Things of beauty...

This weekend has been a long time coming; tomorrow Boo sits her exam for her senior school. Two hundred and seventy children vying for just eighty places! I figure we have done all we can, she can only do her best, and what will be will be (and other such philosophical observations).

Meanwhile I've been getting used to balancing my time between home and work again, taking things very slowly. So far so good. Some lovely readers have asked how my pain is - well, it's still there, less prevalent, but still there. I loop around in my mind whether there is less pain or whether I have become adept at dealing with the pain. Still no conclusion but it's not getting me down like it used to. I am taking steps every day to work through it and one day, I believe it will go. I do believe that.

Tonight calls for Friday night curry and traditional family times snuggled in front of the fire. I am relishing life right now; I feel like everything has happened this way for a reason and rather than question it, I am trying to just accept it; enjoy it, take it for what it is...

...'the godfather' by Louise Dungate...maker of luxe knitwear

via inspire me

...twice this week, at the farthest point from home when dog walking, I've been caught in the rain...

via the cambridge satchel company

...snuggle up...

Kirsten Scott Thomas

via crush cul de sac

Have a cosy time this weekend!

Things of beauty...

More reaching to the inner corners of my conscience this week; still weighing up what this little life is all about. The week passed with its normal rhythms...school runs and homework schedules. I caught a cold and so the days have gone by with a fuzz around my head. In an unprecedented move, I started wrapping Christmas presents on December 1st. I have never ever been this organised!! It is because I have time this year; there is time to get things done and I am loving that.

I have set plans in motion to return to work in the new year; I do this ruefully in some ways, knowing that it might set me back. I need to use this blog as a barometer; if in future it seems like I am stepping back into the shoes of the stressed, frazzled, unhappy person I was, can you let me know?!! It always amazes me how commenters here notice things about me before I notice them myself. It must come through in the writing. So if you could be my guiding light, I would appreciate it.

This weekend I have some treats lined up, some 'me' time and some family time. Wonderful beautiful things this week...cat eye make-up and freckles and general prettiness...

...such a lovely half smile...Gemma Arterton...

...love the sparkles; look closely...

...it just doesn't get better than cupcakes...

...encrusted beauty...

made from pages of books via teaching literacy

Have a wonderful weekend...

Things of beauty...

I write a lot about my children and my life and my home but rarely about my husband. Odd, as he is of course such a big factor in my life. At the moment he is working very hard and Monday to Friday has become a time when we pass each other in the hallway and I think...how long ago it seems that we were away together on holiday. I miss him. It's a double edge; half of me wants to support him utterly and be the dutiful corporate wife. The other half of me wants to say - was this the deal? Did we choose this? We hardly never see each other!

I loved the comments I got this week, especially those recommending new blogs to read. It was wonderful to cast that net and get such a response. Almost without fail I loved them all - so I guess that shows we all like the same thing. One though was particularly notable as the writing is just...heart-achingly good. It's this blog and as the writer Meg says, she likes to pen notes to the man she will marry. Don't think she's met him yet - but it got me thinking, if I was writing to my husband many years ago what would I ask for?! Certainly one proviso would be time together on a fairly regular basis! Isn't it ironic that we marry for love and then work hard for the future and in the process spend less and less time together?

Atleast it's the weekend and that means family time and chilling out and togetherness...

photograph by olivia graham

via copenhagen cycle chic

London...this is where my husband always seems to be...I miss him...

via skona hem

via luna and chloe weddings

via here

I like this; a bit much for the school run maybe but still...via crush cul de sac

photograph by aaron delesie

photograph by elizabeth messina

via atlantic pacific

photograph by emma lee

Its how I feel,,,via better than fine

Things of beauty...

Bonjour vendredi! This week has been one of extremes...I have to say my parenting skills have been put through their paces. An early-in-the-week trauma that required my daughter to be very brave set the scene, and since then we have been gently resetting ourselves back to normal.

I spent one afternoon on a Mummy day (as opposed to a work day) watching a rounders tournament in one of the most beautiful school settings I could imagine. I have to say, when it comes to private schools, there really is another breed of school mother. I am fascinated by the whole spectacle; not least because all the children's names are 'Minty', 'Buffy' and 'Jonty'! I can knock it, because I am in it; by virtue of geography, hard work and luck. Nevertheless I am secretly in awe...

We have best friends visiting this weekend, with the promise of a proper British beach hut experience, come rain or shine. It's a bank holiday too so time will be spent in the garden. Normally my realm only extends to the inside of the house; the outside is his domain. I can't get concerned over weeding flower beds and mowing the lawn. However last weekend we planted a mass of pretty roses and flowers and all week I have wanted to nurture them, water them, just enjoy their prettiness. Planting a garden is like having money in the bank. It can make you feel replete.

via dustjacket attic photograph by Olivia Graham

from marilyn tov

Be a brave girl Boo...

by lilcoletterpress on this etsy

photograph by Robin Stubbert

I really need to take heed of this:

by thetwitterpated toad from this etsy

Oh, summer sun...when will you arrive?

via 79 ideas from free people

Wild mint is growing free in our garden...the smell in the evenings is divine...

photograph by Robin Stubbert

via dustjacket attic photograph by by Pasquale Abbattista

Outdoor dining...under the blossoms...

via this is glamorous via country homes and interiors

I liked this, so I bought it.

from Jigsaw

A print called 'Suburbia'...was it designed for me?

'Suburbia' by caleb gray from this etsy

via tinywhitedaisies from Livs Lyst

This weekend, get outside...and breathe it in!