I'm winning you with words because I have no other way

This morning I received in the mail this exquisite bracelet (with such lovely packaging) that I won in a giveaway from Trinket Box's blog. I've known Sophie for many years now and I remember her sending me her gorgeous handmade jewellery as presents in the past, long before she started Trinket Box. She has the most beautiful, meticulously-crafted pieces in her store and I highly recommend a visit there if you're searching for a unique gift for someone special (or just a sneaky treat for yourself!). Not only will you be buying a classy piece of jewellery, but you'll be dealing with one of the loveliest people I know.

Thank goodness for getting the bracelet today as it hasn't been too great a week so far. On Tuesday I had to deal with a "problem" with my residence permit, which involved a lot of travelling back and forth between the city and the suburbs to go first to the main police station, then the little local one, then back to the main one again, to be told that my residence card is finally ready except that they printed the number on it wrong and now it has to be redone, which will take another three weeks. Which means the card I hold right now is as good as a fake ID for if they run the numbers I essentially don't exist. Weather-wise it has been a miserable week and I got caught in the rain whilst dealing with my card problems and fell sick yesterday afternoon, and still feel woozy and nauseous right now. Plus, I bought train tickets to go to Arcachon (a town 40 minutes away from here on the coast) this weekend to chill on the beach and such, but it is apparently going to pour with rain, all weekend, everywhere in France. (I even tried looking up cities in the south of France that, with my luck, are sunny all throughout the week just until Saturday. What are the chances?)

So now I'm dreaming of better weather and things to do once it has improved... like have an Alice in Wonderland-themed party, or tea party, or picnic, or whatever... as long as I have reason to bake cute little cakes and cookies that say "Eat Me" and put on a pretty dress, I'm satisfied. (I saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D on Monday night, it was definitely a bit overhyped but still enjoyable in my opinion.) And yesterday in the throes of sickness I did what any seasoned blogger does and scoured the internet for inspirational photos, and that is what I shall leave you with today (pictures are from Flickr and linked back to where I got them from).