Bargains to be made at 7:30am

It's a well established fact that I am not a morning person. So, having to get up at 5am for an early flight to Belfast (yes, again), was hard work indeed. And worried that I'd miss the flight, I of course arrived an hour before the Gate was even announced at the airport. Gatwick fortunately has a nice selection of shops which were all open and so it happened that at 7:30am I made these great bargains at Zara:

£3.32 - really!

Hm, crap photo which doesn't show the gathered detail at the bottom
but it does show that the dress is quite see-through...
but only £8.32 and it actually looks very nice on

The Modern Pantry - finally!

I discovered this lovely restaurant last summer and even though it's just a 10 minute walk from my office, it's taken me until now to finally go! And only because I was taken to lunch there.

And what can I say: it's a really nice place with a great menu. Very often, I only find 1-2 dishes I'd like to eat which means making my order pretty easy but at the same time, is a little disappointing but with their menu, I'd been happy to try almost everything! Which surely must mean that I will return.

I'm afraid I don't have any photos to share, you will have to explore for yourselves! We had the lamb and the tempura battered soft shell crab and the olive oil and orange cake to share.

Baldrick and Mr. Toad

The Duchess Theatre has been hosting the Royal Opera House production of The Wind in the Willows (last performance tomorrow, 1 Feb). The only thing I knew was that it's a famous English children's book. So, for just a tenner (thanks to another Time Out voucher), I decided to check it out. And it was definitely worth it!

Tony Robinson - aka Baldrick from Blackadder - plays the narrator. And again I was very pleased with myself for recognizing him! :-) The costumes are cute, the dark badger is cool, Mr Toad is annoyingly and convincingly self-centred and the story of friendship is heart-warming.

confused

A couple of weeks ago, I met somebody (and to my embarrassment, I can't actually remember who, when or where...) who said about herself that she was a problem-solver. She enjoys solving problems. And my immediate thought was: WHY would you like that? I like it when there are no problems. Sometimes, when I get emails from certain people, just seeing them sitting in my inbox stresses me out. Chances are they will mean trouble. And 'trouble' in my job generally just means work that I am not keen on. So, even though my experience has taught me that I can handle most situations, I don't like complications. And this applies to life in general. I prefer things to be simple and straightforward.

I like it even less of course, when I don't know what to do. Sometimes it helps to step back from the situation and often, when you don't consciously think about it, you have an 'Eureka' moment. I unfortunately lack the patience to calmly accept that I might not have the solution immediately.

This leads me back to the post title: I am feeling confused about a particular situation. And haven't been able to work out what to do. Or even what not to do. Tricky.

For now I am trying to practice patience, in the hope that the solution will come to me. Ideally in my sleep. Cause that would be quite cool, wouldn't it?

Sparkly

Thanks to a wowcher voucher, I got these five beautiful earrings for just £10 + postage from Evoked Design (retailing at £139 - it's madness!):

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2013

You can still catch the exhibition (£3) at the National Portrait Gallery until 9 February.
Out of more than 5,000 entries, a small number are on show including of course the prize winners. I like photos. I very often think though that the charm of a photo is about the object/subject than the photographer. That clearly just reflects my arrogant and naive viewpoint that anyone can take good photos... ;-)

I liked most of the photos in the exhibition, but I would have picked different ones to win a prize. And some of the explanations about the photos just seemed made up and poncey. But again: what do I know?

All in all, another reminder of how much beauty and weirdness is out there to be discovered. If we decide to really look around us. And maybe, just maybe, I should send in a photo for the 2014 competition (or hundreds to increase my chances!).

Oscar, Justin and a very angry Carey

The Coen brothers' new film is out in the UK: Inside Llewyn Davis.

Given the promotion around the film, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed that Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan didn't play a bigger role in the movie. Aside from that, I didn't actually know much of the story which is about Llewyn Davis, a folk singer, who was once part of a successful duo but after his partner's suicide is now trying his luck as a solo singer.

At one point in the movie, I thought to myself: Llewyn really behaves like an asshole. And all the shit that happens to him, he is responsible for himself really. Nevertheless, I like him! And I also thought that were bits when nothing much happens. But that was ok. I enjoyed the movie, but I can't really describe why. I just did.

The Byron myth

I'd heard about it, but had never tried one. The day had finally come!

On Saturday afternoon, the weather suddenly turned from moderate rain to a downpour complete with thunder and lighting. I don't think I've been caught in such bad rain for a while. By the time we arrived at Byron, we were soaking wet... (and I am talking about a 2 minute walk!) Probably a good thing that it's winter, cause otherwise, I would have seriously been tempted to take off my jeans!

As per the Byron philosophy, all burgers are served medium. And yes, it was delicious! Together with the oreo cookie milkshake - which really is a meal in itself and was equally delicious - it was very filling indeed. So, we hardly touched the courgette fries. Which was a real shame not only cause it's not nice to waste food, but also because there were very yummy, too. And thanks to S's charm we got complimentary nachos with guacamole and salsa - if you don't ask, you don't get :-)

Dining with dinosaurs

Last week I attended a Burns Supper at the Natural History Museum. Needless to say that it was an absolutely stunning venue choice! The museum (which is free to visit) itself is a great place, dressed up for a dinner, with dimmed and coloured lighting etc. made it extra special.

Food was delicious, whiskey not so much (just not my taste) and I didn't get home until midnight. And I ran into a number of acquaintances - nice to see how my professional network is continuously expanding.

£1.50/metre

I would have thought that London - just like any other big city - would have a wide range of fabric shops all over the place. Googling the topic though didn't help much. There is of course John Lewis and (even more expensive) Liberty but quite frankly the haberdashery shop in the smallish town near where I grew up seems to have more fabrics on offer than John Lewis! Or maybe I am misremembering this...

Anyhow, as Shepherds Bush (which gets praised by bloggers; check out Goldhawk Road) is at the other end of town for me, I decided to check out Walthamstow Market on Saturday. I was rather annoyed though when TFL was directing me to go all the way to central London (Green Park) to then take the Victoria Line to the North-East. There surely must be a quicker way to get there from where I live.

But it was all worth it! I found some nice patterned, flowy fabric for my sewing class, and also bought some cute fabrics for more cushion covers for practicing purposes. Last but not least, I also got some stretchy fabrics, which I will hopefully - one day - be able to turn into skirts. That's the plan anyway.

Besides, I had a lovely day with T and S. And as part of my ambitious plans, I will try to turn the colourful fabric that S bought into cushions (covers) for her. With hindsight, I wonder whether it's a bit early for me to accept orders. But on the other hand - what's the worst that can happen? :-)

I got very excited about what was on offer. And with prices starting at just £1.50 a metre, so many bargains can be made! I loved the shops that sell zips, buttons and other haberdashery stuff. I will definitely be back one day. Maybe, once I actually know how to sew basic stuff. Cause until then, there is a high risk of me just buying random fabric that won't ever turn into anything wearable/usable... (*looking at the stash of beads I bought for my jewellery making...*)

sewing class top fabric; cushion cover material
stretch fabric for some basic skirts

Titanic

A visit to Belfast is of course not complete without visiting the Titanic Quarter - which has undergone a complete regeneration. Aside from the Titanic which hosts an exhibition and has a number of conference facilities, you can also find the film studio where Games of Thrones (nope, have never watched it) is being filmed here. And the iconi Samson and Goliath cranes. Next to the Titanic, is the SS Nomadic, one of the ships that ferried passenger from land to the Titanic.

And this concluded our fun and well-organized fam trip. Off to the airport we went, and thanks to perfect timing, we didn't have to wait around for long before boarding started.

5* afternoon tea for lunch

The Merchant Hotel is known for its afternoon tea, which is available at lunch time, too. Check out their website for pictures - it really is a stunning place. And as per usual, I was full after the sandwiches and scone... so only managed to try one of the little cakes. But nothing is wasted, as the leftover cakes were kindly packed up for us.

The Roof Garden is currently themed as an Alpine Lodge
Don't you just LOVE that bathtub?

Inside Crumlin Road Gaol

The second day was started with a City Tour by bus which ended with a tour of Crumlin Road prison.
I think I've said this before, but I am finding it very hard to get my head round the Troubles and how this must have affected the people of the city. While I thought the prison was a very interesting place to visit, I wouldn't want to hold a social event there. It somehow doesn't seem right.

We got to see the cell for prisoners who had been sentenced to death, and the room where the hangings took place. I'm very glad that there is no capital punishment in this country anymore.

Bobby Sands mural; curbs painted in blue, white, red - you immediately knew which quarter you were in; peace wall

Government building on the Stormont Estate

Van the Man

As part of the fam trip to Belfast, we were invited to an exclusive Van Morrison concert at the Hastings Culloden Estate & Spa. After a three course dinner, first his daughter came on stage and then the man himself. I have to admit that while I had heard OF him, I'd never heard any of his music before the trip... Everyone was telling us as well, that he tends to be a bit of a grumpy character. He actually doesn't give many concerts anymore and generally doesn't much talk to the audience.

Well, he clearly had a good day - he was chatting between songs, and even came out for an encore! I overall enjoyed his music even if I wasn't so keen on the very jazzy songs. It was equally entertaining to watch a woman on a neighboring table getting rather drunk, obsessively tousling her hair and cosying up to the man next to her (while claiming that she wasn't sleeping with him....).

the champagne fountain in the lobby area

Venue touring

We had a whistle stop tour of the famous Hastings Europa Hotel. Famous for guests like Bill Clinton and also famous for being the most bombed hotel in the world. This primarily came about as the hotel was used by journalists during the Troubles - so what would have gotten better coverage in the media, then planting a bomb here?

On we went to the Waterfront Conference Centre - a purpose built venue - where we enjoyed a lovely buffet lunch. So, unfortunately, we were already full when we arrived at the Hilton (a very short walk from the Waterfront) for coffee and cakes.

Back for a quick change at the hotel, before we made our way to the Hastings Culloden. I'm not sure whether it was just the mini-bus or whether I'm generally not used to being in a car anymore, but I got rather car-sick...

Belfast Fam trip

It didn't get off to a great start, when the National Express bus was more than 30 minutes late. Two Terravision buses came by during that time, and I'll definitely book one of them next time I need to get to Stansted airport! I do think that the hypnotherapy sessions have really had a lasting effect. And this might sound silly to a lot of people, but in the past, this would have properly freaked me out! I would have been convinced to miss my flight and would have gotten very agitated and angry. Now, while I wasn't happy about having to wait in the cold and I was a little worried that I might miss the plane, there was primarily a feeling of: nothing I can do right now. And worst case scenario of missing the plane, is not the end of the world either.

Anyhow, I made it in time, flight to Belfast was short and pretty much turbulence-free and Sheila was waiting for me at the airport. It's still a cool feeling to be expected by somebody holding a sign with your name on it. By about 22:00, I was checked into the Radisson Blu hotel. Nice room, big bed but there was a strange smell in the room. Which fortunately had disappeared by the second night.

The next day, I met the three other women who were on the fam trip and we made our way to the City Hall to meet the Lord Mayor. The Hall is a beautiful building - go check it out! And the Lord Mayor is a funny man. I was finding the Northern Irish accent quite hard to understand though and was happy that I wasn't the only one who was struggling. As per tradition (at least, that's what we were told), we all left with a flower. It was a very nice touch and made me feel very welcome. It's great that the Lord Mayor acknowledges the importance of conference business for the city.

Familiar strangers (on a train)

Time for some culture: thanks to a discount, we got some reduced tickets to see Laurence Fox in Strangers on a train. I'd never seen the film nor read the book, but two of my colleagues had seen the play earlier this month and had been raving about it!

I absolutely loved the stage set! I'm always amazed about how much you can do with just a small stage, recreating different settings and moods. Also loved the dresses :-)! The play is actually quite different from the storyline in the film (I googled it afterwards). If you've seen the film, the ending will come as quite a surprise. Well, it came as quite a surprise to me, too. And I was so pleased that I recognized Miranda Raison (from Spooks) who plays Anne, Guy's second wife.

It's been a long and tiring week, so I have to admit that towards the end of the first half, I was struggling to stay awake... I did enjoy the play, partly as it's always nice to go and do something different and I don't go to the theatre very often. On the other hand, I didn't find the story very believable and the ending didn't make much sense to me. I loved Bruno and how his character changes but I wasn't all that keen on Guy/Laurence Fox. And I found Bruno's mother and Guy's first wife quite annoying which had a lot to do with their voices and American accents.

Jack Huston who normally plays Bruno was indisposed. I can't remember the name of the actor who took on the role for that night, but I thought he did a very good job. How do understudies prepare for this? It was also lovely how the rest of the cast acknowledged him at the end of the play.

More stand up comedy

I love British comedy! I know I'm a little behind, but I just watched Greg Davies' 'Firing cheeseballs at a dog' DVD. I laughed so hard, I cried!

January Birchbox

Philip Kingsley - Moisture Balancing Conditioner
Benefit - POREfessional (mine had just run out, so I am very happy with this!)
Rodial - Glamtox Night or Day SPF 15
Vasanti - Detox Nutrient-Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser
Premae - Anatomy Nutrients Instant Renewal Body Oil

Itsu Miso Soup Sachet (random...)

The place to be

It took me 33 years to get to Belfast for the first time. And now I can't get enough of it! Just came back from a two day fam trip. As per usual, we had a packed, fun programme. More to follow soon!
And next week, I'm flying over again for a day (work meeting). Too bad though that there are no direct flights from City Airport. It's a bit of a pain to get to any other airport... But hey, I am not actually complaining - it's very nice to have the opportunity to travel for work :-)

Ouch...

Not sure what caused this, but since yesterday I'm having back pain. I woke at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep as I wasn't able to find a position I was comfortable/pain-free in. With lots of rest, some painkillers, Voltarol gel and a hot water bottle, I'm hoping this will pass quickly.

At 3am, I also realized that my phone had died. I can't switch it on at all. Fortunately, I still have my old handset. As it's not a smartphone though, this will be a good reminder of what life was like when I couldn't check my emails 24/7!

On the upside, since I had my very first back-pain-incident about 8 years ago, I've hardly had any episodes. So, really, I am lucky!

No more Fergie time

Chelsea played ManUnited at home today. I checked the result at half-time: 2:0. Now, back in Fergie's days, this would have meant nothing much. In all likelihood, ManUnited would have turned it round before long or alternatively in the last few minutes of the game. Not today though: 3:1 thanks to a hat-trick by Eto'o.

I didn't watch any of the game, so other than the result, I don't know how it went - but the result is all that counts for me :-)

Justin and Mila

Hot. Both of them. I finally watched Friends with Benefits. Yes, it's a predictable story. And even without having watched it, we all know how it ends. But entertaining nevertheless and I even got a little tearful (cue the storyline about divorced parents, and a Dad with Alzheimers).

email personalities

Do you know those people who write witty, hilarious and engaging emails?
But when you meet them, not much of their sparkly, charming email personality comes across?

Do you know those other people who send bland, abrupt and even plain rude emails?
But when you meet them, they are actually nice and warm people?

And then there are of course those assholes who send shitty emails and are just as horrible in person.

Not to forget everyone's favourites who send nice emails and are nice people.
It's actually not that hard!

chop chop

I was in John Lewis to get a place mat. I'd put my sewing machine on a piece of fabric I had left over from my skirt project but thought that I should get something a bit prettier. After all, the machine is here to stay! And while I was there, I remembered that I've been meaning to buy a new chopping board for a while now. I was looking for something quite basic. But John Lewis is of course not the place for something plain and basic.

I went for this one in the end. Not only is it a lovely red I also hope it will mean the end to bread crumbs all over the place. On the back it has little spikes for meat carving (which I will probably never use...).

She's back in town

After months of travelling S is back in London and to celebrate we had Dim Sum at the Drunken Monkey in Shoreditch. A lot of restaurants only offer Dim Sum during lunch time, so it's nice to find a place that also offers it for dinner. Plus cocktails for just £4.50 during happy hour - my Monkey Strawberry Lemonade was delicious! Quite frankly, anything with 'monkey' in its name wins me over instantly!

And speaking of monkeys, how very fitting, that just round the corner from the restaurant, I saw this graffiti:

Perfect proposal!

Back to the Drunken Monkey: Friendly service, cool atmosphere, massive wooden tables, red lanterns - I'd go back. :-)

Mystical Mayhem

... was the theme for a showcase event at the Royal Horticultural Hall. The hall is huge and can be used for banqueting dinners (max capacity 350), conferencing, weddings and well, really anything.

Food was served from a number of stands and included sticky pork rice with watermelon (interesting and yummy combination!), fish and chips and the most delicious desserts: peanut butter and jelly cupcakes and  macaroons were my highlight.

The complimentary manicures were booked pretty quickly and so were appointments with the tarot reader, so unfortunately we missed out on those. We tested the photo booth and the graffiti wall though, and admired the acrobats. And went home with the biggest goodie bag EVER!

We got to create our own name badges. I could spend hours with this cool programme. Not exactly practical as you want delegates to register quickly and everyone designing their own name badge takes a while...

 

pretty napkins, soap, scented candles, the obligatory USB stick and post it notes, yummy chocolates and a lovely box with six cards from the Whistlefish Gallery

Ask me

I met a 'Well-Being Consultant' the other day.

No, I didn't know that this was a profession either. Amongst others, he offers coaching. Something I've been interested in for a while. I asked him how the process works. Especially, as I am not entirely clear what I want the coaching for. He said, he asks a lot of questions. Until I have my answer. And the answer is generally already there, but the right questions just haven't been asked yet.

Made a lot of sense to me. So I just need to learn to ask myself better questions.

very tight curls

I love Bradley Cooper but the perm really doesn't suit him. Christian Bale on the other hand is a sexy man even with a terrible comb-over and overweight.

I actually didn't know much about American hustle before I went to see it yesterday. But with that line up of actors I was curious to find out. And I really enjoyed it.

Colour block

This is as creative as it gets when it comes to my nails...

KIKO sand nails

Body myths

I have to say, I never thought I would get so excited about patterns, body measurements and calculating ease! Another cool sewing class tonight! And I found it so much easier than last term, where this seriously confused me...

I always thought that my shoulders are relatively broad in proportion to the rest of my upper body. Turns out that according to the pattern measurement, they are actually very much in line. It's my bum that's a little bigger than the size 10 on the top. As a teenager, I was forever bemoaning my non-existent behind (I had an amazing metabolism at the time and could eat whatever and didn't put on any weight!). What can I say: be careful what you wish for! ;-)

And the really good news is, that this hopefully means that cutting patterns will be relatively easy with not too much adjustments to be made. I've already had a look at patterns and have found some awesome dresses, tops and skirts. I will need quite a bit more practice but I can't wait to get started!

Cold hands, world food and lots of ice

The Ice Sculpture Festival was taking place at Canary Wharf this weekend. Perfect weather, too. Which meant it was pretty cold... But at least it wasn't raining. How some of the artists managed to work WITHOUT gloves on, I don't know! I also found it slightly worrying to see their electrical equipment, which included chainsaws and irons (?!) so close to the melting ice aka water.

Theme for the weekend competition was 'Fabulous Fashion'. I'm afraid my photos didn't come out very well... So, probably best to check out the gallery on the website, once they've updated it.

There was also a world food market with so many yummy things to choose from. I eventually opted for a wrap with minced beef, hummus, and salad. Fairly difficult to eat, as the wrap was generously filled and my fingers were numb by the end of it... but a good choice nevertheless!

She's here

My sewing machine arrived on Friday - and I've already done my first piece of sewing: another cushion cover. I went fabric shopping at John Lewis yesterday and went for a cute kids pattern - which includes a pink monkey! No-brainer really (and it was reduced)! I won't show you the finished product, as I've only just ordered some cushion filling, but I will share my first stitch with you, which I think looks amazingly straight. Admittedly, it went downhill from there... I think I will need to become more of a perfectionist for this to work out!

I was so proud for working out how to get the thread onto the bobbin, and just generally getting the machine to work. I'm in love! :-)

knotty

As my sister went back to Germany for a flying visit, she kindly brought me back this skirt from Gina Tricot, which I had discovered online. She warned me that it was quite tight, but that it had been too loose in the bigger size. Well, I think I might have to either lose a tiny bit of weight, or learn to walk gracefully in mincing steps... The problem with the tightness is that the fabric isn't as stretchy as I thought it would be.

But it's pretty, right?

That's how I like it

Fridays tend to be better than other work days. Primarily as they are so close to the weekend. That is, if you don't have to work on weekends. Otherwise, this probably doesn't apply to you. But yesterday was especially special: not only did I indulge in a 3 hour free lunch, I also had my massage of the month.

Thanks to another Time Out offer, I returned to the Beauty Suite at the Victoria Park Plaza hotel.
That's how I want all my weeks - no: all my days to finish: another heavenly massage with just the right amount of pressure. I nodded off a few times, which is a sure sign of relaxation. 

more bling

Ever since I bought some pretty rose gold earrings and a ring from astrid & miyu, I've kept an eye on their online shop. And when they offered 20% on everything earlier this month, it was just the excuse I needed to place another order.

I'm the client, here's my lunch

I know I've only been back to work for seven (working) days, so it's a bit early to evaluate my taking-food-to-work resolution. But as I am doing so well, so far,  I will share it with you anyway:
- one pub lunch with colleagues (that surely is allowed! We had to celebrate the New Year somehow!)
- brought in two dinner leftovers
- had two sandwich lunches - made from stuff bought from the supermarket and not the sandwich shop
- thanks to a meeting held in the office, had free sandwiches
- was invited to a three course client lunch at a venue:

beautiful table centre piece and salted and unsalted butter;
halibut starter, lamb main, rhubarb and apple variations dessert

And we (all) sucked big time at the after-lunch quiz that was food themed...

Banana Tree

crispy fish

I NEVER order fish in a restaurant. But given that it basically means I NEVER eat fish, as I also don't tend to cook it, I thought I'll mix it up a bit. It came battered and fried, with Jasmine rice, sweetcorn fritter and a glass noodle salad. Yummy! Banana tree is another restaurant that is part of the tastecard AND doesn't need to be booked in advance. This branch is just a short walk from Angel station and thus my office.

It was lovely to have a catch up with Z and even lovelier that I was treated to a belated birthday dinner :-)

Cha Cha Moon

I much prefer the restaurants that are part of the tastecard but don't require a booking. Cha Cha Moon is one of them. A short walk from Oxford Circus and with mains priced at just ~£10, it's a cheap and cool place even without the 2 for 1 discount!

Calamari, Wonton, crispy duck and seafood noodles

Pamplona Purple

One of my oldest OPI nail polishes and one that I don't use very often. It's a nice colour but just not my favourite and will always lose out to bright pinks and dark reds!

Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn

aka Out of sight, out of mind
Despite today's technology, facebook, skype, whats app & Co, it can happen so easily.

brother XN2500

My sewing machine is ordered and on its way!

Why ask?

I'm not a big fan of surveys. How representative are the results if only a small percentage bothers to complete them? In addition, you generally end up with the opinions of individuals and you can never cater to everyone's wishes - and why would you want to pay much attention to what ONE person has to say?

What annoys me the most though are factually incorrect comments. And as people (in general) don't leave their names, you don't get the chance to tell them that they are wrong. Last year, for example, somebody complained about the lack of internet access. When we had in fact paid for internet access, and had announced it through various media, too. Or the helpful suggestion this year to offer coffee on arrival. Needless to say that we do that and have done for the last few years... And these are just two of several examples.

On the other hand - and that's what I always focus on - we also get a lot of positive comments. And I do appreciate it, especially when people take the time to not only tick the 'excellent' boxes but also leave a nice 'free text'-comment.

COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

My tassimo delivery arrived - in a massive box! Can't wait to try them all.
First, I will have to find space in the cupboard though to store them...

Sunday roast

The Brownswood pub, near Finsbury Park

I've had better roast potatoes but the beef, cabbage and Yorkshire pudding were very nice! And even nicer not having to cook :-)

Clowns, snow and big balls

I went to see Slava's Snowshow on Sunday evening. It's difficult to summarize what the show is about. But it was really good fun and magical and funny and random and just great! Not sure I would have paid full price for the tickets, but Time Out offered tickets for just £15. I loved the costumes (those ears and long feet!), the music, the snow that came down on all the audience and it was so lovely to see everyone so happy. The little boy in the row behind us was just standing there smiling and in awe.

You can actually see the full show on youtube (it's not exactly the same version that I saw but from last year):

No reading at the Book Club

This weekend was just the right combination of chilling, partying, food and a weird, random and wonderful show.

On Saturday, S, T and myself were celebrating our birthdays at the Book Club in Shoreditch. It's a smallish club with a 'chill-out' area on the ground floor and a dance floor (and fussball table) in the basement. The only downside is that it is really noisy. I had wrongly assumed that the music/dancing would start maybe at 23:00 - but it was full on from the start. And I did feel a little old... How do people manage to dance for hours???

It was a lot of fun, especially as I had last been out clubbing (is that still a term that is being used?) back in August in Lisbon... And I also discovered that the best way to get chatted up is by simply doing nothing but sitting by yourself (I was just resting my feet and having a great time people-watching).

Tiny Buddha

Lori Deschene is the founder and site editor of Tiny Buddha - simple wisdom for complex lives. Here's how she describes her blog:
"Buddhist ideas underlie much of what gets published on the site. Kindness, compassion, mindfulness, selflessness, and non-attachment are common themes. However, you’ll also find posts about living out loud, finding your purpose, and pursuing your dreams. Tiny Buddha is a little bit Buddhism, but also a lot of wisdom from all religions, traditions, and cultures."

I started scanning the headings of her blog in order to find one entry to present here. And as it happens most of them struck a cord. I suppose it shows how much of our life worries and questions we ask ourselves are pretty universal. So, in the end, I decided to go with the one, that originally brought me to her website:

8 ways to be more confident: live the life of your dreams

1) Tap into the confidence you were born with
2) Know your strengths and weaknesses
3) Expect success
4) Trust your capabilities
5) Embrace the unknown
6) Take risks
7) Learn to receive praise
8) Practice confidence

Check out the blog entry for more details on each of the steps.

The Narrow Boat beats the Island Queen

As mentioned many times before, Angel boasts plenty of restaurants! Our office is a bit further down from Upper Street though, so the Island Queen is kind of our 'local'. This week we received their newsletter, announcing their special £20 for two meals including two drinks offer - valid throughout January. Great deal, we thought, and made our way to the pub on Friday.

Well, the welcome wasn't particularly warm. For some strange reason, the door was blocked by chairs... We already thought they were closed, but the waitress signalled that we should come in anyway, squeezing past the chairs. We did manage - but she then told us that the deal wasn't actually available (why one earth sent out a mailing???) and their menus weren't printed either and we'd have to wait another 15 minutes to even order food. Their loss... We decided to wander over to the Narrow Boat instead, where we all enjoyed delicious burgers and crispy wedges:

Online shopping is not the way to go either...

Every time.

I get excited about all the lovely dresses they have on asos and then when they arrive, they just don't look the same as on the web! Usually, the material is quite flimsy or maybe I don't look properly in the first place?

Anyhow, on the upside, it saves me money, as three out of the four items are being returned. And at least, I don't have far to walk to the next collect+ shop. And returns are free. And at least one of the dresses was nice and has moved into my wardrobe:

And who are you?

Who is reading my blog? I've given the address to only a few people. And I actually know that probably half of them, don't read it. So, who IS reading?

Well, I actually prefer not to know. I've also been thinking that when writing, I give too much consideration to the few people I know who might (or might not) read this. I myself prefer to read personal blogs. In addition to adding a more personal touch (and I think I've written about this before), I've also been thinking of introducing a fictional aspect to a) make it more interesting and 'readable' and b) to practice for the book I will write one day (it will happen! One day....)

This is the bit that I find a bit tricky: will my family and friends assume that it is all real? Will I need to put disclaimers to mark my fictional entries? Alternatively, I could start a new blog and keep this one as the diary it currently is.

We shall see.

The Cockney geezer

I LOVE Micky Flanagan. And finally watched his Out Out live DVD which I can recommend wholeheartedly:

One more resolution!

I've had my smartphone for almost a year now - and cannot remember what it was like when I wasn't online 24/7... It's really terrible: even when I wake up in the middle of the night - still half asleep - I instinctively reach for my phone to check for emails, facebook or whats app messages. How very silly.

So, that goes on my resolutions list for 2014: stop checking my phone every two minutes and just be unreachable once in a while.

He's back

And I thoroughly enjoyed the new Sherlock episode, that so many people have been waiting for. Those cheekbones, the hair,....

Twitter is going crazy and despite offering three (out of 13) possible explanations of how Sherlock faked his death at the end of season 2, we are still none the wiser.

My People 2013

About five or six years ago, I went on a road trip up to Scotland. We went to an art museum in Edinburgh, and I can't remember the name, but I still see the road that we were driving on, up a hill. Anyhow, one of the pieces of art I (vaguely) remember, was a list of people's names. The artist had collated the names of all the people he met. I can't recall what period of time it covered.

I've been thinking back over the last 12 months and the people I met. And there are so many! It's really been an extraordinary people-year for me. I think I might start a list for 2014 and maybe I can somehow make it into a piece of art. Or maybe just some sort of aide memoire - cause I've forgotten a lot of names already...

And in case you hadn't yet noticed: I am terrible at telling stories... I forget half the details and then nothing really makes sense anymore. Which is one of the reasons, that a lot of my blog entries are quite short! :-)

The birthday cherry has a face

I had completely underestimated the number of tourists who are currently in London. It's worse than during rush hour!! Anyhow, I'm glad I made my way to Chinatown for a birthday dim sum lunch at New World (yesterday). The restaurant was packed, too and fortunately S was there before me to queue for a table :-)

And thanks again for the birthday cake and singing to me in the restaurant! ;-)

... and a Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year - let's make 2014 even more amazing and special and exciting than the last year
xxx