wet week in wales

I disappeared there for a bit (again)! Oops. Saying 'we were on holiday' seems like a strange excuse, as it was ages ago now!
But, we were on holiday - a week in Pembrokeshire with S's family. It's not somewhere I have been before, but is a beautiful part of the world.

And quite wet.

The pictures below look lovely and sunny, but they are a well-curated collection, chosen to show the best bits!

We stayed in a gorgeous barn conversion, just outside St David's. Below is the view from the house. We couldn't see it when we arrived, because of the rain, but what a view to wake up to on the first morning! I enjoyed many cups of tea, sat at the dining table taking in that sight.



We managed one day at the beach, and I made the most of lying on the sand reading my book (One of a pile of eight books I took with me! I didn't read them all, but wanted to have options, depending on my mood).





We also exlpored some of the little towns in the area, and had a few hikes up to the standing stones.





Overall, we didn't do a huge amount over the week, but that had been my intention - it's not often that you can dedicate a week to doing nothing!

battle for a bargain

So, I'm back. Rome was amazing - and very hot. Even though we were only there for a few days, it has taken me ages to get back into routine.

We have had a quiet weekend, just pottering about the house and garden, which has been very nice. I didn't go to the car boot sale this morning as I was saving my energy for a special event later on in the day.

The local paper had been advertising a sale of Joules clothing. It was a sale of catalogue returns, in aid of charity. I have had my eye on a dress for a while now, so thought I would see if I could get a bargain.

I knew it would be busy, but oh my goodness. It was held in a garage (I think in the salesroom/reception area), with clothes piled on tables and a few hanging racks. It was absolutely jam packed with women. Let's just say that you don't come between posh women and reduced Joules clothing. There was pushing and snatching going on everywhere. There were a few little kids there, who were almost getting trampled. And it was so hot. Not a good combination.

I tried on the dress I wanted, but it didn't look very good. Instead, I got this:



As it was a catalgue return, one of the seams had come apart, but nothing that couldn't be sewn up (which I have just done, very messily!). It wasn't a huge bargain, but I have been wanting a new summer dress for a while, and do like it a lot.

After that I had to come home and have a sit down!

lots of love

Realising that my last post was a bit gloomy, here are some things I love this week:

* Buying new pyjamas (in the sale) - even though it is the summer, and will be too hot to wear them for a few months.

* Choosing which books to take on holiday - this can keep me happy for days. The current front runners are Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman and Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor.

* Watching an entire series of a favourite programme in one go.

* Scones with strawberries and cream on my favourite plates.



And I will sneak in a couple of not-so-good things:
* Discovering that a favourite charity shop has closed.
* Car boot sale vendors that have an attitude when people try to haggle.
* Trying to work out how to spell pyjamas - it doesn't look right.

roman respite

So, I disappeared there for a bit! Things have been a bit hectic the last couple of weeks. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. More specifically, the gorgeous light of Rome. We are off next week - and it can't come too soon!



Picture borrowed from here.

currently reading

Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor

a day out in... norfolk

Actually, a weekend away! We have been talking about going to Norfolk for the day for a while, and last Wednesday made a impulsive decision to go for the weekend. So we booked a b&b. All in the space of ten minutes! How exciting!

Bright and early on Saturday morning, we took ourselves over the border into Norfolk. Our first stop was lovely, lovely Holt. We only had two hours parking, which is no where near enough, even though it is a small town.
We had been before, so I knew exactly where I was heading. We hit the charity shops, and had lunch at the wonderful Byfords (coffee, victoria sponge and a chicken and chorizo pasty).



We then had a nose around an amazing 'antiques emporium', where I fell in love with a bicycle, of all things. Is it weird to buy a bike from an antiques shop? It was an old Triumph, that had been painted a pale jade green. Oh, so beautiful.
But common sense won, and I didn't get it.

It was then on to Cromer, where we wandered past rusty, yet beautiful, old tractors, sat by the beach huts, and ate the first 99's of the year. It was back to Byfords in the evening for dinner. S had a salad and I had, um, pie and mash.









The next day we worked our way along the coast, from near Blakeney (where I saw my first ever starfish - admitedly dead, but you have to take what you can get!).



On to Wells, where we went to Big Blue Sky and drooled over the lovely handmade items, and in to a crazy shop, housed in the old railway station that sold books and pottery. There was no owner to be seen, just a bell and a sign that said 'ring loudly for assistance'. Ooh, and a whole shelf of King Penguin books.



We had no luck finding somewhere to eat, and (after exhausting all possible options) ended up in MacDonalds in King's Lynn! But it was a fun ending to a fab weekend.

a break from bargains

We interupt the bargains of the bank holiday weekend, as I fear it was getting a bit over the top!

My parents came up to visit last weekend, which is always fun. I never thought I would end up living so far away from them (it's about a two or three hour drive), although I am dealing with it better than I expected.

On Saturday we wandered round town, drank coffee, didn't eat cakes as they had sold out, and went for a walk in the evening. I was supposed to cook dinner, but changed my mind at the last minute, and we picked up takeway on the way home (which made everyone far happier).

Sunday morning we went to the car boot sale, which was a bit rubbish. I think I used up all my luck the weekend before!

We then went to Belton House for the day. It is one of my favourite National Trust properties. There are some beautiful formal gardens, and lots of big open spaces as well.

We got there just as it was opening, so had a chance to wander round the outside of the building taking pictures before it was covered in visitors. Somehow I have managed to end up with lots of pictures of details, rather than overall pictures of the place, but you get the idea.

The statue below was the inspiration for the book 'The Moondial' and where they filmed the children's tv series (back in the late 80s / early 90s). I vaguely remember it, but Mum got very excited by this!

We also went into the house, rather than just the grounds, which was beautiful. There were two vast libraries (my favourite rooms) and a gorgeous Chinese-style bedroom. They have recently started opening up the basement rooms, so we explored the butler's pantry and the wine cellar, as well as the stunning kitchen.

Overall, a lovely weekend.