a trip to sussex (part one)

Just got back from a lovely week in Sussex. We were staying on a beautiful organic farm called Hawthbush Farm, in the depths of the East Sussex countryside, surrounded by wild flower meadows, woodland, cows, sheep, butterflies and birds. It really is a magical place.

 

We were staying in the Piggery, which I could quite happily move into. 
Every morning we would wake up to these ladies.

 

We wanted to stay a few nights in one of their shepherd huts but they were all fully booked. There are a few to choose from dotted around the farm with views over the meadow. This one was my favourite with its little stove, lanterns and vintage pictures, maybe next time...

We also visited Lewes for the first time which is really pretty, lots of lovely shops and cafes and Brighton which is always full of inspiration.

I'm still editing lots of photos of the beautiful gardens and houses we visited, so more to come!  

getaway

Well I'm back from our getaway to Spain, it's a bit of a shock to be back at work after spending our days enjoying the warm sunshine, simple lunches of fresh prawns, buying fruit from the local market and our morning coffees at our favourite cafe.

I may slightly have the post holiday blues, but now I'm settled back at home, I'm looking forward to wrapping back up for the winter months ahead.

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

 

eat london

I’ve had a few days off work to get ready for my exhibition, which started on Saturday at West Ox Arts gallery in Bampton, pricing and labelling always seems to take forever.

I did manage to squeeze in a trip to London though, my boyfriend has just bought the ‘Eat London’ book and after flicking through pages of amazing cafes and restaurants, we thought we would check out Pizza East in Shoreditch. I love this area of London; the pizzeria is an old tea building and as you have probably guessed serves great pizzas, yum!

The rest of the day we wandered about the old streets of Brick Lane popping in to little shops and cafes

Now I had better get on with some proper work…..

simple florals

I've been house sitting, looking after my mum's cat for a few days and took these photos of the little garden 'beach hut' yesterday,  it's had a spring clean ready for the summer and looks lovely at the moment...we use it to serve tea and cakes in during my open studio exhibition which is coming up in May. I think secretly we both love the idea of having our own little cafe, if only to have an excuse to buy more vintage china.

escape to the city

Last week my boyfriend and I went to the National Portrait Gallery in London.
I hadn't been there for years and there was something amazing about walking through room after room full of grand portraits, all these famous men and women throughout history looking down on you. Some of the paintings were enormous, the size of the room, with elaborate gilt frames. I came away with a few postcards, the lady in black 'Lady Colin Campbell' was one of my favourites, painted in 1897.

We thought we'd check out Mishkins for lunch, after reading about it on 'Miss Pickerings' lovely blog. It was exactly as she had described it. I recommend the Brick Lane salt beef with Colin's and pickles, with a Gin Rickey served in a jam jar.

I always make a quick stop at the Cloth House haberdashery on Berwick Street. I love their displays and they have a great selection of trims and buttons.

I also saw some beautiful furniture in Liberty's, but completely out of my price range, so now I'm on a mission to find something similar....

cupcakes & milkshakes

After a busy week with the exhibition I felt like I deserved a bit of a treat. So my boyfriend and I headed down to London for the day. We wandered through Notting Hill, stopping at the Hummingbird Bakery for one their delicious cupcakes. Looking through the antique shops at all the lovely old Christmas decorations, but somehow managing to resist, we walked over to 'Lucky Seven' a classic American diner that serves the best milkshakes and fries.

No visit to London would be complete without a trip to Liberty's department store. I fell in love with their Christmas windows displays, is it wrong to want a stuffed swan for Christmas? Perhaps I should ask the queen!

My final and best treats of the day were the Liberty book of sewing, which I have wanted for ages, a mouse pin cushion and Nars nail varnish in 'endless night' for those winter parties.

What a lucky girl I am!

holiday

 Well, I'm back from a lovely week away with my boyfriend in Fowey, Cornwall.

I feel there's lots to catch up with, and I'm looking foward to seeing what everyone has been up to while I've been away.

Fowey is such a pretty coastal town with so many great little cafes and shops. I love Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' so it was intriging to find out more about the author and her love of Cornwall. 

A lot of cream teas were eaten, but hopefully burnt off with all the walks across the cliff tops to nearby villages.

 This cafe, 'Pinky Murphys' had a surf shack, living room feel to it. 

 The Lifebouy cafe  on Lostwithiel street was my favourite and made the best crab sandwiches. Inside it is decorated with all sorts of vintage treasures. I could of spent all day drinking cups of tea, looking through the old books and maps watching the world go by.

I have lots more photo's to show you, but I need to get sewing again too....

eclectic mix

A great area of Brighton are 'The Lanes' home to an eclectic mix of unique shops, cafes, retro and vintage shops. There is so much to see...There is also a lovely fabric shop which I always visit. This time I bought some lovely silk in dusky pink and some linen fabric to make some cushions.
Lunch at Bills Produce Store is a great place to have a break before some more shopping!

I love the vintage and bric a brac shops in Brighton, I bought an amazing pink art deco mirror box. It needs a good clean but will look lovely.

This shop 'Last' had the most amazing shoes and tights.

As a special treat we had dinner at the famous vegetarian restaurant terre a terre. The food was delicious!