Apologies for not having been around much recently – things have been so busy round here that this is the first chance I’ve had to write! I’m going to have to cheat and put a few weeks’ worth of the 52 weeks challenge all together again or I’ll never catch up…
The biggest reason I’ve had to smile doesn’t have an accompanying photo, and really doesn’t count as a little moment of happiness since it’s actually a pretty big thing, but I’m including it anyway… After several years of post-university uncertainty, and a manic month or so of applications and interviews (hence my absence from here), I’ve been offered a place on a teacher training course, so from September I’ll be teaching history in a local secondary school! I’m tremendously excited and ever-so-slightly apprehensive, but overall I just feel very relieved that I finally know what I’m doing…
In other news:

One bag of frozen berries, a ripe nectarine and a few slices of white bread – the easiest summer pudding ever.

Minestrone soup – one of my favourite summer dishes, and it gets even better when I can start to use the tomatoes, courgettes and new potatoes from the garden – it was just the basil this time.

Rhubarb and custard crumble cake – a particularly delicious creation, even if I say so myself.

What do you do to celebrate when you’ve just found out you’ve been offered the job you wanted? Buy a whole new set of crockery of course! The whole time that T and I have been together, we’ve only ever used an old set of crockery that his grandparents kindly offered us when we first moved into our own flat. We were very grateful at the time, but the design was not one that we’d ever have chosen (see the minestrone soup), and so having decided we might finally just be able to justify a new set we went on a joyful trip to Ikea. We came back with a mix of plain green, plain aubergine and green/white leaf designs and I *love* them. I carefully restrained myself from showing you the entire set one by one…my husband however has to put up with my unbridled joy every time I open the cupboard or eat a slice of bread. (We’re on day three, and my love of these plates shows no sign of abating.)

This month’s Simply Crochet was a good issue; there’s a fair few patterns and ideas that I plan to have a go at. A very relaxing moment in between interviews!

…plus it gave me the inspiration for this plant pot cover! I liked the pattern for a jam jar cover but had to adapt it considerably to suit the shape of the (rather grubby) pot; I’m happy with the result though!

The first ripe blueberry!

Last but not least, the sweetcorn has shot up in the heatwave (since I took this photo last week, it’s grown even more.) We can’t wait until the cobs start to appear!
I’m hoping that I won’t be away from here for quite as long next time. Until then, keep enjoying the summer!