One, two, three..

Three years today, and I am as happy now as I was then.

Decisions, decisions...

One of the exciting things about our new house is the chance to redecorate. Every room needs the existing wallpaper stripping, holes filling, electrics moving, ceilings plastering...the list goes on.  Me and Mr E are muddling our way through things - he on the practical side of things and me on the more decorative.  Most conversations are along the following lines:

Me:  What do you think of this bedside lamp?
Mr E:  What, for the bedroom that still needs stripping, plastering, painting, furnishing etc?

You get the picture.  For me I need to have an idea in my head about what the room will look like when it's finished in order to get through the layers of paint, paper, paint and more paper that require stripping from every surface. For Mr E he can't think about the finished room until all of that is done and we have a blank canvas ready.

All of this goes someway to explaining why we currently have four wallpaper samples stuck to our bedroom wall as I try to decide which one I like best for a room that is not going to be ready to decorate  until July!

They are all William Morris prints and at the moment I am leaning towards the two on either end but who knows, by the time we are ready for the actual decorating I may have changed my mind!

Home, sweet home...

Well, we've done it!  The husband and I have bought our new home together. Nearly a whole year after selling our flat and rather a lot of house hunting later we are the proud owners of our very own Hampshire residence.

There is rather a lot to do and it is all a bit scary but I can't wait to get started.

Two years today...

Today we celebrate two years of marriage.  I love Mr Elliman and love being married.  I feel so very lucky to have found him and so very lucky that we will spend the rest of our lives together.

His and hers...

Our Valentine's cards to each other.  We don't do much more than this but I am not ashamed to admit that I still smile when I open my card and read the soppy message.

His to me on the left, and mine to him on the right.

A birthday treat...

It is the husband's birthday on Monday and as part of the birthday celebrations we are going to dinner this evening to our absolute favourite place: Brula.  It is a beautiful French restaurant just up the road from us in St. Margarets and is so pretty and the staff so friendly that it feels like a real treat to go there.

The building was once a Victorian butcher's shop and is now a small, but perfectly formed, Parisian restaurant.  They have kept the original stained glass windows, parquet flooring and stairs and added in velvet curtains, mirrors and candles.

The food is incredible and very good value.  Brula offer outside and home catering and I can't think of anything more decadent than having their chefs cook for you in your own home.

I love Brula for so many reasons, most of all because it was where we had our wedding reception.  It was wonderful to see it filled with the people I love most in the world.  As a close second I love the fact that it was used in an episode of Poirot!

Date night...

This Saturday night the husband and I had a date.  We ventured out for dinner and then onto the theatre in Richmond.  I love the occasion of going out properly, of getting dressed up and spending an evening just the two of us.

Dinner was at Côte, an excellent French bistro chain with beautiful interiors.  The onto Richmond Theatre, a splendid red brick building on the green.  We saw Murder on the Nile, an adaptation of the Agatha Christie book.  I enjoyed the play although some of the actors were less than brilliant.  Kate O'Mara on the other hand was super.  The Richmond Theatre is even more exciting for me as they have filmed quite a few episodes of Poirot there!


Heading home was more than interesting as whilst we were wondering whodunnit around 6 inches of snow had settled.  I was wearing the most inappropriate shoes - satin heels - and slipped and slided my way to the bus.  Thankfully me and the shoes made it home in one piece!

Let there be light...

Mr E took this picture at the weekend as we walked the dog.  I had picked up the pine cone to tell him how I love the smell.

I think it is such a beautiful picture in its simplicity.  The light is just perfect and the photograph has an almost religious quality to it.

He's quite clever really.

Condensed Christmas...

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year and that we are ready to face 2012 with a smile.

Christmas this year was a busy one, in between packing up our flat we managed to fit in three counties, seven siblings and two dogs!  I didn't manage to take many photos but here are a few that sum up my festive fortnight...

Nails painted and ready to go.

Assembling & serving our homemade blinis...

Walks on the beach...

The M3 motorway (several times!) 

image from here

I will be back soon, hopefully with a little more to say.  I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a good year.

Bank holiday baking...

Last Monday the husband and I embarked on a bank holiday bonanza of catching up with family.  We packed up our little car and our travels began. We managed to fit in a Friday night supper in Windsor, a farewell BBQ in Watlington, a late afternoon tea in Hampshire and rounded it all off with lunch in Lymington.

Friends of ours moved out to Lymington a few years ago and I am filled with envy when we go and visit. The drive through the New Forest is so beautiful and they have a whole house to themselves.  And peace and quiet.  And they can be at the seaside in minutes.

But I decided to put my envy to one side and bake some cupcakes to take with us.  I opted for Earl Grey cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery book.  I had an old box that I did up with the help of the husband's faultless font picking and some tissue paper.  The recipe was very easy to follow and the end result very pretty indeed.  I am not sure that they tasted overwhelmingly of Earl Grey but they were jolly good anyhow!

A day in the life of...

I have seen this idea on lots of other blogs and had always fancied giving it a try. Essentially the idea is that you blog about what you have done on a particular day.  As I was catching up on my blog reading I saw on Alice's Quaint Living that there was a day in the life date organised so I thought I would give it a go!  I am not sure how interesting it will be but here goes:

Friday 2nd September.
I am lucky enough to start work at a somewhat tardy 9.30 and even more fortunate to be able to walk to work so I generally get up around 8.30.  This morning I tried to prolong the holiday spirit and had a lovely hot shower with one of Petit Marsellais shower creams.

I potter around getting myself ready, applying my various lotions and potions.  I have a myriad of them to chose from and opted today for my Marc Jacobs' Cucumber perfume.

I walk to work through the sunny streets of Teddington, it is a nice walk past the beautiful houses and ending up at the river.  As it is Friday I am slightly more casual than the rest of the week and am in my jeans and ballet pumps.

My morning is taken up with answering emails and some overdue admin.  I tick a lot of jobs off my list and am pleased with a coffee break at 11.00.  My coffee mug at work was a gift from the husband and features Bingo in action.  It is rather twee but I like it never the less.

I continue ticking off jobs and catching up until lunch time.  I am in the process of changing my name; after a year of marriage I thought it was about time!  It is rather more involved than I had initially thought so I wandered down the high street to the bank and am one step closer to becoming Mrs E.

My afternoon was dedicated to floor plans and scale drawings.  There was a welcome interruption when some cupcakes were delivered to my desk.  One of our contractors was celebrating their 10th birthday and had send the cakes out so that we could all join in.  Unfortunately they didn't last long enough to photograph!

I popped into the pub for a quick glass of wine as it was such a lovely evening and a Friday after all! The husband walked down with Bingo and joined me.  We headed home shortly after that to a supper of pasta with crab.  And a little more wine!

We sat on the sofa and watched a horror film, then off to bed.  I don't think I even managed a chapter of my book before falling asleep!

Wedding number one...

Wedding number one was my sister-in law Katie & her lovely man Phil.  They picked The Crazy Bear in Stadhampton for their nuptials.  The main building is a sixteenth century public house that has been renovated and redesigned - eclectic doesn't do it justice!  The reception is in a double decker bus, the breakfast room is leather clad and the bar has a "Crazy Bear" mounted on the ceiling.

The bride wore Temperley and looked stunning,  The detail on her dress was so striking and unusual, and so suited to her.  The ceremony was just lovely with a poem read by Phil's mother that had been written just for them.  The second reading was an adapted version of A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton,  The husband duetted with his niece and had us all in fits of giggles.

Canapes and champagne followed the ceremony with some croquet thrown in for good measure.  The thai meal was fresh and delicious and the wine flowed!  Dancing went on into the wee hours and we retired to bed happy, with slightly tired feet!

Item of lust...

It was my birthday this week and I was super spoilt and received my very own MacBook from the husband.  This has now launched my obsession with finding the perfect case.  And I think I have found it!

Designed by Liberty of London and available here I am already saving my pennies!

Home, Sweet Home...

I returned home yesterday after working away from home for the last two weeks.  I have spent two joyous weeks at the Hilton Metropole at the NEC.  A hotel that in my opinion is indeed Dante's ninth circle of hell.


As I am there for such a long time I need my come comforts around me to make it more bearable.  My packing for this trip involved more non-clothes related items than actual outfits.   Here are my essential items to make even the most dreadful hotel room feel like home...


Photographs of the husband and Bingo:  I bought this leather photo frame in Habitat years ago and it travels with me when the husband cannot.  I like the old fashioned look and it reminds me of an age when travelling light hadn't yet been heard of;  when ladies would set up a dressing table just the same as in their home even if it was just for an evening.

Lavender oil:  I find sleeping on hotels difficult, but a few drops of lavender on my pillow and I am instantly relaxed.

A good book:  I love reading and a good book never fails to settle me and make time fly.  I am currently engrossed in Jilly Cooper's latest, Jump.  And I have to say that it is simply marvellous!

My iPad:  When I am working away it tends to be both antisocial and irregular hours.  I often return to the hotel and am simply too awake to go straight to sleep.  The hotel television offers little entertainment and so my iPad is a godsend.  I can watch films, catch up on blogs, listen to music...the list is endless.

Slippers:  I don't know what it is about slippers but putting them on at the end of the day really makes me feel at home.  I also hate the slightly grubby carpet that you inevitably find in big, corporate hotels and am much happier to have my toes encased in something a little more friendly.

Bubble bath:  Who doesn't love a bubble bath?  No matter how awful the day a long soak in a hot bath makes the world of difference!

York House Gardens...

This Sunday the husband and I took a stroll along the river to York House in Twickenham.  This  is the local council building and happens to have the most beautiful gardens.  It also happens to be where we got married, but more about that later.


The gardens reach down to the river and are a stunning combination of the most outrageous fountains, formal rose gardens and wild grasses.  We sat by a lovely pool and reminisced.  Well I did.  The husband mostly nodded and looked at me with the kind of indulgent look saved for small children or the very drunk.  Still it was a lovely afternoon.

The first BBQ of the year...

This weekend, along with everyone else and their dog, we lit the BBQ to make the most of the beautiful sunshine.


In our household I probably do most of the cooking most of the time, but not when there is fire involved.  Fire and meat instantly means that the husband takes charge.  And the husband taking charge instantly means that nothing is simple.


The conversation went something like this:
Husband:  "I want to make burgers."
Me:  "That sounds really nice, shall I get some mince from the butchers?"
Husband:  "No I mean make burgers." (reaches for Heston Blumenthal In Search of Perfection)


So we not only made the burgers, but also the buns, the sauce and the cheese - yes the cheese.  And it was really fun.  And they were the best burgers.  Ever.

I want to ride my bicycle...

"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community". 

Ann Strong

I have recently bought a bicycle and am absolutely in love with it.  I have the Pashley Poppy and it is a rather different bicycle to my last, somewhat rusted, mountain bike.


I relish the sense of freedom that you get from a bicycle, a totally different feeling to getting in  a car.  There is the real sense that you can go anywhere.  The Pashley suits me down to the ground from its' sprung seat, beautiful vintage shape and colour and the comfortable upright riding position.  Whether it rivals Mr E in the company stakes is yet to be seen!


*Image from Pashley