my hands on the Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream perfume – it smells so lovely and the bottle looks fab too.}

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{Another great purchase was the ‘family size’ paddling pool we bought this week. Hours of fun in the garden and keeps the kids cool in this hot weather.}

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{Long sunny days and evenings really are a balm to the soul. Last night I ate my dinner outside with a book for company while the rest of the family were glued to the Commonwealth Games on the TV.}

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{When my parents moved house they gave us their lovingly cultivated tomato plants. This week the tomatoes were finally ripe enough to eat and I have to say that they taste so much nicer than the ones from the supermarket.}

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{All packed and ready to go! We’re off to a wedding in Cambridge tomorrow so tonight has been spent getting all our finery ready. Dress from Asos (bought for Clemmie’s Christening three years ago), shoes and fascinator from John Lewis and clutch by Mulberry.}

Hope you have a fantastic weekend! X