Every weekend should be a bank holiday, yes it should

Finally, this countdown to our wedding day is starting to feel real; 4 days people!

I think now that the shopping is done and the craft is finished the pre-drinks and family time should begin!

So this weekend yes i'll collect some ordered stuff (must not forget to collect the cake, serious) and attend a wedding rehearsal, but then I'm going to relax. I'm thinking lie-ins, pilates, Netflix, park with my niece and some good old-fashioned family time. The planning is done. There's nothing I could change that would make a difference and it'd only stress everybody out. So, to the relaxing weekend! Happy bank holiday!

(Oh, I've gotta move house this weekend. Forgot. Well i'll relax around that minor detail). 

Engagement Shoot

Just the title of this post makes me feel a little edgy. I'm not photogenic and not even a selfie girl so having an entire shoot dedicated to Matt and I made both of us nervous to say the least. You know the couples who take regular photos of themselves to share on Facebook? Yup, we're not one of them.

To get around the fear, I booked it at a beautiful Abbey owned by English Heritage which isn't too far from our village. It was a bright sunny day and the Abbey was teeming with families and even a couple of other photographers. We love the photos Alisa took for us! We really enjoyed the shoot and will definitely do more of this in the future (you know, for special occasions, not as a casual weekend activity!).  If you're local to Hampshire, check out her Facebook page here for some more stunning pics (of more photogenic people, ha!).

Here are a few of our favourites from the day! 

 A huge thank you to Alisa and we're even excited about our wedding photos now!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is fast approaching and what better way to say "I love you mum" than a quirky card? I'm loving the designs below, which is your favourite?

via 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

For those of you who have experienced mild panic over a day which you had forgotten/were not prepared for don't worry, you've still got time. UK Mother's Day is Sunday 15th March. Now get shopping!

Check back soon for gift ideas to go with that awesome card you're going to buy.

Friday Highs

Happy Friday friends! It's been such a beautiful sunny day today, warm enough to bust out a sleeveless top and open the window at work. Spring is coming and it couldn't be more welcome! As usual though, the weekend is set to be rainy but i'm praying for sun anyway so man and I can go sailing tomorrow.

Highs of this week?

1. Wedding invites are being designed and I couldn't be happier about it. For some reason the wedding stationery was massively stressing me out and I was reduced to tears on more than one occasion! I found so many sets I liked but couldn't afford them from places like NotOnTheHighStreet and Minted. Cue graphic designer. Can't wait to see the proofs :-)

2. I stuck to my budget. I know, I know, my life has become that of a boring adult who has to budget. But seriously, this month has been hard. I have paid out £720 on my car alone so needed to find cuts elsewhere. Much to my fiance's grief I turned the heating off yesterday to save gas. Now where are my jumpers?

3. My friend hit the big 3-0 and threw a Barn Dance to celebrate. Naturally I dressed as a cowgirl and tried to do as many of the dances as my booted feet would allow. It was so much fun, thanks Em!

4. My diet is right on track and I'm losing weight like a pro. I haven't even had to go running yet which makes me want to do a happy dance. 5k Park Runs are looming though and there are only so many invitations to them a girl can turn down before she has to cave and prove herself. I'm that girl who if you say "bet you can't" will defiantly say "yes I can" and go do whatever stupid thing is being thrown at me.

5. Coffee. I've had two coffee dates with friends this week and they've been lush. Enough said.

And because I don't have any pictures for you this week (I've been a bore and worked a lot) here is a picture of a teeny tiny Shetland Pony

Dorset weekend

In May I'm marrying a Dorset man (so he says...he's actually from Portsmouth but he denies it). So what better way to spend a weekend but to get to know his County a little better. Thanks to Emily who organised the amazing farmhouse accommodation for all 11 of us, we spent last weekend cozied up in a huge farmhouse eating, drinking, watching the rugby and then feeling guilty so going to long walks!

Saturday morning (after a long lie-in) we decided to go on a walk which was supposed to be an hour long. Easy right? Well we went the wrong way...but 2 hours later we ended up on the South Coast Path along the Jurassic Coast. The views were stunning!

All of the mud, the slips and falls, the windy hair issues were worth it to walk along the coastline with friends and my man. 

Sunday we had an immense pub lunch and headed out to explore Swanage and Corfe Castle. Not much was in either really but I'm glad that we visited even just to walk around and relax. 

Found a giant teddy bear...

This is Corfe Castle...not much left to look at

So I've seen more of Dorset now. It's kind of a nice place so you should probably do some exploring of your own. Highly recommended. 

Adventurers

I'm calling on you guys today to help a girl out a little. This is a great problem for my fiance and I to have but one all the same: where should we go on our honeymoon in June?

Here are some amazing options we've looked at so far...

Italy / Mauritius / Thailand / New York

There's some variety there right? We can't decide if we want a beach holiday to lay about, drink cocktails and read or a city break to immerse ourselves in food, art, nightlife and theatre. What we do know is we both want a holiday we couldn't do when we have children. 

So, any thoughts friends? 

Images are not my own. All images taken from Google. 

Relax and unwind

I've been MIA lately and for that I apologise, though I've been having a blast so I'm not that sorry!

The past week was spent in the middle of a forest in the Southwest of England, in a lodge with family, no cars in sight, birdsong and duck quacks galore. The lodge was at least 20 minutes walk from any of the cafes and Matt and I spent lots of time cycling up and down the ridiculously steep wonderful hills to get around. I don't think I've had that much fresh air and headspace for a good few months and it felt great.

The sub-tropical swimming paradise (disclaimer - it wasn't paradise that was just the name) was kept at a constant 28c and the steam rose from the outdoor pools which made it quite pretty really. When we weren't relaxing in one of the 3 hot-tubs we were throwing ourselves down the outdoor rapids, jumping the waves in the wave pool, hurtling down the flumes and bumping into numerous people in the lazy river. I think it was also the only time i've been in an outdoor pool in the snow too, pretty magical!

Here's a complete photo dump of the week!

Chatting to the ducks

Channelling her inner artist

Just a little waterfall

Kayak on the sub-zero lake anyone?

Starbucks smiles 

I'm not actually taller than him, promise

Pretty yellow flowers 

A line of ducks, seriously they were everywhere

Okay okay, I can hear you asking where this was! Hit up this link to find out more.