The Bigger Picture

In other, exciting news ... I finally bit the bullet and bought the Olympus PEN E-PL7. I've been hemming and hawing over this camera for nearly a year now, and though the universe didn't seem to like giving it up to me that easily (long story), I reserved one at John Lewis yesterday, marched over at lunchtime, and claimed it for myself.

I love using John's Canon DSLR for shots like these and these, but I often long for something a little more compact when I'm out and about reviewing restaurants and taking photos at blogger events.

So, yes. Here it is. I was too impatient to wait for Santa. I just need to grab a memory card today because in my insane rush to get my hands on this camera yesterday, I forgot to get one (doh!).

I also wanted to thank you for all your lovely comments on here, on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about our new house. It's really given me a lot of encouragement because I've found the whole decorating process quite daunting, to be honest, and I don't have a lot of confidence when it comes to interior decoration.

I love sharing little bits and pieces with you as we go along, but my heart always drops a little bit when someone says, "Full house/room tour when you're ready, please!" because there's a lot of the behind-the-scenes chaos going on right now e.g. the jelly-fish adorned toilet seat that the previous owners lovingly left behind; the fact that I delicately climb over a mountain of boxes to get to the shower at the moment; and the huge wall radiator that was yanked off our kitchen wall in preparation for the damp work we had done when we moved in and is now sitting in the garden collecting rain water because it's too heavy even for both of us to lift and mount. Then you tell me nice things like, "Your house is going to be beautiful!" And, well, I feel like a bit of a fraud.

House decorating, like life, like yoga, like so many other "practices" we embark on, is a process - something I'm trying to slowly accept. I think that Pinterest and Instagram have conditioned us (i.e. me) to expect beauty and perfection immediately. Intrinsically, I know that part of the fun is finding objects for the house in a slow, thoughtful, collaborative way, but instinctively, I find myself rushing around every furniture store I can hit within central London, trying to source the perfect rug. After years of struggling with tricky landlords and tiny flats, I'm just so eager to make it feel like "home", you know?

So, thank you. We're working on it. But most of all, I know I am super lucky to have a place to call my own.

I've also learned a lot about things like wall plugs (which I totally thought were called "raw plugs" for the longest time!), scotia (that trim that goes around your room/skirting board to fit the gap between the wall and the floor), and floor sanding. Thankfully, we've not had to do a lot of these things ourselves (sanding and painting large areas of the house are best left to the professionals, IMO) so far, but there's a mitre saw sitting in our shed, calling John's name ... hmm.