Ah there is nothing like a new book or four to bring a teeny bit more joy to a lemon yellow Spring morning, which is why I was absolutely thrilled to hear Postman Steven using all his old man might to shove a couple of Amazon packages through my door yesterday morning... First on my list: the vintage delight that is Etiquette and Entertaining by the very Darling Lady Troubridge, who offers little gems of wisdom designed to "help you on your social way" during all manner of occasion and finally sums up her attitude to both life and social grace with the motto, never be afraid... " Never be afraid. Be sad and sorry sometimes because we all must be that way now and then. Be perplexed because life is not all plain sailing. But never let life be too much for you. It won't if you take as your motto these three words, which I'll repeat again: NEVER BE AFRAID." Second in my parcel came a book I have been avoiding for a few months, tempted though I was by the word "Vintage" in the title. This is because I am an outrageous book snob and the very idea of being caught reading something that could be deemed "chick lit" made me shiver. But oh how glad I am that I got over myself and ordered A Vintage Affair by Isobel Wolff, because the fact that I read it from cover to cover last night should be proof enough to show you that it was just my cup of tea and differs from most chick lit in being so thoroughly informed about vintage fashion (it is absolutely littered with references to vintage designers and collectible garments!) as well as telling a gently melancholy story rich in history and mildly at odds with its genre. I am only sorry I devoured it so very very quickly, because it was one of those books I would have liked to go live in: who wouldn't, after all want to live in a shop called Village Vintage? But onwards and upwards to tonight's bedtime book: one I had featured in the sidebars of Brocante for a while and I know many of you ordered, Secrets of Simplicity by Mary Carlomagno. I'm quite excited about this one, because I do so like the kind of self help book written to show me how to calm the storm that is my life, and this one, designed as a workbook with questions and spaces to write your thoughts, is divided into seven sections, all with the kind of headings that speak to my needy self: Release, Simplify, Treasure, Focus, Invest, Discover and Thrive. Sounds promising, mais non? Well we'll see, let me read it first and then I will let you know whether here we have a book about to turn my life on it's frizzy mopped head... Lastly in the care package I sent my soul? Someting that isn't a book at all, but a collection of Crafty Stickers in the kinds of designs I want to stick over every jar in my kitchen as well as attach to piles of homemade gifts I haven't yet thought up. Truly lovely they are and well worth the teeny amount of money they cost, making them in fact the prefect puttery treat to enjoy next week when the Vintage Housekeepers Circle Seasonal Scrub is done and dusted... Read any good books lately Housekeepers? Do tell won't you? My literary greed knows no bounds.