The Dovecote Buttery - Lunch and Stawberry Picking

Today I took a trip to The Dovecote Buttery - a restaurant and shop based at Dovecote Farm near Kettering in the Northamptonshire area. I've driven by the place countless times and today was the day I finally got to go in and experience everything it had to offer. 

In 1985 Dovecote farm began a pick your own fruit service, which over the years has expanded and now includes some veg too. In 2004 they opened "The Buttery" tea room, which has since expanded into a bigger restaurant area. The interior of the place is absolutely beautiful. It's very light and airy and is decorated in a New England kind of style with lots of shabby chic trinkets scattered all over the place. All of which are available to purchase as the place also doubles as a unique gift shop, full of candles, ornaments and various other things.

Just as you step inside the Buttery room you're met with the sight of fresh local produce, various jars of preserves, pies, cheese, pork products etc all of which are available for visitors to purchase.

We arrived at about 1pm and were seated instantly, which was a pleasant surprise as I had heard that they're often really busy and therefore being seated can take a while, however we were incredibly fortunate! The staff were very friendly and were quick to take our drink orders and give us the menus. After perusing the menu for a while I decided to get one of their delicious sandwiches served on doorstop bread. I went with the Tuna Mayo sandwich on granary bread which came with a side of crisps, salad and a helping of coleslaw. I've only ever tried tuna once before and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, however this was delicious and I can now confidently say I'm a fan of tuna! The menu had a great selection of items to choose from, ranging from jacket potatoes, soups, sandwiches etc. All of which are moderately priced. As for the drinks selection, they had a good choice of fresh juices, fizzy drinks, teas, cocktails, champagne and of course pimms! 

As you can expect from a tea room they have a wonderful selection of fresh cakes and scones on offer. Judging by this photo, the Baileys Gateux seemed to go down well with most people! 

After lunch we went out and picked some strawberries on site. Dovecote farm have a variety of soft fruit available for visitors to pick and even have a calender on their website so you can see when's the best time to go down and pick your fruit or veg. You simply pick the size of the container you'd like to fill and a member of staff will inform you which rows to go to in order for you to pick your selected fruit. Your containers are then weighed and priced at the farm shop. I've never been strawberry picking before and it was such a fun and enjoyable activity to do - especially when you have lovely weather like we did today. I've now got my strawberries chilling in the fridge and plan on having them with some fresh whipped cream later on this evening. Yummy!

All in all if you're ever in the area I highly recommend you stop by and check it out. It's a great place for all the family to visit. There's lots to do and the food is brilliant! A fantastic hidden gem - I can't believe it's taken me so long to visit! 

White Rabbit Teahouse

As many of my long term readers will already know I've been living in Nottingham the last two years. Having originally lived in a town and then moving to a city it's been really nice having so many cute cafes and restaurants to explore and visit. Not just well established branches, but unique independent places too.Today I'll be showing you the White Rabbit Teahouse - one of my favourite places to stop and get a bite to eat if I'm out in town. If you're ever in the mood to visit a cute traditional English teahouse then I highly recommend stopping by here - you certainly won't regret it! 

There are currently two teahouses based in Nottingham, one on Houndsgate and the other tucked away in a little alley down Bridlesmith Walk. Keep an eye out for the sign as it can be a little tricky to find first time round! The photographs I've included with my post were all taken in the cafe located on Bridlesmith walk. Upon entering the cafe you'll note that it is very small yet very cute with a few tables inside and two outside. On every table is a small pot of flowers and an adorable pair of rabbit shaped salt and pepper shakers. The walls are covered in a variety of frames and mirrors which helps add to the quaintness of the place. 

The menu has a fantastic variety of freshly made cakes, sandwiches, paninis, salads etc to choose from. They also serve a really good breakfast range up until 12pm so if you're in town early in the morning then I'd recommend popping in and giving it a go! They also offer an afternoon tea service from £25 which from what I've seen in photos looks absolutely amazing. As you would expect from a English teahouse, there's a massive selection of teas to choose from, with soya milk and decaffeinated teas available for those who wish. They also have have coffee's, fruit juices and chilled drinks to choose from as well. All food and drink are served on beautiful vintage style crockery and there's even the option to donate old crockery to the cafe so they can re-use it. I've visited here and had lunch a few times now and my personal favourite has to be their delicious Chicken Salad sandwich which comes with a vibrant salad garnish topped with a really tasty homemade dressing and a small handful of crisps. You also get the option of whether it's on fresh white bread or granary, on this particular occasion I went for the white although I've had both and they're both delicious.

The atmosphere is lovely and the staff are so friendly and attentive. It's the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a relaxing catch up with a friend. The only thing I will warn you about is that it can be really busy on the weekend so it's best to try and stop by during the week. Also they only take cash so if you're anything like me and literally never have any cash with you, stop at an ATM first! It's a really lovely, unique little teahouse and I whole heartedly recommend stopping by if you're ever in Nottingham. 

Pastel Hues : Photoshoot





Hello Readers,

I am the worst blogger ever. Every time I come back to my blog I say how I'm going to start being really motivated with it and post more often, yet within a matter of days I'm absent again and don't update it for quite some time. My last post was almost a month ago which is pretty bad even by my standards. However, I'm back today to share some photos with you all from a recent Pastel themed photoshoot I did. This was a really exciting shoot for me as it's probably the first time I've had a full team working with me and I felt pretty proud of myself for taking control and organizing all of this. Particularly because I'm such a shy person, living in a big city and being so young - it can be really overwhelming trying to make contacts by yourself. Thankfully, I overcame my nervousness and somehow managed to pull this shoot together.

This shoot was done at the most adorable little vintage beauty parlour on Station Street in Nottingham which hasn't even been opened a month yet! If you're ever in Nottingham, I highly recommend checking them out. The girls who work there are all super friendly, very welcoming and very professional! They offer a variety of affordable services, from Brows and threading at £5, to Manicures at £18, to full blown vintage makeovers, including hair at £60! They're a fantastic new business and I can't wait to see how they grow and develop over time!

Photographer and Stylist: Myself
Model: Mariella Cattley @ Model Students
MUA: Jessica Rose Pykett
Hair: Emma Whitley
Accessories: Lulu Brandy Vintage

Location: Lulu B's: The Little Vintage Beauty Parlour

That's all for this post, I hope you're all well!

My Photography | Model Students Agency | The Little Vintage Beauty Parlour | Lulu Brandy Vintage

Beauty Photoshoot #2

 

Hello Readers,

Today I will be showing you some of the images from a recent photoshoot I did.
As some of you may know, I'm currently on a gap year so it's really important for me to use this time to build my photography portfolio up and try and better myself as a photographer. I moved up to Nottingham to help open myself up to new experiences however this created the problem of me not having any contacts up here.

Luckily I found a modelling agency which has helped provide me with some amazing models so far and I also have recently found myself an MUA. So with that being said, shoots are becoming a bit more of a regular thing now!

Jessica, the makeup artist, was also responsible for creating this beautiful floral crown for the shoot. How amazing is that?! It was such a lovely prop to work with and I absolutely adore it!

Model: Klaudia Weselak @ Model Students
MUA: Jessica Rose Pykett
Location: Hopkinson Vintage and Antique Store.

 



 

 

That's all for this post.

Let me know what you think of these images! I'd love to hear some feedback.
I hope you're all well.

 

 



How I'd Style: Pinafores



 Hello Everyone!

Today I shall be showing you how I'd style 4 different pinafores. I'll be showing you how I'd style a denim one, a black one and 2 patterned ones. Unfortunately I do not own all of these pinafores but hopefully in time I could maybe add some similar ones to my wardrobe. I created these looks using Polyvore so some of the pieces I've used are high end, however this was unintentional and you could easily find something similar on the high street.

The first look I've created has quite a grungy edge to it and it features this beautiful denim pinafore dress from Miss Selfridge. This denim pinafore dress has PU leather straps, so to compliment this I decided to pair it with a mesh crop top from Topshop. I then added a pair of black flat form shoes and a black leather back pack which heightens the grungy vibe and makes for a cool and edgy outfit. A pair of round black sunglasses and a vampy lip would definitely help to set this outfit off.

 

The second outfit is so me! I already have a pinafore and shirt exactly like this so I already know I'd wear this combination for sure. This outfit keeps up with the recent monochrome trend, however the gold accessories and red lipstick help to break it up and make it that little bit less predictable. The black pinafore itself is quite dressy but the bowler hat, flatforms and backpack help to tone it down a bit and give it more of a daytime look.

 

 

 

Look 3 features a floral print which is very popular for Spring / Summer 2013 and that is the daisy print. This outfit is really girly, really cute and is super wearable. This pinafore is currently in the New Look Sale for £9 so if you want it, you better get it fast!

Look 4 features another beautiful printed pinafore which I believe is also from New Look. This outfit has a cute, vintage-esque vibe to it and is just too adorable for words. I think this outfit would be perfect for a picnic, a bike ride, a walk round the woods or just any outdoor activity! It's fun, girly and quite practical at the same time.

So that's it for my post today. Hopefully this has either inspired you with how you could wear a pinafore, or maybe even encouraged you to purchase one if you haven't already! I personally love all these outfits I've created and would happily wear them all if I could only afford to buy all the items!

Let me know what you think of this post in the comments, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Hope you're all well.

Paige.
*None of these pictures were taken by me*

90's Themed Photoshoot.

 

Hello Readers!

Today's post is going to be all photography related, so I hope you find this interesting! I did a 90's themed fashion photoshoot early this afternoon with a friend of mine. I've been really loving the 90's trend that seems to be about right now so I thought I'd embrace it and organize a shoot, to show what's on trend and how you can wear some of those classic 90's pieces.

 

I've had this shoot idea for a few days and thankfully I was able to actually carry out my idea quite quickly. I've been neglecting my camera this summer which is so bad considering photography is something that I really love, so a fashion shoot was the perfect thing to get me excited and in the mood for photography again!

Below is my moodboard which I had created for this shoot when I first came up with the idea of doing a 90's themed fashion photoshoot. I created this on Polyvore which is a great website for making these kind of moodboards. As you can see I've featured many classic 90's pieces, denim dungarees, oversized checkered shirts, scrunchies etc!



So enough with the chit chat, I'm sure you all understand the vibe I was going for with this shoot so here are some of the final, edited images.

 

 

So yeah that's all the images that I'm going to share with you all today! Leave me some feedback if you want? What do you think of this 90's trend?

Hope you're all well!

Paige.