nice to meet you: Hi from Laura

My commute into work has changed a little over the last two weeks ago.

I have gone from frantically running the house trying to cajole a nearly four year old out onto a bicycle so I can get him to preschool before I cycle to work, leaving a screaming 18 month old with a sleepy partner -  to a new, strange, though quite pleasant state of calm.

Now we relax in our pjs and I disappear to the spareroom once the kids are settled with some (mildly educational) cartoons. My work as a manager of a busy shop has now migrated online - I am currently managing social media and the website and other bits and bobs. I REALLY miss the chats on the shop floor with all our customers. I miss being in town and South Great George's Street and sneaking into Ladurée for the BEST hot chocolate and Fallon and Byrne for the amazing Tony's Chocolonely chocolate bars. But I am so happy that I am able to potter at home finishing up all of those back-end odd jobs that I have been putting off for an age. There is literally no excuse now not to. For any of you who are regulars you will be pleased to know one of the last things I did before we closed the shutters for the foreseeable was rescue all the shop plants. It is my job to make sure they stay alive and having had a not QUITE perfect record (ok, I may have killed 4 plants since December), I am determined to keep them alive. Wish me luck!