Ok, so we had big news this week.

We made an offer for a forever house in the Somerset countryside and on Thursday it got accepted.

Wooooooo hoooooooo!

I literally jumped with both feet off the air and did a silent dance with Rich, whilst still on the phone to the estate agent!

It's felt like an eternity finding a house, losing 2 and spending what feels like every waking minute checking Rightmove and Zoopla. Even my in laws have been chained to iPads and laptops on holiday, trawling the listings on the property sites and losing hours clicking through house photos.

But we found one. We were actually going to view a different house when we chose to have a quick diversion to the forever house. I had asked for an official viewing but the estate agent couldn't fit us in and so instead suggested a drive by initially to see if we like the look and feel of the house and area. 

As we drove through the tiny village I knew we were about to see something special and as soon as we pulled up to the front of the house we could feel this was the one.

I jumped out of the car and snapped a few photos of the front. A symmetrical house with a door in the middle and windows either side, just like you would draw as a child, and as luck would have it the lady of the house popped her head out and said hello.

We introduced ourselves and explained we were on route to another viewing but had just 5 minutes for a quick peek outside. 

As we walked around the back of the house I almost cried and whispered to Rich "This is the one." It had me at the giant peonies.

From the cottage front garden to the secret walled are to the office barn above the garages, to the lawn "Where the family play croquet" said the owners, we had fallen in love.

There was just something to discover around every corner. They have cultivated the most beautiful garden in the 30 years they have lived at the house.

I said to the owners as we walked around admiring the flowers, the first thing I would do, if we were lucky enough to buy your house is to string fairy lights all over the pergola!

I know it may seem like tempting fate, to share the house before we have exchanged, but do you know what, it's more fun to share!

I want to enjoy every second of the excitement. This time it feels we have found our home. A forever home.

15 days to exchange! Ready, steady go!

Linking up with #hdygg and Mammasaurus

After discovering the Somerset Flower Farm last year I have popped back regularly for a bunch of their beautiful home grown flowers which I love photographing and sharing with you.

So can you imagine my giddiness when yesterday I went to help style and photograph their new website imagery?!

There is something so precious and delicate about knowing where the flowers actually come from. To see them being cut and wrapped for you to take home feels even more of a special treat. I loved how the boys were fascinated with the farm - you can read about our visit here.

Flowers are my luxury item! I fill the house with little jars, vases and bowls with fresh flowers and make one bunch work really hard!

Not only does the flower farm sell stems you can buy there and then, to take home and make your house pretty, Mandy will make up bespoke bouquets whilst you browse her vintage china, glassware, crockery and more, you can also order your wedding flowers straight from the farm.

I can't wait for Mandy to start her workshops too. As soon as I know more I will share it with you!

I was in heaven. A hot sunny day, a shady spot to set up our photo shoots and hazy sunshine across the fields.

The flower farm is a rustic paradise. It's not a perfectly staged shop, it's organic, in every way. And each time I visit, it's character and charm has evolved. Mandy's talented creative eye means that the barn shop is bursting with wonderful displays, little vessels bursting with colour and texture. 

But despite it's rustic charm you get an overwhelming feeling of opulence. Flower varieties you will never see in a supermarket and buckets teaming with stems so long you need to look twice to appreciate their raw state. Not the perfectly packaged, tied with an elastic band varieties, just bucket after bucket teaming with buds, it's like the best pic and mix in the world!

Here are some of my favourites! Apart from a little sharpening here and there, this is how they are. The colours are so vivid and needed no editing at all! The giant rose was the star of the show!

The photo shoot was intense and exhausting but wonderful at the same time! Mandy and I bounced off each other and established a friendship yesterday. The most important thing for me from a product shoot is to be able to give the talented client as much material as possible, to share in different ways and at different times of the year.

The flower farm photos need to work for all types of social media (think cropped square for Instagram, portrait for Pinterest, nice banners for Facebook cover photos etc), for their new website and that represent different seasons or celebrations. Of course, with flowers they are a seasonal entity! But Mandy and I tried to capture different atmospheres so she has lots of content to share all year round. Real photos in the actual setting, not perfectly light studio shots. I hope I captured the essence of Mandy and Ken's beautiful business and can't wait to see the new website live.

Make sure you follow @SomersetFlowerFarm so you can be spoilt with lots of lovely floral photos and news!

I can't tell you how nervous and excited I was to head to Manchester a week or so ago to speak for the first time at the northern blog conference, Blog On.

After packing our Pathfinder beast of a car with as many props as possible including the boy's wooden fridge for the real food props, I arrived at the Premier Inn to be greeted by a friendly face and we whizzed up to my room for the night for me to have a quick change before heading out for dinner. All the speakers were lucky enough to be provided with a room for the night before the conference and I stayed in the Manchester Piccadilly hotel which couldn't have been more central to the city.

The thing I love about a Premier Inn is the consistency. You know the likely size of the room, that there will be a duvet rather than scratchy sheets and blankets and the bathrooms are modern with good showers! I ended up cleaning my teeth in the bath as the sink was full of flowers for the next day's styling!

I woke up in the morning after the first full night's sleep I've had in forever (I'd like to think on account of the fact that you can now choose your pillows at a Premier Inn!) with a mixture of butterflies, clammy hands and ridiculous giddiness at sharing a whole host of my props for a hands on styling session.

I was thrilled to be part of the 4 strong photography workshop team with John discussing equipment and technical queries, Emily on hand for editing and Photoshop questions and Vanessa sharing her favourite photo apps.

It's an honour to be asked to speak at a conference, to stand up in front of other bloggers you respect and admire and hope that you can say something that will make a difference to each person!

I love photography but I adore styled photography. Nothing makes me happier than creating a little vignette for my social media feeds and playing around with props of all shapes and sizes. It's where I can pour all my creative energy into and have a record of my efforts in a lovely photo.

I wanted to make sure that everyone who attended the session got a chance to really see how I work and why I love styling my blog photography and we worked through a cheat sheet of things to think about when taking your photos.

You can download your copy to print at home here or click on the image.

I wanted everyone to go home with a little something so to start everyone's prop collection I handed out lovely spotty bags and smiley pencils kindly sent to me by Party Packs complete with a stripy straw and a cheat sheet postcard.

I also discussed the basic principles of the colour wheel. Opposite colours on the wheel are more complementary and will help bring your photos to life. So next time you photograph your little one in a red top try and get them out on some grass or against a hedge or trees. You will instantly see how the red and green are a good contrast as opposed to photographing them against a brick wall or fence panel for example. 

Print a copy out and stick it one a pin board so you have it in easy reach next time you are taking photos. Think about the colour of your subject, the colour of your background and any props you may use. Layer them up to add depth and interest and be mindful of that contrast/complementary colours issue.

You can download your copy to print here or click on the image.

We all know how important photography can be for your blog. And I wanted to help give practical tips and advice for improving both your creative eye and encouraging a love of photography in everyone.

Top Tips:

• Invest in a reflector.... aka a cake board! For small photo set ups I place a cake board on my tummy and sandwich my subject between my body and the window. A cake board will work as an inexpensive reflector and bounce the light back towards the window, to help you achieve an even light across your subject.
• Natural light is king but avoid sunlight. It's tempting to photograph something in the sunshine but all that will do is create really harsh shadows and lines, so pop into the shade!
• If you photograph recipes for your blog think about reflections! It drives me nutty when I see the photographer in a spoon when a quick bit of toothpaste, Brasso or spit would do the trick! Or failing that look out for cheap spoons in charity shops which will have a worn tarnished look that is perfect for blog photos. If shiny is all you have then dip your spoon in the recipe - tell the story!
• Think in odd numbers, it will always look more attractive. 
• If you don't have time to photograph a recipe right as you are trying to serve it and eat it but have some leftovers, save them for photo day! Line a bowl with scrunched parchment paper and layer your single portion on the top for a cheats way to prop a full family serving! Then you can still eat it after you taken your photos. I use picks and sticks to hold food in place and once used a drawing pin to hold a fish's tail to it's body!
• Wallpaper samples make ace backgrounds so pop along to your local DIY store and pick up a couple. I use a lot of scrapbook paper background too when I want pattern and colour. Plus they are squares of paper so perfect for Instagram photos.
• A piece of false wood panelling for £10 from your local DIY store makes a fab solid backdrop. You can paint them any colour you like too and they slide under a sofa so easy to store and whip out when you need it.
• Get creative, use your favourite print t-shirts as backdrops and find the light! Even if it means taking over your bathroom for 15 minutes, if that's where you get the best natural light go for it!
• And if you struggle to get your kids looking at the camera make a lens pet out of a hair scrunchie! I made this one for Christmas one year!

There are lots more tips in the podcast this week for photographing people and animals as well as how to make your photos more shareable on Pinterest. Thanks to all the bloggers who asked questions this week. Have a listen :)

The conference was a huge success, intimate, informal and fun.

You get out of a blog conference what you put in, in my mind. I like to try and be a sponge and soak up every bit of atmosphere and advice to help my blog develop and grow. And I always try and meet as many new people as possible, say hello to the people I chat to everyday on Twitter and seek out the bloggers I read religiously to tell them so! Blog On is a great environment to learn, because you had the ability to move around (although listening to some feedback, next year we may need some sort of klaxon so people know they can hop up and off) and really interact with the speakers. 

I loved hearing the noise of enthusiastic bloggers discussing their blogs and making new friends. It actually felt at the end of the day like people weren't in a rush to go! Which is the best compliment!

I wish I could have listened to the other speakers and I am so grateful for all the wonderful comments and feedback from bloggers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and on blog posts. 

Every photo that someone has tweeted or tagged me in has made my heart skip a beat, to see so many embracing creative blog photography has made my year! 

Left to right: Dietitian without Borders, My Mummies Pennies, Hodge Podge Days, The Cheshire Wife, Not even a, Hayley from Home, Raspberry Giggle, Rose Bud Annie and the wonderful collection of photos from Seeing Spots.

Left to right: The Boy and Me, Raspberry Giggle, Let's Talk Mommy, Kip Hakes, Not a Frumpy Mum, Ninja Killer Cat, The Cook Twit, WittyHoots, A New Addition.

Thanks to everyone who has let me know they have fallen more in love with photography! Check out 3 years and Home and But Why Mummy Why too who have been enjoying styling up their photos.

You have made a happy snapper even happier!

You can register for next year's Blog On event here. 

And don't forget to vote for your favourites in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards which closes this week! I am shortlisted in the Photo and Outstanding categories and would love to make the finals! You can vote here, if you'd like to :)