Love this & the sheer joy you are bringing ♥️ I live with chronic illness and if there’s one thing I ‘know’ (always hesitate to be sure of anything as we each bring a bit of ourselves to life), it is to enjoy the small moments. After a desperate period of bedbound illness, I found myself weeping on a John Lewis rooftop terrace at the sheer Joy of a cup of coffee, with the sun shining and my beloved husband sitting opposite me. Small moments, enjoy them all.
I used to love guessing the amount of sweets/beads/whatever in a jar as a kid and thought I’d be great at it every time…but I was always so far out every single time!
That’s a lovely read, JP. It sounds so simple but I think it’s really, really difficult to actually work out what brings you joy as the noise of social media drowns out your own thoughts. It can be useful but you you’ll never be happy duplicating someone else’s ideas, however gorgeous it is. Plus, we worry so much about whether something’s in good taste; it’s poison. A bit like your MiL, I have a friend who dents my confidence every time she visits. She’s lovely, a wonderful friend, but the silence speaks volumes as she looks around. The secret is to carry on regardless. I love your spools of thread.
I think the answer is to try and be more like my friend Alex and just do it anyway. No one needs to love it except you. However, I do believe there is always something positive you can say about a space even if it’s not to your taste, which your friend could learn from. Xx
928 beads! Love your view that it’s about the little things that make us happy. That’s what builds a life after all, the little bubbles of joy we find each day however small.
I have an old Laura Ashley glass lamp which sits on a silver base. It has never occurred to me to turn it upside down to fill up. 🤦♀️. Now I just need to think about what I would like to fill it with. ❤️
This is such joyful writing! I love faffing, styling, any excuse or event to decorate too. Laying tables and arranging flowers brings me much joy. Your link to the beads says 200 pieces in a packet - so my guess is you bought 12 packs of beads so that’s 2400 beads.
Love it! I too can spend hours filling, arranging and using cop sticks to push coloured stones, shells, poof balls, Christmas ornaments into their proper place inside glass vases, bowls and apothecary jars. I have an ornamental fish bowl with coloured glass marbles housing my bamboo. Another small octagon terrarium with an open side containing a mix of potpourri and yet a totally different apothecary with various rocks, moss and my tiny sleeping hedgehog babies snuggled amongst the flora.
I absolutely adore a bit of faffing ♥️ My family look at me as if I’m a madwoman, “why have you put that there??”!! Because I CAN! My poor husband tries to humour me with “yes, very lovely, but what’s it for?” It’s not for anything at all, it’s just busy being pretty!
I love your lamps JP, divine frippery with, oh I’ve no idea at all, but let’s say 758 beads 🥰
Love this & the sheer joy you are bringing ♥️ I live with chronic illness and if there’s one thing I ‘know’ (always hesitate to be sure of anything as we each bring a bit of ourselves to life), it is to enjoy the small moments. After a desperate period of bedbound illness, I found myself weeping on a John Lewis rooftop terrace at the sheer Joy of a cup of coffee, with the sun shining and my beloved husband sitting opposite me. Small moments, enjoy them all.
It’s moments like that which are so important to treasure. X
Thanks for including my tablescape darling x
You are most welcome Alex. Your joy of faffing is infectious.
Ah you are a sweetie thanks darling one x
The numbers of beads in both Jar is approximately 4500 beads. ❤️
I used to love guessing the amount of sweets/beads/whatever in a jar as a kid and thought I’d be great at it every time…but I was always so far out every single time!
In my terrible experience Mark, always go upwards of where you’re thinking! Someone is very close though!
That’s a lovely read, JP. It sounds so simple but I think it’s really, really difficult to actually work out what brings you joy as the noise of social media drowns out your own thoughts. It can be useful but you you’ll never be happy duplicating someone else’s ideas, however gorgeous it is. Plus, we worry so much about whether something’s in good taste; it’s poison. A bit like your MiL, I have a friend who dents my confidence every time she visits. She’s lovely, a wonderful friend, but the silence speaks volumes as she looks around. The secret is to carry on regardless. I love your spools of thread.
I think the answer is to try and be more like my friend Alex and just do it anyway. No one needs to love it except you. However, I do believe there is always something positive you can say about a space even if it’s not to your taste, which your friend could learn from. Xx
I had a friend who acted like that and later she said it had nothing to do with me and it was her own unhappiness.
3100 beads? Nice to read about simple, pure joy! Thank you for sharing.
The question mark is too funny.
Most welcome Anne.
🥰🥰love this article JP. My eyes were also drawn to your lovely coral/shell collection next to the bobbins 🥰😍
Thank you Vickey. The coral is all antique found in markets and junk shops over the years.
2700 beads- fantastic idea to fill the bases.
The question is: what’s next?
928 beads! Love your view that it’s about the little things that make us happy. That’s what builds a life after all, the little bubbles of joy we find each day however small.
You are so right!
I have an old Laura Ashley glass lamp which sits on a silver base. It has never occurred to me to turn it upside down to fill up. 🤦♀️. Now I just need to think about what I would like to fill it with. ❤️
Oh the fun you’re going to have!
This is such joyful writing! I love faffing, styling, any excuse or event to decorate too. Laying tables and arranging flowers brings me much joy. Your link to the beads says 200 pieces in a packet - so my guess is you bought 12 packs of beads so that’s 2400 beads.
In each one!
I hasten to add, maths is not my strong point……
🤣🤣 They needed more than I thought.
Perhaps I’ll stick with flowers rather than bead counting!
🤣🤣
Love it! I too can spend hours filling, arranging and using cop sticks to push coloured stones, shells, poof balls, Christmas ornaments into their proper place inside glass vases, bowls and apothecary jars. I have an ornamental fish bowl with coloured glass marbles housing my bamboo. Another small octagon terrarium with an open side containing a mix of potpourri and yet a totally different apothecary with various rocks, moss and my tiny sleeping hedgehog babies snuggled amongst the flora.
My guess is 3500.
You are a master of it Bev!
3131 beads. I find all of your writing comforting, thank you. Especially love the podcasts.
Thank you so much.
I absolutely adore a bit of faffing ♥️ My family look at me as if I’m a madwoman, “why have you put that there??”!! Because I CAN! My poor husband tries to humour me with “yes, very lovely, but what’s it for?” It’s not for anything at all, it’s just busy being pretty!
I love your lamps JP, divine frippery with, oh I’ve no idea at all, but let’s say 758 beads 🥰
Brilliant Debbie. Don’t ever stop!
A lovely read as always, JP, from a fellow faffer and fan of blue! My guess is 3864 beads. 🤞🏼
Thank you Steph
Hmmm …. 2,914 ?
All revealed soon xx