Kipling Gardens in Rottingdean, Brighton

I recently discovered this special place when I went for a wander around Rottingdean. (Our new home)  It is a flint walled garden in the middle of the village, close by to the village green and duck pond.  Named 'Kipling Gardens' after the villages most famous resident, 'Jungle Book' author Rudyard Kipling.  These traditional English gardens are filled with a magical charm that can only be found on the pages of our children's books.  Something that in day to day life is quite hard to encounter.



 

Filled with an assortment of flowers, you can take your book and sit on one of their many benches and spend a few hours engrossed in the special atmosphere that these gardens hold.  If your not a reader fear not there is picnic benches, and space to run around and enjoy your time there.  

I really love it when I am able to find a place where I feel instantly relaxed, it honestly does take me back to the feelings I had when I first watched 'The Secret Garden'.  With its arches and winding pathways, Kipling gardens truly does embrace the essence of a hidden treasure.  I couldn't believe that it was hidden away off the main road and it is certainly is a place that I will go back to many times.

 

After you have had you fill of Kipling Gardens you must stop off an have a drink or meal in The Black Horse, or The Plough (accepts dogs) .  Two very traditional English pubs which will be sure to fill your bellies with tasty food.

Photo Post #2 : Claire

Weekend Activities

 This weekend I had my sister and her boyfriend come to visit.  I really love to show my family our new flat and where I am living now.  There's some sense of accomplishment in having a clean and tidy home to welcome guests.  We were also in luck as the sun had decided to come out and play, and made perfect weather to go exploring around Brighton.

On Saturday I took them into Brighton to have some lunch and a wander around the shops and the lanes.  I still don't have very good bearings even though I have lived here for a few months now.  But I guess I do have some sort of excuse as I went straight into working full time when we moved here, so my time spent exploring was sadly to a minimum.  

Our eating spot ended up being Browns.  A place that I had gone to once before, located on Duke Street.  It was relatively easy to find as we walked down from Churchill Square.  The food was lovely, I was torn between the fish and chips and linguine, but decided to go for the pasta.  Alex went for the fish cakes and Ben settled for the fish and chips.  ( We both got some serious food envy)  The food is a good price and the service was excellent.  I guess the sun being out worked in our favour as we didn't have to make a booking, and were seated quickly.

 

  

 

After our lunch we went around the lanes to explore the shops, I made a few purchases, (I will do a separate haul for these) and was able to show them the shop that we got my engagement ring from. This was really special for me as living away from my family I like for them to feel involved. The lanes were actually very busy and a bit to hectic for our liking, and by this point time had run away from us!


Heading back home it still amazes me how light it is till late, and I'm very much enjoying the freedom that warm weather gives to you!  It sort of forces you to be happy even if you don't want to be.

All in all it was a great day and a good opportunity for me to get to know everything more, and to spend time with people I care about.

There's also a Breakfast Club opened in Brighton which I've heard really good things about, so maybe next time that is where I'll go!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

The Proposal

Most days roll on by for me, without really noticing much has changed.  However one that will stick in my mind.

 Saturday 25th of April.  The day I said yes.

Looking back I never knew when I would get married, I would always dream about a life with someone that I hadn't even met yet.  

Some people do say that when you know you know.  Whether that is true for you or not I couldn't say.  But with Liam, I just always knew.  I knew that I couldn't live without him.  Even imagining a world with him not being in my life, just wasn't even an option for me.

We had discussed where we wanted out lives to head, together, of course.  Endless discussions about when the right time to take the next step would be.  I'm a bit of a planner you see, always thinking about ten steps ahead of what I need to be.  So I knew the proposal was on the cards for me, and that was fine for me.  I just didn't need the big surprise, in fact I didn't want it.  I welcome being able to know what's around the corner, plus Liam hates surprises nearly as much as I do, so he was more than happy to be in it together.  

We decided together to go out on the Saturday, (the only free day it seemed in our week) and have a look a rings.  I really wanted to be involved in the choosing process as I'm not a massive girly girl, but I knew what style of ring I wanted.  

Luckily we live in Brighton in the UK, abundant with jewellery shops in the infamous lanes.  I had done some research on places to go, and settled on Fidra.

The ring came in this lovely box inside one of Fidra's bags.  It was a really nice added touch to be able to have the whole set to take away with us. 

I chose vintage over modern, but I liked that.  After a long deliberation I found one that was perfect, a 1960's solitaire diamond.  I also found out that I do have rather chubby fingers.  (slightly embarrassing when the ring fitter politely agrees!)

Of course we needed it re-sized to fit on my pork swords, but that was a perfect excuse for Liam to take me out for a posh lunch! It was lovely just to spend the day together, getting all excited about what the future holds for us.  Just simply being in love.

Once we had collected the ring and arrived back home to our lovely new flat, Liam got down on one knee, and proposed.  The words he used were so lovely and from the heart.  Its all I needed to hear.  Being in our first proper home together, it couldn't have been a more perfect location.  Somewhere hopefully we will share lots of happy memories together, starting with this amazing one.

All in all it was a perfect day.  It may not be to everyone's taste I'm sure, but it was ours.  The best part was telling all of our friends and family.  I have never felt so much love than I felt that day.  I love that happy news brings people together, and that's what is important.

I'm very excited to be Liam's wife and to spend the rest of our lives growing old together, so here's to the next chapter.  We have decided to get married in Greece 2016 (I am half Greek).  So be ready for all the planning posts and ideas.

What are your proposal stories, I would love to hear them?

Are you planning a wedding, any hints and tips?

Comment below, and I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Moroccan Oil Trial : Magic or Myth

I seem to be one of those girls that has never ending flyaways, frizzy and unruly hair! I have noticed as I've got older, and the more heat products that I use on my hair, really impacts the condition.  I sometimes think when brushing or washing my hair, how I manage to have any left as so much falls out or breaks off!  

So enough is enough, I'm making a plight to look after my hair more!  It does tend to get neglected amongst the other areas of my life, and I'll be honest, the extra time in bed in the morning over rides the time styling my hair! Whoops!

I've heard so many good things about Moroccan Oil, I was dubious about it just being overly hyped or actually a must have hair product.  So I've taken the plunge and gone for it.

Bearing in mind, its  not a cheap product to buy especially for the amount you get, but having tried other alternatives and not found one I love, I'm willing to look into spending that bit more for quality.

You know what they say, buy cheap buy twice. 

I went for the original Moroccan Oil, and the conditioning treatment.  I bought it from Feel Unique
as I had read reviews on Amazon that many of the cheaper versions were fakes.  I got the smaller conditioning treatment as its also quite expensive, and wanted to trial it before investing in the larger size.

So lovely people, keep your eyes peeled on my future posts about how it goes. I'll be doing this for a month to see if there are any noticeable changes.

Have you tried Moroccan Oil? What were your results?

I'd love to hear about your results or recommendations, comment below!

 

Photo Post #1 : Youth

 

 

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My Kind Of Love

 There's so many different ways of looking at love.  You can have love for so many things.  People, places, animals, objects, words, smells.  There is no right and wrong to say one person should love something and another should not.  That's what I love about love.  Its yours, yours to choose to give and yours to keep on giving, and should you be lucky enough to receive it back, well that's my kind of love, and I'm going to tell you about it.

I was lucky enough to meet the most special person in my life a little while back now.  Everyone's had the relationships that don't for one reason or another work out, and if you haven't well that's ok.  But if you happen to stumble (much like I did) across someone special, then hold on tight with both hands preferably, and don't let go.  

I could tell you the endless list that I used to have in my mind of who the right person would be for me.  Probably someone quite like Bradley Cooper (sorry Liam) but we all know that the illusions films fill us with are not ever the reality of which we live within.  Although saying that I much prefer my reality, its honest.  Maybe it doesn't hold the rosy tint of the Hollywood blockbuster romance, but its mine. 

So as you probably have caught on, the love of my life is called Liam.  

There are endless things that I love about him,  I could literally bore you all day.  He makes me happy in ways which I didn't think I ever could be.  I'm part of a team where we are equals, no one ever gets chosen last.  I love him because he makes me laugh, something so important in a world where we have to be so serious all the time.  I get to be completely myself (should probably shave legs more often) but he understands me.  I know that sounds cheesy, you know the stinky bishop kind of cheesy, but he sometimes knows something is upsetting me, even before I do.  Liam works endlessly hard to keep us afloat, even if it means sacrificing things that he wants to do.  Putting our needs as a couple before his own. 

Don't get me wrong, nothing is perfect.  Relationships take work, you will argue and fall out.  But the loves that last are the ones you are willing to work at.  Love is sacrifice, compromise and willingness, all rolled into one. We have had our fair share of these arguments, but we come out the other end just as strong.  I maybe even love him even more as he puts up with my mad ways!

So Liam if your reading this, I want to say thank you.  

Thank you for coming into my life when I didn't know that I really needed you.  Thank you for being you, and making everyday special.  Thank you for being there to help pick up the pieces, when it all seems to fall apart.  Thank you for all the adventures.  Thank you for all the love you give, and continue to give.

Thank you for being my kind of love. 

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