Odd socks and iced buns 😋

🌸🌼🌸🌼 A big hello and warm welcome from me and my dahlias...

...rescued from work where they were going to end up in the bin, now brightening up our garden which has been very much needed with the grey weather we've had over the past couple of weeks! I know we're used to rain in the UK but it has been crazily wet...massive unrelenting downpours everyday ⛈ but we've needed it after the dry April so not complaining!

Here is the monstera leaf time-lapse I promised last time:

The new leaf took about a month from when I first photographed it to be fully open, it's impressively big! The only problem is it's very shy and has decided to face completely to the wall so we only get to appreciate the back 😆

I have two pairs of socks to share with you today! The first pair I finished a month ago but couldn't post about because they were for my sister on her birthday 🎂 I tried out a ruffle edge for the first time which worked well, now that I feel confident with the basic sock pattern it's exciting to be able to experiment!

This next pair (my 6th in total) is a little bit wacky but I love how they turned out! I used the leftovers from 3 different balls of wool to create fun stripes. It was my first time using more than one colour in a pair and it was easier than I imagined, can't wait to have contrasting toes on all my socks now! 🌈

The rain making all the colours pop in my dad's garden last week:

And remember handsome old Tom? 😍 He seems like such a gentle giant now compared to little, energetic Juniper!

One of the aforementioned sister's birthday cakes 🍓 Enjoyed with a cup of tea whilst sheltering from the rain (before we were allowed back in peoples' houses!) + a pretty pathway.

🌈 it was way more vibrant in real life!

A fast asleep baby and some charity shop trousers:

Is this comfy?

Some nice soft sourdough slices from this week's loaf, still warm with butter 😍 ...and Juniper getting a front row seat to watch the sparrows on the bird table!

Ed's trees are full of colour in the garden (spot my old Dr Martens ready to be planted up again this year):

These sweet purple flowers are actually really tall! They popped up in our mini wildflower meadow and are currently towering over everything else in the garden 😄 

Update: I just rummaged around to find the packet of seeds we sowed and googled each flower name until I identified what this is...it's phacelia or purple tansy! Good to know.

A jolly little ladybird on our potatoes, some wild geraniums which recently appeared in the lawn, and some pretty, pink deutzia flowers!

    Me and my girl watching Antiques Roadshow:

Yesterday Ed and I took a trip to Kingsbridge to see an art exhibition which some of my old art foundation friends have put together (click the link here if you're local and interested!) 🌷 We took the opportunity to hit up the nearby charity shops and a rather spectacular antique shop too:

I fell in love with this spring flower wallpaper 🌼 still thinking about it to be honest...and there were so many teddies and trinkets to be tempted by. Don't tell anyone but I pulled down my mask just to get a sniff of that lovely, musty old antique smell 😆💙💙

We made some iced buns the other day (well Ed did most of the work, I just helped with the messy icing ✨):

And finally, here are a couple of photos I took today...I thought I'd make the most of the miraculously dry and sunny weather by taking Juniper up to the field to explore whilst I ate a picnic lunch and read my book. It didn't quite go to plan as she was a bit scared of the blustery wind and strange noises so stayed snuggled up on my lap for a while before climbing into my backpack and settling down 😌 it was very cute.

Thank you for stopping by again, I can't believe I've been documenting life in these little blog posts for over a year now! I'm so glad I have them to look back on...just seeing how much the garden has changed since then is so fun! Lots of love 💖

P.S. Juniper is asleep purring next to me on the sofa as I write this, fully recovered from her backpack adventure. I think we may even try that again some time!

Sunset walks with Juniper 🌅

Hello again. It seems as soon as I got used to it being April, it became May and now I have no idea where April went. It's funny looking back at my posts from a year ago in lockdown 1 and seeing how sunny it was and how Ed and I went on loads of bike rides and warm evening walks...then this week we've had random frosts and blustering wind and hail. Strange May weather but at least it's not boring. 

My monstera has put out its first new leaf of the year, I've taken some time lapse photos which I'll share next time! I've also got lots of different cuttings rooting in jars of water (this one below is rhapidophora tetrasperma).

A visual representation of how quickly our nasturtium seedlings grew...they are now potted up and getting ready to be grown up outside plants:

Juniper in her two contrasting states, baby and huntress:

In order to inject some creativity into our routine, Ed and I have been doing Thursday night studio sessions, here are some quick drawings I did of Juniper (from photos not from life, she is far too energetic in the evenings lol):

 

Documenting the last of the church blossom...too good not to share it twice...

I went for my first trip to the recycling centre shop now that the non-essential places are open again. One of my favourite shopping venues! My one goal was to buy plant pots, as you can see I fulfilled my mission and even got a pot shaped like a donkey! Success ✅

Another recent endeavour was dyeing a bunch of boring white things in my wardrobe, including a stained tote bag and an old discoloured pillow case. I envisioned a less vibrant green but this was the only one they had at Trago Mills so I went with it! I now own a very loud green shirt which I haven't yet plucked up the courage to wear.

When the new houseplant deliveries come in at work I always have to check them out...I like to do the rounds and stroke the nice leaves and send Ed photos of the especially tempting ones. It's a good exercise in self-control.

Sleepy June...the second pic was taken during out housegroup zoom, she slept stretched out on my lap for about an hour. 

A couple of Sundays ago we went for a walk on Dartmoor with some friends, it was so nice to get out and see somewhere new.

Very cool spooky spanish moss 🌾

Bellever Tor

We found a lizard! And also a bloody-nosed beetle (google it!) It was a great day for nature spotting, I saw a jay and also on the drive home either a stoat or a weasel ran across the road in front of our car! There were some small pink flowers dotted around on the moor which I found out (after consulting my little wildflower book) is called lousewort.

Juniper looking pretty in dappled sunlight:

She developed a real taste for adventure the other week when we were busy in the garden, she found that she could get onto the shed roof and then miaowed her annoyance when we stopped her doing it again 😆

One sunny Tuesday morning Ed and I went for a shortish run (both doing the same circle in opposite directions and passing each other in the middle!) and it was soo pretty. I stopped to pick flowers and take photos quite a few times!

I found some tiny wild orchids!

My pair of socks is going well, as I type this I am almost finished on the second sock so will be able to share them next time 😄 (and that's Ed's bright pinky red azalea beside the sock, the camera doesn't capture the zingy colour!)

😴

We made some yummy shortbread last week (it didn't last very long) and then took Juniper for her first adventure away from home...

She definitely enjoyed exploring a little patch of Dartmoor! Whilst Ed and I were admiring the sunset and listening to a nearby cuckoo (very exciting), Juniper was more interested in smelling all the new things and tasting new grass. It was very sweet.

💛

Ed and his flute on a studio sesh Thursday.

This is my favourite spot in the house:

Our raised bed is looking very happy after the rain we've had recently, the potatoes have shot up and we've thinned out the many carrot and parsnip seedlings since this photo was taken:

We took Juni to the big field nearby and I think the long grass was her favourite thing, it was almost as tall as her! She also had her first experience in a tree and got to see a beautiful sunset (don't think she cared about that). On the way home we passed a couple of nice ladies and they were quite surprised to see a cat on my shoulder but thought it was a lovely thing to do.

Exciting news - my second peace lily is also producing a spathe right now! 

My peppermint muscari bulbs which I got for christmas are now blooming! I planted them in this jug and then they lived in the fridge for about 10 weeks before moving out onto a sunny windowsill. When they're finished I'll plant them out in the garden and hopefully we'll see some again next year!

This week's loaf 🌸🍞 we used wholemeal flour so it was quite tough and heavy but it meant that I could score a nice pattern into it! Next time we'll probably use half white and half wholemeal so it's a bit lighter.

Our five orchids are all flowering at the same time so I gathered them together for a family photo! 🌷

Exploring under the decking.

That's all for today! I hope you have a great day and that your plants are thriving 😄🌿🌱🌱🌱