A double dose of goodness here for you today as I failed to post my ‘Something for the Weekend’ in May and here we are at the end of June. Whoops. Nevermind, you’ll just get double the value in a single post! 100% MORE ABSOLUTELY FREE. See? It sounds like a bargain when I put it like that rather than me just not getting around to it last month.

The truth is, that May was a relatively quiet month for me – I wasn’t off on blogger jollies and I basically just tried to get myself caught up. There was also the Manchester attack that happened where I basically just walked around in a daze, crying, glued to the news for a week. Not the best mindset to blog at all really which is why I went a bit quiet end of last month.

As a highly empathetic and emotional person, I find it difficult to concentrate when so much is happening around me. Things haven’t gotten much better, to be honest, and London has had it’s fair share of shocking horror the last month as well so we’re just going to try to carry on regardless of the fact that the world right now really clearly is not okay – because really, that’s all any of us can do.

Travel

While May was spent mostly holed up in my home (as a natural introvert, this doesn’t bother me at all), I have managed to get out and about in June. We spent another spur-of-the-moment weekend in Wales with my other half, my mother-in-law, our dog and her dog! So the pups had a lovely time running around the beach like maniacs and we took lots of long, windy walks! It was a nice little break.

Events

I also was invited to Made.com‘s Supper Club in Manchester, hosted by Uncle who are property developers/landlords but with a difference. We were invited to Uncle’s Orient House in Manchester (I know!! A blogger event in Manchester!! I was so freaking excited as they are all always in London) to check out these amazing flats in the Grade II listed building.

The flats are all furnished with Made.com’s products and are so lovely with gorgeous views over the city. The building also boasts all sorts of amazing amenities like a yoga studio, gym and even an art studio. It’s really clear how much care goes into Uncle’s facilities and apartments. You can check out the building yourself here.

Top and bottom images courtesy Ian Thraves Photography

We had canapes and bubbles in one flat then got a tour of the building and finally settled at another flat where Grape & Grain were cooking us up a feast in the kitchen right there in front of us. The food was freaking incredible and the wine pairings they did were absolutely 5-star. It was so lovely to hang out with some of my fellow bloggie friends and the girls from Made.com were just wonderful hosts. Thanks so much for having me!

News

I do have a bit of exciting news for you as well. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may know that for the last few years, I have attempted to win an Amara Interior Blog Award. I’ve been lucky enough to be shortlisted each year (2014-2015-2016) but this past year, I finally walked away with the Blogger’s Choice Award which freaking blew my mind. Anyway, this year, I’m not going to be asking for votes so you are all spared from my harrassment!

Instead, I’ve been invited to be one of the judges! What! So I’m so excited to finally have a chance to peer behind the curtain so to speak on the awards. It’s really such a privilege and I’m both excited as well as nervous to be rubbing shoulders with some of the best and brightest in the interior design industry.

Features

I also wanted to share a bit of work I did with Wayfair over the last few months. They have put together a home mover’s guide along with a box of items to help those who’ve recently moved house and they asked me to write a 3000-word guide (!) for those wishing to decorate their new home.

It’s quite a few pages in their little booklet that gets posted and I feel enormous pride over the finished piece. It’s really just a lovely little informative booklet and I do really hope it helps their customers.

So as per normal on these posts, I wanted to give a little shout out to the following websites/bloggers who’ve mentioned my blog over the last two months:

My garden was featured on West Elm’s blog, Front & Main sharing my makeover which was really lovely.
The Friday Girl named me as one of her 3 favourite DIY bloggers which was just so sweet – thank you Allie!
Residential Land featured me as their Style Crush for the month which was a huge honour.
Remie’s Luxury Blog shared my garden in her post about inspiring garden ideas which was really kind as well. She also featured a couple other bloggers who took part in the #UKHomeBlogHop so do check that out.

What Else I’ve Been Writing

As per usual, I’ve been chatting about interiors for various websites over the past month and so I’m rounding them up to make it easy for you to have a look when you get some time this weekend and fancy a bit of light reading! Of course, I wouldn’t expect anyone to read ALL of these but if something catches your eye, then I’d love for you to have a little look. Each link opens in a new window so you can just click the ones you like the look of and go back to it later!

What’s Planned for Next Month

So July is looking busy for me already – I have a 3-day weekend of fun and chaos early in the month with two of my blogging besties – Maria of Dinki Dots and Alex of The Interior DIYer – who are coming to stay with me for the weekend. The three of us just have so much fun when we’re together and I absolutely can not wait to take them to a couple of my favourite haunts in Manchester. Our utterly ridiculous and hilarious Whatsapp chats keep me going on a day to day basis and I’m just so excited to see them both again!

I’m hoping that we’ll finally be revealing the Man Cave turned Glam Snug makeover in July as well. I’m waiting on one piece of furniture from Swoon Editions so praying that it might get here in the coming weeks! Otherwise, it’s coming along so nicely and I can’t wait to share it with you!

I’ve also got a fun cocktail post coming up for the hottest month of the year – as long as the sunshine cooperates! It’ll be something a little different on the blog but I hope you love it.

So that’s my roundup for the month! What have you been up to? Any exciting plans for the weekend? Do tell!

4 Comments

Kath Pinkham Edwards on June 30, 2017 at 1:40 pm

Wow!! On the panel of judges for Amara – that’s amazing and a huge accolade. Well done you and well deserved :-) And are Sophie and Dan presenting this year – or did I just dream that??

I’m looking forward to the man cave/glam cocktail lounge reveal. I love the way you’ve incorporated OH into the scheme with his Star Wars prints. Obviously the sign of a talented interior designer :-)
Jamala on June 30, 2017 at 7:01 pm

Congrats on your accomplishments! I’ve been a follower for years and you never cease to amaze and me! The events happening around the world are devastating and extremely sad, but it makes it a bit brighter when there’s bright moments (such as your blog) to make us smile. Enjoy your friends and i look forward to your latest reveal
Meera on July 1, 2017 at 8:48 pm

It’s always so amazing to hear of all you’ve been up to and WOW, Kimberly! A judge at the IBA! Amazing amazing amazing! Go you!
Pauline on July 4, 2017 at 9:49 pm

That’s brilliant you being a judge for Amara, I think I would be more nervous judging than being a contender, you’ll do a great job.
You seem to be getting busier and busier which is fantastic news, I know I’ve said it before but I love how you do this post, I can then take my time and have a good read at everything you written xxx