THE TREEHOUSE, BEACONSFIELD

After Hannah mentioned that Emily wanted to go for drinks in celebration of her Birthday and that we should drop into The Treehouse in Beaconsfield, I knew the camera had to come along for some moody black & white photos of their fantastic cocktails.

We arrived just before 7pm to take advantage of their £5 burger deal, grabbed a table and perused the inexhaustible selection of cocktails in their Spring/Summer menu. I settled for a Margartia, whilst Hannah had a Wibble and Emily an Apple and Elderflower Collins. We watched in silence as the bartender worked his magic, skilfully crafting our orders and serving them up for us to enjoy, as we walked back to our table I had  new found ambitions of being a Mixologist, creating these little works of art for people to enjoy.




 After enjoying the first round and a bun-less burger I grabbed the menu and settled on a White Russian to finish off the evening, being my first time trying one I had great expectations, thankfully I wasn't let down. The subtle mix of Vodka, Kahlua & Cream reminded me of everything I love about Baileys at Christmas whilst having enough of a kick to keep me guessing. Hannah and Emily both ordered a Lychee & Elderflower Martini - an interesting mix of Vodka, Elderflower liquer and Lychees

We all left happy and content after a few hours of conversation & cocktails and began planning our next trip to Beconsfield for Sushi at Achimi!

Drinks:
Margarita - Tequila shaken with Cointreau and lime
Wibble created by Dick Bradsell - Gin, sloe gin, grapefruit, lemon, blackberry and sugar
Apple and Elderflower Collins - Vodka mixed with fresh apple and Elderflower Liqueur
White Russian - Vodka, Kahlua and cream.
Lychee and Elderflower Martini - Vodka laced with Elderflower liqueur and Lychee

THE PANTRY, HAZLEMERE

Although I've dropped into The Pantry a few times of the last six months I've neglected to pick up my camera and shoot some of the best coffee & aesthetics Buckinghamshire has to offer, but as you can see this was a huge mistake on my part.

The coffee is without a doubt as good as anything you'll enjoy at even the most well respected café and speaking with the owner Charles the next few months at the Pantry present some excited prospects, with renovations and a new espresso machine that in Charles words will mean "We're serving some of the best coffee in the UK."

Hannah and I were also fortunate to bump into Auntie Val as she finished her morning shop and she joined us for coffee and a chat. I was very thankful for the quiet ambiance of the Pantry on a Saturday morning and definitely plan to make more frequent visits.

Also, the light was mind blowing. Overcast skies and summer sunshine make for a universal soft box.

WHIPPET GREY

When Hannah and I got chatting to Dominic a couple of weeks ago I never thought I'd get the chance to shoot his wonderful shop Whippet Grey. The reason for our initial chat? Eggs! That puppy certainly does get some attention.

Dominic grabbed his DSLR when we walked in with Eggs and wanted a photo for Twitter, of course we mentioned his blog and that I was an avid photographer. After we left the conversation continued on Twitter and ended with me being invited to photograph the space.

Whippet Grey is a lovely little shop in Old Amersham selling all manor of wonderful items and I very much like to visit just to browse the shelves and enjoy the interior. As of right now we've only bought Hannah's cardboard moose head but plan on buying a few bits for the kitchen when we get the chance.

AN AFTERNOON IN MARLOW

I've written about Marlow on my blog before, last time we went it was very cold and very fresh! It was still a little chilly last time we went but the sun did come out in the afternoon, so much so we could actually take our coats off.

Last time I complained about the lack of coffee spots, unfortunately not much has changed so instead we decided to drop into some back streets and explore a different side of Marlow. As you can see the architecture is lovely and still maintains the old English look so prevalent around Bucks, the old river side houses are to die for, especially when they come complete with their own dock.

We also stopped at the Marlow lock to watch a few boats come and go, including the junior British rowing team! On the way back to the car we stopped at a pub to soak up some sunshine and a glass of wine before heading home.

MUM & DAD'S ANNIVERSARY

My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on 23rd May 2012 and to celebrate they arranged a garden party consisting of all their closest family & friends with a ceremony to have their vows renewed by the Vicar that married them 25 years ago. They managed to pull this off exactly to the date they got married to make the day even more special.

The entire day was perfect as we had beautiful weather (the first real day of summer this year), wonderful food, amazing company and a ceremony to rival any wedding including speeches from Ben, myself and my Dad's best man from all those years ago.