I should have been...

in this 8th century castle for my birthday today, enjoying a lavish meal and good wine with Brunsli and Breadfruit. However, due to a minor(replace with major) mishap with my passport and the fact that being part of the EU doesn't really count for much when it comes to travelling to Spain, I had to cancel and stay in England. To say that I was disappointed would be a major understatement. Despite the fact that they weren't expecting me to be in the country, my family and friends rallied round to celebrate with me (and to cheer me up) throughout the weekend and today. On Saturday I went to Shish for a meal with friends; I have to admit to having mixed feelings about the food, I enjoyed my starter but wasn't enamoured with the main course. It has a great atmosphere and was packed on all floors, but I think it is a place to visit for drinks and snacks. We had post dinner drinks here and I loved it; the decor is great, it's a bit like popping into someone's house for a glass of wine!
On Sunday I enjoyed a mulled wine and mince pie evening at my Dad's, this was preceeded by watching the nativity story at the local church.
Today I was treated to breakfast in bed, a lavish lunch and then a wonderful Thai meal in the evening along with a large number of my family.
I had a fantastic birthday and feel lucky to have such wonderful people in my life; you all know who you are and I love you all.

Parks: What have you done to your hair? It looks really flat!

Me: Erm, tightened it!




Parks is usually really good at noticing that my hair has been done; however, I have noticed that the bigger it gets the less noticeable the parts are. I guess flat hair has replaced spacey hair!

Back to the slopes

You'll remember that my first time skiing was last year; you'll also remember that I had a really good time (see here, here, here and here) and that I invested in a few lessons while I was there. But, for some reason, this year, I didn't enjoy the skiing as much as I had anticipated. It could have been due to the absolutely freezing conditions; yes I know it's meant to be cold, but we were buying additional items of thermal ski wear on a daily basis (my purchases included this very handy ear-muff/head band thing). It could have been due to me spending a lot of time worrying about what was going on back in England with the new house purchase.

However, I suspect it was largely due to the fact that my skiing just wasn't up to scratch. I spent such a lot of time on my bottom or taking my skis off and walking down the mountain! And of course there was the day I thought my number was up...

How old is too old to wear a bib?

This delightful accessory is provided when having the speciality fish broth at a lovely little restaurant in Briancon. The dish is only served on Fridays and is popular with both locals and tourists; I used my best French to book our table as soon as we arrived in town. The substantial broth contains a variety of seafood and fish and lots of potatoes, it's served with rustic bread, cloves of garlic, garlic mayonnaise and Gruyere cheese. Whilst it does have the potential to be a bit of a passion killer, it is absolutely delicious and perfect comfort food to eat after a day in the snow.

BTW, look at how burnt my cheeks are!

Wedding Hair

My friend JayKay got married today. Beautiful bride, dashing groom, emotional ceremony (traditional Jewish ceremony - a first for me) and a wonderful reception. But, no pictures to share, as Simply Silly Mel left her camera at home! Hopefully Parks, who was my 'date' for the day will let me have some of the photos she took and I will be able to share them at a later date.
Many congratulations to JayKay and her lovely Beau!


I did remember to take a photo of my updo when I got home though. I had actually set my hair on SoftSpikes the night before, with the intention of having curly hair. However my hair was still wet in the morning and as a result the curls were, well, not curls and I had to come with a plan b. In the end it was very simple to create; a few flat twists at the front, secured with small rubber bands and the rest of my hair gathered up with a hairtie. I am not a fan of the little rubber bands; I find them fiddly to remove and am pretty sure that I take some of my hair out with them - any suggestions for alternatives would be greatly received.
If you have the patience and time (both of which I didn't have enough of on the day) you could flat twist all of your hair; I'm sure this would create a stunning effect.

From the head of the NHD

Literally!

I present to you, my newest hairties. While we were in Switzerland, Brunsli was kind enough to let me select some pieces from her collection. I'm sorry I can't give you the names (because I don't know them!), but I can tell you that I think they're great. Being Brunsli-sized, I can actually wear them as hairbands; the little purple one (and you all know I felt bad about choosing the purple one!) has become an almost daily accessory for me. I put it on whenever I have had enough of my I-actually-think-it's-growing-now hair being in my face. The cream one, has a lovely pearlised crackled finish to it. Brunsli joked that I had chosen this one because it looked like a white chocolate truffle (which I absolutely adore)! As you can see from my roots in the hairtie pics, I have given up on retightening my hair - only momentarily though. I have ordered the nappylocs tool and will keep going when it arrives.

In search of Clooney

With all of the border crossing we did, I could be forgiven for being a bit confused about which country I was in! However, when we headed for Como, I knew we were in Italy and even more exciting, we were near George's lakeside hideaway.
Behind it's city walls are a host of historical buildings, including the beautiful Duomo (cathedral). We were able to enjoy a gentle stroll through the streets, an espresso in the town square and a wander through the Farmers Market. As well as the opportunity to taste lots of wonderful organic food and drink, the market presented us with another unforgettable experience!

We made our way to Lake Como, which is the third largest in Italy (I visited the largest one earlier this year). Travelling up into the mountains allowed us to take in more of the stunning views; Breadfruit was a dab hand at driving up (and back down) the very-narrow-very-definitely-only-big-enough-for-one-car mountain road. Whilst I love living in London and the hustle and bustle of city life that goes with it; I really appreciate times like this when I am able to experience more tranquil settings (and of course fresher air).

I was convinced we'd stumbled upon Mr C's place when we found this house; I was wrong!

This is actually Villa Olmo, which once housed Napoleon Bonaparte.
Apparently the Clooney villa is a little smaller!

I like to be in America

Although I am now on holiday from work, I was at school today rehearsing. We have a very big show on in a few weeks (can you guess what it is?) and I still have some choreography to finish. The students were in good spirits considering they're supposed to be relaxing at home, and we managed to get alot done. Actually, I had some help from Brunsli and Breadfruit, who helped me to choreograph the prologue in Italy!

Look away now, if you don't like things with eight legs

We came across this "little" blighter whilst walking up a hill with beautiful views, near Breadfruit's Mum's house. Unlike me, Breadfruit is not scared of spiders, so he moved in for a closer inspection. Brunsli and I stood about twenty feet away explaining (loudly) why he shouldn't be so close to it!

We had a good look at the picture when we got in and Breadfruit worked out that it was a Wolf Spider. Although I find it difficult to look at the picture, i thought it would be rude not to share it with all of you!

(If you zoom in on the picture, you will see that it has its family on its back!)

From designer treats to delicious eats

After having a fantastic lunch in Italy, we crossed the Swiss border; Brunsli and I went to a huge designer outlet shopping centre and got stuck into some retail therapy. I was amazed by the huge number of Brits there; they were literally being dropped off by the coachload. I resisted the urge to go mad with the temptation of all the % I would save and made only one (or was it two?) small purchase. We followed our shopping trip with a walk around Breadfruit's idyllic hometown in Switzerland; a real treat for a city girl like me.

We popped over to Italy again, briefly, before going to Breadfruit's Mum's house.
Signora Breadfruit is a lovely lady and she made me feel incredibly welcome in her home. We shared stories about her visits to London and my previous trips to Switzerland AND (drumroll please) she immediately recognised my hair as being the same as Brunsli's!
The evening ended with the four of us going for dinner in a wonderful restaurant, which served traditional Ticenese food. Chestnuts are a local delicacy and during the meal I tasted them in several forms, including the delicious ice-cream pictured bottom left. The region also produces a very nice red wine; a few bottles of which made it back to London.

Blog Idol - a meeting realised

When I made the decision to get Sisterlocks I wasn't completely sure about what I was getting myself in to. As I searched the net for more information and of course pictures, I came across these things called blogs; among them was a blog that was to become my hairpedia. In the four months leading up to my SL installation, I regularly checked in with Brunsli's Hairstory and managed to read all of the archives! I found the blog more helpful than the official SL site and the insights into the rest of her life were entertaining; along the way I asked her a few questions, which she kindly answered and I also developed my hairtie addiction.
So, when the chance to meet up with Brunsli (and Breadfruit) presented itself, I jumped at it. The rugby (come on England!) and the travel chaos it caused, prevented us from meeting in Paris, but we were able to find a solution with a new location.
I have to admit (and I didn't tell her this, so shhhhhh) that I was very nervous about meeting Brunsli; what if she didn't like my hair! However as soon as we met, my nerves quickly disappeared; she is as wonderful in real life, as she comes across in blogosphere and (I hope she agrees!) we got on very well.

That was too easy for you

Who was I trying to kid with that picture? That was indeed the unmistakable hair of Brunsli.
And of course I had no trouble finding her at our meeting point; she was the woman with great locks talking to the man with great locks!

Cioccolato bianco

I met up with my friend and her husband for lunch today; it was great because the weather was nice and we were able to dine Al Fresco. They both helped to lift my spirits; as you know I haven't been feeling well this week and I had to take the day off work on Friday. I rarely take time off and usually push myself through whatever is ailing me at the time.

Over lunch we discussed all of the things we have in common and then we hit a wall; she doesn't like white chocolate. How could this be? I love white chocolate and would absolutely take it over plain, or worst still, dark chocolate, anytime. I'm sure that my friend would have it banned, although I'm convinced my white chocolate cheesecake could change her mind!
Perhaps I'll have to make it for her the next time we meet up...

Aaah...

My friend Sy commented on my 7/12/06 post:

"Reading this reminded me about what I've been missing for the last 6months. Wish me luck on my return this week..."


I'm sure I detect some sarcasm when she talks about what she has been missing, because she has been looking after this beautiful little girl. Isn't she gorgeous - look at that hair! I haven't seen her since she was a few weeks old and I'm amazed by how much she's changed.

Sy goes back to work tomorrow and I know how difficult leaving your child (no matter what age) can be. But I think one of her biggest problems is going to be getting the nursery staff to hand this young lady back!