Wonderful Wednesday #85

{My obsession with Hydrangeas continues...} Oof it feels NICE to be writing this little post to you at the usual time {Tuesday evenings!} from my usual spot {under the big skylight at our rickety little desk in our 'office'} instead of in fits and spurts in and out of wifi and in amongst trying to sort out an extra ticket for Flo!!  
This week has been a good' un so far!  So quick and yet it equally feels like Florence and the Machine this time last week was YEARS ago.  I'm sat with Lucy Rose up loud, my slouchiest ripped-too-much-to-be-considered-trendy type jeans on and my favourite grey tee.  Life is good.  My new job {which i PROMISE i'll share much more about once i feel like i've fully got to grips with it!} is getting better by the day.  This week i've been photo-graphing outfits for the weekend for our Facebook page and working on a special transitional coat edit which we'll be sharing over the rest of the week.  OH!  And i shall be spending my #wonderfulwednesday putting together some mood-boards for above each of our brands in the shop.  So my week almost feels a little too good to be true!!!  Enough about that for now, let's get down to the extra special parts of this week so far in the hope it'll give you the gentle nudge to do the same…. *  *  *   1.  Homemade banana BREAD!  It's been about a year {i joke!} since i made banana bread but we had bananas coming out of our ears on Monday evening and since i had the early evening to myself as the Mr was out at an evening class at college, i decided to banana bread it up!  We use THIS recipe and it's got to be my very favourite.  I like that it uses just honey and banana to sweeten it and the fact that you can very easily incorporate a different flour too instead of the usual recommended Self Raising Flour.  We usually use a mix of wholemeal and spelt flour which gives it a lovely nutty taste and makes it feel much more like a legitimate 'bread' and less 'cake-y' than usual and means it's totally okay to slather it with almond butter first thing.  
2.  First TIGHT-wearing of the season!!!  I know i know i promised myself i'd hang on until October {it's usually September that heralds the start of being 'allowed' to wear tights and the whole letting go of Summer thing but it's been so flipping lovely up here that i've been trying my hardest to hang on} but i cracked! It felt pretty lovely pulling tights up to my chin and sliding on my favourite black Chelsea boots again after all of these months!  I'm already mentally creating new outfits in my wardrobe….
3.  PORRIDGE.  Sorry i do solemnly swear that i'll shut up telling you how yummy my porridge is and flipping flopping share with you what i do to make it so, soon!  But it's really been floating my breakfast boat lately.  I always have a tussle between toasted rye bread slathered with almond butter and sliced banana or porridge.  Porridge wins this week though.  I sometimes wish I could eat it for every meal.  I even went to bed excited the other evening because i had a new topping to try.  Somebody needs to get out more…..
4.  A new JUMPER.  Okay so I seriously need to get out more!  But i've been coveting this jumper for two weeks.  It's HEAVEN:  A perfect ivory shade and cable knit to-boot:  Do you need any more perfect ingredients to make THE JUMPER OF DREAMS?!?! I finally gave in and placed my order on Tuesday lunchtime.  It's from a dear sweet brand called Olive Clothing.  You can sneak a peek HERE.  Since discovering them i've built a wishlist as long as both my arms and my legs!  Such a pretty, affordable and ethical collection with really thoughtful details and a real point of difference from everywhere else.  I'm in LOVE!
5.  New SALAD combo's.  I usually take a salad to work for my lunch.  It's easy to transport and the type of thing i can do lots of different things with so i don't get bored.  I like to change it up every so often {usually along with the change in seasons} and this week i've been experimenting with the yummiest collection of orzo pasta, wild rice, roasted carrot and chopped walnuts with a dressing made from orange and chilli and handfuls of chopped coriander and wild rocket.  For the days when i'm extra busy i'll add flaked salmon, chopped avocado or cubed feta.  It's stupendous!!!!  It's also really rather filling and wholesome which i think is the mis-concpetion when it comes to salad-shaped lunches.  They keep me fuller for longer and then any kind of sandwich ever has.
6.  Buying wrapping PARAPHENALIA.  Sometimes it concerns me quite how much i love wrapping gifts.  I'd go as far as to say that i *almost* love conjuring up wrapping ideas and sourcing sweet little bits of ribbon, present toppers or prettily thought-out colour schemes more than i do the actual present!! I've got a few occasions coming up over the next few weeks and whilst i haven't actually got any of the gifts nailed down quite yet, i sort of already know my 'scheme.' Please tell me it's not just me?!?!
7.  The addition of a BLANKET.  It makes everything much better if you ask me.  Sort of like the biscuit to your tea, or the jam to your toast you know?  Now the evenings are cooler it's perfectly acceptable to snuggle under a blanket on the sofa watching TV {Anyone else love 'First Dates as much as us?!} drinking camomile tea and eating banana bread.  My favourite blanket is my cotton fringed pale lilac creation but i'm always on the look-out for more.  Tell me that's also not just me?!  You can never have too many blankets…cushions….duvet covers…..oh you know the drill by now ;)
8.  Finishing a little EARLIER.  Okay so it's only an hour earlier than i used to finish but i swear it's like a whole new world and it's safe to say it's probably my most productive hour of the day!  As the Mr generally isn't home until 6pm in that hour i can often get washing put in, hoovered and tidied and a good head-start on dinner all before he gets through the door.  That's a pretty good feeling and a real novelty to me!
9.  Glittery NAIL POLISH.  Dug out from a little case under the bed and discovered when hunting and searching a few weeks back for glitter to dust across my eyes when going to see Florence.  Whilst i can't really get away with that on the day to day i did stumble across the most glittery Barry M nail polish and thought 'Sod it, i want glittery nails!'  It's like a little party on my hands and the novelty is showing no signs of wearing off…
10.  SPICED…things.  Because what is autumn without cloves, cinnamon, orange and star anise?!?  I've been loving smelling all of the seasonal candles, deciding upon which spicy incense oil will waft through our attic come the cooler nights {we're still burning Soft Linen yet!} and keping everything crossed that M&S make their Spiced Ginger curd again this year because i swear to god i lived on the stuff for at least three months solid.  It was delicious on anything and everything:  Warm croissants dipped in, spread on brioche or wedges of apple alternated with almond butter or even on a digestive biscuit….aherm.  Raise your hand if you're also a ginger fiend…?  No?  Just me then…
11.  A sweet SONG.  In our sweet abode you usually get woken up by a) the weather or b) seagulls.  Neither are particularly exciting and both usually have us getting up with a frown on our face, at least for the first few moments of the day!  This week though i've been woken {usually five or ten minutes before my alarm} up by the sweetest little bird chirruping, chirping and singing his little heart out on our little roof and it's the LOVELIEST!  I'm not quite sure where he is exactly, what he's singing about or even what kind of bird he might be and why nobody's answering him or sitting alongside him BUT i could lie there and listen to him for ages!  He sounds so happy and sings the sweetest little tune!  And it makes a change from squawking seagulls or torrential rain!  More sunshine and songbirds please!   *  *  *   C'mon THEN!  You all know the drill by now.  This sweet post began it's life as a way for me to journal the little moments that make my weeks happy.  The idea behind them was that no matter what kind of a week i was having i'd post the best bits:  the smaller, sillier and more creative the better.  By doing so it would make me remember how lucky i was and make me feel better if the week was a long and tiring one or even happier if i was skipping along happily.  I hoped that by sharing MINE, you'd all share YOUR happy moments:  Those getting you through the day, the week or the things that you're always grateful of that can often get lost in the busy-ness of the 'Now.'  If you'd like to play along you can leave me a sweet comment below, tweet me or even tag me in your #wonderfulwednesday moments on Instagram.  As always i'm @sallytangle on both!  
Have the LOVELIEST of weeks!