Wonderful Wednesday #83

{^Hydrangea bush//window//house of dreams^} Good day dear and LOVELY ones!  How has your week been so far?  Mine has been a lovely one.  I met my sister on Tuesday to finalise plans for our couple of days in Newcastle next week seeing Florence and the Machine {!!!!!!} and we had a lovely long catch up over autumn-spiced hot coffees.  I say it each and every time we sit down and both give each other our undivided attention instead of Whats-apping pictures of our dinner or liking each others photos on Instagram; but i don't see NEARLY enough of that girl!  Time just seems to escape us when we are together and i am forever getting home only to realise that i didn't tell her about this, this or that.  Where does the time GO?!  On top of that i'm starting to feel a lot more settled in my new job and starting to imagine ideas, and lovely things we could all do.  But we can have a better natter about all those kinds of things another day for todays' post is solely for the WONDERFUL and fabulous moments of my week so far!  Here's hoping you'll share yours with us below or that i'll inspire you to at least think of the great things in your week so far.
1.  PORRIDGE tweets.  Or more to the point porridge tweets and emails!  I've had a sweet tweet about my porridge skills {or over-kill of mentioning the darn thing if you sit on the other side of the porridge hedge} AND an email asking me to share my fool-proof recipes on this sweet spot and this makes me SO  happy.  Largely because if you don't know already i flippin' LOVE the stuff!  Heavens if i lived by myself i'd eat it for every meal.  But also because feedback and interaction because of this little blog, or through Twitter or Instagram or ANY kind of way makes me feel all warm inside.  I don't want to harp on too much about the good stuff here {believe me i'm finding it HARD} except that it's so flippin' easy to make and the reason i love it so, is because you can cram SO much goodness into one bowl of it and starting with it in the morning hands-down makes a huge difference on how i feel and what i want to eat for the rest of the day.  The porridge-cogs are already in motion…stay tuned dear ones!
2.  WET WET WET.  You heard me right!  Call it my guilty pleasure if you will but lately i can't get enough of Wet Wet Wet's Greatest Hits.  I'm playing it now, as i type and i've had to delete and re-type a fair share already since i keep typing what i'm singing!  Wet Wet Wet were such a MASSIVE part of my childhood.  My mum adored them and whilst she also loved other stuff {think Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, Ultravox, Erasure…i could go on forever} their music always reminds me of our long car journeys north to Scotland {before we moved up there} for our summer HOLIBOBS.  We'd sing at the top of our lungs and with the music up loud and it always made me so happy!  I've said it a million times before, but i just love how magical music can be and that by listening to just a few moments of something, you can be transported way-back-when to where you were when you first heard it.  And that my friends is magical!
3.  PROGRESS.  Because i'm a pretty easy-going sort when it comes to others but i'm mostly my own worst and most harsh critic to date.  New job-wise i want to already know everything, to have learnt it yesterday and to be further ahead than i am.  In short i'm rarely satisfied with my own progress, even when it is good.  This week has TAUGHT me that i'm getting there:  I'm better than last week and more confident than yesterday.  And i need to start thinking that way more often!  I'm only human afterall!
4.  SWEET-PEAS.  Because i say, chop 'em while they're still-a-comin'!!  Call it a FLUKE but for some silly reason our dear sweet and quite tiny pot of sweet-peas are still blooming and smelling like HEAVEN.  Just as a jar of them start to curl up, there are enough blooms to fill another.  I say keep 'em comin'!  Whilst there's no denying that i adore autumn, this summers' changeable temperament has meant that i've not quite felt like i've got my money's worth.  For as long as they're there, it can be summer inside our little attic bedroom.  
5.  First APPLES.  For some reason it's only come this year that i really start to crave apples:  Ice-cold from the fridge as an evening snack alongside a floral mug of camomile tea with a drizzle of honey.  During summer, come rain or shine i predictably can't get enough of seasonal berries, citrus and tart-er flavours.  But come autumn it's all about the figs, pears and apples.  Call it a ploy because let's face it these autumn treats are more readily available when they are in season, but i rather like to think that my body craves what's NATURALLY in season. It's nice to think that despite usually being attached, using or dependent on some form of technology; that deep down i'm a little bit in touch with the season and with nature.  
6.  Adding a LAYER.  Whether that be a cardigan slung over my pyjamas {is it wrong i'm already excited to wear my slippers again?! I'd imagine it probably is!} a light jacket first or last thing or simply wearing socks with my shoes {i haven't quite dipped my feet/legs in tights just yet}, it's a strangely content feeling that i'm more than ready to embrace.  Alongside the fruit and veg' selection that a turn in the season inevitably brings us.  
7.  Feeling INSPIRED.  It feels like a little creative spark has been re-ignited in me lately, which is largely down to my new job.  But in general, it's so easy to just get sucked into doing the same thing each day, having your head down and not letting things in or simply not having the head-room to fit them in.  The fact that i'm starting to feel a lot more inspired and switched on to the things i've missed for such a long time is a lovely feeling to have.  
8.  A hint at the 'SMELL' of autumn. Someone said to me this week 'It even smells like back to school.'  And she was right, it does.  Walking to work yesterday, under a blanket of heavy damp fog and burying my chin into my little sheepskin waistcoat; it smelt wonderful:  Hints of a coal fire lingered in the air, TICKLING my nose as i breathed them in.  The air clung to my hair and smelt heavily of dew, of fallen leaves and nipped at my fingers and ankles.  Whilst my walk to work was much quicker, every last breath was a little bit lovely all of the same and it got me thinking about coats, and hats and mittens and Bonfire Night…..
9.  Nakd Chocolate Orange BARS.  Because i love them all always and to be honest i love chocolate always too.  But lately i've really been craving the rich kind of chocolate-y decadence and these sweet bars have been really ticking that box for me.  And it doesn't hurt that they are pretty good for your insides TOO.  Somebody recently told me that they are pretty amazing melted into porridge.  I'm not sure my little heart could cope with two of my favourite things in one place like that!! And not first thing in the morning!! Consider my mind rather BLOWN!  
10.  FENNEL.  Which might go down in history as one the most underrated vegetables in all of the land.  It's one of those things that i love the idea of, but one which i never really know what to do with.  Until we SLICED it so thinly, dressed it's aniseed-y sweet little self with a little lemon, oil and chopped coriander and tossed it through a left-over as they come-shaped salad:   Wild rocket, asparagus tips, cubes of cucumber and courgette and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.  I've eaten it PILED a-top cous-cous for my at-work lunch since last Friday.  
11.  Curling HYDRANGEAS.  Like roses, i'm not shamed to put it out there and say that i prefer both when they are a little bit….on their way out…?  Since acquiring a baby hydrangea bush from my boss at work when i left as a lovely leaving gift, i've been ADMIRING the change in it's colour as it's been fully bloomed in its' cerise-y purple glory right through to it's faded lilac-ey petals it now bears.  I want so BADLY to snip a few to dry out, or even to just have inside in a sweet jam-jar of water.  But i'm so worried that i damage it and that it won't come back next year!  Any hydrangea-shaped advice would be SO greatly received! *  *  *   And now it's YOUR turn!  I'd love to know what's been making your week a little bit better than last, or just generally lovely for now, or EVEN what's been making the rest of the week and the fact that {depending on when you read this sweet post} we've got three days until Friday yet. I always feel like the end of the week still feels so very faraway whilst almost not quite believing it's ALREADY halfway through, or is that just me?!  In addition to sharing your happiness as a treat for nosey me, to inspire others to do the same OR simply because it's such wonderful stuff that you can't bear NOT to share; i wondered if i might ask a little favour?
If anyone happens to know Newcastle particularly well and could suggest some lovely places for tea or coffee or even some sweet eateries that would be extra kind of you!  If you ALSO happen to know anywhere that might satisfy a fussy vegan {not me!} i'd be EXTRA specially grateful.  Oh YES and hydrangea tips RE: snipping, drying or ensuring that it comes back just as pretty next year i'd LOVE you for! 
You can leave me a sweet comment below or tweet me on Twitter or tag me on Instagram with your #wonderfulwednesday bits and bobs.  As always, i'm @sallytangle on everything!
Speak SOON favourite faces!