After the success of my "cowl in a weekend" project it got me thinking about how I use my time at weekends and how I could make better use of it to focus on things that really matter to me. If you are anything like me, weekends are normally a jumble of doing everything we didn't manage to get done during the week. Add this to the usual hubbub of kids activities, chores and the vague feeling that you should be resting and recuperating for the week ahead - it's no surprise that when Monday rolls around I usually feel like I need another holiday.

Recently I bought the beautiful Making Winter book by Emma Mitchell and I love it's simple premise of focusing on the beauty in small things. Of the power of nature and simple pleasures to lift your spirits and get your thoughts moving in a more positive direction. I decided to do a little comfort baking and made the Plum Blondie recipe from the book. Although of course I never have the right ingredients to hand - so pears and cinnamon were admirable substitutes.

They were delicious and so simple to make. Just a few minutes in the kitchen (well OK - maybe 30 mins - as I had "help" from the kids) and the house was filled with a gratifyingly cakey fug.

Perfect for fuelling my crochet blanket endeavours add I tried to meet my self imposed target of adding 10 stripes this weekend. In the interests of full disclosure I have to add that I only managed 6 (but it still totally counts as progress in my book).

So, I now have a cunning plan for the coming winter months. Each weekend I'm going to try and pick something simple and achievable to do. Something for me, something to make me feel I can sit back and say that I've achieved something positive this weekend. Whether that be baking, whipping up a quick chunky knit or doing a nature walk with the kids. 

If winter is coming - bring it on.