weekend round up.

Hello friends, and happy Monday! As I write this, I have a most enormous mug of coffee keeping me company - it feels fitting and necessary as the afternoon draws to a close and I feel like I cannot quite shake the feeling of tiredness that has accompanied the school year starting again. We have only been back at school for a week, and I am remembering how all-consuming teaching is when it comes to my mental capacity. So, it is refreshing to sit for a few moments and remember the slow pace of our weekend, and cherish those memories just a little bit more.

On Friday afternoon I whipped up some meringues and some wild blackberry cream to share with friends who we haven't seen for too many months.

We caught up around the fire pit and the evening flew by - I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I looked at my watch and saw that it was close to midnight - a sure sign of a good evening when you have no concept of just how many hours have passed since you began talking.

{a rare photo of me captured by Ben - I highly recommend looking at his blog for amazing images. He has a great gift in capturing the character and detail of all his photographic subjects.}

Saturday was a wonderfully slow and steady day, beginning with breakfast and plenty of coffee with my wonderful friend Hannah, and ending with a trip to Tyntesfield, which is a National Trust property. (For those of you who don't live in England, or are unfamiliar with the National Trust, they are an organisation that started back in 1895 with the aim of saving the nation's heritage and preserving lots of England's beautiful open spaces, woodland, coastline, and much more.)

We took advantage of an offer from the National Trust to go for free, and so didn't feel like we hadn't got our money's worth when my pregnancy pains limited how much walking we did. I became ever so slightly enamoured with just how beautiful Dahlia's are, and added them to the list of flowers to grow in our garden.

I also loved the character of the luggage tag labels that were hung around The Orangery, with the use of the English names of plants and fruits alongside the Latin names.

Sunday was just as leisurely as Saturday. I began the day with a swim - I have missed being able to swim first thing in the morning since school started - so took advantage of waking early and having enough time before Church to ease out the pregnancy aches with a swim.

The afternoon involved eating shredded chicken & guacamole pitta pockets, enjoying the company of friends, eating warm cookies (this recipe) and ice cream, while watching The Intouchables - if you haven't seen this film I would highly recommend it, and fully embracing the opportunity to just rest.

{Linking up with Annapolis & Company and the lovely blogging community that is developing as we share our weekends with the world through blogging.}