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| The Simple Things |
Have you read the Simple Things? I adore it! It's a monthly magazine dedicated to encouraging you to sit back and enjoy the simple things in life. It focuses on recipes with delicious seasonal produce, growing your own vegetables, local places to explore, crafts, hobbies and enjoying the wonderful outdoors. It's perfect for curling up with and planning your next adventure.
I often pick up a copy when travelling to Norfolk to visit my mister's mum (future mother in law! :-o) She lives in a tiny village and I notice that the pace of life seems to slow down as soon as our taxi arrives from the station. (As, I suppose, it has to when the nearest shop is the farm shop, which is about 1.5 miles away and has some scarily-restrictive opening hours to this London girl). If you follow me on Instagram (you can find me at 'happygoluckycat' or by clicking the link in the sidebar) you'll know that we were away in Norfolk this weekend and this time, rather than travelling up on a Saturday morning and losing most of the day, we travelled up after work on Friday, arriving late at night and falling straight into bed, only to wake up the next morning to the sun streaming through the curtains and the blissful silence that heralds a weekend in the countryside. It was wonderful.
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| Blue Skies and Green Fields |
Londoner born and bred, I do love to escape to the country and weekends with mother-in-law-to-be are always so peaceful. While the mister was up a ladder cleaning gutters and trimming hedges (teehee!) I was curled up with tea, toast and strawberry jam, and a notebook to jot down little wedding-planning ideas. [Don't feel too sorry for him - he ran in with a gardening glove covered in spiders' eggs and shoved it in my face, causing me to scream the house down.] Highlights from the rest of the weekend include seeing a pair of pheasants strolling in the garden, curling up in a sunny patch in the conservatory and doing a lot of reading, a beautiful long walk through the village and round the fields (and seeing alpaca!), lots of tasty food and a Saturday evening watching Friday night's episode of Jonathan Creek and some Miss Marple mysteries. A wonderfully cosy retreat from a very busy week.
It's very easy to get caught up in the busyness of our everyday lives - rushing from one place to the next with a constant to-do list running through your head. It can sometimes be difficult to sit back and just enjoy life with the list of must-do/see/haves growing ever-longer. The beauty (and the terrifying nature) of the internet is that everything is at your fingertips, and the list of 'wants' can grow each day. In the spirit of this weekend and a delicious new magazine to savour over the course of this week, here are some simple things that I treasure...
♥ A pre-bed bath, PJs warmed on the radiator and freshly-laundered bed sheets.
♥ New stationery, particularly the delight that comes from writing on the first page of a beautiful new notebook.
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| Blossom! |
♥ Curling up with a new book and a big mug of tea.
♥ A clean house and fresh flowers on the mantelpiece.
♥ Long conversations with dear friends.
♥ Walks by the sea...in fact, trips to the sea side in general.
♥ Christmas time, long scarves and sparkling lights in shop windows.
♥ The first signs of blossom on the trees.
And last, but by no means least:
♥ Turning your morning alarm off when you remember that you have the day off work tomorrow! I shall of course be thinking of you all though!
What are your favourite simple pleasures?
Sounds like a lovely weekend! Minus the spider eggs...
ReplyDeleteSimple pleasures...Pens, good food (especially when arranged thoughtfully on a gorgeous plate), sleeping in on a rainy day, Chicago purring in his sleep, stationery shopping, reading a book until 4am just because I can, watching a movie in the theater, having tea with my grandmother, long talks with my mom, and I'm sure there are a lot more, but these are off the top of my head. :)
Lying in bed listening to the rain outside is truly wonderful... Looking forward to hearing all about your fountain pen shopping this week, Mels! I was browsing some stationery this week and thought of you :)
DeleteBeautiful! I love the simple things in life, and being in Devon am lucky enough to be able to regularly escape from the madness of life. Every time I visit my sister in London I wonder how she manages...it is so easy to get swept along with everyone else and with the consumer society! Being made redundant 2 years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me. Now I get to see my kids, notice the buds on the trees, spot the first signs of bulbs appearing, appreciate the beautiful frost on the crispy leaves...etc etc!! I must get a copy of that mag...it sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI would love to live in the countryside - one day perhaps! It sounds like you have lots of little pleasures in your life :) London's fantastic but it can all get a little much!
DeleteWriting on the first page of a new notebook kind of scares me, I salute your courage! :D Buying a new notebook on the other hand is one of my simple pleasures hehe.
ReplyDeleteHaha I do know what you mean - it takes me a while to decide what to write in a new notebook and it's always in my very best handwriting :)
DeleteStationery shopping is bliss <3