Attic24

Reasons to be Cheerful #7 :: beady necklace

I bought myself this little necklace when I visited the Country Living fair in March. The beads are handmade Venetian glass and as soon as I clapped eyes on it I loved it very much. No two necklaces were the same as as all the beads are handmade and randomly strung, which pleases me no end. And yes don't you all  just know how much I love these jewel-bright colours, don't you think it's so very me?! It makes me really happy to wear this necklace (I'm wearing it now in fact) and I often get complimented on it. 

I would so love to give credit to the person/company I bought it from but it was one of those times when I saw/handled and purchased in ooooh about 47 seconds flat, paying no attention whatsoever to any names, only my desire to own this little beady treasure.

Reasons to be Cheerful #6 :: eggs

Sunday morning breakfast made for me by J is nearly always an egg. Just the one, usually beautifully poached to perfection with the yolk oooooooozing out across the toast, just the way I like it.
J stops at a farm on his way home from work and puts £1 in the honesty box in exchange for a box of six eggy beauties. They are truly free range (the chooks have free run of the farm) and also organic. I tell you, I nearly hyperventilated with excitement when he opened this weeks box, they are so beautiful, don't you agree?! The deliciously coloured pale blue one, the dinky little dark brown speckled one.

And oh my :: the taste of them is divine. I dearly wanted to photograph my breakfast just to show you the rich yellowy/orange colour of the yolks, but alas I could not wait to eat. But believe me when I say these little beauties are the yummiest-scrummiest!

Reasons to be Cheerful #5 :: new bag

The lateset addition to my shopping bag collection. I still love my paperchase book bag but sadly it hasn't got a big enough bottom (unlike yours truly) and therefore is not quite roomy enough for a visit to the supermarket. This one is very jaunty though, and sufficiently gusseted. I spotted it in the window of a little local shop and snapped it up for the delicious price of £2.50. Don't you just love a bargain?

Reasons to be Cheerful #4 :: blossom

These cherry trees are just up the road from my house near where I park the car, and the little pathway in the top photo leads to the top of our local park.  I took these photos a week or two ago now, and I noticed this morning that the blossom is already past its best.
I so love the fleeting blossom season, it always amazes me how it seems to suddenly appear almost overnight :: one day there is a fairly boring, unremarkable line of trees, the next day a magical froth of pink blossomy lovliness. I only wish it lasted longer, its a truly lovely part of our late English springtime.

Reasons to be cheeful #3:: Pimms

4pm and the afternoon sun's still in the yard. Can we, should we? Do you think it's too early? Oh, but it's your birthday, yes why not, I think we can, I think we should, even though it's only four o'clock. The sun's shining and yes it is your birthday. Get the jug, lets make a Pimms No.1 cup, no it's not half and half (!!) its 1:3, yes that's right it's one part Pimms to three parts lemonade, plenty of ice and a sprig of mint. A clink of glasses and Birthday wishes, we enjoy the most refreshing drink ever ever. Happy Birthday C. Pimms in the sun :: most definitely-absolutely a reason to be cheerful.

Oh, by the way, see the red enamel coffee pot there? A generous house-gift from my lovely house-guests, we went rooting round a local antiques shop yesterday morning and I fell in love with it. That and a bright red Lloyd Loom chair which I am hoping to purchase any time soon when I've whispered sweet nothings into J's ear.

Reasons to be Cheerful #2 :: handmade soap

The most delicious smelling, handmade cherry soap.....

.....bought from this beautiful shop where the smellies are all handmade to look like cup cakes, icecream and sweets. I wasn't brave enough to go into the shop to take photographs, but you can get the idea by glimpsing through the window with me. Eye candy indeed!

My morning shower has been transformed into a fruity, cherry experience and the bathroom smells deliciously of cherries all morning. The Little People have instructed me to buy a green one next (lime and kiwi). I don't need much encouragement.

Reasons to be Cheerful #1 :: socks

I love my socks, especially my blue and pink ones. I am not generally a shoe wearer :: In summer I live in flipflops (last count six pairs, all different colours) and in winter I wear boots (last count one solitary pair, worn day in day out). And boot-wearing means that my socks are not on public display, which means they can clash horribly with my clothes, and can also be odd. My socks make me smile when I ease my boots off at the end of a long day because they are so me.
I took this photo a few weeks ago one morning before school. I had been sorting the clean laundry in search of a pair of socks and had the "help" of the Little People. Actually to be fair, they are usually very good at sorting the laundry, even if last time Little Man did charge me 20p for his laundry sorting services.

This particular morning, we had a Sock Situation.
Little Man "Mum I want you to wear the stripy socks today"
Little Lady " noooooooooo, wear the flowery socks!"
Little Man (loud) "NOOOOOoooo, you have to wear the stripy ones!!"
Little Lady (earsplitting) "NO No NO!!!!! I REALLY want you to wear the flowery ones because I like them the best"
Me "Ok, I'll wear one of each."

Stunned silence. Then loads of laughing as they watched me put them on. Result.

                                      ************

I have my Dad and his partner staying with me all this week. They came up by train from Dorset on Saturday, causing something of a shockwave as I had their arrival date written on the calendar as being next Saturday. Oooops. This is not unusual for me to make such a monumental mistake, I am often very out of touch with reality, often think things are happening a week later than they actually are. But it is still a mighty shock when I find myself so caught on the hop.
Picture this :: 6.30pm, me sitting happy and relaxed at my wonderful in-laws having just stuffed my face with barbeque food. A text message comes through on my mobile, saying "the trains are running on time, we'll be at he station in 40mins". I read it three times before reality hit and then I think my word was something like "argrrrrrrrrrrrghrghgggghghhh-oh-my-god". I had a mental image flash through my mind of the state of my house, the un-hoovered floors, the un-washed piles of dirty dishes, the un-tidied chaos in every room, but in particular the state of the Attic/guest accommodation. Can you imagine the look of horror and panic that crossed my face? My in-laws nearly wet themselves laughing when I revealed the mistake I had made. J was not so amused.
But it was all ok of course, we drove quick smart to the station (via the shop for a box of wine and some hasty supper material) and just made it in time. Picked up my family members, came clean about forgetting they were coming, and when we arrived home I managed to hussle them quickly through the untidy house and out into the back yard to sit and consume wine and food while I dashed upstairs to make the attic presentable. All I can say is thank the Lord for extra large eaves storage. And wine.

Anyways, I think that this week I'll probably be out and about a lot and not able to blog at length. So thought I would share some Reasons to be Cheerful, following in the footsteps of Posy and SouleMama. I have  been pondering this subject during the last week or two and have some photos already lined up waiting, so I hope you enjoy them during this week. Hope yours is a cheerful one xx