Up, Up and Away!

Just before I take off this afternoon, I thought I would quickly post some photos which I took in London before Christmas.

I dragged hubby through the shops in Oxford Street, and stumbled upon this display in Debenhams...

I was beside myself pleasantly excited to see an amazing array of vintage furniture...

and bits and bobs..

I had no idea that this department store went in for this type of merchandise...

usually only seen at vintage markets or speciality vintage type shops...

It was a quick look as hubby was sooo interested as you can imagine...and was edging towards the coffee shop...

Afterwards, we headed up Regent Street and found a new American shoe store called Sebargo...look at these custom made couches (there was two of em)..

A bit further up...Antropologie had this gorgeous French garden settee, looking very inviting perched in front of their living wall...

Lastly, harking back to our walk around Queen Anne's Gate...I found this amazing cheese shop...

I could almost believed I was in Paris...standing in front of a fromagerie...

I'm hoping (I will) post from Oz as I want to show you some of the sights of my hometown and perhaps a beach or two...

Taking a Punt

Recently we took a trip to Cambridge. Although Paul and I had been before, our son Josh wanted to have a squiz before he left.

This time we decided to hire a punt and look at the town from the river....

We arm wrestled our way to the front of the boat and laid back and enjoyed the view...

The bridges were quite a sight in their idyllic setting...

it's one thing to walk across them, but quite another to float underneath...

gives you a totally different perspective...

you get to see detail, that you otherwise would not notice...

If we thought the bridges were impressive, the colleges were another thing again..

The magnificent Kings College Chapel...bathed in the late afternoon sun.

Very impressive...Kings College

The very symmetrical St. Johns College.

Close up of St. Johns College

If your smart enough, or wealthy enough, the student accommodation on offer can be impressive...(above and below).

Another interesting feature, only seen from the river...

Back on dry land and just enough time for a little window shopping...

In a book shop I found these very unusual works of art...

very cleverly incorporated onto old books.

I particularly like this very unique picture made from old maps...however, it was a little out of my price range at around £1000!

As we left, the Christmas lights were just becoming visible...

Cambridge is well worth a visit...easy to get around...small and compact with a nice vibe. But next time I'm visiting in the Summer when it's not so cold and the trees are green....or perhaps Autumn...can you imagine the scenery on the river with the trees covered in Autumn leaves??

An Internet date in London

Yes, that's right, on Wednesday, I had my first Internet date...and my hubby knew all about it...I met the lovely Laura from Happy Homemaker UK in London for a coffee and a gass bag  chat! It was the first time I've met a fellow blogger face to face and I was a little nervous...I had to look out for a lady with an American accent (how do you recognise an accent on sight??)...with orange pom poms on her bag....needless to say we found each other and had a lovely time.

Alas, no photos...we were so busy talking that I forgot to take one...however, after we left each other, I took off to Regent Street, to do some quick shopping and couldn't resist this pretty display outside of Liberty of London...

It was a riot of colour...tulips, amaryllis...

gorgeous roses..

daffs...

lots of bulbs in terracotta...I really got the impression that Spring is not all that far away...

Then of course, seeing I was in the neighbourhood, I had to pop up to Anthropologie...

and, like the rest of London, they are on sale...so...I found this dress, which I had looked at before Christmas and it was marked down and it actually fits...

You see...we have Paul's work Christmas party at the end of January...don't ask...and then another one in March, and if I can do something about my flabby white arms within the next two weeks, this frock should look o.k.

The Cloth House was next on my list, where I found this lovely linen...for some future project...I then 'hightailed' it out of London before I could be tempted further...

All in all, a lovely day...meeting a new friend and finding a bargain!!

Rattling around the house...

Another year in England...another year renting...and I'm finding myself wandering around the house looking for a project.

The place is looking pretty spartan with the lack of Christmas decorations...although I've kept the little wreaths on the dining table...that is until they completely dry up...

and the poinsettias are still lovely...

I've done a little re-arranging, but not much...just enjoying the de-clutter at the moment.

I have got a couple of ideas up my sleeve...the bathroom needs a coat of paint to cheer it up and there's a bookcase which needs a facelift...

Or I could just relax on the couch and catch up on my reading...

Happy New Year 2012

I know it's a bit late...being the 3rd and all, but...

Happy New Year!

I've been vegging on the couch a bit, since New Years Eve...we had a great night...five venues (houses), five themes (ours was Crocodile Dundee), a varied menu and beverage options (never a good thing)...

We then got up early (10am is early for me on New Years Day)...had brunch with the same bunch of people from the party, then went on a 2 hour walk...I know there will be a few of you in Oz that will be falling off their couches about now...but, I soldiered through my headache and walked (and bloody walked)...with a vivid image of my couch, a blanket and a pillow in my head the whole time!!

Yesterday, I did rouse myself and pulled down the Christmas tree, putting all the decorations away this year...unlike last year where they sat in a basket behind the couch for 12 months...

The poor old tree was looking a bit sad and sorry...and I couldn't wait to get the room back in order...and as the damn thing ricocheted off every piece of furniture as I dragged it outside...there was a heap of cleaning up to be done...I even washed the windows to get rid of the suction cup marks left behind by my Ikea snowflakes...

Today, the weather is awful, with strong winds and driving rain...straight into my red boots left at the front door!! Perhaps another day for some minimal housework and a bit of vegging...