These are a few of my favourite things...

What are my top 10 favourite things?

My coach asked me this question this week, and it made me think…

I decided to tackle it from the perspective of what are the 10 things that make my life much more enjoyable – the things that I might not consciously notice, but that bring me those little sparks of joy during my day.

Here’s my first five, in no particular order, second five to follow:-

1.

Scent

I absolutely love fragrance.

Quality scented candles where the ingredients are 100% natural as opposed to synthetic. I have adored Jo Malone’s Lime, Basil and Mandarin fragrance since it first launched (I am still to be persuaded that any of the others come close!) and Diptyque Baies is equally a firm favourite. As I write this, I am burning Rebecca Tracey’s Balance candle, a blend of lemon, lavender, geranium and juniper berry, and it is utterly delicious. At Christmas it has to be the White Company’s Winter scent for me, which also reminds me of our December wedding where we placed small Winter tea lights in groups on every table to give off a very subtle Christmassy vibe.

2.

Dog walks

Getting outside and seeing the instant tail wagging and excitement that fields and hedges offer to our dogs! Dogs have to be right up there – the unconditional love and extreme welcome you get every time you come through the door is what makes it home. Cheating really – neatly combining walks in nature and dogs as one choice ;) Add in a friend/spouse/child as a companion and you are stacking your joys.

3.

Coffee – sooooo good

Bad for sleep, so I have to limit it to two a day these days, but seriously a joy.

4.

Reading

I have always been an avid reader, and my Kindle is one of my favourite possessions. One of the wins from lockdown life is that because I am no longer on the road so much, I have been able to join a book club. As a result I am pushed to read a wider variety of books than the echo chamber promoted by Amazon on my kindle – and what a lovely way to spend an evening - with girlfriends chatting about books (and obviously everything else under the sun!) with a glass of wine in hand… again layering the good things ;)

5.

Sea/beach life

Our choice to live right in the centre of England is a bit of an own goal regarding this one! There is something about walking on a beach, swimming in the sea, hearing the waves, seeing the horizon, that nothing else matches. The cliché “it’s good for the soul” definitely applies here – throw in reading on a beach, add in a coffee and you catch my drift …