I can’t wait for the sun to come out again— afternoon snacks in the park after a little play on the swings, are my favourite!
Life Through The Lens • Al Fresco
The Week In Notes • #010
001. I recently had the opportunity to have an afternoon completely to myself, so I grabbed it with both hands and gave it a great big smooch! Usually time without Byron is spent with my husband or friends, but on this occasion I had no plans, other than to just relax, have some ‘me’ time and do my own thang! I went for a lovely swim (although perhaps I overdid it, as my legs nearly gave way when I got out of the pool and I had to have a little sit down in the changing room!), grabbed some lunch and went for a little drive in the sunshine. I ended up in Starbucks, where I made a chocolate cream frappucino (with mint! Mmm) last approximately three hours as I sat myself in the bay window with my laptop and finally caught up on all my emails! Productivity feels good.
002. I love a bank holiday weekend as much as the next person, but we never really venture out anywhere too exciting, because let’s face it, everywhere is usually heaving— especially if it’s good weather! I usually opt to go out on a weekday to avoid the crowds, but on this occasion, we took my mum-in-law to Brighton for her birthday on Sunday and a lovely day was had by all. I’ve already spoken about how Brighton is one of my favourite places in the UK, but it really is! There’s such an eclectic mix of people and no-one really batters an eyelid at anything ‘different’. There’s always something going on. There’s a great atmosphere. It’s always buzzing. It’s colourful! There are also an abundance of little cafe’s and when they sell chocolate cake as good as the one I had, then that’s a place I wanna be!
003. A huge thank you to anyone that’s already voted for me in the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards! I’m still hugely surprised and honoured to have been shortlisted in the photo category, among so many other great blogs and photographers. I’m doubtful about making the final, but voting closes at midnight on 12th May, if you’d like to vote and haven’t yet had the chance!
The Happy List
pink lemonade ice lollies pâté & coleslaw sandwiches the smell of Herbal Essence ‘Ignite My Colour’ shampoo & conditioner list-making exciting emails landing in my inbox Zara Office City Bag Byron starting to toddle around the furnitureHola, Sunshine!
It’s almost May and the sunshine has finally made an appearance. It’s meant to rain this weekend, so it doesn’t look like it’s here to stay, but it does give me hope that the UK isn’t going to be on a constant cycle of rain, wind and snow for the whole year.
The sunshine makes me want to BUY stuff. Dresses. Skirts. Sandals. Bags. Jewellery. Sunglasses. T-shirts. Vest tops. Summer is SO much better than Winter! I love being able to chuck a maxi dress, necklace and sunglasses on, put my hair in a top-knot and go (well, once I’ve wrestled Byron into his clothes!) I don’t think we’ll be visiting any foreign lands any time soon, but a few trips to the coast in the UK are certainly planned for the coming months— any excuse for a 99 flake, putting a new outfit together and packing my bag for the beach (FYI: sunglasses, beach towels, suncream, snacks and my iPod!) It’s got me thinking about summer pieces for the little man too. This time last year, he was still very much a baby and lived in vests and rompers when it was hot. This year, he’s on his way to being a little boy with outfits! Every day is like playing dress-up.
The sunshine makes me want to DO stuff. Swimming. Trips to the park. Picnics. Walks to the shop. Sitting in the sun. Photographing anything / everything. Roadtrips. Drinking in pub gardens!
The sunshine makes me want to EAT stuff. Ice-cream. Lollies. Salads. Cold new potatoes. Barbecue chicken. Chocolate (it’s an all-year-round love affair, ok?) Lemonade.
What’s does the sunshine make you want to do?
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The Week In Notes • #002
001. It would appear that the sun finally has his hat on again! It’s a sweltering (for the UK!) 29ºC today, so Byron is rolling about in his nappy in front of the fan to keep cool, while I lay here on the sofa blogging and sipping ice-cold orange squash. Nice! All four of his front teeth are coming through now, so he’s not been sleeping much during the day, but thankfully the heat makes him sleepy, which means a happy baby and happy mummy & daddy! It does mean less time spent in the sunshine today though, as he looked so peaceful napping, that I didn’t want to disturb him!
002. I had my hair cut yesterday. Nothing drastic, but I just had my side fringe cut in again and even out my a-line bob, as I fancy growing my hair a bit again. It was about time I had it done, as I haven’t had my hair cut since when I got it all chopped off in February. Whoah. I dyed it today using one of the Schwarzkopf LIVE Color XXL “Shake It Up” dyes, which I’ll post a review about soon!
003. Myself & Ashley are having a well-deserved baby-free day tomorrow, with a big shopping spree. I’m so excited to blow some money, as it’s not something we get to do so much these days— although I know it’s going to be one of those situations where one of us has a really successful trip and the other buys nadda! Oh well. It’ll be nice to not be thinking about Byron’s next feed / nappy change / screaming / teething for a little while!
The Happy List
bad X-Factor auditions fresh bed sheets Jubbly ice lollies roasted vegetable couscous Hayles #wkendbloglove hashtag on Twitter making a few ‘tweaks’ to my layout but it actually turning into a whole new one Byron not realising my hand is actually my hand and not some kind of funny monster coming towards his face leaving my hair to dry naturallyThe Blog List
A Storm In a Teacup Little Love Notes Chicken Shop A Little Bird Told Me(because they’re all getting married soon!)
Life Through The Lens • Meeru Island, The Maldives
All this lack of sunshine this year has got me thinking about my last holiday abroad— our honeymoon— to The Maldives, last May. It’s such a beautiful place, that I’d recommend to anyone for a once in a lifetime experience. Paradise! It was the hottest climate I’ve ever known. I’m a complete sunworshipper and usually avoid the pool a lot of the time, but even I had to dip in and out, just to stay alive.
It was our best (and most expensive!) holiday ever, which has completely set the benchmark for future getaways— none of which will meet the idyllic scenes of The Maldives, BUT I’d kill for a holiday abroad anywhere sunny, sometime soon!
We came back from our honeymoon, I fell pregnant within weeks and we got wrapped up in that new chapter of our lives, so I’ve only just edited some of our photos. Such a slacker.
As always, there are more on my Flickr set.
Where’s your favourite holiday destination?