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One: Wow, you're set for a glamorous life if your first birthday invitations are as decadent as this...
Two: My inner magpie is lusting after this Santi Rom jewellery
Three I'm hoping for a little me-time this weekend to write
Four As you might know, I adore all things art deco so this chair is meant to be mine
Five We're travelling to see my lovely in-laws this weekend. To earn daughter-in-law points I feel I should be taking something like this...
Six Pippa Lord's take on the modern age "housewife" is a breath of fresh air. I aspire to be as perfectly imperfect as her
Seven I adore these dreamy hand-embroidered covers by Rachell Sumpter for childhood classics such as Little Women, The Wizard of Oz and Wind in the Willows
Image: One
I had a wonderful Dziadek - for those of you that aren't fluent in Polish (!) that's Grandfather to you and me. It's funny as a child - you're brought up in a family where, in your mind, your parents and grandparents have always been the age they are right then and there. It never crossed my mind to imagine Dziadek as a young man, a person. In my mind even then I knew he was a strong, unique person - so unique that I've never met a person like him since or imagine I ever will again.
He passed away when I was eleven. Too young to know the unique qualities that I know were him through and through. Too young for me to appreciate him fully and express my love for him.
So, tomorrow at 11am I will be thinking of him. He served his country and was proud of it, that I know. But I will be thinking of how proud I am that he survived his harsh reality and lived to create such a wonderful legacy. My beautiful mum and my aunties, lovely Anne and Halina. Of his son-in-laws. His grandchildren - especially his beloved boys.
I will be thinking of the mark he impressed on my young life and the vivid memories I hold of this wonderful person:
.... the BIG hug awaiting us when we went to visit. Him standing at the kitchen door
.... his smell
.... the home-brew in the airing cupboard
.... his beautiful garden, his pride and joy
.... the greenhouse and his prized tomatoes
.... him getting a sun lounger out for us at the slightest hint of sunshine
.... my first EVER trip to McDonalds with the vouchers he'd cut out of the newspaper
.... the krufki (baklava) we were treated to on our visits to the Polish stall at the market
.... the sounds and heated energy of him playing cards with my parents
.... the hush we had to keep when he was watching one of his Westerns
.... the very "individual" way he would eat chicken!
I could go on and on. I am extremely lucky to have known and be a part of my Dziadek.
I can't remember if I ever told you, Dziadek, but I love you x
Image: One
How dreamy is this watercolour illustration by UK artist Cate Parr. I adore the soft colours and ethereal feel of the pictures .... It's hurtling to the top of my wishlist for our home-to-be.
Now this is my kind of bar! I love this photo from the anniversary edition of the delicious Rue Magazine with the non-too-subtle reminder behind the bar. (I want me some!) Ok, so it's Tuesday, not my favourite day of the week.... for me, it's all too easy to groan at the sound of my alarm clock, fuel myself with coffee before "getting through" the day ahead with, already, one eye on my sightline to the weekend. Not a great way to spend the 52 Tuesdays in the year hey?! But maybe this Tuesday can "be amazing".... I'm going to make this my Tuesday PB.
... Cutting back on the caffeine
... Making my to-do list manageable (as opposed to humanly impossible!)
... Taking some time to chat to people I cross paths with rather than losing myself in work work work
... Noticing all the little amazing moments throughout the day
Have an amazing Tuesday x
Image: One
How do I put this? Hmmmm? I don't like people looking at me. Or more specifically, I'm not that good with attention. I'm more than happy for someone else to take the limelight and I'll be content to be the one cheering on from the sidelines.
I'm a tough cookie where it counts but sometimes the simplest things can unnerve me - like eating in a restaurant alone. I've had to do it in the past when I've been working away from home and not been inspired by the safety-net of the room service menu, but I'd take a book or a magazine with me to lose myself in at the table. Yes, the prop was essential in portraying the independent woman identity but, even with this, I'd self-consciously sit there and eating would be a functional (and fast!) exercise.
But last night was a mini-breakthrough.... A table for one for just little old me. No book, no magazine and I even restrained myself from absorbing myself in my iphone. This might not sound like much for you well-travelled women but it was a personal milestone. To sit back, leisurely enjoy my scrumptious dinner and take in everything that was going on around me - the couples indulging in a quiet sunday meal for two, the big, boisterious family gathering at the next table, and the girlfriends chatting away at the bar - I was perfectly content and just a smidgen self-conscious. This is major progress.....
