todays wish list includes.......

these shoes arrived in the shop today and "oh me oh my". so pretty, they have inspired a new wish list, if only i wasn't 7ft tall when i wear them.......

-kurt geiger, garbo sandals-

-pantone mugs-

also......

a cuddle

spaghetti bolognese

an hour in a bubble bath with my new book - the lollipop shoes by joanne harris

vanilla ice cream

chanel rouge noir nail polish

to have the strength not to open my new bales of fluffy white towels until i move into the new flat

ditto - new fen wright manson crisp white sheets

to sleep soundly tonight

jonny depp

suprises rock

poached egg & bacon for him, fruit salad for me

my darling boy returnd from the gym this morning and after a quick shower, whisked me off for a very scrummy late breakfast at a little cafe called the scrumpy willow and the singing kettle.

all the food is cooked using organic ingrediants and sourced from local sellers. we hardly spoke two words to each other what with all the reading and the eating, but sometimes it's nice to be quiet with each other.

my world is upside down

moving has got my head mashed. i can't find anything, i keep tripping over boxes that i don't expect to be there and i'm getting a little bit sick of my resolution not to grocery shop until my cupboards are bare and the freezer is empty (less stuff to move - and we can defrost the freezer etc etc) we've had some very uninspiring meals so far...tonight's menu - pickled onions with green beans and rhubarb crumble - we might be eating out!

how can such a small kitchen hold so much stuff???

the clothes are out and only the shoes remain (there's more in the spare bedroom!)

this hallway is a trip hazard!

bored of this now

also confusing me this morning is my mobile phone mysteriously changing the time overnight. since i packed all the clocks my blackberry has been the only source of time telling and morning alarm calls. then this morning we were woken up by the phone, ross's brother was waiting in the car downstairs. whoops - the alarm hadn't gone off but it was still set, and the bb said 8am. but it was actually 9am. i'm fairly certain that i didn't reset the time in my sleep as i can't do it consciously without the help of an instruction booklet - what the hell happened? hope it doesn't happen tomorrow when i actually have to be at work.

bagel love

prepare.... to bake

i heart baking

sprinkes

mmmmm......

delish x

as i mentioned earlier today, on my to-do list was making bagels. a priority today as kneeding the dough is a great way to release the pmt mentalistic-ness that has me firmly in its grasp.

this recipie was pinched from miss jemma, a super mummy who makes all her own baby food and bakes and her son sleeps when he should....like i said - super mummy! its quick, simple and they look super impressive when you take them out of the oven. here's how......

ingredients

7g sachet dried yeast

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp salt

450g bread flour

poppy, fennel or sesame seeds

1.tip the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar into a large bowl and pour over 100ml warm water. leave for 10mins until the liquid becomes frothy.

2.pour 200ml warm water into the bowl, stir in the salt and half the flour. keep adding the remaining flour until your dough is soft but not sticky. *you may not need all the flour.

3.kneed for 10mins on a lightly floured surface until the dough feels smooth and elastic, shape into a ball and put into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. cover loosly with clingfilm and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size - approx 1 hour.

4.heat oven to 22oC/fan 200C/gas 7. divide the dough into 10 pieces, shape into balls and use the handle of a wooden sppon to make holes in them. *i find it works best if you swing the dough around the handle to make the balls look like dough bangles as the hole with get alot smaller at the next stage.

5. meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and tip in the remaining sugar, stir well. slip the bagels into the boiling sugar water - no more than 3 at a time. cook for 1-2 minutes, turning over occassionally until the bagels have puffed up slightly. remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.

6. once they are all cooked, sprinkle with your favourite topping, then bake in the oven for 10 - 15mins. *this is a total judgment call depending on how hot your oven gets. go by the colour of them, yummy golden brown is perfect....jet black is not!

7.place on a cooling rack and eat as soon as possible. *i had mine while they were still scorching with butter and razzberry jam.

things to do today

- stop reading fashion blogs and get dressed
- wash hair with new thickening shampoo and conditioner
- paint toenails psychedelic pink
- bake baguels
- sort through wardrobe and remove anything not worn or considered in last 2 years to make packing easy peasy
- think of something wonderful to cook for dinner
- smile through the pmt and don't be horrid to my boy


- change light bulbs

why does it always rain on me?

grey, wet, miserable, cold, slushy, january must be the worst of months no? so instead of wingeing all month about it, i've given myself a deadline of until the end of the day to get all my misery out of my system and then i'm just going to shut the hell up about it.

onto better things-things worth talking and thinking about it. 2010 will be the year of creativness, i've got lots of ideas, and i will make them happen, enough procastinating...Nike had a point - "just do it"

pretty things, pretty delicate things, pretty delicate things that hopefully other people will like! stay tuned for them, it may take some time but i'll get there... inbetween all the sleeping, talking, laughing, drinking, eating and chilling out i plan to do this year. surely the easiest resolutions ever!?!

so although today may be a struggle, for me and those around me! tomorrow i will be better

We've come a long way baby.....

its been a very long time since i posted anything, and yes, i have guilt. however, i have been very busy.
i have seen 2 promotions at work and am now running a store of my very own in one of the countries largest shopping centres and the rest of the time, i am spending time with my ross and sleeping because working so hard leaves very little time for anything else.

i have become a godmother again to a gorgeous little boy called taylor and he is charming, funny and very very loveable.

ross and i have continued to co-habit very nicely and are looking forward to moving into a new flat in 2 weeks time.

i won't go away again.........

south korea

busan, south korea
busan fish market
street restaurants
our travels took us to busan in south korea. and what a shock. where nagasaki was warm, peaceful and unbelieveably clean, busan was noisy, smelly, dirty,cold and a total assault on the senses. it was also amazing. packed full of people, there was a distinct lack of westeners. as such, we drew rather alot of attention and i experienced a little of what it would be like to be a celebrity. i didn't enjoy it. being stared at all the time made me very self concious and i was sure i had food on my face, or my flies were undone or something similar. the fish market in busan is fantastic. they are all alive and freshly caught and i've never seen such weird and wonderful creatures. can anyone tell me what the pulsating pink headless things that look disturbingly like penis's are? i couldn't find anyone that spoke english well enough to tell me!

too cute

these lovely little cuties performed local traditional dances for us on our last day in japan. they were so good for being so young, i'm sure my attention span wasn't this good when i was a child. bless them!

peace please

visiting the site of the atomic bomb in nagasaki caused a mixture of emotions. peaceful, sad, still, shocked, angry. the sculpture in the top picture was made to go in the peace garden that now occupies ground zero. when the bomb was dropped, everything for miles and milea and miles was destroyed, everything disintergrated. in part of the park now, there are the remains of what used to be the prison. all that was left of the immediate area is a few bricks and a little bit of twisted metal. the sculpture reminds people that such an atrocity will not be tolerated again. you can see that his right arm points to the sky. he is pointing at where the bomb actually exploded - before impact with the ground. his left arm is poised over the earth with signals that he is ready, ready to defend his piece of earth, his country and his people.

it was really moving being there, you are forced to think about the horrors that occur, then and now and in turn think about the innocent people who lost and loose their lives. it's very sad but very peaceful. everything now is concentrated on peace. the origami peace doves that schools send for the memorial are so beautiful in their colours and precision and quantities and the gardens are so quiet that it's easy to forget what it all stands for.

light of my life

the imperial hotel, osaka

nagasaki, japan
busan, south korea

as well as the traditional lanterns that you'd expect to find in asia, the chandaliers that were in the breakfast room at the imperial hotel in osaka were stunning. blown glass in beautiful colours made them cast colourful shadows around the room as the sunlight hit them. and i just wish that i had been around at night time to see these lanterns in the bottom picture alight. it's things like these lanterns that remind you where you are in the world, as it is definatly not something you come across at home.
i love them and wish for a garden big enough to fill with them on a warm summers night for a party....sigh.

nagasaki, japan

how awesome to be able to walk down a high street and be warm and relaxed and peaceful. to be able to stop for a while and watch thousands of koi swimming about without a care in the world. to be able to (gingerly) walk across a stepping stone bridge and not fall in. and how if you take a right turn off that highstreet and walk up a hill for 30 seconds you come across the most beautiful temples imagineable. hidden deep in the hustle and bustle are quiet oasis' of calm and tranquility. in the top picture you can just see a buliding the the right of the gates of the temple. it's multi storey carpark!!! but once inside you'd never know the city was out there!

we're home

Nagasaki, Japan

after a couple of weeks of trying to get back into the swing of real life (and cooking for myself!) i find myself back on my blog. i've thought about trying to tell you what the trip was like, but i can't do it justice so i won't try in any great detail. instead i shall post one or two pictures a day and add comments if necessary. all that can be said is that it was the holiday of a lifetime and i dream of going back.

johnny depp appreciation society

2 johnny depp films in as many nights - and both of them picked by my lovely boyfriend.
mmmm, is he trying to sweet talk me?
last night we watched blow. very good but very disturbing seeing mr depp with a paunch and in a shell suit (only at the end)
and tonight it's donnie brasco. also very good, of course we've seen it before on more than one occasion. this was the film that inspired our visit to mulberry street in nyc last year. a very good day spent in old skool pizzerias with photos of the old days on the walls. old faces, friends and villains.
a very good day indeed.
tomorrow night - pirates of the caribbean!!! join me won't you?

yee ha bayyybee - i'm outta here

and although i am using more conventional means of travel to venture across the globe - i'm definatly this excited. and excitable! i do believe i am starting to drive people a little mad!
OH WELL
let the last minute lists begin....
to do
1. get travellers cheques
2. get cash changed to local currency
3. buy travel insurance
4. pack suitcase
5. re-pack suitcase innumerable times
6. but ross some trousers and a new tie
7. toast the success of our narrow (waaaay t0o narrow) escape.

so cheers!
here's to the next 4 weeks!

hallelujah

we are still waiting for our visas

another appointment at the chinese embassy tomorrow.
we won't know anything until tomorrow.
fingers crossed for tomorrow.
hope they aren't so bloody vague tomorrow.

a blip on the holiday horizon

a travel visa.
seemingly obvious.
our imminent trip to the far east hangs in the balance of this piece of documentation.
next monday at 6pm we are due to fly out of heathrow, hong kong bound. however, as having had no part in the booking of this trip (ross's mam is kindly taken care of the booking therefore the financing - many many thanks necessary) i've been oblivious the the fundamentals. on receiving confirmation of the trip, she was told, in writing that we didn't require travel visas.
fast forward 6 months to 1 week before travel. a letter arrives in the post. a very scary letter. a letter that states if we do not have visas we will not be allowed into the countries we are desperately looking forward to entering. this letter is dated jan 24th. had this letter arrived on time there would be no problem. the letter did not arrive on time. the letter has had everyone on the hop for the past 36 hours.
cue a rush to the post office clutching passport photos and passports, throwing them at the post office assistant and demanding they arrive at the other end of the country within 24hours. no room for lost post on this occasion thank you. ross's step father has an emergency appointment at the chinese embassy in london first thing tomorrow morning. and until then, everything hangs in the balance.
we might not be able to go.
our suitcases stare at us menacingly from the corner of the bedroom. i can't bear to look at them. all my lists, written, re-written and then written and edited again are laughing at me for imagining that things might run smoothly for once.
a small blip.
my manager at work is on standby to factor me back into the rota at a moments notice because i might not need 3 weeks off anymore!
how depressing will work be if i'm there,at work, and not in hong kong? it'll be hellish. thinking what i should/could/would be doing instead. instead of smiling at people and telling them why they should part with their cash for beautiful shoes. if we don't go i can't imagine i'll be very good at my job in those 3 long weeks.
we have our fingers crossed.
ross's mam is understandably beside herself. i'd hate to be the person from the travel company who picks up the phone when she calls to complain about this monstrous fuck up.
we have our fingers crossed and tomorrow will mostly be spent waiting for the phone call that will inevitably come.
i'm not sure i'll be able to pick up the phone......
we have our fingers crossed.

the beauty of this man astounds me....

gratuitous letchery
happy weekend! and sweet sweet dreams (wink wink)