Mrs Bovary draws me

Curiously, I don’t generally advocate the reading of blogs.

You see, while I’m terribly grateful of every single eyeball glancing in my direction, I am only too aware that any time spent delving headfirst into social media is pretty much a  ‘time waster’.  So, I don’t tend to keep up with most blogs.  But – among the handful that I DO rate – lies the great Mrs Bovary

Mrs Bovary bashing books last December

Mrs Bovary bashing books last December

…which is why I invited her last December to my Word Bird Book Bash.  Without knowing an ounce about her, I was certain she’d make for humorous company.  Which she did.

Her (drawn) selfie with Hubert in tow

Her (drawn) selfie with Hubert in tow

She writes semi poetically semi hilariously – about her life in North London with her husband and 2-year old, who she calls Hubert. Of course she’s only really funny because she’s dreadfully clever but it’s not just her words which have hooked me as regular reader.  Her drawings are quite stunning while PERFECTLY tongue-in-cheek.

a heavenly version of me perched on my word machine inside my camera lens. GENIUS! with thanks to Atelier Bovary

a heavenly version of me perched on my word machine inside my camera lens. GENIUS! with thanks to Atelier Bovary

Anyway, as you can see, she’s gone and drawn me.  So I off I trotted to interview her (and meet the cutest Hubert ever):

how would you describe your humour? suspicious

where would you rather be right now? horizontal

when are you happiest? the first days of spring

what did you design/draw today? I’m thinking about doing drawings for a set of mad mum mugs or Day of the Week maternity pads.

does drawing make you laugh or cry?  it keeps me off the sauce for an hour or two.

why Bovary? it makes me sound cleverer than I am.

nickname? Rear Admiral Abbas

What makes you run a mile? running

funniest thing you heard last week?  last week wasn’t very funny. Hubert got chicken pox. We went mad with all the incarceration and started to speak Esperanto.

who would you LOVE to draw?  someone who has done something weird and interesting.

can Herbert draw like a genius?  not yet, but I have superglued some pencils to his fingers so it shouldn’t be long now.

who would be impossible to draw – and why?   kids are difficult to draw. They are quite unyielding because they haven’t done much with their lives. And men. They’re a bit hairy.

how much do you love words (out of 10) and drawing (out of 10)? I think they complement each other.

if not drawing, then what?  telemarketing.

favourite designer ever?  Alberta Ferretti

Please do contact Mrs Bovary at her Atelier Bovary immediately for more details about her commissions.  She’ll be only too happy to draw you too.  ( if you’re reading this and you’ve been DONE by Mrs B, do show us yours!)  And do READ Mrs Bovary when you have a spare second.

Leave a Comment

Filed under friends

Competition: a dingle-dangle HEART ring

I’m getting fully stuck into red heart season. At its worst it’s a bit of frivolous, girlie love and – quite frankly – won’t do anyone any harm.  Besides, 14th Feb comes at a perfect time of year.  Outside is grey and miserable and we are fully deserving a smidgen of spoiling.

But… this year my girl readers, I want to set you a challenge.  Don’t simply turn your heads and hearts to your men.  Instead, I want you to treat the girls in your life –  and I have the PERFECT little something up my sleeve for you to gift them.

be a sweetie and buy a friend a little valentine treat! £35 from Georgiana Scott

be a sweetie and buy a friend a little valentine treat! £35 from Georgiana Scott

Because last night (as I was sipping my 6th and final juice) my JuJu (of Georgiana Scott Jewellery retail fame) dropped by.  Full of hearts she was … earings, pendants, bracelets and her Chica Ring:  a pretty little silver ring with a dangling rose heart.

the ring goes on any finger as you can change the size (perfect as a surprise present!)

the ring goes on any finger as you can change the size (perfect as a surprise present!)

I slipped it on (everyone can – it expands to fit fingers as fat as mine!) and begged her for another couple of rings as a competition prize.  The rings cost £35 and you can buy them in Fenwick Bond Street /Brent Cross or call Juju 07956 658352 and she will pop one in the post!

To enter – all you have to do is LIKE both the Georgiana Scott and Life Of Yablon Facebook pages.  (2 winners will be chosen on 14th Feb 2014)

xxxxx A sign of my love for you all this Valentine’s Day xxxxx

 

 

 

 

32 Comments

Filed under Exclusive to website, friends, prizes, shopping

icing hearts @BiscuiteersLtd

I’m a real glutton for punishment heading for Biscuiteers to learn how to ice biscuits – on a week when I’m only consuming raw, healthy foods.  But, I knew of a small man who couldn’t do rugby training after a bowling incident… involving an even smaller finger…

IMG_2071

…so I rescued my Small-Version-of-Him from the freezing pitch side-lines and we headed up to the Biscuiteer boutique, 194 Kensington Park Road, W11 to have some fun.

at Biscuiteers, Westbourne Grove

at Biscuiteers, Westbourne Grove

The shop (they call it a boutique) has an icing café at the back where between 8th – 14th Feb you can ice a Valentine themed biscuit under the guidance of their expert icers.

everything in the shop is exquisitely iced

everything in the shop is exquisitely iced

and artistically merchandised too

and artistically merchandised too

Clearly the bandaged finger didn’t get in the way and he and I LOVED creating our edible masterpieces.  Not only were the ‘expert icers’ great at guiding us with the vibrant coloured icing, they also made us feel extremely welcome with a hot chocolate and a cup of tea.

we were shown who to ice

we were shown who to ice

 

with the most amazing colours

with the most amazing colours (in disposable bags)

our collection of 'masterpieces'

our collection of ‘masterpieces’ – can you spot the one for Mini?

Just as we were finishing off a familiar face popped by.  Juicy Lucy was passing, spotted us and was VERY keen to sit down to have a go too!

Juicy Lucy gets icing too!

Juicy Lucy gets icing too!

… but then can't wait to eat it!

… but then can’t wait to eat it!

So here it is – my first tip for our forthcoming heart day.

No need to book.  And if you’re feeling lazy, the Biscuiteer icer can do a more professional job.

Price: £15 for 3 biscuits  – Do check out their icing video below for some inspiration.

Leave a Comment

Filed under food, kids

Happy 10th Birthday, Facebook!

10 years ago we had virtually no contact with the rest of the world.  Not really.  We couldn’t see friends’ children blow out their 5 candles nor admire the view from the top of that well-hiked mountain.  With unlimited appeal to look over that garden fence, Facebook has allowed us to see right into people’s lives.  (for better or for worse).

2014-02-04 11.21.04So as Facebook turns 10 today (leaving aside any of the gripes), we have never been better connected.  The social network giant – with now more than 1.2 billion monthly users – allows us to share and over-share to our hearts’ content.

To celebrate (with Mark Z) I thought I’d list my top 5 loves of Facebook:

1)   sharing… I love that friends and family far and wide share the minutiae of their lives.  There’s no doubt about it:  the Brits have become better sharers.

2)   Wit… those who I wouldn’t necessarily have down as stand-up comedians have revealed themselves on this network as truly amusing.

3)   Love … Facebook with its like function truly helps to spread a little love.

4)   Reminders… birthdays have never been so difficult to forget.

5)   Effortless… it takes a matter of minutes to catch up with a few hundred friends (unless you time-waste)

6)   Eyeballs… to the blog. Of course. (for this I am most grateful!)

Of course, there is plenty about the big blue boy that we don’t like.  A feeling of being controlled?  Bored of your neighbour’s cat photos? But sometimes it seems more fashionable to say that you hate Facebook than admit that you like it.

10-candles

Happy 10th Birthday, Facebook!

1 Comment

Filed under Exclusive to website, social