Snapshots of the Garden - How Does Your Garden Grow

With summer in full fling now, the garden has come alive with flowers and bees.  Whenever I see the bees on my Lavender bushes I think someone is going to get some lovely Lavender Honey!  I planted 8 new bushes this year, they are all still small but all have a good supply of Lavender coming up.

The Apples are coming on well on our trees

as are the Blackberries, plentiful as usual - we let them grow in our garden despite the unfriendly brambles, the fruits are divine and well worth waiting for.

The Tomatoes have flowers, hopefully soon masses of cherry tomatoes!

I'm very pleased with my crop of Cayenne Peppers, I grew them all indoors and

all the plants have loads on them.   I just have to Google whether I should leave them on the plants to ripen and go red or pick them and ripen off the plant.

We have Sunflowers too!  The girl and I planted some seeds, some now look like this, ready to pop

and one surprised us this morning which elicited a big WOW from both of us.  Isn't it just beautiful!

A few of the flowers scattered around the garden, the colours really cheer me up.

Summer is finally here.....

Garden, Gardening, Summer, Flowers

Silent Sunday - My Sunday Photo

bee on the borage plant

G is for.... The Alphabet Photo Project

G is for Geese

There is a village pond near us that is a peaceful haven away from the speed of today's life.

We pop down there to feed the ducks, geese and seagulls some weekends, they are always eager and willing to eat!

These are young geese, friendly and quite docile, but we're always careful to watch out for Mother Goose, we've been chased by many of those over the years and they peck! 

G is for Gaggle of Geese

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Linking up with The Alphabet Photo Project on Podcastdove

F is for .... Alphabet Photo Project

I adore flowers.

Now the little person is a little older she is learning to appreciate their beauty rather than pulling their petals off!  This time last year I was trying to stop her from yanking the flowers in our garden from their stems and crushing them in those tiny fingers.

I love these Lilac Stocks, gorgeous blooms, sweetly fragrant flowers, they fill the room with their scent day after day, just lovely.

F is for Fragrant Flowers.

Linking up with Podcastdove for The Alphabet Photo Project

Flower fragrance alphabet photo project

Flowers fragrance alphabet photo project

Fragrant Flowers

Photography

The Ikea Kiddy Furniture Makeover

This is our second set of Ikea kiddy table and chairs, they get a lot of wear and tear so they were screaming out to be painted and made over.

We chose the colours together, love the bright, clashing, vibrance that signifies her youth, anything goes!

Still using up the flowery plastic sheeting I had in the cupboard doing nothing, it was bought for another use years ago and never used, good to see it getting an airing.

We painted little blackboard "squares" to personalise the chairs for when her friends pop over, little things really do please little people, she was thrilled that she could now allocate seating!

Had a little issue with masking tape, so forked out for some Frog Tape and issues gone, well worth it.

Off to start my next project, the (found in the loft) pine bedside cabinets, I feel a bit of shabby chic coming on!

Linking up with Miss Mustard Seed for:

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My Sunday Photo

My Sunday Photo
Photography
Fathers Day
Free Beer

E is for.... The Alphabet Photo Project & #LightsCameraCurrys

E is for Education this week.  On Sunday I attended the Currys #LightsCameraCurrys Brighton blogger event at the Brighton Media Centre.

Firstly, it was just so wonderful to be dropped off in the centre of the town early on a gorgeously sunny Sunday morning on my own.  I took a walk, breathing in the air and just enjoyed the moment.

The Currys event was led by Dade Freeman who runs the Brighton Photographers Group, he started with the all important education part for me, learning the technical basics about my camera and how to get the best from it.  Dade has a gentle and humorous way of teaching and made us all feel very comfortable.

We learnt about Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority (one I had no clue about), ISO and the Exposure Triangle.  I'd been comfortable in Auto mode for so long and taking the leap at a mere twist of a dial and into Aperture Priority was quite a feat for me. 

After lunch it was off for the Photo Walk, we were literally over the road from the seafront which was packed to the gills with sunbathers and seagulls!  We were given several challenges like capturing motion on Shutter Priority mode (one I had avoided until now!) and using a shallow depth of field.

the carousel was actually moving in this shot

leading lines

seagulls who refused to pose for me, a minute earlier they were squabbling!

I can't say I took amazing photos that day and didn't manage all the challenges in the 30 minutes but what I did learn has sunk in a little more and I have a much better understanding of the workings on my camera which I shall take forward.

Thank you to Currys and Dade for a very enjoyable and hugely informative afternoon.

E is for Education, something I cannot get enough of where photography is concerned.

Have a look at some of the other bloggers posts on the event too:

Ville de Brighton

Coffee and Vanilla

Georgie Sinclair

Photography #lightscameracurrys beach alphabet photo project

My Sunday Photo

Yesterday we took ourselves over to Saltdean Lido for Heritage Day and to take a tour inside the building.  This was the first time in many years that the general public were given access to the grounds and probably the last time before they close for the start of the very exciting major refurbishment.

Saltdean Lido in its heyday

It was a brilliant afternoon, activities for the children, food, live music and even a cheeky Pimms for Mummy!  I can't wait to see the Lido renovations take shape over the next couple of years.  I have so much to write about this glorious building, it is the only grade II listed Lido in the whole country and deserves to be preserved.

Saltdean Lido, photography, heritage, Conran, swimming pool

D is for.... The Alphabet Photo Project

Linking up with Podcastdove for The Alphabet Photo Project and this week D is for....

Delicious

Delightful

Divine

Darling

Daughter

That scan photo takes me back to when we found out what flavour you were.  You still won't believe it's actually you!  You're growing up so fast, you've been tall for your age since you could walk, everyone's eyebrows used to shoot up in amazement when I would tell them what age you were.

You are a budding photographer, which I am delighted about, and will encourage you all the way.

Reception class at your new school is beckoning in September when you will barely be 4, you love pre-school and are a sociable little butterfly so we hope you will enjoy school too.

We.Love.You

D is also for Daniel, my beautiful baby boy

photography, photo project

Beach Colour Inspirations

Beach Colour Inspirations by citycoastallifestyle 

Living by the coast I cannot help be inspired by the colours I see on a daily basis here, yesterday the little one and I were at the beach where the sun shone on the sea creating dancing diamonds on the water, the blues and greens constantly changing and the intense blue of the sky were just breathtaking.  I never get tired of seeing it and never take it for granted.

We've finished painting the master bedroom (finally!), I've chosen aqua as the base colour, it's clean and fresh in the morning light but in the evening its tone changes to a restful bluey green. Apart from the curtains and carpet, I'm teaming with white to keep it simple.

Polyvore Bedroom Colour Scheme

Window panel / Pier 1 Imports panel screen / Framed wall art / Surya wall mirror / Teal throw pillow / Ballard storage furniture / Redford House queen bed frame / Handmade furniture, / Serena Lily nesting table / Emerson ottoman