dreaming of lazy, rainy weekends

           


If you’ve read The Book, then you may remember this particular weekend Gavin and I spent in a cabin in Scotland. It was rainy, romantic, dreamy and downright hilarious. I think I almost pee-d myself in a paddock. 

Well the picture above reminded me of that weekend. 

So this weekend, our gorgeous next door neighbour has kindly given Gavin and I her cottage in Margaret River. I’ve not been before, but apparently, Margaret River is ‘wine country’ of Western Australia. Sounds good, right?

So with wine comes relaxing, which is what we expect to do a whole lot of. I can’t tell what the weather will do though, so it will either be a nice Chardonnay as the sun sets on a warm clear evening. Or it will be a full bodied Cabernet Merlot as the rain pelts down over the veranda. Both sound pretty rockin’ to me. 

I’m in a pretty dreamy mood today. Currently looking out at a lightening storm to which is pretty spectacular. All about the rain. 

What are you guys up to this weekend?
Anyone feeling as dreamy as me?

Love and rumbling thunder, 

Naomi

xoxo 

image source KNSTRCT

10 things… about our first year of marriage

I know this part of the blog has been missing for a while, so I thought what more perfect a time to resurrect 10 things… that on the weekend of our First Wedding Anniversary. Is that supposed to be in capitals? I don’t know. But I like it, so it stays.

10 Things… About our First Year of Marriage

1. We had never had a beach holiday together before our honeymoon.

2. We have experienced simultaneous food poisoning. 

3. We learnt to compromise.

4. One of the happiest moments of my life was waking up beside Gavin the morning after the wedding.

5. We learnt that marriage does not mean settling down and becoming boring unless you make it that way.

6. We went skinny dipping.

7. We are building an awesome life.

8.  I get grumpy when I’m hungry and Gavin gets grumpy when we have no money. 

9. We are strong together.

10. We will never forget this year, everything we have done together and the memories we have made. 


Love and pillow talk,

Naomi

xoxo 

tidy for a friday

Well well well, it’s Friday and I’m not really here. I’m probably sitting in a bakery somewhere performing task 3 of my secret mission ‘Anniversary Surprise’. You see Gavin and I decided to not buy each other gifts but instead, have loads of breakfast, lunches and dinners out all weekend. I love nothing more than great food, great drink and great conversation with my husband, so that’s what we’re at.

Gavin decided to take this on board as his mission. So I have no idea where we’re off to. He has control of the entire weekend’s activities.

However, being a natural planning geek I could not resist getting involved in something creative. So I’ve decided to transform our bedroom, hence the secret mission task. But more on that next week.

In the meantime in between time, here’s some of this weeks favourites, love from me:


                             



As part of the festivities, I figured that after the restaurant we may head out for a few cocktails. We may also want to go home and finish the party there… so we’re going to need serious cocktail choices at home. A Cup of Jo to the rescue with a rosemary and gin cocktail… Two of Gavin’s favourite flavours! And not a girly splash of pink to be seen. Very excited to try this out!


           


I seemed to get some tremendous responses to this post both on the blog and on Twitter. So when I saw this decorative plate, I thought you lot would like it too. Straight to the point. Be happy. It’s your choice. And if something stands in the way, accept it or get rid of it. That’s my way of looking at my own happiness anyway. 


           


I’ve recently tried on some pieces of body harness jewellery and have kind of fallen in love. I’m not sure if this is cool… but I don’t really care. I love the idea of being dripped in mix metal pewter, antique gold and gunmetal chains. But until I find the piece that’s in my head, I’ll keep perving them online. This is a pretty sweet one I spied lately. Would be perfect with a charcoal vest.


           


I used to be an arts and crafts tutor/teacher. Bet you didn’t know that?! Well it’s the truth. Part of me misses teaching pretty badly. It feels awesome when the penny drops in a students head or when their eyes light up with fascination and enthusiasm. It’s a profession I would love to someday really be a part of, teaching. So if that comes along in my super lifetime, I want these. I imagine homework would be easier to mark if you could do a bit of star ranking colouring in. 


           


This is actually a Volcom shorts advertisement. Which rocks. But I thought I’d share this not only because the photography is sensational, but because this is a pretty frequent scene here in Upside Down Land. I love going to the beach and watching all the surfer dude dads (and mums) teaching their wee’uns how to catch waves. It looks like such a fun family bonding experience.


           


And speaking of family… this print is dedicated to my husband. I’m so happy we ended up here sweetheart. Because here, with you, is better than I ever could have imagined.

Happy First Anniversary Gavin my love.
You are and always will be, my favourite.

Love,


Naomi


xoxo
 

Fifty and Fabulous

           


See that hunk of a man up there? Yeah?… Well that’s my Dad.

And see that beautiful woman he has his sausage fingers wrapped around? Yeah?… Well that’s my Mum.

Her name is Donna and today is her birthday. But not just any ole birthday. Today my glorious mother turns the big 5-0. Everyone who knows her is so shocked to hear this as my Mum has the youngest and most vibrant spirit. 

So here’s a few things about the woman herself:

She makes the best apple pies. She is incredibly open minded. She loves children. She is amazing at her job. She is the most caring and kind person I have ever known. She has amazing cheekbones. She would do anything to help anybody. She loves to learn new things. She laughs all the time. She loves cappuccinos. She is an unbelievably strong woman. She rarely curses. She brought me into this world. She has a wicked sense of humor. She makes the best Irish Stew. She studied Women’s Studies. She has a crush on Enrique Iglesias. She is very trusting. She has an awesome jewellery collection. She wants grandchildren. She is not afraid to speak of her age. She talks to our dog Roxy in a baby voice. She is my friend. She has a huge heart. She loves to shop. She gave me an amazing childhood. She is a complete romantic. She is beautiful in each and every single way and I am so proud to call her my Mum.

Mummy, if I’m half the woman you are when I’m 50… I’ll be over the moon.

Happy Fiftieth Birthday! I’m sorry I can’t be there to help you celebrate but please know that I love you and I hope you have an amazing weekend of celebrations!

Tons and tons of love,

Naomi

xoxo 

terms of endearment

                                                   


Guess what?! We have a new grounds keeper. His name is Juan and he’s from Madrid. He always wears a hat and says hello to us every morning. He’s pretty cool. 

But he’s got nothing at all to do with this post… Just thought I’d mention it.

So, back at the ranch…

I talk a certain way. I don’t know where it came from but it’s definitely ingrained into my psyche so deep that I’m not sure it’s something I can shake. But, I don’t think I’d really want to shake it actually. Here’s my habit:

I call people by pet names.

You know? Like sweetheart, love, darlin’, pet, honey, sweetness etc. I do it all the time. Mainly to people I know, which is cool, right? But what’s not cool is when the occasional one slips out to someone I don’t know. Especially when they are much older than me and/or male.

I once got shouted at by an old man in a shopping center for holding the door open and saying “On you go pet!”. I mean he full on gave me a dressing down like I’d never known before. I felt so teeny tiny afterwards and decided that I would keep my terms of endearment for those that I know. It works most of the time.

But then this weird thing happened to me at my day job. I was making a professional call and the girl on the other end of the phone kept calling me ‘love’. And I HATED it. I felt a bit patronised, even though I know this was not this woman’s intention at all. I was thinking afterwards and was able to come to the conclusion that I definitely don’t use those terms on the phone to strangers. Thank God!

So my new rule is only to use pet names with those I know, or those that are the same age or younger than me and NEVER ever to strangers on the phone. 

So what’s your thoughts on this? Do you use pet names? Do you use them with strangers?
I’d love to know.

Love,

Naomi

xoxo 

knock on wood

Since way back when Jamie Oliver first began sprinkling garnishes from a height, I have been in love with wooden serveware. In fact, that is a complete lie…

My Dad is an excellent cook and loves kitchenware and utensils. So when I was a little girl he used to always say he wanted a big, thick, wooden chopping board just like the chefs on the TV. He also wanted a kick ass set of knives, but that’s not so relevant.


           


So I guess that’s when I started being drawn to the kitchen section in Debenhams. However, I am not drawn to the appliances… in fact I am a firm believer in the less kitchen appliances you own the better. Saucepans can do most jobs. So there is no need to clutter up my worktops thanksverymuch. (FYI: I currently have an appliance cupboard in my kitchen, I hate having them left out. Even the toaster).


                               


However… Serveware? I could own cupboards upon cupboards upon cupboards of the stuff and wouldn’t consider it excessive.  Maybe it’s the stylist in me, but nothing beats a beautifully presented dish/snack/drink/pile of limes. 


           


And in my humble, honest but well trained opinion… Wooden serveware rocks. Which is why you will be seeing some of my favourite pieces peppered throughout this post. I would one like to have a kitchen with a wall just full of wooden chopping/serving boards. We cook a lot from fresh at home and so there’s something nice about presenting your food in a natural dish. I also think it really brings out the colours of the food. God, I’m making myself hungry.


                             


In fact, I’ll be stopping off in Bangkok on my way home to the UK next time and I plan to visit Chatuchak Market (one of the worlds largest weekend markets - they sell actual squirrels and everything).

When we were there last, I actually had to leave the kitchen section because the amount of wooden bowls, boards and spoons that were on display was about to give me a small coronary and I couldn’t buy any to take with me. With a 13kg backpack… there was no room for a walnut salad bowl even if it was only 20p.

But I shall return to purchase these things.

Then when people say, “Oh Naomi, what a lovely solid walnut salad bowl with matching salad forks you have!”.

I can say “Why thank you! I just picked them up in a market in South East Asia”.
Or something equally as wanky. 

So do you guys lurve wooden serveware?
Do you think it will one day become the beige and orange tupperware of the 80’s or is it a timeless piece?


Love and a massive craving for strawberries and mint ice cream from the first bowl, 


Naomi

xoxo

Sources here, here, here and here.