A walk on the quiet side...

I keep sitting down to write and then find that few words flow. Maybe I have become self conscious of my thoughts? Or maybe I feel I have put enough of them down here and instead want to write about fashion and frippery. Or maybe I just have nothing to say?! No, surely not...

via crush cul de sac

I am having a quieter time now, the reality of not working for a bit is sinking in. What an enabler it is to have my days free. To be able to plan and consider what to do as the week stretches out. Days peppered with seeing friends and restorative appointments like the massage I had this morning. Whilst I know this self-enforced stillness is a necessity at the moment; there is a distinct need, it doesn't stop the guilts arising in me. With years of history, guilt and I are familiar bedfellows. However not one person has said to me that I am doing the wrong thing; in fact the opposite, it is all right and all good.

Meanwhile this Tuesday, my view is: how fortunate am I to be able to take this time out? It is a gift...

In my hometown, where we live, I drive the same roads I used to walk and cycle as a child, and I wonder whether my reaction to change is influenced by the fact that I still live where I grew up. I only left for University and even then made the regular pilgrimage home to see my boy next door (later to be husband). I am used to the same. So I am trying to retrain my brain to embrace change, to see the opportunity in it. To identify that when things are in one groove,  sometimes a new groove needs to be furrowed to get benefit.

Mila Kunis via sun 0f a gun

The best part is that directly following this time of stillness is our family holiday, where 'holiday rules' apply and we are in our happiest place. I feel like the idea of that time is a salve; a balm, a tonic - in short a remedy. It might be a short-term fix but nevertheless...ocean and sand and sun is perfect for me.

via crush cul de sac via with style and substance

The minutiae...

And so it goes...life gets whittled down to the basics. For me this means the home, the family, the day-to-day. I have turned my back on all things taxing and I am seeing how it feels. Two words: strange and changeable. Some moments I feel weightless, free, happy. Others I feel worried, dark, unsure. There is no plan. I have not planned for this! And so I turn to the things that give comfort - friends and food and nature. Mid life crisis? Yep; I think so...!

Today it's a shy summers day - not quite brilliant sunshine, but trying. This is our sixth summer in the farmhouse so this is what I see:

...newly purchased, freshly laundered pillow cases...

...cherry red shoes...

...the lavender love seat...we were given this bench as a wedding present...

...the new rose my Mum planted for me...it's called 'Bonica'...

...the bounty of unread books, just waiting to be discovered; an unexpected and touching gift from my fairy blogmother...

...my favourite, utterly decadent, means-something-to-us painting by Jessica Cooper...

...the wheat field outside my window...

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments and observations...part of life's tapestry that there are so many of you with input, support and views. It swells my heart. The scan I had came back all clear - there is nothing sinister to report. The pain persists but medically no explanation can be found for it. So I bed this in and try to concentrate on the minutiae of life for abit, to see what happens next. Sometimes you have to just take your foot off the peddles and freewheel...

...willow tree and white picket fence, all images here taken by me...

Hello again, hello...

When having a life crisis; to blog or not to blog? Hard question and one that I keep coming back to. So this is experimental. Words and pretty pictures just have to be therapeutic don't they?

I have taken the fairly momentous decision to take some time off work. Even as I type that I can't quite fathom that it's come to this, as I have always been Lou: workingmother. For abit I will be Lou: mother. And to boot, Lou: mother-with-a-health-issue. Really trying to be brave about the whole thing. But I know I am not right as I have had to i) admit it and ii) call on the big guns of family and friends to help me through. When you form your life being self-sufficient, this, to me, represents a big deal. So there you go; bear with me as my thoughts meander...

I think this is so pretty...via crush cul de sac via dust jacket attic

A word on friends. It never fails to amaze me, the kindness of others. I note this especially when rallying is required. Friends who rally and offer to help, who email and text with encouragement and affirmation. This week has been about the rally. And from some unexpected sources; school mums particularly of note.

via tiny white daisies

A word about Godparents. When we choose Godparents for the Boos, we did not follow tradition (which is to have three Godparents per child, all different, men and women). We simply choose for both our children to have the couple who were our best friends. The love they had shown our children was open and giving and without agenda. So Godparents they were. Then some time passed and they, as a couple, split up. Trauma all around and we had to, in some way, grieve for the friends we once had and adjust to having them as separate entities. I recall having worries at the time that the change in their relationship would affect their ability to be Godparents to our children, as I think Godparenting, even in these modern times, is a really important job. It really matters to me that my kids have trusted friends and confidants that they can turn to. And in these formative years it matters that they have people, other than their parents, who turn up and lavish them unconditionally with love and guidance.

This week, the friendship offered by those two Godparents has been amazing and I am so thankful again for the support. Sometimes it's not just the children who need love and guidance...

Meanwhile in a complete topic change, in efforts to simplify I got one of these. A mastery of engineering, this tool peels, cores and slices apples. I am just so taken with it and best of all; the kids can do it and there are no injuries. This is Lou's best gadget of the week.

from lakeland

And finally a word about well being. Instinctively I feel like I want to take long walks; a combination of head-clearing, scenery-absorbing, light exercising walks. And to cook good, health-giving food. Or maybe I should take a leaf out of my lovely Mum's book and tackle making some cakes? She bakes on a daily basis and she is one of the happiest, least worried people I know. Is there something in that? Time will tell, but I am hoping, with some time off I will get happier and less worried.

via canelle vanille flickr

Updates...and the pursuit of positivity

Apologies for the lack of blog presence recently; I am finding that I am not able to pull together my thoughts into any semblance of positivity. This week has been hard. There it is: I said it. Half term, which is usually like a salve for my family after the rigour of the school term, has instead been trying. I have been unwell, the children have been demanding and unruly. All is not well but no one can put their finger on exactly why.

via a lady's findings

I have also seen an arsenal of specialists in recent days to try to get a diagnosis of my facial pain. So many of you left lovely comments and even emailed me with the names of obscure medical conditions that it might be. I was really touched and did for a few days have some hope that maybe it was something I could fix. Having seen a consultant though, and now awaiting the outcome of an MRI scan (the single most bizarre experience; having an MRI) I am less positive. I really long to be one of those positive people who can remain upbeat. I have trained myself to channel positive thoughts, but I am finding, when the pain comes and settles in for a long stay, my positivity is seeping away...

The thing with being the lynch pin of the family is that when you are low, the family kinda comes with you, hence why this week has been especially tricky. So...a pitiful little summary I know and I suspect I should just get a grip of myself and get happy. We are going to head to the beach today, as that is the only place I can think of where I will gain some perspective (and be freed from the biblical hay fever that is afflicting me at the moment...oh go away grass pollen!).

In an effort to lift my spirits yesterday I watched 'Dirty Dancing' for the first time in 10 years and realised again how much I love that film. I grew up on that film! My Danish cousin, who we sent a copy on VHS video (see? pre-DVD) actually wore out that final dance scene so that it could no longer be played! Now, I've had the time of my life (without the Black Eyed Pea's 'dirty bit'). OK, so forgive me for being wildly over-simple and nostalgic, but life seemed an awful lot easier back in 1987 when I first watched that film.

The good news is that the children's Godmother and one of my oldest friends is coming to stay tonight and I am hoping she can work her usual magic and drag me out of this slump. Hurrah for friends. Hurrah for the beach. Hurrah for being able to blurt out all these considerations, press publish and feel somewhat relieved...

via a lady's findings

Beans to spill?

I am always a bit torn, when writing here, between being brutally honest or scrimping on the details for the sake of privacy. That fine line between drama and truth. You see, I am not entirely sure I know what to say about what has been going on with me lately. It's been a sort of slow movement, gradual and almost imperceptible over a some months; but now that I look at it, I can perceive the build up.

via brown dress with white dots from emerson made

From a blog perspective, I have this slightly uneasy relationship. Some people who read the blog are those who know me in the real world. Mainly they've known me for years and are my trusted friends, to whom I have divulged my blog secret (yes, I write a blog, yep I know it's unusual, yes I do share my thoughts with the world and no, I am not quite sure why, but yes I do love it). For this category of reader, I figure whatever I write here will just be a facet of what they already know. Then there are readers who know me, either because they have stumbled on my secret blog or because my husband, who is inordinately proud of what I 'create' here, tends to furtively show colleagues and acquaintances. This is quite touching but also leaves me with the impression that maybe his boss reads. 'Hi there', if you do, but forgive me if that makes me ever so slightly guarded about what I write. Then there are my blog friends; those who I may never have met but who shower me with empathy and kindness in comments and emails and without whom, frankly, this would be a lot less meaningful. And then there is the great unknown Internet out there, of readers who drop by, revel in all things Lou, and then carry on with their day, unknown to me.

This blog is a personal blueprint of me, which at times is so personal, but forever positioned as this open experiment where I write as if I am chatting over the telephone to one person, but actually the sound vibrations on that phone line can be picked up by thousands of others. This is why so many bloggers expend so much time discussing this point, and yes, when you think about it, it does feel really strange. I try not to think about it too much...

And so to the beans to spill...what's going on with me? An incremental set of circumstances, some medical and some psychological, and some where those two arenas collide. I have an unexplained, undiagnosed pain in my face; a year ago they thought it was tooth ache, but there is nothing wrong with my teeth. I have seen specialists (who were confounded by what it is), I have taken medication (with disastrous side effects and no results), I have googled every pain website there is. The fact remains: I have this pain, it's affecting my life and there appears to be no diagnosis and no treatment. My reaction to this fact veers from acceptance to abject panic at the prospect that I will have this forever. I do however acknowledge that compared to what some people go through medically, this is small fry.

So last week I tried to devise a plan; with some help from various sources to get this sorted. I rely on a discreet little group of friends who get random emails at odd hours saying things like 'you've known me for donkeys years, do I seem different to you?' I am trying to get to the bottom of whether the worry I feel about this pain is actually real.  Is the worry causing the pain? Is the pain causing the worry? So I am going to look at it close up and in the eyes and see if that helps. I have enlisted homeopaths and osteopaths and other people with 'path' in their title. So bear with me...

Meanwhile not blogging for a week was in some ways liberating, in some ways odd, in some ways strangely lonely (what? no comments!). I feel like I have an old friend whom I have not seen for a while and there is much to catch up on. The news and thoughts will filter through in coming days...

via brown dress with white dots

Down time...

I have got some stuff going on, and may not post this week; service will resume shortly...

In the world of Lou...

I am having one of those productive days; spurred on by a few terse words between myself and my beloved this morning about the uselessness of our house filing system. I loathe filing. Paperwork and admin are my worst, worst activities. So I shove everything in a drawer and hope for the best until one of those days arrive where something has to be located. Rapid leafing through pile after pile of un-filed paper ensues, until defeat is admitted or the key item is triumphantly discovered! I wish I were more organised...

via tick tock vintage

After the long weekend, I am settling back into the norm of work days and home days, interspersed by the school run. Term time offers the calm of a quiet house during the day, an opportunity to regroup and to not be Mummy for a few hours. But in return is the tyranny of the drop-off/pick-up/homework/sports matches. I like it though, as I get to go running more and to plan appointments for things I normally don't have time for, like the homeopath or beautician. It's pedicure season; one luxury I afford myself in the summer months.

How can it be May already? I feel like April went by in a whirlwind of Spring days; it really was a fabulous month. Now May means Boo's birthday - she will be a whole decade old. Impossible. My Boo? Surely not; I remember when she looked something like this...

via a lady's findings...washing eggs to be sold at the farmers market, near Falls Creek, Pennsylvania, 1940, Jack Delano.

Trying to eat well (as in really trying; have cut out a-l-h-o-t of bad stuff and it's good but also exhausting cooking everything from scratch). But then when food can look as beautiful as this, I figure it's worth the effort.

photograph from Canelle et Vanille - this food blog is just beautiful...

I am just trying to get on top of everything again, trying to be a better me.

Oh and before I forget - here is what I think:

It's gotta be Prince William.

Ballet - all the way.

Bikini - for as long as I can.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (let's call her Kate as we are between friends...)

Could not live without tea. Chocolate a close second...

Really really want to be plan in advance, but something always ends up last minute (I wish I were more organised!)

Skinny jeans.

Go it alone on holiday planning - did an all inclusive once; probably not again!

Worrier, Worrier, WORRIER!

Emerald.

Light and floral on the perfume front - I wear Diptyque.

'When Harry Met Sally' - all time classic.

Botox - currently no. Think I will stick on that point.

I love getting into summer clothes - we are so deprived on the weather front...sun = instant wardrobe high.

Marilyn Monroe.

First thought...universally it seems we all agree on this: is it morning already?!

Mental note: go to bed earlier!

Hey...Wednesday muse?

Easter is done, the children happily dispatched back to school (in summer uniform as well; nothing like little boys in short trousers and a blazer). I have had more than a glimpse of the sun and have revelled in every minute. Here she goes again about the weather! What would it be like to live in a warm climate? As someone said to me today - England doesn't have any constants in weather; each day can bring a deviation from the seasonal norm. A ten degree temperature differential, day to day, is commonplace.

via bippityboppityboo photograph by Hazel West

I am thinking a lot about me. This must be an indication that all is well with life as my thoughts have shifted from everyone else to myself. I am wondering: am I comfortable in my own skin? I think a lot about the ageing process and so want to be OK with it. I dearly want to just accept it gracefully - where can I find the wisdom to look at my younger self and not feel a tinge of regret that those days have gone? I said I would look forward and I will...but I am finding that the past is filling up behind me, like an enormous sack of memories and nostalgia and it feels somehow greater and heavier than the sack that contains the future. Does that make sense? Is this midlife? Is that what this is? Please distill wisdom...it will be gratefully received!

Today, I am delighted to have some time alone again, I am putting my home (life) back together after the what I have christened to be 'brain haze' of school holidays. Suddenly now focus is regained and I can actually get it together to make that appointment/sort that stuff/make stuff happen. This will, for sure, make me more centred by the evening as I am a simple soul, who likes nothing better than a pile of ironed clothes or soup out of a glut vegetables or a clear table top. It's the getting done that I like.

via bippityboppityboo from here

Spring Monday...

Over the weekend, we had this freak summer weather; for April this is unheard of. We went to the beach hut and marvelled that the Great British Public (GBP) had seized the day and hit the beach. People who had clearly woken up well inland had trekked to the coast with high hopes of a sunny beach day; and they got it! The GBP are...it's almost palpable in every news bulletin mention...getting ready for the flurry of bank holidays over Easter, and specifically the Royal Wedding (RW). Now, I am all for Will and Kate but there is a degree of RW fatigue growing in me. However I am shushing it away being patriotic and will concentrate on celebrating the big day with bunting and union jack flags and friends to watch it on the big TV. This is where the GBP come into their own.

via belle maison styled by Selina Lake

Something about the new season of Spring has inspired me. I want to shake things up after winter. I am feeling sluggish and have a covering of winter weight on me. I have got some of my summer clothes out from last year and they feel tight and constricting, so this means I need to loose some weight. Those who know me will despair at this prospect as I am, in the minds of most, pretty slim. I am; I agree and I am really lucky for that fact. But being slim does not mean being fit and healthy, nor does it mean that my old clothes will fit me again! I have invested too much in that wardrobe to let it go to a few pounds. So today I start a Spring detox...

I am spending a disproportionate amount of time worrying about the fact that my hair is going grey. A resounding OMG! It seems that in the last few months something has shifted a gear in the aging process and as a result I have greys coming through at an alarming rate. Something about this shocks me (I bet Kate Middleton doesn't have this problem) despite the fact that it's common to almost all my friends. So, I am gonna have to do something. I need to take charge. Hairdresser is booked; it's time to get those greys tamed.

Styled by Selina Lake

I just want to be the best version of myself. The older I get the more upkeep required; that bloom of youth isn't quite so natural anymore. But it's OK; I have decided in my infinite wisdom that I have infact grown into myself, so I embrace this...honestly, I do!

Downtime...

I am unwell! Ugh...like clockwork I have this every year; my body has a way of telling me to slow down. I've got tonsillitis. It's a warning sign to take some time out as I am running too fast at everything, all the time. Somethings gotta give...

via everything fabulous from Rue magazine

Funnily enough this morning, after I had accepted I would be spending a couple of days in bed on antibiotics, I got a delivery of a book that I forgot I ordered. It's written by someone I consider a friend - Tania Kindersley and her colleague Sarah Vine, it's called 'Backwards in High Heels'. There is a blog of the same name. Getting this book, today of all days, is like the literary equivalent of finding lost money in pockets. My plan is to lay in bed and read it cover to cover and not feel guilty!

Do you get the same thing? A warning sign to slow down? Any advice on how to catch it early would be greatly appreciated!

Day of doubt...

If ever I doubt my 'working mother' choice it's on a Tuesday. As I have Mondays off, Tuesday is my Monday. Back to work after a lovely long weekend; the stark contrast between my home days and work days on full show. The school run slightly more stressy due to high heels. The drive to work an attempt to empty my mind of home actions and focus on work actions. The meetings where I realise with a little shiver shock of guilt that I have thought of neither child for hours. The email inbox mounting up all the while.

via a lady's findings from things is cool

Then at the end of the work day, the commute back, the school pick-up late and getting tired. We reach home, I change into my home evening uniform of comfies. Immediately as we enter the house I am tidying up from our hasty departure that morning; simultaneously clearing porridge bowls and cooking their evening meal. Swift cuppa tea, homework and re-stocking school bags (make an Easter Bonnet out of recycled materials to be brought to school the day after tomorrow! Ugh the extra curricular activity that is the bane of the working mother's life). I try to maintain some semblance of happy motherly mealtime, knowing that once their meal is done and they are in bed, I will do it all again for my husband's return home. This is modern life. I know there are ways I could do it that would be easier - I could let the house be a mess, I could eat with the kids and let him fend for himself when he gets home. But for me that kinda misses the point...

I get the stage in the evening when I long for some time to just reflect on the day. I want to catch up on blogs and watch trashy TV. To enjoy a glass of wine when he gets home.

But then, as it all dies down and I consider the prospect of a day off work tomorrow (I do love being part time) I come to the conclusion it's just Tuesdays. I have enormous empathy for working mothers who work full time; where every day represents my Tuesday. My heart goes out to you and my hat goes off to you. With no condesedence inferred. I know every household has its hardships and its gems of goodness, time to enjoy the goodness in mine.

via a lady's findings from ornamelle

Lather, rinse, repeat...

I am struck how much of life is on a repeat cycle. I wonder is this just the nature of my life now? Things have levelled out for me; much to do with my children being older and I find the days and weeks seem to be merging into each other. This is also underlined by the fact that I am working on a project that feels almost identical to the project that I worked on this time last year. There is a distinct feeling of deja vu...

via are so happy, photograph from Isabel Amyo

I saw an old friend on this week; we stole away for a day to do nothing but talk over a long lunch, completely oblivious to those around us! I thought, whilst sitting opposite this utterly familiar face how much time has passed since we met almost twenty years ago. Twenty years!! We met in my first week of University, along with rest of 'the girls' who formed a group of my best buddies. Can it really be nearly twenty years?! I know I harp on about the passing of time and clearly my acceptance of this fact of life is not quite in place; I am in denial. However despite that, there is something about the richness of numerous years that I love. Of course the years that pass equate to us all growing older (yes: wrinkles), but there is something wonderful about having that shared history.


Back to the repeat cycle...so it seems my days turn into weeks and before I know it, we are almost three months into the new year. Is 2011 on some sort of accelerated pace? Along the way, I do find myself considering how many activities I repeat day after day. The morning cuppa tea, the school run, the picking-up of items in the house and reassigning to the 'right' place. Endless preparation of food. The 'porridge pot' of laundry (perfect analogy from my friend, derived from one of my favourite childhood stories). Yet for all of this repetition I am not weary or bored. I find myself where I want to be. The repeat cycle just gives me something to muse about as I go. I sense though that I live for the moment; I rarely think about the future, other than to look forward to the next family holiday. The past is largely a source of gratefulness; for what I have done, for what I have achieved and with whom. I am trying to relish this sameness as I know that change will come, in whatever form, at some point...

I am whole. Via are so happy, photograph by Kathryn Barnard, via design sponge

Coming or going?

Is there a strange convergence of moons and stars at the moment? I literally don't know whether I am coming or going; twice this week I have got the day wrong, insisting this morning to my children that it was Thursday when in fact it is Wednesday. Get a grip Louise...

 via everything fabulous

I am loving that the apple blossoms are starting to come out and little, subtle signs of Spring have emerged in the last week. I know I am season obsessed but honestly, it's been a long time since I saw natural flowers on trees!

Unexplained bouts of insomnia have descended on our house; Boo can't sleep so I have been back to night-time disturbances, like having a newborn. Is it in sympathy for my sister in law who is week five of motherhood; she's fine, not much sleep but all good? I notice that my patience has dwindled dramatically since those newborn days in years gone by. My ability to be up and conscious in two seconds flat has more or less disappeared.

I had an interesting birthday! Slightly belated celebrations as my husband had man flu of the worst variety (I do admit he really was quite unwell). So this meant that the orchestrated spoil-Mummy-with-breakfast-in-bed-and-copious-presents did not really happen. He did however make up for it the following day with treats and a night away at a local restaurant with rooms. I was given some fabulous gifts by friends and family; treats galore.

Birthdays are increasingly different the older I get. I sense I have entered a vacuum now where everything is drawing towards turning 40. I have three years to go (and counting) but for all of my peers it's a case of either being at the milestone or getting to the milestone or ruefully looking back on the milestone. I fully intend to spend my 40th birthday, when it comes, as I said - years to go yet...whooping it in Vegas or sunning myself in Mauritius or somewhere else divine.

Today is for getting sorted, re-grouped and set up. I need a list. And another list. I need...another version of me...to get through all these things to do. Then just maybe I will have the presence of mind to get the day of the week right?!

by decor8 ☆ holly via this flickr

Scatty...

There are times when I am feeling on top of everything and my organisational skills are primed. Then things slip and I slide from uber-organised to Mrs Scatty. I simply can not hold all the required details in my head and things get missed, forgotten, undone. This I am sure is a modern phenomenon; the convergence of school schedules and social diaries and work and house and husband and life...

I know when the scattiness is striking as I find that in conversation with people my mind wanders and I remember things I have forgotten. Or rogue birthday party invitations will surface from the piles of paperwork. As will key documents that were 'filed' weeks ago in the pile that denoted 'to do'. But then didn't get done. I find I have made commitments that I then can't meet, resulting in hours of internal mental wrangling of whether I should i) try to cancel gracefully or ii) go ahead but move around ten other things to accommodate the plan!

It's a shame. I would love to be one of those 'on it' people; always ahead of the curve. I have surges of organisation, but it's never enough to go the full distance. And then I find myself thinking 'well, if the issue is time, I could spend it doing admin instead of blogging'. Somehow the activity of blogging falls into the nice 'to do' pile; it carries so much more enjoyment than paying bills.

And on my blog, a recent commenter felt that I did not properly or appropriately credit the photos I use and so she had decided to stop reading. Let me tell you - there is a whole thorny world out there of blogging etiquette that you either do or don't subscibe to or even know about (there is no blogging rule book per se). I have not had a comment like that before and so I let it rest for a day or two before writing here. I have thoughts about this comment and what it meant; but I noticed that my first instinct response was: this is my scattiness again. I could have done better, checked further, filed more clearly, hunted down the source. Mental note: will add to my 'to do' list... ;-)

P.S. Therefore no pics today...

Mes pensées (my thoughts!)...

A thought provoking time. We all know that I am a thinker; nothing new there. But a week away has sent me off into some sort of stratosphere of pondering. We returned to the same place to have the the same holiday that we have had year on year, yet this time something in me has come back different, ever so slightly uncertain. This is my reasoning for why:

We stayed in a place where there were 19 people - everyone shares dinner, it's very sociable. There were families there with little children - as in under 2's. It leaped out at me: how grown up our kids are. This thrills and appalls me in equal measure! Where did the time go? In a heartbeat they will be teenagers and I will look wistfully at families with a five and nine year old.

I am a downright mediocre skier. I have decided that skiing is one of those things that you only reach a level of real competence and skill if you start when you are three years old. I know, I know, there are probably some who manage to excel without that childhood background, but I would hazard a guess they are i) not mothers and ii) have no fear and iii) have a fitness level of an Olympic athlete. I also deduced that I rarely participate anymore in pursuits that I am mediocre at. I only like things that I am good at. Is this defeatist? Meh...

For the duration of our stay I did not lift a finger in the domestic department. I enjoyed this a disproportionate amount. What does this mean? Am I idle and slovenly? I found that having a chef make food for the children (yea, really) was the most divine thing in my day. OK, well second to the stunning Alpine scenery.

My ski instructor told me he spends his winters in the Alps and his summers crewing luxury boats off the shore of Cannes. I found myself wondering - why did I make the serious and responsible choices I did? Why am I not living that type of life?! Hmmm...

As I stood amongst what seemed like a million French people waiting for the bubble lift I did think to myself: this happens every day. People here queue up to scale the mountain all the time and meanwhile I am in my little corner of England. Probably doing the washing up. Meaning?

In certain circumstances in French restaurants I find that my brain has the capacity to recall long-lost snippets of pigeon French, learned in my teens. Je vais avoir la soupe à l'oignon, puis le foie gras, avec la tarte aux framboises à la fin. Oui, s'il vous plaît.



My husband is a remarkable skier; I never want to ski (be) with anyone but him.

I need to get comfortable with my age. I have decided that at nearly 37 - I am neither young nor old.

I ate so much cheese. It was bordering on obscene. How is it that French women remain slim?

All this and more...as after all, travel broadens the mind. Meanwhile I feel guilt for all this personal introverted musing (in my charmed life) when around me the world is in chaos...earthquakes, governmental coups, War. 'Nuff said. Life is a journey.

So what's new with you?

each of these three images are from a lady's findings

Tuesday muse...

I am so having one of those days...one child off sick, workload piling up, waiting for a delivery man, trying to multi-task, big decisions looming! What to do? On this rainy, dull Tuesday I would so rather be off somewhere without a care in the world. Is it wrong to want to gather up your little family and run away? Ideally somewhere sunny...

On the plus side, my husband is back in the country after a week away. The water levels around our old house have dropped so less risk of flood. This is good news! I have gone back to brunette after wavering with blonde. I have a blog feature over at Styles and Cream today.  And isn't this image just lovely...? Sigh...

...beautiful, beautiful via dust jacket attic...

Monday style...

Monday, Monday, rise and shine! It turns out I am delinquent in acknowledging a flurry of blog awards that I have been bestowed...a total of FOUR Stylish Blogger Awards from the following kind people:

Charlotta who writes the blog 'Space for Inspiration'. Charlotta gave me a lovely mention, singling out 'Lou, Boos and Shoes' as one of her faves. Very sweet!
Rali who writes the blog 'Styles 'n Cream'.
Paloma who writes the blog 'Paper Garland'.
Julie who writes the blog 'The Fantasy Decorator'.

So thank you very much; that's a whole lot of style! With this award I am meant to divulge seven things about myself that you may not know. Well I hate to say it but my life is an open book and I struggled to think of seven secrets (that I would be willing to post anyway.) So I have applied some mild interpretation, I hope you don't mind...

What is style? Here are seven things about my style...

One
I like really simple, classic dressing...which at the moment makes me want to wear jeans, boots and a blazer. Come to think of it, I like grosgrain ribbons, ballet flats, navy stripes, crisp white shirts, alice bands, funnel-neck coats, LBDs and surprising quirks in an outfit like a studded belt.

Two
I have a string of pearls that my husband gave me and despite being unsure of them to start with, now I love them so much; they improve any outfit, any day.

Three
One of the most stylish and desirable things for me is healthy, glowing skin. Getting it is like chasing the elixir of life...

Four
I can't abide scuffed shoes and raggedy handbags; I am big on polishing and looking after leather ware.

...oh Olivia...the life you lead...

Five
I often get dressed up then take off half the accessories; I try not to have too much 'going on' in one outfit. I have to tell myself: the dress is enough.

Six
Only wear what you love. If in your heart you think it's a so-so item, ditch it.

Seven
Like so many things in life; less is more...

...Diane Kruger...and lots of gorgeous images via for chic sake

And I thank you!

I now award the Stylish Blogger Award to these lovely bloggers:

Jeanne who writes the blog 'Cashmerejeans'.
Alison who writes the blog 'Cowparsley'.
Jennifer who writes the blog 'Keswick and Country'.
Deborah who writes the blog 'Metropolitan Mum'.