Delightful things for delightful people

Why hello there. Hasn't it been awhile? Yes. It has. So long in fact I am sure this is an entirely one sided conversation. Which is sadly not that rare.

So the last 5 months. Sun, then rain, then more rain. New homes, old friends, new jobs, old stress. Painting, wall papering, shouting at B&Q staff, lusting after g plan, buying ikea, learning how to plumb, floods, fires and many hours on hold.

But less of that and more about this.

and this...

and this!

If I was less of a Christmas mess, I would almost definitely be buying the people in my life all sorts of lovely things from Rifle Paper Co. I feel quite sure my Dad would love these dog coasters. And quite frankly I am prepared to go and make new dogcoasterloving friends if he doesn't.

See you in another 6 months x

A lot in a box

It's raining outside and work is, well hard work. My life is in boxes and I ran out of clean clothes about a week ago.

But then this little bit of green popped up on screen and suddenly I am feeling MUCH perkier.

Allotinabox has everything you need to grow your very own veg patch INSIDE. (At least, I hope it is - I just ordered one and the only outside space I have is near some scary bins).

Which is marvelous for people like me who already live in a box.

They come complete with a selection of British Seeds and everything you need to grow them, along with this here blog that is full of tips and info.

To be honest I'm more excited by the unbelievably lovely packaging and design of the site (which was how I found them). But that might to do with the fact the last plant I tried to keep alive was taken off me by a concerned relative. Apparently you can love (read - water) something too much?

Happy Thursday folks.

Rosette making

In my wine soaked euphoria at the prospect of the royal nuptials, I made a whole load of rosettes for our work tea party. I put up a few pics and a couple of people asked for the template, namely the very lovely, A Bookish Space.

Sorry it's the weensiest bit late.

Though still plenty of time before Harry takes Pippa up the aisle.

Download the supersimplehandrdrawn instructions here

And the template here

Can you break a friendship?

Maybe it's moving house and the inevitable nostalgia that packing up your life tends to muster, but this week I have found myself pondering friendship.

Can you break them? Do they, as common cliche-speak dictates, wither away like plants if you don't feed them enough? And could it be that sometimes, we simply out grow our friends?

In this week's Observer, Eva Wiseman asked a very similar question in this article. (Read it, it's very funny. And a bit scary sad.)

In her list of 30 questions from a 30 year old, number 6 was...

"How fragile are my relationships? Have we passed the point where it's possible to lose touch with friends over an unreturned phone call?"

In some ways, I think you do. Pass the point that is. There must be some invisible tipping point, where the balance of breakups, drunken nights out, cat fights and shared experiences outweigh future upsets and you realise that you can weather any storm with someone.

They become the people you can pick up a conversation with, even if distance and time get in your way. The people you know you can tell your deepest, darkest scary-as-hell secrets to, and who you'd happily drop everything for.

These are your ISA friends. The ones that provide you with security for the future, that, invested properly in, will look after you for the rest of your life.

But what about the rest? Your current account mates? ('Scuse the stretched out pun. I am VERY tired). Because recently, I think I have been a weeny bit guilty of not really putting much in the pot.

There are a million excuses I could trot out at this point. And when I'm lying in bed feeling guilty* about not having called so and so, or for choosing to catch up on sleep rather than with old uni pals, I do.

I tell myself that I work too hard. That I have to prioritise. That I'm too busy just being, to be with anyone else.

And to cut myself a little slack, most of my friends are in a similar position. All slightly guilty of thinking we're still at Uni, able to pop round whenever, without jobs and kids and partners getting in the way.

But ultimately, it's just a bit rubbish.

These are the friends that we should be making an effort with. Because these are the ones that haven't tipped the scales yet. The fragile ones.

*I feel guilty about EVERYTHING. It's exhausting.

{Picture by Helen of me and them and us}

Knobs

Happy days! I have finally moved into my half of a quarter of a flat and it's all very exciting I must say.

Precisely 39 seconds after I officially became a *homeowner* I got a little bored of talking about dimensions and council tax and started looking for things to put in said new home.

Like these delightful knobs from Anthropologie.

Now, the old, non home-owning, Cate would have made a crass joke at this point, but I have decided to put aside such childish folly and instead bask in the magnificence of their lovely knobbiness.

Temporary hiatus

In the immortal, and slightly topical words of Arnie... I'll be back.*

*Not because I fathered an illegitimate child.

Moving..

I am buying a house.

*gulp*

Well actually I am buying a half of a quarter of a flat, but apparently you still have to fill out just as many forms, talk to just as many 'professionals' and spend just as much time listening to Greensleaves whilst on hold.

But it's looking like we might be finally moving in. Which excites/terrifies me rather a lot.

It also means that in between my job, this little lot and trying to pack, my time here is pretty much non existent.

Which is REALLY annoying because I haven't even told you about my Royal wedding antics.

Or what happened when I tried to write a will.

And that I'm going on my first proper boyfriend holiday with my shiny new one.

Or even about my new completelystupidcan'tbelieveIsuggestedit plan to give up *sob* booze for a whole month.

But I will.