Midweek Linky-Bits

I couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate so you get nice trees instead

Here's a little collection of nice & interesting things I've come across around the interwebs:

• Sarah Rooftops has made a list of 33 things she learned before turning 34. She's a wise and thoughtful lady and I'll be trying to take them in. To Ms Rooftops herself: Happy Birthday!
• Interesting musings on social media from Ashley. The phrase "I think part of what I love so much about travel is that it gives me an opportunity to be me in a completely new context." definitely strikes a chord with me. I think finding my own identity and being confident in knowing what I like and want is important as my sense of self-determination can get confused sometimes. Striking out on my own gives me a chance to clear both my head and my heart. That's not to say I don't want the company of others ever, or that I want to escape from my current life, but it's refreshing to do something on my own and just for me every once in a while.
• Ashley also wrote about "purging" - getting all those swirling thoughts down on paper and spring-cleaning your mind a bit. I like the sound of this and even managed to do it this week. I kept thinking of little things about my new flat and bits of organisation we should do and it was getting in the way of other things I was doing. I made a Google Doc and just allowed my brain to vomit house-related thoughts into it, then I tidied it and shared it with my new flatmate so we can both add-to and develop it. It also helped me get an idea of the scale of things I needed to do and what needed to be done when, which has reduced the stress and confusion involved.
• Speaking of my new house, I've been pondering the question of furnishing. I've got the luxury of my parents' living nearby and the limitation of my continued project work so it's not my number one priority or a dreadful rush... yet. I really like the idea of having a large-ish table for eating/working/sewing at  - there's no obligation to buy something that's specifically a desk or a dining table and there's more potential for future adaptation. I thought this looked like a possible winner.
• Zoe expressed her frustration with gentrified charity shops, as well as a fear that donations might be getting filtered to meet the perceived tastes of customers. I don't know if it's to do with the type of shopper I am (hate being hassled by over-zealous sales assistants - let me browse in peace!) but I really enjoy hunting through the treasure trove that is a traditional-style charity shop. Over-done boutique-style ones leave me cold - would you pay £10 for a new set of teacups that's one saucer short? No? Then why would you expect someone to pay that for secondhand chipped ones?
• These chocolate-raspberry brownies  sound lovely. They might even tempt me away from my go-to brownie recipe, or possibly just inspire an adaptation.
• I've also seen a few naan recipes about recently & quite fancy making some.