To celebrate the arrival of the sun I decided to treat myself to a few new maxi dresses. I wanted something loose fitting but having had no luck in my local charity shops, I went online and found two maxi shirt dresses.

This is the first of them, worn on a hot, hot day hanging out with Tink in the garden. Boohoo's Stylefix magazine has this pegged as 'the must-have festival dress' which made me laugh - the closest this will get to a festival is being worn while watching the Glastonbury coverage this weekend.


I'm going to be wearing this dress a lot. Talk about easy to wear, it's literally a case of add shoes and go, and it's so comfy! It's also just long enough with flats so I won't keep tripping over it.

The photo doesn't capture the pattern on the dress very well, here's a close up from the website. I love the acid brights with the monochrome grey and black.


What have you added to your wardrobe for the summer?

Love

Knobs *chuckle*...

Anyway, in the spirit of 'just get on with it' I've been trying to find time to tick off some of those little jobs that need doing around the house. In truth it's not going very well considering we're half way through the year, but I'm trying.


My most recent project was to build and paint Andy's bedside table (which had been sitting flat packed in the cupboard under the stairs for months). Cheap and cheerful though it is, it's better than the small and somewhat inadequate Ikea storage unit he'd been using since we moved in three years ago.


I decided to re-paint mine while I was at it, so I popped on my deccy clothes and got painting. I'd had some decorative knobs kicking about in the junk end room since we moved in three years ago (purchased for the wardrobe doors we ended up removing) so I used them for my bedside table and purchased some manly chrome ones for Andy (pretty glass flower knobs not really being his thing).

And ta-dah! Two new bedside tables and something crossed off the list.



Which leaves me with a handy Ikea storage unit to use in my office, perfect for all my little bits and pieces. I'm thinking of going Pinterest on it's ass and doing something like this, i.e paint it and add some handles. I have three of the flower ones left so I'd like to use those and maybe mix and match in some others?


But then that's just another thing to add to an already long list of things to do... Do you enjoy DIY or do you leave it to the man of the house / the professionals?

Love

Sunday was an awesome day. I'll start by saying that. Sunday was the day of the world record attempt for the largest gathering of fairies in one place. We didn't break the record, we missed it by about 50 fairies, but over 800 fairies donned their tutus to march from our beautiful Christchurch Park to the Town Hall led by a loud and energetic Samba band, Samboomba. And we all had a blast!

My day started very early - 5am! My plan had been to get up at 6 but I was too excited and feeling more than a little nervous. I had the intention of doing a photo and hour type post of the day but I got carried away a forgot! It just goes to show what a great time I had.

The first port of call was Radio Suffolk with some of my fellow event organisers. I didn't do very well. When the DJ, Rob Dunger, asked me why people should come along to the event and the first words out of my mouth were "Oh, I don't know really...' Brilliant Hazel, just brilliant! (listen here at 1:54:00).


Then it was time to set up stalls, put up banners and blow up balloons outside the Town Hall (all in my wings and new IC heels!). Once we'd set up in the town centre I hot footed it over to the park, a little apprehensive that no one would be there. This is the sight that greeted me. Literally hundreds of fairies. The relief!


The march was excellent fun and was quite a sight to behold, it was colourful and loud - a real spectacle.


This is me taking a short movie (and concentrating very hard by the look on my face!) I'll try to upload it but I don't hold out much hope!



We were entertained as the fairies filed into the counting area, one by one. We had a roaming magician, stilt walkers, bubbles (lots of bubbles), a balloon modeller, face painters, a glitter tattooist and food stalls. And of course there was music and dancing. And lots and lots of wand waving.


At first I was really disappointed that we hadn't broken the world record but having seen so many people have such a great time, it didn't seem to matter after a while. It was a success even if it wasn't a new world record. Interestingly a group in Cornwall made an attempt on the same day - and missed it by 100 fairies - which just goes to show that it's not an easy task.

People are already talking about doing it again next year, but I think we're done. Twice is enough. Someone else can organise it next year and I'll be hanging onto my tutu just in case...

Love

A while ago I tagged Gingerella with a Liebster blog tag and one of my questions to her was - what would you most like to ask me?

Her question was 'where do you think you will be in 5 years time?' I drew a blank and this really got me thinking. I've never been one to make long term plans, I'm a bit of a day dreamer, going about my days without much thought for next week, let alone, next year or in five years time. I can't tell you how long it took me to come up with that answer and yet it was all pretty standard stuff.

I have a friend that asks me 'so, what's the plan?' every time I see him. He's one of life's planners and finds my lack of an answer infuriating! The thing is I just don't have a plan.

I'm content with life. I love our home (despite the work that needs to be done), I love working for myself (I've probably mentioned that once or twice already), Andy and I are plodding along nicely, my family and friends are happy and healthy. I have little to complain about.

But is 'plodding along' enough? I wonder, should I be aspiring to something... more?

I believe in the saying that you regret the things you don't do rather than the things you do (I'm sure it's a little more eloquent than that but you get my meaning). So, is there anything that I really want to achieve in life? It's not the question that vexes me, but the lack of an answer.

Perhaps the answer can be found in looking back and asking myself 'do I have any regrets?'?

Do you know where you want to be in 5 years time? Do you have a grand plan?

Love

After the yumminess of Bessie's Mexican Veggie Lasagne I decided to try another of her recipes - Slow Cooker Quorn Chilli. I love using my slow cooker, with all the hard work done at the beginning of the day, having a meal cooked and ready at supper time, with no more effort required than removing the lid and serving, seems like such a treat!


This is equally as delicious as the lasagne and would be perfect served with crusty rolls and perhaps sprinkled with a little cheese and a dollop of sour cream (I'll definitely be adding both next time I make this). This time around I had wholemeal rice and coleslaw.

The recipe cooks enough for 4-6 people depending on the size of their appetites. We ate this over two days, with Andy eating it for lunch as well, so it's budget friendly!

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Love

A while ago I spent a rather lovely afternoon wandering around the beautiful and picturesque Easton Grange on the day of their wedding fayre. I'd been invited along to see the result of an extensive renovation and I have to say, the result is stunning!


Set in the quiet Suffolk countryside, I drove down the long drive with the radio blaring. Stepping out of my car I was struck by an amazing sense of calm. I live off the beaten track so quiet and calm surroundings are not new to me but this was something else.


I wandered down to the entrance and could see for miles around in all directions, Suffolk has some lovely views and big, big skies.


Inside was just as serene as the outside making it the perfect setting for a wedding. The ceremony barn adjoins the reception barn by way of a spacious bar area overlooking a courtyard, with stunning views beyond.




The barn has been converted with sensitivity and to a very high standard. There is space and light accompanied by a feeling of being very much at home. My photographs just do not do it justice (so I've pinched some from their brochure).


In addition to the main buildings, there is The Bakehouse, for the bride and groom to enjoy their wedding night, and The Longhouse with seven double bedrooms available for rent. Once again they have been restored to a very high standard, with exceptional attention to detail. I wanted to move in and never, ever, leave.





Imagine eating breakfast, looking out over the Suffolk countryside on your first morning as a married couple before joining your family in The Longhouse to discuss and swap stories of your day... (I always maintain that the post-event discussion is just as much fun as the event itself).



This is already a long post and I haven't even touched on the exclusive caterer - Galloping Gourmet. The tasty morsels being served to whet your appetite on the day of the fayre where incredible - in taste and in appearance.




Reading through the menu now makes my mouth water... crispy risotto balls of sun-dried tomato and Parmesan / ravioli of king prawns, ginger and coriander, saffron and garlic cream / Caerphilly cheese and leek sausage, watercress and sun blushed tomato chutney... you get the idea right?

If you are planning a wedding, I'd also urge you to seek out Ted Prior, Toastmaster and Master of Ceremonies. Ted is a rather lovely gentleman who I warmed to immediately. He looked very dapper in his striking uniform and he told me that when he puts it on, he squares his shoulders and feels himself standing taller. He plays a role that requires impeccable manners, a calm demeanor and yet needs to be a commanding presence too. I think he'd be a wonderful addition to any wedding, he's very charming and would add something quite special to your day.


Onto one of my favourite subjects - cake. I also met Helen Ward, who is the baker behind the delicious and beautifully crafted cakes of Amelie's Kitchen. Not only did they taste amazing (yep, I had more than my fair share of samples, my favourite being the white chocolate mud cake with passion fruit filling and white chocolate swiss meringue buttercream) but they look stunning too. 


I honestly think that you need to visit this venue in order to really appreciate the true beauty of it. It would make a stunning and unique wedding venue. And let me tell you, when I got home Andy got a serious ear bending about how beautiful it is and how perfect it would be for our wedding (a little presumptuous perhaps as we're not engaged but a girl can dream).

So, what do you think? Gorgeous, right?

Love






Thank you to Easton Grange for inviting me along. All opinions are my own.

As soon as I knew we were going to a ball I started to plan my outfit. I love dressing up and often find the planning of my outfit almost as exciting as the event itself. Having the chance to dress up and wear something that I normally wouldn't feels like such a treat!

I was so tempted to buy something new, but having had this ASOS dress for ages and only having worn it a few times when we'd had friends over, I decided that it was time to give it it's first proper outing. Andy bought it for me but it was so long ago, he didn't even recognise it.

It's light and drapey and perfect for a summer ball. It does have thin straps though and, disliking my shoulders in the way I do, I always wear it with a cardigan of some description.

"Oh, you're off to a ball are you? Lovely. What's your outfit like?"
"Well, I've got myself a smashing cardy..."

It doesn't sound very dressed up does it?

I searched eBay for a beaded shrug but didn't find anything quite right, so I hit the charity shops in town. In the first one I found this fine knit bolero which is practically the same colour as the dress. I was so chuffed, but the best bit? It was only £2.80.

I wore a pair of wedges that I've had for at least 3 years - the only ones high enough to enable me to walk in this dress - and an Accessorize bag I won on eBay for £2.79 in 2012.


You've gotta love a bargain outfit! We're off to another ball tomorrow night, so expect another bargain outfit post soon.


How would you style this dress?

Love