Category: Mood

Categories
Kids Mood

Christmas at home

Christmas Lights - Regent Street
Photo by Gerry Balding

Last year we didn’t get to spend Christmas in London.

We had a wonderful time in Panama, visiting family and friends, exploring the islands and the city — we made some truly beautiful memories. But the fact that I was missing the wintery London Christmas made me, nonetheless, a little bit blue.

This year, we are staying home and I’m loving it. I’ve been doing the final gift and food shopping these last few days, worrying about whether I’m forgetting something (as if we’re preparing for some kind of apocalypse).

We’ve got the leg of lamb, potatoes and vegetables, the Swedish food from IKEA, and all the ingredients necessary to make some Portuguese Christmas treats. Rafael’s older brothers are coming over and they will all get to decorate the tree and spend loads of time together. And we might even go into town during Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Categories
Going out Mood

Back home

Rafael with his grandparents in Covent Garden
Photo by me

After 25 days away, we’re back home, ready to start the next chapter: I’m going back to work and Rafael is starting nursery soon.

My parents travelled with us from Portugal, so we’ve been spending these last few free days walking around town. And such a beautiful town it is. I feel so lucky to be able to call London home.

Categories
Living Mood

My one and only

We first met when I was 14 and I fell in love. I never forgot her; it was too early for me but for 12 years I lived in the knowledge we’d be together some day. And we did. And it was amazing. Waking up every day was spectacular because I knew she was mine; we had the best of times, and when I was less than happy she was always there to make me smile.

But things change, life moves on, and I left her, safe in the knowledge I could still see her once in a while. I wasn’t going far.

I can’t tell if those once in a while visits are making me happier or sadder. But I can tell that sometimes you just find the one and nothing else will ever compare.

I miss London.

Categories
Mood Travel

Victoria Line

Photo by Barbara Piancastelli

One word: nightmare.

You may be really early for work. It doesn’t matter. It will always find a way of making you late: a faulty train, problems on the tracks, signal failure, person under the train, you name it.

I have always tried to face the Tube with a smile, but trust me when I say this line will challenge you any chance it gets.

Some of the things I’ll do: read the newspaper or a magazine, listen to music or an audiobook, read a book, write a post in my notebook (such as this one), play a game on my phone. And smile. Even if it’s just to yourself. There are so many worse things in life.

Categories
Mood Weather

Rain

Photo by Zohar Manor-Abel

The rain usually makes me feel a little bit happier…

I do love walking around London when it’s sunny and hot, but there’s something about its (or mine) permanent melancholic state that makes it feel more perfect under the rain. And it gives me an excuse to just linger around the house without feeling guilty.

Categories
Going out Mood Streets

Cheer up

Photo by me

This was not my best week. It wasn’t the worst either, but the lack of energy and inspiration to do anything didn’t help.

Luckily, I’m in London, so getting out of the house and walking around its streets (even under this cold weather — ignore the photo) seems to be enough to cheer me up.

It reminds me that the things I’m stressing out about are probably seen as good things by anyone else other than myself, and, if not, well, we can’t have everything — we might as well be happy with the things we’ve got.

I love this city and it’s starting to get really hard to image my life without it.