Rainy Day Rhubarb Crumble.

All this rainy weather does not make for a very active, go-getting Ruth, I'm afraid. So after a pretty powerful start to this month blogging-wise that I'm quite pleased with, things have slowed down a fair amount in these parts.

I do try and take advantage of these lighter evenings but find myself getting tied up with Great British Menu and then it's cold and dark. It's safe to say, I can't wait until Summer(!)

That said, a couple of weekends ago, the miserable weather provided a great excuse to do a smidge of comfort-baking. A household favourite, rhubarb crumble cake, funnily enough, using my own recipe. I'm trying to snap as much as I can but I'm not really feeling it, I quite like these though, and a selection from the Easter weekend which I'm yet to share - stay tuned!




I love finding a recipe that just means adding to something simple, all you really need for this is a basic sponge base.




Baking has actually become a bit of a work-out since my stick-whisk decided that it couldn't handle cake-mix.



Rescuing daffs-season is over now but it was pretty cool to have some homegrowns decorating our home for a bit.



We had enough rhubarb left over to make a couple of tiny crumbles, well, it would be rude not to!


Not too shabby! ♥


I dunno, there's something about this miserable weather that makes me grateful for a lie-in on a Saturday morning and curling up on the sofa of an afternoon and catching up on new TV shows - our current favourite is Fargo, have you seen it?

Bring Me Sunshine.

[via Pinterest]
Here's a bit of a snapshot of the weekend just gone. I realise that I've not shared anything with you from my Easter weekend, but I was super ill, so there's not much to tell. I did have a lovely time with my mum and went over to Canterbury to see my sister (in the car, on my own, it was a great success), but it wasn't very exciting as I couldn't really do anything fun without feeling worse and spent a lot of time basically feeling sorry for myself. Even the plans I had made with Moon for when I got home were thwarted and I spent most of the tail-end of the bank holiday sleeping. Not fun but I'm totally fine now and back on track.

So, I'm pretty pleased that I'm completely over being ill as I had my old friend Tom down to stay and it was so good to see him. It's always lovely having my oldest friends around me, firstly because I don't need to make too much effort but in a good way but also because it's just good to have a solid catch up on what's been going on and future plans, it's been over a year since we saw each other last. Moon and I have pencilled him into our calendar for a couple of months time so we won't be leaving it as long. It seems to be so difficult to get together with people sometimes, we have every intention of catching up with everyone but there's always so much to cram into the tiny space of weekend - after a proper look at my diary I've really only got two free weekends for the next 8 weeks as it is, no idea how that's happened, I would describe myself as the furthest from a social butterfly.

The more times we have people to stay in our little flat, the more I realise we ought to figure out the best hotspots so we have fun places to take guests. On Saturday we took Tom into Basingstoke for lunch and had our first ever Ed's Easy Diner, it was pretty tasty and the boys were in love with their burgers but it was the interior that had me impressed, and the fact I could pick songs out on the juke box and have them play almost straight away, for just 20p!

Today saw us carbooting, having an outdoor pub lunch and showing Tom the sights of Greenham Common, which is much nicer in the sun but needs more greenery and flowers. I'm so pleased Tom brought the sun for his visit - apparently we're due rain for the rest of the week! It could just do with being the tiniest bit warmer but I'm not complaining because I seriously feel like I'm lacking in Vitamin D.




I absolutely adore '50s music so it was tough but I managed to narrow it down to three choices!









It was so neat seeing all the cows properly out and about again, and they were so chill.



Her face and teeth! ♥




I hope you've been making the most of the sunshine, it feels like spring could actually be here! Bring on this week, whatever the weather, it's so good to be feeling 100% again.

Many Layers of March.

I would definitely say the above photo is pretty unacceptable for the tail-end of March. I don't actually mind wrapping up warm but it really feels like an age since I've felt a warm ray of sunshine, or since I've been outside without three or four layers on.


Coat: Gap
Scarf: Primark
Necklaces: Gift/Found
Handbag: Yucca
Dress: Primark
Bandeau: Drop Dead
Tights: Primark
Socks: Glasto
Boots: ASOS


This dress is one of my all time favourites and never fails me, as time's gone on I have felt like it's a little short, especially as I'm into longer dresses and trousers at the moment, but these thicker tights really made up for that and thanks to my cardigan and parker, I didn't feel too exposed.


Nails: A Pink Bev Ridge and Friends polish with Black Polka Dot Polish by Nubar and Sally Hansen Black Nail Art Pen
These didn't last long as I was too excited about the Ice Cream Etude House polishes I got, but I really do love the Nubar polish, it's so simple, I can't wait for it to be warmer so I can wear it over pastelly colours again.







Despite the sprinkling of snow in Newbury, it had mostly melted after we'd polished off our lunch of bacon and egg sandwiches. So it was super chilly and definitely boot-weather but it wasn't so bad taking in a change of scenery (and it was pretty fun showing off my 'driving skillz'). We've been to Winchester before but ages ago, it does feel like it's missing a little something and despite the pretty buildings there's not as much character as it seemss. I'm sick of going places that have the same high streets as everywhere else and I feel like Winchester is missing a trick when it comes to quirky, boutiquey shops - if I'm missing something, I'd love to know.

I've since made a little list of fun places to head out on day trips, some places we've been to, some places we haven't but it's quite exciting. I'm so looking forward to the long weekend already, I'm going 'home home' to see my Mum and Gran before going to Canterbury to visit my sister. I'm leaving myself two full days for something fun with Mr Moon, I'm hoping for something Bristol/Bath way, I feel so odd that I've never been.
Have you got any fun plans for the Easter weekend? I'm umming and ahhing about what kind of Easter cake to bake.

Rain and Sun in Rye.

This morning feels like it was yesterday and I'm so sleepy. I essentially worked 6 days last week, so I'm a little sleepy after being back at work again today after just one day off. Saying that, it was a super-productive weekend, and I'm glad I'm done and dusted with my second 'gig' as a wedding photographer. I must admit that it completely throws me out of my comfort zone but once again I'm really pleased with the results and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with the images when I get down to editing them.

I'm not sure if I've really mentioned it before but my friend Abbie and I were photographers at a wedding on Saturday. Wedding photography is something Abbie did quite a bit of in the summer and has done a fair amount of before, but not something I majorly seek out. Abbie is from my University course and we went to Paris Photo and Disney Land together in our final year. The wedding was that of a man who interview me for a job (I didn't get) earlier in the year. I wasn't suited to the role but he liked my website and remember him saying so in the interview. He got engaged and got in touch with me but wanted a second photographer and that's where Abbie came in.

I'll get around to showing you more of a collection of images from the wedding over the next week or so, but for now here are some quick snaps from the weekend, as is apparently now standard practice on a Monday evening.


Being up before the sun on a Saturday should be banned, saying that the journey went really quickly even if it was just under 3 hours.


How great is this teddy hole punch?



The 'less than promising' wedding weather started showing itself fairly early on.

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...but it soon brightened up and even if it came and went, all of Camber Sands looked beautiful.




You might recognise these as the blue version of the red ones from a couple of posts ago, I'm still totally in love with these boots, they're so comfy! These ones are kind of filled with sand now but held up really well considering their £8 price tag.



I'm a big fan of little details but unfortunately these are the kind of images that the bride and groom weren't really bothered about, even if it was these accents that helped pull the event together.




All those pom-poms were handmade from tissue paper!









The cake was so adorable ♥



Candy bars seem to be a pretty popular thing to have at weddings nowadays, I've seen them all over the place. Nick and Cats was quite small but full of yummy treats and the guests went crazy for it.

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Mine and Abbie's room at The Aviemore, a great place to flop down and watch the second half of X Factor on ITV+1 once we got back.



I love how flat this area is, it meant you could see for miles and miles.


Supernice is just one of the shops I wish we'd had a chance to look in, I'm so happy they sell so much stuff online.


Interesting artwork facing out onto the street.


Laura Oakes


Enjoying 'Ribena Bricks' at the beginning of our long journey home.



My tired, makeupless face after my lovely travelling companion left me.


My favourite manicure in forever, love the neutral shades and so happy with the length of my nails at the moment.
Base/Top: Rimmel Lycra Pro in 421: Clearly Clear
Colours: Models Own in Grace Green, Concrete Mixer and Vintage Pink / La Femme Beauty in Grey Creme
Spots: Nubar in Black Polka Dot / Topshop Nail Art Pen in Nightrider


The journey took way less than I thought it would and I was back before 2pm, I had a little sleep and enjoyed Dominos and X Factor in the evening, a well deserved rest.
It was a stressful and long day but not without great results and some good experience. The weather was incredibly hit and miss but the sun shone when we really needed it to. Despite having to go by train, our timings were perfect too which definitely took some of the stress out of it. The wedding was held in The Gallivant in Camber, which is a beautiful venue with an amazing, laid back beach theme, as it should really due to it's setting.

We were put up in a lovely B&B in Rye and managed to have a quick look around on Sunday morning before we left, it was just such a shame that none of the neat shops were open. It's definitely somewhere I'd like to explore again, as it's part of the country that I've ever really been to before.

You can check out some of Abbie's photography over at her Facebook page, be sure to 'like' it. ♥