A la Maison

As you might know, the Ginge and I have been working on our house for the past few months. It is still very much a work-in-progress, but we're getting there (slowly). The bathroom has been the biggest job so far; taking two weeks instead of the quoted two days. I guess that's what comes of living in an old house with brittle plaster, wonky floors and complicated plumbing. It all turned out beautifully in the end and is now a lovely haven in which to relax and imagine how wonderful the rest of the house will look, once it's finished. We've got pretty varied taste and a tiny house, so all of the rooms are a bit of a mismatch of different periods and styles, but it works for us. Anyway, here are a few pictures of our living room, kitchen, bathroom and my study. I hope to be able to show you more soon, but you can check out other bits and bobs here. In other news, I find out tomorrow whether I passed my big exams, so we are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for good news so that we can celebrate. I hope you are all having a lovely week, in spite of the miserable weather. 

A Little Lipstick Goes a Long, Long Way.

First of all, Happy Easter to you all. I hope you have had a lovely weekend; full of family and love (and lots of food & chocolate). On Thursday, I finished my last ever hospital placement and hopped onto the train back to the South-West. Seasoned readers of my little blog will be aware that I grew up in Wiltshire, just eight miles from Bath, but that I now reside in the steel city of Sheffield. They couldn't really be more different from each other, but I adore them both. Bath is steeped in history; an immaculate postcard of Georgian England, whilst Sheffield is an effervescent regeneration of a city which was almost lost when its heart of industry was ripped out. I rarely get to spend time in Bath, due the heavy demands of my course and minimal holiday time. I have therefore become very good at telling myself that I prefer it up in Sheffield. In many ways I do. On Thursday night, however when I stepped out of the train station into the Bath twilight and walked through its perfectly aligned streets; the pale stone luminescent in the moonlight, a chord struck inside of me and I felt at home. This feeling got all the stronger when I stood outside the majestic abbey and its locked side-door opened just for me, because I was expected (my parents had been running a pilgrimage for children, which ended with a service there). The choir was singing Palestrina, my mother was washing people's feet and I just got to sit down and take it all in. It was beautiful. At the end of the service, it was cuddles galore and we have since then spent a wonderful family weekend together, although we are very much missing my darling sister, who is currently visiting our family in New Zealand (hello and so much love from all of us)! Our time has taken us to many of my favourite places; Jika Jika, The Glove Factory, The Holburne Museum, not to mention all the effortlessly beautiful streets and little galleries featuring local artists (including a best family friend, of whom we are very proud). I hope you enjoy my snaps of these places and that I might inspire you to visit them yourselves. I may get to move back to Bath one day, but in the meantime, you should all enjoy it for me! Speaking of inspiration, I have recently fallen in love with the adorable Rachel Khoo and have thus been wearing red lipstick during the daytime. It is delightfully liberating and makes you feel ultra-feminine (it even gave me the guts to have my picture taken and show it to you, which hardly ever happens). If you've got some scarlet lippy stashed away, dig it out and give it a go. I guarantee you won't regret it! Anyway, I have rambled on for long enough. Buckets of love to you all.  

Shoots of Springtime

Just two weeks to go until my medical school finals. It feels incredible to think that, after six years of study, I am nearly finished. I have been working so hard recently and spending every possible hour in the hospital, so I have had very little time to enjoy those 'simple things' that I love so dearly. I have just about managed to seize snippets of time with the Ginge and we popped to Norfolk last weekend for his Dad's birthday, which made for a lovely change of scenery. I can't wait for it all to be over, so that I can get back to normal proceedings. Here are a few photos from the last month. I hope that they brighten your day as they have mine. We've got snow up here, which feels bizarre after the spell of beautifully hot weather.