Take me to the Retiro

If you're following me over on IG you'll know we have just come back from a short week in Madrid. The weather was sooo good, it was unbelievable! It was like summer in the UK. Perfect to boost the morale and recharge the batteries before exam season starts in school :(

We spent a fair bit of time in the gorgeous and iconic Retiro Park, like good tourists. To be fair we have visited Madrid a handful of times and by now we have seen most of the attractions, and with this kind of sun and warmth, the park was just the ticket. We met up with friends and their family and enjoyed a picnic under the trees by the Palacio de Cristal before heading to the peacocks area, and hey, we scored! A couple of them displayed their "wheel" for us, aren't they just pretty things to look at?
Of course with kids in tow we stopped at many of the play areas, and for ever the Retiro will stay in our memories as the place where our daughter finally learnt to do her own swinging - our big girl!
Later in the week we decided to go back and hire a family-size bike, which I completely recommend as it was great fun to go around and try to use up a few of the extra calories we picked up at the tapas place the night before.

It might as well be spring

Spring is definitely here now. How glorious are those flowers everywhere?
Of course, I've had a field day with all the cherry blossoms in the past couple of weeks (don't think I'm the only one there, am I?) but oh my, the weather has been super nice as well, and with family coming around to visit we have not missed our chance to go and visit our favourite English gardens around. First we went to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Their gardens are sooo pretty, and this time it was definitely the tlips that stole my heart. Being so much into flowers and history must be a sign that I'm getting old. Oh dear. But truly, you'd have to be a fool not to appreciate the beauty here.

Over in Churchill's old country home it was all about the camelias. We fell in love, once again, with the building. It's such a lovely country home filled with history, memories and amazing furniture. Sadly I can't show any of it because photos aren't allowed inside - but I totally get why. It's a whole experience to see it for yourself and it would be a shame to spoil it here.
Flowers, though, are all go, and I hope you'll enjoy them.

Armed with all this amazing inspiration we planted a few seeds this weekend, some simple tomatoes and salad - perfect for our little girl to look after. Last year we just had a few odd bits growing outside because it was our first summer in our new home, but this year we are making more of an effort with our gardening skills - and hopefully our camelia plant will make flowers. Fingers crossed it will work out. Actually, I still haven't decided if I have green fingers or not, but by this summer I should have a definite answer.

Deck the Halls

Although Christmas is now creeping up in the shops from September, for me it's quite important to wait until December to decorate the house and fully embrace the festive spirit.And this year it is the first time we can truly say we are spending Christmas "at home", so it has been a very special month spent decorating and planning for our guests to enjoy the festivities without the hassle of moving furniture around as a bonus!

We used to live next to a funky little pub where they used to sell fresh trees, and for as long as we lived in our old place we used to get one, but with age comes a more environmentally-friendly conscience and last year we took the plunge and went plastic. I can hear you say : "oh but it's not the smae thing" and that's quite true. I miss the smell, but not the dead needles. Instead now we have the luxury of having our very own shrubs, which I made several bouquets with. The main tree remains plastic. Best of both worlds, right?

Over the years our collection of trinkets has grown too, and it's always a nice moment when we open the decorations box and find things we had almost forgotten from the year before.
I love my little glittery deers and iceskating owls, but I will always have a serious penchant for my Maldivian seashell ornaments ;)
Do you have special ornaments from years ago too? 

Wishing you all a ***lovely Christmas***