Working from Home

I had a brief moment of bliss last week.  I was lying on a huge beach towel in the back garden, grass tickling my toes, sun baking down on my back, listening to the strains of Ocean Drive by The Lighthouse Family wafting over the garden fence.  It was spookily like being 13 again.

Except instead of revising for end of year exams, I was doing this:

Yes, I was working. In the garden.

I don't care how blasé and grown up we all are, you've got to admit that it's quite cool, haven't you?  I don't get the chance to do it often but if there's a project that needs some serious planning and I know I won't get a moment's peace in the office, the boss is usually quite happy to let me have the odd day at home.  It's bliss. Just me and Oscar.

He was always very fond of helping me revise and he's still equally interested in what I'm up to now.

He is not helpful. But he is extremely cute.

Alas I couldn't spend the whole day out there with him.  My morning was spent planning and writing, my lunch time was spent sunbathing but I did eventually have to head indoors and fire up the laptop.

Any real working-from-home types probably have a neat office set-up going on. I had to shovel bits of sewing machine and Tudor costumes out of the way in order to make a bit of space on the dining room table.

I was quite cosy though and really productive! It's astonishing how much more work I can get done when I actually have peace and quiet. I cope pretty well with constant interruptions in the office (which is good, because it's always like that. I'm lucky if I get 5 minutes to myself to concentrate on something). But oh, the bliss of being able to work on one thing at once and not have my train of thought derailed by the phone or an urgent email or an "Alex, do you know where XYZ is?".

Good view from the office, huh?

13 year old me probably didn't ever imagine a world where working from home was an actual thing but 30 year old me still finds it madly exciting.  It's such a treat!  If only I could do it all the time.  I reckon I'd be some sort of superhuman work machine if I had that level of peace and quiet.  Or I'd become a recluse who wore pjs all day and existed solely on coffee and crisps.  Yeah, it's probably safest that I have to go to the office five days a week, isn't it?

Half Preppy, Half...Not

I like to try and tone down the madness slightly for work. Whilst I was very definitely in a silly dressing-up sort of mood yesterday, I felt that perhaps toile patterned shorts and rather high shoes might tip over the edge into "wtf are you wearing today, Alex?" territory unless I made at least a partial concession towards sensibleness. Hence the shirt and jumper combo. Nothing says sensible workwear like a shirt and jumper, right?

(if you're wondering where my face has gone, well it looked atrocious in ALL of the photos, so I'm hiding it)

But really we should just be talking about the shorts. TOILE PATTERNED SHORTS, EVERYONE!  I spotted them in Primark at the weekend and made a positive beeline for them.  They were the last pair on the rail and therefore clearly destined to be mine. Who cares that they're two sizes too big? I actually consider this a bonus as it means they sit much lower down and end up being a respectable length rather than hotpants.  You all know how much I love toile.  Love it.

Jumper - H&M

Shirt - Gap, stolen from my brother

Shorts - Primark

Shoes - Next

Because I had to take my outfit photos at home for once, you get bonus cat photos.  Oscar is the inquisitive type so naturally he likes to see why I'm posing in front of the shed door. This is us saying "Mrow" to each other.

Mostly he pretends he's still a kitten and chases his tail on the lawn.  Is this not the most amazing photo ever?

Not Quite A Teaparty

What better way to celebrate the Jubilee than with a party?  I don't know about you but I never need an excuse to eat cake.


The lovely lot at George asked if I'd like to take part in their Jubilee Tea Blogparty.  I replied with a slightly more coherent version of "Yespleasethankyouverymuch" and then I just had to pick a dress from George that I thought best represented a decade of the queen's reign, sit back and eat cake.  Suits me down to the ground!  I chose this frock which is sort of dual purpose - it reminds me of 70s tennis frocks and also the very 90s jersey dresses I used to buy from Tammy Girl and Miss Selfridge.  Incidentally, does anyone else from Liverpool remember the circular changing room in Miss Selfridge?  I miss that.


As for the party, I should, in the interests of honesty, admit that tea was not drunk.  We like coffee and lots of it, so there's no point faffing around with tiny teacups.  Mugs are the way forward.  Big mugs.
 

I love mini party rings.  Really, really, love them.

Char looks very happy with her cake.  I am possibly the most startled anyone has ever been by a Victoria sponge. 

We had a jolly good time though!

Dress - Barbara Hulanicki @ George, c/o George
Cardi - Tu

Ring - present
Cat - Oscar, optional accessory

It's A Good Friday

Yes, I am in work today and I will be on Monday too, so you wouldn't expect me to be all jolly and happy with life. But I am! It was my choice to work- I'd rather take the time in lieu and have the extra couple of days holiday when it suits me later in the year. I have a fun weekend planned, full of meals out, birthday drinks with pals and a whole day spent lounging on the sofa watching one of my favourite sporting days of the whole year, the cross country from Badminton Horse Trials.

Adding to the general air of happiness are many things. I'm sporting a new frock:

Dress - Be Beau @ Matalan

Cardi - Matalan (at least 10 years old - ah they don't make them like that anymore)

Shoes - Dolcis, also about 10 years old

Lippy - Collection 2000 in, appropriately enough, Cherry Red

Work is looking really quite splendidly beautiful today. The sun is beaming down, the birds are all singing in fine fashion and it's just utterly lovely:

Coffee and an apple & cinnamon hot cross bun is always a good start to the day:

And I woke up this morning to find this next to me. How unbearably cute please?!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

This Week

I have been:

Organising:

My tights. Due to my fairly large sock collection, there is no room in the drawer for any tights. I decided to make my little weekend case earn its keep and shoved them all in there. I seem to go more for colours than patterns...

Watching:

Restrepo. Which I thought was very good. I love war related films and books but as good as some of the fictional ones are, they're never going to convey the same sense of realism as a documentary. This was really powerful stuff, very honest and very moving, especially when it came to the reactions of the soldiers to the things they've seen and done.

Buying:

Nothing! So poor.

Painting:

My nails in Barry M Emerald Green - isn't it pretty?

Making:

Some tweaks to the blog in terms of sidebars, changing my profile pic etc. Still need to get to work on the header though!

Baking:

Chocolate cake in a cup. I just fancied a little something this evening and remembered the post I'd seen about it on A Thrifty Mrs. Yum!

Discovering:

That the makers of artificial sweeteners are BAD PEOPLE. For some unknown reason they almost all put milk in their little round sweetener tablet things. Muggins here didn't know (the powder version is fine, I didn't think they'd be different!) and has been accidentally poisoning herself whilst enjoying coffee.

Deciding:

How big Oscar is. Well you did ask! I would say he's on the large end of the cat scale but he's quite slim, so not one of those massive cats who have bellies that practically drag on the floor.

(shouting at me as I arrived home from work)

Welcoming:

My new followers - hello! I'm thinking that now might be the time for a little "about me" post. I have no idea where to start though. The Girl has just done a very interesting Q&A couple of posts, so I'm going to shamelessly pinch her idea and ask you to ask me a question (or two, should you so wish) each. Is there anything that you're desperate for me to talk about? Anything you really want to know? Ask away...