This is Me

Sunday mornings are as you will already know if you know me at all my all time favourite part of the week.  I love the peace and quiet and the promise of a lovely homely day doing exactly what I want to do and not having to be any place but home.
Here I sit in my comfy bed, hubby having gone to work (poor thing) thinking about nothing in particular other than what I want to do next.  I am already on my second cup of freshly ground coffee.  This is a true luxury and one we allow ourselves everyday.  We have a little coffee grinder, a caffitiere and thats it.  No instant coffee allowed.
As I was contemplating I happened to glance over to the untidy pile of stuff on the bed and like a lightening bolt I realised that what lay there was a snap shot of me.

There was the brand new bedding I intend to put on as soon as I prize myself out of the existing covers.

I bought this set from Morrisons one day when I was shopping.  It was totally on a whim and as soon as I got it home I realised that although it was me to a tee; patchwork, flowers and spots - it was never going to look right in our bedroom which is cream and beige with french look furniture.  However I couldn't bring myself to take it back and so today is the day that it will go on our bed regardless of the clash of trends and colours.


A crochet book I have just found on the bookshelf that I had forgotten I had.  I do this alot.  I buy a book that I just can't live without.  Bring it home and then instantly forget that I ever bought it.  I have on occasion re-bought the book which is utter madness.

This is such a cool book.  I love crochet although knitting will always be my first love.  Mum bought me a piece of Angeline last week.  Apparently it draws the angels to you and keeps you safe.  I like that idea and in this book there is a pretty pendant to make where you crochet round a stone which I think will be a perfect way of using my present.  I will let you see the finished creation soon.

A Matalan magizine posted through the door.

I am not a follower of fashion but I love looking through magizines and leaflets and often find something that I just can't live without.  I don't often go in Matalan although there is a massive store in Worksop (where my shop is) and occasionally I pop in.  I currently have four pairs of ballet shoes from there which were as cheap as chips and look lovely with pretty dresses and skirts.  I have a painful middle toe and can no longer where my killer heels so they are perfect for me.
My favourite healthy eating book.

Gosh I love this book.  My friend actually bought it and brought it in the shop.  I liked it so much I bought it off her and she had to go and get another one.  It is written in such a way that you can't help but want to eat better.  I have gained so much from the information and the recipes are excellent.  I have made several and they are all delicious.  There are not many health books that I have read cover to cover and although I am still only half way through this will be read in its entirety I can guarantee.
Paula's note book just waiting to be opened and written in.

This is where I put all my insights, dreams and feelings with a hope that one day I will hit on the next big thing or eventually find the holy grail. I made this some time ago and have since done something similar for a friend of mine who loved elephants and was starting a new job where she has to write down lots of information etc.
The elephants were in the form of the fabric I used and she loved it.
My glasses which are so much part of me I forget sometimes that I am wearing them and try to put my others over the top of them.  Very silly I know.
My laptop.  I am nothing without my laptop.  I love the internet especially Pinterest where I can lose myself for hours. This was a present from hubby for my 50th birthday and as I am a few years older now I suspect I will soon need a new one.
And finally the book I am just about to start reading.

This was another find this morning.  I absolutely adore self improvement books.  My brother once commented that they obviously don't work.  He was looking at me at the time which I thought was very rude and something I have secretly never forgiven him for saying!
I read my first self help book over twenty years ago.  It was How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie and it changed my life.  I wouldn't say I follow everything in these types of book but there is always something to take away and think about and if just one thing helps to improve your life I think that is just fine.  Hubby says that I always seem to be searching for something but it's not quite like that.  I am not an unhappy person but I have a feeling that there is something more to this life and as yet I haven't found it.  Maybe one day I will but today I certainly found a little bit of what makes me tick right there in a pile of stuff.

The Incredible Spice Men

Did anyone catch The Incredible Spice Men series recently shown on the BBC?  It was brilliant and very funny.

I know, you wouldn't normally expect a cookery programme to make you giggle but it did.  These two guys have such great personalities, they were a pleasure to watch.
As a get well present my hubby bought me the cookery book and ever since I have been cooking some amazing meals.

I made the honey-roasted chicken with outstanding roasties and both were delicious.

As you can see it looked just like the picture in the book.
Since then I have made the hot and sticky prawns, the exceptional gammon with cider and cinnamon, Ferdinando's roasted potatoes and bread and butter pudding with orange and cardamom.
This is definitely a cookery book to get hold of if you want to spice up your life.

Soul Craft for the Jaded Spirit

We're going to the wedding of my lovely friend Sally who is getting married to David this coming Saturday.
I'm really looking forward to it but as ever am disappointed that I didn't start the diet earlier.  Well actually I haven't really started the diet at all and therefore the dress I am wearing fits slightly more snug than I had hoped for.  Never mind I only have myself to blame.
However it has made me even more determined to get my act together.  I never want to feel like I do right now again.  It's ridiculous.  I have wasted years wanting to be a certain size, weight and shape and every time I decide to get on with it I start at my heaviest weight ever.  Surely that should give me the hint that something I am doing isn't quite working.

I have today read my daily meditation from my Simple Abundance book which suggests using soul craft to ease a jaded spirit.
Looking around and trying to make everything just that bit better.  Tidying, cleaning, refreshing etc.

An Englishman's home is his castle

Making your own space as lovely as possible by using and improving what you already have.
Well I can do that.
As far as my self is concerned, I have made an appointment to have my hair done.  I'm going to lighten it as well.  I have all the things I need to do my own gel nails.  I need to wax and pluck my face and to paint my toe nails.
The bathroom and kitchen are going to get the once over this week too so I reckon that's enough Soul Craft to be getting on with.
I'd love to know if you are feeling the same.  Maybe it's that time of year.

Simple Abundance

I read a lot of books, mostly romantic paperbacks but I also love self help books.  This is not because I have any particular areas of my life where I need help but just that I find personal growth fascinating and strive everyday to become a better person.  I regard these books as places to tap information and gleen the odd insight and I am always on the look out for that one book that will turn things around and change my life in some small way.

One such book was Simple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort & Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
Every day she suggests ways to make life more simple and beautiful and how to achieve a sense of belonging and wonder.  She encourages you to look inside yourself to find what your own personal pleasures are, it could be collecting a draw with everything you need to have a wonderful pampering session with fragrant body lotions, bubble bath and face masks, or creating a little corner in your house where you can relax or meditate.
I first read this book in 2009 as a whole, loving it immediately, and since then it has never left my bedside.  I try to read one entry per day and use it as a workbook, my life in progress as it were.
When I read this first time round I started cutting out pictures from old magizines.  Ones that really appealed to me and very quickly discovered what style of clothes I really loved, what colours were my true favourites and what style of house decor truely made me happy.  This was a revelation which has stood me in good stead over the last few years.  It has given me the confidence to stick out for what I need out of life and as I say has changed my life forever!
Sarah Ban Breathnach has writen several other books which are excellent but none have affected me quite as much as this one. I'm off now to read today's instalment.
Do you have a favourite book? Please let me know.  I'd love to hear from you.