this "have every monday off, forever" thing is going swimmingly. three day weekends lead into four day weeks, that lead into another three day weekend. i'm super productive at work because there's just as much work to do, just in less time, and with things to look forward to in the evening, it's all the motivation needed to put my head down and get everything done so i can get out on time. there's something to be said for the improvement in my day-to-day mood too, with the extra day off to help get over/get ready for another week; i'm going to campaign for a permanent four-day week - who's with me? other things making me smile this week:
new boots: i've finally retired the old faithful pair. i know i have been saying that for weeks, but the last of the year's four pairs finally made their way to the bin on monday after "replacing" them with five new pairs. overkill? maybe. are any of the replacements as comfortable or practical as the faithful ones? no, they're not. and before you go ape, i returned two pairs, so really i only bought three... i miss my old ones everyday, although it's nice to have a tan pair to throw in the mix now. only problem is that none of the new pairs are particularly "grippy" which could become a problem come actual wet-and-icy winter. especially in edinburgh. so, i'm still on the lookout for a rubber-soled pair.
very important news: during the week it was announced that i would be one of six bloggers joining a vip group as an official instagrammer at wahaca's day of the dead festival next weekend at tobacco docks. how exciting is that? i was contacted by three mobile and asked if i would be interested in the role (duh, of course i am!), and as well as that, was offered the use of the new samsung galaxy 6 edge for the week prior to to have a play with and get used to for the big day. i'm almost due an upgrade so it's been nice playing with a phone that works, although the screen wraps around the device a bit which makes it hard to text while laying down, but... getting there! it's a really awesome phone, so you'll notice all my instagrams have been a lot clearer and crisper since i moved to it - really looking forward to snapping some great pics for three and wahaca on saturday - make sure you follow along!
hallowmeangirls: on thursday the bangarang babes and i hit up musical bingo for torch's birthday - an annual birthday night out for her, combined with our incredible costume idea, was the perfect recipe for a hilarious night out. did we win anything? did we ever. more details on that in the week!
hangover foods: and then, because i drank an entire bottle of wine by myself and didn't eat dinner, friday was a challenge. thank god for breakfast club on fridays, as i'm not sure how i would have got through the day without a bacon and hash brown butty. or the many, many cokes, flavoured waters, chocolate, and blueberries (superfood, ok) i consumed that day before dashing out at 4:30 on the dot. friday was a long, long day. worth it? oh, totally.
beautiful days: the autumn weather has been turning it ~on lately! so yeah, we had some rain there for a bit, but this week has been utterly delightful. saturday was stunning blue, blazing sun, and sweaty backs on the not-short walk from woking train station to laura's house, as charlie and i hot-footed it over for her baby shower! we were laden with bags - cakes, gifts, etc, but sure as hell we were warm when we arrived. a weekend for leaving the coat at home, for sure!
celebrations: and if the sun isn't something to celebrate, then seeing an awesome human and her baby bump after the longest time certainly is. i haven't seen laura since portugal, since her tiny bump started to show. her pregnancy hasn't been easy for her, and with her move from london to woking, it was amazing to see her again after all this time, and see her tiny bump turn into a giant bump in what feels like not a very long time. it was so great to see her and phill, and see the new house, and we had a fab afternoon of baby games, cakes, and giggles. bring on the baby!
fizzy crisps: god bless marks and spencer and their food tech team, because they really do go to town at christmas time, don't they? as i was in there to pick up some cakes for the party, i also grabbed a bag of posh crisps. these were no "mature cheddar and red onion jam" flavour crisps, let me tell you. among the weirdest flavours ever known to man - including turkey dripping and maple, and smoked ham hock and yorkshire pudding, was the one flavour that would change my life: wild berry and prosecco. there were tiny gold stars and a sprinkling of pink dust on the crisps, and the best part? they fizzed on your tongue like they were dusted with whizz fizz! utterly mental crisps, but i sure as hel enjoyed them.
stupid traditions: why do we celebrate halloween in the uk? why does anyone? it's so silly and stupid and oh i don't know, but i really had a giggle at all the effort some neighbours had gone to on saturday. and then the occasional "no trick or treaters please" sign on a front door had me thinking... that'd be me. i'm not a gory kind of girl, ok. i like glee. the show, not the emotion, obviously.
dark lips: oh yeah, autumn means dark all the things, especially lips. right? i always feel a bit vampy in dark lippy so i figured if you can't beat 'em then join 'em, and i "gothed up" in all black and dark lips on sunday, and i bloody loved it.
crunchy leaves: oh i know, ok. but the novelty of autumn hasn't worn off yet for me, and remains firmly as my favourite season. every day it seems like a new colour of leaf has appeared on the ground, willing me to take photos of it with my shoes in a strategically posed way. someone commented on a similar picture like "you're not allowed an instagram if you don't feature leaves and shoes at least once a week", so i have contributed twice to that affect this week. be proud of me, team.
so that's that - what's been keeping you smiling this week? tell me below!
