It's all in the details

It's been a relatively quiet week for us.  Lulu caught a cold over the weekend and she has been sleeping it off.  These marathon naps have given me plenty of time to explore every corner of our apartment and I've been reminded that there's something about the original detailing in an old house that makes it feel extra special.  They don't make houses like they used to ... maybe that's a good thing, but the original moldings sure are pretty to look at!

I would love to know what these houses looked like and how they were decorated when they were first built!  Here are a couple details in our current place. 

Our house has been divided, but this would have been the entrance way from the
foyer into the rest of the house ... there's one on either side

One of these in each bedroom ... if only there were chandeliers to complete the look!

I know, I know, this isn't original detailing but I still love the way it looks.

It's textured, too! 

And today is another special day because it's Uncle Niko's birthday!  We hope you have a wonderful day, Gëzuar Ditëlindjen!

Oxford vs. Cambridge

Today was the day of the Oxford vs. Cambridge boat race along the Thames.  Every year it's an intense 15 minutes of competitive rowing with the race starting at the Putney Bridge and finishing at the Chiswick Bridge.  The long standing rivalry between the two schools makes this a huge event for the British and along each side of the river emerges a sea of spectators. 

We had the best seats in the house to watch the race ... on our big comfy couch!  Lulu's dinner time coincided with the start of the race, so we weren't able to stay to watch Oxford beat Cambridge.  We did, however, take advantage of the events in Bishop's Park earlier in the afternoon with Papa, Axel and Clara. 

All the lamp posts on the Putney bridge were decorated with balloons representing each school's color ...

And there was face painting in the park.  Lulu was too little to have hers painted, but Clara transformed herself into a beautiful butterfly. 

Lulu wasn't quite sure what to think about the face paint ... 

... but Clara loved it, and so did I! 

Face lift anyone?

The last several years I have been making an effort to take care of my skin to prevent blemishes, sun damage, wrinkles, and the like.  Yesterday I indulged in my first facial in London.  It was a galvanic facial - the experience was nice and I think my skin actually looks smoother and clearer as a result.

However, since last night I have found it difficult to show full expression with my forehead.  While explaining my concern to Romain I remembered the woman at the Spa mentioned as I walked out the door that she applied a botox cream treatment ... perhaps that's why the facial was called a noninvasive face lift!!  And I guess I just got my first noninvasive dose of botox! 

On another note, little Lulu experienced her first visit to the creche yesterday and she was such a good little girl!  She's also started drinking water from her doidy cup and most of it manages to make it into her mouth. 

Em's visit to London

Miss you and love you, Em!! 

xoxoxo

Walk along the Thames

walking through Bishops Park



Sunday lunch



Auntie Em teaching Lulu how to crawl

Playing dress up in anticipation of the sunny weather

Learning how to walk !!

Snuggling in the afternoon

Sweet tooth

We have been in London for just shy of two months now and I can say pretty confidently that I have had dessert with almost every meal.  I think I need to put the brakes on my sugar intake.

Last week we enjoyed banana bread and this week Em, Romain and I indluged in lemon bars. 

Mrs. Martin's delicious lemon bar recipe has made it to London

Although Lulu cannot yet enjoy culinary sweets, she gets her sugar the natural way: bananas for breakfast and granny smith apple slices for an afternoon snack.

 

ps - Lulu's two bottom teeth made their debut last week!!  And she's not afraid to use them. 

Our BFF

Auntie Em is in town and Lulu and I couldn't be happier!

We're getting to spend a lot of quality time together ...

And Lulu is already dreading Wednesday when she has to go home.  

Dear Uncle Niko, can't Auntie Em stay just a few days longer? 

xo

Lulu

Fancy a dummy?

We had another lovely day filled with rain today.  Have you counted the number of blog posts that have stared with a similar sentence yet?  On the bright side of things, the rain today enabled us to broaden our British vocabulary and Lulu and I may have made our first mommy/baby friends at Cupcake!  As for the vocab, see below ...

Lulu, troubled by the rain, sucked on her DUMMY to help calm herself down. 

The sun came out and she was able to put down her BRELLY and lose the DUMMY to crack a smile!  

And when Lulu gets a bit older, Mommy plans to get her a pair of Hunter WELLIES for puddle jumping.

Weatherman forecasts a beautiful weekend - however, the weather wouldn't stop us from having a great weekend anyway because Auntie Em is coming to visit!!!!  Hooray!  See you soon Emiline.