Sissinghurst - White Garden

 I love Sissinghurst and especially the white garden, here are some snaps I took whilst Erbie and I were there...

Inside the tower

The white garden

Through the hedge

follow the bad smell to:

Dragon arum, gorgeous but stinky, they pollinate with flies, attracting them by smelling like rotting flesh. 

The orchard

The tower

Thyme bed

Honeysuckle wigwam

end.

Buy George - Commemorative Baby China

Man they're fast! This doesn't even have the baby's name on it yet. There must be a pink lot too consigned to re-painting, what would they be worth! 

This official commemorative bone china loving cup hand finished in 22 carat gold celebrates the birth of the son of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Monday 22nd July 2013.

The exclusive design shows the lion and unicorn from the Royal Arms supporting the coronet of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The oak leaves surrounding the design are taken from the Middleton family's coat of arms, who knew they had a coat of arms.

I like the addatum: “The name of the royal baby will be added to the gold banner in the design following the official announcement. Which we now know to be George.”

This item comes wrapped in exclusively designed Royal Baby tissue paper, and is presented in an exclusive Royal Collection Trust gift box with an information card.

£39 from the Royal Collection Shop.

Feeling mauve - colour my mood.

Lilac - Syringa vulgaris © GAP Photos.
How could anyone feel mauve with the scent of lilac in the air.

It would seem I have been feeling a ‘little lilac’ for about 3 years now. It’s not the ‘mean reds’ or the ‘blues’ or even a ‘deep purple’ just a hazy mauve.

Since we have moved here from the West End things have gone from bad to well just about the same really!

Yes, we managed to get a mortgage to purchase this flat from the Belle Mere and yes we managed to get Erbie into the school we were happy for him to go to, but boy a lot of other stuff has happened, mainly involving The GR’s family - yet again.

Having decided to wipe the slate clean and start afresh with no family interference quite the opposite has happened. The grandfather split with his second wife and moved back to the UK. The prodigal brother got the big C and moved back in with the Belle Mere. Everything looked as if it was about to implode but it hasn’t. It has just continued. A visa, a wedding, a birth, a Christmas, a birthday or seven, all have been and gone and are coming round again (well not the birth, he’s going to be one - the prodigal son is the father). All with an underscore of very noisy and intrusive daily building works going on next door. Of course it is sod’s law, that as soon as we get our own place, somewhere we really need to relax and escape it would be destroyed at such close quarters.

I’ve been seriously questioning our luck attraction, and finding it hard to stay positive when there seems to be so much negativity around. I found myself saying:
‘I wish I wasn’t so tired and ill all the time’ the other day instead of:
 ‘I wish I was healthy and full of energy’.

I’ve just reread my old post about the clinical trial I did and how well I was, I remember vaguely feeling well, slim, fit and happy - ha! I haven’t exercised in 3 years and it shows, on the scales and in my clothes. My posture is appalling and my skin is constantly spotty, (ironically the mums at the school gates keep asking me if we’ll be having a second child, not because I’m fat, because of the outbreaks, I must look young enough to conceive|) double ha!

I know that positive thinking really works, it got me a garden. It’s just hard sometimes to focus when its the end of June and my feet are freezing cold and I’m feeling a bit, um well, mauve.

Anyway moan over, it helps to get stuff off my chest once in a while and it has been a while.

Now I shall go and make a cake. On second thoughts perhaps I’ll go and drink a bottle of water and do some exercise. Ha ha ha.

Gin is IT! - Penhaligon's Juniper Sling

image: Juniper Sling - eau de toilette - Penhaligons ©

Next time I feel like reaching for the gin perhaps I might try a spritz of this instead. Penhaligons the quintes-scent-ial British perfumers established in 1870 are keeping up-to-date. Their new perfume, Juniper Sling, although inspired by the roaring 20’s is on the pulse with Gatsby being all the rage.

Notes of juniper, cinnamon, orange brandy and vetvier, I almost do want to taste it.

£110 instore, online, or in my bag now (I wish!)

NB: westendmum is not sponsored by anyone, I’m just sharing what I like.

Saturday outing: Hamleys Toy Shop London or ‘The Toy Museum’

Regents Street in the morning

I have been working from home for the whole Easter break, tied to a computer with poor Erbie by my side, so the Saturday treat was to go to Hamleys Toy Shop or as we refer to it, ‘The Toy Museum’ (Erbie is only 4 and it seems to work). 

Hamleys is on Regent’s Street in London’s West End, the nearest tube is Oxford Circus, it opens at 9.30am and there are 5 floors of toys galore, from Steiff to Lego and Moshi monsters to Disney.

If you can make it there before 11am you more or less get the store to yourself.

Hoppity Hop!

Hanging around

Hamleys Ground floor - soft toys

We do like a raspberry faced baboon.

Steiff selection

Ppppppick up a penguin

Eats shoots and leaves

Moshi monsters

Hamleys car abacus

Baby toys floor.

Below are : Tolo - First friends, I think they are adorable, I certainly didn’t see any of them around when Erbie was a baby - thankfully. Look you can have Barney Rubble or Eskimos or baby dinosaurs.

Tolo toys - First Friends

Jungle book figures

Balou and Mowgli too

They have a girl-themed floor which is very pink and crafty and a toys for boys floor (not terribly PC) which is cars, planes and automobiles - don’t let the dad’s go on this floor if you want to save money. There are model trains, Scalextric, diecast models of most cars, minature farm vehicles, London taxis and buses, Airfix models, Hotwheels, those annoying remote controlled helicopters - need I go on...

Scalextric SKYFALL

Model railway

A life size Power Ranger made from Power Rangers.

On the birthday list - Star Wars Angry Birds sticker album

There are also the old classics such as Paddington Bear in Wellingtons, jigsaws and a good selection of books from Mr Men and Little Misses to Charlie and Lola or perhaps you would prefer a Dress Up Kate paper doll book?

Mr Men

You can't go wrong with a Dress Up Kate paper doll?

One is not terribly amused

Will anyone give this bear a home?

Playmobil

I couldn’t resist the offer they had on clock-work toys (4 for £10) and ended up with 3, an elephant spinning a ball on his trunk, a bear playing the cymbals and a monkey doing a somersault.

Wind ups

Erbie chose a Super Moshi plane toy with Katsuma and Wurley, more lumps of plastic but I relented as he had been so good over the Easter holidays.

People riding bikes in vintage. Regents Street April 2013

Marc Jacobs Limited Edition Diet Coke Bottles

You too can own a little piece of Marc Jacobs, all be it in the form of a Limited Edition Diet Coke bottle. Cute! Available in the UK from Selfridges, London, Oxford Street.

All images © Selfridges - Marc Jacobs