Hello sunshine and hello Friday. The best combination, don't you think?! Finally we've got Summer back, let's hope it lasts until September at least now pretty please Mr Weatherman. How has your week been? Mine has been mostly good, aside from a Speed awareness type course that I had to attend on Wednesday to avoid points on my licence, that's three hours of my life I'm never getting back! But there's been a fair bit of sunshine, coffee dates with a friend and her gorgeous new baby, bike rides through the countryside, the odd bit of work squeezed in and lots of flower picking. We also got told that our allotment has won 2nd prize! And now it's Friday and I'm enjoying this heavenly weather. I have my Mother in law coming over in a bit for some cake in the garden, then friends round for a pizza and s'mores night this evening which I'm looking forward to. Tomorrow I've got an event in London for SYGM so Ben's coming with me so we can go for lunch and a wander somewhere nice in town. On Sunday we're going to a BBQ at my parents but other than that see where the weekend takes us. As long as it's sunny, I'm a happy bunny. {Oh and also my tooth hurts no more yay, my hamstring is getting there. Not back to running just yet but hopefully very soon} Have a good one!

R <3 xx

{Yummy rainbow cake from my Sister in Law's Birthday to give my Monday a boost!}

{Sunny sunflowers which also remembered my Grandma this week}

{A little posy picked from the allotment, in love with the pinks and creams that made me feel like a bride again carrying it all the way home}

{Evening bike rides are the best in Summer, we really don't do them enough}

{Blooming agapanthus in the garden}

{Five minutes with the new Country Living magazine after my boring morning on Wednesday}

{Going to blog this cake soon, chocolate and courgette - to try and use up some of our glut!}

{Happy pup on our walk this morning}

{Wildflowers and miles of fields on a bike ride this week. It doesn't beat running but it sure was pretty}

I guess you must know how much I love flowers if you've either been reading this blog for a while or follow me on Instagram?! I've talked about my love for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show here before, but this year we decided to try Hampton Court instead. We bought late afternoon tickets so that we could stop off on the way back from our anniversary trip to Dorset. Everybody had told us that we'd love it more than Chelsea, that it was less crowded and more relaxed although I disagree..

{Proud of these pretties I grew from seed}

{Part of the cutting garden, different varieties of Cosmos}

{I apologise now to anyone who isn't into growing as this post will probably be incredibly boring to you, sorry! Bit of a longer post but I only do one per season so this is it}

{Pretty poppies against a blue sky last weekend}

{Sweet Pea Season I've missed you!}

Friyay!! It's been a while since I've written one of these but I'm glad to be, I love looking back at the week just gone and talking about the weekend. It's a sunny one today, meant to be scorching by this afternoon!
So, this week has flown by after coming back from Croatia and Dorset. I've been trying to catch up on real life - house, garden, admin, washing, allotment, work, blogging etc! But I also had a day in London for the White Company Christmas Preview which was incredible {albeit a bit surreal feeling Christmassy in the middle of summer} and a meeting at the Oxo Tower for SYGM. And then yesterday through work again was a day at Newmarket races - full hospitality et al, with five of my best friends in the sunshine. I even came home with winnings! Today I have a million and one things to do but first of all taking the pups out swimming with one of my other bestest friends, it was Riley's 5th Birthday this week and he loves the water. This weekend I'm also excited to be reunited with one of my friend's who moved away to Oxford and I haven't seen her since last summer. And there's a family BBQ at Ben's Mum's so I'm on pudding duties! And then we're off for a night away in Lewes, East Sussex on Sunday at a boutique B&B I'm reviewing for So You're Getting Married. Plus all of the Wimbledon excitement - come on Murray this afternoon! I've also been loving the sudden glut of produce from the allotment, courgetti season has started along with picking sweet peas almost daily. Summer you can stay all year, I'm really having a wonderful time. 
Have a lovely lovely weekend, R <3 xx - next week I'm hoping to share our stay in Dorset, let me know if you have any blog requests.

{Posh picnicking, smoked salmon, olives, salads, strawberries and prosecco at the races. Such a fab day thanks to Phoebe at SYGM and Bloom Gin}

{Summer BBQ heaven with homegrown flowers and berries}

{How is this baby boy 5 already? He'll always be my pup!}

{Pretty pale pink poppies self set in the garden}

{Summer vignette}

{Summer work attire - beats a suit!}

{The hydrangea on my patio has come into bloom}

{White Christmas with gingerbread, pine and twinkly lights. I want everything!}

{A flower crown beats a hat or fascinator for ladies day!}

{Ladies Day at Newmarket Races}

{Girlies ♥}

{I reluctantly took my flower crown off, can I wear it everyday from now on?!}

Enjoy your weekend, R <3 xx

A few Sunday's back, we got up stupidly early and drove to Stansted airport as we were all off to Croatia! I feel like I'm so used to long-haul flights that I forget just how close Europe is. An early flight which was only 2 hours long meant we arrived at the villa by 9.15am English time, the quickest I've ever arrived anywhere on holiday. We wouldn't have even got to Cornwall in that time! It was a whole family trip, my parents, brother, Ben and I and we really did have the best week ever. I didn't really know what to expect from Croatia, we booked the holiday last summer after hearing how beautiful it was from friends but I'd been so busy up until we went that I hadn't had a chance to think about it much or research it. As a result, I was so in awe when we arrived and it's now one of my favourite places in Europe that I can't wait to go back to and explore more of the country. A little travelogue if you'd like to have a read, and of course rather a lot of photos!

Morning! Back to blogging this week after a couple of weeks away. I can't wait to share about Croatia and Dorset but in the mean time a little garden update for the summer so far. There will be an allotment one to follow too, I love using the blog as a way to look back on things and photos. This is our third summer in the garden and as everything is getting more established year on year, I love how the borders have filled out. It changes daily with new plants flowering and going over, hence why I take so many photos to try and capture everything in bloom, Already the alliums, peonies, aquilegia have finished, the foxgloves have all gone to seed but the sweet peas and hollyhocks are only just starting, likewise the lavender has just come into bloom much to the bee's happiness. You can see the whole transformation in this post.

Today marks the end of this wedding series on the blog as it's our first anniversary today {!}. We're on a little romantic getaway in Dorset right now, staying at The Pig on the Beach with the yummiest breakfast, lunch and dinners overlooking the beach and walks along the coast. We'll exchange cards, a little present based on the tradition of paper, talk about all the memories from last year as well as watching our wedding video before we visit the Hampton Court Flower Show on the way home tonight. While memories of our day will fade over time, we're left with such an incredible partnership and I've never felt happier to be your wife.