Monday Sunshine

It's Monday morning and for once I'm not unhappy about getting out of bed! I'm looking forward to this week. I've got lots in the diary and hopefully we're at the beginning of a new, more positive phase in our lives. I'm heading over to Cardiff this morning as much as I'm getting used to and enjoying more of the country life, there is a part of me craving to be in the city albeit for a few hours. I'm hoping the weather forecast is correct because when the sun shines onto the magnificent buildings of Cardiff, the city is taken to a whole new level of beauty.

It's also Bath in Fashion week and I'm hoping to get to a few of the events. There are some exciting looking workshops, an array of talks and of course catwalks put on by some major brands. I'm particularly excited to be taking Megan to an evening with Julien Macdonald on Thursday night. He is one of my favourite designers, being Welsh of course helps and will be talking in The Assembly Rooms with renowned fashion writer Colin McDowell, MBE. The fact that he has dressed many of the worlds major stars and is a favourite of Taylor Swift helps, but Megan will be studying Fashion and Textiles for GCSE and loves him almost as much as I do. I think I may be racking up major mum points this week! There are full listings of all the events on and some tickets remaining HERE.

Friday I'm looking forward to meeting up with Tamsin from Half a Dozen for Dinner for a cuppa and to chat all things blogging. Tamsin is new to this online community but her blog is beautiful and she bakes the most amazing cakes and desserts! Head on over to her blog or Facebook page HERE. In between, there's plenty of new content to be produced and some exciting things to share with you soon, so here's to a productive and (hopefully) sunny week!

Amy

xx

Linking up with IBOT

#CityCountryLife // Life Lately - Ston Easton Park

The kids were back to school on Monday and it's only today that I feel like I may be getting back to normal! The hustle and bustle of the last few months and the school holidays finally caught up with me and unexpectedly I came to a stand still last week due to an almighty fibro flare up. I've been lucky in that it's the first time in a good while that I've been bed ridden, but I'd somehow forgotten how painful and frustrating a flare actually is. During those few days I was once again crushed by the pain and the feeling of helplessness and guilt of not being able to do anything. The good news is that it didn't last as long as normal and I am up and about again already (although by the afternoon I am once again ready for bed). It also made me think once again about our situation and how best to plan for times when my illness takes over; over the next week or so I'm going to have a mass cooking session to make sure that there is an array of healthy meals in the freezer which can be easily defrosted and put in the oven.

It also means that I am even more pleased that the weather has been so beautiful over the last day or so. I've made the most of working outside and the dogs have loved being in the garden all day and sunbathing on the patio. I'm hoping that the forecast is not correct for this afternoon and the rain doesn't return because as I'd really like to get a takeaway coffee and sit on the Cathedral green this afternoon!

Dodging the rain seemed to be the story of the Easter holidays, it was constantly a question of "shall we risk going out?" but I'm glad that we risked it and were able to spend some time out in our beautiful surroundings and the fresh air. Easter Sunday was one such gamble that paid off! After becoming downhearted at the thought of spending the day indoors we saw a break in the rain and hail and made a dash to Ston Easton Park. Although it is just down the road from us, we had never explored the grounds and the Easter Day Dog Treat Hunt provided us with the perfect opportunity to walk around some of the 36 acres.

The hotel is known as one of the most luxurious in Somerset and the grounds didn't disappoint either. The dogs and kids enjoyed hunting out the dog treats but although there were plenty of other dogs running around and into the water, we decided to keep ours on the lead as they are very excitable and can't be trusted not to run off! The weather was absolutely beautiful and you would never had believed the Arctic conditions we had woken to that morning. The sun showed no sign of disappearing which meant we were able to wear the dogs out and the fresh air was most definitely appreciated after a few days of cabin fever.

The Dog Treat Hunt was free with an optional donation to the Bath Cats and Dogs Home, which we definitely wanted to support with both of our dogs being rescues. It was nice to do something other than the traditional Easter Egg hunt and we just managed to escape the rain which returned as we drove home! The rest of the day was spent watching the Boat Races with a lovely roast and looking at other events on the Ston Easton Park website! I would love to stay at the hotel for a night and Afternoon Tea is definitely on the cards!

Amy

xx

Linking up with #CityCountryLife