Chilling Out in Reading

It was time for another long overdue catch-up with Sammi and Shalisa, so we decided to meet up in Reading for a day of casual fun. The great thing is, this day was timed perfectly, as the weather suddenly decided to warm up a bit. I am so looking forward to wearing some Spring time themed outfits very soon!

I went with my Metamorphose Apple print skirt as I hadn't had the chance to wear it out and it is also a good piece for a nice, casual outfit. It is also quite a retro and cute looking piece, so it is quite a fun skirt to wear. You can't really see it, but I am wearing polka dot tights to match one of the apples in the print. I think polka dots and the heart shaped bag add to the retro theme, as does the sailor collar on my Cherie Cerise cutsew. My only regret is not adding more pink to balance that colour out a little bit, but anybody who owns this skirt will tell you it is a very awkward shade of pink. It is almost a lavender colour.

I felt the white cutsew looked a bit too plain by itself and the necklace I wanted to wear didn't look right with the outfit. So in the end, I did a quick 30 minute craft and made this little apple brooch. Sadly, it was hidden by my bolero most of the day. Perhaps I should have pinned it to my very casual looking beret instead.

The great news is that we think we may have found our Reading equivalent of the Mitre in Oxford! The Outlook had really nice food (my burger tasted amazing and I know the others enjoyed theirs too), a nice atmosphere and a great location. My only criticism is I think they need to improve and widen their choice of ciders!

We also had a quick look around the shops in town. Sammi managed to find some cute macaron fabric in Fabric Land, although the queue in there seemed to take forever! Afterwards we decided to go to Mr Chips for bubble tea. I think I had too much ice though, as I ran out of juice long before the ice started melting. I was struggling to get the juice bubbles up the straw because all this ice was in the way and one almost choked me because it suddenly became un-lodged and fired in to my mouth! You can just imagine that... my gravestone could have read "choked to death on bubble tea". At least it would have been different!

In the late afternoon we decided we were a bit bored of shopping and headed back to the pub. This time we sat at the other end of the pub and got the window seats by the river. There was a really lovely view and I got to watch the ducks outside. We all ordered the fudge cake and it tasted better than the one at the Mitre. I feel very disloyal saying that, but it is the truth!

Finally, a little group photo of us. Shalisa nicked my photo to edit and brighten it, so I am stealing it back for this post! What amuses me about this photo is how well matched Shalisa and I are! We are both wearing the same bolero and shoes and both of us went for fruit prints. The funny thing is, Sammi had said she was going to wear her Milky Berry skirt, so we almost had a trio of fruity outfits.

So overall, this was a very fun and relaxed day. I am so relieved we have finally found a pub we can relax in. We haven't had the best of luck with venues in Reading in the past. Aside from the odd look here and there, we were mostly left alone as well. I don't think this day could have really gone any better. Although almost dying whilst drinking my bubble tea is not an experience I wish to repeat...