• Being woken by Jesse at 6am.
• Loving Mr. LA for letting me lie in while he headed downstairs with the children.
• Loving him even more when he cooked breakfast. Fried eggs on hot buttery toast, smothered with Linghams Chili Sauce.
• Sipping tea on the sofa with the children.
• Enjoying a long, hot shower.
• Sporting berry coloured lipstick.
• Preparing vegetables for dinner. We hacked away at a pumpkin, sliced red peppers and peeled shallots.
• Listening to the children play.
• Eating soup and bagels for lunch.
• Wandering into town in the sunshine.
• Losing an hour in the RAMM. The children never seem to tire of their local museum, dashing off to their favourite exhibits as soon as they cross the threshold.
• Indulging in hot chocolate and cake at Starbucks.
• Trying {repeatedly} to persuade Jesse to use the loo. He’s clearly got a bit of a ‘thing’ about public toilets. Can’t say I blame him to be honest. Grim.
• Heading home to meet my parents who popped in on their way to visit friends nearby.
• Loving how much my children love their Grandparents.
• Chatting to my Mum while I prepared dinner. The Spiced Pumpkin and Coconut Casserole was delicious, as was the herbed rice and lentils I served with it. Such vibrant, tasty food.
• Letting the pot of veg bubble away gently on the stove while I ate cake and sipped tea with our guests.
• Saying goodbye.
• Enduring one of Jesse’s tantrums.
• Needing wine. Badly.
• Sitting down for dinner with Mr. LA.
• Drinking cocktails.
• Getting all cosy on the sofa while we watched ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’.
• Falling into bed, drowsy with food and alcohol.
• Sleeping in.
• Eating omelets for breakfast.
• Pottering in the kitchen with Jesse while Izzy was at her drama class and Mr. LA worked upstairs.
• Whizzing up the leftovers from the previous evening’s meal to make soup for lunch.
• Picking up my new Neom Christmas Wish candle from Exeter’s shiny new department store, John Lewis. Their click and collect service is a beautiful thing 😉
• Taking a walk through Northernhay Gardens. I love this little stretch of green amidst the chaos of the city centre. It’s always beautiful.
• Coming home, drawing the curtains and lighting candles.
• Being left to my own devices while the children watched a movie and ate pop corn.
• Tidying our desperately messy bedroom.
• Labouring over a huge pot of slow cooked beans. The recipe for Hippy Beans is an old favourite, and perfect for this time of year. I served the finished dish with tortillas, cheese, avocado and lime wedges.
• Looking forward to picking at the leftovers later!
• Running a bath for the children.
• Realising my not-quite-potty-trained son had gone a whole day without any accidents.
• Reading Jesse The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
• Planning a long soak in the bath and an early night.

Love Audrey xxx