Mother-daughter day

A couple of times a year, mum gets the urge to visit Harrods - Britain's largest department store, crammed to the rafters with luxury goods. So we make a day of it, have lunch somewhere nice (usually the Lebanese restaurant in-store - seriously, this place is *huge*) and stop off for a stroll through Covent Garden on the way home - which is lovely any time of year but particularly magical approaching Christmas.

It's become something of a tradition for us. We always say we'll try something different next time but, right down to the choice of food, I think we secretly like the routine. Maybe because it makes it seem more like our thing? I don't know. We actually queued at a Tuscan restaurant when mum started shuffling. "This place is really ... cramped. I think we should go to the Lebanese place. What do you think?" Cue big grin from me.

We only came away with a CD and an orange blossom macaron from Laduree that mum said tasted like perfume (I tried to convert her, folks, but it didn't work), but navigating Central London on a Saturday - one of just four Saturdays before Christmas, to boot - has left me exhausted.

To top it all off, it is *freezing* here. You'll have to forgive us Londoners. Being situated in the south of England, we usually get the fairer weather. We don't do well with snow - a few inches and our transport system is pretty much crippled. I kid you not.

And tonight? really feels like the white stuff is headed our way. I am sitting here in a big, fluffy red robe shivering. A spot under the duvet, head and all, has my name all over it.

But I digress.

I'm so thankful for today; for the quality time that I got to spend with my mother. I treasure days like these, which - I'm ashamed to admit - have gotten fewer and further between since I started working.

I leave you with three pretties I came across on our adventures. I think mum's would fill more than a page. Mainly because they include, y'know, grown-up pretties - like placemats and table runners and vases :)

Nannarific fairisle = love. Look at those gorgeous, rich colours

These shoes are pure magic. And the fact that they're flats makes it
all the more amazing - heels usually get all the fun

This perfume smells *incredible*, and the French-style bottle
multiplies the loveliness ten-fold

Hope you're having a great weekend. Oh, I should probably explain the blog. While the sassiness of the old design was cute, it was starting to get a bit much for me. After a fruitless hour and a half of playing around, I decided on this until my brain loves me again.

PS: Steve Martin plays a mean banjo.