The Sun is Shining

Necklace - Cos, Sunglasses - Cutler & Gross

What a glorious day! It feels more like summer than spring so noah and I spent the whole afternoon outside.

I pottered in the garden tidying the flowerbeds, made interesting tree decorations (see below), and caught up on some reading on my kindle, while he played with his toys in the pram.

Here's to more gorgeous sunny days like today.

Quinny Pram and Jaques the Peacock from Lamaze

My fav Cath Kidston Cowboy print mug and Kindle Case from Joules

Beautiful Tulips that need weeding!

Interesting twig tree decoration with Kirstie Allsopp ribbon from Hobbycraft

Winter Coat

So this is the result of when I ask mum to take the picture for the blog...blurry!  Oh well.  

I was so pleased with this outfit the other weekend when we went for dinner with both sets of parents.  We decided to meet mum and dad before they flew off on Holiday, and as G's parents live close to Gatwick we all went out for a lovely Sunday night dinner to Jai Ho in Horley.  Very tasty dinner and lovely to see everyone.

I am slightly disappointed that I had just got back into wearing this gorgeous coat from Aubin and Wills that I bought a couple of years back and now the weather is really a bit warm to be wearing a wool coat.

Not that I'm complaining though as the sun is more than welcome!

Are you sad to see the winter wardrobe go or do you love you summer wardrobe more?

Lounging On The Farm

{1st August}

On Friday last week I finally made it to Lounge On The Farm for the first time.  LOTF is a local festival in Canterbury that was set up on a farm about 5 miles down the road from my parents house to showcase local bands, local food sellers, local comedians etc.  I have been thinking for years how I would like to go, but the dates never seemed to work out.

I went this year with Bean and we had such a brilliant day.  I bought my day ticket last minute on the Monday and it was £51 online, and was then waiting for me to collect at the gate.  The weekend ticket includes 3 days and camping and is only about £100 if you buy it early enough.  Definitely something I will be doing for next year.

Favourite things about LOTF were: Coco and the Butterfields - definitely check them out, The burrito stand for lunch - yummy, Free bright orange sunglasses with a pint of Oranjeboom, and spending the day sitting out on the grass chilling and chatting with bean.

I love the fact that when people are at festivals they wear the most bizarre outfits, but it's all part of the fun of it.  As it was such a hot day I brave shorts and wore my denim shorts WITH NO LEGGINGS!  I don't ever do this but in the morning I had a 'who cares what other people think' moment and donned my shorts and rocked up at LOTF with my legs out!

TOP TIP: prepare yourself for the day when heading out to a festival.

• take a bag that isn't too big so that it doesn't weigh you down - however this means you need to be economical about what you take.
• wear comfy shoes - think about the weather, if you do wear sandals be prepared for them to get ruined if it rains
• prepare for sun - take a small SPF lotion and a hat
• prepare for rain - take a wheelie bin liner that you can make into a poncho. You can then use this to sit on or put rubbish in at the end of the day
• take a scarf or pashmina - you can tie this to the strap of your bag so it doesn't take up any room. It will provide warmth for when it gets cold later or you can use it to sit on instead of a rug.
• Take a phone/camera.
• Take cash as machines will charge a bomb and a lot of stalls won't take cards.

Elderflower Cordial

{10th July}

I have always loved that my Mum makes so many things to keep in the cupboard that preserve that summary taste - elderflower cordial, tomato chutney and raspberry jam.

I thought that I would try my hand this week at elderflower cordial.  I had trouble finding citric acid (used for preserving) so I have made mine without - meaning I have frozen some, and will just have to drink the rest pretty speedily!

I used this recipe below - however living in the city meant that finding enough elderflowers was a bit tricky.  I ended up using 20 elderflower heads and as a result the cordial is tasty but a little bit more like lemon cordial!

TOP TIP: use amount stated or more of elderflowers.

1k sugar

1.5 litres boiling water

4 medium lemons

30 large elderflower heads

(55g citric acid - I did not add this as it was tricky to find and used for preserving)

Place the sugar in a large saucepan or pyrex bowl and pour over the boiling water.  Stir until the sugar has dissolved and leave to cool

Grate the rinds on the lemon with a fine grater, add to the sugar water

Cut lemon into thick slices and add to the water.  Add the citric acid (if using) and stir, then finally add the elderflower heads and stir again.

Cover with a cloth and leave to steep for 48 hours.

Strain through a muslin cloth into a clean bowl

Using a funnel pour into sterilised bottles and store in the fridge if not acid has been used.  Or pour into plastic bottles and freeze.