It has been a while! But for very exciting reasons. Last year, the majority of our time and energy was focussed on one thing. After a pretty disappointing and difficult end to 2021, January 2022 brought us the news we had been (not so patiently) waiting for!
Pregnancy Announcement
We are having a baby!! Yes that’s right, Hannah and I are expecting our first baby this October. Excited does not even begin to describe how we feel, although to be honest I’m still not sure it has really sunk in. Hannah is doing the heavy lifting (quite literally) and is more than halfway through the second trimester at 23 weeks. Baby is growing perfectly and making their presence known by regularly dancing on mummy Hannah’s bladder as inconvenient as that may be while she is away filming.
After a few back to back negatives, when we found out Hannah was pregnant we couldn’t quite believe it, we really weren’t expecting to see that second line on the test. Ironically, I ended up getting to tell Hannah she was pregnant, I had only picked up the test to cover it with something while we waited the usual 3 minutes. Glancing down there was really no mistaking that second line that had already developed less than 30 seconds in. I genuinely screamed at poor Hannah who was beyond shocked. Several tests and weeks later we still didn’t really believe but seeing that little heartbeat at our 7 week scan in the fertility clinic (coincidentally on Valentine’s Day) confirmed what we already knew and that this baby was growing on track. Since then, baby has aced their 12 and 20 week scans, as their mums stare in awe at the screens seeing them grow and look more and more like a little human.
Hannah has been amazing! The first trimester nausea hit her as expected but was never too too bad, apart from during tooth brushing time and just as she moved into the second trimester. Baby was like “haha you thought you were safe”. Oat milk has become a no go, but hummus is a new fave (she used to hate it).
Since the midwife told us baby could hear sounds, we have been reading to them every night. When Hannah is on location we even FaceTime for it, it’s a routine I look forward to continuing when baby arrives.
We have decided not to find out if we are having a boy or girl – as a same sex couple we have had few opportunities for surprises during this process. And neither of us have any inkling either. Friends and family are fairly split on their guesses too!
Autumn has always been my favourite season, and this one is going to be even more special. I can’t wait for adding our little one to our current traditions and making new ones as a family of three. It’s exciting, it’s nerve wracking, it still doesn’t quite feel real, but while we may not be physically ready (there’s still plenty of time for that right?!) we are looking forward to what this new step brings.
Wishing you all a lovely summer whatever it brings to you!
What a strange time we are living through at the moment, so much has changed since the beginning of the year and like many of you I am trying to get into the routine of what the current ‘normal’ looks like (here’s hoping we don’t have to get used to it for too long).
My lovely wife is currently away working on location and is in lockdown at the other end of the country, but I am very thankful that one of our friends, who has been staying with us since just before lockdown, is here to keep me sane.
We have been good at taking our one walk a day and have found numerous locations for future (post-lockdown) picnics.
I’ve lived in this area for two years and had never discovered this before. I can’t wait to be able to bring a picnic down here and sit on the bank.
The weather has been lovely and warm making it perfect for spending time in the garden. This Easter Weekend we thought we would have a classy afternoon tea in the garden (disclaimer it was actually coffee, but…). I would encourage each and every one of you to take some time out of your days to have a nice mid-afternoon pick me up, if you don’t have a garden, sit by a window.
We went through a stage of collecting nice china meaning that we now have quite the collection. Hannah had previously gotten some of this Wedgwood Cuckoo china for a birthday, but her Mum and Dad kindly added another cup and saucer and some cake plates to our collection as part of our wedding present. I’m a big believer that our nice china is here to be used and shouldn’t wholly be saved for the fancy occasions, which means you will often find us sipping our tea out of these cups.
Shout out to Jose for making the beautiful Easter table decor.
One of the great things about having a Swedish bestie is the amazing new recipes that she often digs out for us. For Easter weekend fika she decided to make Kladdkaka (Swedish Gooey Chocolate Cake).It’s super quick and easy to make. Top Tip: Add breadcrumbs around the edge of the cake tin before adding the mix – it adds a really nice crunchy texture to the edge of the cake. Ooh and we added some banana too!
A year full of books, brunches and beautiful dresses
Well, it hath been a year people! I can’t believe that we are starting another new year, and even more scarily, a new decade.
While the blog has been very quiet over here at Dearly Bookish, I have been very busy. From graduating with a Masters in Publishing and starting my first marketing job to welcoming my new nephew into the world, the last couple of months feel like they haven’t stopped. Next year’s diary is filling up fast too, so I anticipate another crazy year full of exciting travel, concerts, family weddings and big birthday’s.
Although I am disappointed about my neglect of this blog, I feel I have some things to be proud of with Dearly Bookish too. To start, I finally began to feel confident enough to start this blog and its accompanying instagram. In the beginning, I felt I couldn’t share my face as I was nervous (embarrassed) for people I knew to find it. Why? Like the majority of British people, I hate drawing attention to myself, the vintage style (although I must admit, I still for the most part do it quite casually) does tend to draw attention from people. While I am less freaked out when strangers compliment my dress, I still find it awkward around people I actually know. This is definitely something I plan to work on in 2020, and I am proud to say I am making steps towards that.
In reference to this reflection I have been doing, I thought I would share some of my favourites from 2019:
Books
Red, White & Royal Blueby Casey McQuiston
I was so excited when I first heard about this book – who doesn’t love a queer YA romance between the First Son of The United States and the Prince of England? It definitely lived up to the hype and I am eager to read more by Casey McQuiston and I really hope we see more of Henry and Alex some day too!
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Persuasion has always been one of my favourite Jane Austen books so getting to visit Lyme Regis, the site of the infamous Cobb incident, was a real treat this year. There is definitely something to be said about reading a book somewhere where you only need to go for a short walk to picture the sights that are being conjured up in the story. Anne Elliot and Elizabeth Bennet will always be my OG romantic heroines.
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
To be completely transparent, I had never heard of this book series prior to being introduced to the Virgin River Netflix series. I watched the first season of the show in two days and become completely hooked! I NEEDED to see more of Jack and Mel’s story, so I was ecstatic to discover that the TV show was based on a series of books. I read this first book in a few short hours, and am pretty sure, I didn’t stop for anything, staying up slightly too late. Even although the TV show has definitely taken liberties with the original story, I can honestly say I enjoyed both versions of the story immensely and cannot wait to see where the show takes the story in its second series.
Considering how many times I have been to this place now, I find it really hard to believe that I was only introduced to it this year! A firm family favourite, this is the place that all visitors now get frogmarched to at the earliest opportunity. My personal favourite is The Betty although my wife tends to prefer the Veggie Baked Eggs. My first visit of the new year is already scheduled in for this weekend, and I look forward to many more visits over the next year.
This place is GORGEOUS. I have yet to discover a time when this bakery is not busy with eager foodies excited to sample one of the gorgeous cakes, or sandwiches. We also started buying their rye bread to take home and enjoy. Well worth a visit next time you are in the Glasgow area. If there is no place to sit when you go, take your food to go and head for a nice picnic in the Botanics.
TheDress
Picking this one was THE hardest choice, I have found and worn some truly gorgeous dresses over the past year. From summery toile de jouy patterns and autumnal foxy skirts to a very apt shirt dress covered in books, I have had lots of fun twirling through the year. Hands down, however, in top place comes a dress that I have had my eyes on for well over a year. My lovely wife bullied me (okay so I wasn’t exactly digging my heels) into treating myself to the Tilly Prom Dress from The Pretty Dress Company for my graduation and I have major heart eyes for it!!
Well my dears, that’s it from me, I am very excited to see where this year leads us all! What are your resolutions this year?
This September I have decided to challenge myself. Now that I have finished my Masters, I thought it would be good to have something fun to work on whilst I continue the search for a new job. So, I decided to try and wear a dress for each day of September. I love wearing dresses, but I definitely sometimes need a break every so often so it will be interesting to see how it goes. As sad as this makes me, I definitely do not own 30 dresses, even if I included my wedding dress (as much as it would being me joy I will probably not be including that dress in this months wears). Consequently, I have given myself the following rules for the challenge:
I have to try and wear a dress everyday but I am allowed to include skirts in this.
I can wear the same dress more than once over the space of the month.
I don’t have to wear the dress all day (this would make working out very hard).
If you want to follow along on this journey with me, I will be posting a concluding update on here, but if you want to see my dresses everyday come check out my instagram @dearlybookish, where I will be posting semi-regular updates. If you want to take part I would love to see your daily dresses too, so please tag them #dearlydresses.
As I am sure you will so come to realise, I adore dresses. Honestly, my fashion style tends to fluctuate on a regular basis – one day I will be wearing jeans, a stripey top and blazer, the next I will be wearing a tea-length 50s style dress complete with petticoat. As much as I tend to enjoy the practicality that jeans afford, I am usually happiest in a dress.
I love stripey t-shirts almost as much as I love the colour burgundy!
Up until last year, I struggled to find a dress that I truly felt comfortable in – being on the heavier side, I often felt high street shop dress were too short, or not really suited to my body shape – until I happened upon the youtube channel Jessica Out Of The Closet. I adored all of the dresses Jessica was wearing that had that very feminine whimsical vibe, and were finally long enough that I didn’t have to worry about flashing people all of the time. Cue a ridiculously long amount of time spent on a variety of Vintage dress websites. My favourite shop right now is Lindy Bop, although I also have some beautiful pieces from Hell Bunny, Collectif, and Joanie Clothing.
This dress is definitely one of my favourites!
My lovely wife surprised me with the Lindy Bop ‘Bletchley’ Book Print dress for Valentine’s Day this year. I absolutely adore it, and love wearing it to bookish events and/or work. It is so much fun and contains gorgeous detailing on each of the books. The bright turquoise belt adds a lovely waist detail to the dress, and I enjoy the feeling of the fabric. Another huge plus is the length – the dress comes to below my knees so is super comfortable to wear. Oh and before I forget… it has POCKETS!!!
And who doesn’t love a cute pair of slippers to go with a pretty dress!
As many of you know, this writer loves any opportunity to get dressed up and even more so when it involves throwing a nice little party. So this year after being inspired by season 2 of the well-loved Bridgerton, it seemed like the perfect excuse to pull out those empire-waist dresses, dust off the china tea set and bring together some true Diamonds of the Season for a Bridgerton Afternoon Tea.
Diamonds of the season
The Table
Queen Charlotte herself must have been looking down on us as we couldn’t have asked for better weather. I had been so hopeful that we would be able to have it outside on the decking and for once the Scottish weather decided to allow it so the table was dragged out and ready to get set up.
I remembered a little to late in the day that we didn’t actually have a white table cloth and after trying (and failing) to find one that would work, I grabbed a double white fitted sheet instead which seemed to do the trick. The pink material in the middle was just a folded up piece of fabric I found sitting around the house.
The pearl garland was a last minute find from Hobbycraft (thanks Hannah) but fitted the theme perfectly!
Candlesticks were a gift and the candles we picked up from our local refill store.
The flowers were picked up from Tesco! A bunch of their beautiful pink peonies and some gypsophila to dress them out a bit. We put the peonies and most of the gypsophila into a vase that was leftover from Hannah’s bridesmaid flowers and the rest of the gypsophila we put into these tiny little vases we got ages ago that were again from Hobbycraft. They created a really pretty flower display and all in all only cost about £6.
We have a decent collection of tea cups and saucers and other nice china that we have collected over the years from gifts of Wedgwood pieces to thrifted bargains. I love that it’s all mix and match but still works really well together especially for events like these.
The napkins were a mixture of rose and linen folders to look like roses and displayed in the teacups.
Bridgerton Tablescaping
The Food
Everyone mucked in to contribute to the afternoon tea so we had a lovely collection of different bits and bobs.
Savoury
A classic cream cheese and cucumber sandwich – crusts cut off obviously 😂!
Another classic sandwich this time with egg mayo.
A wonderful carrot dish that came from our Entertaining with Disney book.
Courgette scones – recipe from The Hebridean Baker. Absolutely delicious though we tend to add Applewood smoked cheese instead of cheddar.
Sweet
Scones with butter and raspberry jam.
Homemade Cardamom cake.
Homemade butterfly fairy cakes.
A selection of fruity gateaus.
Fruit platter with Strawberries, peaches, red currants and more.
Drinks
Iced coffee
Pink Lemonade Iced Tea
Mango and Lychee Iced Tea
A proper afternoon tea with some twists
A Bridgerton must have
What is an event without a society paper?! Our in house Lady Whistledown, affectionately known as Lady Whiskerdown, was on hand to keep the gossip up to date with these fantastic little keepsakes for everyone who came.
Lady Whiskerdown had a lot to say
There’s nothing better than getting to enjoy some good food and good weather with some great people. This was so much fun to organise and can’t wait to do something similar again soon!
Raining outside? Why not take your picnic indoors!
Last weekend my lovely wife and I had planned on enjoying a nice picnic somewhere in the local area but the weather unfortunately had other ideas. It was pouring down outside and the thunder never felt very far away either! I was so disappointed because I absolutely love picnics and was eager to give my brand new The Pretty Dress Company dress its first spin!
We decided to have the picnic inside and while I headed upstairs to get ready my wife made a wonderful spread of items in our living room floor. It was truly magical and made even more special by our little gatecrashers in the shape of our two (rather annoyed by the rain) cats – Tonks and Tilly.
The ever-talented photographer, my wife, then took some fun picnic photos of me in the Priscilla Midi Dress from The Pretty Dress Company (TPDC). I am in love with this dress and think it may genuinely now be my favourite. I so versatile and easy to wear, while still maintaining that classic silhouette that is just perfect for twirling about the place! As someone who usually deliberates dress purchases for weeks (sometimes months) this was a rather spontaneous choice, definitely assisted by the discount code being offered in celebration of International Pink Day last week.
The Priscilla Midi Dress in Pink Vintage Rose
I now own four dresses from TPDC – the Tilly Prom Dress that I got for graduation, the Hepburn Valencia Swing that I picked up for an absolute bargain in the January Sales, the Hourglass Vintage Rose which I won during a stay at home competition, and now this pink Priscilla number.
Tilly Prom in Red
Hepburn Swing in Valencia
Hourglass in Black and Pink Vintage Rose
This company sure lives up to its name and wearing their dresses always puts a smile on my face. As someone who loves the vintage style, I love finding dresses that are suitable for every occasion – I definitely don’t believe in saving dresses for best and all my dresses get regular air time! This new Priscilla will probably get more outings than most, the colour is so pretty and perfect for everything from a socially-distanced visit with family to that next dinner date. As a plus it is also machine-washable which is ideal for an item that you are likely to be wearing a lot!
Worked out how much I love this dress yet?
I have had a fair bit of interaction with TPDC Instagram page and I can honestly tell you that their customer service is top notch! They are always so kind. As a plus, if I order a dress first thing in the morning it usually arrives next day!
Do let me know if you have any questions about my experience with The Pretty Dress Company dresses.
I am fortunate enough to live in an area surrounded by gorgeous walks. Many of these walks I had not had the chance to discover prior to lockdown so I am trying to focus on the positive outcome of this. I adore being able to refresh my brain and take in fresh air and fresh scenery on new routes in the local area. It also gives me plenty of time to listen to podcasts and music!
2. Book-folding
This is a hobby I started last year but am embarrassed to admit one that I can go months without doing. There are hundreds of patterns available online to try out. It’s very simple to do but does require a lot of patience (something I don’t always possess). I am currently working on a teacup and teapot design that I bought from Amazon! It is a great gift for fellow book lovers.
My first attempt at book-folding from last year
3. Jigsawing
The perfect thing to do while binge-watching Bones! I find it difficult to sit and just watch TV, so doing jigsaws gives me the perfect thing to keep my hands busy.
Last September, my lovely wife and I travelled to Sweden to say with our bestie and her family over there. Ahead of this we started learning Swedish using Duolingo. I took a bit of a break after our trip but am back on to it. It’s great fun, I love learning new languages! Do you guys speak any other languages?
5. Reading
This one sounds like bit of a a no-brainer but I have actually been in a major reading slump for the past few months. Thankfully, I have managed to climb my way out of this and am eager to read more while I have the time. I’d love your recommendations!
One of the books that helped me get out of my reading rut: The Guilty Feminist by Deborah Frances-White
What have you lovelies been getting up to during lockdown?
I have been making a concerted effort to ensure that during lockdown, I am still getting up and dressed as I would normally on a work day. The only difference? I have been having a bit more fun doing it.
While Scotland remains predictably unpredictable when it comes to Spring weather, I have not been deterred from pulling out those Spring/Summer dresses that have been shut away in the attic for the past 6 months or so. Instead, almost every dress or skirt has been accompanied with my favourite denim jacket that I got from Fatface in Lyme Regis last August. It’s heavy enough that it adds that extra bit of warmth to shield from the wind and light enough to be bearable on those rarer sunny days.
It has been a while but I am back to give a brief update on my 30 dresses in 30 days challenge. First of all, I am very proud to say that I was pretty successful in completing my challenge. All in all I think I only missed two days throughout the challenge.
Head over to my instagram @dearlybookish to see some of my looks from September and let me know what you favourites were.
I’m recently back from a glorious week down south in Lyme Regis, Dorset with my wife’s family. There were 8 of us in total, and we were all able to stay in the gorgeous Landmark Trust Property, Belmont.
Belmont House, Lyme Regis
‘I honestly don’t think we could have had a better location, the bottom of the garden had a gate that led onto a road that took us straight down to the seafront and Cobb. Even the view from the back of the house was spectacular.
Day 1: Arrival
We arrived midday just in time to meet the second half of the party and head down to the seafront for lunch. We found this lovely cafe called Swim that became our firm favourite for the rest of the week. Half of us then headed along to the Cobb for the first time and got some yummy ice-cream on the way back up the hill to the house. Special shout out to you Baboo Ice Cream for providing much needed refreshments for the majority of the holiday. We checked in to Belmont and explored around the house and its accompanying observatory tower (yes I said TOWER)! We spent a lovely evening with drinks in the garden before relaxing after our long travel day.
Day 2: Fossil Walk
On our second day it didn’t just rain, it poured. However, we set off suitable rain-jacketed and full of excitement for hunting down some of the famous Jurassic Coast fossils. We met up with our tour guide, and the rest of our fossil hunting group, outside of the Fossil Museum. With the help of the guides we found lots of different fossils including ammonites and belamites. Towards the end of our 3.5 hour walk the sky opened and the rain started bucketing it down even more. We all sped back along the beach and into the main part of Lyme Regis where we, slightly soggily, grabbed some bits for lunch and anything else we had forgotten to order in the food shop. After quick shower and some soup and pasties to fortify ourselves, we retired to the living room for an afternoon of napping and reading before a games night that evening. Top games of that night included Happy Salmon, a must-play for all of the family. (although it must be said Granny graciously bowed out of that one, and Exploding Kittens where much hilarity ensued.
Day 3: Let’s Explore
It was fish for the meat-eaters and Halloumi for the veggies for dinner that night, so an exploration team, including myself, was sent out to find the fish shop. This early morning walk gave us the best opportunity to explore parts of Lyme Regis that we had yet to visit and meant we found some of the most gorgeous ares including the one below.
A few wrong turns, double-backs and some 5,000 steps we returned to the house sans fish (the shop didn’t open until much later) but full of laughter and tales of our morning adventure. A fortifying cup of tea later, we all set off this time, some to (finally) get the fish, and the rest, myself included, to head for lunch (Swim again) and explore the seafront and Cobb a bit more. We had a lovely time walking around and took some amusing photos at the end of the Cobb, and on Granny;s teeth (the site of the infamous fall in Persuasion). The fish and ‘fishish’ dinner was a hit, and whilst some headed to bed early that evening, the rest of us stayed up chatting until the early hours.
Day 4: Birthday Girl
It was my lovely wife’s birthday on day 4, so we let her decide what to do. I started the morning by decorating a little bit for the birthday girl, including blowing up some balloons that I had picked up before heading down. Then it was cake time! The birthday girl requested Passion Fruit flavoured cake, so that is what she got. In the end it became a Victoria sponge cake with passion fruit curd and cream in the middle…yum!
The birthday girl then made her morning appearance for breakfast and presents. We all got in the car and headed to Forde Abbey, it was gorgeous. We were there way before the abbey actually opened so we decided to head round the gardens first. The fountain that went off shortly after our arrival certainly did not disappoint, and the rest of the gardens were truly spectacular. After a quick lunch stop, we had a look round the abbey itself and even played dress up with some of the costumes. The gift shop was a highlight too, especially the Tam Mason hand scrub that we all came away with. Seriously makes your hands so soft, it was in the bathrooms there, and we all became obsessed.
We headed home mid-afternoon, for a relax and a bit of a wander before dinner. We ended up at HIX Oyster and Fish House which was lovely, and had great vegetarian options considering it was a fish restaurant. After far too much food we meandered back up the hill for a cup of tea before heading to bed.
Day 5: Beach Day
We chose a relaxing day on the Friday and spent a lovely day at the sea swimming, playing games and enjoying ice cream. We even found the time to do some souvenir shopping, and were able to enjoy an afternoon in the garden and having some visitors over for dinner.
Day 6: Bridport Beach Day
For our second last full day we chose to venture out of Lyme Regis again and along the coast to Bridport, location of the popular British show Broadchurch. A lovely walk turned up some gorgeous pictures of the beach and sea. After lunch at the local pub, we even got to enjoy a quick run in the car around the town itself.
Day 7: Charmouth and our final day in Lyme
Sunday saw us again taking off and heading along the coast, this time to Charmouth. After some lovely walks along the coast we headed for lunch. We finished our time in Charmouth at the local museum, before half of the party chose to walk along the beach back to the Lyme regis. The rest of us headed back, and me and the wife took a wander back down into Lyme to see the Fossil pavement and pick up some things for our little nephew that is due at the end of the year. We also successfully tracked down some tins of the famous Dorset Knobs for everyone to take home. We of course had to head back to our favourite, Swim, for our last dinner in Lyme Regis.
Last Day: Heading Home
It was finally time to pack up our bags and leave Belmont. I was sad to leave the beautiful pink home that had provided such a lovely base for our holiday. However, it was nice to be heading back home to our sweet little cats and house. We enjoyed a lovely brunch at River Cottage before heading to Bristol Airport to begin our journey home.
Favourite Reads of the Holiday:
Paper and Hearts Society by Lucy Powell
A lovely holiday read, that filled my heart with the joy and hope that comes with finding your people. I found I could relate to many of the characters in the book, and enjoyed hearing more about places that I had visited too, and the greatness of friendship and love.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
I must-read considering part of it was set where we were staying. I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first time. I think Anne is one of my favourite Austen heroines! It was the perfect start to my planned re-read of all of Austen’s books.
Favourite Dress of the Holiday:
I suppose that I am kind of cheating with this one, as I have it in both colours, and I refuse to choose between the two, but it would have to be the Natalie Toile De Jouy Dress from Joanie in both pink and blue. IT was so pretty and worked great for dinner and days just wandering around Lyme Regis. I loved the feminine floaty style of the dress and the buttons up the front made it perfectly summery. It even had pockets!!!
Dearly Daryl 