Instead of mine and B’s usual Sunday morning routine (both on the sofa in PJ’s, him playing Fifa and me browsing my fave YouTube vlogs), we decided to make the most of this crisp yet sunny day and drive down to Hampton Court for a spot of brunch. We had previously walked past ‘Henry’s Kitchen’ a couple of times when out to dinner in the area, and were primarily drawn to the restaurant by it’s branding. Rustic with modern touches, the overall look of Henry’s Kitchen is definitely my taste – with super huge light bulbs (a guilty pleasure of mine), bold graphic type and a range of textures; Henry’s was a design dream. We headed down there for brunch having not seen the menu, but still expecting great things.

There were so many delicious options to be had and we took a while deciding what to order. In the end B went for ‘Anne’s Breakfast’ – scrambled eggs, chorizo and sweet potato fries, while I went for the blueberry pancakes with banana and fruit compote, with a cheeky side of hash browns… because why not. The food looked amazing when it arrived and we both had food envy for the other persons meal (as always). Mine was hella tasty, very sweet but just enough not to feel sickly, and B’s was great too. The chorizo was so juicy and we had an important discussion as why our chorizo doesn’t taste as good when we make it at home – we still don’t know the answer.

Full and contented we thought we’d go for a little walk around the gardens at Hampton Court – how grown up, right? Anyway it was such a nice day and by far my favourite weather – cold enough to wrap up but sunny so that you can’t feel miserable. The gardens were pristinely kept and it was nice just to go for a wonder. I would definitely recommend visiting them if you’re looking for something free to do… everyone loves free stuff. I especially liked the dome shaped trees, even though I naively believed B when he said they grow that way.. and I also thought the fountains were purty. The ice rink at the front of the Palace is open for skating, so we had a peek at the skaters on our way out.

It was nice walking around the area as all the local shops are all festive-fied, which makes me SO excited for Christmas! There are some super cute little stores back by Henry’s, which we popped into and ended up picking up some Christmas gifts from. There are also a couple of really interesting antique shops which had cool quirky things in. Gardens and antiques all in one day?! Woah my life is crazy right now. But I guess turning 26 on Wednesday means accepting that I am officially a grown up, and the fact that I do enjoy these grown up activities proves it! I’m doing a lot more Christmassy activities soon, so watch this space – there may be a cheeky trip to a Garden Centre near you!