Well one good deed always deserves another in my book.
I've had a little run of bumping into nice people and receiving random acts of kindness and it's infectious. There's been a few occasions recently where people have bailed me out of a hole, met me in a car park after hours (no not that kind of favour) and rushed a deadline to help me meet one of my own. And subconsciously I've gone about my merry way, buying a Best magazine for an older lady in the supermarket who had forgotten to pop it in her trolley and raced to find it at the checkout after she had paid, stopped at the toll bridge on the road out of Bath and helped a stranded motorist who only needed 70p to trip trap over the bridge and I'm hoping I can pass on the kindness of two strangers who let me pick their Magnolia trees to you.
It's not so much of "If you don't ask you don't get" but more of if you don't have a Magnolia tree in your garden I bet someone who does might enjoy being reminded how lucky they are.
It started with an unfortunate car journey. I was racing to Weston super Mare to pick up a new order of backdrops earlier this week and got stuck in a big accident.
An open topped lorry carrying all sorts of rubbish destined for the local recycling dump had toppled over and spilt it's load all over the road to the motorway, leaving hundreds of us trying to remember our three point turns and pootling off with no 3G to reset our sat navs into deepest Somerset to find an alternative route. I pulled in at the next drive way and stopped the car to wave my phone in the air (it helps to get higher right?!) to see if miraculously it would reroute me towards the M5 and I looked to my left and there was the most enormous pink Magnolia tree outside the entrance to a farm yard full of calves chomping on hay with their heads poking through the bottom bars of their pens. It was a sight.
I jumped out and found the nice lady who lived there and she gave me a new set of directions and then I couldn't resist asking if she minded me picking up the fallen petals from the tree. I explained I love to photograph flowers, make pretty scenes from them for Instagram and she beamed back at me and said pick as many of the flowers as you would like!
And it seemed very selfish to keep them all to myself. That and the box full of chocolates that arrived from Bettys. Oh yes, chocolate to make you squeal and forbid the children from eating the minty turquoise one because that one is all MINE!
So here is a fresh set of Easter phone backgrounds for you to download. I'm going with the rule that if there's mini eggs on my phone at all times it's quite acceptable to eat them after school drop off, with a cup of tea at 11, as a pre lunch snack and afternoon pick me up and forget popcorn for movie night it's all about the eggs in this house for at least the next month.
Which is your favourite?! Download the set and swap them over. Just click on any of the photos to save it. I might go for the white Magnolia next. Now's there's another story for that one involving a lovely man and his dog and a 10 minute chat that ended with my handbag full of buds.
I like to describe all those generous strangers I met this week as good eggs. A phrase you don't hear too often these days. But Bettys have brought it back with their printable range of Easter cards for you to print at home and colour in.
Rich has actually been trying a little mindfulness colouring of late, something I've not given the time to in the past but if you've tried it you will know it absolutely works and you are transported back to your day dreaming school day self!
If you are struggling for a little extra idea why not print a batch and give them as an early present with a set of colouring pencils wrapped up for someone who could do with a little de stressing? I might even make a little book of them for the boys ready for our journey up to Berkshire for the Easter weekend.
You can print your set here. From Bettys, from one good egg to another ;)
And if you download the phone wallpapers I would love to see which are your favourites!
In collaboration with Bettys
