Starting the week by writing the Monday Happy List is something I’ve been doing for a while. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. It’s a post I always love to sit down and write.

Monday Happy Things {Week 414}

Last week we seemed to find our routine again which meant I had a bit of time in the evenings for myself. I finished the Eva Verbruggen tapestry project from my latest Hoop Club subscription box which was very calming. The colours were pretty and it was fun to sew with wool threads. My daughter asked me what I will do with the finished hoop, so I’m going to display it for a few weeks.

I also finished the latest Jessie Burton book, a sequel to The Miniaturist called The House of Fortune. It was set 18 years after The Miniaturist and follows the fortune of Thea Brandt, the daughter of Otto and Marin. I absolutely loved it, so much I took it to read on my commute to work! We also finished watching season 1 and 2 of The Capture which was good but disconcerting.

We enjoyed a day out using our National Trust membership to visit Ham House in London. It’s a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan courtier and Knight Marshal to James I. The gardens were beautiful and the house a treasure trove of paintings and furniture. the kids loved exploring the house, especially the first indoor bathroom!

Over the weekend we spent some time tidying the garden. All the plants and grass have come back to life after the hot, dry summer so it was lovely to spend time outside tidying everything. We planted some of the plants we bought last weekend and moved some plants around for Autumn, as well as harvesting the potatoes we’ve been nurturing all summer.

Have a great week!