Computers, shortbread and cats

It's been a less than positive week for me. I unexpectedly came up against some highly unpleasant people at work which quite upset my equilibrium. But I'm trying to put that out of mind and focus on the good things that are present in my life.

1. My new Macbook Pro arrived. I love it.
2. Some lovely chocolate shortbread is on its way to my tummy. All thanks to a friend who's a wonderful baker.
3. My cat is old. But healthy. We were worried he might have something wrong with his right hind leg.

Tea, reading and fish

1. I find time for a cup of chamomile lavender tea. It soothes my tummy that's been acting up for weeks.
2. There's nothing like getting stuck in a good book, even if it's one I've read before. It's been ages since I last picked up The Sittaford Mystery so I don't recall who the murderer is.
3. Fish and chips for lunch. The fish is fresh and the chips crispy and hot.

Movie magic and memories

One of my greatest pleasures in life is watching movies. My earliest movie memory is of watching Jaws in the cinema and cowering behind my sweater. My late mother loved movies, especially the old Hollywood classics. I remember her sitting up late at night and catching re-runs of movies like The Prince and the Showgirl. She also had a huge crush on Rock Hudson and I sometimes wonder what she would have said if she had been alive when news broke that he was gay. It would have shattered her world.

Thanks to her influence, I know a lot more about old Hollywood movies and the people who acted in them than most of my peers. I'm still about the only one among my friends who'll watch musicals like South Pacific and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or knows who Troy Donahue is (I thought he was peachy keen when I was 12). Those old movies I watched back when I was a child continue to be magical. Partly because of their happy endings which spoke to me of hope and better things to come. But mostly because these were the same movies my mother had watched in her youth. Watching the same movies she had was my way to connect with a mother I lost much too early in life.

Quiet morning, sweets and parcels

Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been feeling under the weather this past week, and am still feeling a little dodgy. Despite the health issues, it's a good time to reflect on some beautiful things in my life.

1. A quiet morning to catch up on tasks in glorious solitude.
2. Pack of Wether's Original - these butterscotch flavoured sweets bring back childhood memories.
3. The mailman brought me a parcel I've been waiting for. A few more packages still to come.

Usefulness of guilty pleasures

Just to show you that I do - occasionally - make something out of my beads, here's a pic of a bracelet I made for a friend who recently got married. I used Swarovski glass pearls, freshwater pearls, gold-plated pewter spacer beads, gold-plated crystal rondelle and a vintage faux pearl clasp. I think it turned out quite pretty after all.

Check out my Artfire store if you want to have a peek at my other jewellery.

Countdown of indulgences...continued

Right, I hope you've had a good day so far. I have. I managed to coax both my camera and my laptop into working. At least for a little while. So this post isn't going to be very long, since I really don't want to push my luck.

It's with much guilt that I acknowledge - a day late - that my single biggest indulgence is....this.

Yes, people, my greatest guilty pleasure is beads. Beautiful, gorgeous, breath-taking, sparkly beads. What you see is just a teeny portion of my bead stash. Aren't they lovely? My favourite has got to be the butterfly beads. They look and feel like glass but they weigh hardly anything so I think they might be acrylic. I bought them in Tokyo over 2 years ago and am loath to use them. They're just so pretty. I guess I'm waiting for inspiration to strike since they deserve to be showcased in a spectacular jewellery design. What do you think? Do you have ideas on how I should use them? I keep thinking they'd look stunning in a necklace but I'm not quite sure. Leave a comment and tell me what you think I ought to do with them. At the moment, they're sorely neglected. They only see the light of day when I take them out - every month or so - to ooh and aah at them.

PS. I'm known for taking crappy photographs. So do bear with me. I'm hoping all this blogging will help improve my photography skills. We'll see.

Troubles & beautiful things

I was going to post some photos of my No. 1 guilty pleasure, but I'm having issues with my camera and my computer. So that particular post will have to wait.

In its place, I thought I'd mention a wonderful blog I came across not too long ago called "3 Beautiful Things". You may already know about it, and love it as much as I do. The whole idea of being thankful for the many little blessings and joys in our daily life is both simple and significant. I totally recommend that you check the blog out. You can find the link in my blog list.

Although the day isn't quite over, these are my 3 beautiful things for today.

1. Rain. Glorious after a week of sizzling heat.
2. Chatting online with a friend who recently got a job (wonder if that makes it two beautiful things?)
3. Having 2 scoops of chocolate ice-cream for dessert. Yum. The diet can wait.

Countdown of indulgences

There's nothing I like better than to sit down for a couple of minutes - especially during a busy day - with a cup of tea or cocoa and a bite to eat. When I really want to indulge myself, I go for one of these yummy things. What's your teatime indulgence? I'd love to hear about it.

Brand new blog

Despite what it sounds like, I won't be blogging about gloves. Unfortunately. Or about shoes. I just couldn't resist using a quote from Jenny Joseph's poem 'Warning'. The spirit of the poem seemed to fit what's happening in my life. The older I get, the less apologetic I am about my guilty pleasures. So this blog will be about that: my guilty pleasures, and other frivolities of life that bring me joy. Check in soon to see what these are :-)