Saturdays.

How would you spend your perfect Saturday? Well, mine felt pretty perfect this weekend. A lie-in (of course) but not one that's too long where you feel like you've wasted most of the day. Alas, I'm now of an age where spending the day in bed is not something I want to do - I must do something to avoid returning to work on Monday feeling like i'm owed an extra day. I actually woke up at 6.30 because my body is programmed to wake up extra early during the week but it was absolute bliss to be able to curl up and close my eyes again. In fact, I put on the final episode of the Radio 4's Book at Bedtime's 'The Pursuit of Love' by Nancy Mitford, which i've been listening to on the way to work recently, and snuggled into the duvet accompanied by the soothing tones of Diana Quick reading one of my most favourite books.

I wasn't aware of hubby getting up but I woke up again at 9.30 just before he went to the gym. I listened to a quick mindfulness meditation (don't hate me - I really need to try to relax my brain so the practice is great), before getting up, making a cup of tea and cleaning the flat with Saturday Kitchen mumbling away in the background. I find something incredibly restful about this show and my weekends just don't feel right if I have to leave the house before it starts...

The mister returned just as I was finishing the cleaning...and my slightly cold cup of tea...and after
showering, he made us a tasty brunch - eggs and toast for him, gluten free pancakes and jam for me, washed down with a big pot of coffee. All memory of a stressful week seemed to disappear at that point - perhaps it was the food, the company, or the knowledge that the weekend still stretched out ahead of me and the flat was clean...I don't know, but I just felt very content at that moment.

We then headed out to the Natural History Museum to meet up with my friend H and her new mister, and go to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. I've been to this exhibition a few times over the last few years and, I don't know, it leaves me quite cold. There are some amazing photos on display but, at the same time, there are some photographs that look so over-developed and just like Windows wallpapers...if that makes sense. I suppose going on a Saturday afternoon didn't help the experience either, there were just so many people there that a lot of the time you had to struggle to peer over a wall of people to read about the image on display. Frustrating.

The Natural History Museum though is one of my favourite museums in London and I could happily spend hours wandering its halls, discovering new things. This Saturday, we discovered an area where there are a number of jars with various creatures preserved in formaldehyde - from the smallest insects to rats, mice and birds. Creepy but fascinating. Beside them, you can peep into various private rooms, like archives with shelves and shelves of specimen jars. Not a place where you'd want to find yourself locked in at night.

The four of us then headed to Casa Brindisa near South Kensington station for some drinks and nibbles, and to catch up about the exhibition and our Christmases, and to get to know my best friend's new mister. The streets outside were busy with people rushing around, the rain was heavy and we were cosy inside, in a small nook with some delicious wine, olives and caper berries to snack on. Such a wonderful day. If you go to Casa Brindisa, you must try the olives stuffed with orange - so so delicious! We talked about plans to go back there for a proper meal at some point - it's always good to have things to look forward to, and I'm not the only one who thinks that great plans also involve great food, right?

The week ahead is going to be tough but having a good weekend to look back on and exciting plans to look forward to definitely helps. Hope you all had great Saturdays!

[Pictures taken from my Instagram - come and say hi!]