London Calling

Couldn't resist such an obvious title :P

I had such a ball in London, it was a truly perfect day out. We spent the morning touring Convent Garden and being proper tourists by snapping pictures of everything.

We headed to Carluccio's, after a recommendation from Lawrence's parents, and it was wonderful. It was such a treat to go to a swanky restaurant, but the prices were not unreasonable. Plus, they had an extensive gluten free menu. We both had a drink and a big plateful of pasta for just under £25 ($37.60) for it all. And the food was exceptional, I'd definitely visit Carluccio's again.

(sneaky picture of Lawrence enjoying his dish :P)

In other news, I got splashed horribly on my way to Uni the other day. A huge truck came hurling past and I got drenched from head to foot. It was so bad, my friend I walk with to Uni took me back to her house to get a fresh pair of jeans and a hair dryer! What is it with this nasty weather we've been having? Oh I long for the sunshine and spring.

In stitchy news, I've been working on Lottie's New Scooter and loving every stitch. It's on aida, which makes it simple to do in the evenings, but it's got so many colours included in the design so it never gets dull. I plan on leaving the backstitching until I've got more time in the holidays, if I finish it before then. I can't wait for a bit of extra time in the Easter break

 to do more stitching and sewing things :)

Sorry for the dark picture, I blame the miserable weather, again!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there! I've dutifully sent my card and will be taking a small gift to my mum when I visit my parents at the end of the month :) I've got a much needed day off tomorrow and will be heading out to the Farmer's Market with my housemate, bliss :)

Best wishes to all,

 

PS I have another blog where I'm writing a lot more writerly things, reviews and articles and such. If anyone would like to check it out, please go ahead :)

http://thedomesticstoryteller.wordpress.com/

Adventures

I had a brilliant time in London! We managed to squeeze in so much into our overnight stay. Our hotel room was gorgeous, and I just had to take a snap of the posh miniatures :)



We had a lovely dinner at Bella Italia before heading to The Queen's Theatre to see Les Miserables. It was impressive and powerful and one to be seen. I'm looking forward to seeing the film version that's coming out soon.

The next day, we had a long browse around Borough Market and managed to find the gluten-free bakery stall. I was very excited about this, as gluten-free goodies are often hard to come by. I bought some brownies, and oh my they were good! So good, they were gone before I could reach for my camera :P

We then wandered around the Churchill Wartime Experience, which is a quaint museum filled with personal affects from the Second World War. WW2 is a bit of an interest to me, I find the home front and everything that goes along with it fascinating. Lawrie enjoys history too, so he quite enjoyed this museum, especially the Blitz experience where you walk around London streets that have been "bombed". It was really moving to see it almost for real.

We had lunch in Borough Market, as there were  many stalls offering lots of delicacies. Even though I have particular dietary requirements, I didn't have to look hard to find a delicious salad stall. I had a huge concoction of different salad bits that cost me the grand sum of £4.50. As I said to Lawrie, you could spent more than that in McDonalds! I'd pick food from the market any day :)

I took this snap of The Shard just as we were leaving London. It is officially Europe's tallest building and it certainly awe-inspiring when you get up close to it. 

As I sipped my coffee on the way home (we needed hot drinks to fend of the wintery winds), I recollected my time in London and why we were there. My Lawrence really does spoil me and I feel very lucky to call him mine. I know I have found a good man and I love him. Hello darling, if you're reading this!

When we had to come back to reality, I had to face my second essay of the semester. This one was a lot harder. So to provide motivation, I promised myself that I could have a rummage through my stash once it was done. I handed in my best efforts well on time, so I dived into my stash and surfaced with a new start.
It's Mississippi Riverboat by LHN.

My stitching bug is back with a bang :D I've got three projects on the go now, and I've just done an order from 123stitch.com as it was pay day not too long ago. I'll have yet another new start when the threads arrive.
I'm truly loving my stitching at the moment. I have such hectic days filled with Uni work and Cath Kidston work that it really is a pleasure just to sit and stitch. I'm sure I'm not alone in relaxing with my stitching :)
I've been blog reading too and it's been wonderful to be inspired by lots of new projects. Hope everyone gets to cross some stitches on this Hallowe'en night!

Best wishes,