Spring has arrived!

With the arrival of more sunshine I have brought out my summer jacket!! I may still be wearing a pashmina but the winter coat has been put away... finally. The Easter weekend was gorgeous and sunny, I didn't venture out and about but enjoyed lounging around the living room and basking in the warm sun. I had a well earned break with not a thought about work, it was bliss!

I also put together some more jewellery and took some pictures while it was bright enough to do so. I wanted to share them with you here:

This pastel necklace has been made with summer in mind, the muted colours look striking in this statement necklace.

These cute earrings do have a matching bracelet and necklace so look out or them, although I may be wearing them as they are my favourites!

Classic in white and gold, this striking long necklace will have a bracelet to match. This pretty piece will accompany any outfit, especially black.

Another of my favourites, this bright and summery disc pendant is inspired by daisies and will look perfect on a summers day. This item is for sale on etsy.com - Disco Daisy Necklace

To help you keep your place in your favourite book is your favourite bookmark, the Stars in Your Eyes Bookmark has a rainbow of seed beads surrounding haematite stars and can be found for sale on etsy.com.

In other news.... I have nearly finished my teacher training!! Since I began in September it has been a whirlwind of ups and downs, I begin my last placement on 20th April and ten weeks after that will have finished. The hard part is now finding a job, with any luck this coming September I will have a class of my own.

I am currently on Easter break and apart from writing an essay I have done absolutely nothing! Well almost, I have been watching Jonathan Creek from the beginning but am not getting any closer to cracking each case. I have also been to visit some kittens so I may well be posting a few pictures of a new pet in a few weeks, my fingers are crossed!

How has your Easter break been?

The 10 Novels I Have Most Enjoyed Reading

Today I would like to share with you some books that I have really enjoyed reading. I am part of two local book groups so you can imagine that I read quite a few books!

The two groups work in different ways:
The library group - the library buys in sets of books and we are allowed to choose each year 5 books from the list and then a final list is compiled for the coming months, usually including every one's number 1 book. I often have to read books I never would have chosen, I mostly like them but at times hate them!
The social group is a group of girl friends that meet about every 4-6 weeks and we do aim to discuss the book and mostly we do - for the first half an hour anyway, then we get on with catching up, eating cake and drinking wine! We each take it in turns to choose the next book and host the group.

I will get back to the original topic of the post now: The 10 books I would recommend reading

1. Out by Natsuo Kirino
This thriller is written by a Japanese author and is written brilliantly. With lots of twists it will keep you reading til the end.

2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
This moving book was a great read, told through the eyes of conjoined sisters, the two very different lives of the conjoined twins.

3. The BFG by Roald Dahl
One of my favourite children's books, this lovely story really captures the imagination.

4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The film fits perfectly with this book, while reading it you can imagine everything in great detail and on seeing the film, you realise that how you imagined it is correct. The author really tells the tale well, allowing you inside the character's lives.

5. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
One of the very few books I have read twice. I read this as a teenager and obviously missed a lot of the meaning behind it. On re-reading it for a book club I found it a remarkable story and thoroughly enjoyable.

6. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Another children's book that I really loved reading: the stories are so imaginative and take you to another world.

7. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Having read this a very long time ago, I remember that I thoroughly enjoyed it - so much so that I read it a few times, something that is very rare for me but shows that I must have enjoyed it. I think it would be interesting to see if I still enjoyed it now.

8. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
This was a very thought provoking book, the subject matter is touches on events in the future that may or may not be too far in the future.

9. The Life Of Pi by Yann Martel
This surprising story has so many twists and turns you won't know what is coming next.

10. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
This booked is packed full of artistic references and snippets of history from across the water. It had some really interesting pieces of information that kept you reading. The characters were varied and realistic, and you wanted to find out what happens to them.

In my list, I have forgotten two other books that were really good:
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Morgan and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. But don't read these if you don't want to cry!
Have I missed any great books? Or do you disagree with my choices? Let me know!