three plus one

I know my blogging/ general social presence has been sporadic lately to say the least, however I promise that I do have a very good reason for this. A large proportion of the past three months has been spent hovering over the toilet or pathetically clinging to the sofa whilst simultaneously trying to operate normally on a daily basis- getting to work, entertaining a two year old, putting together an edible meal and so on. My attempts have been a bit shoddy to say the least, so massive thanks must go out to my long suffering husband- sorry for the amount of beans on toast you have had to consume for dinner and for doing all the housework. I think it's all definitely worth it though as we are thrilled that our little family will be welcoming a new arrival in May next year. Woohoo!

P.S Big thanks must also go out to the manufacturers of Coca Cola, raisin toast and salt and vinegar crisps as they have been the only things that have seemed to wish to remain in my stomach. Sadly not at all healthy but absolutely necessary to enable semi normal functioning.

sweetness

These wall decals by Shanna Murray are so beautiful. A definite addition to my Christmas list.

glorious colour

I mesmerised with these paintings by Australian artist Dale Frank. I could just stare at them all day long. They have my fingers itching to pick up a paintbrush, to surround myself with tins of paint and and hurl colour onto a huge canvas.

Discovered via Oh Joy.

life lately

So sorry for the silence, I promise normal blogging will resume soon. Lots has been going on lately, and I seem have been on a non-intended hiatus from the computer. I've been on something of a book reading binge which may go some way to explaining it, as when I've got my head stuck in a good book I can concentrate on very little else (I actually walk around the house reading it while I'm doing other stuff and cooking the dinner etc.). Geeky, I know. I always forget just how much I love reading until I go through one of these phases, and literally devour one book after another. It feels good to disconnect from the online world sometimes.

One book I particularly enjoyed was Her Fearful Symmetry, the latest by Audrey Niffeneger, author of The Time Travellers Wife. I also re-read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, which is one of my favourite ever books (not forgetting the Chronicles of Narnia). I actually can't recommend it enough, the story telling is phenomenal and it includes all of my favourite literary ingredients- a compelling mystery, grand old country house, family, love, secrets and history.

In other news I spent Sunday on a major shopping binge. One of the best things about being a stylist is that I get given a clothing allowance by my boss each season to spend on new clothes as looking the part is obviously fairly crucial. It felt so amazing to actually walk in to clothes shops and be able to pick things out that I genuinely loved instead of hovering over the sales rack and worrying about how much they cost and if we can really afford it (erm, usually not). I still haven't got over how expensive clothes over here in New Zealand are compared to the UK!

I'll leave you with this exceptionally tasty, quick and easy recipe that I made for dinner the other night. Thanks for sharing Kate!