lovely jubbly london

Lavender Fields

I have always wanted to go to Provence to see the lavender fields in full bloom. Something about fields full of purple seems so magical. Luckily for me (and maybe you) is that Surrey has its very own lavender fields and they are definitely a sight to behold. I only had my phone with me so excuse the poor quality but if you head to Mayfield Lavender I guarantee you a sight I never thought I would see in this country.

 

 
 
 

peonies

The husband arrived home last week with a surprise for me- a bouquet of my favourite flowers! They have finally started to bloom and smell delicious.

summer steaks

Now that summer is almost over (September? See you next week.) the sun decided to give us yet another glorious weekend of weather. 

I ordered some USDA steaks for delivery Friday and sure enough the clouds came out. Typical after the lovely sun we had mid-week. Fret not though, Saturday and Sunday surely provided us with one of the best weekends of weather all summer. The husband got to make use of the bbq, we dined al fresco and indulged in my new favourite tipple- pear cider. I think this summer definitely belongs to the pear, it's delish! 

I do think the only thing we're missing now is a fire pit. It would allow us to dine outdoors on cool fall nights and it would come in really handy for s'mores... 

summer weather watch 2009

I will admit to being skeptical when the weather people predicted barbecue weather for the weekend. Especially when it seemed like the next few days were full of clouds, fog and rain. 

Last weekend we planned for a barbecue and it seemed like as soon as everything was ready for the husband to light the grill the rain started. Being the man that he is, of course, he persevered and I looked out the kitchen window to see the grill flames through the shed window. Yes, the husband grilled in the shed. 

So this weekend was supposed to be full of the summer weather we have been waiting for and another bbq was planned. On Saturday the weather was mostly sunny with some clouds, but no rain. By the time we got home it was cloudy. Sunday we hit the jackpot. It was 75°F with a nice breeze all day.

lovely glorious sunshine = dinner à deux outdoors

 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

summer improvisation

Well, lets get one thing straight- it is HOT out and it's only going to get worse. This means making ones legs visible is almost required out of necessity. While I love skirts and dresses, my pale legs are a bit scary and need some attention from the sun after many months of wearing tights. My sun chair is a bit of problem as while it reclines, it lacks a footrest. 

Enter the trusty garden trug. From here on out it shall be known as upside-down-purple-trug-makes-great-footrest:

warning: shield your eyes from the whiteness

bonus points if your toenails match your flowers

Side note: If you think some cropped cotton trousers or khakis will help you keep those pasty legs covered throughout the summer think again. The Gap does not stock either. Yes, I will not tell a lie, it is true. I thought it was a fluke when I was at the Knightsbridge branch and maybe they were just out since it's a smaller store, but my suspicions were confirmed on Oxford Street: GAP ≠ KHAKIS. 

And when you live in a country where 99.9% of refrigerators do not make ice, a little improvisation is required in that area as well. Enter frozen fruit- pretty and chilling!

blooming beauties

We arrived home and found this gorgeous rose bush in full bloom in the front garden.

 The scent is truly amazing!

A nice surprise after the sadness of saying goodbye to our first home.

blooming

Last week I managed to brighten up our back porch with our new plants. The sun was finally shining so I was out back putting everything is their pots. I love looking out the back door and seeing the colourful flowers- it's definitely starting to feel (and look) like summer! 

 

The green pots in the back are my pepper and cucumber plants. 

I'm not sure they are doing too much growing as of yet!

Along the fence I also discovered we have a rose bush which was a nice surprise!

Very pretty pink & yellow blooms, anyone know what they are called?

(They don't look too healthy, I think they need some rose food.)

The husband helped cheer up the inside by surprising me with a bouquet of my all-time favourite flowers:

Peonies!

I'm hoping next year we'll actually own somewhere so I can attempt to grow my own. Or maybe I'll start some out in a pot for planting further down the road- I read it takes about two years to get actual peony blooms so by that time maybe they (and we'll) have a more permanent home! 

in the garden

While my mom was here we went to the garden centre and picked up a few things. Now that she left, I've been out in the garden working hard. Our yard and flower beds are covered in weeds. They also are full of rocks which makes it really hard to get any digging done, especially when these English weeds have freakishly deep roots! It really took me what felt like forever to de-weed one bed.

New dahlias! One of my faves!

I did already chop off a few blooms to encourage growth and seeing beautiful blooms on the mantles makes me smile. I want to try and find some small short bud vases as the small "vase" you see below is really a glass!

This is a little vase I found at Ikea last week and it only cost 50 pence! 

Full disclosure- I didn't grow the hyacinths or tulips. They are courtesy of M&S.

april showers

...bring April flowers! 

Forget May, we're in full BLOOM in these parts. Gorgeous spring flowers are everywhere and I am loving the tulips! Of course the rain is back today, but what lovely weather we had last week. 

This weekend we went to a christening in NW London and the church park was full of gorgeous blooms. There is nothing better than a stroll through the park on a sunny day. 

so red, they look black

aren't these so bright and cheerful?!

pretty pink and white blooms

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

spring sunshine

The sun has been out in full force this week giving us the most glorious weather! I only hope it continues through the weekend. 

Hello, spring!

flowers in bloom...

fresh strawberries...

butterflies (can you see him?)

going rambling, making discoveries....

this is an old coal post we found

I think I like you, spring.