Sporadic posts at the moment because we're moving house this week and the last few weekends (and a fair few evenings) have been a whirlwind of packing and checking off items on ever-increasing to-do lists. It's all so exciting though so definitely a good *break* from posting.
I thought I would try to sneak in one last Wonderful Wednesday before the move though because, despite letting our internet provider know that we're moving and the precise date that this is happening, I have a feeling that it may not be line up quite so exactly...
So, very much short and sweet this week, but here are a few of my happy snippets!
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♥ Reading... Sadly, reading always seems to be one of the first things to take a hit when I'm feeling stressed and it feels like I just don't have the attention span to focus on the words or the story. Although we're so busy at the moment, I've been making the time to read more on my commute and in the evenings before bed, and it's the perfect way to wind down at the end of a long day. I devoured 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' in the space of a weekend because it was such an enjoyable and engrossing read, and am currently reading 'The Glass Painter's Daughter' - it's not challenging but I'm enjoying it and loving the Pre-Raphaelite references.
♥ Spring... and the clocks changing really makes such a difference, doesn't it?! I'm ignoring the talk of more snow forecast this week (it's just showing rain at the moment!) and focusing on the extra sunlight of an evening and the hint of warmth in the air over the weekend. It might even be time to pack away my winter coat and scarf soon but in the meantime I'm loving walking home while it's still light, no matter how late I leave the office!
♥ Breakfast... Despite a very busy weekend, I made sure to take some time to savour breakfast - Sunday a little more than Saturday as we had some people arriving early to view the flat (first thing on a Saturday morning, really?!) My breakfasts during the week are usually squeezed into a 10 minute (at best!) window with the emphasis being more on speed of tea to mouth delivery than any kind of proper ritual to begin the day. Weekend breakfasts on the other hand - tea, cereal of some kind, then toast and orange juice, accompanied by the paper or a good novel. It's a thing of great beauty and sets me up for the day magnificently.
♥ Goodbye Dinners... Not saying goodbye to friends, but to two favourite food places from the area in which we're currently living. On Saturday evening, after a full day of packing, we treated ourselves to a curry from our favourite Indian restaurant. We had initially planned to go to the restaurant itself but after spending all day wrestling with packing boxes, tape and bubble wrap, the thought of leaving the house paled in comparison to a takeaway on the sofa with a movie ('The Big Sick' - loved it!) A perfect last Saturday night in our little flat.
On Sunday, my parents came for a visit and so that my Dad could help us take some furniture apart. We then headed to a favourite pub in the area where I'd booked a table for lunch. We all opted for the Sunday roast - chicken for me, with roast potatoes, peas, runner beans, the tastiest braised cabbage I think I've ever had and lashings of gravy, all washed down with a glass of wine. It was so tasty and we were so ravenous that I forgot to snap a photo so you'll have to take my word for how delicious it all was! Good food and good company, a real treat of a final weekend.
♥ London... So, when we move tomorrow, we'll actually be leaving London, which feels rather like the end of an era. I've left before - university and a few years abroad after that - but I knew they weren't permanent. While it's been amazing to live in various parts of London with my husband over the last few (8!) years together, it was time for a change, somewhere a little larger and in an area we felt happier putting down roots. So we're moving out of London, close enough to still be able to get into town when we fancy it, but far enough away to give us a little more space.
Here's to a new and exciting chapter!
♥ Do let me know what's made your week a little rosier by leaving me a comment below 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, Sam, Kerri, Laura, Sarah, Peta, El, Laura, Mimmi, Martina, Lynsey, Katie and Em (I think that's everyone - shout at me if you're not on the list!) - and then join me in counting down the days until the weekend. It's in sight! ♥
It's late on a Tuesday night as I type this intro. I'm in my PJs and my bed is looking really inviting, although there's no doubt that it'll look even more inviting to me on Wednesday morning when I'm checking this went up ok before I dash out the door to run to the station. So short and sweet as ever with this little blurby section and onto the goodly roundup. Happy Wednesday!
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♥ Cooking... I know I'm really really lucky to have a husband who does the cooking. I could say it's because he's always home earlier than I am, which is true, but doesn't apply at the weekends and yet, he still does the vaaaast majority of the cooking because (a) I can be really lazy and (b) he's so good at it! But there's one thing I can still do better than him, which is a risotto and the other week, after popping a butternut squash in the week's food shop, I had a craving for a roasted safe and butternut squash risotto. My goodness, it was tasty and the perfect accompaniment to a cold winter's evening.
♥ Fargo... Now I've been marathoning this for a couple of weeks now and I keep wanting to talk about it to anyone who'll listen. It's a series inspired by a 90s Coen Brothers movie (which is also SO good) and there are three now, all on Netflix. If you like your crime dramas slightly out of the ordinary, with an abundance of black humour and some amazing characters, stop what you're doing and watch this right now!
♥ Porridge... I may be writing about this about four months later than most of the porridge-loving Wonderful Wednesdayers, but I picked up a box a few weeks' ago and this weekend's cold spell felt like the perfect time to break it open again. I'm ready to rock some exciting flavour combinations (Miss Sally, I'm looking at you!) but this weekend's just called for a sprinkling of brown sugar and I was happy.
♥ Surprise weekday meet-ups... On Tuesday I had a seminar in central London and met up with my brother for dinner afterwards. We headed to Bodeans in Soho and caught up over BBQ, fries and ice tea (well, I had the ice tea, he had a beer...on a school night and everything). It was a wonderful end to a day that involved a lot of reading about trusts followed by a two hour seminar on trusts and actually, I enjoyed every moment of it! 1000 extra geek points to me.
♥ Snow days... Last week was so cold, wasn't it?! I don't remember ever experiencing weather like it over here before. So so pretty as long as you didn't have to actually go out in it. My walks to work on the first day it fell were gorgeous but when the wind started the next day, swiftly followed by blizzardy snow, I felt slightly afraid that I wouldn't be able to get home from work! So on Thursday, I headed home from work early and stayed there on Friday - I got lots done, with the added bonus of being able to curl up in all the layers, my cosiest socks with a pot of tea on constant refresh. Our new house is about a 15 minute walk from my office so I think (unless the next few weeks continue in this Siberian-vein), this will be my last snow day for a while! I'm glad I made the most of it!
♥ Cosy weekends... I did have plans with my Mum this weekend but neither of us really felt like heading out into London to brave Saturday's icy slush, so we rearranged to next weekend, which left me with two glorious days with no plans at all (save for beginning to pack). I'd saved my new issue of the Simple Things to enjoy with breakfast on Saturday morning and it was bliss; curling up with a big mug of tea and some toast and Nutella, peeping out of the window at the garden covered in snow and not moving until I'd read it cover to cover. We did venture out of the house a few times but only to pick up some paint and other DIY-odds and ends, and then back to chez nous to start the epic pack-up, pausing for more cups of tea and food. Productive and restful, I'd say that's a good weekend.
♥ Throwing things away... I don't know why it usually takes me until I'm moving out of a place to go on an epic de-cluttering session - they're so cathartic!
♥ Do let me know what's made your week a little rosier by leaving me a comment below 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, Sam, Kerri, Laura, Sarah, Peta, El, Laura, Mimmi, Martina, Lynsey, Katie and Em (I think that's everyone - shout at me if you're not on the list!) - and then join me in counting down the days until the weekend. It's in sight! ♥
