Finally Friday!

It's Friday again, and autumn has turned into summer. I know I shouldn't complain, but just as I was getting ready for scarves, thick wool tights and high leather boots I had to get those summer dresses back out of the closet. We've had up to 29 degrees here all week, and it's been really stuffy and hot. I'm sure I'll miss it when winter sets in with rain and fog, so I'm determined to enjoy it while it lasts! This weekend I'm going to Cambridge for a hen party with some colleagues, so the weather is actually rather perfect for that. I'm expecting to spend most of Sunday on the sofa when I get home...

I started my Friday with a lovely breakfast in the morning sunshine. Coddled eggs are my new breakfast favourite. I have had this egg coddler on the shelf for a few years, and I never really knew what to do with it other than having it as a decorative item. But after finding a recipe in this book I though I'd give it a go, and it was delicious!

This Flower Fairy egg coddler is rather pretty.

Coddled egg, toast and coffee make a rather good Friday breakfast, I think.

I hope you all have lovely plans for the weekend. I hear rumours that the weather in Norway is meant to get sunny and hot too, so enjoy it while it lasts! Put on a pretty dress and take someone lovely with you to the park for a picnic! Or maybe go for an autumn swim? I wish we loved closer to the sea, I have certainly been dreaming of a cooling swim during the last week!

Happy weekend!

Treat

Wasa Havre. Avocado. Salt. Pepper. Lemon juice. Yum. Favourite snack.

Autumn

On Sunday Husband and I drove up to visit some friends who live in a village in Oxfordshire. We drove through so many pretty little villages, some looked like they had been taken straight out of a Jane Austen drama. The trees were showing off some lovely colours; bright red, orange and yellow. I love autumn and everything that comes with it:

- go for long walks in the countryside, breathing in the fresh air.

- take a flask of coffee and drink it on a park bench whilst admiring the pretty trees.

- wrap up in warm scarves.

- hot chocolate before bedtime.

- fruit crumble with warm custard.

- a proper British pub meal, like steak pie, with a nice ale to accompany it.

- watching a good drama, like Spooks, Downton Abbey or Cranford.

- porridge for breakfast.

- rain, rain, rain. It's not so bad if you have a nice pair of wellies, or a pretty umbrella.

- plan a nice visit from some lovely friends.

- wool socks.

- foggy mornings.

What is your favourite thing in autumn?

Tomato update pt 2

Our tomatoes are FINALLY ripening! Can't wait to taste our first home grown tomatoes. They'd better be good!

Inside a paper bag

In the paper from the new shop up the road

I found a pretty tin to store my tea in!

PS. Don't tell Husband, he thinks I have quite enough tea tins already...

Foxy lady

There are lots of foxes in London, and you often see them roaming the streets at night looking for food. We have one that lives in our garden. Ever since reading 'Hakkebakkeskogen' as a child have I loved foxes, and I don't think I ever saw one until I moved to London. Our fox is quite a sorry looking one, like most urban foxes. It is thin, the fur looks filthy and it has a limp. I still find it fascinating, and I love seeing how it is enjoying sleeping in the early morning sun, all curled up or stretched out like a cat. Sometimes, if we sit very still, it will come up to our bedroom window and cast a curious glance at us, but if we move it is gone in seconds. Thankfully it is very shy, so I don't have to fear running into it when I'm out in the garden...

Photos from a Friday

A pretty tree and a pretty house.

A street nearby.

Trees sparkling with colour.

The gate to the park.

A bag with something pretty inside....

Dream car? Pt 2

This car lives just up the road, and every time I pass it I wish I could take it for a drive. Just me, him, some red lipstick, a pretty dress and some great music on the stereo (it has a stereo, of course).

Finally Friday!

The sun is shining today, the trees are looking spectacular in the sun and I'm drinking my morning coffee. This is going to be a good day and a good weekend! I plan to take a nice walk in the lovely weather, have a cup of tea in the tea room, continue on some of my projects and on Sunday we are seeing some friends for a Sunday roast. I also fancy dusting off one of my prettier dresses that has been hanging in the closet for too long and take it out for a bit of fun!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Happy Friday to you all!

Evening

One good thing with darker evenings is that you can light lots and lots of candles inside..and cosy up with a nice, warm blanket and drink some hot tea...

The last rose of summer

It is such a bittersweet feeling when Summer dies.

Autumn, you are welcome.

My London Alphabet: D

Daunt books is in my opinion the best bookshop in London. It's not the biggest, but stepping in to Daunt is like stepping in to a world of fairytales and magic. I could easily lose myself in there for hours, looking through different books, dreaming the day away. It is located on Marleybone high street, the closest tube is Baker Street.

The Dove is one of my favourite pubs in London. When we lived near Hammersmith it was only a short walk away, but these days it is quite a journey to get there. Sadly. It is one of these lovely English pubs with a fireplace, great traditional pub food, lovely ales and beers, and it has a terrace that overlooks the Thames. On a hot summer evening it is great to sit on the terrace with a nice pint of beer and good friends, and in the winter it is lovely to have a steak pie near the fireplace.

Dipali is an Indian restaurant we go to whenever we feel like having a curry for dinner, and their food is in my opinion a little different to the stuff your get in other Indian restaurant. It is not exactly located in central London, it is in Palmers Green, but if you are in the area it is a good place to visit! If you like Indian food the area around Brick Lane is very famous for its curry houses, so it is worth looking around there too!

Sunday

Husband was singing in central London today, and I went in to meet him after he finished so that we could have brunch together in Scandikitchen. We had a typical Scandinavian brunch with pickled herring, egg and kaviar, cheese, ham, rye bread, fruit and coffee. Made me miss Norway.

I also picked up some food to take home, everything a Norwegian needs to survive away from home; O'boy, cracker bread and brown cheese.
After brunch we headed over to John Lewis in Oxford Street, where we looked around for a while and then had coffee and cake. We had a voucher for two free coffees and cakes that was given to us over a year ago, and we thought it was time to use it. I had carrot cake, my favourite.
Husband had blueberry cheese cake. The only thing better than coffe and cake is free coffee and cake!

And we both had a cappuccino.

All in all a very good Sunday. The sun was shining, which also made me smile.

Hope you all had lovely Sundays!

Blue sky

Makes me happy.

On the moors

I have been away these last few days, on a camping trip up to Derbyshire. As always it was very beautiful, and the moors reminded me of Wuthering Heights and Jane Austen. Lovely.

I'm loving angels instead..

I've finished my first Tilda angel, and I'm very happy with the result!

The picture is on the wall

I'm very happy with how the beautiful pictures Husband gave me are looking on the wall! They make me smile every time I see them.

On a Monday...

Chocolate and raspberry cake after a long day at work, before dinner.

Finally Friday!

I've been in a really creative mood recently, sewing away on my sewing machine and planning lots of projects. Looking through my Tilda book 'Tilda's Workshop' is so inspiring!
It also helps that I've got a stack of really lovely fabrics that I have collected from different places during summer. Some from flee markets, some from the end of season sale and some from my very kind mother-in-law, who is a very talented craftswoman!
This weekend will be spent on the sofa with my Tilda book and Country Living magazine, accompanied by numerous cups of tea, or sewing away at my sewing machine. We are also having some lovely friends over for dinner (and a having little birthday celebration for one of my friends) on Saturday.

I hope you have nice plans for the weekend!

A happy Friday to you all!

Half a decade

I cannot believe I've lived in this city for half a decade now. It feels like a long time, and at the same time I feel like I arrived here yesterday. When I came to London on holiday for the first time when I was 13, I said to myself 'I really want to live here one day'. But I could never have imagined all the amazing things I would experience whilst living here. That I'd feel at home here. That I would speak English with a British accent. That I would get to know so many of all the little streets and secrets that this city holds. That I would meet and get married to a wonderful man. That I'd be one of those people who knows exactly where they're going, even though there's traffic everywhere. That I would get used to the sight of Big Ben. That this city would cease to be big and scary. That I would feel that this was 'my' city. That I would get to know so many interesting people. That I would meet and get to know some of my idols.

London, I love you.

Out to the farm

We live in an area where we get the best of both worlds; it's easy to get in to the heart of London and it's easy to get out to the countryside. I love exploring the busy streets of central London, but sometimes the crowds, noise and traffic become too much and I need to escape. Just outside the city there are fields, walking tracks, farms and country shops, and this weekend Husband and I thought we would try out the nearby Pick-Your-Own farm that we have driven past so many times. It was wonderful! Such good value for money, they had good variety of fruits and vegetables, and you get the great experience of walking around the fields picking the fruit and vegetable of your fancy!

The farm was so big that we needed 'street' signs to find the way.

The strawberries were really tasty. A lot of them I put in the freezer for winter, the rest is going to be strawberry jam!

Rows of tomatoes as far as the eye could see..

People were happily picking french beans.

This is some of what we ended up with; strawberries, tomatoes and blackberries. We also picked raspberries, onions, french beans, beetroot and courgettes. And we were very happy with that!

The only thing better than this would be growing them myself in my own garden...one day!

Cocktail hour

Husband and I have been completely obsessed with Mad Men this last week. And on Friday we decided to try out one of the Hendrick's gin cocktails, served in teacups. De-li-cious! And very suitable for watching Mad Men!

Friday outfit

And the outfit was completed with a hat!

Dream car?

I saw this yesterday when I was out and about, and I think this would have to be my dream car. Imagine driving around in this! It is even pink inside!

Finally Friday!

Last Friday of the holidays for me; work again on Monday. It's a strange notion after such a long holiday, but it will be nice to get back into the every day routine again! The weather is still hot, too hot for my liking, I can't wait to wrap up in those scarves. This weekend I will enjoy the garden in the nice weather, drink lots of tea, watch the rest of Mad Men season three and have a stroll around town.

Hope you all have nice weekend plans! What are they?

Happy Friday to you all!

A hat idea

I really wish I had the courage to wear hats outside my own garden.