Tag Archives: Weekend activities

If you go down to the woods today…

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I’m a city girl at heart and although we live in a village on the outskirts of London, I love that the city centre is only a 30 minute train ride away. But despite my affection for urban living I do sometimes get a yearning for wide open spaces. Now that the weather is better, we have all (especially the children) been craving fresh air, trees to climb, trails to explore and hills to roll down. Luckily, we also have on our doorstep some of the finest countryside the south east of England has to offer. So on Sunday morning we set off early to beat the crowds and drove up to Box Hill in Surrey where we spent a good couple of hours enjoying the great outdoors. We all had a fabulous time and, best of all, come Sunday night the kids were so exhausted they were out like a light at 8pm!

Cam & Clem

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Clemmie

The boys & I

Five on Friday

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{Clear blue skies and pretty blossoms made me smile despite the runny nose and sore throat}

I sat down to write this post and suddenly realised just how tired I am. The weekend really couldn’t come at a better time and for once the diary is quite empty so hopefully we can fit in some proper family time. I’ve been battling a horrible cold all week so it will be great to get a chance to recharge the batteries and just chill out at home. On the plus side we have had some fabulous weather – isn’t it lovely to reach for the sunglasses rather than the umbrella before heading out the door?

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{I’ve been trying to stay healthy and boost my immune system with a daily dose of Spirulina. The boys have dubbed it ‘alien juice’ because of the green colour! I have to admit it does taste pretty awful and is just about bearable mixed into orange juice or a smoothie. But if it keeps the cold symptoms at bay it is definitely worth it.}

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{I promised Casper that I would include a picture of him dressed as a Viking for his class assembly this week. He did really well, remembering all his lines and the words to the all the songs, and there were quite a few. Strange to think that his next assembly will be the leavers one, before he and his classmates move onto the junior school.}

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{My ballerina pumps had their first outing this week. These are from H&M (last year) and so comfy but I need to buy some more – in black, silver and maybe pink.}

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{Despite feeling like death warmed up I made it to my rescheduled hair appointment this week. I had a good couple of inches taken off the ends – as I use hair straighteners every day without fail (I know, slap on the wrist for me..), my hair was quite damaged. I love the shorter length though and the lighter colour. I’ve only been to this hairdresser a couple of times but she’s definitely a keeper! Incidentally, while I was there I read an article which argued that taking selfies is good for your self esteem. Not sure I agree with that, it took me about 20 attempts to get one that I was vaguely happy with and I don’t think I’m exceptionally vain.}

Happy Friday everyone! Mine was made even better by the fact that my husband brought me flowers when he came home from work. That doesn’t happen every week, believe me! X

The Weekend in Pictures

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{I went for a walk on Saturday morning and snapped these lovely daffodils}

Isn’t it amazing what a difference a bit of sunshine can make? We have had glorious weather this weekend and somehow everything seems so much easier when the sun is out, everyone is happier (including the normally grumpy drivers in London!) and even food seems to taste better when it is eaten outside, underneath bright blue skies. I wonder if it’s just because nice weather is such a rarity on these shores. I’d love to know – if you’re lucky enough to live in sunnier climes, does it still boost your mood or do you just get used to it?

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{The outdoor furniture could do with a good clean but it was blissful to sit outside with a cup of coffee and a magazine, listening to the birds chirping in the trees and the children arguing over the football (oh well you can’t have it all!)}

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{Lady in blue: Me up in town this morning wearing my blue pumps from New Look (bought five years ago), a white and blue scarf (bought in Sweden), knitted jacket by Odd Molly, jeans by Paige Denim and sunglasses from Oliver Peoples}

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{We try to go up to the Swedish Church in Marylebone twice a month so the children can go to Sunday school and practice their language skills. Afterwards, there is always coffee and plenty of cakes – during Lent they serve traditional Swedish semla (cakes flavoured with cardamom and filled with almond paste and cream) – sooo yummy!}

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{It looks like it will be the perfect week to fit in a few power walks and trips to the park. No doubt the rain will return at some point so I intend to make the most of it!}

Now the kids are all in bed, the washing up is done, my blog post is written and I think we have time to squeeze in a couple of episodes of House of Cards. We’ve almost watched all of the second series so have to find another one soon…

Hope you’ve all had a great weekend. X

This Week’s Favourites

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Happy Sunday everyone! I’m back with my weekly roundup – I do like these posts as they’re a great reminder of what we’ve been up to during the week, sometimes it just whizzes by so fast. Tomorrow is the start of half term and it couldn’t be more welcome – a week of no school run, homework or extracurricular activities.

1. We had promised Cameron a bike for his birthday back in November and last week we finally went and bought it. A very happy boy has been cycling to and from school this week.

2. Casper was very proud that his poem about Africa made it onto the display board at school. You can’t read it in the picture but I was impressed by the rhyming he used.

3. I finally got my hands on the new Porter magazine – and it didn’t disappoint.

4. Clemmie talking to her cousin in Sweden on her ‘phone’. Sometimes it’s very hard to have your family in a different country 😦

5. My husband bought me some beautiful flowers for Valentine’s Day.

6. The kids enjoying a movie night. It was Clemmie’s turn to choose so they all watched Sofia the First – the boys would never admit it of course, but I think they quite liked it!

7. More cycling! It was a lovely sunny day today so we got the bikes out and cycled around the neighbourhood after lunch.

8. Signs of spring are popping up everywhere, like this pretty lilac blossoms. Please, please, please let this be the last of the rain and the cold!

London

And then there was today: an afternoon spent up in London with one of my oldest and best friends (who I hadn’t seen for almost a year as she lives abroad. But that’s the beauty of a really strong friendship, you can just pick up where you left off), walking along the Southbank, people watching and enjoying a glass of bubbly in the sunshine.

The perfect end to the weekend! X

A Fresh Start!

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Going out B&W

{My new snakeskin heels from Office had their first outing last night teamed with skinny jeans, black peplum top from H&M and wavy hair.}

Turning over a new leaf, changing old habits, starting afresh – whatever you might call it, that is what I intend to do from tomorrow. The horrible weather, a lack of motivation and a sore knee (caused by what I do not know – certainly not over exercising!) have all conspired to stop my New Year fitness regime from getting off the ground. Add to that, a diet of too much sugar, white flour and caffeine (let’s face it, what else is there to do when the rain is pouring down outside except console yourself with tea and cake?) and the result is a sluggish mama, constantly tired and lacking the energy to keep up with my three lovely but boisterous children. I’m not a great believer in fad diets or super strict regimes but cutting back on the bad stuff and adding in more healthy food as well as using my gym membership a bit more frequently would be a good start.

On a different note, I spent another three hours in a hospital waiting room today! Clemmie had scarlet fever a couple of weeks ago and today I noticed a familiar looking rash on her body – and sure enough, the doctor at the out-of-hours clinic confirmed that it has come back 😦 So it’s another ten days of antibiotics and no nursery tomorrow. Poor thing but apart from the rash she seems quite happy and there is no temperature this time.

Despite spending all that time at the hospital and being out late at a dinner party last night, I’ve surprised myself by being extremely productive this evening – the house is clean, all the washing is put away and the kids’ homework is done and their bags are packed ready for tomorrow and now I’ve even completed a blog post. It’s always easier to start the new week feeling on top of things – hopefully I can keep that focus going until next weekend!

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Spring is just around the corner!

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Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part as it’s still only February, but there are some signs that spring is on its way like these beautiful daffodils around the corner from our house.

Over the weekend we got a brief respite from the rain and took the opportunity to go outside and soak up some rays and much-needed vitamin D.

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Clemmie posing with the Daffs 🙂

We went to the playground for the first time this year, which seems crazy, but the past few weeks have been so wet that many parts of the country are really suffering with flooding. Unfortunately it looks like the rain is set to return later this week but at least we got a taste of spring. Now I think I would be happy to skip the snow and go straight to warmer weather…

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This Week’s Favourites

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A Gingerbread latte (I was pleasantly surprised that they were still on the menu even though Christmas is over) and mini muffin at Costa earlier this week while Cameron was at his tutor. The traffic was horrendous so I needed a quick energy boost to face the drive home.

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Clemmie and her best friend on the way to pick up their older siblings from school. They have known each other since birth and, although they sometimes have their little squabbles, they are super cute together and you can tell they really love each other.

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Finally made it to the cinema last night to see American Hustle and I was not disappointed. It is an excellent film and I’m not surprised it has received so many Oscar nominations.

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During the week my breakfast tends to consist of a bowl of cereal eaten at my desk so on the weekends it is nice to make a bit more of an effort. These scones are a favourite of both mine and the kids and take no time at all to make.

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Another purchase in the Sales – most likely my last this season – but I couldn’t resist these shoes by Poste Mistress which were reduced from £80 to £36.

I had some work to do tonight so apologies for the short post! But I’m firmly of the belief that, if time is scarce, it is better to write something rather than nothing. Hope you agree!

Have a fab Sunday night. X

Happy Weekend!

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Saturday morning: coffee in bed while the children play downstairs. No school uniforms, packed lunches or getting out of the door by 8.30am. Now that I’m working again, weekends are even more precious – two whole days to recuperate, relax and gather our energies for next week.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend! X

This Week’s Favourites

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I just sat down to write my weekly round up post and realised I only had four pictures (and none of them of actual people!) from this past week! I guess now that I’m working four days a week and not out and about so much, there aren’t so many photo opportunities (let’s face it, pictures of me hunched over the laptop with a cup of coffee are not that interesting).  It doesn’t help that it’s January – the month which is renowned for being devoid of social engagements – so hopefully things will pick up in the next few weeks. My mood has finally lifted over the weekend and I feel much more positive going into the new week – going for a run yesterday morning really helped so I’m planning to fit in a couple of sessions at the gym this coming week to try and hold on to those happy endorphins!

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I found this book in my bedside cabinet – I can’t remember where I got it but it made for entertaining reading on a train journey into London for a meeting this week. The book was first published in 2006 so some anecdotes were a bit out of date but it gave some interesting insights into the fashion industry.

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It finally stopped raining and the weather got cold (and sunny) enough for me to wear the Ugg boots I got for Christmas. I love Uggs – so warm and comfortable!

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Friday night TV dinner – spaghetti carbonara with a side salad and a nice glass of red – in front of Breaking Bad, of course. We’re now on the last series – what will we do when it’s all over? I’m hoping the second season of House of Cards is out soon…

I had planned to go to the movies with a friend last night to see American Hustle but we left it too late and when we tried to book online all three cinemas near us were sold out. We will have to try next weekend instead.

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A trip to Ikea was on the agenda today, to buy a new shelving unit for my eldest son’s room, storage boxes and all the other usual bits and pieces that magically seem to jump into our trolley every time we visit the Swedish superstore. I was fairly restrained today it has to be said as we’re still feeling the pinch from the Christmas blowout…

It’s almost 8pm so time to round up the kids (who are still downstairs riding the wave of that second wind of energy they seem to get as soon as bedtime approaches) and try to get them into bed. I’m determined that our mornings this week will be a lot more pleasant than they were last week…

Happy Sunday to you all! X

 

Happy Friday!

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It’s been a long week and I, for one, am glad to see the end of it. Any illusions that we would all return to school and work well-rested and refreshed after the Christmas break were shattered on Monday when I literally had to drag the children out of bed before rushing to school in the pouring rain. I returned home with dripping wet hair and mascara streaks down my face – not a good look!

There’s not been much time for blogging – and even less inspiration I’m sad to say. But now we have arrived at the end of the week, the sun has shown its face for the first time in ages and my mood has slowly improved. A nice dinner tonight, a trip to the movies tomorrow night and a visit to Ikea on Sunday will hopefully chase away the last of the post-Christmas blues. Who knows, I may even make it to the gym this weekend to get my fill of endorphins!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend wherever you are and whatever you’re doing! X