Wonderful Wednesday #166

{Things that make me happy number 1234567899:  A little blanket of 'sunshine' on a less than sunshine-y day}
 
Hello there.  Tell me, what month are we in again?!  Oh, April  you say?  I'm sorry it's just that i woke up this morning to a blanket of white frost and a weather man that told me it was MINUS ONE outside.  Can somebody send - not just any sun - but the kind that feels warm and means i can plant my baby sweet-peas in the garden and they can stop living on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen because quite frankly they're starting to look a bit ridiculous.....

Thanks.

Oh where were we?  Yes!  A #wonderfulwednesday -shaped happy list is in order...Pardon me.

1.  Coffee.  Okay so just one coffee.  Don't go fretting and worrying your lovely little head for i haven't gone mad and tea is still my one and only and pretty much always will be BUT, right this moment I'm chilled to the bone and so very tired and somehow, a coffee when we got in and i realised I'd yet to tip-tap out this post and so dinner would be a little while; well the coffee came 'a callin'.  It's something i have to really be in the mood for and i think the last time i actually had it miiiiight have been at least a fortnight ago BUT, sometimes you can't beat the warmth, bitterness and little whoosh that i flowery mug of coffee brings.  I only wish i had a biscuit or two aswell....

2.  M&S Chiccy Choccy Eggs.....or you know AKA as M&S' version of the infamous Cadbury Mini Eggs.  Actually and quite controversially I think nicer than the Cadbury ones.  I'm just putting it out there....  I didn't go too mad this Easter:  We indulged in the sweetest softest, toasted buttered Hot Cross buns for breakfast on Sunday and then some M&S chocolate eggs.  Because you can't not mark the occasion at all , it's RUDE!  Weirdly enough i didn't really fancy chocolate much on Sunday.  They went down rather well on Monday evening with a big mug of chai tea before bed instead though.....

3.  Birdsong.  Now it's not something i've never mentioned here, but lately in particular what i've been ever so grateful for is extra early morning birdsong.  For one reason or another...and one which i cannot pin point but that i hope sorts itself out very soon BUT i've been waking up ever so early each day - since Sunday infact.  I can't get back to sleep and end up snoozing lightly until my 6:30am alarm.  What has been lovely is listening to nothing at all except the song of the first little birds when it's still dark.  I mean it must be about 4am...ish?! Lying there all cosy in the dark listening to nothing but just that has made the fact that i haven't been sleeping so great actually not too bad at all....

4.  New shampoo and conditioner.  Okay so not even new but an old favourite shall we say?  When i coloured my hair, even though i wanted to use shampoos without sulphates and parabens and use those that were a little more natural; well my hair had other ideas.  It was forever like a sponge and needed at least half a bottle of super strength 'something' just to get a comb through it.  Fast forward over a year and now my hair is back to its natural colour I'm suprised at how little washing, shampoo and conditioner and general styling it even needs.  I treated myself to Lush Cosmetics 'Daddio' shampoo and 'American Cream' conditioner after running out of my usual set-up.  I'd tried both of these products in the past and adored the smell:  Daddio is a violet shampoo and is deep and heady and wonderfully scented - so much so that i can still smell it three days after washing my hair!  And American Cream is a vanillary strawberry concoction that is just heaven.  They're honestly both the only shampoo and conditioner combo that i have ever used which has scented my hair the longest and made it so very swishy and shiny to boot!  There is something quite lovely about beautiful smelling hair....

5.  Wildflowers.  Despite the pretty much arctic temperatures up north this week, those pretty little wildflowers are defying the odds and popping their little heads up here there and everywhere!  I gathered a little bundle on my walk home through the woods on Bank Holiday Monday after work - a little present to myself - and i've now got the prettiest posy of wild bluebells sitting pretty on our kitchen windowsill.  And you know what?!  They smell pretty lovely too!

6.  A clean white t shirt.  I've got only a handful of favourite tees.  You know the ones:  They're constantly on rotation and those extra soft, perfectly fitted and baggy in one t shirts that are just the epitome of comfort for ANY day but especially the ones that have left you feeling a little less than happy.  There really isn't anything lovelier than your favourite white cotton t shirt - fresh from the washing line and thrown on with your softest, slouchiest denims after a hot shower and the longest of days.  

7.  The smell of tomatoes.  This year I'm hoping to try and grow some tomatoes.  But since the daffodils i planted in our garden are only just flowering i wont go getting my hopes up anytime soon....  This week though has been the first time i've picked up British Vine tomatoes from the market and I'd forgotten how beautiful they smell.  The lovely man in the market gave me the strangest of looks as i stuck my nose in the brown paper bag of vine tomatoes!  That sweet smell of green is just the smell of summer, don't you think...?  I've currently got them in a little china bowl on the kitchen windowsill so they can sweeten in the sunshine and are hopefully oblivious to the fact that it's only five degrees out there....

8.  A new candle.  Because i love to light them all year round and not just the colder months.  There's something completely different about lighting a candle at this time of year though.  I pick up softer scents:  We've currently got a Lilac Blossom, a Peony and a Sandalwood and vanilla candle on rotation in various rooms.  There's something comforting about candlelight, no matter what time of year.  

9.  Sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  I'm starting to think I'm the only one who could eat handfuls of these little things non-stop.  Usually just as a stop-gap in between meals but lately, when there's time i've been toasting a handful of each in a dry frying pan with nothing but sea-salt.  Then chopping up some of ^those^ tomatoes; drizzling them with olive oil and then tossing through torn up basil leaves and toasted seeds.  It goes with everything and is getting me so excited for more Summery flavours....
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And with a hop, skip and a jump {or a half an hour spent with a mug of coffee as big as my head and the promise of dinner being made for me} we're all done for another week.  Seriously where do these weeks go?!?  It feels like only yesterday i was lamenting over mince pies, woolly hats and everything cinnamon and now it's all almost Summer {almost being the very operative word!} and well; Here we are!  Don't forget to skip right on over to   Jo, Helen, Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Cat, Sam, El , Kerri's, Mimmi's, Martina's , Peta's , Kelly's AND  Emma's blogs and catch their very own #wonderfulwednesday posts!  And remember to join in online as always; remembering to use the #wonderfulwednesday tag so we can all see and have one big #wonderfulwednesday mid-week shindig and jolly big catch up!  Are you in?!


Happy mid-week-in!