The perfect mid-week pick-me-up

Sometimes, you need a mid-week pick-me-up. 

A distraction from the fact that the weekend is a distant dream and you still have a mountain of work to rattle through. Particularly as the dark evenings draw in and summer is still about as distant as Machu Picchu.

I have three things to aid your survival.

1. Download some folk
Download the bold vocals of folk’s finest new voice, Samantha Crain, selecting the track Kid Face for 99p. Pretend you’re swaying around in a cornfield in the midst of summer with hair down to your waist.

2.  Make photo art
Make a memory and get creative with the arty A Beautiful Mess app available for 69p from the app store, from the creators of the blog themselves. Those who know me know that I love photography (you can read some of my articles here) and my opinions on the fact that we don’t record fleeting moments enough. There is no excuse with this app as it’s packed full of doodles, fonts and filters that make Instagram look plain simple.

3. Drink fresh coffee
Boost your energy levels with a hit of caffeine (come on, there are still two days left until Saturday) from Pact, a new London start-up which delivers fresh coffee. The Simple Things magazine is offering readers a discount code available here, which allows you to order a 250g bag of coffee for £1. The usual price is £6.95…mine is well and truly on it’s way.

For £2.68 you can:

Sip fresh coffee. Enjoy a quality new tune. Create some photo art.

Enjoy x

Paperless love

If you’re like me, the January blues hit your bank account like a ton of bricks. So I have made it my mission to explore thrifty options whenever I stumble across them on this blog - hopefully for the price of a cappuccino or there abouts. 

The first post is even better because it centres on an environmentally friendly way to wish your people happy birthday, say thank you, hello or erm, goodbye, by way of an e-card from Paperless Post, but it's absolutely free.

Now before you get reading, don’t get me wrong, I do believe there is a lot to be said for hand written letters and perusing Paperchase provides hours of limitless joy for me (yes, sad I know). However, when people are abroad posting can cost you an arm and a leg and take weeks to arrive. Plus, another one of my new year’s resolutions is to be more aware of the environment, so I hope this post will save a tree or two.

At Paperless Post, the fun and festive designs are free, while the more classic Premium cards come at a price. Stylish Oscar De La Renta’s patterns have even graced invitations from the brand – I doubt you’ll get that kind of design down at WH Smith.

Anyhow, the free versions are perfectly lovely and by using a coin system, you can send a load out to friends and family. Choosing snazzy envelope liners and other fussy options may cost you, but overall, you don’t have to bother with that stuff if you’re on a budget.

Once you’ve signed up, a really simple thing to do is click on the free tab on the website to suss out what creativeness you can nab free of charge. I’ve picked out a few of my favourite designs below to inspire. Enjoy!

Have your cake
Armadillo cocktails and dinner
Teacups get well soon
Chic florette save the date
Three photo bands

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