My Weekend Has Been Spent #7

• Starting as I meant to go on, by attending a really wonderful production of Fleabag at the Marlowe Studio in Canterbury. A great show, and I’ll post a proper review soon!
• Attempting to take a discreet selfie – proof that I really did go out on a Friday night! Yes, me! I went out!
• Waking up Saturday morning to breakfast hand prepared and delivered by Mr Hello. He don’t half treat me well, don’t he!
• Attacking the spare room. Still not complete, but at least now it’s tidy enough that I have evidence that there is a bed in there! We’re hoping to get the walls and ceiling replastered and painted soon, so it looks even more presentable before some guests descend for the wedding.
• Heading into Rochester to pay the deposit for our wedding rings. We are getting them from Kaizen Antiques, a jeweller on the High St. Lovely shop, lovely service, terrrrrrible website.
• Taking our luncheon at the institution of Pizza Express. We got a lovely private table and partook of some rather delicious food. Many despise any chain restaurants or stores on our historic High Street, and while I can see the point, it’s also hard to argue with something like Pizza Express, that has consistently good food and good hygiene standards, when other local businesses get very poor hygiene ratings indeed! Blergh.
• Taking some more surreptitious selfies in PE. Proof I was out of the house!
• Heading back home for an afternoon nap that turned into an early night.
• Waking on Sunday morning bright and early – getting the ol’ body clock back into gear now that I have a new job! (PS I have a new job! Starting in April)
• Improvising a breakfast pizza which was weird and delicious but being unable to share the ingredients with you because you will judge me – you definitely will.
• Heading to the gym because I am sad and I have a dress to fit into, goddamn it.
• Taking a turn about TK Maxx with the chap. Two new frying pans being the result.
• Heading home and changing into my “no-one must see me in these” clothes in preparation for:
• Deep cleaning the house from top to bottom. God this task is very dull but somehow immensely satisfying.
• Cooking a roast that worked (yay) and Yorkshire puds for the first time that also worked (double yay)!
• Sitting on my derriere for the rest of the evening, watching Call the Midwife & Poldark. Quite satisfactory indeed.
• Grabbing my laptop to write this. I’m really keen to keep the blogging mojo a-flowing.

Next weekend my goals are to actually leave the house properly and possibly even talk to someone who is not a cat or my future husbo! Chance of success remains to be seen. Hope you had a fab weekend – I am terribly nosey so if you fancy chatting in the comments please do!

The Hendersons Will All Be There

Last weekend I had the pleasure of singing an old favourite Beatles tune for about 30 minutes after visiting the newest addition to Rochester High Street. Reader, I give you:

Situated in the wonkiest shop in Rochester, possibly the world, The Hendersons is a treasure trove for vintage lovers and discerning shoppers alike. I know the shop well, by which I mean I know the physical shop, as I used to live in the tiny flat below!

I had heard rumblings of the shop opening as The Hendersons have held a stall for months at the Rochester Flea. Mr H and I are known for a deep and enduring love of a good rifle about for treasures, but we’re so overwhelmed with charity shops in Rochester that a bit of careful curation makes a real difference to my mental state, and therefore my likelihood to have a proper look around.

 

See? Happy as Larry.

 

There was a rather fabulous orange sectional sofa in the store that looked decidedly 70’s, but I didn’t manage to get a picture, because there was someone purchasing it!

The reasons that I am chuffed to bits about The Hendersons opening in Rochester are thus:

• Small entrepreneurship (especially where women are employed in key roles) is ace
• The Hendersons is run by a young couple – see, the youth of today aren’t too bad after all!
• That shop gets so much attention because of it’s unusual shape, that there should be something in there to benefit from it all!
• Their stock and styling is so deliciously on point that it makes me feel excited for Rochester. The more design-y and bespoke that Rochester gets, the better, in my book.
• Stores like this breed other stores like this, which makes people like me want to stay in Kent. We don’t need to go to London to get fabulous homewares, or to find that perfect gift for that friend that likes things just so.
• I bought a candle from there that smells good and though it cost a lot more than I would usually spend on a candle I didn’t feel remotely guilty because I am supporting a small business. Altruism for the win! (not sure it actually counts as altruism but I don’t care)

Mr H and I had a good all poke about, we got lovely attentive (but not too attentive) service and afterwards we got a delicious piece of cake from Bruno’s French Bakes to celebrate.

All in all, not a bad Saturday indeed.

This Week I Was Grateful For #3

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this photo over the weekend. I asked Mr H to take a quick snap of me outside Restoration House, the most amazing Elizabethan Mansion sitting smack bang in the middle of Rochester.

I don’t always love photos of myself (let’s face it, who does?) but I love this photo. He’s captured me in a joyful moment, with the gratitude I feel about being back in England, in the middle of winter, wandering around with a ruddy marvellous chap, just radiating out of my face.

Did I tell you that I’m just so happy to be back?

Wedding Planning: The Shoes

I am aware that this post is terribly superficial, but for once (well….more than once but WHO’S COUNTING) I remain unapologetic.

You see, since my return to the UK, wedding planning has ramped up a notch or two, because we suddenly realised we had 150 people to feed and drink in just under six months time (check out my new countdown to the right), so we thought we better actually make sure that there’s something for them to do when they arrive.

Obviously the first point of action to address was my wedding shoes. I give you:

Okay, first things first, they never tell you at Blogging School* that it’s really hard to take pictures of your own feet that don’t look tremendously weird. Secondly, please disregard all the visible cat hair. Third of all, how great are these shoes? I adore them.

I’m not what you would usually call a ‘glittery’ kind of a gal, although I have my moments. I had my heart originally set on these pair of Rachel Simpson Blush Suede shoes, but when walking through Debenham’s last week, my eyes spotted these new beauties. At £26 they were over £150 cheaper than the Rachel Simpson ones. I’m not a millionaire but I’m also not opposed to spending money for good quality. I really had to convince myself to buy this cheaper pair! It’s totally absurd.

You may agree that I’ve fallen down the wedding industry hole, you know, the one that tells you that your wedding is the best day of your life and that you can totally justify spending three times as much on something because it’s for your ‘wedding’. The thing is, I want to be as generous as I can at my wedding, both in spirit and materially, for myself and my guests. I very much doubt Mr H and I will ever throw as big a party ever again. I want it to be amazing. But I also don’t want to bankrupt myself, and more to the point I don’t want to lose sight of my own personal values – the ones I use to independently judge the worth of something, rather than just swallowing the copy of wedding blogs that tell me that more somehow always means more.

In summary: I bought some new shoes to wear at my wedding. They were cheap and I LOVE THEM.

* Who am I kidding, I certainly did not go to Blogging School. Perhaps I should?

The Everyday Rhythm

Week 2 of my return to England is imminent, and so I thought a little catch up might be on the cards to let you know how I’m settling in. It’s been an up and down sort of a week to be honest, but let’s start with the positives because that makes us all feel better, no?

UP:

• Actually making it through Customs at Heathrow. Despite the fact I am doing absolutely nothing illegal, somehow the powerful stares of the Border Agency staff make me regret every decision I have ever made, particularly in the lead up to the moment when I’m asked to plonk my passport on their tiny desks. I made it through, as you may have guessed, and it was a GREAT MOMENT.
• Home. Bed. Cats.
• Wandering around Rochester and feeling both the foreigner and the local. An odd yet pleasing sensation.
• Picking up long awaited packages from the Post Office. Hello engagement present vouchers and Liz Earle Skincare. Nice to meet you.
• Having time to make dinner in the evening. I love to cook, so this is fun for me!
• Catching up with dear friends and feeling as if nothing has changed. Em, I adore you.
• Snuggling with Mr Hello in the morning for five more minutes before walking him into work.
• Getting excited for phase 2 of Operation Finish The House Before the Wedding. The phase where we freak out, that is.
• Exciting meetings with exciting people about future potentially exciting jobs. I may very well soon be an employed teacher! EXCITING.
• Catching up with Mr Hello’s folks. They are totally delightful and indulged my loves of their son, eating lots of delicious food, and looking at old photos. A Sunday well spent.
• Sitting in our study (above) and watching people walk past our house as I type.

DOWN:

• Turns out it’s not that much fun not having a job. On the one hand, there is more time for Parks and Recreation viewing, but on the other there is more time for getting the guilts about being a burden on society, and more to the point a burden on Mr H. Plus it’s a bit boring.
• No Polish passport as yet, which means no working until it arrives. A couple more weeks, but then hopefully I will have that burgundy booklet it my hot little hand!
• Missing my family. Goddamn it, why do I have to feel the feelings?
• Extreme hair has arrived. Something in the British water takes a while for me to adjust to, and in the meantime my hair freaks out in an unmanageable way, making me feel more self conscious than I already was. Thanks Life!
• To top it off, I am having a particularly bad skin phase, hence the timely arrival of the Liz Earle goodies.
• I have a wedding to co-plan in six months. How, where and why did that happen? Last time I checked, it was over a year away. God preserve me.
• It’s effing cold here and I am a delicate flower who has become accustomed to a certain level of UV radiation every day.
• This may well be the most boring thing in the world to approximately everyone, but last night I had a dream that Hannibal Lector (yep, that one) was showing me his latest victim, and opened up a hole in the ground to reveal a naked and screaming Jodie Foster within. I was subsequently stabbed. Got a bit freaked out by that one, I must admit, and it was only worsened by the fact that when I checked the time it was only……11:57 pm. Not even midnight, shamefully. I then had to calm myself down by reading blogs and looking at silly gifs on Tumblr until 2am. Whoops.

Hope all is well in your lives. Seeing as I am currently a member of the unemployed, I suspect I will be dropping in to HSGS Headquarters on a semi regular basis. Here’s to seeing a bit more of you!

This Week I Was Grateful For #2

Being able to sit back in a deckchair at my aunt’s house, having had a swim, whipping out my book (The World According to Garp by John Irving if you’re interested) and think ‘well life ain’t so bad after all’.

Three days to go everyone. Three days until I get on a plane with my life, and make my way back to my new home. It ain’t so bad at all.

9 Superficial Things I’m Looking Forward to in England

Rochester Cathedral & Castle in January 2013

You may or may not have suspected there are some rather important reasons why I can’t wait to get back to England. I’ve built a life there, and there are lots of lovely people I’ve missed hugely while I’ve been back in Australia. But I thought today, I’d focus on the trivial things, those little stupid things you notice are different when you move to a different country. So without further ado, here are the 9 Superficial Things I’m Looking Forward to in England:

• Buying wine in the supermarket – Look, rumour has it this is possible Over East in Australia, but it hasn’t caught on yet in ye olde Perth. It’s just so darn convenient to pick up a bottle when you’re getting your week’s veg as well. This is definitely a plus point of English Supermarkets
• Having a bazillion supermarkets to choose from – In Australia we have Coles, Woolworths and IGA as the three biggest food markets. Even then, I’d go so far as to say that IGA is more like the UK Co-op, usually smaller stalls and can be a tad more expensive. It is a co-operative of smaller outlets though, so you don’t feel too bad spending the extra $$$. In England, you’ve got your M&S, Sainsbury, Morrison, Waitress, and Tesco, not to mention online shopping through Ocado. I just love the variety. What can I say, I’m just interesting like that
• Boots – Oh my god Boots. Not the footwear kind, but this kind. There is no equivalent in Australia. Let that just sink in for a moment. There is no equivalent in Australia. I would say that Priceline would be the nearest, but it’s nowhere near the ‘institution’ level that Boots has reached in the UK, plus it’s a lot less common and much smaller stores. I’m looking forward to having several aimless wanders around my local, contemplating all of the many potions and lotions they stock. Oh yes.
• Getting post on Saturdays – I’m pretty sure getting post is quite exciting for most people these days, even if a lot of the letters I get aren’t handwritten letters. But it’s definitely handy having that 6th day to receive mail. It means if one is a bit slack on the old card sending side of things, one has an extra day’s leeway that one simply wouldn’t have out in the Colonies!
• Netflix – Oh my god Netflix. I do know you can get it by some strange hocus pocus in Australia if you are into that sort of thing, but in my lovely Kentish house, it’s hooked up through our Apple TV and my god if that isn’t dashed convenient. I’m looking forward to awkwardly draping myself over Mr Hello on the sofa while we watch some BBC Drama (preferably a period piece ploise) when I get back.
• TK Maxx – What more can I say? If you’ve never been to TK Maxx you haven’t lived. It’s an outlet shop for a wide variety of brands, but I mostly go there for the homewares. The best way to describe it is like an Op Shop/Charity Shop, but filled with new things. You aren’t guaranteed to come out with anything useful every time, but some times you may stumble across an Orla Kiely bedspread for a third of the price. Just saying’.
• Jacket Potatoes in every single café – Evidently if you don’t serve jacket potatoes on your lunch menu in England you can GTFO. As a potato loving Pole, I see no problem with this. No delicious cheesy potatoey problem at all
• Tuna & Sundried Tomato Baguettes from Tony Lorenzo – Now this is particular to my little neck of the woods in Medway, but I have to say, this is the best sandwich ever. I always get this when I visit. It’s just the tastiest, most satisfying thing. Apart from jacket potatoes of course. 
• John Lewis – It really is the stupidest thing, but I truly believe John Lewis is my happy place. I feel so much more calm walking around the store, and it’s homewares section makes me feel like all is right with the world. I very rarely actually buy anything there, if I’m honest, but it’s calming white walls have an exquisite effect on me. See I told you it was superficial.

There are many reasons to celebrate returning to the UK. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the stupid things that make you happy though. This list is definitely going to make the transition from 40 degree summer madness in Perth to a nippy 4 degree England a little bit smoother.

I’ll be posting my list of trivial things I’ll miss about Australia very soon, so if this kind of thing is your jam, stay tuned!

The Little Traditions

I don’t know if it’s the New Year fabulousness that’s going on around me at the moment, or whether it’s got something to do with getting MARRIED THIS YEAR and the prospect of starting my own family, but this week I’ve thought a lot about the traditions of my family.

Last night was spent with these two lovely women, and we played cards, drank wine and ate delicious snacks. It dawned on me that I’ve experienced a version of this night many, many times before in my life. You see, we’re a card playing family. From a tender age I had card rules and etiquette drummed into me, especially by my slightly terrifying Grandpa with the booming voice.

I haven’t played cards in a long time, and so last night was a balm to my soul. I’ve felt unsettled since Mr Hello left, as the reality of leaving Australia soon myself becomes more and more apparent. I miss our family traditions. I don’t feel so far apart from my loved ones when I have traditions to ground me.

‘Our’ game is called May I, which is a relation of Big Bertha, Frustration and Rummy. We have played it for as long as I can remember, even when I was so small that the 11 cards were too much for my tiny hands to hold. I’d like to teach it to Mr H, and keep this card playing ritual alive. After all, he’s going to be a part of the family very soon, so he better get with the program before it’s too late 😉

Do you have any family traditions that make you feel connected?

 

The End of Twenny Fourteen

I love him.

My Mum, Me, Mr H and my sister. My Dad was also there, but I have my eyes spectacularly shut in the photo with him, so Papa, I’m afraid you miss out.

 

If you’ve snuck a peek at my Instagram account over the last week or two you may have noticed that a *rather* special chap has made a reappearance in my life. That’s right folks, I’ve just had two quite fabulous weeks here in Perth with none other than Mr Hello himself. Our year of the dreaded LDR was ended at disgusting-o’clock on the 18th of December.

We’ve spent two weeks gazing longingly into each others’ eyes and being unrepentantly loved up, celebrating his first ever Australian Christmas (the heat, OH THE HEAT), and more importantly, spending some quality time at the beach. It’s been delightful, truth be told. We even managed to have a relaxed engagement party last night at Matilda Bay.

I’m due to head back to the UK in three weeks, and so now that Mr H has made his way back to the cold before me, it’s time to knuckle down and get to packing (how I loathe the word). I’m excited to return, but also experiencing a strange kind of emotion…almost as if….I might….miss living in Australia? It’s absurd, really, considering the fact that I have more or less spent this year wishing I was back at home in Kent, but now the time is very nearly upon me I find myself rather reluctant to leave. The heat I can take or leave, and yes I am well aware of what a terrible Australian that makes me :), but it’s really the people here that I will miss dreadfully. Which is exactly what I said about leaving Rochester all those months ago. I guess the heart and head get used to living wherever they find themselves to be.

It’s been a wonderful Christmas. It’s been an amazing 2014. Here’s to more of the same and better next year.

My Weekend Has Been Spent #5

• Putting on a full face of makeup for the first time in what feels like forever
• Mixing my two beloved Revlon Colorburst Matte Lip Balms together to make the most perfect coral lip colour. Deeeelightful. I used 245 Audacious and 210 Unapologetic, or as the French translation goes Sans Remorse. Guess which one I prefer?
• Getting dressed in my new yellow Karen Walker dress
• Carrying all of my belongings to my Aunt’s house, and getting more and more enraged at myself, for having so deciding to bring so many things; the weather, for raining on my blow dried hair; every other person on the bus, who somehow could not wait for me to out my 100,000 bags down before them, and just barged past me struggling away. IT’S TIME TO GET A CAR SAM
• Partaking in a delicious High Tea at Rochelle Adonis in Highgate, with the women in my Mum’s side of the family for the civilised version of my Hen do. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and I really enjoyed the whole ceremony of it. The service was faultless and attentive. Having said that, it’s the kind of thing that I don’t ever need to do again. That’s no reflection on the quality of food, service or my company, it just transpires that perhaps High Tea is not really my thing.
• Going outfit shopping with my decidedly hipster Mother. She’s looking for her Mother-of-the-Bride outfit, and we had a bit of a laugh when we saw what Mother-of-The-Bride dresses actually look like most of the time. The dress actually isn’t that horrible, it’s just definitely not my Mum’s style. Definitely not. It is actually really hard to find cool and yet wedding appropriate dresses or suits for arty people. If you have any tips, please send them my way!
• Heading out for a drink and a chin wag with my Mum. She lives Over East, and so even though I’ve been in Australia all year, I’ve only seen her three times! You miss out on a lot of the day to day stuff in life when you’re so far apart.
• Meeting up with my aunt and uncle and a couple of their friends for dinner at The Old Swan Brewery. We had a great meal, and they’re really familiar with the restaurant, so all was just splendid until a waitress spilt a glass of champagne down the back of my aunty…..oops. Did not go down particularly well.
• Trying to fit 6 people in a 4 person taxi. It doesn’t work, and you may well find a 60 year old woman sitting on your lap before they get turfed out by the sensible taxi driver
• Waking up with a teeny tiny hangover. Oops
• Going shopping again with my Mum. No joy on Saturday either looking for wedding outfits. I daresay she’ll find something back home though 🙂
• Making our way down to Fremantle and having a wander
• Stopping for lunch at Bread in Common. They do the most amazing bread there, and we had some with dukkha, prawns and asparagus plates, alongside a cheeky glass of rosé.
• Heading back to my aunt’s house for an LLD (little lie down).
• Sneaking in a FaceTime with Mr Hello ❤
• Having pizza, wine and chats with my Mum and Aunty. Good quality girl time.
• Falling asleep having drunk a tiny bit too much once again.
• Waking up to the sounds of a family breakfast being prepared.
• Trying to be helpful, but being a bit useless and ultimately deciding the most helpful thing was to get out of the damn way.
• Having a big fry up (hash browns for the win!) with my extended family.
• Saying goodbye to my Mum, knowing that for the first time in 5 years, I will see her again within a week!
• Heading home to DETOX. Oh my, all the wines happened this weekend.

 

How was your weekend?