Wonderful Wednesday #143

 {Last weekend's adventure north of the border!}
Here we are again.  Sat down once more and all ready and {almost} raring to go with another list of the great and the good.  How are you?!  Have you felt all of a sudden wrapped in a thick blanket of Winter too?!  It has felt like that up here:  Only last week was i wandering home, almost getting too warm by the time i got there and this week i've been squeezing as many layers as i can under The Winter Coat {well, one of a few of them -  that's right i've dug them out!} and still feeling the chill sneak in.  

On Tuesday morning's few laps of the park i wore mittens and still felt the cold through them.  Despite all of that though it might go down as one of my favourite bike rides so far this year.   The air smelt heavy with coal fires and a little of damp evergreen and wet leaves.  It caught in the back of my throat and chilled my little lungs and i could almost feel the redness flushing to my cheeks within moments.  Afterwards i felt a funny kind of exhilaration and exhaustion.  It does that to you exercise i think:  At this time of year the last thing you want to do is be outside of your own free-will when you absolutely don't have to be.  But forcing yourself to, and to move and breathe it all in, somehow makes you feel even more 'full' and satisfied after.  

Enough of the deep and meaningful though and ON!  On to the little, and happy and lovely things that have been making my week great:   

1.  Day-off shaped breakfasts.  Let's be honest with ourselves this point should really just be 'Any breakfasts.'  But we can't be that general.  Even though i probably use up just as much energy when I'm off work, tootling and scooting around and about on those two wheels of mine instead of my two feet, i tend to eat a little bit of a lighter breakfast.  Autumn Winter breakfast of late has mostly {and predictably!} been porridge-shaped.  Day off breakfasts have been tea {Lady Grey - always Lady Grey!} alongside two sourdough crumpets generously spread with Pip & Nuts 'Cinnamon, Honey and Cashew Butter' and topped with toasted seeds and sometimes sliced banana - if I'm planning a little bit more cycling than usual or a later lunch.  That mix of crumpet and creamy, spicy nut butter is right up there with ALL kinds of other good things. 

2.  Winter hats.  And all of the benefits that go along with them, not least the whole 'not having to bother quite as much with your hair in the morning' right up there with finding new hat/glove/scarf/coat combos but what is right right up there at the very top of said list is how flippin' floppin' warm you are when you wear a woolly hat.  

3.  Pootling.  That's right, the brother/sister of such other important past times such as 'fannying' 'faffing' or 'pottering' you can't quite beat a day of simply meandering along at your own speed and following the day wherever it happens to take you.  For me this was Tuesday.  A little bike ride followed by a wander around the home section of our local Sainsbury's {paying particular attention to all of the new seasonal jams, preserves, desserts, pies and puddings because you never get time to do that kind of thing during the weekly smash and grab for marmalade do you?!}.  Then home to spend the afternoon perusing Etsy for Xmas present ideas alternated with wiling away an hour or so on Pinterest.  Heaven!

4.  Beetroot.  Not the pickled kind {because i hate anything vinegar-ey - except that's surely a tale for another day} simply the sweet, plain 'you can do so much with' kind.  Grated generously over at-home lunch-shaped salads made from leftover feta, rocket, pearl barely and roast veg and the yummy lunch that was had because of it.  

5.  Greens.  Yes to greens in any form but this week i've really been craving green juices like there's no tomorrow.  Call it the sudden lack of green outside, or my body's way of keeping the impending Winter cold at bay, either way both Monday and Tuesday were made even better by green juices made up of kale, spinach, apple, lime and ginger.  Winter come and get me!

6.  Socks with pyjamas.  Yes my friends life has moved up a gear over here at Tangle Towers.  You know it's officially on the wrong side of Winter when I'm wearing socks and slippers.  But the coziness is worth it and lately we're all about the nothing but!

7.  Eucalyptus leaf.  Because lately i can't seem to find a flower i want to have around inside somehow.  Emergency measures were taken and i've now scattered a few springs of fresh eucalyptus stems around and about.  Not only is the smell a little magical, but that little flash of green is just the ticket!

8.  Turtle necks. The second cousin of Eighties favourite The Polo Neck I guess?  I've sort of fallen a little bit in love with them this season.  I'm a massive lover of a good polo-neck come this time of year.  I'm forever cold and there's nothing i love more than tucking a polo neck underneath my favourite dresses, tucked into a-line denim skirts with a little sheepskin {when i think I'm all Farrah Fawcett sassy pants} or i've even been known to layer them under a chunky knit too.  Sometimes, sometimes though, i can get just a bit too......itchy and warm!?!  So this year i dipped my toe head into the turtle neck-trend that's been whizzing about and let me tell you, i've hardly had the two i've bought off.  I've a soft rose pink one with a scalloped detail to each sleeve and around the bottom and a rusty brown ribbed one and they are the bees knees!  I'm sure it wont be long before i crack out the big guns polo necks too though.....

9.  Hot water bottles.  The time has come my friends.  Before this week it's been a hot water bottle here, an odd one there and only if i've really needed it.  Now it's November we've somehow rocketted into taking one to bed every single night without question.  I even considered making two last night:  One for my feet and one to nestle between my knees and tum.  Is there anything cosier?!

10.  No mascara days.  Truth be told I'd have them all of the time if my eyelashes and and eyebrows weren't so blonde and silly.  Without mascara or any kind of effort in the eye area i could quite easily be mistaken for a boiled egg or a bald eagle.  But when I'm not at work anything goes and sometimes it's nice to be able to rub your eyes without fear of you resembling a panda that's been in quite the scuffle.  Just saying.....
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And we're DONE!   Don't forget to bob on over to Jo, Helen, Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Cat, Sam, El , Kerri's, Mimmi's, Martina's AND lovely Isabelle's blogs to read what little bit of lovely have been making them happy this week.  Also don't forget to share what's been making YOU smile.  Either by leaving a sweet comment below orrrrr by joining in with the chit-chat online using the #wonderfulwednesday tag!  I'm @sallytangle everywhere!