Wonderful Wednesday 22

Credit: Becky Cameron, pop over to her Instagram
for heaps of her wonderful illustrations. This was just perfect!

I may be slightly late to the party to be raising this now but it's so fantastic to see just how many there are of us in Sally's merry Wonderful Wednesday brigade now! It's really lovely that I can count on my Twitter timeline having a flurry of Good Things at that mid-point in the week when last weekend starts to feel like too long ago but the weekend to come is still just sliiiightly out of reach. I love it.

The air is getting much crisper too. I don't feel quite so over-heated walking to the station in my scarf in the mornings and the merry lights glowing in the shop windows in the darkness as I make my way home have me counting down the days to November, Bonfire Night and then all sorts of mulled things ahead. I don't think I've ever been busier at work but I'm focusing on the good things, which I know a little dose of weekly Wonderful Wednesday helps me to do.

Onwards onwards...to the little snippets of splendid over the last seven days...

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♥ Cosy mittens... I picked up these cosy woollen mittens in Ireland back in August and they've been folded up in my chest of drawers waiting for the weather to get just that little bit cooler. This weekend was that time and I love them! They may also be perfect for the office when it's just too cold for fingerless gloves outside but the heating is not always completely effective inside but I still need to type. How about that for forward planning?!

♥ Slow cooker meal planning... We received a slow cooker as a wedding gift but haven't been able to use it yet because there was just no space for it in our previous flat, so it sat in its box waiting for our move. The mister excitedly unpacked it on Sunday evening and has been researching slow cooker stews ever since. I've already bookmarked Helen's German Slow Cooker Pork and Beer Hotpot, which looks incredibly tasty. Gluten free beer though, mind.

♥ Children's books... My friend's little boy is turning 2 in a few weeks and as we were visiting them this weekend, I used the opportunity to pick up a few books for him. There are so many wonderful books to choose from, it's really difficult! I knew he didn't have the Gruffalo but that was only available in a slightly different format but I did spy Stick Man, which is by the same author and I watched the TV adaptation at Christmas last year (? Maybe the year before?) and it was so wonderfully heartwarming, all about a lost Stick Man trying to get back to his Stick Lady Love and Stick Family. They went down a TREAT with the little man!

♥ Spending time with some of my favourite littl'uns... So leading on from the above, we spent the weekend with one of my closest friends, her hubby and their (almost) 2 year old little boy. I haven't seen him in months and he's grown so much! He's talking lots now, loves splashing in puddles (nyaaw!) and is obsessed with spiders (ew). Seriously though, I overcame my fear of spiders when he toddled up, held out his little hand and said "spiders?', just so I'd go on a spider hunt with him several times over the course of the weekend.

My friend lives down the road from my aunt and uncle and 3 of my cousins so we popped over there for lunch on Sunday, meaning I got to spend some time with my cousin (who was one of my bridesmaids and is my God-daughter) who I adore. We had a massive Harry Potter geek-out, as she's been to see the stage play and I am so so jealous!

♥ Mid-week Date Nights... I attended a seminar in London on Tuesday evening, so decided to meet up with the mister afterwards and we went out for a spot of dinner, heading to our favourite Japanese restaurant in Soho. My seminar was on Fleet Street and we decided to walk to Soho rather than pushing onto the rush hour tube. It was about a 20/25 minute walk but there's something magical about London at night...despite the crowds...Somerset House was all lit up and the theatres were just starting to let people in for the evening performances. Wonderful. We really felt like we'd earned our dinner too by the time we arrived at the restaurant! Although we may have over-ordered slightly as a result...

♥ Do let me know what's made your week a little rosier by leaving me a comment below (I do love comments!) or dropping me a tweet (I'm @happygoluckycat) or better yet, why not join the fabulous bunch of #WonderfulWednesday bloggers? Pop over to their blogs for a dose of mid-week happiness - Sally, Michelle, Helen, Kate, Jo, Emma, Samantha, Kerri, Laura, Sarah, Peta, El, Laura, Sarah and Mimmi - and then join me in counting down the days until the weekend. It's in sight! ♥