Weekend chilling

This weekend, we visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park...

And ate an Argentinian lunch at Garufa in Highbury, North London...

But the rest of the weekend was spent at home. Painting...

Jumping on the bed whilst the sheets were in the wash...

Going to Mass...

Eating Paul A. Young artisan chocolates...

Reading...

Knitting...

Preparing to sew a patchwork cushion for Little Planet's bed...

Putting up Christmas decorations...

Finishing the second draft of my novel. Hurrah!

Little things

I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but I do want to shift a few pounds. So I have started to eat more intuitively - that is to eat only when hungry, to eat slowly, to stop eating when I'm satisfied or full (even if this means leaving food on my plate) and to eat anything I want. Basically, it's eating like a toddler but without the fussiness and tantrums! I lost 7lbs in the first two weeks of eating like this. I don't weigh myself again until another week or so but feel so much lighter, more energetic, less bloated.

Recent meals we've cooked have included a curry of paneer, tomatoes and peas - a chickpea and chorizo stew with spinach - linguine with crab, rocket leaves, capers and red chilli flakes - lightly seared tuna steaks with a salad of rocket leaves, oranges and toasted pine nuts - a tagine of chicken with saffron, green olives and lemons served with brown rice - sausages in a sauce of Marsala wine, Dijon mustard, onions, fennel seeds and served with, of course, buttery mash - tofu marinated in soy sauce and red chilli flakes and served with an okra and oyster mushroom stir-fry. I'm eating anything I want, even chocolate and ice cream, but my portion sizes have gone down by half or, in some cases, by more than half.

We tend to go out on Saturdays and on Sunday mornings or else entertain friends and family, but Sunday afternoons are reserved exclusively for Mr Planet and Little Planet to bake bread, biscuits or cakes. Little Planet loves pouring in the ingredients, mixing them in the bowl and eating them raw!

The coming of Spring means washing hung out to dry on the line. There is no better sight, for me, than white cotton sheets hanging out to dry.

I have two knitting projects on the go: an orange merino wool scarf for me and a charcoal grey wool scarf for Mr Planet. One day I will progress to something more challenging, like a cardigan for Little Planet or some gloves for me. For now I am enjoying the hour of easy knitting I do when Little Planet is in bed and Mr Planet has yet to return home from work - after a day of writing (or trying to write, see previous post), there is nothing better than to knit and contemplate. I get a lot of ideas when knitting, so my laptop is always on.

Television programmes I've been enjoying have included Marchlands, South Riding, The Big C and Great British Food Revival.

Easter is coming up and I am planning an Easter Egg Hunt for Little Planet. I'll buy lots of smaller chocolate eggs and hide them inside her toy cooker, her doll's house, her doll's buggy, her Lego box, her toy garage, the toy box in her bedroom, behind the books on one of her book shelves, inside empty flower pots in the garden, inside the shed... Oh, it's going to be so much fun!

I haven't given up anything for Lent, but I have reduced the time I spend on the Internet. On that note, cheerio!

Being a home body

Ever since we have been together (and at 4.5 years, it's not really been that long) Mr Planet and I have been on some big holidays: last year we went to New York, the year before that was spent in India and Japan, the year before that was spent in Thailand and New York, and the year before that was spent in Thailand and Spain. So when M said that we would have to postpone our trip to Hong Kong this year because it clashed with a big court case he's working on, I was incredibly disappointed and resigned myself to the thought of smaller city breaks and odd days off here and there to stay at home in London.

Of course, I can go away by myself or with friends/family, but... I admit it, I sulked a bit, okay a lot. But you know what? I've taken a few days off here and there to simply potter in my own home and city and I've really enjoyed it. 2010 is shaping up to be my year to chill out a little more and simply enjoy time in my own place as a home body. I became a homeowner for the first time ever the year we got married, 3 years ago. And I'm really enjoying having my own space to truly relax in. Taking days off to potter around is actually as rejuvenating as a holiday abroad, if not more.

Today has been a case in point. My day started early - as it tends to being the parent of a small child - with Little Planet's wake up call. As M showered, I took Little Planet into bed with me and we read lots of stories as we snuggled up together. We both especially enjoyed Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg because of the sheer amount of illustrated detail on every page. My little toddler is usually such a whirlwind of activity that it's rare that I get the luxury of holding her in my arms for more than a minute or two. But when I'm reading her stories, then I am allowed to hold her tight for as long as I want! It's pure heaven to feel the weight of her little body against mine, to smell her skin and hair, to listen to her breathing so close to my face as she listens to me reading to her. I never want to let her go.

But I had to let her go as we had to drop her off at daycare for 8.30am. M and I then headed into town for a quick al fresco breakfast of apple Danish pastries and flat whites at The Espresso Room on Great Ormond Street. M headed off to work and I headed over to John Lewis to pick up a polka dot rug (photo above) for Little Planet's bedroom. I also picked up a few toys for her birthday in June, plus some knitting needles and yarn, and then I caught a cab home. I was back home by 10.30am and the whole day stretched out languorously ahead of me.

The day was bright and sunny so I decided to launder all the towels. There is nothing like the smell of freshly-washed towels that have been hung up to dry in the garden. Then I curled up on the couch in our newly painted and bright living room (photo above) and I read for a few hours.

I paused for lunch: I made myself some fried Spam slices and fried egg on a bed of white rice and liberally sprinkled with sweet chilli sauce. It sounds disgusting but I've been craving Spam (and this combo) ever since I read a few blog posts by Su-Lin at Tamarind & Thyme and TFP at The Food Pornographer. M is horrified but fried Spam with egg and rice is comfort food of the highest order!

After lunch reading Elle Decoration magazine, I settled in to watch a DVD: Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief. Beautiful to look at, entertaining to watch - a great escapist afternoon movie. As I watched, I snacked on some Klik chocolate cornflakes. Obviously today was turning out to be an unhealthy-eating day!

After the movie, I pottered from room to room doing nothing in particular, and by 5.30pm, it was time pick up Little Planet, who regaled me with lots of toddler talk ("Look at the bird", "Oh man with blue hat", "Is Daddy at home?", "Bye bye Dida's car!", "Hello man", "I went to the park with Dillon", "Baby Celeste she was crying", "Twinkle twinkle little star!", "Can we go to the garden mummy?") all the way home. We chatted some more as she played in the garden and the kitchen and I prepared some dal for the evening meal. Then it was her bedtime - nappy change, into bed clothes, milk, teeth brushing, 3 or 4 stories then bed around 7.15pm.

Whilst waiting for M to return home, I got out my knitting needles and wool (photo below), looked up a great How To Knit video on YouTube and cracked on. The reason I want to learn to knit is twofold:

1. Because I can't listen to music and read at the same time so knitting gives me the ability to switch off and listen to music at night after Little Planet goes to bed.
2. I love buying woollen cardigans and jumpers for Little Planet in Winter. Normally her Grandma knits her some wonderful things; hopefully now I will be able to too.
3. It seems like such a relaxing, even meditative activity.
   

Yesterday, Sunday, Little Planet and I had spent the day with my mum and dad whilst M had relaxed at home by himself. Mum had made two curries for us - lamb and prawn. So tonight, when M gets home, we'll have dal and my mum's prawn curry for dinner.

What a lovely day off. I could easily not work ever again if every day could be like today!!