Mrs Lister writes…

As you can probably imagine it’s been a rather busy few months – what with me wrapping up things at work and growing a person – but I’m on maternity leave now so hoping I’ll have a bit more time to blog…

And before you all start YES I KNOW I WON’T HAVE TIME TO EAY/SLEEP/BREATHE/GO TO THE TOILET AFTER HE ARRIVES. SHUT UP.

Mini Lister is due to arrive a week today and I’m in the ‘nesting’ phase which is quite nice – nursery nearly done, garden being tamed as I type, carpets booked in for next Wednesday. I’m hoping it’ll turn into the ‘DIY’ phase after he’s born so I can sort the rest of the house out. I’ve never attempted to fit a bathroom but it can’t be THAT hard, can it?

Anyway – I was going to do a Rocking/Shocking but I’m feeling so happy at the moment that it’s turned into a ‘Rocking’ only…

POSITIVE VIBES YEAH?!

Rocking

London

Sometimes I’ll be talking to friends about various cities across the world that we love and I’ll say something like ‘yeah it’s my second/third favourite city in the world.’ I’ll invariably be asked ‘What’s your favourite then?’ which causes me to suck my teeth, roll my eyes and exclaim ‘LONDON, STUPID!’.

I love my city. Traffic, overcrowding, over-inflated prices and all. I first moved to London when I was 17 and worked as a live-in au pair in Friern Barnet but headed home after a year to finish my A Levels. I’ve been here 12 years this time round and honestly can’t think of another city I would rather live in. The culture, the history, the people, the restaurants, the parks, the architecture, the Thames, the view when you come over Blackfriars Bridge on the train – all the things that make London unique.

Oh and that small sporting even we hosted recently? SMASHED IT.

Team GB

So. The Olympics. Can’t say I expected it to go *quite* so well, can you? I expected hideous traffic, horrific transport nightmares, shoddy weather, a few medals and a considerable amount of moaning.

But oh how we surprised ourselves.

I spent two weeks of my life crying, cheering, clapping, squealing, shouting, whooping, cringing, wincing and crying even more. I’ve never – EVER – been interested in ‘sports’ so to say this was a new experience for me is an understatement. Jim would come in from work and I’d be sat at the kitchen table working to the dulcet tones of Radio 5 Live or – if it was a big event – watching iPlayer on my Mac whilst I wrote my handover notes on my PC.

And it was all down to Team GB really, wasn’t it? If we hadn’t done so well would we all have been so enthralled? So consumed with the spirit of the Olympic games? Of course not.

But from the second Heather Stanning and Helen Glover rowed their way to our first Gold the nation was hooked. For me personally, it made such a pleasant change to watch someone represent my country in a sporting event and feel a sense of pride. I understand that when a nation hosts the Olympics then a lot of money is diverted to ensure our sportsmen and women are fully supported but even in Beijing Team GB were in their ascendancy. We’re shit hot, make no mistake.

And what a team! Humble, professional, worthy, intelligent, dedicated individuals that our children – and indeed we – can be inspired by. All ages, shapes and sizes, a variety of social backgrounds and cultures, Team GB truly were a fantastic representation of Great Britain.

Bring on the Paralympics!!

Argan Oil

I’m not going to lie to you, I’m not a fan of Morocco as a travel destination. I think it’s largely down to the food which I find either boring (couscous) or just plain wrong (tagine – the meaty fruity stew from hell) or it could be the fact that you can’t just pop out before dinner for a nice glass of wine. Whatever it is, I don’t plan on revisiting any time soon.

I remember seeing Argan Oil all over the place when I was there and didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, however since I’ve been pregnant it has quite literally saved my skin. It started with a birthday prezzie back in April from my pregnant friend Claire – she bought me a bottle of Oil Arganic and swore blind it was the reason she didn’t have a single stretch mark at 8 months pregnant.

I started using it and fell in love straight away – it left my bump feeling lovely and soft, smelt wonderful and – best of all – was 100% natural. I ran out of face moisturiser at about 5 months pregnant and after unsuccessfuly flitting from expensive brand to expensive brand I decided to see if Argan Oil was as good for my face as it was my bump. After a bit of research I came across Argan Organics Anti Wrinkle Face Cream (on Amazon of all places) and decided to give it a shot.

Now I don’t know if it’s the moisturiser or my pregnancy hormones but I swear to god my skin has never looked better than it has these past 4 months. I noticed the difference pretty much instantly as well – the spots I’d been getting on my forehead cleared up and my skin just generally looked a lot clearer. I’ve never left an Amazon review in my life but really felt I had to for this stuff – it’s THAT good.

I’ve since bought a bottle of 100% Argan Oil which I’ve been using for my bump since the Oil Arganic ran out and will continue using it when said bump turns into a baby in a couple of weeks (days?!) as apparently it’s great for nappy rash and as a baby moisturiser. Bonus!

APC/Nike collab

Oooh I do love a good collaboration. I was first in line when Nike started collaborating with Liberty three years ago and still wear my Nina print Dunks with pride during the summer months. It was love at first sight when I clapped eyes on the new APC/Nike collab.

HELLO AUTUMN FOOTWEAR SOLUTION.

I’ve got my eye on the brown Dunks but would get all three colourways if I could afford it. Which obviously I can’t. Grrrrr.

Breaking Bad

It took us a while but Jim and I FINALLY got round to watching Season 1 of Breaking Bad a couple of months back and were pretty much instantly hooked. I had a slight wobble with Season 2 when I started to lose interest because it ‘didn’t make sense’ and then realised – two episodes into Season 3 – that we had missed the final four episodes. Well done Kerry! Turns out those final four episodes were GOLD and I am now loving Season 3 as a consequence.

The acting is top notch, the characters brilliantly flawed and the writing is up there with The Wire . Watch it, you won’t be disappointed!

Handmade

I’m not a crafty person. I know how to knit (barely) and tried to take it up again a while back but – unsurprisingly given my notorious patience – lost interest. My Gran is a ferocious knitter and since announcing my pregnancy has produced two cardis, a sweater and two hats with which to clothe her Great Grandson when he makes his big entrance. In addition to this we’ve been given a beautiful hand-crocheted blanket (resting on the pram in the picture above) that a good friend of my in-laws made when she heard our news. Amazing considering we’ve never met her – suffice to say we sent a very nice email to say thank you!

And on Sunday my also-preggers and extremely crafty friend Jo (of jothorpemosaic and Shizzle Shop fame) presented me with a beautiful hand knitted hat – made with Liberty wool don’t you know – to warm the head of the ginger prince during the winter months. She’s also making him a scarf to go with it!

There’s just something extra special about a handmade item isn’t there? Not only because it looks fabulous and is generally made with the recipient in mind but because you know the person invested their time in making it, especially for you. Awwwwwww. Group hug!

Shaun Keaveny’s Breakfast Show on 6 Music

Lauren Laverne, Cerys Matthews, Gilles Peterson – I LOVE 6Music. It’s the only radio station I listen to and caters to my musical tastes perfectly. Since Jim and I moved into the new pad in April we’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen listening to the radio and breakfast is always eaten to the dulcet northern tones of Shaun Keaveny. He is bloody brilliant – from middle aged shout-outs to Mike Hanson’s Songs of Praise, I spend most of my morning laughing so hard it’s all I can do to not choke on my cornflakes. A great way to start the day!

Clarks Originals

I’ve pretty much lived in my Clarks Kestral Soar sandals since I bought them a month or so ago – perfect for pregnancy swollen feet – and when I saw these badboys I knew I had to have them too. I’ve already got a pair of Clarks Originals in a jazzy leopard print and they are pretty much the comfiest shoes I own. The Desert Jaguar is another ‘perfect for Autumn’ shoe and is – unsurprisingly – a collaboration, this time with Jaguar Shoes, a trendy bar in London’s trendy Hoxton that I haven’t been in for about 10 years because I’m not trendy enough. Apparently they are now a ‘collective’ and do art and stuff. I don’t really care about all that gubbins – I just really like the shoes.

I also got a pair of free ‘designer’ socks with them. Bonus!

 

I could bang on for ages about baby stuff in this list but have decided to wait until Mini Lister arrives before I start boring you all with that nonsense.

Anyway – I always pride myself on being on time and Jim is normally about 10 minutes late for everything so our son will either arrive bang on time next Thursday or at some point the following week.

Wish me luck!

Mrs L xx

 

 

 

Tagged: 6music, APC, argan oil, Breaking Bad, Clarks Originals, collaboration, craft, crochet, handmade, knitting, london, London 2012, Nike, Olympics, Shaun Keaveny, Team GB