Five Things

1. HOMEGROWN STRAWBERRIES
Up until about five minutes ago, I was unaware that there were strawberries growing in our garden. I'm slowly learning that my parents seem to have cultivated a fruit and vegetable growing garden while I was away at uni, so each season I discover there's something new to pick. Admittedly, the slugs tend to get in there first, but the fruits we do manage to get our hands on always taste good. And I quite enjoy the sensation of pretending I'm Martha Stewart, picking organic homegrown produce and using it to make exotic dishes to serve at a dinner party for all my affluent friends. The reality, of course, is rather different...

2. GENUINE HUMAN KINDNESS
The love, care, kindness and comfort I've received from basically every person who's heard about my idiocy is so overwhelmingly lovely that it's made me weepy. Things like this really show who has your back and who you can count on and knowing that is a real cheerer-upper.

3. TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GREETINGS CARDS
As you probably know by now, buying greetings cards is one of my favourite hobbies, and discovering new designers is utterly joyous. While on the hunt for a Father's Day card, I found the 'A Colourful Mind' collection by Will McPhail and my brain instantly went "yes". His cards are so well designed and so relatable it hurts; I had such a hard task trying to choose just one. But needless to say, I know where I'm heading the next time I need to buy a card.

4. RIPPED JEANS
I loved my Zara ripped jeans as soon as I bought them (about two years ago), but sadly, jeans with rips in them aren't exactly office appropriate so I rarely get to dig them out. But that's all changed over the last week because if slouching around at home feeling sorry for yourself isn't ripped-jean-wearing worthy, then I don't know what is. Also I think they help show off my rebellious side.

5. ADJUSTING TO LIFE AS A #OneHandedBandit

The number of things I'm now going to be able to add to my CV is humongous. I shall title the section: "skills I've mastered by using only one hand". But while my 'putting on freshly laundered skinny jeans' still needs a bit of work, I'm happy to report that 'cracking eggs' is near perfect. Oh and I'm slowly getting the hang of Instagram flatlay photo taking. Sort of.

~ Eleanor xo

Five Things

1. CORRESPONDENCE VIA THE UK POSTAL SERVICE
Not sure why I made that sound like I'm a member of Downton Abbey, but, you know, keeping things fresh. In the age of social media, emailing, texting, iMessaging and whatsapping, nobody ever seems to put pen to paper, which I genuinely feel is a real shame. So imagine my surprise and sheer joy when I found a hand-written card waiting on my doormat from none other than one of my university gal pals, sent all the way for the subcontinent of Devon. I mean, obvs we all keep up with each other via our phones and the internet, but there's something extra special and personal about someone taking the time to sit down and write something to you. Needless to say, I ran out the next day and purchased this '#Bestie' card from Marks and Spencer to send as a reply. Seriously, greetings card shopping is one of my favourite kinds of shopping.

2. NEW SUMMER APPROPRIATE JIM-JAMS FROM LE FAT FACE
Fat Face pajamas are the one. The real life, one-hundred percent one. I just love them. They're made of the softest cotton, they're so comfortable to snuggle up in and they generally have the cutest prints on them. As the warm weather's rolling around, spotting these ultra thin cotton bottoms couldn't have come at a better time. I know, it's like fate. The print made me dance a little inside (because middle aged Eleanor was wide awake) and even though they're £30, I couldn't muster the courage to put them back on the rack. I know I'll get so much wear out of them and I'm just very excited.

3. A SONG FROM A SINGING GAZELLE
I won't lie, I have mixed feelings about the film 'Zootopia'. I watched it about three weeks ago, and even now, I find myself taking time to really think about my differing viewpoints. I mean, the premise and 'underlying theme', if you will, are great; super love all that 'fall down seven times, stand up eight stuff' Disney, really I do. But there are points in the film where you're like, wait, is this really child friendly? At present, I'm still undecided, but what I'm not undecided about is how banging the theme song is. Nothing can ever beat a Shakira song, especially when she's included in the film as a swinging, sassy, singing gazelle.

4. AN UPDATED SKINCARE REGIME
I feel like these products kind of scream "Summer is coming and old age is approaching!". And that's probably not a bad thing because that's why I've started using them. My skincare regime consists of two things: cleansing gel and moisturiser. I like to have sparklingly clean skin that's thoroughly hydrated. NBD. This Clarins Daily Energizer cleansing gel is so refreshing and so easy on the skin (plus it smells divine) and when paired with this Olay Total Effects day moisturiser (with added SPF, muchas important at this time of year), my skin is all like "yasssssssss".

5. GIFTS FROM YONDER
So my parents had a fun old Staycation last week and travelled somewhere south-easternwards. They probably told me where it was they stayed but I actually can't remember. It was somewhere near the Eden Project though. Maybe. I mean, they may've driven hours to see it. Who knows. Still, they returned from what I can only describe as a thoroughly British getaway, and by that I mean, it rained almost constantly and I received a lot of text messages telling me so. As is expected of loving parents, they returned laden with gifts! For the other members of our family! Just kidding, while they did splash out on Christmas gifts for people (nothing like being prepared...) they did buy me an adorable flamingo key-ring from Paignton Zoo (flamingos are my FAVE) and some tasty looking ground coffee (with chocolate in it, my favourite kind!) from the Eden Project. It's the small things.

~ Eleanor xo

Five Things

1. THIS SEASON'S FRUITS & VEGGIES
After what feels like months of bookmarking delicious looking recipes, it's finally asparagus season once again! *sets off confetti canons*. Grilled asparagus with chunks of Spanish chorizo made one pretty tasty weekend lunch. Not only that, of course, as so many other of my favourite veggies are ripe and ready for the picking (including our homegrown rhubarb which I totally just cut, stewed up with orange juice and brown sugar and enjoyed with some seriously smooth custard - thanks to a tiny bit of help from my dad, obviously...).

2. GETTING THE LOWDOWN ON ALL THINGS VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual reality, as I'm sure all you hip kids about town know, is the new big thing. It's not 360 filming, and if people catch you thinking it is, you'll be eaten alive. #VR, as it's known by the in-crowd at work, is not only filming something from 360 degrees, but actually capturing the depth and sound as a human eye and ear would. I had a two-hour long briefing last week (featuring a play around on a Samsung headset) and I walked out feeling super buzzed and wanting to tell every single soul about it. The stuff the agency I work for has captured so far is borderline insane and I can't wait to see what happens next! #NerdAlert.

3. TAKING MY RAY BAN WAYFARER LIGHT RAYS FOR A SPIN

I first spotted these on Ray Ban's Facebook page a little over a year ago, and then unwrapped them in August, but I am still so obsessed with them. They are the most beautiful sunglasses in the world and I still can't get over how lightweight and flattering they are. I wear sunglasses a lot of the time, but I'm rarely able to opt for these because the lens are so strong; I mean, you could probably look directly at the sun and not get blinded*, so it's always a special day when I can. Especially when the blue mirror matches my outfit. #Blessed.

*please do not try this at home

4. BLOSSOM

It kind of feels like spring has, for want of a better word, "sprung" out of nowhere. Suddenly everywhere I look there are enormous trees practically falling over fences with fragrant pink blossoms all begging to be instagrammed (I know, I have no self control). As much as I love watching the leaves fall from the trees in Autumn, there's something really calming about strolling past a tree as a breeze carries stray petals. But maybe that's just because I secretly wish I was Pocahontas... 

5. JT'S PUMPING NEW TRACK
I mean, is there anything more fantabulatory than a new Justin Timberlake track? The answer, of course, is no (all my fellow millennials know what I'm saying). And yes, I did just make up a whole new word to describe how psyched I am for this. Admittedly I'm slightly disappointed that it's actually for the soundtrack of a new Dreamworks film, but I was truly loving life when this came on Captial FM as I cruised through the streets, sunglasses on, basking in the sun with my air-con turned all the way up. You still got it, JT, you still got it.

~ Eleanor xo

Five Things

1. LOOKING AFTER MY (CLEARLY DEFUNCT) IMMUNE SYSTEM
After spending a rough two weeks battling a nasty throat infection (followed by a cold) and feeling hugely sorry for myself, I've decided to take serious action and invest in these immune-boosting products. Obviously, I'm well aware that I could be buying into something totally bogus, but if there's even a tiny chance that these extra vitamins and what-not will help to keep me ship-shape-and-shiny, I'm down with it.

2. MY GROWING 'BOOKS I'VE READ THIS YEAR' PILE
Admittedly, it's growing slowly due to life being ceerazy and it being near impossible to find downtime where I'm awake enough to process words, but growing it is. Right now I'm really digging thrillers, which is something I never thought I'd say... it must be my advancing age.

3. CADBURY'S MINI EGGS POPPING UP EVERYWHERE
Anyone who knows me knows that I am sucker for Mini Eggs. I just love them. It's 100% a good thing that you cannot buy them all year round because I would be the size of a house (and probably eternally sick because of the amount of sugar in them). So when Easter rolls around, I am all over them - and finding packets popping up all over the office means I get to sneak a few whenever I can and it brightens my day.

4. THESE TWO SHORT WORK WEEKS

Thanks to the Easter holiday, we Brits get a four-day weekend at the end of this week (score!), plus it means that for the next two weeks, we only work four days. It's like music to my ears! I'm looking forward to chilling out, scoffing some chocolate (see point 3) and just generally having a nice time.

5. WATERMELON, PEACH AND RASPBERRY JUICE FROM BILL'S
I love going to restaurants that put as much effort into their beverage menu as they do their food menu, so naturally when I saw this freshly made juice on offer, I had to order it. Especially considering it would be way to much effort to attempt to make this at home - have you seen the size of watermelons? Where on earth would I keep one of those?

~ Eleanor xo

Five Things

1. EXPLORING HOLBORN
I rarely get to visit London these days (even though I live about a forty minute train journey away), so when I discovered that I was spending Friday living it large in our London office because we had a meeting planned, I was secretly super hyped. Holborn, as it turns out, is mega cool. Too cool for me, definitely. Maybe it's because the sun was shining, but this corner of London is truly spectacular. The number of kitch coffeehouses I strolled past during my lunch break (where I may or may not have found myself slightly lost and with a Google Maps app that refused to load) was crazy. And because I'm majorly uncool and embarrassing, I wanted to Instagram every single one. In the end I opted for the Holborn Grind, which is only a couple of doors down from the office.

2. PLAID SHIRT OVERLOAD
I'm ready to admit that I may have a problem. The number of shirts I've bought in the last few months is borderline preposterous. Nobody needs to own this many shirts. Especially when they all look practically identical. I just can't help myself, ok? Stripes, checks, navy and white are my four weaknesses when it comes to clothing. (If you're wondering, I picked up this navy check shirt and checked dress from Forever 21 this weekend. I love them, but I hate myself.)

3. CELEBRATING MOTHER'S DAY WITH SWEET PEAS
When we were kids, my sister and I had a tradition where we'd always buy our mum sweet peas on Mother's Day. I can't quite remember why we did it, or in fact, why we stopped, but this year I decided to bring it back and hot-footed it over to one of her favourite garden centres to purchase a pot. Sure, I looked a bit lost while picking out what I felt would be the perfect colour combination, and then I had the mahoosive task of trying to keep the plant alive for seven days, but the look on my mum's face when she opened it told me it was worth it. I'm such a suck up.

4. HOMEMADE SPELT ROLLS
Nothing on this earth makes me happier than freshly baked bread. Except perhaps peanut butter. But you can put that on bread so the point still stands. I have always loved our family breadmaker and because of that, I know it's a gadget I'll always have in my home, even when I'm old and grey. Making bread is so easy to do and I find it so comforting. Recently we've been using the breadmaker to create various doughs which we then roll out, shape into balls and bake in the oven. Spelt flour is one of my favourites and these rolls taste delicious!

5. UPPING MY FITBIT GAME
I've had my FitBit now for almost three months so I'd say I've pretty much got the hang of it. For a while I mostly just wore it to see how many steps I did each day without really thinking about it. The numbers weren't bad, but being the competitive person that I am, I became determined to increase my daily step count and improve my ranking on the leaderboard at work. I can't exactly compete with the people who are marathon training or who walk eleven miles to their nearest train station, but I find wearing my Flex a really good motivation to actually get up and take my lunch break outside, have a brisk walk around Windsor, get some fresh air and be back at my desk for a productive afternoon. Even when the weather is shocking (which it really has been recently) I feel so much better knowing I'm doing something good for myself.

~ Eleanor xo

Five Things

1. MY (EVER GROWING) MUG COLLECTION
Up until a few years ago, I rarely ever consumed hot beverages (apart from the odd disappointing hot chocolate) so I had no need of a mug, let alone an entire collection. Now however, life is mucho differente and a collection is what I possess. All of the mugs I own have their own stories attached to them, and I really love that. Because who wants to buy a boring matching tea cup set when you can drink syrupy lattes from a mug you transported yourself from another country?

2. 'I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER' BY SHAWN MENDES
The video for this song is so perfecto that whoever produced it must go to sleep at night feeling like they are a legitimate God. I am busting out to this song so much right now. I'm talking full on lip-syncing, air grabbing, throwing my arms out in front of me; I truly madly deeply commit. And that's all while sitting in traffic while attempting to cross the M3. My fellow road users may not dig it so much. I choose to pretend otherwise.

3. HOMEMADE GINGERBREAD HEARTS
When is gingerbread not acceptable to eat? That's a trick question. It's always acceptable eat. (If you think otherwise I may have to ask you to CHECK YOURSELF).

4. TRAWLING THROUGH PUNNY VALENTINES CARDS
This is one of my all-time favourite past times during February. I LOVE funny Valentine's cards; I mean, if you're more of a traditionalist who goes for soppy cards, I'm down with that, but personally, I just love puns. Don't get me wrong, they're not mean puns, they're mostly cute or relate to some kind of inside joke because why be serious in your relationship, am I right?

5. THE ARRIVAL OF TULIP SEASON
As we all know, tulips are my one true love and I'm so happy they're finally back in season. I spent a good five minutes attempting to choose which colour I wanted, and I feel like you can never beat a warming yellow. #ISoundInsane.

~ Eleanor xo