Yesterday was the monthly Photo An Hour organised by Louisa and Jane. It was a pretty quiet and relaxed day for me. My birthday was on Friday so, after our original plan of being at the People Against Austerity demo in London fell through, Thomas and I decided to spend a day doing all of my favourite things. Namely: sleeping, eating good food, book shopping and opening presents!
10.30am
Only just out of bed. In my defence, it was my birthday yesterday and, although we didn't get home super-duper late and I wasn't super-duper drunk, it was definitely late and I was certainly drunk! So a loooooooong lie-in was in order. As soon as I was awake, I jumped into the shower to wash away any lingering vestiges of a hangover.
11.30am
Waking up late means an even later breakfast: sourdough toast with marmalade. A Saturday morning read of The Guardian is an absolute must-do, too, even if the main paper is bloody depressing reading at the moment.
12.30pm
Listening to the radio: the Huey show on BBC 6 Music is my favourite listen of the week, and he was playing Nina Simone as I took this photo.
1.30pm
Deciding what to wear: it's a grey day but warm and muggy, so I need something that will keep my cool and be rain-proof (so, no jeans and ballet pumps).
2.30pm
Waiting for the rain to pass so we can leave the house. It may be chucking it down outside but these sunflowers bring a bit of welcome cheer to our living room.
3.30pm
The rain had finally stopped, so we went up to my favourite neighbourhood in Leicester, Clarendon Park. Salvador Deli is a great spot for lunch (I had a delicious toasted ciabatta filled with brie) before hitting the secondhand bookshops in the area, coming home with three books and a record.
4.30pm
Yesterday I was either at work or in the pub, so I saved opening most of my presents till now (I'm a big fan of delayed gratification). One of my favourite gifts was a set of feminist button badges from Thomas: three of them immediately got pinned onto my jacket.
5.30pm
A visit from one of our two friendly neighbourhood cats. We call this fellow Theodore, and he almost never sits still long enough to be stroked, so this was a rare treat.
6.30pm
Another of my ace birthday presents, from my lovely friend Emma. I've yet to decide whether it will live in my kitchen or my bedroom.
7.30pm
A glass of wine while I make dinner: a ginger & lime pak choi & tofu stir fry.
8.30pm
The evening's entertainment: introducing Thomas to the genius that is Much Ado About Nothing.
9.30pm
Emma Thompson as Beatrice rocks my world: her tan in this film is a summer body goal for sure.
10.30pm
Reading in bed before lights out: a fairly typical end to the day.