What I've been loving this past month

A quick look at my blog tells me it's been exactly a month since my last post. And whilst part of me is kicking myself for not keeping my promises and posting sooner and with more regularity, there's another side which thinks it's especially fitting that I'm blogging today instead, especially as my post is concerned with all the things I've been loving over the last month or so. And here they are...

• Spring flowers...yes, I know it's a blogger cliché (well that's how it appears to me, at least) but I just love the beautiful blooms that are such a special feature of this time of year. From cherry and apple blossom to magnolias and daffodils...be still my beating heart!
• Beautiful spring weather...let's just ignore the fact that the past week has been mostly cold, grey and gloomy, shall we?! Seriously, the end of March in particular was glorious, with unbroken sunshine and temperatures that made it feel more like June. It really got me in a summery mood and made me think of holidays, fun and making plans for the months ahead.
• Soap and Glory "Clean on Me" and Herbal Essences "Tousle me Softly" shampoo and conditioner...three of my favourite products over the last few weeks, reviews will be coming soon!!
• Meeting new people and getting to know others better...whether it's an online acquaintance who I've finally got the opportunity to meet face to face, work colleagues who are becoming more and more like friends every day or saying hello to a friend's beautiful baby daughter for the first time, I've felt privileged to get to know every one :-)
• Lighter evenings and longer days...add the fact that we're getting ever closer to the longest day to the clocks moving forward to signal the start of British Summer Time, and what do you get? Days where it's light well before you reach work and night that doesn't fall until around 8 pm. Catching some daylight while you can is the best cure for the workday blues in my opinion, and I love the fact that I'll be able to get just that little bit more every day :-)
• Wearing dresses...whilst dresses have become a bigger and bigger part of my wardrobe over the past couple of years, it seems that my love of them has reached new heights this spring. They've formed an extensive part of my working wardrobe in recent weeks and every now and then, I find myself mentally adding new dresses to my spring/summer wishlist. Well a girl can dream...! :-)

So those are my loves of the last few weeks, but what about you? What have you been enjoying over the last month? Let me know, I'd love to hear from you! :-)

'Til next time...

Well, hello again...

it looks like I'm back!! :-) I'm no longer drowning under endless application forms and personal statements (although I don't know how long this state of affairs will last!) and with just over a week to go until I break up for the school holidays, I can (almost) safely say (because you can never be 100% sure!) that you'll be hearing a lot more from me from here on out!

As it's been quite a while since I last posted, I thought the best way of getting back up to speed was to post a quick list of things that have happened to me since I've been off the radar. So here goes nothing!!

Since I last posted I...

• have got 2 more job interviews!! After having a few interviews over the winter, I hadn't had any since February, so was very excited to get an interview letter last Wednesday. I had my lesson observation on Tuesday, which seemed to go ok and then I've got my interview tomorrow! Eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk! Then, yesterday, I received a letter from another school inviting me to an interview in June. Fingers crossed I'll get the job I'm interviewing for tomorrow, but if not, at least I've got the other interview to fall back on :-)
• celebrated my mum's birthday. Happy (belated) Birthday Mum!! Love you lots!! :-)
• discovered that our new kitten Lucy is actually a boy! So it was goodbye Lucy and hello Luca lol!
• have learned never to listen to my friend Sean ever again. We're both members of the same drama group, which is renowned (well, amongst its members anyway!) for its ridiculously literal and cheesy choreography!! So last week, when the director was trying to choreograph a routine, Sean was coming up with some particularly cheesy moves and getting me to join in! Unfortunately, we were right at the front, so the director saw us and thought that we knew what the routine was!! So that meant we were sent off stage to "teach" everyone else! We couldn't get it through to the director that we were only taking the piss, so there we were at the front, jigging around like idiots!! Completely mortifying!!
• watched Iron Man 2 (for the second time!), which has left me ever-so-slightly in love with Tony Stark and wishing I was Pepper Potts...
• added to my baking repertoire by experimenting with Rocky Road...it was pretty divine, even if I do say so myself, and I'm thinking I'll definitely be making it again in the future!!
• have been lusting over these shoes (except the ones I wanted were in a different colourway...cream with red polka dots and bow), but at the same time have also resigned myself to the fact that I'll probably never possess them, as they're limited edition and seem to have completely sold out in my size :-( And what makes this tale of woe even worse is that I had tried a pair on when they very first came out, but decided that they were too frivolous and that they wouldn't go with much in my wardrobe (idiot girl!!) Oh, how I'm kicking myself now!!
• been alternately annoyed by and adoring the British weather: this time last week temperatures were below the average for the time of year, today it got up to a maximum of about 22/23oC with a predicted maximum of 26oC (78oF) for tomorrow...that's 10 degrees above the average for May! Crazy, I tell ya!! Not that I'm complaining about the heat lol :-)

And I think that's about it!! I'm looking forward to a relaxingish weekend after a busy day tomorrow (dentist, job interview, driving lesson, drama) and am hoping to take advantage of the warm weather that's been forecast. Till next time...

And now in a change to our scheduled programming...

I'm posting something that isn't the "What's-in-my-Wardrobe Wednesday" installment that I promised! I was honestly going to post it this evening, but due to a change in my plans I won't really have time to, so I'm going to have to go for something shorter instead.




And that something shorter is this:

Yeah, it's another award!! While I wasn't tagged per se, Nicole over at You Had Me At Hello has very kindly shared this with all her followers, and I think that's such a lovely idea that I'm going to do the same...so feel free to take the award if you like it!! :-) There's only one condition...if you do, you've got to post a list of 10 things that make you happy! Whilst I have a sneaky suspicion that I've posted at least one happy list in the past, it's not going to stop me from posting another one now lol! I'm feeling in a really cheery mood at the mo, especially as spring is now well and truly in the air ...so don't be surprised if my list has a few spring themed items on!!

And so, without further ado...here's my list:

1. Sunny spring weather...I defy anyone not to feel even a tiny bit cheerier when the sky's blue, the sun's shining and there's a definite hint of warmth in the air!
2. Spring flowers...daffodils, apple and cherry blossom, magnolias...they're all so beautiful!
3. Pretty spring clothes...ruffles, florals, pastels and brights...I've recently took lots of my spring/summer clothes out of storage and I can't wait to start wearing them again!
4. Spending time with my friends and family...love them!!
5. The fact there'll be a new addition to our family by this time tomorrow...we're getting a new kitten!! :-) Expect pictures very soon!!
6. Starbucks grande skinny vanilla lattes...my caffeine fix of choice :-)
7. Good food and good conversation...if I have those 2 ingredients in any situation I'm pretty much all set!!
8. Walking...it's my favourite form of exercise, especially in the good weather we're having at the minute.
9. Fashion and gossip magazines...although I suspect my purse isn't quite as happy with the amount I spend on them!!
10. Baking...it's one of the few crafty/creative things I appear to be halfway decent at, and now we have a new recipe book I reckon I'll soon be expanding my repertoire to include other things beside gingerbread!!

And that's me done!! I really hope some of you take part in this tag too...it'd be wonderful to read your lists!! :-)