The Best Things in Life in June

June is finally here... the start of the summer with the promise of balmy nights and sunny days. Although we've not seen much evidence of hot weather our 'best things in life' inspired by Red Magazine always cheers us up!

Katie

The best things in life...

Park runs… After being recommended the Alexandra Heminsley's book ‘Running Like A Girl’ and being inspired by my friend Rowena’s running regimes I have totally got back into my stride. I love to run around my local park, especially on a Saturday morning, followed by a trip to The Juice House for my favourite juice – Ginger Beer (without the beer!)

I recently visited the Ikon Art Gallery in Birmingham, and it was really inspiring, plus I loved the cute little shop on the ground floor that sold unique books, stationery and art. I will definitely be vising again sometime soon!

Hampstead is so gorgeous in the summer and I recently went to visit my friends as they have moved into a new area near Golders Green. We had a lovely weekend walking through the parks, shopping on Hampstead High Street and we rounded it all off with a visit to Villa Bianca for some delicious Italian food.

If I could only take one book on the beach it'd be... 

Anything by Philippa Gregory! I love stories weaved around history, especially the Tudor times. I get totally caught up in the characters and their stories set against the backdrop of historical happenings. I loved the TV adaptation of the Philippa Gregory's The White Queen last year too.

What are your social media habits? What's the last...

Instagram picture you posted? A quote I love from Maya Angelou – “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Pin you pinned? ‘Hell Yeah’ I loved the design, but the words just stood out for me and made me excited for our trip to the South of France this Summer!

Tweet you wrote? In aid of Volunteers Week I wanted to mention my local homeless shelter who run a 24 hour place of safety and warmth every year during Christmas.

Jane

The best things in life...

Summer festivals - Although I'm not a camping-lover I am really excited to be on the road at some fantastic festivals this summer with our veggie hot dog truck Not Dogs. We're still adding to the calendar but I'm really looking forward to seeing Tom Odell at Wakestock, MIA and A$AP Rocky at Lovebox and Bastille at Boardmasters.

ASOS - Having five weddings to attend this summer I needed some pretty dresses that could be adapted to use again with different accessories and additions and after spending hours physically shopping finding nothing ASOS came to the rescue! The website is great; the best feature being the in-depth filtering which means after seeking inspiration on Pinterest I could find the outfits I wanted.

Gino D'Acampo's Italian Escape cookbook - I love to cook mainly sticking to my favourite cook Nigella Lawson's delicious recipes as they never seem to fail to be perfect but my dad bought be Gino D'Acampo's Italian cookbook and I'm in love! Not only are the recipes full of flavour, the photography in the book is beautiful, especially the shots of the Amalfi Coast. I recently made a six-course dinner for my friends - sounds like a lot of effort but it was actually very easy and a resounding success!

If I could only take one book on the beach it'd be...

The Island by Victoria Hislop - it's my ultimate favourite book; I've read it twice and listened to the audiobook read by Emilia Fox countless times. This summer I'm re-reading it again as I am heading off to Crete where the book is set and fulfilling one of my 101 dreams by visiting Spinalonga a little island off the coast which plays an integral part in this amazing novel.

What are your social media habits? What's the last...

Instagram picture you posted? Very cliché but a picture of my labrador Beau! I captured his beautiful long eyelashes and couldn't resist edited it with Instagram!

Pin you pinned? I have a board named 'My Vision Board' on Pinterest where I pin any random image I feel drawn to and my most recent pin was to this board; a large open window looking out onto a sunny garden with a white squashy chair in the foreground... lovely!

Tweet you wrote? A tweet about starting the month of June with how to better plan social media activity.