the importance of a weekend

Until recently, I've never really understood those living for the weekend types - those people that just laze about on a Sunday morning in bed, as those mornings were so precious to me. Since about half-way through my seventeenth year, until just a few months ago (about eight years year, I shudder), I'd worked every Sunday, pretty much. The nearest I got to a 'lazy Sunday' was the shop I worked in being quiet on a rainy morning. 

And recently, I've had some pretty packed weekends - which has been so great, don't get me wrong! It's a weird thing, transitioning from shift work to a regular 9-5, because suddenly all your friends are free when you are! You don't have to uhm and aah over making plans 2 weeks in advance because you don't know your schedule. It's been lovely - I've been loitering around London most weekends, seeing exhibitions and catching up with friends I haven't seen for far too long. I helped treat my parents to a fancy lunch, been to the beach and all manner of activities.

But this weekend, I have had a change of pace... I've got literally no plans, no-where to be and nothing to do. I have the house to myself all weekend, I've slept in late, brought my giant cafetiere up to my bed so I could have coffee all morning, and have just chilled. As I write this it's almost two o'clock, I have all the windows open to let in the warm breeze, and I've painted my nails a bright green and caught up on the last couple of episodes of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (please tell me someone else is loving this as much as me?!). That is about the extent of my day. I might go get a burrito for lunch, and I have to put some flowers in some water, but that's about it.

What are you upto this weekend?

this week via instagram

I know these kind of posts saturate the blogging world, but I do quite like these little snapshots into someones life, and how they choose to present a face to the world via Instagram. I will admit that I try quite had to get my images looking nice, my Instagram is quite carefully managed. I think thats an odd thing to hear people admit - people want to give off the impression that they live this perfectly curated life, of perfectly angled coffee cups and pastries, of perfectly styled interiors, etc..
I always feel a little bit like I'm not good enough, when I read blogs. I think that is good for me, making me push myself to produce better content and do better for myself: on bad days though, I compare my life to theirs.

This is a very long way of saying: my life isn't like how I show it on Instagram. I mean, sometimes it is, but at the moment, for example, I'm in my PJ's at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon, make-up free, messy hair in a topknot, eating some easter chocolate, drinking an iced coffee and messaging my friend who is at work about how they've leaked the new episodes of Game of Thrones... 

Life isn't a really perfect Instagram shot, it's just me, trying to make things a bit prettier, and thats okay.

Easter weekend was spent a blur of food, cooking, baking, sleeping in, watching movies, and going on breezy walks with my brother. It was excellent - everything I needed to recharge my batteries and fully enjoy a bank holiday weekend! I've worked retail the past seven years, and I've never fully enjoyed the joys of the long weekend - I suddenly understood why everyone loved it! I made easter biscuits with my mother, walked around the heather gardens at Virginia Water, saw the Cinderella film with my friend, and just generally chilled. It was well needed.

This week saw me busy at work, I took my first solo business trip up to Sheffield, and sort of loved the city, from what I saw of it. I think it helps when you see somewhere in the sunshine, because it makes me happier. It's just over the Pennines from my mothers family, so I feel an affinity with the views and the accents, despite sticking out like a saw thumb with my home counties pronunciation. I ate dinner alone in Wagamamas, and it wasn't as hideous as I thought, and I was treated to the most stunning sunset over the hills, and I stood in the Meadowhall carpark until the sun colour drained from the sky just to watch it. (Oh, and I also took gratuitous selfies..)

This weekend has been a slow one, spent curled up on the sofa with coffee (alternating between iced, and hot), eating leftover chocolate, admiring the stunning blossom tree outside, going for lunch at the local revamped garden centre with my mother, and buying the most amazing, locally produced sausage rolls. I sat and devoured the Sunday paper, did some tidying and still, revelled in the joy of the weekend stretching out before me in one long stretch where I can do what I like! The sunshine has been close behind me all week, and I feel like it's pushing me along, edging me into summer with a little thrill of anticipation...

What have you been up to this week, and what do you think about how people present a face to the world on Instagram? I don't find it inauthentic, though some people would disagree -  I look at it as just trying to show your best face, like the difference between you in your PJ's, eating chocolate in the afternoon, or getting all dressed up ready for an evening out..!