Follow That Rainbow Chicken...

As it was almost Shalisa's birthday, we decided to gather in Reading for some fun and frolics. It just so happened that it coincided with Reading Pride. This was my first time attending a Pride festival, so I was not sure what to expect. I have always wanted to go to one. I am not sure how Reading measures up to the more well-known Pride destinations like Brighton and London, but the town was bustling with many people. There was a sea of rainbows and all sorts of different organisations and lifestyles represented.

When Sammi and I arrived, we saw that the parade had already gone past the train station, but they eventually came back around. It was very pleasing to see people of all ages, communities and even different religions getting involved. The general public walking by generally seemed very interested in seeing the parade and a lot of people were happy to join in, although there were a select few who were maybe not dressed in an appropriate way for a public area (I purposely chose a picture which did not show this).

A lot of well-known companies got very involved with Pride this year, including Nando's. They were giving out rainbow chicken stickers and they also had these rainbow chicken flags. I managed to get hold of a couple of the stickers and later in the day, I found one of the flags, which Shalisa was very pleased to get hold of! Personally, I think Nando's should adopt this rainbow logo permanently! My sticker is now proudly stuck to my fridge.

Shalisa's mum recommended this Thai food place to Shalisa, so we decided to give it a go. It did not disappoint! My usual rule with Thai places is I will only go to them if I feel I wont get a mouthful of lemongrass. I like lemongrass, but I had a bad experience at a Thai place once where it was all I could taste, so I stopped eating Thai for a while. I ordered a pork dish which featured ginger, peppers, onions and oyster mushrooms. Thankfully, the lemongrass was very well balanced! It was such a wonderful dish to eat and it was so well cooked. The coconut rice we shared between us was beautiful too. All of our dishes were decorated with these beautiful flowers carved in to vegetables. It was interesting, as each of us got a slightly different flower design. Mine was quite pointy!

The chicken satay starter we shared deserves a special shout-out because it is honestly the best satay I have ever had in my entire life. The chicken was cooked to perfection. It was juicy and tender. Whenever I cook chicken, it never comes out this good! I am getting hungry just remembering it. The satay dip was lovely too, although maybe a little too oily, as it started to separate. Very tasty though.

After a very satisfying meal, we decided to go and check out the Pride fair. But first, we had to get Shalisa's presents through the security at the entrance! The security guy was not at all bothered about the bottled drinks we were carrying, but a wrapped packet of Party Ring biscuits were apparently suspicious. So whilst Shalisa was safely out of the way, James had to explain what was in each present. When he got to the Party Rings, the security man questioned why we would wrap up a packet of Party Rings and James' response was simply- "Who doesn't love Party Rings?"

This explanation more than satisfied the security man, and we were all allowed in! I got Shalisa a pack of Party Rings after we all reminisced about them during our ILD picnic. They are an integral part of a children's birthday party here in the UK (I don't know anybody who did not grow up eating them) and as far as I am concerned, you are never too old to enjoy them.

The fair itself was a bit of a mixed bag. It was mostly different charity stalls looking for donations, a small funfair and randomly, some Lexus cars. I feel that getting together and celebrating the meaning of Pride was probably the key element at play here. There was a surprising number of people who approached us and knew about lolita fashion. There was even somebody who usually wears fairy kei, who was very excited to see us! Out of all of the stage shows, I was most moved by the talk being given by a gay man, who was also a Muslim. I can't even begin to imagine what a challenging situation that must be, and I had a lot of respect for this guy for having the courage to not only come to Pride, but to get up on stage and share his story. Afterwards there was a singer who quite frankly, needed some singing lessons. As we walked away to take some photos by the river, all we could hear was this painful rendition of Teenage Dirtbag. 

I wore Princess Honey's Tea Salon by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, which I have owned for months, but I have only just gotten around to wearing. You would suspect it would be the pinks that would cause the issue here but in all honesty, it was the ivory/off-white I had troubles with. The dress has both white and ivory on it and my Bodyline boots of doom were the only footwear I had that came close to matching the dress. I tried making an outfit with white pieces instead, but something about it just didn't feel right. So basically, I had to wait for the weather to be comfortably cool enough for me to wear the boots. Although it does not match my outfit in any way, I felt the rainbow flag was a lovely touch!

We completely forgot to get group pictures last time, so I am glad we remembered this time! Sammi looked so cute in head-to-toe chocolate and I always love seeing Shalisa is this bold pink tartan dress. We also managed to get a fantastic Instax photo that didn't cut off our legs.

Afterwards we decided to find out why this ice cream shop in the train station called Tutti Frutti is rated the number one food establishment in Reading on TripAdvisor (I think this says quite a lot about the food places in Reading). I have to say that the ice cream did win me over and the lady who served us could not have been any sweeter if she tried. She let us sample as many ice creams as we wanted, even though I felt as though I was taking advantage a little bit by asking for so many. I went for the raspberry sorbet, which was just the right combination of sharp and sweet. It was very refreshing on what was quite a muggy day too. Do they deserve their number one ranking? Yes, I think they do, because I don't really know how they could improve on what they do. Good service, clean and yummy ice cream. What more can you ask for?

As we were sat down, we finally let Shalisa open her presents. I can't help but love Shalisa's face in this photo. She really liked the cushion Sammi and I got her! The other gifts (including the Party Rings!) seemed appreciated as well.

I spotted that Tutti Frutti were selling duck shaped chocolates, so naturally I had to get one! The chocolate was nice and creamy.

We were going to head to Starbuck's, but they were all completely packed. So we ended up at the Outlook. They seem to be training new staff at the minute. Shalisa asked James to get us a jug of tap water for all of us to share, and we ended up being given this one glass of water! We ended up having to share it, as none of us felt like going back up and probably only being given another single glass of water. At least we had a bit of a laugh about it.

I am really pleased that we have found a new restaurant that all of us really enjoyed. It was good that we tried something new, and we were rewarded with fantastic food. I have never attended a Pride festival before, so that was a new experience for me too. Overall, I had a fantastic day. I really hope we meet up and go back to that Thai place soon!

Chasing Dragonflies

It had felt like ages since I had last seen Shalisa and Sammi (how had it only been a couple of weeks!?) so we felt it was about time we met up again for some fun in Reading. I needed to do some fabric research and it was really useful to have my friends there for some second opinions. It was also an excuse for us to gossip and eat cake!

The weather forecast just would not make up its mind, which resulted in me having to put together a outfit with dark colours at the last minute. I find rain water stains are just the worst thing ever to get out of light coloured clothing. Although after going to all this trouble, it was dry and sunny for almost all the time we were outside. Typical! So the outfit I had planned will have to wait. I made do with this outfit using my Classic Frame Bodyline skirt. At least it meant I finally got to wear my red Haruhi Clover hat, which is the least worn of my HC hat collection. Considering what a fluster I was in, I look surprisingly composed here! I was having a bit of a panic because I thought I had lost my favourite Estee Lauder lipstick (which is a good match for the colours in this skirt) and I was struggling to decide if I liked the outfit better with the black or red clip pinned to my blouse. In the end, I went with the red clip, and my lipstick eventually turned up! I know it sounds silly, but it is not very often I find a lipstick colour which I really love!

We braved a trip to Fabric Land first, which sadly proved to be uninspiring. Shalisa and Sammi did give me some helpful advice on a project I am working on. I am not sure this project is going to amount to anything, but if it does then I would really like to do my best and create something that not only looks cute, but is also sturdy and reliable. At the moment I can't really say much else about what I have planned, but if it is a success then I hope to share it on here. After leaving the shop empty handed, we decided to go to Nandos (Cheeky Nandos! Proper banter!) as it looked quiet inside. Usually if it is quiet, that is a sign that the staff are not going to be too overworked and therefore in theory, the food is better. So many times, I have gone past a Nandos, only for it to be completely packed! But we got lucky this time, and the food was perfect. I went for mango and lime chicken thighs with peri fries. The peri fries reminded me a bit of the spicy chips I usually get in the Mitre. We haven't been to Oxford or the Mitre in such a long time, but sadly there isn't really a great deal to do in the town centre and Reading generally has a better 'vibe'. I feel more comfortable wearing lolita in Reading compared to Oxford, and people generally tend to leave you alone. We did however have one slightly creepy old guy who hovered nearby when we took photos.

None of us were particularly fussed about going shopping, so we went to our new favourite patch of grass by the riverside for photos. We usually spot dragonflies flying about in this area, and it was really fun trying to follow them and get a good picture. This little guy above has been named Gary (I felt they looked like a Gary). Gary was maybe not as colourful as the blue dragonfly we saw flying around (I couldn't get a picture of that one, but Shalisa did) but I think Gary looks like a very cheerful dragonfly. We locked eyes for a little while, and I feel we developed a connection. I would like to think Gary and I are friends now. Sadly we didn't see the beautiful black dragonfly, which has the most gorgeous fluttery wings, who we have seen a few times . One day I shall befriend the goth dragonfly, but I will never forget Gary.

After waiting around for the sun to go in by the roses, we gave up and ended up taking pictures on a slope. Sammi wore some casual chocolate goodness. I feel this outfit sums up Sammi's wardrobe quite well.

Shalisa wore her Bodyline skirt, which is such a pretty shade that almost always photographs purple. I just had to use this photo, as I love Shalisa's cheeky smile here!

I kind of had a bit of a nostalgia moment, and asked the other 2 if they would mind doing an old-school shoe shot. I have really missed doing these! They remind me of the shoe shots you used to get in egl meet up reports. The lolita livejournal community may be dying, but it will always be a part of my heart. We decided against doing the star pose with our hands, as I was the only one wearing any rings anyway.

Afterwards we went to the Outlook (no surprises there) where I was very pleased to see they now stock one of my favourite ciders. I have a thing for passionfruit, and this Rekorderlig cider is oneof the best. My favourite is the passionfruit Old Mout, but that one is not as common, especially in pubs. This cider was so cool and refreshing, especially considering it had gotten surprisingly hot in the sunshine. We definitely got inside at the right time though, as the heavy rain started not long after we got inside. We watched on as the river showed signs that it was about to flood and the ducks took cover. There is something very peaceful about sitting inside and watching the rain. I only wish we could have opened the windows a little, as I love the smell of rain. I would love to find a decent perfume which captures this scent. If you know of any, then please comment and let me know!

I decided to break with tradition and get the Oreo cheesecake instead of the chocolate fudge cake. As you can see, it is very pleasing on the eye. I love how there is an Oreo print on the side of the cake, where it had been cut. It was a really tasty cheesecake but truth be told, it was a bit cloying. When I got to the end I had to leave a bit, as it got a bit too sickly. Still, I did better than Shalisa, who had the most dire looking sundae ever. I didn't even want to photograph it, because it looked too tragic. The moral of the story is, always get the fudge cake in the Outlook. Well, unless you are feeling a bit greedy and want the cheesecake. I don't regret my choice! This really made me wish I was in the Mitre though, as their Eton Mess sundae is exactly what I was craving that day. 

Having had a good catch up, we eventually left and said our goodbyes. It had stopped raining, so I never did get the chance to test my macaron umbrella from my last Taobao order. Although in some ways, that is actually a good thing. I now have a couple of dresses in my wardrobe which I have not had the chance to wear yet, so fingers crossed I will get to wear one of those next time. And luckily, with Shalisa's birthday coming up, I don't have long to wait! I am really looking forward to seeing my friends again soon.

Birthday Adventures!

Last Thursday was my birthday! There has been a bit of a heatwave here in the UK and I am the sort of person who wilts at the first little bit of heat, but I was determined to get out there an enjoy myself. I am really glad I did, as I had a fantastic day in London with James, and then a fun Saturday with Sammi and Shalisa. 

For my actual birthday, I went to One Aldwych in Covent Garden for afternoon tea. I didn't wear Japanese fashion because I was a bit concerned the staff would take one look at me and turn me away. I wouldn't usually go for an afternoon tea as expensive as this one, but it was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired, and I thought the menu sounded fascinating. Besides, we were allowed seconds on literally anything we wanted. We ended up with 2 lots of savouries and I feel that if we had really wanted to, they would have given us a third round. With the exception of the ham and horseradish on rye, the savouries were all lovely. I would say this was the nicest salmon sandwich I have ever had.

But the real fun came with the sweet half of proceedings! Here we had scones with hedgerow sauce, berry compote and clotted cream, blueberry brioche, chocolate financiers, chocolate and caramel milk, rhubarb and custard candy floss, golden chocolate eggs filled with vanilla cheesecake and mango coulis, lemon cake pops and Eton mess. My favourite item had to be the rhubard and custard candy floss. I cannot put in to words just how intense the flavour was, and it really did taste like the sweets you sometimes get in pick 'n' mix. The staff were friendly too and there was also air-con. I would definitely do this again, although I was almost in a food coma. I couldn't eat another thing, and I was so grateful when we were given a doggy bag for the leftovers.

Afterwards we went to the 40 years of London punk exhibit being held at the British Library. I was very pleased to see that my favourite band were acknowledged for being the main inspiration for the UK punk movement! 

When we got home, I had time to open my presents. As far as J-fashion related stuff goes, I got given these Mu-fish socks and Yidhra tights from James. I have to be really careful at the moment to not buy any more main pieces and some other things, as my wardrobe needs a bit of a clear-out, but accessories were totally fine. I also got given a load of budgie related stuff, as I have turned in to a crazy budgie lady as of late. I will just do a mini review, before people complain this post is not really that J-fashion related! The socks fitted me perfectly and ends a few inches above my knee. I wouldn't recommend them for plus-sized wearers though, as I get the impression the socks don't have that much stretch. The ivory colour is quite obviously white and the pink has a very slight peachy tone to it. The pink is a good match for several items in my wardrobe though, so I am quite content. The tights were a bit of a let-down if I am being completely honest. They fitted me, but it was a bit of a stretch. The navy blue colour is also quite hard to distinguish and they look almost black, although the blue shade is a bit more obvious when worn. The main issue is that when you put them on, the colour almost completely disappears, as does the constellation pattern. It was so faint and became to transparent in places, that could could actually see my skin tone in places.To get a decent colour, I would have to layer navy tights underneath. They are also a weird sort of mesh and they are almost like fishnets. So they are not completely unwearable, but I would not recommend them. I got lots of lovely other presents though, including the sweetest little locket from James. I opened it to discover a feather from both of my budgies inside. It was so thoughtful and I started welling up when I opened the locket for the first time!

On the Saturday, I met up with Sammi and Shalisa. It was another quite hot day, so I didn't want to wear lolita. Yet weirdly, you can still see the lolita influence a little in my "casual" outfit! I am not really sure what this outfit would be labelled as. There are definite retro, sailor and lolita aspects to this, but I am just going to call it casual street fashion! I used a skirt from Primark, which I decorated with some Sugar Trampoline bows. The cutsew is Cherie Cerise, and the rest is a mix of Bodyline and off-brand.

When we got to Reading, there was a "beach" that had been constructed temporarily by the train station. Aside from putting a bit of sand down, it was dire. I would say it was more like a fairground than a beach. There were a couple of stalls where you could win prizes and an over-priced pick 'n' mix stall, but that was pretty much it. The website had promised donkeys, but we never spotted any! The worst part was the ferris wheel, which overlooked a construction site! Isn't the main point of those sort of attractions that you can see a glorious view? After assessing the situation, we left abruptly.

After seeing how full most of the eating establishments were, we ended up getting a Maccy D's and eating it outside the Abbey Ruins. It turned out to be a good call. The food was far better than the disappointing meal we had at the Outlook last time and I got to have my beloved toffee sundae. It was also lovely being sat outside in the shade. There were a lot of Pokemon Go people going by, but we were mostly left in peace. We saw the prettiest little dragonfly flying around as well. Sammi also brought some mini cupcakes, which were much appreciated.

With our recent foray in to perfume buying, Shalisa got given some samples by her mother, who works at a department store. So she bagged them and labelled them in this cute manner! 

Sammi made this adorable budgie themed rosette! It looks a bit like one of my budgies. I pulled the most embarrassing reaction face whilst opening this. It was pretty hilarious, but I wasn't confident enough to share it here! 

During our perfume sampling session, Shalisa inflicted on Sammi the most horrendous smelling perfume ever. She had already tried it and knew how bad it was, but I think she wanted us to join in her previous suffering! Sammi's reaction? She said "it smells like death". The worst part is, this scent was very long-lasting! It was supposed to smell like lilies, but I have never been a fan of lilies and it reminded me of a crematorium. It definitely had a smell of funeral about it! Not even Sammi's strawberry laces smelling hand sanitiser could save her from the death scent.

As we had discussed it previously, Sammi and Shalisa were in casual fashion as well. I liked Shalisa's Banana Fish top and Sammi had layered this lovely dress over a green dress to create a pretty mint shade. I really like how we each took the more casual theme and went very different ways with it. I had to take off my petticoat eventually though, as it was getting way too hot.

I didn't get a good shot on the day, but these are the bloomers that Shalisa gave me. I have been meaning to get a pair for so long. If you would like a pair, you can get them from Shalisa's store Sugar Trampoline. I can tell you that they are very comfortable. As I have a digestive system condition, I can't stand having lots of layers pressing down on my stomach. But these bloomers don't dig in and they are very comfortable to wear. I also found that the elastic stretched comfortably enough that I could wear the bloomers low-slung if I so desired. These bloomers also featured a cute little rose detail at the waist and some bows on top of the gathering at the leg holes. I cannot recommend these bloomers enough and I will be buying myself another pair at some point.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the well-wishers. I know a few of you who left messages may be reading this post. As you can see, I had a great time and I was so happy to spend some quality time with some much loved friends. I even got to do the Crystal Maze experience the week before with another group of friends, which was incredible. I haven't had the easiest of times recently, so I am so grateful that I have these happy memories to look back on.

Fun With Friends and an Encounter With Arabella...

With all of us in desperate need of meeting up and having a good long talk, I met up with Sammi and Shalisa in Reading on Saturday. I thought it was going to be a pretty quiet day, but it turned out to be quite eventful.

It has been a while since I last wore Meta's Candy Star Rabbit, so I decided to wear it. I had been intending to wear it one last time and then sell it, but I ended up coming up with a few outfit ideas for it. So selling this skirt has been put on hold for a while! I had my concerns about this outfit. I decided to try and make use of the wide variety of colours which appear on the skirt, which involved adding pinks which I am not sure 100% matched. There was also the task of balancing the 2 main skirt colours throughout the outfit.

My accessories were mostly candy themed, which ended up with me using a lot of Angelic Pretty jewellery. As the blue on the skirt is not a widely used shade, I ended up making the star clips which I attached to the cuffs.

We initially went perfume shopping in the Oracle Centre. I ended up getting a bottle of perfume which I had mentioned in my recent post about perfume. Shalisa also ended up getting a lovely rose perfume from the Body Shop. It was interesting to find another rose perfume which actually smelt of roses! Perhaps I need to keep more of an eye on the Body Shop in the future.

As we exited the shopping centre, we were confronted with this interesting "lady" called Arabella. This is where things went a bit strange. Upon seeing us, the lady with the umbrella and Arabella decided that they absolutely had to come over. There was the usual questions about what we were wearing and where we got our clothes from. Then the lady told us that Arabella had a gift for us, and we were given a box to open which contained a key and a safety pin inside. Upon taking the gift, we were told that we had to go underneath Arabella's skirt (cue internal screaming). The lady absolutely insisted that we should do it and this poor gilr holding a sign just sort of muttered "just go with it" at us. After scrambling underneath her skirt, which was very small and claustrophobia inducing, we spoke to a man who wore a dodgy veil and one of the worst fake 'French' accents I have ever heard. We were told that this key had the power to grant each of us a wish and then we had to attach the key to the underside of her skirt. If the weird, sexual undertones were not bad enough already, we then each ended up having to take Arabella's cherry. And there is also photographic evidence somewhere out there of us being underneath this lady's skirt.

Sounds peculiar right? Here is a picture of the cherry I took from Arabella. I wonder what that is supposed to symbolise... Allegedly, this was part of some sort of art festival that was being held in town. This has to be one of the weirdest experiences of my entire life and I am still confused over how on earth all of this even happened. As we walked to the pub, the 4 of us looked at each other in disbelief.

Before getting food, we decided to go and take some photos by the riverside. Don't be fooled by the lovely, sunny picture. It kept alternating between sunshine and cloudy skies, which made photo taking very frustrating. It also kept raining at several points during the day. But aside from the weather, I am glad we found a nice photography spot so close to the only pub in Reading that we dare to set foot in.

There are these lovely ruins nearby but sadly the general public are not allowed in. It is a pity, because they could make for a lovely photo opportunity. Sadly, it seems they have been closed for a very long time and there are no signs of it opening again.

There was a sculpture nearby, which seemed quite contrasting to the old looking ruins. I did quite appreciate the hidden faces in the sculpture though.

We got so flustered with the weather, that we sort of forgot to take group shots. But here is a solo shot of Sammi. She wore Dreaming Macaron so cutely. Sammi loves yellow, so it seems a natural choice for her to wear.

Shalisa looked pretty in her Baby dress too. I believe it is Alice's Ribbon Kingdom? I always get so confused with all the print names when it comes to Baby. I liked that her hair and bolero matched the lighter pink in the print so well.

Then we went for food and it started off by sounding so promising. The Outlook had some new options added to their menu and a few of us were keen to try out their new hog roast burger. Sadly, the burger did not live up to its name at all. There was barely any pork, which seemed to have just been mixed in with the stuffing. I had way too much apple sauce, so when I bit in to my burger I got a very appley and salad mouthful with hardly any meat. The bun on mine was overdone as well, so it was rock hard. In the end, the bacon was the only good bit, and there were only 2 rashers. I have had some good meals at the Outlook before, so this was a huge let-down for me. The others did not seem impressed either. I am hoping it is a case of the pub having an off-day, but I wont be getting the same meal from them again.

Sammi and I decided to indulge in some Pimms, which for some reason was bright orange in colour. It tasted different as well. It was still nice, but I suspect that orange juice had been added. It just didn't taste like the Pimms I know and love. At least it came with a cute strawberry stirrer! We also all got the chocolate fudge cake again, which at least lived up to its usual standard.

We had a bit of a walk around the shopping areas again after leaving the pub. As we exited the Oracle from another way, I found a UFO machine with LED ducky keychains for £1. Being the duck obsessive that I am, I naturally had to have one! I got the green one first, then tried my luck again for my desired blue ducky. Alas, I got the pink one, but the pink one is still pretty cute. I think I got a bargain here, although I am glad I walked away from the machine when I did. I could have quite easily wasted a load of money trying to get that coveted blue one! I got undressed and put my pyjamas on right away when I got home. I think the ducks look quite good next to my birdie themed pyjamas.

So we had a day of very mixed fortunes. I still can't quite get my head around the Arabella situation and keep asking myself whether this really needed to of happened. My heart was really racing at one point, as I had no idea what we had let ourselves in for! Even the pub food was terrible. Having a noisy family with about 7 kids sat near us didn't help either. But despite all this, I was so glad I had the chance to see Sammi and Shalisa again. I don't really want to go in to much detail, but I had a terrible June, and just going out and having some fun with my friends was a huge pick-me-up. It felt good to laugh again. And if nothing else, I am grateful I didn't have to deal with the Arabella business on my own!

Some Casual ILD Fun in Reading

I hope everybody had a good International Lolita Day on Saturday! There were many different communities hosting meets in the UK, which is always nice to see. As for myself, I didn't actually attend any meets and chose instead to just hang out with Sammi and Shalisa. I guess my attitude to comm meets has changed a bit lately and I need to have a bit of a break from them, especially ones that attract large crowds, which I am not so fond of. I feel really lucky to have some good friends I could spend the day with.

I chose to wear Lief's Gardenberries for the first time. I love this print! As you may recall, this dress was a bit big on me, but in the end I decided to wear it without bothering to do any alterations. I may still put a ribbon corset on the back to help make it go smaller, but I don't think the largeness of the dress is too obvious, like the photo above shows. As for my outfit, it turned out a lot more casual than I was planning because I chickened out of doing something a bit more daring. My initial plan was to use more red in the outfit, but it proved a bit of a challenge to get the shades of red balanced, even though there is some red on the dress. I did get a chance to use my Moss Marchen strawberry brooch though, which I pinned to the neckline of the dress, moving the detachable bow to the waist area. Also, please note that my tights were floral patterned ones, but for some reason the pattern wasn't really coming out well in the pictures! I was glad I was able to get one picture where my hair was curly, as the humidity destroyed my curls almost instantly. It was too humid to wear a wig though!

After checking out the selection in various supermarkets, we ended up with a satisfying picnic spread and headed over to Forbury Gardens. It was only after we had purchased our food that we realised Reading was holding their annual food festival that day! It was a bit devastating seeing all that gorgeous street food and the incredible smells coming from the stands, but I don't think we did too badly for food. It makes me smile to think of all the lolitas who sat down for nicely laid out afternoon teas and here we were with a casually thrown together picnic which didn't look too impressive!

Top food choice had to be the Party Ring biscuits that we picked up in Sainsbury's (reduced to 50p!). When we last saw each other we were reminiscing about children's birthday parties, and how it used to be a time where you could eat all the sugary party food that you couldn't normally have at your own home. Party Rings and Iced Gems used to be my favourites, so I insisted we picked up some Party Rings! To tell the truth, I enjoyed our cheap Party Rings far more than the chewy M&S macarons we also had (and M&S spelled macarons with 2 'O's which is always a big no-no!).

Choosing to have a picnic seemed to open up a world of opportunities for people watching and it is amazing some of the things people will get up to in public places. When we sat down it wasn't so bad, there was just one couple doing some intense kissing on a bench nearby. But suddenly, it seemed we were surrounded by couples! At one point there were 5 different couples surrounding us who were in various cuddled up positions and it got a little bit awkward. This couple got especially randy, and there was some bald head stroking going on and what can only be described as straddling and humping. As you can't see their faces, I decided to let this picture stay up on my blog for now! There was also a couple of mums with kids, who were smoking weed (the mums, not the kids!) until a couple of police officers decided to have a stroll around the gardens and a group of local youths on bikes. After a couple of hours spent in the park, I have come to the conclusion that people are very strange, just like the song by The Doors. It makes me laugh how anybody who dresses alternative is seen as weird, and yet we always seem to come across these quirky individuals who don't know how to behave in public.

A lot of the flower beds were barren in the gardens, but we can always rely on the rose garden part to have some nice blooms going on. I never feel like I truly capture how pretty the roses look in my photos. 

Okay, I promise this is the last of the flower photos! This was my favourite bloom that was out. The red was so vibrant. 

Here is a little group shot. I was glad we were able to get a good angle and not get any of the kissing couples in the background! Shalisa looked so cute in her handmade cherry skirt (it is making me want to add more fruit prints to my bursting wardrobe!) and Sammi looked her usual well put-together self in Melty Cream Donuts. 

We have finally mastered the perfect Instax shot! It is all about the distance and angle. It came out so well and I love the vintage feel to it. This makes me want an Instax camera of my own, but they are so heavy to lug about!

I was told there had been a duck in the pond earlier in the day, but I missed it! If I had known, I would have saved some of my bread for it. I know you are not meant to feed ducks bread, but I think it makes a nice treat for them every now and then.

Afterwards we headed to the Slug for cocktails. I went for flavour over alcohol content and got some Porn star martinis. I love passion fruit so much and it is such a nice drink to sip slowly. Our friend Will joined us for drinks as well, which was really fun. Will is so funny and easy to talk to. I think I may of had one drink too many but it was still good, despite the Slug being loud and a bit stuffy.

So despite not really feeling the comm vibe right now, I was still able to dress up and have a good time. I was glad we made the effort to do something other than going to the pub, even if it meant we ended up witnessing a couple getting their bonk on! I hope all of my lovely readers had a good day as well, no matter what you were all doing.