Where Are We Going?

I'm sure most of you with children have heard these words, well at the moment this is Little Miss' FaVoUrItE phrase.  Every morning upon coming downstairs (usually around 6am!) she asks 'where we going mummy?' usually followed by 'going out soon?'

Now with all the gorgeous weather we've been having, a lot of time has been spent in the back garden but Little Miss is getting a bit bored of this, so today we decided to go for a walk.

After popping into the post office and then the bakery we headed in the direction of the Wood.  I have a confession to make now - we have lived here for 6 years and we have NEVER visited this wood - how shameful! I knew it was there, they even put up signs for it about a year or so ago but we still haven't ventured that way but that was all about to change this morning!

What a delightful place for a stroll!

I feel sooooo terrible now for not discovering it sooner! I think the council have invested some time in this little wooded patch as there are fruit trees growing and beautiful willow fences and benches scattered here are the so one can stop and take it all in.

Cow parsley is growing here in abundance - I do love it's teeny weeny pretty white flowers.

I fancied taking a few arty shots after being inspired by Jacquies' cow parsley photo. What do you think?

 Gorgeous yellow buttercups

Not sure what this is but very pretty!

Who knew Clover could look so beautiful?

 Also captured this stunning buddleia growing wild by the road on the walk home.

I was hoping to snap some nature but everything was too busy flying here, there and everywhere :) This beautiful place is certainly a discovery!
Are there any hidden gems on your doorstep?

xxx

Handmade Heart Swap

Oooh I'm soooooooo excited.  I'm taking part in the fabulous Handmade Heart Swap over at Mary Poppins.  Mary has a beautiful blog that I recently discovered and I'm so pleased to be taking part!  This is my first ever swap and I'm a little bit nervous but I've been paired up with the lovely Anthea aka Forest Flower over at Tales from Mount Pleasant and I can't wait to get making and creating all things heart shaped!  I will keep you updated with progress :)

Wishing you all a beautiful Tuesday

xxx

A Simple Sunday

Phew! What a scorcher! It reached the heady heights of 28 degrees today. Far too hot to be doing any strenuous activity. A quiet day at home doing simple things was what was called for.

So.... Out came the paddling pool and lots of fun was had - just splashing.  

Toes were cooled, juice with ice was drunk, a BIT of relaxing was done (with two wee babes around I don't think you can totally relax), some washing was done and pegged out and it was all very pleasant.



Little Miss & I cooling our toes

 Then whilst preparing dinner I heard a squeaking sound out in the garden and there climbing the fence was a little fledgling (not entirely sure what bird it was - a blue tit or similar I think).  Sorry the pictures aren't too clear, I didn't want to get too close and frighten them.

Such a big fence for such a teeny bird!

Mummy kept coming down making encouraging chirps and the fledgling made it to the safety of our garden fairy lights.



It sat there quite a while, totally bemused by the whole task at hand but then all of a sudden it plucked up the courage and flew off towards mummy on a nearby roof. It was sooo lovely to see as we never get birds in our garden.



After all that excitement we had our dinner and Little Miss wanted something for dessert. I remembered Penelope's lovely post for Coolers. I had some blueberries and strawberries in the freezer so they were whizzed up with some natural yoghurt and a teaspoon of icing sugar for a little sweetness. It went down very well!



Strawberry and Blueberry Cooler - Delicious!

 Ooh, just wanted to show you this - It's mint from Mum and Dads garden, Mum gave me a cutting on Saturday and I'm attempting to grow it (not holding out too much hope!).  I Love mint, I find it very nostalgic.  It used to grow in my Grandparents garden and I always remember walking past the HUGE bush they had and having to pinch it's leaves to release it's aromatic smell - Mmmmm!

Hope you all had a relaxing Sunday. Just wanted to say thank you for ALL your wonderful comments on my last couple of posts and a warm hello to all my followers - its so lovely to have your company! As I'm nearly at 50 followers I shall be hosting a giveaway over the Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend to say thank you to you all!  More later in the week!

xxx

Magazine Love

I've been meaning to share this with you for a couple of days now. A fabulously, gorgeous new magazine!

A lovely cup of tea in a new cup and a new magazine in the garden, what more could you want?

Pretty Nostalgic!  Even the name draws you in! And it does not disappoint! It's £8 an issue so a little pricey, but it's bi-monthly so it's no more expensive than the lovely home magazines out there. I ordered mine online after reading about it here as it is only sold in a small number of shops at the moment. Here is the link to the website.

Jubilee inspired front cover! Love, love, love!

Back page - what's inside!

 I won't spoil this magazine for you by showing you photos from inside but rest assured if you love AnYtHiNg vintage, shabby chic, thrifty, nostalgic then you are going to LoVe this magazine too!

Went to Mums yesterday with the little sweetpeas as hubby is a little under the weather and took some lovely floral pictures.  Mum and Dad have a beautiful cottage style garden that is full to the brim with delightful flowers and plants.

Lily of the Valley - My all time favourite bloom!

So, so pretty!

Love the colour

Beautiful Aquilegias

More Lilacs

And Hydrangeas

 I'm not much of a gardener but these next few are from my teeny, tiny garden and are all waiting to burst into flower!

Lavender

Pretty Pinks

Love the foliage on this!

It is still gloriously sunny and hot here, hope you're enjoying it too!

xxx

Perfect Picnic!

With the picnic baskets bulging and the obligatory check picnic rugs packed we (mum, sister, the little sweetpeas and I) headed off for the perfect lazy afternoon in the sunshine.

And this is where we headed to........

Chawton, the village where Jane Austen lived for the last 8 years of her life. It's about a 10 minute drive from our home and we do visit here quite a lot.

The absolutely stunning Chawton Cottage

There is a beautiful village green with a park for the little ones and it's a lovely walk from Jane Austen's 'Chawton Cottage' down the lane to the church and the magnificent Chawton House.

Amazing driveway to Chawton House

The oh-so-pretty St Nicholas Church

We set up camp on the green by the cricket ground, sorry no pictures of the food as it was devoured far too quickly!

The views we had whilst munching our lunch!

Stunning Copper Beech Tree on the green

After lunch there was some playing (by the little ones) some relaxing and snapping the views and then we ambled down to the church to see the lambs - who have gotten surprisingly big :)

Lots of delicate wildflowers growing.......

If anyone knows the name of these pretty little flowers, please let me know.

Pretty pink Hawthorn

And had to take of pic of our next home! (in my dreams, that is!!)

Simply stunning!

 Where is your perfect picnic spot?

xxx

This and That....................

Beautiful Blue Skies!

Doesn't time go quicker when the sun shines?  Oooh we have been having some GlOrIoUs weather down here in the South for the past few days.  27 degrees yesterday and today looks set to be another scorcher! Hope the sun is warming you, wherever you are!

***

This post is just full a bit this and that, nothing in particular.  The little sweetpeas have been poorly this week with a cold type bug so we've had lots of sleepless nights, tears and generally feeling sorry for ourselves, but I'm happy to report they both seem heaps better today!

So here is our week in pictures.............

Beautiful Blooms!

I do LoVe Lilacs

Such delicate flowers!

Beautiful Hydrangea

Wisteria ready to bloom!

A spot of baking!

Enjoying some new purchases in the garden!

Hope you all have a lovely end to the week, we are off on a picnic this afternoon to one of my favourite places.................. will share all next time!

xxx