The 8th & 9th; Annual Christmas shopping trip.
The 8th of December. Back in London for our annual Christmas shopping trip. Kittens were fine so we didn't have to worry about them while we were out. We left the house at half past nine for our train at half ten, and had a very uneventful journey down, save for a super fun baby who I got to make faces at.
From Euston, we went straight to Selfridges. I was disappointed to find that they had no rainbow bagels, but that was probably for the best, as we need to make space in the freezer, not take up more. We went up to the Christmas shop, where I bought a very cute mouse ornament, and found exactly the kind of wrapping paper I want to use this year, so now I just need to get it here, as I wasn't going to carry it round London all day. We made our way over to the Selfridges Kitchen to get a table, and soon enough, Lauren appeared! We swapped presents, then went to get food. I had a smoked salmon, cream cheese and spinach crêpe, and we got to catch up, mainly talking about Christmas and her job.
When we were done, she went home for a nap, and Mommy and I went to Liberty. I cannot be in their scarf hall without thinking of The Apprentice now. Their Christmas shop was not very exciting - there were some cat decorations that I liked but I was not prepared to pay £15 for one. Maybe £5. Also they have a big thing about peacocks this year. Is the traditional Christmas peacock something I've missed? Anyway. On the way out, I had a great experience with a guide dog in the lift who moved out of the way of my chair in such a courteous fashion, it was adorable.
Next stop Anthropologie. I just wanted one of their Christmas mugs, and Mommy wanted to buy things that will be Grandma's Christmas presents to her and Daddy. I couldn't find the mug, and there was a part of the shop that was inaccessible because of steps, so a very helpful customer service assistant took me through the back of the shop and down in the goods lift. It was really tight and awkward but she was so good, then when I still couldn't find the mug, she went and got one for me! Then, when we'd paid, instead of me going back the difficult way, the helpful lady got the boys on staff to come and carry the chair up the five steps so I could use the normal lift. I was so impressed with them.
Our next destination required a taxi, who took us to Dominique Ansel Bakery. It was amazingly not busy, so we were able to have a good look at everything before deciding. I had to have a cronut - an actual cronut - and Mommy had a Kouign Amann. My cronut tasted like a Kinder Bueno. I would like to try maybe a chocolate one so I can compare it to a Rinkoffs one, but I would say the Rinkoffs version is just as good. I also bought an extra moist brownie and a chocolate chunk cookie to take home.
Last stop was Harrods. I bought a brownie from there too, plus some coffee and biscuits. In their Christmas shop, I got a little mouse in a Harrods vest to go on the tree, and there was a very tense moment when we heard a smash and everyone went silent and looked around for the culprit. Thankfully, it was someone who worked there, so it was fine. It'll just come out of her wages. We had a mildly stressful moment in Villeroy and Boch when they couldn't find a stock version of what we wanted to buy, so we ended up taking the display one, then hurrying out so we could get a cab back to Euston.
It felt like the longest journey in the world, but we finally arrived with just moments to spare.
Home, toasted teacake, bed.
The 9th of December.
I feel pretty ropey today - super tired, and my left eye has been really sensitive and sore all day which hasn't helped.
So it's been a pretty quiet day. After breakfast, coffee and lots of kitten hugs, I spent a good hour writing about yesterday. I would have written up the post for the 6th and 7th, but looking at screens has been quite painful. That has also meant that I couldn't really do the Christmas shopping u wanted to do today. Maybe tomorrow if my eye is better.
After lunch (and half my Dominique Ansel cookie), I went upstairs to lie down and give my eyes a rest from looking at anything for a while. I gave the kittens a good cuddle as well because we had to go back to the vet today. It was just for their general health check so nobody got stabbed in the neck like last time. They certainly remember that because none of them wanted to get in the carrier today - two ran to hide under the chair.
We did get them all though, and Rory the vet was very happy with them all. They need to eat more before they can be neutered, but I don't even know what the plan is for them right now. There are things that need to be worked out but I don't need to worry about that, I just have to keep feeding and petting them. I can do that.
