Things I love Thursday

♥ The fact we only have three shifts left until our two weeks off and adventure time

♥ My new juice box camera and the new issue of Mollie Makes

♥ Seeing as today is Valentines Day, The Love Hello Kitty from Build-A-Bear is gorgeous and a perfect addition to my collection.

♥ New Tatty Devine earrings, the same paisley as my beautiful necklace

♥ This butterfly bowl was my Valentine present, much better than chocolate 

♥ Having a good clean this week before we go away, always nice to come home to a tidy and clean house

                                                                ♥

To Henry

The later part of this past week has been difficult for me. I learnt on Thursday that my beautiful cat Henry Biscuit had died at the age of fifteen. I am absolutely devastated at losing him, we had been hoping to have him when we had a house of our own in the future. The worst thing has been the thought that we are due to go home and see my family next week and it is tearing me up inside knowing he won't be there. I think it won't properly sink in until I'm at home and don't see him sitting up on the wall.

I had him as a present for getting a good school report when I was ten back in 1997. At the time I couldn't decide between the names Henry, after Henry VIII as I had a love of all things Tudor at the time, and Biscuit who was the ginger cat from one of my magazines at the time, so I just put the two together and he was Henry Biscuit. He was happiest sitting with me in my room as I sat writing my stories and poems, my teenage companion when nobody else understood. He knew all my secrets and now he's gone.

Wordless Wednesday - Favourite Places

Sentiment

Last Tuesday I did something I have needed to do for a long time, have a good sort out of my wardrobe. I'm as guilty as the next girl when it comes to buying clothes, shoes, bags and other assorted accessories as I love having new things to wear. In the past I have bought items in the sales with the intention of wearing it for a certain occasion but I change my mind and it remains with the tag on in the wardrobe hoping for an outing another time. Of course there are other purchases I make with the intention of losing weight to fit into it and again, it doesn't happen. I tend to impulse buy at times without thinking if the item actually suits me and will I ever wear it and what with, I have a see it and have to have it mentality I really need to shake off.

Not only do I have lots of items that have never been worn in public I also have a substantial collection of clothes I rarely if ever wear these days. Somehow I don't have it in me to be ruthless when it comes to getting rid of them and with them, a piece of my past. I am quite sentimental over clothes, probably because of the memories they hold and happy times they represent. Examples of this include the vintage cornflower blue shirt I lived in when I was 15, sported deep purple hair and spent Saturday afternoons wandering around Cardiff dreaming of being with the poet I loved and the black Monsoon skirt embellished with emerald green sequins I wore on my twentieth birthday, a night of burst tyres and seafront cigar smoking at 4 a.m. Something in me keeps holding on despite the need to use the space they currently hang in.

The afternoon wasn't wasted though; I have a whole pile of clothes complete with tags that will be making their way onto eBay very soon. I know I will have to part with things I don't wear one day, maybe at the next clear out I will find the courage to let go to them and to some of the memories woven into them. 

 

 

Monday Afternoon

Monday Afternoon

I enlighten your day,

Now you return the favour.

Lead me upstairs,

Via a soft palm.

To run the bath,

Steamy with bubbles

those turn to milk

as easy talk

washes us clean.

My cheeks blush

as you avoid the sunshine

to prevent it from

blurring

your perfect vision

*

When I see you next

I promise you a gift,

From the Orient, perhaps.

Wait and see,

I see the trust

shine through your eyes

to me; your ally.

February

February already. I find the time between Christmas and now tends to go pretty quickly and with Easter being that bit earlier this year spring will soon be with us again. January has been a hard month in work, it usually is but now we are moving into better times I hope. We haven't been anywhere exciting this month, saving our money for our two weeks off which is now less than two weeks away! I'm pleased that so far I have kept up with my Project 365 and my Q&A a day journal, I've also had a good clear out of my wardrobe this week which is something I will be writing about tomorrow. For some reason today has not been the most energetic day, probably all the late shifts I've done this week. I did find a new magazine in WH Smiths today when I popped into town this morning, Homemade with Love and I couldn't resist buying it along with the new issue of the fabulous Love magazine.

As I said above we have less than two weeks until our holiday. We are going to see our families and then head up to Manchester for a few days. Our trip last year was somewhat of a washout thanks to sickness so fingers crossed this time will be much better and we can get out and enjoy it more. Beyond that I have no plans for further adventures yet this year, we've booked our weeks off in work and now need to decide what to do. Any suggestions are more than gratefully received. I do quite fancy a trip to London at some point this summer maybe, last time we visited was back in 2010. This year I have a Taschen London calender which has probably prompted my desire to visit!