A jungle ride

On Saturday, as Mark was away in Chicago for work, Liz and I went to the Mount Mascal stables out in Bexley for a horse ride. It was great fun, my pony was called Jungle and she was absolutely lovely,  very laid back and easy to ride. Liz also had a really nice horse called Trouper, and it was a beautiful day for a gentle plod around the woods.

We also stopped in at the 99p store, as it’s always fun. I was childishly amused by the kids’ drink called Boobee, however, my taking a picture of it prompted the security  guard to get rather annoyed – the conversation went something like this…

‘No, you can’t do that, why are you taking a picture?’ ‘because it’s funny, it’s got a funny name’ ‘would you do that in Tesco?’ ‘Yes, if something had a funny name’ ‘Why is it funny, what’s funny about… Boobies?’ (at this point Liz and I just walked away in fits of giggles)

It must be quite a dull job being a security guard in a 99p store, but that’s no excuse for not having a sense of humour!

An Expedit-ion

On Friday evening Mark and I took a trip to Ikea to buy some shelves to furnish his new room. After a fun wander round the store, and a bit of confusion over the price of Billy the Bookshelf, we picked out the lovely Expedit shelving unit, and lugged the 91lb beauty home (resulting in very tired arms, a large bruise, and a few offers of help from passing strangers and bus drivers!)

Saturday we stayed in for construction day, followed by lots of arranging of toys and nic-nacs, to make the shelves look perfect – which they now do, and Mark’s  room feels suitably like he lives there! In between our DIY work, we also took some time to make homemade bagels – which turned out very well. This was all quite exhausting though, and Sherman the Shiraffe (he’s a cross between a sheep and a giraffe,  even though he looks like a llama) and I needed regular naps!

Sunday we were going to go to the Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Royal academy, but hadn’t booked tickets, so ended up just wandering around town instead, and stopping for lots of cups of coffee! We had one in the Nordic Bakery, along with a very unusual oatmeal raisin cookie, which was more like toffee, but very nice.

Monday night was a visit to Bodean’s with my housemates – I had the amazing burnt ends, and despite being told I couldn’t substitute a side salad for the fries, I was then brought a salad anyway (free of charge) so didn’t have to eat the chips but could just focus on the MEAT! It was very tasty, and a total bargain at £10, including a drink!

a recommendation…

I am not, by any means, a wine buff, but I do now have a favourite wine. I got home from the gym this evening, having done an abs class (the dr has told me I’m not supposed to run until I’ve seen a physio about my hips/ankles) and had a small glass of the wine we won at the pub quiz last month. It’s called Cuvee de Richard Blanc, and it’s amazing – really appley and refreshing.

Work continues to go well, and is getting gradually busier – my mascara presentation met with approval from my manager, so that’s a good start! I have just that Conquest has been shortlisted for the best agency award by Research Magazine – which is very exciting!

I also discovered today that my ex-colleague Bruno has been promoted – well done him!