Home » 1 Year On...

It's a year this week since Moon and found, put and offer in and were accepted on a mortgage for our new home and I can't quite believe how quickly that time has gone.

While working on a few things from Google Drive last week, I found the photos I took from when I was showing my Mum the house that I would then go on to show anyone who asked in the lead up to us actually living there and it's crazy to think that we even went for it. It's not that we've changed all that much about the house, I mean, structurally it's exactly the same but we've had to do so much painting and we're still not even finished!

I guess we just really loved the potential, but I'll tell you what, decorating a house is so far removed from the cutesy painting montages from the movies, like, it's the least fun thing I've ever done. I am really happy with the result so far though and even though we won't have been here a full year until April rolls around, it's still pretty fun to see the changes our house has gone through in the last 12 months.

Blackberry.

It's getting colder and colder, and it looks like most blackberry bushes have been all but depleted in recent weeks. I saw a lot of people were picking blackberries pretty early this year, while I kept holding off and off, and I'm glad I did.


So these were taken during the final weekend in September, back when it wasn't so cold cold. We actually went back again a week later, this time with Moon's dad in tow, coming home with a much better haul.



A big clearing by our road is pretty much all brambles, they were only small berries really but what a treat!
In my opinion, same goes for raspberries, there's not really any better way to eat blackberries than as they come but I've been pinning away finding all sorts of recipes, the first was a blackberry yoghurt cake, which thanks to a loose base cake tin ended up mainly all over the oven door, and the second were some delicious but kind of over-done apple and blackberry crumble cupcakes, I seem to have lost my mojo when it comes to a few things since we moved, and baking can be added to that list.





I wanted to show off my most recent charity shop find, a Monsoon dress down from £80 to £25 from Blue Cross Witney, sadly the pictures haven't quite turned out how I'd like but I'm sure this dress will be getting plenty more outings so I'm not too worried.


Friends and family have blackberry gin to look forward to this Christmas, it's infusing as I type, and we even tried our hand at blackberry jam, delicious but next year we'll definitely need more blackberries.






I find myself very much transforming into a forager once the blackberries come out, in fact on our trip to Wales last month, I was so excited about finding so many, I even brought a bottleful home and made myself a tart.

Now that it looks like winter arriving far sooner than we would like (why is waking up in 7am darkness now a thing?), I'm really looking forward to crumbles, stews and all that other hibernation food. What are some of your favourite autumn-to-winter recipes?

Inbetween.

Here are a few snaps from a few weeks ago, all phone photos, sorry not sorry.


Spring-look.


From an insane 'garden centre' near our new house in Bicester.



My selfie stick gets its first proper outing that isn't just me showing people that I have a selfie stick, not bad.


#Cowfie




Accidental food-overdose at Nelson's Diner
I think for next year I'll work towards staying away from a late-winter slump - a Lumie alarm clock is high on my wishlist (I will also need some kind of bedside table at some point... and a bed).

Work has been busy lately and I've been sleepy but I've also been so lazy and that's not cool. I think with the moving house thing being at a complete standstill I'm a little reluctant to 'do' anything when eventually I'll have to spend money elsewhere, even if it's not right now... also, not all that much I do is 'blogworthy', do people even still say that?