Movies. Normans. Garden.

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm in the mood to Embrace Some Colour. I'm thinking that this Missoni cardy could look good with a sort of leopard print top. Because I like how it looks next to the cushion. I also like it cobbled together with ye olde faithful green Milly top.

But don't panic because I'm not turning my back on neutrals.

I experienced what could only be described as a Veritable Sewing Frenzy yesterday and sewed buttons back onto 4 different things. I'd put it off for so long. The end results made me feel like I'd scaled Everest. In fact I'm casting an eye round here looking for anything else that needs mending.

Someone told me that once you had a baby it was impossible to go to movies. Thank God they were wrong. The Baby has slept his way through lots of good movies with me lately. We enjoyed Catherine Deneuve in Potiche, we loved the documentary Babies and we thought Bill Murray and Robert Duvall were excellent in Get Low (Can I just say that I love Bill? Groundhog Day nevers loses its charm and I love watching him sing Bryan Ferry's More than This in Lost in Translation). Luckily for me the baby enjoys a limited release low budget subtitled French art house flick too, so yesterday we saw Tony and Angele. I loved it. It's set in Normandy. Has anyone else seen it? The ending was so sudden and so emotional. I've never taken the baby to a Babes in Arms movie session (you know the ones designed for mothers and babies so no one will get cross if there is Misbehaviour) but I'm open to the possibility.

Meanwhile I tried to recreate the honey soy and lime chicken with coconut risotto that never leaves the menu at the Continental Cafe. It wasn't a half bad attempt. And fortuitously, bok choy was on sale at Coles. 2 bunches for the price of 1! Run Don't Walk.

I have a new Obsession. Documentaries about the Normans. Those guys are fascinating. Maybe I'll make them the Official Conquerors of the Blog and stick a snap of them on the list to the right.

This is the view from Jersey to France that I took last year so you can get a visual of them surging across the ocean ready to conquer everything in their path.

The Normans had ferocious energy and ambition and fierce enthusiasm for everything they did. They also endorsed terror chaos and violence. (Not the sort of things you'd want to see on a Workplace Team Charter).

And they were prodigious fort builders too. The Channel islands are full of them and were one of my favourite things when I was tripping the light fantastic in Jersey at the end of 2010.

I do love a fort.

I'm not sure though if the Normans were Gardeners. But if they were you can just tell they would have given it their everything. And ordered a bunch of conquered peasants to keep it flourishing. Or else.

I action my own gardening without the assistance of serfs or peasants. Although I do have that nice whippersnapper mower man who helps out with the grass and pruning.

It's freezing here. Maybe I'll bake a cake.

xxxxxxxxxx

Royal Engagements and Other Stuff

I see that Prince William has finally got engaged to Kate Middleton and that she is wearing my favourite ring ever, Princess Diana's lovely sapphire and diamond arrangement. I remember when Princess Diana got engaged and wore that white blouse and blue suit with back flat shoes...She was so young. She chose the ring quite sensibly because when the jewellers presented her with a selection she said "it was the biggest"

I'm not longer in Jersey I'm back in England but I miss the Ole Jersey a lot.
It was so peaceful and soothing

plus there were interesting Norman castles all over the traps

I actioned a superior bun for Niece FF on Sunday

I loved Feast. It's just below Gorey Castle and is run by New Zealanders.

the food at Feast is excellent. Look:

Readers. See this banoffee pie? I ate it.

This shop had nice stuff

so I bought Mr FF a scarf. He usually likes Italian clobber best, but I think this'll be handy too.

I felt so sad flying away from Jersey. It was so lovely and I am definitely going back.

xxxx

Jersey-licious

Jersey isn't just all cows and Norman forts you know. It has a beautiful Michelin starred restaurant called Bohemia. I went there for lunch yesterday with my sister and her girlfriends and I luffed everything about it.
this was a gin and tonic jelly and this thing below a duck liver parfait, duck confit beignets with apple and quince puree.

this was some sort of lemon and tequila baked custard thingamy and it was Delicious

and behold the Magnificence of the Great British Menu (tv show where chef's compete with each other) award winning dessert:Treacle Tart with Jersey Clotted Cream (11/10)

The cost of all this finery? £17.50 for 3 courses!!!! In Australia you'd be looking at about $80 for the same thing!

and I'd like to give a shout out to my boots. The rain is intense and they do a great job of keeping my feet dry.

I haven't bought that many Christmas decorations, but the ones I've got have a sort of UK flavour. Plus they're fabric and won't smash in transit.

Jersey has a strong Portuguese Community (I know. Who knew?) and luckily for me there are amazing Portuguese cake shoppes everywhere. My new addiction are these little rice cakes. Does anyone know how they are made?

and I found an amazing little shoppe called Elizabeth Howell that sells clothes and homewares.

They have the best scarves from Denmark by someone called erfurt who I have never heard of before. I bought this for my sister (loving the pom pom trim):

and this for me. You know how I'm a sucker for leopard print-

those Normans were super busy builders. Look at Gorey Castle:

the weather is really bleak, but I like it-when you go indoors it is ultra cosy with fireplaces and stuff.

this is Niece FF's scrapbook. Is there no end to her talent?

and here are some Jersey Cows. Because I like them a lot. And they were pretty popular on my last post.

Hello Gorgeous

xxxx