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!

Les choses de la beauté...

Well, here we are again; another week where time seems to have been on fast-forward. I have been having those sentimental thoughts again - you know how partial I am to them. You see I am returning to work next week...whaaaaat? I know, I KNOW, but hey, it's time. More of that next week, but in the meantime I am wallowing in the 'this is my last free Friday' feeling. I have a quiet weekend planned; settling in to a book and eating well. Conserving energy and getting fresh air.

Thank you to my wonderful guest bloggers this week...I have really enjoyed these diaries of others. More to come, but in the meantime thank you so much for your kind and supportive comments.

Things of beauty this week is en français, well just because, juste parce que pourquoi pas? So chic...so why not? You know how French women have that style, that elegance; how do they do it? Oh to be more like them! Enjoy...

bee-stung lips...clemence poesy

...vintage carrie in Paris...

life is in little pleasures...

...french plaits...which I still can't do...such an important life skill when you have a daughter!

via dust jacket attic

...lunchtime, Paris style...photograph by the Sartorialist

french cafe life via tom el bez photography

photograph by Jamie Beck

...marion cottilard in vanity fair

Wishing you a chic, relaxed weekend!

Things of beauty interlude...

Temporarily, our life has been thrown into a state of flux. Sometimes, things you believe to be safe (like jobs) are not, and you have start afresh with new assumptions. This week I have learned that my patience is not as extensive as I had thought. That I too quickly leap to conclusions, even though common sense should prevail. That I misuse semi colons (according to Boo's crib-sheet on the matter). That I have some awesome friends, who when it matters, form an emotional huddle. A wigwam of support.

I've felt oddly hemmed in after the Christmas period; still no school for my children, so days spent killing time. The recline level has gone to extremes and my son announces daily that it's a 'pyjama day'! I have had to explain that the beauty of a pyjama day phenomenon is that it does not occur every day!

As ever the final week of holidays is a week too long! It's not long until I return to work and that is starting to fill my thoughts. I feel like I need to go back and retrace how this last six months of absence came about. I need to walk in those same steps and see if I can create a different outcome. If you want things to be different, you have to do them differently.

I have had some lovely guest bloggers post their thoughts and there is more to come next week. Thank you for your wonderful welcome and warm comments. I like the different slant on things and whilst I am staying in the background, I am still here :-)

via coco kelley

via brown dress with white dots

via pretty stuff

via grey clouds and red days

via comptoir des cottoniers

photograph by chris nicholls

...oops how did that get there?!! Bradley Cooper....

via a well traveled woman

via this flickr

Here's to success and a fresh start...

Christmas things of beauty...

Hello! Soon to be Christmas Eve; I must admit I am not quite ready! Despite weeks of time to prepare, the big event starts tomorrow with a final shop for food and then a walk on the beach to clear out the cobwebs. The house smells of pine and lavender as I had a last-minute domestic goddess moment and made home made laundry powder (after being inspired by this). Anything that creates a production line of homeliness is good with me.

There is one crucial element missing and that is my husband who has been away since Monday. I think he's had about the toughest week so far in his career so I am looking forward to welcoming him home for Christmas. Without him, it all doesn't quite start...

So now the fire is lit, we are watching 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' after seeing the stage show yesterday. It's dark, wet and windy outside so time to hunker down! Enjoy...

...I am loving this red dress...

via one of my all time favourites, starring the world's most loved canine: backwards in high heels

Danish house at Christmas, complete with a tree in the centre of the room via from the right bank

via keep me happy

via are so happy

Oh Olivia P...

...hard to resist, brown paper...

...wool and lace...anthropologie december catalogue 2011

via country living

...gentlemen, if in doubt, go tiffanys...

via simple thoughts

...excitement growing...

...my home made laundry creations!!

via keep me happy

Have a restful and joyful Christmas...