when your work week starts with an unavoidable tube strikes that leave you house-bound on a really cold day but ends with puppy cuddles, i think it's safe to say you've had a good week, no? the highlights of which include:
2017 realness | before the end of last year, i really struggled to find a decent diary/planner to replace my incredible ban.do agenda that i picked up in late 2015. the thing i love most about their planners is that they show a whole month over two pages - as a sort of snapshot of your life, then allow you to expand on the following pages in more detail. i couldn't find anything, anywhere that was as detailed as these planners, but didn't have a casual £20 to spend on buying another one. so, when i saw them go on sale with 50% off on the ban.do site just before christmas, with free US shipping, i jumped. my pal babs was heading home to the states for christmas, so i had it delivered to her mom's house. she came back to work last week, and i found it on my desk on tuesday morning! i spent a good half hour transferring the miserable scribbles i'd made in a cheap diary i'd been using in the interim, adding stickers, highlights to distinguish social from work from health, and was preeetty happy with my situation once more!
pastel skies | ugh ugh winter skies are the pretttttiest, aren't they!
turning japanese | on tuesday night i got to spend some quality time with my gal viki, while also stuffing my face with tasty japanese treats and learning a new skill at the same time. let me explain: inamo have opened a new restaurant in camden, and their state-of-the-art technology tables have been upgraded once again, to now include their very own inadoodle software; now you can draw all over your tables while you wait for your dinner! professional caricaturist david groves was on hand to teach us a few new tricks when it came to using the software, and trying to not insult each other when trying to "draw" one another. obviously, we did this while simultaneously devouring such treats from the menu as mango pork belly, char sui clouds of happiness, and spicy korean chicken wings. plus some incredddible sushi and sashimi to kick the night off, out on the terrace. yes, terrace. in winter. with bubbles in hand and heat lamps on, it could have been anywhere in the world other than overlooking koko, in the middle of north london. if you're stuck for quick eats next time you're in camden, definitely check out the newest restaurant - you won't regret it!
a work of art | a few months back, amy asked if she could take some pictures of me so she could paint my portrait for her newest collection. obviously, i said yes. this week, she posted an update of her work in progress, and.. i am blown away. the hair, the highlight, the skin tone.. it's all so on point. i absolutely love it, and can't wait to see the final product!
honest pizza | on wednesday i headed out after work with nick from work to take in the sights of balham, and indulge in some of the south west's best pizza. more on that next week, because baby, i've found another reason to hit the western suburbs. is there any greater reason to travel than for pizza? hell no.
s n o w | it only went and bladdy snowed this week! not once, but twice! two days, two flurries, and i absolutely lost my shit over it. since moving to london i can probably count on one hand how many times it's *actually* snowed in the capital, and it's such a long time between rodeos that you sort of forget how wonderful it is. i will stand and bemoan the rain as much as the next person, but give me that soft, delicate, icy snow and i will stand against every. single. last one of those bitches degrading the whimsical weather. i love you, snow. don't ever stop being you.
better latte than never | so, on saturday, i went to the gym in the morning. normal, nothing to see here. only problem is.. i left my keys at home, and my flatmates were out. for ages. so while i waited, and while i recovered from the extra-long work out, i popped along to a cafe near me that i've wanted to go to for ages: sugahill. it was dead empty (other than me and the owner), but the radio was playing smooth jazz, and the chai was sweet and hot, so i suppose there were worst ways to spend a saturday mid-morning...
cinema dates | went to the cinema with bex to see la la land. fully expected it to be cheesy and a bit kitschy, but.. it was overwhelmingly whelming. the best part of it was the stale popcorn, which is saying something. i'm still not entirely sure what it's about, but.. i know i didn't like it. and i love musicals, normally. this didn't know if it was supposed to be one of those, or a rom-com. i laughed at it a lot, mainly from cringe-ness, so maybe that's it. it was nice to be out of the house though, so, that's something.
puppy play dates | i joined borrow my doggy a few weeks ago, in the hope of meeting lots of puppers in my area to play with whenever i wanted. then, after a few emails back and forth, realised that's not how it works. but, when i got the invite from nicky to meet her and goldshine on sunday, i was thrilled! despite the rain and chill, and sore body and headache from the day before, i wrapped up and headed out to have a play and learn a bit about boston terriers. what i learned it: they're fast! so bloody fast. and they love other dogs, and humans, and chasing frisbees. and i love them. and i love her. and i am going to see her again this weekend, and i can't wait. if i can't have my own pupper, then i'm definitely going to pat and play with as many as the owners will let me.
how was your week? pat many doggos yourself?
