I’ve heard of adolescent emotional detachment but after thinking about it for some time, I think the phase I’m currently going through with my sons is “pre-adolescent detachment”. I suppose it’s the milder, slightly less challenging version of it. Continue reading
I never thought I’d see this day. For many years, I have entertained the idea of starting my own business, without really taking the plunge. “I’m not much of a business person…” “It’s not for me”… “I can’t handle the workload, the accounting, HMRC demands, etc.” Well here I am today, doing all of these things, and totally winging it.
This is by far the most stress-inducing venture I’ve ever embarked on, but I’m convinced I’ll look back one day and smile. I’ll be happy that I took that leap of faith. Because honestly, faith is the only thing that made me go ahead with this. Continue reading
I was having a conversation with a friend recently about how volatile our emotions get during pregnancy, and how damaging this can be to our relationships with the people we love the most: our significant others, typically – but also our mothers. And today I’ll focus on our mothers. My friend, who also recently gave birth, could relate. I personally found it difficult to control my emotions during pregnancy and my loved ones endured quite a few of my meltdowns. They also witnessed the occasional fall out between my mother and I. Not surprisingly my main excuse for behaving the way I did towards her was the ‘hormones’. But what if there was more to it? What if there were other underlying issues that neither of us could really fix until the 9 months were over and we both took a step back to just enjoy the new baby? Here’s a little list of what I believe is the cause for these fall outs. Continue reading
“This movie looks amazing”, I thought, the first time I watched the trailer. It definitely caught my attention. The cast, the colours, the wardrobe… I can’t say I was left indifferent. And then the film came out. The excitement that ensued was palpable. Countless Twitter threads about the importance of Black Panther; an avalanche of think pieces about the narrative and how the African continent is being portrayed in the film… I didn’t come across a single bad review, a single negative comment. Okay, maybe a couple. But the general consensus seemed to be that Black Panther was the movie of the century, and the fact that it has just made over $1 billion worldwide is a pretty good indication of that. According to everyone, I just had to go and see it now. But here’s the thing… Continue reading
A few weeks ago we celebrated my mother’s birthday at the Thai restaurant Kinkao, situated on the Isle of Dogs. The restaurant used to be called Elephant Royale and my family and I had visited on numerous occasions. They recently went through a rebrand and the restaurant is now under new management. The menu is completely different to what it used to be, but we weren’t disappointed with the options. Continue reading
It’s 6.30am on December 11th and I’m now 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I wake up with what feels like contractions that are stronger than the pre-labour pains and Braxton Hicks contractions I’ve been feeling over the past few weeks. By that time, as you can imagine, my patience was starting to run out. No one likes to go overdue. I tell Rom that today may just be the day we meet our princess, because those contractions are getting stronger and occurring at regular intervals. My hospital bag is packed: a large suitcase for me and a beige travel bag for the baby, both waiting at the bottom of the stairs and ready to be thrown into the car at any moment.
This week I gave birth to a little girl, and today I’d like to share with you photos of her nursery, which I started working when I was about 20 weeks pregnant. We had a spare room in the house that was always intended to be for a new addition to the family, so working on this little project as soon as we found out we were having a girl was very exciting. I decided what type of furniture and colour scheme I wanted, browsed Pinterest for design ideas and got on with it.
I made these chicken thighs last week, marinated in mango chutney and garlic the night before. They were such a hit with my little family, and after I posted the photo on Instagram I was asked to post the recipe on the blog. So here it is – Mango chutney chicken thighs, you can accompany this with a side of basmati rice like we did, and a salsa made with red, yellow and green peppers sauteed in mango chutney.
Pregnancy is probably the most visible physical experience a woman can go through in her lifetime, yet at the same time the most personal. For some, so personal that the goal is to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. From conception to birth, the details, the ups, the downs, the aches and pains… the less is revealed the better. I am (or I have been) one of those women, to a certain extent. Culturally speaking this is how I’ve been raised and these are the beliefs my mother instilled in me. Where I’m from, pregnancy is as biological as it is spiritual. You’re taught to protect the life that is inside of you by revealing as little as possible about it. You’re told pregnancy is a private matter: the unborn baby is precious, and ‘hidden’ for a reason. And I’ve always embraced this way of thinking. Continue reading
It’s been a great start to summer 2017, we’ve just enjoyed a whole week of constant sunshine and high temperatures. It was the perfect occasion to go on a little cake date with a good friend of mine. I first came across Peggy Porschen Cakes on Instagram, through different influencers whose photos of pink roses and lush cakes didn’t leave me indifferent. A must-see and must-go spot for bloggers and photography lovers, the place has so much charm everyone stops to take pictures. Continue reading
It’s a shame I can’t impose my love for horses on my beloved family. Our apartment is relatively small and whilst a small touch of it would be regal, it would also create a kind of equine-themed claustrophobia that I wouldn’t want my family to suffer from! Continue reading
New year, new drive. New year, new habits. New motivation. New workflow, new deadlines. This is more or less what you can expect from me in 2017 – and I’ll try my best to stay committed to this. A lot of people have told me that I’m onto something, with this blog. And I’ve started to realise this. The problem is, I’ve not been as dedicated to it as I would have liked to be, over the past year. It’s completely my fault and I plan to change this. Continue reading
