January’s Meet, Make & Munch

Meet…

at Center Parcs for a weekend away with the girls. You won’t believe how much less expensive it is when you don’t take all your family and attempt to complete ALL the activities in two days! A few hours at the spa, a gentle game of Badminton and a quick swish down the slides, interspersed with a short game of bowling, several meals and many drinks. We always do an online shop to take with us and the few that go ahead sort out the rooms and food etc. Then the girls who work on Fridays join us later, glass of fizz ready as soon as they step through the door and a Friday night in with a silly game or two! 

When you split the price between friends, rather than pay for your entire family, it seems a much more reasonable cost for a fun weekend away, and you get to be you again for a short while before heading back to reality – if you time it right, you can return just after the children have been put to bed on Sunday evening! 

Make…

A reminder of the year. I love a new project, but, unfortunately, rarely finish one! I’ve been like this ever since I can remember. As a girl I tried many new things: ballet, gymnastics, horse-riding, tap dance, modern dance, brownies, guides, piano lessons, flute lessons, saxophone lessons … you get the idea … but after the initial learning period  -where, on most occasions, I achieved a decent standard i.e. being able to canter and do small jumps on the horse, Grade 5 music – I quickly became bored and gave them up. I’ve played my flute since, occasionally in a small concert band, but again, didn’t last long.

So far, however, I’ve managed 25 days and 25 little stitches, one per day, to remind me of each day of the year. I bought a large embroidery hoop but have definitely started the pictures too large! I’m now trying to fit smaller motifs in between each one – although I think this may have to be a January sampler, rather than one for the year. Maybe this would be more manageable in the long run anyway!

 Munch…

We were lucky enough to enjoy a post-Christmas trip to London to watch Cirque du Soleil last weekend and combined this with with a quick breakfast at St. Katherine’s dock and a very late lunch afterwards at Covent Garden…both were excellent. White Mulberriesis a great little coffee breakfast shop along the water serving a range of delicious brunch-type dishes. We chose sunny side eggs on toast and smoked salmon on toast then swapped one of each! Beautifully cooked, a good price and we sat in the window to watch the world go by – hoping to see Angelina Jolie as they were finishing up filming The Eternals! 

Our late dinner was at a place with a few restaurants, recommended by a friend: Flesh & Buns. We went to the Covent Garden one as it was on our way home, and gave an opportunity to show F around Seven Dials and Covent Garden on the way. I’d already chosen our dinner before getting there (!) and we went straight in for mains: Teriyaki Salmon, Rare Wagyu Beef and Japanese Fried Chicken, all served with their own sauce and steamed buns. Somehow, the restaurant managed to lose two of our dishes, but made up for it with excellent service thereafter and an extra portion of complimentary buns and dessert – a perfect Smores with strawberry marshmallow, chocolate slice and Grahams crackers, served to make your own and toast your marshmallow on the hot coals that also arrived – theatre in action, and F loved them! 

And, talking of theatre, if you have the opportunity to go and see Luzia from Cirque du Soleil, take it. It’s just fabulous!