I'd Love to be Beside the Seaside, by Caprilicious

Hello everyone, how are you today? We are sweltering in the lovely heat as I type - sweltering sounds awful, right? However, the alternative in this country is shivering! There you go, sweltering/sweating/melting/drooping/wilting/whatever - all those words sound much nicer to me than shivering/blue fingers, noses and toes/umbrellas/macs/cardigans and the other horrors that usually go with the words summer in Britain. 
And, the bonus is we can switch off the heating for at least one day! I've spent my life in the UK with the heating turned up full blast - winter or summer, I wear T-shirts, light dresses and flip-flops around the house and hubby has got used to what he calls 'Bangalore temperatures' - no mismatched socks and oatmeal coloured cardis in my house! We are dressed in hope-inducing summer gear all year round.

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And now the cost of living is going up! The government does nothing, and there's a rash of cr*ppy advice on every website and newspaper from supposedly sensible authors who usually write articles about investing your money sensibly.
​ These self styled 'money-gurus' now write tips like putting bricks in your toilet cistern so that you can save on water, and what you can do with potato peelings. And then, you might hopefully save enough to follow their by-now obsolete investment advice. I'm told there's even an app that you can download so you can get a 'mystery bag' from the local supermarkets - if you're really lucky you can cook an egg over a candle and eat it with browning cauliflower stalks leftover from the supermarket. 

So why shop online? Why buy jewellery? Where would you go in it? These are the questions I've been asking myself. I will never stop making stuff, I don't think - it gives me a lot of pleasure to create pretty things. I used to wear my jewellery to work, until the lovely lady from Infection Control took me to one side and put a compelling argument to me - what is euphemistically called a 'respectful challenge' - that just means that the sentence doesn't end with an 'or else', but you know there's one, just the same. Oh well, that is by-the-by. I will still make my beauties, even though I might not be able to wear them every day. 

Women shop and buy jewellery online because everyone is owed a treat - and sometimes it's nice to own a nice object even though you can't wear it immediately. You know it's in the cupboard waiting for you when the occasion arises - and it will come, believe me. We've been through recessions, wars and problems before and the world has survived. My mother still talks about the time when she could buy a bunch of bananas for a rupee - which is about 10 pence in todays money - however, she is 95 years old, and I'm glad she can still remember anything at all. Caprilicious is chock full of pieces that one wouldn't find in a regular shop and is less expensive than many boutiques. And though the flow out of my door has been stemmed by the fabulous Mr Putin's war, it will not stop and I will not raise the prices of my stock because I don't think it's fair on the Caprilicious women who shop with me.

Aegean Blue

This three stranded necklace is made of blue agate cubes and tiny seed pearls. I love this blue, which is reminiscent of Peruvian opal, it has the instant effect of cooling you down. Perfect for the days when you are drooping in the heat with a white dress, it's also great in the winter, worn with darker outfits. I like the fact that it is versatile and can be worn to a party at night, yet isn't so showy that it couldn't be worn to the office when you need a boost to your confidence levels. 
While the Agean sea is but a bay of the Mediterranean, their colours are completely different. The bottom of the Aegean is made of limestone and the pale rock reflects the light differently, causing it to be much lighter than the Mediterranean sea.  I'd love to be in Greece, sitting by the seaside, a glass of something tasty in my hand, watching people go by.

That's me for this week, folks. Have a wonderful week, and I'll catch you on the Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx