By Caren Barry
Imagine my delight at discovering a sea of flowering Lupins at the allotments in my parents village! While taking the shortcut to the village watermill on our family walk, I became completely captivated by these majestic flowers with their bold flower spikes and colourful blooms. It was too hard to resist this joyful scene.
All of a sudden, she is so grown up and becoming the most vivacious, kindest, funniest little girl. I’m cherishing these days with her – especially when they move a million miles an hour…
We love a trip to the seaside, no matter the weather. It’s the perfect place to slow down – the salt air and soothing sound of the ocean working together to reset perspectives. It’s a tonic for the soul and always refocuses my mind when I’m feeling overwhelmed. One of the biggest reasons why I hope to embrace coastal living one day.
The wait is finally over! Here is the first glimpse of Emilia’s nursery! I have worked so hard on decorating and furnishing this room, I’m delighted to be sharing it with you now. It took me almost a year and a half through pregnancy and early motherhood — quite a long project, but it’s been such a joy to create. I often find myself pausing to admire this soothing space, it’s my favourite place to be while I’m breastfeeding Emilia for that very reason — perfect for catching a moment of quiet.
Last weekend on Saturday I decided to create this dreamy scene in our back garden for Emilia before the weather took a cooler turn. Since we’re home all day at the moment, our garden has very much become her happy place — and mine too. So while I’ve been pruning plants, tearing the huge amount of overgrown ivy off the fencing and de-weeding the borders in my efforts to make our small garden more pleasing to the eye for me, I’ve also been thinking of fun and easy ways to make the space more child-friendly.
One wintry Sunday in January, we decided to head to our favourite local National Trust for a walk through their winter garden. Since our first visit years ago, James and I have always really enjoyed heading back to revisit all the colours and fragrances on this beautiful wintry walk.
Oh Chippenham Park… I never would have guessed that such a beautiful garden was only a short fifteen minute drive away from our home – and what a hidden gem of a place it is! This lovely day back in June began as a surprise ‘date day’ planned by James where he had completely thrown me off the scent to his actual plans by telling me that we were travelling into the Suffolk countryside. I’m terrible with surprises, the anticipation of the unknown makes me feel quite anxious plus I usually end up figuring out his plans (he’s usually a terrible secret keeper), so this was a rare treat for the both of us! And to be honest, as I tend to overthink a lot of things, it was so so lovely to have a day out where I didn’t need to organise a thing.
Wimpole Estate has been a part of my life since early childhood. Living in the Cambridgeshire countryside, this beautiful Estate holds a lot of hazy memories of playing in the parklands with my sisters and throwing extra large tablecloths onto the grass for picnicking with my mama. I went to primary school in the neighbouring village to where I lived and grew up, and with Wimpole Estate being just a short distance away it was always the number one choice for many of our school trips. One trip which springs to mind instantly was the Victorian style visit to the kitchen and home farm – DIY period costumes included, of course! As one of my fondest memories of this Estate, it really goes without saying that it has a special place in my heart.