Ready for a new week?
If you’ve ever wondered how weird am I, well I bought a job lot of Christmas crackers the other day, that were going cheap in Tesco.
Why did I buy them? Well, January and February can be such a drag, and I thought they’d brighten up a dark evening meal.
What’s the point of being a grown up if we have to follow conventions and rules, it’s bad enough we have to abide by laws as it is hahahah.
So, the rules are, there are no rules. Christmas crackers at any given moment ~ yes please! (And if it was up to me, I would have my decorations up all year too).
January can be a bit oppressive, it’s probably the worst month, although I do love every minute I’m given, January can be a struggle.
So we are careful to do things to keep our spirits up. Even if it’s something as simple as fish and chips in the car watching the sea.
(Insert anything that you enjoy, a packed lunch even).
We do something, anything, to brighten the day.
Dress from Matalan, Boots from Jimmy Choo
Paint a face on, get dressed in what makes you happy, and get out and enjoy yourself.
The regret we’d feel if we don’t make the most of life would be unbearable. Thats why I live at a hundred miles an hour. I live like it could all be taken away tomorrow.
Sounds cliché I imagine, but it’s still a very good idea in my opinion.
It’s not about having to do the best most expensive things in the world. Simple pleasures are often overlooked, but are absolute heaven. Like chippies at the beach.
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I have been planning a summer table scape. Whatever gets you through the day and all that. I saw one on Mrs Alice last year, a collaboration with Matches Fashion. Well, it’s glorious, absolutely spectacular. But Mrs Alice being Mrs Alice it’s very expensive.
I started thinking about how to create it for less. So firstly I bought a jug from Klimchi Studio (no, I’m not sponsored by Klimchi, just an avid collector).
My new jug was multi purpose - Valentine’s Day is coming up, which is Chris and my 28th wedding anniversary.
So I decided to treat myself to a red jug. Then from that I decided to see if I could make a scape for summer too.
Look at this display from Mrs A, it’s table scape porn in all honesty!! Look at it! It’s glorious! :)
I can’t afford the complete look. And I also don’t want to spend that sort of money on any of it.
So armed with the jug, I set about making my own Cherries 🍒 display.
I searched eBay and Etsy and found some gorgeous porcelain additions. Then I searched Etsy for a replica of the napkins rings that Mrs Alice is selling…and this is where it gets interesting (debatable, but I’m going to tell you anyway)…
Mrs Alice raffia cherry napkins rings ~ £35 for 2
I need (want) 12 so that’s out of the question.
But…
I found these ones on Etsy for £28 for 4, and they look suspiciously similar, if not identical to the Mrs A ones.
Oh happy days!!
Add in my red jug, some bowls of retro porcelain cherries and I am ready for summer.
I’ll add fresh red flowers and some actual cherries and this display will be perfect. I’m so excited for summer.
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Chris blew me away on Friday night, I really like him, he’s yummy. He’d been in town for a meeting, and he came home with a huge bunch of flowers (red ones, because he had spotted a theme forming) and a beautiful pair of shoes. Which are so beautiful that I can’t wait for summer to wear them, in fact I’m thinking of booking somewhere hot just to wear them now.
Excuse the state of my feet, I’m giving my nails their annual break from gels. But look at these shoes, they are exquisite.
I’ve never seen bottle green velvet for summer before. But I love it!
It turns out that he felt that flowers on our anniversary is a waste (my thoughts exactly. Valentine’s Day’s is a rip off), so he bought some now because he knows I’ll enjoy them more before the price hike on V day. He knows me so well. Well, you would after 28 years of marriage right? Xx
And the shoes were because he thought they were beautiful, and that I’d love them. And I really really do.
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Saturday was an interesting one. Friday night we decided to go and visit Sam, Milly and Zak, meeting them for breakfast at 9am.
They live a good two and half to three hours away. So we got up at 5.30am and were on the road by 6.15.
On a Saturday? Yep. Because the best little boy in the world was at the other end of that.
And this is all part of that grabbing life with both hands thing. I never want to regret not doing something.
We’re a couple with no ties to the house. No kids at home, no pets, just us. So we can just spontaneously do whatever we want. And this particular weekend, we wanted to go hug Zak, Sam and Milly.
Top from Gap, Trousers from Tesco, Shoes from Ugg.
We had a fantastic breakfast in a pub near their place, and then came home again. We were home by mid afternoon . Was it a long way just for breakfast? No, because I’d travel to the ends of the earth for them.
We were a tad tired by the evening, so Chris and I decided to head to Nandos for dinner.
I think I mentioned last week that we have given up Ultra Processed Foods. Well, Nandos is our cheat meal. Although I only have a chicken butterfly and double broccoli, so it’s not exactly processed rubbish…and in all honesty, without the thought of being able to go out and eat we wouldn’t really stick to anything.
But having given up UPFs most of the time about 5 or 6 weeks ago, we have both noticed huge differences in ourselves.
More energy, lower blood pressure, better sleep, and more enthusiasm for life to be honest.
I would recommend it. Plus we’ve added in a gut bacteria booster (Symprove), which I think is probably helpful with our new healthy lifestyle choices.
We’re both feeling physically better than we were. Which is handy because that helps with mental wellbeing too. And who doesn’t need that. Xx
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Then Sunday was also very special. We were meeting up with my cousin and her husband for curry at Chutney Mary.
So two things were fabulous that day. 1, I love Chutney Mary. And 2, I adore my baby cousin and her husband.
Like I said, we have to be able to eat out, to be able to eat well 80% - 90% of the time.
The thought process I went through choosing an outfit for this particular day;
I tried on 4 different ones.
Starting off with skin tight trousers and a tight-ish top. And all I could think was “I can’t be doing with the possibility of bag leak shit today” literally and figuratively.
It just doesn’t feel like the right decision some days. So as I wasn’t up for risking it, I changed into a dress, wasn’t feeling that either, tried a different dress, didn’t love.
I decided to wear this tunic because it covers everything, and the leggings are a soft stretch fabric that would be unlikely to cause any problems.
I am anything but effortless. I couldn’t be further from effortless if I actually went out of my way and tried.
I’d love to be, but it’s not to be. I am who I am. A chronic overthinker, with oodles of self doubt and anxiety.
I loved the end result of this one though. I felt comfortable and as confident as I’m ever going to get.
I probably could have done with a size down in the under shirt, but as we were going out for food I felt the extra space was wise, if not vital.
Top from M&S, Tunic from Whistles, Leggings from River Island, Boots from LK Bennett, Bag from Dior.
Cape from Burberry
The last lunch date I arranged with my cousin I misread the time of the booking, and we turned up 2 hours late.
Till my dying day, the thought of this event will give me anxiety.
I hate being late to anything, but late to lunch with people I love was horrendous. Because I struggle with time/timings I’m usually hyper vigilant and I’ll get there hours too early rather than risk being late. So it was just a monumental fuck up on my part.
But this time, this time I was determined to be on time. So we arrived in London with an hour and a half to spare.
We had a little mooch round Fortnums. Which is always a treat. I saw a beautiful Klimchi jug in Fortnums green that would look amazing in my collection, but I was very restrained, as I prefer to buy mine direct.
Look at her though, she’s so pretty!
We then went to the food hall and bought a few bits and bobs.
Namely a loaf of wholemeal sourdough (we have given up shit bread. That pre cut, wrapped dappy shite that says it’s bread, but tastes of nothing). We switched to sourdough, because it’s great for building up good gut bacteria.
Rather than waste any, because, it obviously goes off quicker than bread chock full of preservatives, I slice it, portion it, bag it, and freeze it. That way we get to use the whole loaf, rather than throw half of it away because it’s gone off.
We also bought some fresh ginger root, and turmeric root. Buying the turmeric there was a huge mistake, as it’s £33 a KG. What the actual ****?!? Anyway, I bought a tiny amount so we could try it, having never had it fresh before.
I’ve been grating the turmeric and ginger and making teas with them this week. 10 out of 10 would recommend, just find somewhere cheaper to buy it.
Again, great for gut health, immune systems, and delicious too. :)
Anyway, back to lunch. We headed to the restaurant with plenty of time to spare.
We had such a fabulous time with them. The food is amazing and I love introducing people we love to it. It is very spenny, but incredibly delicious, and possibly addictive ;)
The dishes are so delicious. And they offer things I’ve not seen elsewhere, other than in India itself.
I can’t wait to meet up with Kerrie and Si again, hopefully soon.
Do more of what makes you happy. Again and again I will hammer this message home.
Don’t wait for the right time, the right time is today, because it’s the only time that’s promised. Xx
I have spent this week insisting people pull Christmas crackers with me. Which has caused some mild confusion.
But they were £6 a box reduced to 60p a box, what was I going to do? Leave them in the shop!?! I think not! Hahahahahaha.
Can I just remind and request that if you are having any health issues or concerns please please see your doctor. Insist politely on further tests. We have to be our own advocate, no one is coming to save us. We have to be vigilant about our own bodies.
Keep safe, be well, have fun. Xx