Forward planning

I start to get a bit anxious when the summer is within striking distance. And it's not just the stark fear of my pale and doughy body having to be exposed, away from the safety of my winter uniform of stripy top and black jeans. It's more like a Black Friday paralysis of not having had fingers on the buttons (is that an expression) and so missing out on all the fun stuff that's on offer. Well, I've made sure that that won't be happening this year- I have signed up to so many newsletters that really, there is no marketing that will pass me by. 

FIrst up is the Udderbelly Festival starting next month on the South Bank. I'm about to book tickets to see Knightmare Live (forward forward forward side side stop back back etc) and this Singing Thing and I really want to take the kids to see the Bubble Man.

It all looks amazing doesn't it? And really good value too. I tried to describe the festival to someone the other day in my school girl Spanish. Live event venue shaped like an upside inflatable cow doesn't translate so easily.

The Weekend Edition

I suppose I have Jesus to thank for it being such a long weekend making me not technically late with this post.

Readers, I understand that there has been some confusion about what makes a winner on the Weekend Edition. I really don't want OneFineDaily to become the blog version of that film with Marisa Tomei about the couple who had to split the lottery winnings with the cafe owner. So, to clarify, to win the Weekend Edition you must name the person from the news AND the reason they were in the news that week. Got it? Okay, here goes....

Home Improvements

It has been over a year since we moved back into our house after re-doing it. That's more than 12 months of going backwards and forwards about perhaps swapping the light shade in one of the bedrooms. Sigh. Things do not get done with any sort of speed in my house if my husband is involved. The other day we went on a trip to look at a new car seat (stop it, I know) and he told me on the way that we would not be buying it that day. We were "just looking". This is my life. Anyway, whilst he dilly dallies around trying to make a decision, I carry on calmly browsing the interiors sites and blogs that I've now been frequenting for 2 years. Today, I am catching up with Mad About the House - it is brilliant and has won loads of blog awards. Since I suspect most of my followers don't spend 5 hours a day on blogs like I do, hopefully it will be new to some of you.

May we all end up with houses that feature on the Househunter feature.

All about stairs

Wow, thanks readers. Ocado have just called to tell me that sales of their frozen veg and herbs have skyrocketed since last week's blog Don't worry, I have many more similar short cuts up my sleeve. I just need to remember them all. Here is one- well it's not so much a short cut, more a good life tip. I read it somewhere, I want to say in the Reader's Digest, but it's more likely to have been in the Hendon and Finchley Times. 

Never go upstairs empty handed. 

I translate this literally. You do NOT have to take a nightly M&S orchid or box of chocolates to the boudoir unless you really want to. Rather it means that there is always something that is downstairs that needs taking upstairs. Laundry, a lost sock, a bin bag for the bathroom bin. I have never regretted following this mantra and it always saves time later on. If you live in a flat, bungalow or penthouse or whatever, just adapt the rule. Customise it! Make it your own! Never go from one side of the abode to the other without taking something with you that needs moving.

Now please don't roll your eyes- I know this seems really boring but trust me it's quite life changing. And if we are being honest with ourselves, life isn't all cupcakes and cashmere is it? Sometimes the grind needs to be acknowledged and improved.

Oh hang on before I go to collect yet more chuchnies from around the house and move them to their rightful homes, here's another stair related life tip. I read somewhere else that you should always go up the stairs two at a time- think of it as a free lunge. If you have seen me from behind you will question whether I practice what I preach with this one. 

Oh yeah, I'll tell you something I think you'll understand. When I'll say that something...

I wanna hold your hand.

We went to Whipsnade Zoo at the weekend, despite the sub zero temperatures that meant that even the arctic sea lions opted out of appearing.  Despite the desertion, I don't really feel it was a wasted trip because it was free! Well kind of. We have an annual Zoo membership so we can visit London Zoo and Whipsnade as often as we like during the year. If you think you will go to more than four times in 12 months the membership is totally worth it. As well as free entry you get 10% off food and drink, which sounds rubbish but when the cafes are the same price as the Harrod's Food Hall, any discount is gratefully received. Oh and it applies to the shop too. If you too find yourself at the till buying a paperweight with a llama inside to avert a tantrum, I guarantee you won't turn your nose up at £2 off.

Join the Zoo

Anyway- as we were going into Whipsnade, woefully under-dressed for the arctic temperatures, I saw a fella and his little boy jointly wearing this half freaky half amazing siamese glove. I want it and I want to burn it in equal measures. It's just so.... I don't know, but I'm totally entranced.

http://www.thegorgeouscompany.com/Hand-Knitted-Hand-in-Hand-Merino-Wool-Gloves?filter_name=gloves

The Weekend Edition

I know you will all have been glued to the broadsheets this week with the budget being released and what not. This week's dingbat comes from slightly lower down, brow wise. The first one to guess the person AND tell me why they've been in the news is the winner. Last week's guesser won a money can't buy experience- sushi takeout, ordered by her, but hosted by me. I know. It's worth racking your brain just a little bit harder isn't it?

Back to

Basics.

As I hope you now know, I  don't intend for this to be a fashion blog. But, following on from the success of the Hush recommendation, I have another one. My super critical sister issued rare praise the other day of a lovely cardigan coat thing I bought in America. It was from a shop called Brandy Melville  http://www.brandymelville.co.uk/ which is not the most pleasant of names. But the shop is really good and they give you loads of free stickers at the till which are useful bribes. It's all the way over on the Kings Road yah, but they have a great website. Lots of lovely basics, and keenly priced too.


If you're heading over that way anyway, I recommend you continue your pilgrimage a little further south to Wandsworth in SW miles away. This next bit is probably like saying to someone from North London, oh I discovered this lovely little park called Hampstead Heath, you must try it, it's just darling. So apologies to my 3 readers south of the river for this. But whatever- Wandsworth Common is AMAZING and has a gorgeous cafe called Skylark.
http://www.skylarkcafe.co.uk/ Go! It's worth the shlep. Varied menu, lots of kids food and colouring things, cute dogs, duck food for sale- it has got the lot. And if you use Waze to get there it takes you on the most wiggly worm route ever and you see things and places you've never seen before. So if you never managed to see the world on that gap year in between uni and real life, now's your chance!

Little House on the

Prairie.

A friend asked me the other day for a recommendation. She wanted to buy some books as a present for a new baby. I remembered that a while back I found these gorgeous BabyLit books in a great kids' book shop in Crouch End http://pickledpepperbooks.co.uk/. 
If you're anything like me, you will buy them because in your mind your kids will enjoy a whimsical childhood- afternoons spent curled up on a window seat under a hand-crocheted blanket, in liberty print outfits, flicking quietly through classical novels with some gentle nursery rhymes tinkling away on the wireless, a family heirloom, in the background . 

The reality of course is that your child will want you to read Peppa Pig's Family Computer over and over again whilst relaxing on their Fisher Price plastic chair but we are all allowed to dream. 

Babylit books at Amazon

Short

Cuts.

I really hate the use of the word "hacks". Life Hacks, i-phone Hacks and the yukkiest of them all, Mom Hacks. Totally foul. And most of the bloody mom hacks are things like ways to get your daily cleaning duties done faster so you have more time to make yourself look beautiful for your husband. Did those poor suffragettes burn their bras for NOTHING? 

As it happens, I don't mind the sentiment of making life easier. I'd much rather call it a short-cut though. Also most of the life (shudder) hacks (vomit) require a hand-made element whereas I prefer to keep my involvement in all household matters to an absolute minimum. 
My favourite shortcut is this: if you aren't lucky enough to have a live-in chef, do not waste your sweet time cutting up vegetables or herbs. Don't even bother keeping them fresh in the fridge. Buy them a) ready chopped and b) frozen or freezable. Do not punish yourself by limiting this practice to the usual peas and sweetcorn. Do it for all non-salad vegetables. This is a sample selection of the huge range I have in my freezer at the moment:

 

 
 


And if you have time to judge me sista, you have time to come over and peel and crush my garlic yourself. The door is always open. 

The Weekend Edition

I'm bringing you the weekend edition a bit later than recent weeks news-seekers, but hopefully this means you've had more of a chance to swot up on stories from the last seven days.

Fastest one to answer in the comments section with the correct famous person and corresponding story wins a huge money can't buy experience. Miss out at your peril. 

You Got Mail!

It's nice getting post isnt it? I NEVER send letters anymore- how sad. I always mean to buy those cute postcards and send off to a friend I've been thinking of but just never seem to get round to it. I just send a whatsapp with some sort of naff emoticon instead. I want to work harder to change this laziness actually. I think how happy it makes me when I receive something unexpectedly and really, I should try and bring that joy to someone else. Should, should, should, the story of my life.

Anyway, this time I mean it. I am going to start trying to send things in the post again- letters, cards, whatever.  I have recently happened upon a lovely shop on Etsy that sends things like these (and readers, if you think you disappear into a cruising abyss on Instagram, Etsy is a million times worse)  https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/kimslittlemonsters?ref=l2-shop-info-name :

I know, it's just a match box with a shmandry in it, but still.... how happy would you be get one? Coming to a postbox near you soon friends!

You scream, I scream, we all scream

ICE CREAM.

Growing up, going out to eat was a big deal. When TGI Fridays opened in Cheadle, it was used as the best ever bribe for months on end. Never mind a weekly sticker chart ending in a kinder egg. My parents used a meal at TGI's as a reward for a whole year's good behaviour. Cut your sister's barbie's hair off and that banana split is going to have to wait another 300 or so days. Nowadays- times have changed. My little girl isn't even impressed by a sushi conveyorbelt.  But darling, your food's moving around on a track! Maybe if, as promised, restaurants start using drones to deliver food she might be more non-plussed/oui-minussed.

Anyway, I know deep down why she's so whatevery about it. Because we spoil her with dining experiences. And I'm almost too ashamed to write this recommendation because it stinks of such excess but I'm here to service my (5 or so) readers so here goes. On Sunday my sister and I and our hapless husbands took our 5 kids to the ice cream parlour at Fortnum and Mason. https://www.fortnumandmason.com/restaurants/the-parlour

It was AMAZING. Fortunately we couldn't get a table so the cost remained in the £ instead of £cubed. The girls all had an ice cream and cone and chocolate sauce and goodness knows what else and it was brilliant. I think one scoop of ice cream (pick one girls. Just one. Just one. Only one) was about £3 pounds each. Which compared to the cost to my conscience is very good value. 

The Weekend Edition

It's been a busy week in the news apparently. I can't comment really because my focus has been on which of the Oscar dresses will be replicated the best by Boohoo so that it can bought with the last desperate dregs of my maternity leave budget.

Here is this weekend's dingbat. Put your answer in the comments section below. CLUE: once again, it is someone who has been in the news over the past 7 days and there is an extra point if you can tell me why.  The lucky first correct guesser from last week is now on her prizewinning vacay right here in Finchley. Like all of the classiest lottery winners, she has asked not to be identified in the press. 

I just don't get it

I'm finding fashion a bit weird at the moment. Everything in the shops looks like its time-travelled from 1994. Mum jeans, sorry mom jeans anyone? What, you don't want to look like Blossom? What about a silk slip dress, no tights, no bra and a faded denim jacket? Cropped baggy culottes? Shall I go on? If none of these take your fancy either, I suggest you give Zara and actually most of the high street a wide birth for a couple of months and head online instead. For those of you that, like me, are terrified at taking fashion and making it their own, Hush could be a total winner. Its online only, sells really nice, good quality basics, plus other more exciting things like lots of different shape dresses but nothing madly random that puts the fear of god into you. 

https://www.hush-uk.com/

Put another way, buy from Hush and no-one is going to question whether you're in fancy dress. 

Atishu atishu we all fall

Down

This is what I get when I have a cold:

Nothing 

This is what my kids get when they have a cold:

Saline nose spray 
Nasal aspirator

Raised bed/cot

Olbas oil all around room 
3 x 10 minute per day steam room/hammam sessions in the bathroom

Steamer on full blast with (more) olbas oil infused

Tesco's finest Soft tissues 

Vicks or snuffle babe (whoever devised this name deserves to be snuffle babed to death) on feet and chest 

Onion under the cot, changed daily 

Fresh sheets after every nap/sleep
Bowl of boiling water in the corner of the room with (more) vicks smeared all around the bottom of it

Calpol or even better up the bummer suppository

Nurofen

Shh shh white noise machine on repeat 

Love 

Affection

Sympathy

Parenting is humbling. Sniff.

Paleo

Shmaleo

I was at my sister's house earlier today flicking through the first Hemsley and Hemsley cookbook whilst munching on a cold processed sausage from her always full fridge.  Have you read it? Their glossy hair is rather mesmerising but their recipes just aren't. 

Fickle as ever though I went home and made myself their raw courgette salad for lunch. It was as alright as grated courgette saturated in balsamic vinegar could be but didn't really hit the spot. What I wish I'd had, and what i wish I could eat every minute of every day is THIS: 

http://therecipecritic.com/2013/09/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-bars/ 

I've made it twice and it is criminal. And because it is entirely raw, I believe it is also suitable for those following a Paleo diet/way of life.