Another day out in London town!

This weekend my sister-in-law and her boyfriend came to visit. We thought that it would be fun to head into town and visit a couple of museums.

Mr Plum was keen to head to the baby friendly areas. The Science Museum had an area called The Pattern Pod which was aimed at 5-8 year olds, Baby Plum had fun chasing fish on the interactive floor!  There was a whole area called "The Garden" aimed at under 5's so Baby Plum spent some time in there with her auntie and uncle. 

Next we popped next door to the Natural History Museum. Baby Plum was fast asleep in her pram, so auntie and uncle had a look round the museum while we had a cuppa in the cafe and a wander around the shop!

What a lovely day!!

Baby Plum enjoying a pain au chocolat on Sunday morning!

End of my first week on maternity leave ...

Wow! This week has flown by! I can't believe that I have been on maternity leave for a week now ... only 3 weeks until my due date!!

Yesterday I had a quiet day of blitzing the kitchen ... then meeting up with another friend who is expecting a baby in January for Elderflower Punch at All Bar One before heading home to watch "Twilight" (making the most of Mr Plum being up in Leeds for a meeting!)

Today, I met up with my brother's girlfriend and we went to the Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A. This was fabulous ... the clothes were wonderful. I think that we will be watching High Society this evening!

After the exhibition we popped into the hotel where my brother works for a lovely lunch (I had a mixed salad followed by treacle tart with cinnamon ice cream and a nice pot of Earl Grey tea ... mmmmmm).

I feel exhausted now that I am home! I have a quieter week planned next week ... and I really must get on with some cleaning!!!

Quilts ... cont

I thought the Quilts exhibition was fantastic! As we went on a Saturday afternoon, it was rather busy - but not so much that we couldn't have a good look at the exhibits. I was amazed at the vibrant colours of the quilts made in the 18th and 19th centuries. There was also a modern quilt by Tracey Emin and another made by the inmates of HMP Wandsworth in 2009.

Of course I couldn't resist picking up some (over priced - but this is the V&A!) fat quarters with prints taken from quilts made in the mid 19th century.

We then headed to the lovely cafe (the first museum cafe in the world!) for tea and cake before heading home.

V&A Quilts Exhibition

This afternoon I am meeting some friends at the V&A for the Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition. I have read some very good reviews of this exhibition and am really looking forward to it! It may even inspire me to make my own patchwork quilt .... well, now that I have mastered the art of cushion making - there's nothing stopping me!! Right???

Fabric Addict Swap, My 200th Post Giveaway and other sunny weekend stuff ...

I have just signed up to Crafty Helen's First Swap! It's a Fabric Addict swap ... perfect!

Wasn't it a glorious day yesterday? I had to work in the morning, but that was okay because I could see the beautiful blue sky out of the window and by 1pm I was on my way to Covent Garden to meet Mr Plum at the London Transport Museum for the Suburbia exhibition. Mr Plum was, typically, 30 minutes late and incommunicado for that period ... so I managed to find myself a free curb in the Piazza and sat reading my new book The Resourceful Mum's Handbook (full of thrifty tips for not getting sucked into all the maternity and baby "must haves"), and listening to the nearby buskers!

The exhibition itself was okay. We had already spent a day at the museum itself, so didn't bother looking at the main exhibits again, and am glad that we had a 2 for 1 voucher. We found that we had already seen many of the Suburbia exhibits before, mainly because we have read about them, watched programmes about it, and attended a couple of lectures at the museum earlier this year. I am glad that we went though! If you haven't been to the Transport Museum and find yourself in London - I would definitely recommend it.

Under 16s are FREE and adults should make use of the National Rail 2 for 1 offer!

After that (and a piece of cake and cup of tea) we headed up to my FAVOURITE department store ... JOHN LEWIS!!! I was planning to get some wool so that I could start crocheting a blanket - but was overwhelmed by the choice of colours couldn't remember what I had in my yarn stash at home. So came away empty handed!

We popped to the Nursery Department and had another look at prams. Living in London and not being able to drive has had to influence our choice as I need to be able to get the pram off and on buses etc easily. Some friends had offered us their old pram for free - but unfortunately it was like a mini-tank and was not really practical for our needs. So we have chosen this one:

We had decided on this one even before we found it in purple!! Baby Plum in a Plum pram! It's nice and nippy and perfect for getting out and about!

This is my 200th post!!! And to celebrate I will be having a giveaway - and like last time, the gift will be a a surprise! If you would like to enter you can do any of the following:

Leave a comment on this post

Become a follower of my blog

Add the button to your blog (make sure you let me know!)

The more things you do ... the more entries you get!! The winning entry will be drawn from a cake tin on 1st May. GOOD LUCK!

I've got that Friday feeling! And another giveaway ...

Phew ... Friday at last! Why is it that the short weeks always feel the longest? And I have stupidly agreed to work tomorrow to earn some extra pennies for nappies! Ha Ha! Thankfully only working tomorrow morning and then Mr Plum and I will be heading to the Suburbia exhibition at the London Transport Museum. You have to pay to get into the Transport Museum (unlike many of the other large London museums and galleries), but we will be using a National Rail 2 for 1 voucher - these are fab and make a day out in the capital slightly more affordable (otherwise the Transport Museum is £10 each!!) Have you been?

So here I am, feet up at home (I had planned to go for a swim - but am too tired and think that maybe I will try for a Sunday morning swim instead...) catching up with lovely blogs, cats have come home (today they spent the whole day out in the sunshine and came in as soon as I got home!), and a new blog is discovered! Hurrah!

Check out Fondant Kiss who is doing a "New Beginnings" giveaway where the lucky commenter will get this beautiful necklace ... I love to enter giveaways - but never with any success! Oh well .... Not long until my 200th post giveaway!

As Chris Evans would say .... "Happy Fridays Everyone!"

Victoria and Albert In Love

A couple of Sundays ago I watched a very interesting programme on BBC 1 about a new exhibition opening at the Queen's Gallery ... I don't know whether you saw it too?

Well, today I went to the Victoria and Albert: Art In Love exhibition with Mr Plum and my parents. Unfortunately, HRH was at home, so the State Rooms at Buck House were closed ... but we'll be going back (for my third visit!)

The exhibition was brilliant ... beautiful artwork and jewels given to each other, Victoria's drawings of her children and music specially arranged so that Victoria and Albert could duet together ....

I would definitely recommend this exhibition if you find yourself in London over the next couple of months. You can book tickets here

Shall we go to Metro-land?

Last night I went to a very interesting lecture at the London Transport Museum. The theme of the talk was Betjemen and Suburbia ... the main part of the talk was given by a museum curator - with poetry read by an old chap from the Betjemen Society.

I love the old transport posters - and it was great to have some of them put into the context of the expansion of the Metropolitan railway and the building of suburbia. There are a series of talks and I have got tickets booked for another one in February:

Home Comforts

The style of the new suburban interiors and the changing role of the housewife in the 1920s and 1930s. This talk focuses on the wives and mothers who found themselves in charge of their new homes, in Metroland - far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Emmanuelle will explore how homes changed dramatically after the First World War, through the boom in technology and labour saving devices, and in their decorative schemes. She will compare the sleek ideal 'moderne' interiors that featured in magazines and promotional material, with the ubiquitous reality of mock Jacobean sideboards and floral wallpapers. Drawing on women's magazines of the time she will also discuss the woman's role in the house, where she shopped and what she bought.

You can purchase tickets here

London is so much more bearable when I remember to do lovely things!

I will be visiting the Suburbia exhibition soon!

Out and About....

Today I decided to drag myself away from the kittens and head into town to do something "cultural" ...

I headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum - I haven't been there for a while and wanted to see the 80 years of Faber exhibition and have a look at the frocks - always my favourite bit! I love the V&A shop ... I treated myself to a pair of button ear rings! They also had earrings made from zips!

After the V&A, I headed East to the Geffrye Museum over in Shoreditch (I don't venture to East London very often!). This museum specialises in "Living Rooms" and had rooms from various periods of history. At Christmas they have a Victorian themed living room decked out in all the lovely Victorian decorations! I must head back for that!

I picked up the latest issue of Time Out so that I can plan some other trips out for the rest of my week off ... I'm looking forward to reading about the markets as I am meeting some friends for a wander around Borough and Spitelfields markets at the weekend!

I will be sending off this little package to Greedy Nan tomorrow .... I hope that she likes it!! :)