So go on - who stole summer? It seems like it’s been raining forever and it’s putting a real dampner (*groan*) on my mood! But aside from the weather, and the political goings on, this week has been a really good one with loads of lovely things happening.
01. My linky, #SharingtheBlogLove, which I’m hosting with Laura from Dear Bear and Beany, went live for the first time yesterday. At the time of writing this we’ve had 30 people link up, which is just amazing! It’s such a nerve wracking thing to put yourself out there and there is always that worry that no-one will bother linking. So a huge thank you to everyone who joined us - the linky is open until Tuesday, so if you’d like to find out more and link up too, have a read here! And of course we’ll be open again next Thursday for more linky fun!
02. I love Instagram - it’s my favourite social media platform, although my follower count has been slow to grow. Last month I hit the 500 follower count which I was thrilled about, and earlier this week I hit the 1000 mark! I can’t believe how quickly it’s picked up since reaching the 500 and I’m so chuffed. Although I get pretty much zero blog traffic from it as I never promote the blog, I love it as a visual diary of my life and a great place to record all those little moments that would otherwise get forgotten about.
03. Last weekend we went strawberry picking (along with 80% of the population of Surrey judging by how busy it was!) It was lovely to see Max suddenly understand the process and pick out his own fruit (not necessarily the best looking ones, but we bought them anyway). As we went on a fairly sunny afternoon it completely slipped my mind that the ground would be wet and wore some suede ballet pumps - suffice to say those got ruined!
04. At the first hint of a sunny day Max and I headed straight outside for a trip to Cliveden. We’re definitely making the most of our National Trust membership this year! I’ve not been for years and it was lovely to explore it with fresh eyes. There’s so much to do it’s impossible to do it all in one day! Max loved walking with me over the stepping stones across the pond, and the park with it’s woodland carvings was a big hit. I also braved my fear of mazes and headed into the maze with Max. He loved chasing round it, finding dead ends and turning back. Although I have to admit I did have a bit of a wobbly moment in trying to find our way out and there was a minute or two when I thought we might still be there at closing time, fumbling our way around!
05. I’ve been wanting to improve my photography for a long time and I think the time has now come to start taking my camera off of Auto mode! Yesterday I went on a Photography course designed for parents who want to take better photos of their children, run by Vicki Knights. It was exactly what I was looking for - mainly centred on light and composition, but with just enough technical photography information thrown in to allow me to make that move away from Auto! I put into practice some of the things I learned on a trip out yesterday afternoon and it’s amazing how much better my photos are suddenly looking. I can’t recommend this course enough for anyone who enjoys photography but is a bit fearful of the technical side of things - you can read more at Photography for Busy Parents.
