This week, Ben and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary. I wanted to write a couple of last posts about #TheBandRWedding, a final wrap up on this wedding section of the blog. I've shared most of the DIY parts and it's been blogged fully over on So You're Getting Married here. But this is from me personally, my favourite photos and moments from that incredibly special day, below. And then some thoughts about our first year of actually playing husband and wife to come over the next couple of days if you'll indulge me.. 

A whole year of being married, already!! It's flown by and I would do anything to go back to this time last year for that feeling of excitement with everything still to come. The old cliche says that it was the best day of our lives. But really I think it was the best month of our lives - I loved all the final dress fittings, the lovely ladies at Brides of Berkhamsted, getting photos sent through from the florist of all the blooms arriving, checking the weather on Countryfile on the Sunday night, everyone I saw getting excited and wishing us good luck, getting ready the day before with such a buzz as my Bridesmaids' arrived, the cards start arriving in the post, loading up the cars, getting our nails done, having a big dinner the night before talking about all the plans then tearfully saying goodbye to Ben as he left us at my parents house, waking up early and feeling sick with excitement {then calling Ben early to say 'We're getting married today!!}, seeing that the weatherman got it right with the hot blue sky forecast, the make up artist and hairdresser arrived in a blur and time just rushed by, then it was time to get my dress into the car {in a duvet cover!}, the rest of the day you can see in the photos below.

Last summer, Ben and I bought a chimneia for the patio to light on balmy evenings sat outside. It's meant to keep you warm, which it does, but an added bonus is for toasting marshmallows in it and making s'mores! {I'm guessing that most people are familiar with s'mores? An American campfire invention of toasted marshmallows sandwiched between chocolate and biscuits, they're so yummy that you'll want 'smore'} They will always remind me of California and fire pits on the beach as the sun sets and while you can't buy graham crackers that easily over here, British digestives come as a close second! Making them in the garden after a bbq is fun with friends - I did a whole s'mores night for girlfriends last year - or equally a yummy pud for just Ben and I.

Rome has been called the Sacred City. Might not our Oxford be called so too?! - William Hazlitt

A couple of Thursdays ago, after seeing the hot sunny weather forecast Ben took the day off so we could go and enjoy the start of summer. I'm freelance, and Ben is self-employed so it means we can take a day in the week sometimes which I love as it means that most places are super quiet and you can enjoy them without the crowds. Oxford has been on my list for a while, it's only about an hour from us so I really don't know why both of us had never been there before. I feel like after travelling quite a lot over recent years it can take quite a lot to seriously impress me but Oxford really did blow my mind. It was incredible, and now my favourite city in the UK for sure. 

We wandered around the old colleges {the architecture is ridiculously stunning}, and rented a boat and had a picnic on the river before alll the pretty in the Botanic Gardens. England, you really are something else when the sun shines like that. June is such a magical month. A really amazing day out if you haven't been before, more photos below.. 

I haven't featured a restaurant on here in a while so let's talk about Barbecoa. It certainly deserves a mention. We went for my brother's birthday last May, he's a big meat fan so my Mum and I thought it would be perfect for him. Fine dining in a sense, it's created by Jamie Oliver and an American barbecue maestro Adam Perry Lang -  but for those who like their BBQed meat {and who doesn't?} The view isn't bad either - it's amazing - looking straight over the dome of St Paul's. 

I liked the open kitchen and the butchers attached. The food was really really good too, overall a real winner that I think we'll go back to.

Last weekend Ben and I fancied a little trip into London. Hampstead or Richmond are our usual kind of day trips but we hadn't been to Primrose Hill for ages, and it meant we could walk to Wahaca. I wouldn't change where we live now but there are things we miss about living in London - regular visits to Wahaca is one of them. Primrose Hill was always one of our favourite weekend walks when we had a flat in Maida Vale, and it was a regular running route so going back always has nice memories. Also at the weekend you can park for free which is always a bonus and if you're up for a bit of a walk, wander down through Primrose Hill Park {with one of the best views over the city} which takes you to Regents Park and then down Great Portland Street to Oxford Street and beyond. We fuelled up on burritos before walking up the other side of the park and through St John's Wood to get back to the car. However, don't as I did, rely on there still being a Snog frozen yogurt shop in SJW as it's closed down. And I only found out after we'd walked all the way there *cries*. But, there is a Gelato Mio which is almost as good. A few photos from our wanderings below, I love love love the houses of Primrose Hill - painted in pretty pastels and rambling roses climbing up them. A lovely little summer's day out. I've written about Primrose Hill in the autumn before too, which you can read here.

Happy Friday, finally it feels like summer has properly arrived. We're in the midst of a mini heatwave and I'm loving it {well apart from today's humid storms!}. Hope you've had a good week? Mine was pretty blah at the start of the week but picked up drastically from Wednesday with an afternoon in the garden just kicking back, drinking strawberry and mint coolers and catching up on magazines. I did feel a pang of guilt that I should be doing something more productive but then I thought about how few days of sunshine we have in England and decided that I'd actually I should stay exactly where I was. On the picnic blanket in the sunshine! Then Ben got home and we cooked a BBQ, ate outside without feeling cold, walked to the village for ice cream and then along the canal to the allotment, all in the warm sunshine! Please keep it up England. Yesterday, with the amazing weather forecast, we took the day off to visit Oxford for the first time. It was so incredibly beautiful and I'll share more photos from our day next week, we rented a boat and had a picnic on the river. Heaven! Today though is more humid and grey, although I did go shopping for the first time in ages so that's pretty good on a Friday. Hence the reason this post is late {blame H&M}. Hope you've been enjoying the weather?? Are you having a BBQ this weekend? We're planning two picnics, one with Ben's little nephews tomorrow and then another day out somewhere on Sunday. As always we'll slot in some allotment time, I'll have to post more photos of it again soon. Enjoy the heatwave! {also - side note, we binged on the Affair and finished it, if you've watched it then let me know as I want to discuss!!}

England is looking all rosy all of a sudden and it's blooming lovely.

R <3 xx 

I think this has to be my all time favourite Nigella recipe, her famous chocolate and raspberry pavlova. It's super easy too and can be prepared in advance so that it just needs assembling at the last minute. I think a lot of people are put off from making pavlova because of the connotation of meringues being notoriously hard to master. But as long as you follow a couple of golden rules - to make sure that your bowl and whisk are clean {by rinsing in boiling water} and whisk until your have super stiff peaks then you can't really go wrong. And if you do get a few cracks then it's nothing that can't be covered with your cream and fruit. If you think that regular pavlova was good then you have to try this chocolate version.

My family and I love America, it's such a fun place to go for a road trip and there are some really beautiful parts. I've talked about California before here and here but this post is all about Florida, specifically Marco Island down on the Gulf of Mexico on the Southwest Coast. I love sharing holiday photos on here to look back on. It's also raining as I type this so looking at the sunshine and beach photos makes me want to beam myself back.

This morning I talked about cleaning out your finished Diptyque candles and using them as little bathroom jars. But I also think they're perfect as flower vases.