1 - Weddings I'm including this first as it's been the most memorable part of my July this year. The first two weekends of the month were spent celebrating two very good friends weddings. Both days were so much fun and totally unforgettable. It was so special seeing both couples so happy and in love and it was fantastic catching up with friends I hadn't seen in years. It has just made me even more excited to get married next year. Like our friends, we're planning on not bothering with a lot of the usual traditions - we want to celebrate in a way that's unique to us.
2 - Statement Earrings Since I grew my hair long I've got to enjoy a whole new world of jewellery! I had a very short bleached pixi-crop for years so statement earrings where always a big no-go for me - I didn't want to end up looking like Pat Butcher! (if you don't know who that is google her!) I have my eye on this pair from U.K jewellery brand Weathered Penny.
3 - My 'new' basket bag I really wanted a cute little basket bag to go with my wedding outfit so I spent ages trawling through websites and searching the high street stores for one I liked. I was about to give up when by chance I popped into a local antique and brik-a-brac shop. I found the perfect bag - 1950's and in perfect condition for £12! (it had originally been £15!) Moral of the story is - shop vintage first! Trends go around in circles so you're likely to find something perfect that no one else will have for a fraction of the price.
4 - Hydrandeas Hydrandeas are one of my favourite flowers so it's lovely to see them all in bloom at the moment - they look like little fluffy brains! They are particularly special because they change colour depending on the PH level of the soil. The more alkaline the soil, the pinker the flowers. In Hastings they flower blue meaning we have a more acidic soil.
5 - Hastings Houses There are so many beautiful very old buildings where we live, especially in the old town in Hastings. Some of the oldest houses are from the 13th century and are gloriously wonky and full of character. One of Ollie and I's favourite weekend activities is wandering around the old town through the cute little alleyways, picking the houses we would most like to live in.
6 - Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing This programme is a little gem! Comedians Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse share their personal and hilarious life experiences while travelling around the U.K fishing for different species (most of which they put back I'm happy to report.) It's had me creased up laughing and it's really refreshing to see men talk so candidly about their health (both mental and physical). It makes for super relaxing watching so I suggest you enjoy it in a fluffy dressing gown with a cup of tea.
7 - A Ghost Story I had wanted to see this when this came out last year but we never got round to it so I was happy to see if appear on Netflix. Casey Afleck plays a newly deceased ghost (in a bedsheet) who returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his grieving wife. What I expected it to be a fairly straight forward tragic love story actually transpired to be an exploration of love, loss and the enormity of human existence. It's a bit of a slow starter and there is an extremely long pie eating scene but otherwise I would say it's pretty flawless, plus I was happy to see Will Oldman aka Bonnie Prince Billy make a surprise appearance!