04.07.13 | OUR BIG NIGHT IN (THE GARDEN)

As you may have gathered, i missed out on Glasto this year (really, like I haven't bleated on about that enough) so when i got an email from the peeps at Money Supermarket asking if I'd like to take part in this competition I jumped at the chance to have our own mini festival at home! I was given £50 to get creative and figure out the best way to have an awesome night without blowing the bank or leaving the house, so we did just that.

Flo & I started thinking firstly about ways to make the garden look pretty (naturally!) We stocked up on washi tape, tea lights and lanterns and got cracking. We decorated jam-jars to make cutlery holders (thanks for the idea Alexis!) and make pretty lanterns to hold candles. We decorated some old milk bottles to make vases which we filled with purple flowers before scattering them around the garden.

We invited some friends over to join us for some good food fresh off the BBQ and enjoy some summer drinks with us whilst we listened to Glasto on the radio. I painted the kids faces and we played games - all under a bright blue sky. When the sun started to set and the air turned cooler we got into our jammies and toasted muffins on the chimnea.

It was the perfect Sunday day and night in :)

Want to have a festival in your garden? Easy:

Decorations (washi tape, paper lanterns, tea lights, flowers) £15.00
Food and drink (chicken, veggie bangers, rolls, salad ingredients, slaw ingredients, stubby beers, strawberry cider, juices, sparking water, ice cream) £35.00

THE LONG DRIVE HOME

We spent last week in North Devon with my family (post coming soon) and we decided to take the scenic route home across Exmoor. To describe the views as mind blowing would be a massive understatement, it was all so beautiful and reminded me so much of my favourite place on earth, Big Sur in California.
Take a look at our long drive home...

SEARED TOFU W/ DATE BBQ SAUCE

Last week, when we drove ourselves down to the south coast i had to somehow drown out the soundtrack to "Alvin & The Chipmunks - Chipwrecked" (i know, just don't...)
So, I zoned out & i got recipe searching on my iphone (obviously i am not the driver in this situation - i'm not that idiot) and somewhere between Katy Perry & Destiny's Child I stumbled across this recipe for seared tofu with home made date BBQ sauce... Good God! AMAZING!
I knew i had to make it as soon as the sun decided to make an appearance (are we still not over the rain?) but, well you know how i'm mega impatient? I decided to make it as soon as we got home.
But thank goodness I did, as i am STILL waiting for some bloody sunshine (seriously, are we still not over the rain?)...
Anyhoo, here we go. If you're not a veggie or a vegan, don't let the tofu freak you out, it's good stuff! BBQ (inside on your cooker hob!) serve with a fresh green salad and some toasted pitta's et viola... pretty much a summer vegan heaven. Enjoy x

SUMMER, SOUTH COAST STYLE

Yesterday morning we jumped in our bus & headed down to the South Coast for a night.
The weather was gorgeous and warm and even the sky was a California blue - bliss!
I love the south coast, I find the colours so pretty & interesting as it's very different to the North Devon coast where I grew up.
In Devon you are treated to golden sands stretching for miles & miles with pale blue ocean dotted with surfers. On the south coast you have quiet lapping seas, which change colour constantly and pebble beaches made up of all different colours and textures.
Even though it was a flying visit, everyone had a chilled and relaxing time. We beached and we spent the afternoon at Brooklands play area, which is amazing for kids. I took Dexy, Flo & Indi on the Diddyland train ride around the site which they loved & found especially exciting when it broke down...ha! Indi spent the whole time waving at everyone she clapped her eyes on, and Dexy took it upon himself to tell a family off for not having their dog on a lead... er, embarrassing much?!

After the kiddos India fell asleep, the mister and I left the grandparents in charge and we grabbed some wine & supper and headed to the beach to watch the sun go down. So simple and so lovely. What a beautiful part of the world...

 i love this building...

but not quite as much as i love this house on the beach edge...

Even the light the next morning was beautiful...

I feel very lucky to have both the North Devon and the South coastlines at our fingertips. Good times.