weekend wanderings #71

(images from Uncia and Tigris, thesaltyseablog.blogspot.co.uk and brooklynsupper.net)

• This week I shared one of my new favourite spots: the Barbican conservatory - and also talked about summer wishlists & sweet summer memories. 
• Blackberry season is coming - I keep watching the blossom with a held breath, awaiting the time that I can pick them until my hands are blood red.
• Soap is something I don't give much thought to - but these L'Occitane soaps look amazing. 
• I need to explore more of my locale - I really do forget how beautiful Hampshire is. 
• I'm not even planning on going there anytime soon, but this is in my interests: 12 pastry shops to visit in Paris. 
• I'm trying to organise my life and get my diary sorted, but it means I've been looking at pretty planners that are unnecessary (but cute). 
• I think a green bathroom suite would be beautiful - something straight out of a Wes Anderson film, like all interior design that I aspire to have. 
• This hindu temple is not really the kind of thing you expect to see in LA, but its so pretty. 
• I dream of one day being able to afford to have a custom perfume - until that day I'll just be forever on the hunt for my signature scent. 
• I'm not good at cooking savoury food really, even worse at anything that involves hot oil - but this recipe for buttermilk fried chicken looks amazing.  
• I loved this post from Hazel Jane so much: you don't have to quit your job to live your life. She talks about making the most of your weekends, your evenings off, your free-time, which is something I've been trying to do more of recently. 
• I really loved this little video from Gillian with a day in her life - I feel very proud that I recognise little bits of Edinburgh.
• I think this potato salad looks so good - particularly with the fancy coloured potatoes. 
• Botanical gardens and crystals? This Paris honeymoon looks like something I would be totally on board with. 
• I keep on meaning to try a chia seed pudding and just haven't got around to it yet... 
• Sometimes I'm really good at reading lots - sometimes I feel like I have too many hobbies (reading, blogging, knitting, baking, travelling) to fit into my spare time. I really want to stop making excuses for running out of time to do these things. 
• I want to bake this pistachio chocolate cake, in honour of the bake-off beginning this week, at the same time I've lost my first pound in weeks, so probably shouldn't. 
• I think I link every single post Sarah makes - but I'm just in love with her dreamy blog, her photos of the quintessential english countryside she seems to live in makes me sad that I do not live there...
• West-Wittering was a beach we'd often ship our family down to on hot weekends, with good reason, it's such a pretty beach, and I have very found memories of the sea!
• Pak Choi is pretty underrated, and I'm glad other people agree.
• I've also got back into knitting again in a big way, and am obsessed with all things podcasts at the moment.
• Can you tell I'm lusting after the coast at the moment? Cornwall, Devon and Somerset are all that's on my mind at the moment... 
• I'm still not over my ice-cream moment, I'm sorry: chocolate chunk peanut butter soft-serve.

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Hello August

I think I get to this point in every season, when I'm tired of the weather not being what I want, and I haven't done all the things I wanted to do and blah blah blah... And then I start anticipating the next season, the next month, and then I miss out on moments, whilst I'm dreaming of the future. I loved having this kind of post on my blog for Autumn 2014 (and even did a seasonal recipe round-up!)  so as it is now officially August, I thought I'd share what I've been pinning on Pinterest, and how I want to make the most of the last few weeks of the summer...

This is my summer in a nutshell, my summer holidays were spent at the various lakes, woods, meadows and fields where I live, finding rocks and getting my feet wet and chasing my brothers. We would spend longs hours playing cricket or tennis in the grass (which mostly just consisted of me throwing the ball for my brother to whack...) 

As I've got older, it was filled with the joy of coming down in the morning to the dappled sunlight in the kitchen, opening the patio doors and drinking coffee on the patio...

I used to think I was missing out, when I was little, that I never had the 'exotic' holidays to Majorca or Disneyland (where all my friends seemed to go) - but now I have precious memories of stunning Cornish coastlines, fond memories of eating picnics in the countryside and feeling like I always have a connection to those southern counties.

Near the somewhat unglamorous office block that I work in, there is a roundabout that they've covered entirely with wildflowers, and it makes my heart sing every time I see it in the morning sunlight, waiting for my turn to cross. I want to cover my entire garden with wildflowers of every kind, and have that amazing hum of the bees. 

My goal, every year is to just spend more time outside - unfortunately since having my operation unexpectedly - it's just not happened. I tried to get out whilst I was healing, but it didn't go to plan - however now I'm feeling much better, I have started to plan a few trips (taking it easy, mostly just around the south of the UK) to explore a bit...

I want to devour all the summer foods, eat flat peaches and nectarines with the juice dripping down my fingers, to consume strawberry clotted cream ice-cream overlooking the sea, I want to sip gin and tonics in the fading sunsets on the patio, feeling crispy and sunburnt from a long day in the sunshine. 

What is on your 'bucket list' for the last of the summer? Share in the comments below, and leave links to your Pinterest accounts, as I'm fully obsessed with it at the moment..

Follow Uncia + Tigris's board seasons | summer on Pinterest.

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(All images credited where possible on Pinterest.)

The Barbican Conservatory

The first time I visited the Barbican - it was on a sleety day in March, with my friend Tam to see an exhibition. I had seen pictures, and knew I would enjoy the architecture, the feel of the place, but didn't realise quite how much I would love it. I love the shapes, the styles, the plants and the water mixed with the harsh grey brick everywhere. 

At one point, I discovered that there was a conservatory there, and made it my mission to find it and visit it: a simple task, you might say. It only opens on Sunday's, and until very the end of 2014, I worked most Sundays. I think I made three attempts at visiting it, even getting as far as Waterloo once, before having to turn back. 

For my thoughts on the conservatory, keep reading..

weekend wanderings #70

(images from Uncia and Tigris, nishaantishu.com and lacoconoire.blogspot.co.uk)

• I shared my recipe for lemon and thyme bars this week, which seemed to go down well, and I want to try making them again! 
• This morning I also shared my lovely new whale measuring cups I picked up from Anthropologie... 
• The problem with following lots of beautiful blogs, is getting ideas from all their beautiful holidays... Recently, Croatia has been calling to me, and I really want to visit. There's also Slovenia, and all these beautiful places that I've never considered until recently. Or Turkey, which has been on my wishlist for years, along with Kefalonia. Or even the Grand Canyon in America...
• Then there is also Venice, which I have visited before (though I'm not sure I ever shared with you my photos?!) and has captured my heart with it's aqua water and skies.
• I don't visit the South Downs nearly often enough - considering they're practically on my doorstep, I really should... 
• On a similar note, I forget how beautiful this country is, how much I love our coastline: Cornwall and Devon really have my heart.
• I love Tayler's blog: kittens and sunsets and general Portland beautifulness. 
• This weeks edition of homes to lust after: Jason Grant's house in Rue. The colour, the plants, the furniture, the paintings.. so perfect.
• I think you can tell my mood by how many travel posts there are linked today - but I'm so excited for my New York trip later this year, I'm devouring posts like Georgina's for the best tips and places to visit. 
• I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited for the 2016 Ikea catalogue collection - there are some gems in there - the greenery, the wood, the cork, the glass, the colours... 
• In general, he quality and styling of the photos on THAT GRACE GIRL's blog make me want to buy all the beautiful items, but I love the brand Aesop, and I really want to try their haircare. 
• Sunsets are precious, the golden hour even more so. They remind me of my childhood and lazy summers. 
• I discovered Sarah's blog a fortnight or so ago, and I'm so smitten with it: The Salty Sea Blog reminds me of all my holidays as a child, and I am in love with her dreamy photography.
• I've finally got around to putting my name on the allotment waiting list (one of my goals for the year)! After losing ours last year, I've missed it terribly, so even if I have to wait a while, I can live vicariously through Rachel's green fingered exploits. 
• As a girl that has never been 'skinny' (conventionally, etc) - I know that I've probably skinny shamed in the past, and I forget that it can be as harmful as fat shaming, so I really enjoyed this post from Saoirse. 
• There is something about road-trips that I just adore - I have a few coming up with my friend Gemma around the UK, and whilst it isn't as exciting as Sophie's trips to Canada, Australia and Hawaii, they'll do.
• And to round off this summery, travel heavy post: have a summer playlist to go along with these far-off places and pretty photographs. :)

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new in: whale measuring cups by anthropologie

I like whales so much that I knitted one, once. He sits on the end of my bed with my pile of cushions, and was affectionately named Hector, which has stuck, despite me generally just using him to wedge against my stomach when I was ill.

I have a whole board on Pinterest for my love of all things whale-related, so when I was in the Anthropologie during the sale, I had to pick up these little guys.

They were reduced in the sale, down from £28, to a bearable £16, and come in four sizes, each with a cute face, and the measurement marked in the base. I don't know if they'll get used for this intention, as I would worry about washing them too much, but they're certainly adorable.

These innocent creatures were also an odd catalyst - I was stood in the queue, these ceramic whales clutched in my hands, so proud of my Sale find, and realised that this is what I wanted. A little place of my own, that smells of the grapefruit candles they sell in there, with cushions and soft furnishings galore, colourful mugs and plates to serve things on. I've been putting away chunks of my earnings for quite some time now, sacrificing pay-day treats and my bonus for several years, and recently I've started a new job that pays well, and has more prospects.

So it can all be a reality, soon. A place of my own. Now I just need to get the bank statements out, and work out how much I can afford... then I get to start looking? Wish me luck...

Follow clare's board animals | cetacean on Pinterest.

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