January 9, 2022 In Uncategorized
Cellar plans and other good things
Good morning and Happy New Year (rather late than never!)
It’s a long story but I should have been in Mexico for new years… it didn’t happen so I sat at home eating Sprungli Swiss chocolate (unpopular opinion but Swiss chocolate is better than Belgian), and watching a David Attenborough documentary about Mammoths. I had a few options (none particularly good) so in the end I decided that I couldn’t be bothered, and saw the new year in sober with my reading glasses on and my phone turned off (rock and roll!)
Speaking of sobriety, today I did a smallish thing that has given me great pleasure. I had been thinking about this for a while but felt intimidated, but finally one of my favourite people persuaded me to open a small cellar plan with Berry Brothers. I can’t pretend to be an expert when it comes to wine and it’s the one area of the food world where I am woefully ignorant. I have maybe 30 bottles of varying quality and age, that are being stored poorly, the best of which have all been gifts. I have had some truly heavyweight fine wines, which I admit I haven’t really appreciated. I almost never drink reds unless I’m having steak, and even then I can usually be persuaded to go white. For shame, my go to “Fridge Wine” is a £10.99 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc. I enjoy the 2 rosé wines that every woman loves: Whispering Angel, and Miraval. I’m usually enjoying something new world and uncomplicated, but I want to improve my palate and understand better the world of wine.
Note: I do of course know, this comes from here, that tastes like that. This should pair with this. But I understand the theory, but need more practical experience tasting (sounds like fun!)
So anyway I opened my (very very tiny) cellar today and shall be doing a lot of reading and listening and hopefully if you are somebody who enjoys wine you can bring a bottle to share or one I can keep (here’s to starting off the New Year with some shameless begging haha 🥂).
This year (all 6 days of it) have already been a total whirlwind. Thank you! So many delicious and luxurious experiences. I have a feeling that this will be a special and exciting year. I don’t have new years resolutions because for me personally that mindset doesn’t work. However I do have very specific goals and experiences I would like to achieve, and they are.
1. A fitness goal that I would prefer to keep to myself.
2. Travel to 10 countries.
3. Double my stocks and shares portfolio (by the way this is going really well. Again this is really just a tiny baby amount of stocks I have however, I’m up 70%).
4. Get back on the golf course and have a sub 20 handicap by years end.
5. Eat 50 Michelin stars.
These are my targets for this year, they are all achievable (other than perhaps the golf because you need so much time and that’s the only thing I never have enough of!). My goals cover the things I find most important: my fitness, food, travel, financial stability, and the golf I suppose is there because I feel I’ve really let myself down with my progress. I went from 2-4 lessons a week to having not picked up a club in over 6 months and I’m annoyed at myself for having been lazy and not finding the time. The golf is more symbolic than it seems – it’s more about managing my time well, persevering even at something I’m not naturally good at (something I find quite difficult). I’ve always been at least fairly athletic and am used to finding physical things very easy and learning quickly. However golf (please forgive this obvious statement) is really hard! I must put the time in and this year I will. What I think I’ve realised with most things is the best thing you can do is keep going. Even if you feel that you are not making progress. So I think this year will be more about showing up for my lessons consistently than thinking I’m going to head into 2023 as the new Tiger Woods.
Where shall we travel to this year I wonder? I do hope you’re not considering being boring this year! My top picks this year are Singapore (never been, would love to go especially for food), South Africa (ditto, but for Safari), and I love Greece and have been more than 20 times, so would love to get back to the Greek Islands maybe spring or late summer. I don’t want to sound like an old lady but I can’t stand these places peak season – I like things a little more chilled – I don’t want to fight for a sun lounger, or a restaurant reservation, and I don’t want to have someone’s 3 year old smash me round the shins with an ipad before dive bombing into the pool and splashing me and my book with freezing cold water (the trauma hasn’t left me!). My favourite two words when booking a hotel (other than “Complimentary Breakfast”) are “Adults Only” haha. There are so many very beautiful hotels I have seen that I would love to visit. Cap Rocat in Mallorca. There’s that one on Lake Como (I don’t think you can go there without falling in love) but also the Amalfi, Portofino and so on. I haven’t visited these places but would love to. I love Italy because you can experience the culture in a soft way – it’s hardly taxing to eat spaghetti vongole, drink Aperol Spritz, or stroll through beautiful little villages, and at the same time the italians know how to make everything beautiful and romantic. I am a (foolishly) romantic person so I guess it works for me.
Annoyingly a 2 weeks ago I managed to smash my favourite wine glasses – my beloved Zalto glasses which were the first I ever loved. I remember when eating out eventually I could spot them by eye. They’re extremely fine with the most delicate stem that looks like it would break if the wind blew on it too hard. So I was having a tidy up and my elbow caught the last 2 in the kitchen and I let out a pathetic girly scream as they hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Tried to replace them online and it turns out I’d run into a worldwide glass shortage, with Zalto glasses in particular being extremely difficult to come by. The price has increased by 20% and there’s a 6 month wait list. Clearly I’m in the wrong business! So annoying, I got some other glasses from Selfridges – the Richard Brendon Jancis Robertson (no idea who either of these people are) Universal wine glasses which are just OK. Now I know I’ve already done a bit of begging earlier in this blog but one thing Catholic School taught me was there’s no better way to achieve salvation than getting on your knees (something I’ve been taking literally for a few years now) so er…. if anyone sees and Zalto Universal glasses (big pretty sparkly smile here) do let me know.
I’ve had such a good start to the year and am currently packing for another overseas adventure at the end of the month (I wonder if I’ll soon be entitled for that Non Domecile tax thingy for people who don’t spend too much time in the UK). I love packing for a trip and I always end up buying a few new things depending on the location. Two of my guilty pleasures are that I enjoy both long-haul flights and airplane food (I know I’m probably alone on this one!). I think I have a thing where in broad terms I really like “transport”. I enjoy the point A to point B journey usually as much as the arrival at point C. I love long car journeys – I’m a terrible driver but a fantastically enthusiastic passenger who enjoys singing along to the radio, handing you snacks, and trying to distract you by trying to unzip your trousers whilst you’re in the fast lane (sure it’s dangerous but we’ve all go to die sometime). I also love long flights and long train journeys – would love to do the famous Orient Express train – they have just refurbished it and it looks truly amazing and so romantic. A lot of my best writing is completed when in transit. Even when I used to take the train to work I used to write down poems and ideas in my phone, some of which weren’t too bad.
Anyway next week looks to be an interesting one, as I’m starting my trading course so will be juggling planet Billie with this beginners course which I felt was necessary for me to learn the basics that I’m still struggling to grasp. I’ve read a few books, and nodded enthusiastically at advice, but I’ve always been more of an academic person who learns best I the old school teacher-student context. I was an insufferable nerd at school who did the extra essays for fun and so on. I love learning, I find grasping new concepts exciting, and of course it’s always a nice feeling to improve yourself and become good at something. My general plan isn’t really to trade at all, it’s to buy and hold onto things for a long time. Please do not bombard me with helpful emails, I already have a fantastic mentor. Doing these grown up things is terrifying, but I’m hoping my future self might thank me for being able to bumble my way through some of these processes. I find I’m somebody who gets very intimidated by things like this. I remember once even going into a nice car showroom to collect a car (not mine, sadly) and feeling sick with worry that everyone would judge me (silly I know!) I think a lot of people think I’m supremely confident because that’s just what people think about women who wear heels and smile a lot but now I’m thinking about this trading course and I feel so nervous! Which is weird because in other areas of my life I clearly love being outside of my comfort zone.
These blogs always end abruptly when I scroll up for a bit and realise how long I’ve been rambling on! I think we are at about that point so I’ll be off!
Kiss!
Billie
It’s a long story but I should have been in Mexico for new years… it didn’t happen so I sat at home eating Sprungli Swiss chocolate (unpopular opinion but Swiss chocolate is better than Belgian), and watching a David Attenborough documentary about Mammoths. I had a few options (none particularly good) so in the end I decided that I couldn’t be bothered, and saw the new year in sober with my reading glasses on and my phone turned off (rock and roll!)
Speaking of sobriety, today I did a smallish thing that has given me great pleasure. I had been thinking about this for a while but felt intimidated, but finally one of my favourite people persuaded me to open a small cellar plan with Berry Brothers. I can’t pretend to be an expert when it comes to wine and it’s the one area of the food world where I am woefully ignorant. I have maybe 30 bottles of varying quality and age, that are being stored poorly, the best of which have all been gifts. I have had some truly heavyweight fine wines, which I admit I haven’t really appreciated. I almost never drink reds unless I’m having steak, and even then I can usually be persuaded to go white. For shame, my go to “Fridge Wine” is a £10.99 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc. I enjoy the 2 rosé wines that every woman loves: Whispering Angel, and Miraval. I’m usually enjoying something new world and uncomplicated, but I want to improve my palate and understand better the world of wine.
Note: I do of course know, this comes from here, that tastes like that. This should pair with this. But I understand the theory, but need more practical experience tasting (sounds like fun!)
So anyway I opened my (very very tiny) cellar today and shall be doing a lot of reading and listening and hopefully if you are somebody who enjoys wine you can bring a bottle to share or one I can keep (here’s to starting off the New Year with some shameless begging haha 🥂).
This year (all 6 days of it) have already been a total whirlwind. Thank you! So many delicious and luxurious experiences. I have a feeling that this will be a special and exciting year. I don’t have new years resolutions because for me personally that mindset doesn’t work. However I do have very specific goals and experiences I would like to achieve, and they are.
1. A fitness goal that I would prefer to keep to myself.
2. Travel to 10 countries.
3. Double my stocks and shares portfolio (by the way this is going really well. Again this is really just a tiny baby amount of stocks I have however, I’m up 70%).
4. Get back on the golf course and have a sub 20 handicap by years end.
5. Eat 50 Michelin stars.
These are my targets for this year, they are all achievable (other than perhaps the golf because you need so much time and that’s the only thing I never have enough of!). My goals cover the things I find most important: my fitness, food, travel, financial stability, and the golf I suppose is there because I feel I’ve really let myself down with my progress. I went from 2-4 lessons a week to having not picked up a club in over 6 months and I’m annoyed at myself for having been lazy and not finding the time. The golf is more symbolic than it seems – it’s more about managing my time well, persevering even at something I’m not naturally good at (something I find quite difficult). I’ve always been at least fairly athletic and am used to finding physical things very easy and learning quickly. However golf (please forgive this obvious statement) is really hard! I must put the time in and this year I will. What I think I’ve realised with most things is the best thing you can do is keep going. Even if you feel that you are not making progress. So I think this year will be more about showing up for my lessons consistently than thinking I’m going to head into 2023 as the new Tiger Woods.
Where shall we travel to this year I wonder? I do hope you’re not considering being boring this year! My top picks this year are Singapore (never been, would love to go especially for food), South Africa (ditto, but for Safari), and I love Greece and have been more than 20 times, so would love to get back to the Greek Islands maybe spring or late summer. I don’t want to sound like an old lady but I can’t stand these places peak season – I like things a little more chilled – I don’t want to fight for a sun lounger, or a restaurant reservation, and I don’t want to have someone’s 3 year old smash me round the shins with an ipad before dive bombing into the pool and splashing me and my book with freezing cold water (the trauma hasn’t left me!). My favourite two words when booking a hotel (other than “Complimentary Breakfast”) are “Adults Only” haha. There are so many very beautiful hotels I have seen that I would love to visit. Cap Rocat in Mallorca. There’s that one on Lake Como (I don’t think you can go there without falling in love) but also the Amalfi, Portofino and so on. I haven’t visited these places but would love to. I love Italy because you can experience the culture in a soft way – it’s hardly taxing to eat spaghetti vongole, drink Aperol Spritz, or stroll through beautiful little villages, and at the same time the italians know how to make everything beautiful and romantic. I am a (foolishly) romantic person so I guess it works for me.
Annoyingly a 2 weeks ago I managed to smash my favourite wine glasses – my beloved Zalto glasses which were the first I ever loved. I remember when eating out eventually I could spot them by eye. They’re extremely fine with the most delicate stem that looks like it would break if the wind blew on it too hard. So I was having a tidy up and my elbow caught the last 2 in the kitchen and I let out a pathetic girly scream as they hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Tried to replace them online and it turns out I’d run into a worldwide glass shortage, with Zalto glasses in particular being extremely difficult to come by. The price has increased by 20% and there’s a 6 month wait list. Clearly I’m in the wrong business! So annoying, I got some other glasses from Selfridges – the Richard Brendon Jancis Robertson (no idea who either of these people are) Universal wine glasses which are just OK. Now I know I’ve already done a bit of begging earlier in this blog but one thing Catholic School taught me was there’s no better way to achieve salvation than getting on your knees (something I’ve been taking literally for a few years now) so er…. if anyone sees and Zalto Universal glasses (big pretty sparkly smile here) do let me know.
I’ve had such a good start to the year and am currently packing for another overseas adventure at the end of the month (I wonder if I’ll soon be entitled for that Non Domecile tax thingy for people who don’t spend too much time in the UK). I love packing for a trip and I always end up buying a few new things depending on the location. Two of my guilty pleasures are that I enjoy both long-haul flights and airplane food (I know I’m probably alone on this one!). I think I have a thing where in broad terms I really like “transport”. I enjoy the point A to point B journey usually as much as the arrival at point C. I love long car journeys – I’m a terrible driver but a fantastically enthusiastic passenger who enjoys singing along to the radio, handing you snacks, and trying to distract you by trying to unzip your trousers whilst you’re in the fast lane (sure it’s dangerous but we’ve all go to die sometime). I also love long flights and long train journeys – would love to do the famous Orient Express train – they have just refurbished it and it looks truly amazing and so romantic. A lot of my best writing is completed when in transit. Even when I used to take the train to work I used to write down poems and ideas in my phone, some of which weren’t too bad.
Anyway next week looks to be an interesting one, as I’m starting my trading course so will be juggling planet Billie with this beginners course which I felt was necessary for me to learn the basics that I’m still struggling to grasp. I’ve read a few books, and nodded enthusiastically at advice, but I’ve always been more of an academic person who learns best I the old school teacher-student context. I was an insufferable nerd at school who did the extra essays for fun and so on. I love learning, I find grasping new concepts exciting, and of course it’s always a nice feeling to improve yourself and become good at something. My general plan isn’t really to trade at all, it’s to buy and hold onto things for a long time. Please do not bombard me with helpful emails, I already have a fantastic mentor. Doing these grown up things is terrifying, but I’m hoping my future self might thank me for being able to bumble my way through some of these processes. I find I’m somebody who gets very intimidated by things like this. I remember once even going into a nice car showroom to collect a car (not mine, sadly) and feeling sick with worry that everyone would judge me (silly I know!) I think a lot of people think I’m supremely confident because that’s just what people think about women who wear heels and smile a lot but now I’m thinking about this trading course and I feel so nervous! Which is weird because in other areas of my life I clearly love being outside of my comfort zone.
These blogs always end abruptly when I scroll up for a bit and realise how long I’ve been rambling on! I think we are at about that point so I’ll be off!
Kiss!
Billie