Overjoyed to have been able to really taste my coffee this morning!  So glad to be seeing the back of you, annoying autumnal head cold.

Preschooler SSG and I stepped out this morning to celebrate my first day of feeling like a full member of the human race since I caught some kind of cold last weekend.  There are lots of things that are annoying about getting older and busier but the worst is how long it takes me to get over those simple bugs you get every year as the seasons change.  To go from being totally over one in three days to still struggling after six really sucks.  Especially when you’ve got twice as much to be adult about now as you did back then.  It’s also ironic given the number of vitamins and superfoods that make up my ‘so now I’m forty’ diet.

My newly healthy self cooled her hiking shoed heels at the edge of Westfield’s play equipment after lunch today as Preschooler SSG did preschooler HIIT for half an hour (mostly) within its boundaries.  There was a brief interlude on the Wiggles ride but $2 later, he was back suspending himself on the pyramid cushions and tearing up the steps.

Back at SSG Manor 2.0, my trusty cherry red Le Creuset casserole made an appearance on the stove for another batch of Jamie Oliver’s Brown Windsor soup.  When you’re cooking with your best pot, sipping your afternoon cuppa from a bit of Wedgwood really is the only way to do it.  I received this mug from a beautiful friend a couple of years ago and while its too beautiful to be used everyday, it’s also too beautiful to spend its years in its box on a shelf for safe keeping.  I usually have my breakfast cup of tea in it and it’s such a beautiful way to start the day both on account of the mug and also the memories I have of my friend.

I found myself a bit of a gift to self in my wardrobe this afternoon.  This LUSH gift set was an extra from my Christmas present shopping last year and it has been sitting in my wardrobe ever since.

The soap is called ‘Respect Your Elders’ and now that I’m an elder and a mother, I think it’s rather fitting that it now graces the soap dish in my shower.  Alongside a cake of ARCONA’s kiwi cream bar cleanser.  Between the two, I’m certain I’ll be able to fight all my visible signs of ageing one shower at a time.

It’s been a while since I’ve used LUSH soap and I’d forgotten how much fun they are.  ‘Respect Your Elders’ contains elderflower, bergamot, buchu and olibanum.  It has a soothing smell that’s neither sweet or musky.  I also love the deep purple colour and the peeks of elderflower blossoms through the soap.

www.lushusa.com

I’m bringing the Rose Jam shower gel with me on my next big adventure.  Don’t know where the time has gone but it is now only 38 days until I leave for New Orleans.  I’ve been looking forward to the trip for so long.  Getting on that plane and being unreachable for 20 hours has been a carrot dangling in front of me through crazy days at work and challenging moments in the preschoolerdome.  But now that it so close, I’m beginning to miss this crazy juggling act and the way it constantly tests the boundaries I thought I had in every aspect of my life.

That was a bit left of field.  Don’t know quite how that paragraph relates to the first sentence about the shower gel but yay, major trip shower gel decision made.

Do you have a favourite mug?  Is there a story behind it?

Have you tried prepaid SIM cards for travel in the US?