Good Cat Parenting and Other Things.

Who would have thought that it's only September, I had to have the light on when baking at 4:30 in the afternoon yesterday, and we've had the heating on. We're definitely ready for a bit of hibernation, as demonstrated by our 11:30am wake-ups on Saturday and Sunday. I feel a little guilty I suppose, but boy oh boy was it good to relax(!)

I'm so glad we decided not to do anything over the weekend, not just because we're saving money and we kind of needed it after packing the last two weekends with returning from a holiday, a family party and a trip up to London, but also because I've felt like a pretty negligent cat-mum.

The cat litter doesn't live there, I was too excited to play with Doll and hadn't put it away yet...

I think I've been forgiven slightly now and I've really seen a change in my sweet Doll in the last few days. I guess that because I see her as independent and she can be a little aloof, it's made me feel like she doesn't care that much, but her sitting with us during the day and curling up with us at night tell a different story. After a couple of treats and some fancier than usual cat food, I feel a little better about leaving her and as she'll have me again next weekend, I'm sure she'll be sick of my over-affection by then and be glad I'm not always up in her face.


We had lunch at The Taco Shop on Saturday. By far the best burrito I've ever had and look at the size of Moon's chicken taco. So tasty and such a great atmosphere for such a reasonable price, it's firmly made itself one of my favourite places to eat in Newbury.


Doll killed her old scratching post months ago, so we treated her to a brand new one. We were almost worried she'd be more interested in the box but she got to using it straight away.



Cute mini-gourds and pumpkin display at Saddleback Farm Shop, a new find from yesterday, it turned out to be the place with the corn maze that Moon had been bugging me about all summer(!)





I gave Rosie from Cider With Rosie's banana cake recipe a go, because drizzly weather is perfect for making something to go with a cup of tea - you should definitely try it, best banana cake I've ever made!



Although it would have been nice to take advantage of the extra time a weekend provides and do a slow-cooked roast, this pizza had been in my mind's eye for days. I do a pretty mean homemade pizza, all following a recipe I found on good ol' Pinterest, amazing what you can do with a little flour, yeast and warm water...
This weekend was about sleeping in, napping anyway, shopping at the market, picking out nice gifts for friends, driving in the rain, new recipes, catching up on TV shows and lighting my candles for the first time in weeks.

Seems to be a pattern with me, I'm either doing to much and forget to slow down or I slow down too much and am mega-lazy - I did get all my chores done though, so I'm totally ready take this week on with both hands, bring it(!)