Smiling on Sunday :: Four.

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This week has felt short and long in many respects, I'm quite pleased to be hanging on to the weekend with an extra day added to my bank holiday and it only being Sunday.

There has been quite a bit to be pleased about this week, even if a lot of it has involved making grown up decisions that no one is able to make for me - a small part of me misses the time when I was always told what to do.

IRL:

• I got a new job! - After the uncertain feeling from last week, things seem to have turned around a bit, as I've noticed it seems to since doing these round-ups, maybe nothing is really worth the dramz. But yes, pending contracts and the like, I'll be a Digital Marketing Executive come the middle of September. It all marks the beginning of exciting (and scary) things
• Cups of tea post-dinner - This week I've been getting into the habit of making myself a nice cup of tea after dinner, not only that but I've managed to catch it at the perfect temperature when I come to drink it too. This is something that I tend to do more once it gets cooler but given that I've spent more nights this week with a blanket wrapped around me than not, I think it's justified
• Having the bed to myself for a few minutes each morning - What this really means is that Moon is having to get up earlier to beat traffic and coming home super-sleepy in the evenings because of it but there's something really good about starfishing out for an extra 10 minutes before it's time to make myself presentable

Must-Try Recipes:

• 21 Energy Boosting Breakfast Toasts - I think breakfast is my favourite meal of the day but I do still find my tummy rumbling at work come 11am, not good. Toast is usually what I go for but after seeing these, I recognise that what I'm putting on it might not make for the most nutritional breakfast. Definitely willing to give some of these a try, may avoid the ones with cottage cheese though
• Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup - I know it seems silly for it to be August and to be talking about soups but it's been so chilly around these parts, plus it's such a bright colour you could say it's summery. I made a stew at the beginning of the week, while I hope the weather does warm up, I do miss my staple one-pot dishes a little bit
• Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps - This is what I feel like we should be having, and on a warmer afternoon at the beginning of the month we had something very similar at my mum's. I always forget it exists, I think because I don't care for iceberg lettuce very much but as a wrap, it's a wonderful way to make a dish more refreshing

Lovely Links:

The birthday dinner party Ally from Now That's Pretty threw for her boyfriend looks wonderful. She's given some great tips for throwing your own big dinner party too, makes me wish our friends lived nearer to us so we could pull one of these out 'just because' rather than for a special occasion.

Lyzi's photographs from her Bucket List Balloon Ride are truly awesome. Going up in an air balloon is something I've always wanted to do, it looks so fun and peaceful.

Charlotte's post from her trip to Dublin had me quite excited to take a trip to Southern Ireland. With the Irish side of my family being from Belfast, most holidays to Ireland have been in Northern Ireland or more to the west. I think I've only been to Dublin once and I spent the day grumpy (because I am grumpy, not because of Dublin) and I think it's only fair to give it another go.

Next Week's Motto: 'You get out what you put in...'
What's made you smile this week?

Smiling on Sunday :: On Monday.

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I'm not going to lie to you, after the mega-high at the tail-end of last week, there have been a few things to worry about. Between job uncertainty and the sad news of Robin Williams' passing, the first half of this week didn't bring that much for me to be happy about.

That said, it was my birthday week, and having booked myself in for a long weekend at 'home-home', bagging a few interviews and making a trip up to London, this weekend has been another great one.
Turning 25 is still strange to me but I think it's going to be alright, so much has changed in the last five years that it's easy to see some progress on the horizon, and I'm quite excited about that.

IRL:

• Birthday treats and surprises – I felt truly spoilt on Saturday and will have lots to share with you over the next few days. Starting with a cream tea breakfast at cat-lady mecca, Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium followed by my 'surprise gift' of a box at The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. We then had a wander around Covent Garden before heading to secret Mexican restaurant, La Bodega Negra - what a treat! Mr Moon definitely won major boyfriend points and it was just the nicest day
• Let's go to the theatre some more! – After seeing a grand total of two plays this year, Moon has finally discovered that the theatre isn't all singing hams and he quite likes it. I'm not saying we'll be regulars now or anything but it's pretty cool to see that he's broadened his horizons a bit
• Little Doll feeling better – Dolly had some kind of virus all last week, which was a little worrying. She now seems to be completely better, her third eyelids are back where they should be and she's going outside again. I'm obviously happy she's not ill anymore anyway but the fact she won't be inclined to use the litter tray for a while is one of the best things about her recovery

Must-Try Recipes:

• Sweet Potato Nachos with Smoked Cheddar and Black Beans - Mexican food is one of my favourites and if Moon and I are out to dinner and there are nachos, you can bet we'll be eating them. These sound like a great twist and while the sweet potato hype has never really hit me, you can't beat anything covered in cheese
• Summertime Tea - I kind hate flavoured teas, they always smell so delicious and wind up tasting the same as each other, at least to me anyway. Mixing it with other (real) flavours to make something refreshing and (sort of) healthy sounds pretty good to me though.

Lovely Links:

This cute illustrated 'dress like a bookworm' wishlist from HelloGiggles.com


Sophie Gamand's lovely Pit Bull Flower Power photography series has the cute-o-meter dialled up to 11. I'm a firm believer in it often being a case of bad training than a case of bad dog. In fact, all of Sophie's dog portraits are wonderful, I've really been covetting a pup of my own lately.

• This list of beautiful Robin Williams stories - I, as I've seen from so many others, am genuinely mourning for the loss of Robin Williams. It still seems strange to say that given that I'd never met him and only watched his films but from comedy to drama, his are some films that I really love and I'd always name him among my favourite actors of all time.
  I even stuck it out with The Crazy Ones because of him, and despite the show's shortcomings, he's as brilliant as ever. It breaks my heart reading new details every day but his passing seems to have marked an opening for dialogue, that it's important to realise that some of us are fighting a hard fight and we need to take notice

Today has me looking ahead to a fresh week, hopefully with new challenges and slightly more of the positive thinking that was washing over me this time last week.