Thanks to YOU magazine for including the plates from my Happiness collection on their natural page.  The orders have been flooding in and we thanks to the feature our stock is all sold out. 

I have just cleaned out and updated my office and it’s feeling wonderfully inspiring.  I was in the mood for a little musing and wanted to share some beautiful pictures with you, but for some reason my blog won’t allow me to upload images tonight.  It made me realise how much we depend on the visual and since I can’t show you anything beautiful, I shall just tell you about the beautiful people I met today.

When re-modelling our house a few years back, I made the mistake of choosing builders I had not previously worked with and they let me down badly, as did the airhead architect – but you live and learn.  On the positive side, I have gone back to working with extremely talented, joyous builders who take pride in their work and are a constant source of light, so I started the day welcoming them into my home.  I then dropped the little ones to school and bumped into old friends and lots of smiling children – all good.  I then had a meeting with a group of women at The York and Albany in Camden – fab place for a meeting and fab women one and all.  The whole exchange focused on a win, win attitude and as we were leaving to go our separate ways, one of the women said how much she had enjoyed our meeting – love it – that’s how it should always be – no pretence, no games – just wanting the best for all concerned.

The weather’s not great and no matter what the time of year, we don’t know what to expect anymore, so the best we can do is make the most of every moment.  If it’s raining, lets just jump in puddles.

Whenever I need a bit of prespective, I transport myself back to a family holiday in Namibia and as this image of my son and I so richly illustrates, there is something bigger than we can ever understand, but we just need to trust in life and the path it takes us on.  It is a wonderful world. 

The children are back at school tomorrow after a week’s half term and I shall miss them and the time we have shared – work, play, hospital visits, letter writing, jigsaw puzzles, wardrobe clear-outs, swimming, walking and the most wonderful valentines.

Valentines is super special for me; it is the day I first dated my dear husband of 19 years, the day we became engaged and the day my darling daughter was born.  This particular day began with breakfast in bed, Sunday papers and chocolate cake with a rainbow of candles.  My daughter opened her presents with approving nods and even a little overt gushing - England pj’s from her father and earrings in a rather fancy satin ribbon-tied box from me; utterly irresistible, even for a nine year old.  And the most thoughtful present; a handmade card from her little brother , so clearly made with love and devotion.

The celebrations moved onto lunch at my daughters favorite restaurant and even the lack of warmth could not dampen her spirits.   We then dropped into Hamley’s and on hearing it was my daughter’s birthday, the staff and most all the customers on the ground floor broke into traditional ‘happy birthday’ song as as she stood beaming on a podium. We then gave each child a budget of  £12.00, which they spent wisely weighting up  the pros’s and con’s of each potential purchase before coming to their own conclusions.  We rounded off day with surprise tickets to Thriller at the Lyric and whilst it is not really my thing, I loved every moment of watching my children sing and dance and revel in a day that was totally about indulging them and not about our want’s and needs.  Whilst this whole week has been spent around the children, I must confess my mind has been all over the place but the day of love was 100% dedicated to my family and that felt good and that’s love.

Beautiful Snow...

I am in my home office on the top floor and each time I gaze out from the floor to ceiling windows, I am mesmerized by the falling snow, the beautiful green birds perched on tall branches and my children revelling in the magic of it all in the garden below.  How blessed are we to experience the changing of the seasons.  Wishing you a Happy New Year and joy in the perfection of every moment.

It’s Thanks Giving, so let me share some moments I feel grateful for over the past 12 days.

I am thankful for what London has to offer and that I shall see more of it through ‘The Culture Club’ – see previous blog.  I am thankful for my adorable twin sisters, who just celebrated their 40th birthdays.  I am thankful for the wonderful winter mornings on which my daughter and I walk a beautiful black Labrador from a neighbouring house.  So if you live in a flat or perhaps don’t want the commitment that comes with owning your own pet, this is could be the answer.

On Sunday morning, my children and their sleepover friends made cookies.  Normally they set up stall and sell them in the front garden for whatever price local market forces will bare.  But this time, they decided to share them with passers by, for no other reason but for the pleasure of giving.  The pride I saw on their faces was the same look I saw on my son’s face as he sat polishing his own shoes for the first time.  This morning proved to me that children today are no different to the way we were.  Grand gestures are all very well, but what children really cherish are the simple pleasures in life.

Early in the week, I took the children to see the pre-release of planet 51 and once safely tucked into bed, went for a delicious meal at Notting Hill Brasserie.  The following day, I sat in awe as my fatherin-law played with my daughter’s DS for the first time and whilst brain training showed his brain to be considerably younger than his 77 years, mine showed me to be 53 – not good!  The moral of the story – you may look okay but use it or loose it!

Mid-week my husband and I attended a Thanks Giving dinner and not only was I grateful for the plentyful food, the wonderful company, but also for not breaking every bone in my body as I fell down the hosts stairs on the way out!  The following day was casual supper with friends – but this time at our home.  And on Saturday we took our children, their friends and ours to Sing-a-long Grease at our local cinema and than back to ours for lunch.  The end of a wonderful week, when we had so much to feel thankful for.

A dear friend recently suggested that we could all do with a little more culture in our lives – nights at museums, theatre trips, wine tasting, foreign movies; that sort of thing.  I, along with 8 of her other friends agreed and so it was, the culture club was formed.  The first casual supper took place last week, at which we discussed what we would do over the coming year and set firm dates for our monthly get togethers. Culture soon went out of the window in favour of a Karaoke session at Lucky Voice.  Well, I have never tried it before and who know’s, I might go into opera mode?  Since most of the women don’t know each other, we felt it would be a good ice-breaker. I shall report on the first event in January and in the meantime, why not think about setting up your very own culture club – whatever that means to you.

Sometimes there is neither the time nor the inspiration to write something new and interesting, so rather than write nothing at all, I am going to do as one of my favorite blogs does (vanilla_press) and just write a little quote or poem that speaks to me in the hope that it may also appeal to you.  So for today here is an extract taken from the Bhagavadgita.

One who has hatred for none, always friendly, compassionate and free from possession or pride.

One who is patient, the same in pleasure or pain, always contented, self composed, self disciplined and of steady resolve is dear to me.

One who causes no harm in the world and whom the world cannot harm; free from the pangs of excitement, anger and fear, such is one  I hold dear.

One who expects nothing, who is pure, unconcerned, untroubled, and who is selfless in everything undertaken, that one, is dear to me.

One who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, to whom good and evil fortunes are the same, that one is dear to me.

We have just returned from two glorious weeks in France, which began with a right of passage trip to Disneyland Paris.  This place is seriously lacking in culture, overloaded with E-numbers and the hotels are rather shabby, even by my daughters standards, who on entering our room at The Newport Bay, looked out at the lake and suggested, it might be rather more comfortable to sleep on one of the little boats.  Then there are the herds of adults donning mickey mouse ears, with children dressed in polyester princess outfits at fifty euros a pop, but each to their own and all that being said, I was happy to spend a few days in this mock magical wonderland.  

Milli is enchanted by Disneyland Paris and all the eye candy enroute.

My advice would be to get the mini bar emptied on arrival and fill it instead with fresh food and water – trust me you will crave it after a day of candy floss.  Avoid the queues by purchasing a Fast Pass for the major rides. Give your children a spending allowance and stick to it – in our case, 20 euros each was the limit.  Finally and most importantly, let go of cynicism, inhibitions and expectations and revel in the moment and if you do this, I suspect you will enjoy the experience, almost as much as the little ones.  

Three days later we headed to our friends Villa in Ile de Re; a picture perfect French village where the transport of choice is the bicycle.  Mornings where generally spent walking or cycling to the local markets for fresh food and hunting for antiques and old linens. The afternoons were spent at one of the many beautiful, flat beaches, where the children went crabbing, collecting shells, building sandcastles and flying their kites.  The sense of freedom we enjoyed was made all the better for the lack of beach side restaurants and the complete absence of vendors selling tourists trash.  The week in Ile de Re could not have been more different to our days in Disneyland Paris, but I believe that growth comes from experiencing the polarity and richness of life and this is something to teach our children through doing.