Forced rhubarb is my favourite type of rhubarb. By growing it in the dark {or under a rhubarb forcer in the garden}, you get sweeter tasting, bright pink coloured rhubarb. We have an abundance of the regular stuff at our allotment right now and it's good for baking {it's a lot sharper so needs a lot more sugar} but this forced pink stuff is the creme de la creme for baking with. I've blogged about rhubarb once before but I found a new Waitrose recipe to try out {which has been requested by a few of you on Instagram} which I made last weekend and can't stop thinking about ever since. A firm new favourite for us I think, whether it's for elevenses at the weekend, afternoon tea or used for a pudding, warm with ice cream, you have to try this cake. Super easy too and it turned out exactly like the picture. Exactly, not often that happens with a recipe so kudos to Waitrose.

Have you been to Richmond before? It's one of our favourite places to visit for a day and usually go a few times of year. It's got a gorgeous park with deer, the river, Petersham Nurseries and an amazing high street. It's got everything you need from London shop and food wise, without actually being in central London and it's only about forty minutes away. But we've never stayed overnight there so when I got invited for So You're Getting Married to talk about The Bingham as a wedding venue {post here if you're interested} I jumped at the chance to stay at The Bingham Hotel which is on the river. The weather was ridiculously amazing for April and we truly felt like we had gone abroad for the day! A little travelogue ahead after our day in Kew Gardens that I wrote about last week.

Last week felt more like the middle of summer than the middle of April! I'm such a sunshine lover so last weeks forecast was heaven. As I said in last Friday's post, when you can smell suncream before you go out for the day you know you're in for a treat. The smell just makes me happy as it's associated with long sunny happy days. We had planned, weeks ago to go to Kew Gardens on Wednesday as we were booked in to stay at The Bingham Hotel in Richmond, just down the road for a write up I was doing for So You're Getting Married. Kew is one of my favourite places to visit and the fact we could walk around in shorts and take a picnic made it a truly lovely day. Here are some photos for part one if you'd like to see. Sunny Richmond by the river and the Bingham hotel up will be up next week..

Have you used chalk paint before? Ben and I have loved Annie Sloan's paint for years now ever since we got the bug for upcycling furniture for our first flat and now house together. It's great as it sticks to almost any surface so you don't need to spend time sanding or priming something first. From plastic to wood to metal to furniture to terracotta pots, try chalk paint on whatever you like. I also like the finish of the chalk paint and the wax you can add on after for longevity, it's matt rather than being glossy and is specially designed for painting furniture. I've painted old pine chest of drawers, garden chairs and our kitchen table and chairs which have lasted for a few years now without chipping. Anyway, this post isn't about Annie Sloan's chalk paint which while lovely only comes in limited colours and works out fairly expensive to buy. This post is about making your own chalk paint with Hannah's Chalk and Clay Powder - a clever invention meaning that by adding just 1tbsp of powder to your favourite coloured emulsion paint you can create your own chalk finish in whatever colour you like. And emulsion paint is cheaper to buy than chalk paint, win win all round. I was sent a packet of Hannah's chalk and clay powder to try so I set about finding some things to transform with it! 

Happy Friday all! How amazing has the weather been this week? Really felt like summer with 25 degrees and sunshine for a few days. When you can smell sun cream before a day out in England you know you're in for a treat. I've realised recently how much of a summer over winter girl I am, give me sunshine, sunglasses and saltwater sandals any day over cold grey days! We've finally made it though and I really hope this weather is to stay {until October preferably!}. I've been off again which has been rather lovely especially for a day out at Kew Gardens and an overnight stay in Richmond. Honestly felt like we were abroad somewhere walking along the river in just a dress at half past eight in the evening. Happy days indeed. Blog posts to come on that soon. Hope you've had a good week. Some of the photo highlights and weekend plans after the jump..

This blog might as well be called 101 ways to transform a scaffold board as we've used them so much in our house. Here's #99 - use as a decorative and useful jewellery display. {You can find other posts on scaffold board shelves and tables here and here}. Scaffold board wood is cheap and characterful and doesn't take much work to be give it a new use. We picked up a load from a local wood recycling yard but I've seen some in skips before or you can buy on eBay or even talk to local builders to see if they can get hold of any for you. Ben came up with this idea to use an old scaffold board and fit hooks on to it to hold all my ever growing collection of necklaces and it's now one of my favourite features in our bedroom.

Phwoar this weather has been rather lovely all week, 5 days of warm {actual shorts/skirt warm!} sunshine makes me a very happy bunny. This is actually the first time I've switched my laptop on for a whole week, the Easter long weekend was a nice time to switch off and spend with family and friends. And most of my friends are teachers/in education so the Easter holidays is a good chance to catch up with everyone - I've been out for a few nice dog walks and had a big afternoon tea in the sunshine. Consequently, while I've been having a nice week off in the garden/spending as much time outdoors/taking a million photos of blossom against the blue sky as I can, the blog has been slightly neglected this week. But there's some exciting things coming up over the next few weeks and of course you can always find me on Instagram {with a new name, @rvk_loves} What are your plans for this weekend?

I first wrote this for So You're Getting Married last week.

Modern calligraphy is a real art and something I've been swooning over for a while now. In our digital world of emails, texts and tweets putting pen to paper and writing properly and beautifully is underrated. Learning how to do it has been on my wish list so when I had the chance to attend a workshop hosted by Quill - an online store dedicated to seriously stylish stationery - I jumped at the offer! Beautiful writing will take you far in life, whether it's for addressing your wedding invitations or just a love of pretty stationery it's a skill that is well worth learning. 

A couple of weekends ago, Ben and I got up early {4.30am early!} on a Saturday morning to drive down to Cornwall to meet my parents who had rented their friend's cottage near Bude for a week. We spent two nights with them and then had a night in Devon where I was reviewing a hotel for So You're Getting Married. It was such a gorgeous escape for a couple of days and there were daffodils and lambs everywhere! Here are some photos, if you'd like to see - 

A four day weekend + the excuse of Easter to eat copious amounts of chocolate + spring time has sprung = happiness. It's rainy as I write this but think the weather is meant to be getting better from tomorrow which will make for a couple of nice days out, our first BBQ of the year {having 12 over for lunch on Sunday and I can't be dealing with pots and pans so while it won't be warm enough to eat outside we can cook outdoors!} and good for Easter egg hunting weather in the garden! What have you got planned?

Happy Easter! Spring has sprung and from tomorrow you have a four day weekend to eat as much chocolate as you like, what's not to love?! These are some photos of this year's decorations and last year's long Easter weekend with some baking inspiration - I love making new traditions and for the past few years I've made this chocolate nest cake every year as well as the old favourite of hot cross buns on Good Friday with family. This is the first time for my Easter tree in the kitchen though, I think that will become a regular thing too... 

Do you know that Taylor Swift song called 22? I woke up on my Birthday - last Saturday - singing it. Here are a few photos from my weekend if you'd like to see. I went to Petersham Nurseries for lunch on the Friday which deserves it's on post for all the prettiness but these snaps are from the rest of the weekend..