I blinked and June was over! 

A busy yet joyful month of celebrations, getting crafty, a local food festival, mum and dad’s first night out out… (Although we were back at thirty minutes past midnight) and having a blondie moment. 

Cake Smash photoshoot.

For Alessia’s 1st birthday in mid June, we did a photo-shoot! Alessia was so tidy that we had to smash the cake for her! She made us laugh when she started smearing cake icing all over her legs as if it was a moisturiser! Luckily she had a bath on shoot afterwards.

Many glorious foodie treats.

As some of you may know, I am a HUGE foodie. I have a dedicated food instagram account: watfordfoodiefinds that I have been posting on for years and years! 

Below is a glimpse into some of the great treats I had in June. 

A quick solo bite to eat at Nena Bakery, Sushi takeaway, insanely good smash burger and steak lunch at the pub.

Some more excellent foods I had were this incredible crunchie cheesecake at my favourite pub, Italian deli pizza in the car, picky bits tea with the England game, Indian styled chicken with salad, GAILS and a home-made butchers steak dinner.

Alessia’s 1st birthday celebrations were a major highlight in June. 

We had small homely celebrations on her actual birthday, followed by a party with wider family and friends. 

It’s a lot to prep for, but for my little girl, it’s all worth it. In hindsight though, I probably didn’t need to decorate my house with so much decor but it looked really pretty and I wanted to remember how special her first birthday was.

Going BLONDE-er.

My hairdresser added a bit of dimension and layers to my hair in early June. I still love it! It’s my favourite shade of blonde I’ve been so far. I will go back to my red hair days eventually but for now I’m happy with the blonde. She also gave me a big bouncy blow-dry!

Getting Crafty. 

I haven’t sat down and done something creative in yonks. Creating all the bits and pieces for Alessia’s birthday was so fun to do! Time-consuming when you’re a parent but very very fun. I’ll use the banner’s again when she’s older.

World Cup.

I’ve watched a lot of the World Cup matches and been impressed by England this time, as well as Spain, France and Norway. 

A lot of people don’t know that I used to play football when I was younger and I used to go to a lot of Watford games. So the “football fever” has never really left my body.

Growing up I was very sporty in general. I suppose I was one of those annoying people that could play most sports, from Tennis, Football, Tenpin Bowling (not really a sport but I played it), Netball and was really into winning everything and anything, haha.

There are dark sides to sports (the alcoholism and hooligans), but I only saw the positives. I liked the community, the team spirit and that “buzz” feeling when you achieved something great or that feeling of your favourite team winning.

St Albans Foodie Festival.

Joe, me, Alessia and some friends went to a local foodie festival at the very end of May. It was such a great festival and I’m tempted to go back next year. 

Live music, great foodie vendors, ube ice-cream, bubble-tea, k-hot-dogs, churros. They had a bit of everything!

Peonies.

I love fresh flowers in the home, they bring so much joy.

Father’s day.

An afternoon out getting Alessia’s first pre-walker shoes and a delish roast.

Spa day at Aqua Sauna.

My mum looked after Alessia for a few hours, so Joe and I could have a spa day. It was lovely. My phone went into a locker and I fully switched off for 7 hours so I could enjoy being in the moment and have a digital detox.

Reformer.

Reformer has been amazing for my back. Although I haven’t been able to go the past two weeks. Finding time to do things for yourself as a mum is rare but I do really appreciate forty five minutes of not being bossed around by a baby boss.

Harry Styles.

Joe and I got standing tickets to see Harry Styles! I was really apprehensive about leaving Alessia for the first time at night. I had never left her alone with anyone in the evening – Joe and myself always put her to bed. So, my mum kindly stepped in and did the night cover while we got to boogie to H.S for a few hours.

When Alessia woke at 2am, she seemed to be having a little nightmare calling out “mumma and daddy” which made me all teary, but was sweet too. We had a big cuddle and eventually rocked her to sleep for thirty minutes.

Harry Styles was amazing! We were SO close to the stage! 

Wimbledon.

I have been enjoying Wimbledon alongside the World Cup! A.Ferry has been playing really well and I’m excited to watch his match at home today. I’m a little sad a few of my favourite tennis players are currently injured though, so Wimbledon feels a little different this year.

I think that’s it for my June joys! 

Hope you’re all having a lovely Summer so far. 

Also… It’s been SO nice to sit down this morning to type while Joe and Alessia are swimming! And actually feel like myself again after being horrifically ill for a week with a stomach virus and hot temp. Such a small joy but having freshly washed hair after being unwell is such an underrated joy.

Ciao ciao.