Heavens to Betsy!

The title of this post comes straight from the mouth of my lovely friend Jenny, who often seems to utter these words. This weekend I found myself with good cause to exclaim them myself for I think I received my most surprising birthday gift ever. No, not the wonderful Orla Kiely stem print cake, above, made by Mr Teacakes' own fair hand. That was surprising enough...but there were even grander surprises afoot.

I think I first began reading about Tatiana & Alexander nearly eleven years ago and the characters in these Paullina Simons books feel as real to me as those in real life. Their love affair begins in war-torn Leningrad in 1941 and concludes, three books and 2000 pages later, in America when Tatiana and Alexander have reached old age. Russia, and specifically St Petersburg, are described in such detail that I have always harboured a secret desire to go there and see the many places mentioned on the pages of these books. But it was an utter shock and surprise to open my birthday gift from my husband this year and find a travel guide to St Petersburg and then to learn that he had arranged for me and my sister to jointly celebrate our birthdays there together in May (once the snow has melted!). I still can't quite believe it. I want to write a stream of words that might sum up my happiness, surprise and delight...but I don't think I can find quite the right ones or quite enough of them, so this post is short, as for once I am left a little speechless (or should that be typeless?).

Florence x

Ps. The cake was delicious.