Ten things that make me smile

I’ve been a bit poorly over the last couple of days with a rotten stomach bug. I’m hopeless at being poorly and spent much of yesterday feeling ill and bored in bed. I felt too rubbish to do anything but felt frustrated as I have so much to be getting on with at the minute.

Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time having a look through some old photographs on my iPhone, my favourite piece of gadgetry to date. I downloaded a nice app called CameraBag and had a fiddle with a few of photographs. Lots of them cheered me up no end, so I thought I’d write a little blog post about things that make me smile.

I also had a bit of a fiddle with my blog, hence the new look. While re-reading some old posts I realised that sometimes I still lose sight of my pursuit for a more simple life. These photographs remind me of what’s important to me, and what makes me happy.

I hope you like my new blog design and layout, and these pictures too

xx

1. Our new bedroom in the attic, which is finally finished, and a blissful hideaway.

2. Our eldest boy on the beach in Lyme Regis. He is always happy when we’re near the sea; just like his daddy.

3. Our youngest boy, who is such and animal lover, with his beloved Maggie Chicken

4. A brooding shot of Mike, on a beach in North Devon. The North Devon coast is part of Mike’s soul, part of who he is. I love watching him watching the sea.

5. Our boys’s dinosaur stash. This, for me, sums up their boyishness and captures a moment of their lives that I know I will always look back on nostalgically.

6. This beautiful crochet blanket that I bought in a charity shop recently for £8! I love a bargain, especially something handmade and just so utterly gorgeous.

7. Alice Park in Bath. It is a perfect spot for Sunday morning bike-riding. I’ve enjoyed capturing the boys enjoying the passing seasons lately.

8. Vegetarian Food. I have been a vegetarian for 18 years now, and stomach bug or not, this picture of one of my favourite lunches (couscous with tomatoes, spinach and capers) makes me feel really hungry.

9. My mam. She is an amazing person and I feel lucky to have her as my mam. She sent me this picture earlier today and it made me laugh out loud. I love it for lots of reasons; I love it because it captures my mam’s youthful spirit. She is in her 60′s but is very much sticking two fingers up to getting older. I love it because she has just bought this bike for me, even though I’m a grown woman she still thinks of me all the time and knows that I have been after a bike for a while. I love it because it’s a second hand bike and was part of a bargain job lot – I seem to have inherited her love of a bargain! I also love it because I can imagine my dad chuckling away as he took the photograph, laughing at my mam whizzing around the play area next to our house.

10. This picture of my boys at a birthday party. I love it because it reminds me of being small and what it felt like having a big brother. The boys didn’t really know anyone at the party (apart from the birthday girl) and they stuck together like glue for the whole party. I remember being small and being in places where I only knew my big brother and how safe that made me feel. I still love having a big brother, even though I’m grown up but still hate being in rooms when I don’t know anyone!