Friday Smiles - Vettriano Art & The Famous Five

Hi Honeys
I hope you've had a great first week of 2016 and you're looking forward to a fun weekend.  For today's Friday smile I thought I'd share something beautiful and also a book that made me smile and rolled back the years to happy childhood memories :)

First then, Hubby, bless him, bought me the sweetest gift. Inside a pretty paper bag were these...

Even looking at the image is making me smile honeys :)  Inside the lovely paper bag were two magnetic bookmarks. Bookmarks that "fasten" either side of a page so they never fall out of your book? where have you been all my life?  I'd love these even if they didn't have gorgeous Vettriano art printed on them :)  In addition there was also a long narrow notepad with a magnetic strip on the back which allows it to be attached to a fridge or something similar.

The shopping pad and one of the bookmarks both have an image of one of Vettriano's most famous works. It's called The Singing Butler and the original piece shows a couple dancing on the beach with their butler and maid both holding umbrellas to try to shield their master and mistress from the elements. It is breathtakingly beautiful and I so love it.  The beautiful image on the other bookmark shows a graceful couple dancing and is called "Dance Me To The End Of Love" It's another of my favourite Vettriano works. We have a framed print of each of these works upstairs and I never pass them without smiling.   

I love, love, love Jack Vettriano's art honeys. His paintings are mesmerizing. We were blessed to attend an exhibition of his paintings in 2013. Once with our friends Francine and John (hello honeys xx) and again with my dear brother in law a few weeks later.  I'll never forget the experience of seeing those stunning paintings in person. It's a memory I'll always cherish.    

Back for a visit to my younger years then honeys, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth :) While grocery shopping I spotted this...

Such joy! As a child I spent countless hours reading and desperately wanting to join the adventures of Julian, George, Dick and Anne and of course their dog Timmy.  I remember being gifted the best present ever many, many years ago.  It was a large box of books, the complete set of not only The Famous Five novels but The Secret Seven novels too! I was such a lucky child and remember vividly hours spent absorbed in these wonderful stories.

You can imagine then how thrilled I was to see this large hardback book celebrating this fantastic world created by Enid Blyton.  I read through this wonderful annual and grinned so much my face ached :) It's chock full of original artwork and felt like a window back to my childhood. Happy, carefree days :) I found this book in Home Bargains where it was only £1! Yaaaay!! I had a look and it's listed on Amazon, where it's possible to look inside the book too.

What's making you smile today honeys? Did you ever roam Kirrin Island with the Famous Five as a child? What were your favourite childhood stories? Till next time dear ones, huggles always xxx