Lately...

ADMIRING these beautiful tulips, a gift from my old boss when he and his wife came to dinner last week.

COOKING a very successful vegan lasagne for the aforementioned dinner.  As a rather reluctant vegan, I love it when I come up with a recipe that tastes just as good as 'real' food!  And with deliciously gooey vegan brownies & soy ice cream for pud, it really was an excellent advertisement for vegan food, if I do say so myself.

MAKING a simple flatpack Ikea Rast chest of drawers into something rather lovely for the bathroom, with the simple addition of some paint I had lying around in the shed and these fab knobs (hee hee, I said knobs) from Knobbles & Bobbles.

READING some really great comics and zines.  I ADORED Neil Slorance's Seven Days In Berlin, which I picked up from Plan B Books in Glasgow, and I also received Laura's This Is 30 yesterday, which is as brilliant as anyone familiar with her lovely blog would expect.

TRAVELLING to Glasgow on a sleeper train, which was a wonderful adventure, and then to my mum's in Leeds.  A sunny day trip to Otley, a lovely Easter Sunday lunch with the whole family, a peaceful walk through woodland while talking A Song of Ice & Fire with my brother, lots of home-cooked food thanks to my mum, four books read while sitting in 'my' armchair in the bay window of my mum's house... truly a wonderful Easter weekend.

BUYING a new car, which was bloody scary.  I feel like a proper grown-up now that I have a vehicle that doesn't rattle when going over bumps.  Also, thanks to a very fruitful shopping trip yesterday, a rather lovely floral skirt (a bargain at a fiver from H&M, seen here in my rather smudged and dirty mirror), a pretty green dress for my friend's wedding (another bargain - £20 down from £50), AND a £3 thrifted midi skirt. 

WALKING under the most beautiful blossom trees on the way to the pub with The Boy.

FEELING a surprising amount of pain and discomfort as my new tattoo heals.  It's the biggest piece I've got, and with about 12 years having passed since my previous inking, I think I'd forgotten how sore it can feel afterwards.  No photographs yet, though, as it still has colouring to be finished. 

But mostly, I have spent my Easter holidays completely forgetting about work!  Bliss.