Tiny Sparks of Joy.

Homemade pizza. It gets nicer every week.

Downton Abbey on the big screen with friends.

Dinner and lengthy chats with friends after Downton Abbey.

Feeling organised for the week ahead.

Starting new library books. I just adore our library system.

Take me out to the ball game, and then take me for dinner

Yesterday we took a break from the exhaustion of being in between two houses, neither of which is a relaxing place in which to be, and went to a rugby match. I’m not a follower of rugby, and I only know there’s a match on when our Friday, Saturday or Sunday plans are dictated by a fixture. Nothing reminds me as much of the Colloseum as walking to an almost-full sports stadium and my imagination tends to wander during a match, given that I’m not quite sure what’s going on a lot of the time. It isn’t that difficult to picture what might have happened thousands of years ago in a stadium not so far away.

After the match we went for dinner in Mulberry Garden. The menu is limited, but interesting, and we decided on the three course dinner menu. It included a couple of extras which were delicious, as were the other courses. We also decided on the house red wine as it happened to be a blend of our favourite grapes, and this was a great choice. The only downside was the service which seemed to favour efficient brusqueness over friendliness. There were a couple of spills when wine was poured and the dish of oil for the breads was removed, and I’m not a fan of sitting with a stained tablecloth, especially when I haven’t down the staining. This small complaint aside, it is a lovely spot and I think we’ll be back again.

Dinner and a movie

Last night we had a date night. We went to see Room and then ate in one of our favourite sushi places. On the spur of the moment we went to an earlier viewing of the film, meaning dinner was later. This was not the best choice. What was once a tiny, charming and efficient place to eat seems have exploded in popularity. While I’m always glad to see a favourite spot doing well, the service was not the best last night. The food was delicious, as always, and we’ve made a resolution not to leave things to chance on a Saturday night again, even in the midst of January. We’ll be back though, this time with a reservation, possibly for a different time and day of the week than 8pm on a Saturday.

Room was thought provoking. I read the book some years ago and it was unsettling and uplifting. Having read some reviews of the film (I can’t remember the book’s reviews at all) I went to see it in a slightly different light from how I approached the book. It makes one think about motherhood, parenting, identity and the barriers, physical and mental, that we have imposed on us and how, when overcome, those barriers can sometimes feel more welcome than we first thought. It also made me appreciate all the space we have in our home, because the claustrophobia of the first half of the film stays with you after the credits have rolled.