There's More To Life Than Books (But Not Much More)

The weekend weather was glorious, so much so that on Friday night I decided to pack away the heaviest of my dresses and replace them with my sleeveless maxis I keep stashed in the suitcase on top of the wardrobe.

 I walked down to the parcel shop in this 1970s India Imports of Rhode Island maxi dress which I've had for almost ten years. 

 

As I've got my warm weather wardrobe in place I've also swapped over to my brighter lip colours. I've been on the hunt for the perfect orange for years and I think I've finally found it. Although it lacks the staying power of Maybelline's Super Stay in Heroine, their Vivid Matte Liquid in Orange Shot is a proper in your face tangerine. I buy it from eBay (I paid £3.21 including P&P) as, typically, it's now discontinued!

On saturday morning I finished The King's Sister, Anne O'Brien's brilliantly researched novel about John of Gaunt's youngest daughter, Elizabeth of Lancaster, passed on to me by my friend Lynn. If, like me, you're unfamiliar with O'Brien's work, she's just as brilliant a historical novelist as Phillipa Gregory, a riveting read.

In the afternoon I started (and finished) one of the books I'd bought when I went charity shopping on Thursday, Out of the Easy. Set in 1950, it follows Jo, the estranged daughter of a New Orleans prostitute, who lives & works in a bookshop and dreams of a college education but her plans are thwarted following the murder of an enigmatic customer.

Although we'd planned to watch a film on Friday night we ended up getting stuck into season 4 of Fargo starring Wes Anderson favourite Jason Schwartzman along with Jessie Buckley, Ben Wishaw and Chris Rock.

 I had a couple of parcels to drop off on Sunday morning so we walked down to the Lidl lockers in the blazing sunshine. It was another day for baring arms, wearing my denim waistcoat and a vintage Oasis Trading wraparound maxi.

The rest of the day was spent lazing on the lawn in the sunshine. I started and finished Who Is Maud Dixon? which, after seeing the stage play last week, turned out to be not dissimilar to The Talented Mr Ripley, full of scheming shenanigans, unbridled violence and thrilling twists & turns. Highly recommended!

It was no jacket required for my walk down to the pool on Monday morning, layering an All About Audrey wrap top over my David Silverman pinafore dress. I managed to shave a minute from my personal best, swimming a mile in 41 minutes. I wish I was as agile on dry land as I am in the water! 

Another afternoon of reading in the sunshine, this time absorbed in Dearest Intimate, a novel following the lives of three generations of women, from a cross-dressing opera star to her intellectual granddaughter, trapped in an abusive marriage. The gripping narrative shifts between rural Pre-war China, the chaos of Japanese occupation and modern day Singapore. If, like me, you're a fan of Lisa See, you'll love this.

The sun had ripened our crop of Spring rhubarb which I harvested, peeled and turned into a crumble.

What a shock to the system it was this morning (Tuesday), with a return to the oppressive grey skies and distinctly chilly temperatures.

Still, it was an excuse to give this vintage St Michael wool blouse an outing before I folded it up and saved it for the Autumn. 

With the garden waste due to be collected in the morning I did some gardening and managed to fill the bin. I would have carried on after lunch but it was just too chilly so I spent the rest of the afternoon reading. 

What are you reading at the moment?

Thanks for reading and see you soon!