Many things happened this weekend.The biggest news is that I finally cracked, and downloaded Uber 🚙. I have put off getting Uber 🚙, as my worry is that my relationship with Uber 🚙, will be similar to my relationship with chocolate 🍫 - if I don't have it, I can't eat it, if I do, I will always eat it all (I just don't understand these people who can eat two pieces of dairy milk, and not eat the rest of the bar for a week 🍫😍). Therefore with Uber on my phone I would soon be ubering everywhere, with my bicycle long forgotten 😢. Until this weekend I have always had to be fairly imaginative with my travel arrangements 🚶🚴 🚕 🚂 ⛵️.The reason for the Uber 🚕 download is as follows:Alice (not me, a different Alice) had organised an appointment at 9am a bridesmaid 👗 dress shop in Chiswick, on Saturday morning. Many alarm bells 🎊 should have started ringing at this proposition - 9am is not my strongest hour and the last time I went to Chiswick on a weekend it was a disaster. But this was the only appointment they had, so I City Mapppered 📉the route in preparation (walk 🚶, bus 🚌, bus 🚎) and remembered to set my alarm ⏰. I however forgot (ignored) the fact that I would be participating at a very nice dinner 🍷🍛 at Mosimann's for Gabby's birthday 🎂 on the Friday evening. And after some good wine 🍷, much good food 🍲 and a 2am sleep time 💤 - a 7.30am alarm did not feel at all like a satisfactory option 😳.I did wake up 🎊🎊, and neither of my flatmates seemed particularly inclined to drive 🚙❌ me anywhere, so after an inner turmoil, I downloaded Uber. You have to get an UberX apparently, so Hassan turned up in his white Toyota Prius 🚘 and off we went. An eye make up disaster 😜 (too rushed, smudge everywhere) didn't seem to phase him, although I am certain I looked more like I was doing a walk of shame 😎, rather than going for respectable dress fitting 😇 when he picked me up from side of Wandsworth Bridge roundabout. He even said 'take care' when he dropped me off (at the wrong place). However, THE most important thing was that I made it, and we were able to try many bridesmaid dresses 👗 👗on 💕☺️.This weekend I also assisted in celebrating three birthdays 🎂🎂🎂 🎈😄.The first was Gabby's 👧for which we had a magnificent dinner 🍛 at Mosimann's (thank you Mary ☺️). It was really very pleasant - I ate risotto al fungi (mushrooms) 🍲, some pigeon (hopefully not too local) 🐦 and we shared a pudding plate 🍰🍮🍨 (the passion fruit soufflé 🍮 is so delightful, I would happily go back and order just that.) I do like Mosimann's very much - the building is a converted 19th century church, and the space is splendid. The walls are filled with many beautiful works of art 🎨 and the loos 🚽are rather decadent, they have a fireplace with an actual fire burning 🌅. And the food is very very nice indeed. A charming evening out with wonderful company ☺️, and Jerome the chef even came out to say hello 😉.On Saturday evening we celebrated Tom 👦 and Chatty's 👩 birthdays with a large feast 🍛🍨🍷🍸. Chatty cooked for 26 people - and she didn't just do a pie 🍲 - she went the whole hog and did roast pork 🐷, with potato gratin 🍲, and many wonderful trimmings (She was putting the pork in at 7.30am ⏰on Saturday morning, whilst I was having a break down trying to work out how to order an Uber 😭🚙). It was magnificent and the pudding 🍨 was amazing - apple 🍏 tart tatin AND banana 🍌tart tatin. Really delicious - there was not a scrap left (which was good, as last time we had a big dinner, there was a lot of pudding 🍨smooshed into the floor the next morning). But we had an excellent time - 26 is the most we have sat for dinner so far in our house - thanks for all the chair and table lending!! Possibly, most excitingly of all, one of Tom's friend's, completely coincidentally works for Sipsmith, and brought some of that lovely gin 🍸along 💗.Sunday we cleared up (mainly Tom and Hugh), and then went for a potter down to the antiques market on the Northcote Road. This worries me slightly, as I am not sure we are at antiques pottering age yet, but really it is because our house came completely unfurnished and we still need to acquire certain bits of useful furniture. Anyway I really like the antiques market - there are many curious things, and the people are nice. We rejuvenated ourselves with a nice hot chocolate ☕️☺️ in Gails, which is well worth it.Alice xxx
