{Just give me all of the colour lately!}
Oof. I mean really April where are you going?! Scratch that, life where are you going?! Wait that's a bit of a deep way to start a post isn't it?! It's not just me who wonders it though, surely?! Remember when you were just a little dot - how the Summer holidays really did feel like they lasted about a year. I remember always worrying that I'd forget how to write or worse just absolutely everything I'd been taught so far. Worse still maybe even my eight times tables. They were my least favourites. I still have 7 x 8 ingrained into my little head and even now i know it's a sum I'll never forget. My mum would shout it at me at every available opportunity so that it would stick. Well stick it did. The answer's 56. Incase you were wondering...I digress. Where do you find me? Well in this exact moment, as i sit and collect my little bits of happiness from my week so far, ready for this week's #wonderfulwednesday i'm half examining the ends of my hair and wondering how much longer i can put off getting it cut. I'm also a little bit singing to Last Shadow Puppets most recent release and looking forward to a long hot lavendar-ey shower. Because mid-week it is but it's felt like a long way to get to it. And after today's day off....well I've got seven whole days in a row before my next day off. I think i might need those happy bits like you wouldn't believe.....send help! Or just tea and a really big brownie.....
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1. Tea. Not just any tea - because there is no such thing may i have you know as just any tea. This: Taylor's 'Rose Lemonade' has been something I've been sort of re-falling in love with all over again lately. Since i seem to be spending a large proportion of lately convinced some kind of cold or flu is brewing, this concoction has been just the ticket. Think.....warm Vimto with less sugar and a hint of zesty lemon. It's the bees knees, elbows and armpits it really is. Better still i can totally imagine it working scrummily
2. My new fancy pants #Archivebyalexa Marks and Spencer's blouse. If you haven't heard about the Archive By Alexa range that M&S launched last week then really where have you been?! I'm not usually one for bandwagon jumping where clothes are concerned BUT i made a rather large exception to pick up the 'Harry' blouse in pale rose pink from Alexa's collaboration. I'd been stalking it everywhere since i first heard about the collection and it was the piece i was most excited about. I'm probably going to see the whole wide world wearing it but for once i don't care. It's a soft, cotton-ey ruffle-y piece of perfection that i know I'll treasure forever! Even if i do look a little bit like an Eighties cream cake wearing it...
3. Vegetable fajitas. I sometimes think i could be a vegetarian you know. We eat vegetables, pulses and the like pretty much all week and only really tend to pick up meat when we have got time to spend shopping for it and picking out the really good stuff and have the time to do it justice {Sunday night roast lamb shoulder with a parsnip crust I'm totally looking at you!}. This week we both craved the spice of fajitas, but not the meat. So we concocted much the same kind of dish but with courgette, rainbow peppers, red onion and garlic and served them piled {far too high - is it just me or don't you always over-estimate quite how much you can fit into a floured tortilla?!} high with grated carrot, rocket, torn up coriander and a great big dollop of creme fraiche and pineapple salsa. That salsa by the way?! Pure. Genius. It totally made the whole meal. So great that i took another tortilla, a good few spoonfuls of it, a great handful of coriander and the most perfectly ripe avocado with me to work the following day and made the best sandwich for my lunch. Don't you love a dish that just keeps on giving?!
4. The best/most 'geeky but i love it so i don't care' TV show to ever be invented: 'Hidden Britain: By Drone.' Oh. My. Word this programme is SO good. Does anyone else watch it?! It's essentially a peep into all of the places in the UK that you're usually forbidden to see. There's been so many interesting places on it! A little sea fort in the middle of the ocean which has it's own flag, currency and football team. A gated neighbourhood in London that you can't enter unless you live there - it's MASSIVE. Or last weeks cottages in the very most highest part of Scotland that were abandoned but were so hard to get boats etc to move all of the owners possessions that they just left them as they were. They were INCREDIBLE: Just left, like little mini time capsules of days gone by - biscuit packets,tinned food just preserved as they were. Am i sounding a bit too excitable?!? Give it a search...It's well worth watching.
5. Bulb buying and herb-shaped hopin'. Despite the fact that it's felt positively arctic up here sometimes lately, this week i took myself off in search of bulbs to fill our pretty ceramic planters out back. I didn't get around to planting last year and ended up just buying some bedding plants in a hurry but there's something lovely about the thought of nurturing a little plant from a bulb. In theory! I've picked up Ranunculus and Anemones so far, OH and also some herbs to pot on the window-sills before it gets too hot. Hmm don't think i need to hurry up too much with those! Speaking of herbs....
6. Fresh basil. One of my very favourite herbs and one which I'm always more drawn too come the warmer {ish} months of the year. I'm embarrassingly excited for the first few crops of British tomatoes to start appearing but for now I'm teaming my favourite leafy companion with the first British strawberries, torn roughly through fresh pasta, added to lemon-ey infused water for pottering at home on warmer {ish} afternoons off and sometimes {between you and i} even just nibbled as it is. I just love it!
7. Early morning or later lighter evening birdsong. I don't know if it's just me but there's something ever so lovely about birdsong first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Maybe it's because i actually make a point of standing or sitting still and listening because I'm usually winding down or gearing up for the day. Or maybe it's simply because there is precious else going on first and last thing and birdsong is usually {at least around our parts} reduced to one little bird chirruping alone to another. There's something ever so calming about listening to nothing but just that.
8. Avocado Oil. You heard me right! It might be one of my very favourite other things to eat lately. Because somehow completely and totally unintentionally this week's post seems about all of the fooooooood!!!!! I'm putting it down to the change in seasons and the change in variety of things that are around and about. What can i say? It gets me excited. I picked up this little dreamboat in our local M&S. It's apparently made in small batches, cold pressed and is 100% Avocado oil and nothing else. You know me and my avocados. I've so far used it to wilt some spinach with garlic to go along last night's pasta-y dinner and also mashed through avocado itself with heaps of dried chilli, sea-salt and lemon juice and spread generously on top of toasted rye bread for lunch. It's dreamy!
9. Pink. There's no doubt about this one's totally down to the time of year. The other day i wore a pink top {see point 2}, pink underwear and drank my pink tea {see point 1} from a pink cup whilst simultaneously considering re-adding little bits of pastel pink to the ends of my hair. Some blame it on the boogie.....I'll blame it on the blossom!
10. Smiling. I'm generally a smiley person and spend a large part of my day smiling at strangers {for work - okay that's not my actual job description but it comes with the territory!} and it's so lovely smiling at people on a sunny day. Is that a bit weird?! If it's wet or grey or cold generally people come into work huddled into their coats and scarves or are rushing in and out as quick as possible. This time of year leaves extra room for people smiling back, for people lingering and simply for people being generally nicer back. Go Spring!
And that's it! This weeks {somewhat chatty over wordy- sorry!} best bits so far. Care to join my gang and i?! That's right there are only now blinkin' SEVEN of us curating little posts all about our very best bits of our weeks so far. Go read them all {Kate, Michelle, Helen, Cat, Katie, Jo & Em } Because do you know what? There's nothing more heart warming and nothing that puts things into more perspective than reading all about someone else's happy things. Try it. Better still, join in too! Tag us in your #wonderfulwednesday tweets or photos or join in and leave a lovely comment below. I'm @sallytangle on both Twitter and Instagram and i'd love you to get involved too!
7. Early morning or later lighter evening birdsong. I don't know if it's just me but there's something ever so lovely about birdsong first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Maybe it's because i actually make a point of standing or sitting still and listening because I'm usually winding down or gearing up for the day. Or maybe it's simply because there is precious else going on first and last thing and birdsong is usually {at least around our parts} reduced to one little bird chirruping alone to another. There's something ever so calming about listening to nothing but just that.
8. Avocado Oil. You heard me right! It might be one of my very favourite other things to eat lately. Because somehow completely and totally unintentionally this week's post seems about all of the fooooooood!!!!! I'm putting it down to the change in seasons and the change in variety of things that are around and about. What can i say? It gets me excited. I picked up this little dreamboat in our local M&S. It's apparently made in small batches, cold pressed and is 100% Avocado oil and nothing else. You know me and my avocados. I've so far used it to wilt some spinach with garlic to go along last night's pasta-y dinner and also mashed through avocado itself with heaps of dried chilli, sea-salt and lemon juice and spread generously on top of toasted rye bread for lunch. It's dreamy!
9. Pink. There's no doubt about this one's totally down to the time of year. The other day i wore a pink top {see point 2}, pink underwear and drank my pink tea {see point 1} from a pink cup whilst simultaneously considering re-adding little bits of pastel pink to the ends of my hair. Some blame it on the boogie.....I'll blame it on the blossom!
10. Smiling. I'm generally a smiley person and spend a large part of my day smiling at strangers {for work - okay that's not my actual job description but it comes with the territory!} and it's so lovely smiling at people on a sunny day. Is that a bit weird?! If it's wet or grey or cold generally people come into work huddled into their coats and scarves or are rushing in and out as quick as possible. This time of year leaves extra room for people smiling back, for people lingering and simply for people being generally nicer back. Go Spring!
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Comments5
I LOVE your header photo how pretty is that?! Is that a bed of flowers in a park? I love all things nature but there's something so pretty about arranged flowers in a bed cut out of green green cut grass isn't there? I'm also hankering after basil - I had some quite recently but I think the weather needs to get a little warmer before it tastes and smells even more delicious. Have a lovely week - reading your blog has made mine just that little bit more smilely :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to whisper this very quietly for fear of being shunned, but I don't like tea! There I said it. However I've only tried your bog standard breakfast tea. Your rose lemonade tea sounds yummy! Maybe tea that doesn't taste like tea is the tea for me.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness gracious isn't everything moving so fast! These wonderful Wednesday posts come round with alarming rate. I don't seem to have sat down since I write the last one. Keep on smiling though Sally, because it makes me infinitly more happy when someone smiles back.
That drone program sounds so interesting! I'm a little bit geeky about a lot of stuff so that's right up my street. Who knew there was a massive community in the centre of London that we didn't know was there. I've been loving the documentary about the tube in London. It's fascinating that there's this underground labrynth of tracks. The desserted stations are so interesting.
Birdsong + pink = spring and I'm all for that. Have a fabulous end to your week and sending lots of smiles to get you through the next 7 days of work
Kate xx
Birdsong is my favourite wake up call during the working week, it just feels me with determination. I'm lucky enough to spot the starlings that are often the owners of the chirping as they live in the eaves of our house and they're the cutest alarm clock. My Mum's been planting all of her spring plants now and I can't wait until the garden's in bloom again. - Tasha
ReplyDeleteOh Sally, this post made me smile from ear to ear! I absolutely adore how you write, it's so friendly and chatty, and makes me thing that we're sitting side by side with huge mugs of tea chatting about our weeks! Great stuff :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore fresh basil too - I'm actually trying to grow some from seed in a little pot on my kitchen windowsill and I'm anxiously checking it each morning for some tender little green shoots to appear. Keep everything crossed for me!
I hadn't heard about the Hidden Britain programme but my gosh, it sounds absolutely fascinating! I often wander past immense places in London and wonder what's inside...I'm hilariously nosy so this sounds right up my street. I'm going to check it out!
C xx
You're the best
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