blackberrying 2010

(husband's hands!)

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I cannot remember a year, since we have had children, when we haven't blackberried. It's now a family tradition, and must be done!

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Both this year and last we have picked them at Ditchling Common & Country Park, which is a popular spot for blackberry foraging. We were perhaps a little early, as there were lots of berries still unripe.

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Even though our sons were told that they would not get a slice of pie/ crumble if they did not help to pick, they chose to play instead. I can't blame them, as I got very pricked and scratched.

Austin 7

I was lucky enough to go for a ride this weekend in a 1930 Austin 7. (The one above is not my friends, but an image from here.) It was the most incredible experience.

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The car was exactly 80 years old, and it was in great condition. It is navy blue like the one pictured, and is a convertable. The roof was off, and we had a blast. Going at 15 miles an hours in one of those, feels like 40 miles an hour in a modern car!

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The car belongs to our friends, who bought it earlier this year. Apparently there is still a surprising number of them around. We drove it to Anne Boyleyn's former home, Blickling Hall, where we had a picnic and a lovely afternoon. (Apparently Anne's ghost is there!)

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We were in Norwich for the weekend, where was warm and dry (unlike my home town which was cold and wet!). We had a lovely break, sharing a great weekend with good friends.

burda style magazine

I have just bought my first issue of Burda Style Magazine (I'm a user of their website), and have been very impressed. I was looking for patterns for work clothes, see what you think!





I like the way they lay out the contents in a really clear way, so at a glance you can see the designs and what page they are on. It makes it easy to work out of the issue is one for you as well. At nearly £5 it's not the cheapest sewing magazine, but the best one I've picked up for clothes patterns (apart from Ottobre Magazine that I subscribe to).






So flicking through the workwear photoshoots, I can see myself in quite a few of these garments:





This coat is effortless and looks smart enough for the office for autumn (before I need my wool winter coat)




I wanted a grey wool skirt with folds/ pleats in, that looks a bit special. I've only seen ones like this in designer's collections (not on the high street) I think this skirt should be knee length and then it would look great. It looks a little too long for me here, verging on frumpy length.

This skirt is a runner up, but if I made it, I would miss off the hip pockets. Again I like the folds in it.

I like this top, but don't know if I would bother making it.



I like the pencil skirt, it looks really sharp and polished. Very nice indeed.



And if I was going to a ball this dress is gorgeous!

The preview shots for the September edition look pretty strong as well.




This dress has caught my eye. I think it looks great.




There might be some nice skirts from this shoot.




I'm loving the gold leaf on this bag. A bit of autumnal cheer!

As you might expect with a magazine like this, the patterns are a nightmare, as they are printed on top of each other. Extracting a pattern from this has never been an enjoyable thing to do for me. I do think I will persevere, and give one of the skirts a go to start with.

But to sum up, I was impressed. These are professionally put together designs, that I would be proud to wear.

summer wedding

Well it's been a little while since I last posted. I did not mean to be away for so long. Steve and I have had a few busy weeks, packing lots in to the school summer holidays.

A couple of weeks ago I started a new job, and the children's grandparents took them home for a week. This meant we could attend a dear friend's wedding and stay out late.

For the first time, in a long time, we went to a wedding where we actually live, which was nice. It was held in Due South, on the beach, on a lovely, yet typical, overcast summer's day.

Steve took their wedding photographs as our gift to them, and I was his glamorous assistant! (Although running up and down stairs in 3.5" heels to bring memory cards and tripods is not easy!)





The wedding was great, the bridesmaid's outfits totally rocked, with their summer beach theme.

The groom looked very smart and stylish with a bespoke suit made in Brighton from here.

I have to say, completely unbiased, that Steve has done a terrific job.

The bride and groom are really pleased, and he has been getting loads of great comments from everyone who has seen them. I'm allowed to share them as well, so please go ahead and have a look. They make my heart flutter with joy, as it's so wonderful to see your friends so in love and so happy.