L O V E S

1. Dens. Ava's new favourite thing to do is to use all the chairs she can find to create her very own little private dining space in the comfort of our living-room. Once it's suitably kitted out with every pillow, cushion & duvet she can find, she grabs the iPad, I make her some pizza & I barely hear from her for the rest of the evening!
2. Peanut Butter Nankhatai. The lovely people over at Chins Kitchen were nice enough to send us some of their amazing Chai Spice biscuits to try as well as a bag of their Peanut Butter Shortbread. This was the first time I have tried Indian shortbread & it won't be the last! These delicious cookies were the reason my 4 year old didn't finish her dinner for nearly a week. And the gorgeous little bags they come in mean they would make excellent gifts.
3. London Grammar. I had forgotten how much I love this album and after collecting some dust over the past few months, it has been on repeat every night this week. I am desperate for a follow up album. Come on guys...
4. Letting Go. Those who know me know I can be a little impatient now & again. Over the past week or so I have been teaching myself to let go & to understand that not everything is under my control. I've been remembering all my crazy beliefs in things like cosmic ordering & allowing myself to simply trust the universe. I think that life sends you little signs all the time to let you know if you are on your right path & you just have to learn to look out for them. And weird coincidences seem to be happening all around me right now! These little coincidences have taught me to just trust what's planned for me.  And you know what, I have smiled so much over the past week or so that I am starting to wonder why I was even questioning those plans in the first place...
5. Holidays. My usual pangs of sorrow at having to kiss Ava's sweet little face goodbye today were quickly overtaken by the pure excitement I have that the pair of us are flying off to Cyprus soon to spend two whole weeks in the sun with Yaya & Grumpy! Bring on the ice-lollies & Prosecco!
6. Reading. In particular poetry. I finally powered through the Dylan Thomas collection of poems I bought way too long ago and I have been discovering the amazing words of Warsan Shire recently. I'm a sucker for slathering my Instagram with a bit of Charles Bukowski as well. 
7. Mess. I kind of hate mess & feel like I spend half my life cleaning up after Ava. After dropping her at her Dads, I've come home to such a mess but for once it's kind of warming my heart a little. There's abandoned felt tip pens all over the floor, stickers on the legs of the coffee table & a messy Mama's bed from her jumping all over it. This crazy, neat freak might even manage to leave tidying up till lunchtime. I said might.
8. Shorts. Now the weather is a little milder, I am wholeheartedly embracing the fact that it is warm enough to go back to sleeping in PJ shorts. Does anyone else get really annoyed with pyjama bottoms creeping up their leg when in bed and constantly do that weird thing of using your toes to scrunch & grab them back down around your ankles? No? Just me? Ok...
9. Road Trips. The need for another road trip has been great recently and the longing for lapping waters, a decent single malt selection & a pool table has been growing even greater. However our upcoming jaunt to Cyprus has meant I have been keeping my sensible head on rather than booking anything. But I have big plans for a trip to Inverness & over to the Isle of Bute upon my return, so if anyone has any recommendations then please do let me know over on Twitter!
10. Sundays. Saturdays are my real highlight of the week, as I get to spend them doing fun stuff with Ava, but rather than spend the Sundays she goes to her Dad's sobbing into the sofa, I have been enjoying some adult time and really making the most of being child free. Like the exciting steak & red wine lunch I have planned for this afternoon. To be strictly followed by a sofa nap & an afternoon watching Netflix!