Green Eco Dragon Farm.

As I mentioned in my birthday blog, the last few weekends have meant animals. So here's a little trip we took to the Green Dragon Eco Farm with Moon's brother and his brother's fiancé.



The boys were lucky that it wasn't so busy so they got a go on the go-karts.
The Green Dragon Eco Farm is only a short drive from our new home and we're still trying to get our bearings so after passing it on our way back from The Goat Centre I figured it would be a good place to check out.


What I Wore:
Vest: H&M / Bag: Hong Kong market / Skirt: Vintage / Belt: ASOS / Sandals: Office

Rhinos in The Cotswolds.

...and I'm talking about actual rhinos, not just me visiting the Cotswolds - though that is something I did just do without going to Cotswold Wildlife Park the day before my birthday too.


What I Wore:
Cardigan: H&M // Vest: H&M // Belt: ASOS // Skirt: Charity Shop
For my birthday (last Sunday, I'm behind I know), I spent the third weekend in a row hanging out with animals, I honestly think I might be zooed/farmed out, so I'm clutching at straws to figure out what we're going to get up to with our guests this weekend but I'm not complaining.

I had absolutely no idea what Moon's plans for my birthday were so I was really excited and surprised when he told me we were off to Cotswold Wildlife Park for the day. Do not even start on me that I turned 26, it's totally cool, okay?

Cotswold Wildlife Park is just on the outskirts of the market town of Burford - right next to my favourite garden centre in the world - and it's advertised everywhere. On the leaflets it always says something along the lines of 'get closer to the animals' 'get closer than you've been before' and that's not just a marketing ploy to get you through the gate, you genuinely do. I can't express how impressed I was with this place, particularly after having mixed thoughts on a zoo as popular and large as Longleat Safari a couple of years ago.



I know zoos aren't necessarily everyone's cup of tea and there are definitely some bad ones but when they're doing good work and the animals are happy, well, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon in the sunshine. Cotswold Wildlife Park was actually voted one of the best zoos in Europe too so... All the enclosures were a really good size and none of the animals seemed stressed or annoyed and were actually really relaxed.

One thing that struck me was how trusting they seem to be, there's no electric fences or razorwire here, I actually had my lunch sat less than 10 feet away from a white rhinoceros. Thing is, the few ruin it for the many don't they, so I can be trusted to sit and admire these animals, while someone stupid could take a dive over that fence for a rhino party. It's not quite the same set up for the lions but you get the idea — I hope no one does do that, just because, well, judge for yourself how nice it is...

House - Warmed.

One down, one more to go...

I feel out of the swing of hosting, still getting used to a new area and how to use our space have knocked my confidence a little but it was so nice to gather some of my closest friends to warm our new home, and hey, it's not even looking that bad - except the front room, but we don't need to talk about that.




*Spot the cat-botherer
Pro tip: if you are hosting a housewarming party, potlucks are the way forward, not only will you be surprised by some of your guest's culinary skills, you'll also have more than enough food to go around.
Starting to wonder how we're actually going to cater for twice the amount of people by ourselves when my family comes at the end of this month (omg!)

It was a nice, relaxing weekend, rounded off on Sunday with a trip to a (not so) local farm because we're left-field like that.




The smallest rabbit I've ever seen. SO SMALL.




In other news, we're on a painting break but even with just our stuff in and no paint, can we just take a minute to appreciate this 'before + after'? Parts of this house are resisting my love but I think the living room has my back ♥

Organised Family Fun

Currently writing this with paint splattered in my hair while I get back to feeling anxious about visitors.

We must have started decorating again!

Seriously, if anyone ever tells you to paint that awkward (super-tall) bit of wall above your stairs, just get a man in. I know it's defeatist and lazy but that's where DIY painting gets really hard, even with a tall boyfriend tiptoeing on a too short ladder, I'll tell you though, for our landing, one-coat paint has been our SAVIOUR! - even if a lot of it is my hair right now.


So, I'll be taking you back to a slightly less stressful time a couple of weekends ago, when I felt happy to have guests and actually pretty dang house-proud for the first time since we moved here.

My family on both sides is pretty big, and, particularly on my Dad's side, we're a lot closer than most. I think having my Gran as such a strong matriarch really helps this. My cousins and I used to go on holidays together but as we've grown up this is an aspect that's fallen by the wayside a bit. As a bonding exercise, I thought a girly weekend would be fun, and a nice way to show them my new home.











We had a nice afternoon of fruit picking at Millets Farm, defiantly sat in the less than sunny garden to enjoy Pimm's and a tasty dinner of vegetarian chilli before putting on facemasks and watching 10 Things I Hate About You. We rounded up the evening with The Babadook (which in hindsight should really have been Bend It Like Beckham but there's always next time).



[Because it didn't go on Facebook... ;)]

It was so nice to host guests after such a long time and not have to think about decorating or cardboard, plus, have you seen my main guest bedroom? It's the coolest.

I hope this is the first of many weekends we have like this, family is so, so important and I think it's especially important to take advantage of those bonds if you've got them, there's always time for a catch up. I'm already looking forward to seeing the girls again for my family housewarming at the end of next month, better get down to more painting, right?

Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary.

With Moon and I potentially both working in Oxford come the middle of September, we took a mini road trip over the weekend to broaden our horizons when it comes to an (as of yet) hypothetical move.


While we haven't found anywhere that's quite right yet, we did discover the Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary. We found it after spotting a sign for a jumble sale in a car park in Didcot, we were in the mood for a potter and the potential of seeing some donkeys was kind of intriguing.



The jumble sale wasn't up to much but the barn it was held it did feature some interesting décor choices. We were just about to leave before curiosity got the better of me and I found out that the Donkey Sanctuary itself was free.

I just want to say that even though Island Farm is right up my street anyway because it means I get to take photographs of cute farm animals, I think it kind of sells itself a bit short. I'd definitely pay more than a 'donation' to see the donkeys and they're clearly well cared for.


Soft and shaggy donkey.





Some of the donkeys seem to have broken out of their fields, it was kind of refreshing to be somewhere that was a bit slack on health & safety regulations.




Goose!


The donkeys are so relaxed around people and happy to have a stroke.




Spot the hiding chicks. ♥




Granted, we only spent just over half an hour walking up and down the field but I feel like they need way more publicity because they seem to be doing a really great job - all the donkeys were well groomed and seemed really chilled out and happy.

It was a nice little find and I can think of a couple of friends who'd really appreciate a trip there on their next visit.