Home

Well, we're back from our holiday in Florida, and although we had a thoroughly super time, it does feel good to get home and back to normal. I will be publishing a couple of posts about our adventures at some point, but for now we're all completely exhausted after an overnight flight and as I write both OH and LB are asleep, so it will have to wait until I've recovered my equilibrium.

We got back this afternoon and straight away OH went to fetch our little dog.  We missed her, as we always do. I'm not so sure she missed us all that much, as she has plenty of walks and doggy friends where she stays. It's probably a bit of a disappointment to come back home.  Anyway, it's good that we're all safely back under the same roof and settling back into our routines.

Today it was bliss to have a super simple late lunch of beans on toast. Most welcome after a week of largely eating out.  Our first week, we stayed in an apartment and I was able to cook for us most nights and we prepared salads or sandwiches for lunch, but as we travelled around during the second week of our holiday, it wasn't possible to continue doing this. After almost a week of eating out, it will definitely be a welcome relief to get back to some good old home cooking.  I just need to buy some food first.

I held out this afternoon, despite jet lag and began to unpack our suitcases, although there are still a couple to go and a whole heap of washing to tackle.  As I wash and iron all the clothes I took with me, I will be sifting out some more donations for the CS. Some clothes hardly got worn at all and I definitely no longer wish to keep them.  The holiday did cement a couple of items in my affections though, particularly the short and long denim shorts I made from old pairs of jeans.  Both of these were great for wearing  by the pool (short ones) and out and about (long ones) and will definitely be my go to shorts next summer.

On the bikini front, I'm afraid that the news wasn't good, not because I didn't wear it, I did, twice and then the clasp on the top snapped and broke and that was the end of that.  It was a bit disappointing, but I will be attempting to return it to ASOS and get a refund, as it really wasn't fit for purpose.  The clasp just wasn't heavy duty enough to cope with the bust size it was made for.  I may seek a replacement, but if this isn't possible then I may try to find another bikini top next summer and try again.

Talking of summer, getting back to the UK, there definitely seems to be a bit of a chill in the air.  I noticed on our way home from the airport that many people are now wearing tights, signalling the coming of autumn and the wearing of a few more layers.  After spending two weeks in intense and humid heat, (combined with heavy thunderstorms and threatened hurricanes that thankfully didn't materialise) I'm very happy to welcome a bit of cooler weather and look forward to reaching for some slightly warmer options that I haven't worn for a while.

As is the case each and every time we travel, we try to take inspiration from our surroundings and the culture in which we find ourselves and take time to think about how it relates to our lives here in the UK.

This holiday has been no exception, and some of our experiences have served to cement some of the ideas I have been grappling with lately, particularly relating to spending, waste and the acquisition of stuff. Florida could be quite an expensive place to shop, both for food and other items, as local taxes were added onto many purchases, which we found a bit alien. It did, however, serve to make us appreciate and feel grateful for how inexpensive it can be to shop here in this country. As a consequence, I'm looking forward in the coming months, to getting stuck into spending less, donating more stuff, and being much less wasteful, especially in the lead up to Christmas.

What are your plans for Autumn?