Time travelling

One of my NYE party decorations

I haven’t sofa surfed for ages. There’s always been some kind of chore to do, don’t get me wrong, there are still lots of chores to do; I’m just choosing not to do them. I think that means I’ve failed on one New Year Resolution, but kind of succeeded on another.

Anyway, I didn’t feel too guilty about my sofa surfing today, because I felt like I was doing something productive at the same time… time travelling.

It all started with Sunday Brunch on Channel 4 to set me up, because you can’t time travel on an empty stomach, and from there on in I was hurtling through the decades!

One Day took me through the late eighties, nineties, noughties and the early teenies with music, fashion (ish!), city-scapes, city nightlife and TV references.

Hook had me re-visiting my childhood in the early nineties and reminiscing about Christmases of days gone by. We used to watch a pantomime, en masse with friends and family, every year. One year we chose not to see the pantomime and went to the cinema to see Hook instead. It’s been one of my favourite childhood films ever since. And in fact, my Baby Bro and I still quote it at each other regularly… “In your face camel cake”.

Clueless took me through my teenage years in the late nineties. Every single Friday of them. Kim and I used to watch Clueless followed by Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet every week whilst getting ready to go out. Again, we still quote it regularly, and my thirty year old, grown up (ish) vocabulary is still heavily influenced by the content of that film.

The Tomorrow People had me squealing with excitement. CITV's Old Skool Weekend was just full of amazing childhood references. Funhouse - After-school prize-winner jealousy. Wizadora - “Sick day” guilty pleasure (before it was replaced by Loose Women). Press Gang? Fuelling future career aspirations. Knightmare - Still gives me actual nightmares sometimes! Art Attack - Where my obsession with everything oversized began. I was so happy to find The Tomorrow People on the schedule and Sky +’d it… and was then so upset when I realised that it wasn’t what I thought it was: The Girl from Tomorrow which was one of my absolute faves (I still desperately want to wear my hair band like a Transducer and paint three dots on my cheekbone)! Such a shame that The Queen’s Nose was a BBC programme… I consoled myself with Fraggle Rock.

Mr Selfridge will hopefully become my Sunday night replacement for Downton Abbey and fulfil my need for some kind of period drama on cosy winter nights. The costumes, the bouffants, the accents, the vistas of turn-of-the-century (ish) London. I have high hopes.

And the day of time travelling ended with The Iron Lady. I didn’t spend a lot of my childhood paying attention to politics, and to be frank, I don’t really now, so I'm not really drawn by that side of things in this film. I have, however, always spent a lot of my time paying attention to the changing fashions in interiors, hair, cosmetics, clothes and cars and this film showcases them in all their twentieth century glory fabulously. I love it. Oh, and Meryl. Oh how it showcases Meryl.

I should do this more often... and I should get a maid!

Looking back and forwards - the 2012/13 edition - Part two: New Year Resolutions

Today has been a hard day.

Last night’s Roaring Twenties NYE party Chez Moi (see the dress I finally chose to wear, after much deliberation, here) turned my house in to a bombsite, and on less than three hours’ sleep I spent over four hours returning the place to normality while my poor body slowly succumbed to the cold/sore throat/cough bug that’s going around.

Final party dress decision!

I’m a hero.

Really.

Meanwhile Mr G moaned, wailed, whimpered and snored on the sofa as he suffered from the after effects of the horrendous shot combinations he was concocting last night. I have zero sympathy. There have been some daggers shot across the room on numerous occasions today.

And a nice long list of "chores" written for him to complete tomorrow whilst I'm at work.

 

However, it wasn't all bad, two hours alone washing up gave me some time to reflect on last year’s resolutions and to think about the ones I will make for the coming year.

I managed some of them easy peasy lemon squeezy, some of them required a bit more effort and some I just plain ignored! Oops.

I made quite a few last year, twenty to be precise, so this year I’m keeping the number low. Let’s say ten? Is that reasonable? Also, this year I’m making resolutions that are a bit more SMART, as opposed to last year when they were a bit more wishy-washy. Anyone that wasted their time (like me, for eight years) on Business Studies at school will know that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound which helps me to stay focussed! My mind and personality functions much better with more definitive parameters. We could even call them New Year Objectives. 

So, with that in mind, let’s go:

Body – go to the gym at least once a week, eat less rubbish, further reduce my alcohol intake, get regular massages and spa treatments
Mind – chill out more,  say “no” more, spend more time reading in the conservatory than stressing and on my mobile
Finances – we had a rather expensive year lastyear and have a VERY expensive year ahead, so 2013 is a time to rebuild my savings and be a bit more prudent with my expenditure. I have a figure in my head of how much I would like in my savings account at the end of this year and what I would like to use it for.
Photos – fill all empty photo frames (there are lots!), complete my electronic filing and create photo-books for all my trips and big events of the past five years by the spring.
Laundry - stay on top of washing, ironing and cleaning each week, rather than rushing everything when we need to use the spare rooms for guests and not just piles of clean and dirty washing (one in each room).
Domesticity – rather than opting to eat out/order in/eat crisps/work late/just skip dinner to avoid cooking for myself I will cook myself a meal at least once a week. Hmmm
DIY – complete any current or pending home improvement projects by the summer, when I will be good and ready to start hosting parties again... i.e just in time to trash it all!
Planning for the future - work on plans for various extension/renovating options, get quotes, make decisions, get saving and set deadlines.
Wardrobe – clear out, give/throw away items I haven’t worn for over a year and rearrange the inside in to some semblance of order - each season! Keeping items for fancy dress is no longer an option!
Rest – go to bed earlier (ideally well before midnight on school nights), no late-night Facebook/Twitter/Hotmail checking and get some sleep therapy!

So there we have it!

Oh, hang on, I forgot one. Less a new year resolution/objective, more a January rule – NO BOOZE until my birthday. Last year I failed terribly and caved within the week due to a run of thirtieth birthdays. The year before I managed two and a half months, due to alcohol poisoning. I’m hoping for something in between this year. Wish me luck.

No booze...

 

Happy 2013 people, I wish you love, health and happiness for the new year.

xoxo

Looking back and forward – the 2012/13 edition – part one

I did a 2011 year in review post last year, so I thought I’d do one this year too.

Where to start? Well, January I suppose…

January was full of 30^th birthdays galore – including my own, which involved a wonderful few weeks filled with various dinners, a night at Circus, a Duck Tour of London, afternoon tea for breakfast, dinner at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, a massive party, a family gathering and some fish n chips with the Luvvies. And some beeooootiful presents. I was truly spoilt.

We also managed to purchase a house! Hurrah!

 

Normally a quiet and gloomy month, this February was full of fun!

It kicked off with a Vintage Patisserie hen party for one of my dear “2-4-1 girlies”, Sarah, followed by my birthday present from the same group – fascinator making and then another 30^th – all in one weekend, so I spent the rest of the month recovering until round four(possibly five?) of the hen tour with a TOWIE party in Brentwood!

March saw us take a group trip to Galway for Sarah's traditional Irish wedding, a special little boy was christened and another one of the girls, Caroline, turned thirty - we celebrated with a posh Chinese meal and a fairy tale fancy dress party!

We also managed to purchase another house, after the previous one fell through! Proper HURRAH!

 

April was another big birthday month! We got started with a Mad Hatter’s afternoon tea party at the Sanderson for Katy and then a big birthday weekend for Mr G.  We started with a birthday breakfast in our favourite brunch spot, a trip around the London Dungeons and then some stall-to-stall snacking in Borough Market. We then headed out to dinner at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental. A family meal and then some more posh Chinese with Mr G’s crew!

We also packed up our flat ready to make ourselves homeless. A sad, sad day!

We were however cheered to hear that one of my besties, Claire, became spectacularly engaged. YAY!!

In May we said our final goodbyes to our first home and made ourselves officially homeless. We moved in with my parents for one night, before jetting off to California (and Nevada, briefly) for a road trip of a lifetime through San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and ending in San Diego.

 

June was downright crazy, beginning with the Jubilee weekender, which included two weddings, a thirtieth birthday party and a garden party (hosted by moi) all within three days. Needless to say the fourth day of the long weekender Queenie gave us was spent on the sofa in my PJs!

An engagement party, some London sightseeing, and lunch and cocktail date with the god family (including a suspicious non-drinker, mwah ha ha ha) a thirtieth party at Lovebox and some kiddies’ birthday parties completed the month!

I spent the early hours of the first day of July drunkenly navigating my way home, well, to my parents' home, from Kim’s 30th birthday celebrations in Camden, and making myself comfortable, face down, on their driveway for a snooze. I then spent the rest of that day feigning sobriety as we MOVED IN TO OUR NEW HOME! Not an ideal start, but at least I was upright… mostly! 

A baby shower a bit later in July provided the perfect excuse to abstain from alcohol for a little while!

The Olympic Flame came to stay in our home city (oh yes, we’re a city now, a Jubilee city in fact) and we welcomed it with a festival, some fireworks, some skydivers and a rather odd light show.

Oh, and let’s not forget LONDON 20-FLIPPING-12. I was in heaven! GO TEAM GB!!!!! Words can not describe how amazing London 2012 was for me. Well I tried in a blog post, see what you think.  I also spent an amazing day at Wimbledon watching Andy Murray and Laura Robson do us proud!

 

The so-called height of summer, or August, saw us attend a Great Gatsby-esque wedding on a lake, a catch up afternoon tea party with the Tea Shop Luvvies, a wedding at the home of my friend (and talented wedding photographer) Jasmine and a rave in a field to celebrate the last thirtieth of our gang, Liz.

We also got burgled. But the less we say about that, the better. Hmph.

 

But in better news the Paralympics got underway – INSPIRATION!

September began with a wonderful wedding at Blenheim Palace and the arrival of a beautiful baby girl, Varenna.

I also climbed the O2, spent the evening at the Olympic Stadium watched Lady Gaga strut her stuff at Twickenham and took a mixology class at Harvey Nichols.

We ended the summer with a short break in Seville in October to top up our vitamin D levels before the long dark winter, said goodbye to some ooooooold friends and one very new one (Baby V) as they left for the other side of the world to start a new life, and ended the month with a Halloween housewarming in our new pad.

 

 

November saw Secrets Revealed at the Harry Potter Studio Tour, an afternoon tea date with the God Family (the last one before we gained a new member) and a trip to Dublin and Belfast (full write up to follow!) to visit Jo and see the Titanic exhibition. Then the preparations for Christmas in our new home began!

December was full of festive catch ups, a trip to the Churchill war rooms (review coming soon!) dinner dates and parties, including a James Bond themed affair at Hush, an opulent party at Claridge’s and meeting one of the most inspiring women from London 2012 – Martine Wright – at a beautiful carol service at St. Paul’s. A Fake Christmas Day and Boxing Day weekend got us fully in the festive mood for our first Christmas event, uniting both families in our new home. Possibly a new tradition in the making? After that it was back to the traditions of old, including the Annual Potage Cup, and then almost a week of Christmas celebrations, before tonight’s Roaring Twenties New Year’s Eve party.

 

We also received some amazing news: Baby E joined my God Family a fortnight early on 29^th. I suspect he was desperate to be born in one of the greatest years we can remember: The Golden Jubilee and London 2012. Why wait for 2013 when you can list that on your birth certificate?

And so to Twenty Thirteen…

2012 was another fun-packed year, full of memories that will stay with me for a lifetime but I’m looking forward to some chill time next year, although I doubt it’ll happen – more home improvements to work on, eight weddings (including two abroad), a family sailing trip (though I’ll be flying), more thirtieth birthdays and hopefully some more exciting travel opportunities. And then who knows…

And so, to say good bye to a year full of montages, what better way than to end with this year in review, from Google. Amazing!

See you next year!

Mwah

x

 

Christmas Day

Like I mentioned in my Christmas Eve post, it was All Change this year for Christmas, and our usual traditions of sofa camping, all day blow up mattress snoozing, dining room reconfiguration for sleeping purposes and late night living room campsite cinema was replaced by actual beds back at my house, champagne brunch in the dining room and reasonable amounts of sleep!

Let me expand...



Woke up in a bed... and Santa found me! WIN!

Having hosted  Christmas Eve Chez Moi, I didn't have to camp in my parents' lounge with my cousins, husband, baby bro and sister in law, in fact I woke up in my own bed, in a house full of my family, to whom I had also offered beds to save them also camping in the lounge and dining room. I had been worried that Santa wouldn't find me here to deliver my Santa Sack, but he must have SantaNav as he did manage to locate me! It still felt sad not to be with everyone in one house, but stuffing my face with half a box of After Eights before even leaving the bed helped a little.

A quick cuppa and we (those at the Griffith outpost) were en route, in convoy back to my parents' for a Champagne brunch, and with all the time we saved on not having to re-configure the lounge and dining room from campsites back in to usual reception rooms and packing away beds and bedding we found time to snuggle up and watch a chick flick!

 

I headed over to Mr G's parents' to watch him getting stressed out about stuffing his goose and braising his red cabbage, whilst I snuggled up with his family (sadly minus Middle Sister, who was kayaking in Guatemala when we called) to watch The Snowman and the Snow Dog.

Dinner time dress ups!

more dinner time dress ups!

As they sat down for their Christmas dinner (goose stuffed and red cabbage braised) I returned to my parents' to help set the table and settle down to our own yummy dinner.

mmmmmm, parmesan 'snips! My fave!

After dinner we played the usual games and then at about 8pm we gathered back in the lounge, secured our spots for present and opening and Jo and I handed out the mountains of gifts. Some things never change though - we always feint my dad with gifts for other people, saving all his until the end so he "thinks" he has none to open. I add the bunny ears around "thinks", because he knows full well what we're doing, having done it for the last 20 years, but is a good sport and plays along. Bless.

No one knows when or wy we started doing it, but it makes us giggle, so long may it continue!

After the hustle and bustle of gift unwrapping, and cries of "ooooh", "ahhhhh" and "thank yooooooou", coffee, petit fours arrive, we all put on our christmas pyjamas (or onesies) and argue over what to watch... Strictly Christmas Special? Doctor Who? Downton Abbey? Whatever happens, it's never Eastenders, I have no time for that doom and gloom on Christmas Day!!!! Although this year someone selected The Woman in Black... now, Eastenders would have been much cheerier!

 

 

As with Christmas Eve, there was no camping required as we all had bed this year so after a long and happy day those of us sleeping at my house headed back to hit the pillows. I felt a bit sad not snuggling up with "the kids" in the lounge (not that any of us has been a "kid" in a loooooong time) but I suppose nothing lasts forever!

ending Christmas Day in a onesie, with a Cosmo!

One day I may even host Christmas Day Chez Moi... scary Mary!

I can't believe it's all over for another year. Time to start thinking about NYE... outfits at the ready people!

Festive outfits

This year I felt a bit Grinchy for most of December, so in an attempt to combat that I did lots of festive activities which, of course, required lots of festive outfits.

Of course it all started with the official party dress for Claridge's (which will be recycled for NYE), followed by a seasonally-appropriate red mini dress with starry tights for a drinks party (I resisted the urge to sew white marabou along the hem), a flash of leopard print for a catch up lunch and gift exchange and then a sequinned jumper with a faux fur gilet and my holly and berry Tatty Devine necklace for a festive baby shower.

Party dress at Claridge's

Snuggly lunch. Upstaged by that jumper!

Starry, starry tights

Red dress, minus the marabou

Festive and furry baby shower

Christmas Eve sparkles

Accessorising my gold dress with an elf bib and ears... of course.

Onesie time

Onesie day!

Monday was Christmas Eve, and thus required a sequinned skirt, a glittery jumper, the very same necklace and my snuggly furry slippers.

Christmas day started with a sparkly gold and black dress and ended with my reindeer onesie and Boxing Day, well boxing day is always Onesie Day.

All day.

Christmas Eve

We hosted our first Christmas gathering in our new home and joined our families together for their first festive party. We broke from the standard tradition of Christmas Eve at my parents' and invited everyone round to play.

We decided against a sit down meal, and went for cocktails and canapes, followed by a buffet, the annual soup competition and then dessert, some very special bubbly and then tea and sofa snuggling.

Mini cherry and dark chocolate trifles. HIGHLY dangerous!

"Champagne flutes" for my mum and aunts - to avoid drunk and disorderliness

Stressed Chef!

Joint effort on the salmon!

BUBBLES!

Special bubbles!

Posh Squash... for use in alcoholic drinks only!

Soup tasting in the Potage Cup 2012

We worked hard on the prep, we grafted all night, we hardly ate any of the food we prepared and drank barely a drop. We collapsed in to bed at 3am, shattered, but it was worth it to have all our loved ones together, in our new home, at Christmas... except Kate Louise - we missed you. Lucky we had Fake Christmas last week.

Fake Christmas last week with Kate Louise and Lucy Jayne!

Could this be a new tradition in the making?

Maybe....