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(Sorry this is a week late- I couldn't show you otherwise I might have ruined the surprise!) 

Whilst my amazing sister-in-law worked with orphans in Uganda, we decided to redecorate her bedroom for her.

Before, her room was quite dark- with oiled pine furniture and a deep red carpet that sucked in every bit of light.

But now, with off-white walls and a freshly painted wardrobe, the room is so fresh and airy.

Oh, and of course I had lots of fun doing it!

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Bank holiday bliss with hubby. And we found a little bit of paradise at Buscot Park.

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I hope you all had a lovely bank holiday? I certainly did- I would even go as far to say, it was best weekend of year so far!

 

On Friday, I said farewell to a close work colleague, a.k.a my work husband, but he's only moving round the corner so I wasn't too distraught!

And on Saturday night, I reverted back to a fourteen year old girl and screamed my little head off at a McBusted concert.

Sunday was a lot more chilled, finished off with a few cocktails with the girls and watching Duke play in Cheltenham.

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Today, the 20th of April, is our first wedding anniversary.

It's also Easter Sunday. But this year, Easter has taken a bit of a back seat.

Last week, all four days of it, were spent in anticipation of the long weekend. Mr H and I desperately needed a break. 

This photo pretty much sums up our wedding day- full of fun and smiles, sneaking off for a cheeky kiss, oh and a filthy wedding dress to show for it all!

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Paying a visit to Aunt Brenda in her new 'pad'- topped off with afternoon tea and a quick game of snooker.

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My mum is wonderful. I try to tell her as often as I can, how much she means to me because I simply don't know what I would do without her.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mum's.



Baldwin Wedding

As an ex-Baldwin, there are some genetic traits that will stick with me, no matter what my name may be.
Baldwins are notorious for always being late to the party. But also being the last to leave. We love good food, good wine (I'm working on that one!) and a good laugh. We're very laid back, practically horizontal, but we hate early mornings.

We're also a 'spontaneous', and quite frankly disorganised, bunch so it's pretty rare that we all manage to get together in one place, at the same time.

However, last Thursday, we all gathered to celebrate the marriage of Emma and my uncle Mark.
The wedding was held in my favourite place in the world- the city of Bath.
Our day began with a leisurely walk to Waitrose to buy the thank-you presents for the speeches (I did say we were disorganised!)
The ceremony was truly beautiful and everyone was glowing with happiness.
The reception followed and we celebrated long into the nigh. And, as you might expect, we were the last to leave.

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On Thursday, we welcomed the beautiful Emma into the Baldwin clan.

She looked absolutely stunning and it was a wonderfully relaxed day.

(Oh, and my uncle Mark scrubbed up pretty well too!)

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Last week was crazily busy. Lots of girlie time with friends and family. I think Mr H was feeling a little left out.

This was the highlight of the weekend- trekking across the hills of Somerset in the sunshine.

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Another busy week. Another two birthdays.

It was so lovely to see the birthday 'girls'.

The 'Baldwins' don't get together often, but when we do, there are lots of laughs to be had.

 

These photos totally encapsulate the reason why I wanted to do this project- to capture special moments like these and cherish them forever.

Rehabilitate.

...to return someone or something to a good or healthy condition, state, or way of living.

 

After reading this post a few weeks ago, I was inspired to make this year a very different one.

Twenty thirteen was a wonderful year (probably the best yet), but it was also a hectic and stressful one.

 

So, my word for 2014 is Rehabilitate.

I've set myself some pretty ambitious goals for this year but all of them are about rejuvenating my life, my loves and my relationships.  

                                                                                                                               

* Explore the UK. Learn to appreciate this amazing and beautiful country we inhabit.
 

* Renovate and restore a 'house' to make it a home. Start a fresh. De-clutter and live a simpler life.

* Give myself space. Realise that it's ok to relax and have some time just for me.
 

* Cherish the time with my family and friends. I cannot take them for granted. Tell them how much I love and appreciate them.
 

* Eat better and look after my body. Breathe deeply. Laugh often. Take a yoga class. Make soup. Give Blood.

* Reignite that creative spark. Take my blog in a new direction. Be inspired and actually do something about it.

52 weeks.

 

Last year, I adoringly followed blogs taking part in the 52 portraits project.

This is where parents took photos of their children, every single week throughout the year, then chose the most emotive/funny/captivating/ photograph to share with the world.

I don't yet have children and I must admit, I was a little envious of all these beautiful photos of even more beautiful children.
(You lot really do have the most gorgeous kids!)

So I have decided to start a little personal project of my own- to improve my photography skills, to challenge myself to actually stick to something, to cherish the moments I spend with my loved ones and to simply keep a record of the year.
(I'm yet to think of a catchy name so 52 weeks will have to do for now!)

If you're doing something similar, or know of anyone who is, I would love to know!

Happy New Year!

So here we are... Twenty Fourteen.

I have a strangely good feeling about this year. I feel as though this is the year I've been working towards. 
I've got big plans for the twelve months ahead, including a house move (fingers crossed), a trip to rural France and celebrating our first wedding anniversary.
And of course, I will be sharing all our adventures with you guys.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.
x

On reflection.

Twenty thirteen has been a darn good year.
But sometimes you don't realise how good a year it's been, until you take a step back and reflect.
And what better time to do it, than in this strange vortex of time between Christmas and New Year, where no one really knows what day it is.

I spent a perfect weekend in Northern Ireland, with my husband to be, to make our wedding bands.
I gave blood three times.
I started a new job, with a lot of future promise.
I spent a whooole lot a time with my family.
I treated myself to a shiny new laptop.
I visited my best friend in Switzerland.
I took up horse riding again.

And best of all, I married my best friend. My one and only.
It doesn't really get much better than that.

Happy New Year to you, one and all.
x

Birthday girl.

 

My beautiful 'baby' sister turns fourteen today. Our lovely early Christmas present.
Our festivities begin on Christmas Eve and don't stop until the New Year. I love this time of year.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone & a wonderful New Year.
x

Christmas traditions

We all have our traditions at Christmas time; whether its ones with the entire family or ones you keep for yourself.
I have always always adored our family traditions but they're harder to stick to as I get older. Things change. Kids grow up. People get married. People drift apart. That's life I guess. 

But this year I realised that it's time to make some new ones. 2013 is the first Christmas that Mr H and I will be waking up with each other on Christmas morning. We went back to the place we bought our tree from last year and I'm joining the Hinns' for the Christmas Eve cinema trip.

(However there is one tradition I'd be happy to get rid of... Being ill at Christmas! It happens every single year. So here I am, two days to go until the big day, cuddled under a blanket with a lemsip. Yuck! Oh well, at least it's in my Christmas mug!)

All wrapped up.

This year, I really wanted to go all out with my Christmas wrapping. I'd had it planned in my head since September and knew exactly how I wanted my pressies to look.

Well, I'm pretty pleased with how they've turned out- brown paper is an absolute dream to wrap with (and super cheap!) and this was my first ever go with washi tape (yes, I'm hooked!) I also used the chalk pen we bought for the wedding and some old ribbon we had lying around.
As sad as this sounds, I cannot wait to plan ahead for next year!

Christmas tree o' Christmas tree!

 

 

Our wonderful Christmas tree is finally up- adorned with lots of special decorations and glowing with simple white lights (no tinsel around here!)
Compared to last year's perfect and dainty little tree, this one is a bit of a brute (yes, it was indeed the choice of Mr H!) but we love it nonetheless. He's a bit wonky and rough around the edges but what's a Christmas tree without a bit of character?

 

It came with an ominous red label attached. I later realised that this label told us where our tree was grown... a little place named Jels in Denmark. How cool is that? You can find it on Google maps!

Festive mode?

As I've got older, the magic of Christmas has been a bit lacking. I noticed it last year for the first time and it made me pretty darn sad.
And this year, even with the tree glowing away (more on that later!), the build up to Christmas just hasn't quite felt the same.

So, to perk myself up, I have been pinning like crazy. It's hard enough for me to stay away from Pinterest at the best of times but when it's brimming with gorgeous festive beauties, I just cannot resist.

Follow Kerry | MerryatSeven's board :: Festive :: on Pinterest.

November love list...

I just don't what it is about November that I love so much.
Maybe it's because there's still a tiny bit of Autumn in the air or because the nights are drawing in and there's an even better excuse to snuggle up indoors! Or maybe because it's the calm before the mad rush of Christmas.
Either way, I feel all cosy inside when I think of November, and this year, it's going to be an especially good one!

This month, I'm loving...
* This wonderfully warming soup recipe (a great way to make use of the leftover halloween pumpkin!)

* Those chilly, misty mornings

* A toasty bonfire to warm those chilly hands, whilst oo'ing and ah'ing at the fireworks

* This blanket! (I know it's everywhere but it doesn't stop me wanting to snuggle up in it!)

* Finally, I cannot wait for my trip to this lovely country to see an even lovelier person!