Blog Takeover: Is That You Darling?

I’m Jane, and I blog at Is That You Darling. Bex is one of my favourite fellow bloggers, we’ve been blog friends for a while now, so it’s my pleasure to guest post for her. I started a series on my own blog called Simple Pleasures, but I didn’t see it through, because I’m notoriously bad at maintaining series on my blog! Anyway, I thought I’d put everything (and more) from that series into a guest post for Bex!

I’m a firm believer in celebrating the little things in life. It’s lovely to have big, exciting plans that you spend months looking forward to, but it’s also good to acknowledge the small things that cost nothing (or next to nothing). The things you can do everyday, maybe when you’re feeling a little down, that give you a boost, and make you feel good.

Sing out loud music

I have a Spotify playlist called ‘Sing Out Loud’, and it’s full of music that I love, and that sounds best when I turn the volume up really, really loud and belt out the songs at the top of my voice. I have it right now, as I’m writing this, and I’m having to rein myself in slightly because it’s quite late, and I don’t want to annoy the neighbours!

My recommendation is that everyone starts such a playlist, and fills it with their own sing out loud songs. They don’t have to necessarily be your favourite songs, but they do have to be the ones that you know all the words too, and that sound good when you turn them up really loud. If you want to create a one-person dance party too, that’s positively encouraged.

A book in the bath

Once upon a time, I would have simply said that having a bath was a simple pleasure in and of itself. But these days, I can’t take an awful lot of pleasure in a bath that doesn’t involve a book! A bath without a book is a functional one: get in, wash, and get out. I can’t laze in a bath if I don’t have a book. It’s a simple pleasure that I do at least once a day, and sometimes more! If I’m bored, I have a bath. If I’m not feeling too well, I have a bath. If I’m feeling a bit down, I have a bath.

Chatting for hours

If you can call it a hobby (and I suspect you can’t), I’d call talking one of my favourite hobbies. I love talking to people who really appreciate the art of talking. Luckily, most of my best friends are great talkers, as are my sisters, and, funnily enough, my eighteen-year-old nephew is one of my favourite people to talk to. He’s always been a really good chatter, and I really enjoy the times when I get to spend an afternoon or an evening with him, just chatting away about nothing in particular, but really enjoying it nonetheless.

Eating sweeties

Look, I know not everyone is going to get this one. One of the simplest pleasures in my life is eating Smarties by emptying them all out and arranging them by colour. I pair them up, depending on how many of each colour there is, then I alternate them, and then I eat them. But I always leave the oranges until last, because they are the best, and they need to be savoured. I know I’m probably in the minority here (but I know I’m not alone), yet it’s something that I enjoy doing!

There are many other simple pleasures in life, such as opening a new jar of coffee or Nutella, and piercing the top; having a perfect cup of tea, getting a pointless answer on Pointless;getting caught in a torrential downpour when you are on your way home; waking up and knowing you don’t have to get up; finding a fabulous film by accident on Netflix. The world is full of simple pleasures, you just have to recognise them and appreciate them!