Scout Hut before and After a little bit of a re-org

Before

So I now have light in the places that need natural light and dark where I sleep - that's better.

Where did the time go?

Blimey has it really been two weeks? Work has been very busy and the weekends have passed with a blur.  The TV at home seems to be stuck on either BBC HD or ITV HD and the World Cup - my conversations with The Boy seem to be limited to half time or full time and I am missing him a bit.

However, he loves football and I knew that when I hitched myself to that wagon so no complaints here.

So, what have I been up to.  Well there was another trip to Geneva, then we went to Scarborough for the weekend - the weather wasn't great but The Boy and I had a great night out (here we are before the wine  was consumed):

The next day I indulged my love for Asparagus once more with parma ham, roasted asparagus and poached duck eggs (on nom nom nom):

I made gifts for my friend who's baby girls is due soon:

Inspired by the pretty fabric I finally got around to making myself a dress from some fabric I bought last year.  I am so pleased with the result and wore it to work on Tuesday with a little red cardigan - many compliments were made:

So here I am again, two weeks later.  We've been to the coast again this weekend - making use of the flat we have there as we promised we would this year.  Today is chore day but not too much cooking at The Boy is in London for two days and Glasgow for two days so he only need food one night.  I have a pile of ironing and am back down south this evening but that's okay.  The weather is a little disappointing but the good news is that we are off to see Mum & Dad next weekend and their weather is fab - huzzah time to warm our bones.

In Geneva

I am in a hotel in Geneva again with work.  It's been a bit of a day, nearly 2 hours spreadsheet hell this morning, followed by a quick pack and dash then 3 hours to Heathrow (quite like terminal 3 but gutted to see a bag I bought at LK Bennett on the 28th May at HALF PRICE there) Sushi, then flight to Geneva, smelly smelly taxi then up five flights of stairs to a Superior Hotel Room as the lift wasn't working......not sure what's superior about it there is no view at all other than of an office and it's all a bit basic.  Oh well - lesson learned - don't let the Finance Director choose the hotel.

Last time I was here I stayed at a lovely hotel , part of the Swisshotel Group, it overlooked the lake, had an in room Gaggia coffee machine and beautiful rooms.  It was also 600 Swiss Francs a night - think this is nearer 250.

It's only for one night and it's comfortable enough.  I have to go for supper with the aforementioned FD.  I am not really looking forward to it as I find him very hard work.  Ah well, it's only a few hours.  He will want to get away early as he usually does so I will have some time to myself.

Geneva, btw, is beautiful, the lake and mountains are breathtaking and the architecture amazing.  However, it is so very very expensive.  Good job it's a work trip so can be billed back.

Right, time to put some slap on to go out for supper.

A nice cup of tea

I love a good cup of tea, I'm personally an English Breakfast girl myself and having been brought up by a committed Tea Drinker (thanks Mum) have from a very early age appreciated a good tea.  So I was delighted when we went for afternoon tea (by we I mean Mum, me and Big Bro) to Canteen in Canary Wharf and had a lovely pot of English Breakfast - so lovely in fact that I asked the nice lady there what it was - 'Tea Pigs' she said, 'oooh where can I buy them?' said I.

'Nowhere' she said.  And with that my tea high diminished a little.  'But you should try on line', she said.  And I perked up again.

So I tootled off to Google and lo I found www.teapigs.co.uk - I was a tad excited by this and had fun rummaging around the site and dove straight in with a BIG purchase:

I ordered the Office Bundle:

In the bundle there are:

• 100 x english breakfast tea (or two big bags)
• 50 x peppermint
• 50 x darjeeling earl grey
• 15 x mao feng green tea
• 15 x superfruit

I also bought some Green Tea with Mint for the Boy.

The package came in a great box with the slogan Real Tea stamped over it and with a couple of samples of the Chamomile (yum yum - floral but not overly perfumey) and a card to pass to a friend telling them that their tea is rubbish and giving them a discount to join the real tea movement.  Also a discount on the Matcha Super Power Green Tea

Tea Pigs come in little silk biodegradable tea temples that allow the tea leaves to expand fully

Each pack has an individual design for the tea inside:

They are very passionate about using Whole Leaf Tea - this is what their website says:

Whole Leaf Tea

At teapigs we make a big thing about using real tea. By real tea, we mean whole leaf tea, whole leaf herbs and whole flowers. For us it’s a question of flavour.

What you get in a regular tea bag is smaller particles of the same product. In making it smaller the leaf has been handled, crushed and chopped.

Just as if you pick a wild flower and put it straight into water it stays fresh and the scent is released, if you pick a wild flower and break it down into tiny pieces nearly all the scent is lost – tea is just the same. 

And they all make a bloomin lovely cuppa, I leave my english breakfast bag in for about 4 mins and it's never bitter just smooth perfect lovely tea.   The earl grey is delicate - not lady grey delicate but now too powerful either, refreshing and clean.  The peppermint is divine - the leaves puff up completely and you're left with a tea than can only be improved by adding lashings of sugar and having in Morrocan style:

The Green tea is good, I find it a bit nobel to be honest but I know that it's good for me so have stuck with it.  The Superfruits is far too much like a desert for me, but KBW's daughter loved it and a colleague at work who likes fruit tea said it was perfect.  All in all a positive result.

 Even the Mum the Tea Master and KBW who would run her a very very close second agree.

TeaPigs Office Bundle is £39.90 with free P&P - that's 17p per cup of tea.  Or if you're like me and tend to stick to one type the English Breakfast tea is 19p per cup for 50 bags  (P&P is only free once you've spent over £25).

Shopping Spree

In my last post I mentioned I had bought some swimwear, well I also bought some underwear and it all arrived (bar the cherry swim suit) today - huzzah:

The underwear came in black satin pouches with red bows

and the swimwear in calico with blue bows

Swimwear first:

Okay okay I wish I had the know how to rotate them all but hey........ so on to the underwear:

All pretty but much prettier in real life than in my limited skills photos!