Oh, hey there Winterrrrr

Winter has arrived in our part of the world! Jon got us a heater to warm the cottage up because, its clearly gonna get frakking cold in here. We've also hauled out the heavy-duty duvet - all the more snugglier to watch Vikings with - the new obsession which has taken over my life! Tomorrow sees the launch of something beeeg I've been busy with so tonight, we celebrate with stiry fry and er, water because we forgot to get drinks. Fail. Hope you are well? Equally in love with Lagertha?  x

Sprogging Update!

To sprog or not to sprog? 

I have decided to dog! 

Well, for now at least...

If there are any new life forms coming into my {our?} life, 

they will be in the form of a dog!

Lemme explain...

I LOVED reading your responses to my previous post. 

Even the replies from the elusive "anonymous!"

They were seriously eye-opening, and I'm so glad I asked you guys for advice. 

Since then, I have:

• Watched loads of birth videos {hippies seem to have a penchant for uploading these}
• Read approximately three birth stories a night {this particular one destroyed me with lols}
• Googled some freaky deaky birth pictures which I proceeded to send to Jenna - horrifying her and ensuring I would not have to mentally carry those images alone.
• Bought a baby mag with some bumper "All you need to know!" booklets {I am fairly sure our maid now thinks I am preggers}
•  Downloaded a pregnancy app {and subsequently received a gabillion baby-related newsletters which I've had to unsubscribe from}

Did this activate some sort of broody switch? Surprisingly...not. The baby pics didn't really do anything for me although I was strangely moved by a picture of a bear with a thermometer photoshopped into it's mouth. I did, however, found it all completely fascinating - especially those animated videos that show how a baby is formed. That sh*t BLEW MY MIND. I watched while yelling, "Jon, you've gotta watch this - Joooon, the baby has a TAAAAIL!!! A tail! Look at it's spine growing. LOOK AT IT'S SPINE." I could watch those all day long. How insane is it that you can make a human that is a part of you and a part of the person you love {ideally}. I mean, what the actual? That is insaaaaanely cool. 

I did have one tummy-flip, though. After working late one night, I found a note on my desk that said "I love you Lauren. Love Abi." Now Abi is my colleague's daughter and she loves pandas so basically, we're like best friends. When I got that note, my tummy fa-lipped - "AHHH, THIS IS IT!! This is what the moms are talking about! I get it now!" There I was, tossing papers about like a nutter and this tiny human had taken the time to write me a note. I was FINISHED.

Oh, I also ended up in a maternity ward after one of my bestie's went into labour {welcome to Earth, baby Dylan!} Ok, those maternity wards do...affect me. I can't help but imagine mysef, lying there in my panda jammies, regaling our families with tales of the sprog's arrival while Tall One checks in on the little nipper....

A few friends have told me in a totally well-meaning way that I am likely to over-analyse this decision {Me? Over-analyse something? HA!} so I took this rather sad but enlightening test...

When I was engaged, I ended up seeing a therapist. My besties figured I was just having cold feet but I couldn't be sure so my therapist said, "If I could offer you the choice of staying in South Africa and getting married, or sending you on a solo adventure to London, which would you choose?"

I'm ashamed to admit this but in my heart, I chose London but in reality, I got married. It's complicated of course but essentially, I didn't want to let anyone down and everything was perfect on paper. Regrettably, I did end up letting everyone down five years later and it was a million times more devastating than if I'd done it then.

So this may explain why I am terrified of making another long-term commitment without being completely sure. I'm rarely sure about major decisions. Eventually I just make them because I have to and hope for the best!

If offered the choice between a four-wheel pram or a ticket to London right now, I'd take the ticket. To holiday, that is! Not to live. 

Peeps have also said, "Ah Lauren, you'll make this baby thing work" but right now, I know I would be spreading myself too thin. I can't even stick to a skin care routine, let alone a "must keep the baby alive" routine! 

So who the heck knows! Part of me wants nothing more than to get down all my old bears, buy baby biker jackets and take the sprog leaf-crunching but the other part of me is like, "Woah Delilah, you just enjoy your Saturday sleep-ins for like, five more years."

Tall One remains tight-lipped on the subject and I remain in neutral despite my research into cracked n*pples and cloth diapers. I do, however, desperately want a dog! I - LOVE - DOGS. We can't have any as well, we're not allowed pets at the cottage so I'm thinking...

Step 1: Finish furnishing current cottage

Step 2: Convince Tall One that we need to move to a pet-friendly place that has a BATH and a shower later in the year.

Step 3: Acquire two adorable puppies

Step 4: Have somehow stashed stacks of cash {unlikely with current petrol price, London holiday hopes and furniture purchases}

Step 5: Possibly re-visit thoughts of sprogs

I don't like to plan too much as life usually has a delightful plan of it's own just waiting to surprise you!

If anything drastic changes, I shall let you know - hopefully, this all works out!

Lunch at Crystal Barn

On our third day in the Midlands, we met Kerri for lunch at Crystal Barn. One - it's always a lol of a catch up with Kez - and two - Crytal Barn is amaaaaze. It's like a much bigger, guest house version of Antiques House in Durban - and I LOVE me some Antiques House - I had my 32nd birthday tea there last year! As you can see from the pics, it's just jam packed with pretty things - and there are two adorable dogs which nuzzled at my feet while I ate! Speaking of eating,  I was so excited to tuck in, I forgot to snap pics of our food but just like Antiques, everything is beautifully presented in mismatched plates. While we were there, the most epic hail storm broke out which resulted in mass excitement {and some hailstones in my handbag which I forgot to take inside!} We huddled under a little shed thing outside for as long as we could, drinking wine and catching up, but when we started getting pelted, we nestled in at the bar which was cozy central. I do love the Midlands but I've always felt it needed more of this - somewhere seriously whimsical and special. It's def worth a visit if you're in this part of the world! x

Day two at Solitude

Ola! How is your weekend going? Today we went for a drivski and came across gazillions of wild flowers! After taking some snaps, we popped into a nearby antique store and snagged an old-school serving platter and some teacups. Now, I'm huddled inside watching Vikings {a bit more tolerable than Game of Thrones!} while it storms outside. Think I hear the Tall One lighting a fire right now. It feels like we're in Switzerland but we're not that far from Durbs at all! x

Day One in Solitude

If you follow me on da Gram, then you'll know we're at Solitude for the Long Weekend! The last few weeks have been mayhem but the thought of waking up in this little cottage has kept me going. Usually, I want to pop into country stores and what not on the way up but this time, all I wanted to do was climb into bed with a pile of mags and that's just what I did! After catching up on Kate Middleton's recent adventures, I had a little napski. Tall One woke me up with a toasted hot cross bun and some strong coffee and after noshing down, we went for a walk around the farm. As we got back, it started pouring down and now, I'm gonna have my first bubble bath in months. Man, I LOVE holidays! What are you up to for Easter?