Wonderful Wednesday #175

{Because cloudless blue skies are happy-makers times a MILLION!}
When you read this, i shall be a couple of hours into working a 12 hour shift.  Not only that, said 12 hour shift will have followed a 14 hour shift the day before.  If there was a some kind of award for services to retail/retail olympics than i definitely feel like I'd be more than in the running for a gold medal/highly commended 'something' right about now.  Those my friends are the woes of summer sale time!


On a different note, before said mentioned grueling many hour-shaped shifts, i have indulged in seven whole days off work.  So i can't really complain too much as it stands.  The weather has been mostly kind to me {hayfever has reared it's oh-so-sneezy head but WELL, you can't have everything and wearing sunglasses indoors just so you can have every single window and patio door open really isn't that bad!}  


I'm mostly feeling a little bit dis-jointed this week - in the way that a little upset to your usual routine can make you feel!  But I'm sure once my few   L-O-N-G   days are done, I'll get back on it.  The seven days previous to this little post have spent indulging in a little much needed self-care and down time and i really do feel SO much better for it.  I just need to find some way of fitting this into my working week instead of feeling like i need a whole seven days off just to properly switch off.  I think sometimes we rush, hurry and dash this way and that - often merging one week into another - that we lose track of ourselves - at least i do, far, far too often.  I'm forever missing the signs and leaving myself feeling exhausted, burnt out and like I'm just not the best version of me.  I'm always too hard on myself, too critical even and i need to learn to slow down a little and to step back.  I'm working on it i promise. But any steps to fit this in would be gratefully appreciated?!  How do you switch off?


I feel like it's time to count some of the gems of the past few days...heavens by the end of this week i might have re-visit this post just to remind myself what they were....


1.  Homemade ice-lollies.  This time last year we didn't have a freezer.  Scratch that this time just a few months ago we didn't have one either.  Don't ask.  I'm not sure how we coped but we did and it was okay.  But the addition of a freezer this summer definitely meant i was realising some of the ice-lolly recipes I'd been 'Pinning' for last three million years.  First of all, how EASY?!?  It's almost not worth the effort of getting in the car or wandering along to the shop to pick up over-sugary ice-lollies filled with all funny ingredients that you can't quite pronounce/have no idea what they are.  Our favourite so far?  The simplest of them all:  Frozen blueberries, a drizzle of raw honey and a good glug of creamy Greek yoghurt.  All 'zoozed up' in a blender and frozen.  DELICIOUS.


2.  Sleeping with damp hair.  When it's so warm that you worry you'll never ever get to sleep no matter how many windows and 'through breezes' you can cultivate at 11pm.  Praise be to three things:  Going to bed with wet hair therefore not having to use a hot hairdryer aaaand being off work so it really doesn't matter too much what your barnet looks like anyway!


3.  Tzatziki.  There's just something about natural yoghurt combined with fresh torn mint leaves that's just the epitome of summer for me.  I'll dip anything in it or could quite happily eat it icy-cold straight from the fridge if it's warm enough outside.  Sunday evenings supper was cobbled together lamb kebabs, flat breads, window-sill tomatoes and a great bit bowl of Tzatiki.  We also quite often make it as an accompaniment to curries, to go alongside nice breads instead of oils or other dips {or when i've eaten all of the hummus} or to have zig-zagged across pea and mint soup.  It really is the summery bees knees.  


4.  New pyjamas.  Beautifully printed ones at that.  I'm a fuss pot when it comes to nightwear.  I'm not someone who will ever wear pyjamas that don't match, or even a pair of leggings and baggy tee.  Even at this time of year, even if i don't actually sleep in my pyjamas in favour of a soft bra and ruffly knickers {who sleeps in very much at all when it's still 20 degrees outside?!} i do still like to put a pretty pair on after my evening cool shower to lie on the sofa with some camomile tea before bed.  Whilst i was gallivanting about last week i picked up a pair in the sale from Cath Kidston in the prettiest blue and white floral.  I haven't even worn them yet but i can't wait.    I need to make sure i get my timings right.  New pyjamas definitely call for a clean hair, clean sheet sort of situation, don't you think?!?


5.  New bowls.  If you stick your pretty head by here often you'll know how much i ADORE Anthropologie.  So expensive, but so, so beautiful.  It's a jolly good job i don't live close by a store or I'd most certainly be bankrupt.  Last week i also treated myself to a couple of new bowls I'd had squirrelled away in my wishlist that had gone into the sale.  I can't wait for them to arrive!   


6.  Summer mornings.  There's just something beautiful about the scent of a summer morning, don't you think?  I'm so much more of a morning person over an evening one and at this time of year i find myself naturally waking up so so much earlier, purely just because of the light.  When i'm not at work and plan-less i love nothing more than tip-toe-ing downstairs and flicking on the kettle and opening our little french doors whilst the kettle boils.  It's so lovely to just perch on the step and listen to the city waking up.  We're so lucky that we're right on the outskirts and also at the very end of our little courtyard too.  All you can hear first thing are the leaves in the trees and the birds.  It's the most relaxing way to start the day!


7.  ALL of the citrus!  You can't help but crave fruit come this time of year.  And even though I'm a tea-bean through and through and couldn't get through the day without my morning cup of tea made in my favourite mug just how i like it; lately i've been so much more thirsty when i wake up!  I've been squeezing the juice of half a lemon and a wedge of lime into a large tumbler and topping it up with a few mint leaves and some ice and it's THE most refreshing drink!  I've also been known to have a couple more throughout the day too if i can.  It's such a hydrating little thirst-quencher and lemon is such a good fruit for flushing out any toxins too so it's perfect for the morning.  Plus it's kind of mojito-y too. And that can't be bad!


8.  Freckles.  DEFINITELY something to celebrate.  I spent most of my teenage years and first-foray's into make up badly trying to cover them up!  Now as soon as they make an appearance, it means i don't have to wear anywhere near as much make-up! HURRAH!


9.  Sleep.  SO much affects the quality of sleep that i get.  I'm such a dweller and worrier and general over-thinker that switching off for me is SUCH a challenge!  On the upside i really notice a difference when i get good quality, decent sleep and it's something i just can't scrimp on.  No matter what! Amen to those nights where you're ready for bed early, sip your favorite tea in your favourite pyjamas after a lovely cool bath or shower and get the chance to sleep until you wake up.  Bliss!

And we're only flipping DONE already! Don't forget to hop right on over to Jo, Helen, Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Cat, Sam, El , Kerri's, Mimmi's, Martina's , Peta's , Kelly's blogs and catch their happy lists and #wonderfulwednesday -shaped goodness!  I already can't wait for the end of the week so i can have some time to do just that!  Right about now i've convinced myself i need to go and make one of those lemon-y lime-y concoctions with ALL of the ice!

Much love!