Highclere Castle/Downton Abbey

Our good friends Laura and Hugh came to stay with us at the weekend and it was great to catch up with them. Back in February we booked tickets to go and visit Highclere Castle as it is extremely popular and tickets sell out fast.


The weather was a little hit and miss to begin with but we really enjoyed wandering around the house, Laura and I nattering away constantly about Downton Abbey and various scenes from the TV series, while the boys trundled along behind us. By the time we got outside again to have a drink at the café and wander around the walled gardens the sun had reappeared and it was a beautiful day. The gardens were very pretty, smelled wonderful as everything was in flower and then we headed off for Sunday lunch at The Woodspeen, my favourite restaurant!


Here's a few photos from our visit to Highclere Castle

Em x

Jack's Birthday

I've been terrible at blogging recently and I can't believe how quickly the year is passing! I'm going to get back into the swing of things now that jury service has finished.


It was Jack's birthday on Tuesday; I'd already given him his birthday presents a couple of weeks before as they were too big and too heavy to wrap (a huge metal toolbox/cabinet on wheels and a telescopic ladder, both of which he had asked for), but I did take him out for dinner on Tuesday and we decided to go somewhere different and so headed towards Oxfordshire and the Thames to go for dinner by the river. We had a nice dinner in The Swan at Streatley, before having a little stroll by the river to walk some food off. It was a nice hotel/restaurant in a lovely setting and Streatley and Goring are very picturesque, with lots of big expensive river-fronted houses.

After our meal we headed home and our friends popped over for a slice of birthday cake and a game of Shuffleboard. Has anyone else played it? It's a seriously addictive Dutch game where you push wooden discs down a table to try and get them through holes at the bottom for varying points (probably a terrible description of how to play the game)! I bought us a beautiful handmade beech Shuffleboard and we've enjoyed having a game each evening. I'll try and get a photo of it next time we play it.

Birthday Boy!

I spent all of Monday afternoon baking Jack a birthday cake, along with over 100 sausage rolls for him to take into work with him, as requested by his work colleagues who love my homemade sausage rolls. The cake was hard work but it's possibly one of my best cakes to date when I look back and compare it with the previous birthday cakes I've made Jack over the past nine years. It's a 4-layer chocolate 'drip' cake; the layers were sandwiched together with whipped cream, then the cake was covered with buttercream icing and a chocolate ganache drizzled over the top. I then made some chocolate shards (Hotel Chocolat eat your heart out!) and decorated the top of the cake with these and various other chocolate goodies. Jack was amazed with it and I'm pleased to say it tasted great, though too sickly sweet for me so I only managed about half a slice! I made Jack take the rest of the cake to work the next day to get rid of it - we're both trying to be really healthy before we go to America next month! I've included a couple of photos of the cake below, hopefully I'll get a recipe up soon for you all!

Making the chocolate shards was fun!

Em x

Wildflower Walkies

Before being struck down with the nasty tonsillitis I enjoyed some lovely walks out with Barry. We've explored a few new circular routes local to us; Barry and I like finding new footpaths etc. to explore and we came across lots of beautiful wildflowers on some of these. I have however got a big bed full of wildflowers in my front garden and I've been picking them occasionally and displaying them in the house, they look so pretty!

 

 

 

Cheeky Barry made himself at home in my crochet blanket!

 

Em x

 

Hen Do & Weekend With Jack's Parents

Morning All! I hope everyone is well and that you had a nice weekend.


Just a quick update on Barry for those wondering how the poorly patient is, he's doing much better. He has been home from the Vets for a week now and for the most part has been fine. There has been the odd bout of vomiting but nothing to be concerned about and he's getting his appetite back which is a big relief (he's so skinny!). He seems quiet still but I'm hoping that by the end of this week he'll be back to his normal bouncy self. Fingers crossed we don't have another flare up for a while.. He's starting to play with his toys again which is a very positive sign, we just want him back to normal!

On the rare occasions Barry wanders off and lets me out of his sight, he can be found sunbathing!

Making friends with Harvey the gorgeous Sausage Dog on Sunday! First time that Barry has met a dog smaller than him!

We headed back to Cambridgeshire for the weekend to spend some time with Jack's parents and for my best friend's Hen Do which was great fun, I think Jess really enjoyed herself. We had a lovely meal out in Browns in Cambridge followed by some drinks in a bar. I had a really nice time and it was great to see Jess having fun before her big day in two weeks' time! I had organised goodie bags for everyone attending the hen do and I had great fun buying bits and putting them all together. The other girls generously contributed and the glow stick bracelets and personalised badges proved the biggest hits. I sorted balloons too and Jess' lovely mother in law to be, Rene, made some beautiful flower arrangements for the table too - lots of the things Jess loves to make it special for her. The wedding is fast approaching and I know she's beginning to get quite nervous and stressed, it's also hard without her Mum here who suddenly passed away just before Christmas. So my intent is to make sure my bestie is well looked after and relaxed!

Hen Do Goodie Bags

Some of the bag's contents

Beautiful flower arrangement!

Jess and I

It was lovely spending some time with Jack's parents too. They own a windmill that sits on their property and it was National Mills Weekend so it was open to the public. It was great to see lots of people coming to visit the mill to find out about its history and have a nose inside. If anyone finds it of interest, here's a couple of website links:


Cattell's Mill Website: http://www.windmillweb.net/


National Mills Weekend: http://www.nationalmillsweekend.co.uk/pages_wind/willingham.htm




We've got a quieter week ahead of us which I'm relieved about as both Jack and I are tired after lots of travelling just recently. My brother is staying tonight as he's visiting a client near Reading tomorrow so that will be nice. They completed on their house purchase last Thursday so I'm looking forward to hearing all about their new home, with a possible visit planned for this coming weekend.


Other than that we will be making the most of pottering around in the garden and getting on with some DIY jobs in the house. I'm also dragging Jack out shopping on Saturday as he needs a suit for the wedding, so I think we'll head to Reading where there are plenty of shops.


Finally, just a few photos from my walk around Willingham while at Jack's Parents, everywhere looks so pretty even though everywhere stinks of pollen!!

Apple blossom

Lilac I believe? Please do correct me if I'm wrong!

Forget Me Nots back in our garden at home

Have a good week everyone!


Em x

Weekend; Dog Show & Huge Roast Dinner!

Hi all, hope you're all well!


I'm a little late in writing a weekend blog post but better late than never! Did you all have a nice weekend? We had glorious sunshine on Saturday morning, though it was chilly, followed by rain and then more sunshine on Sunday so we can't really complain. I'm very glad that we made the most of the sunshine on Saturday morning as the heavens really did open that afternoon.

We enjoyed a trip out Saturday morning to the All About Dogs Show at Newbury showground. We attended last year and found it good fun and it was nice to see lots of people there again this year. There's a flower and garden show on at the same time which you get free entry into when attending the dog show and so it was nice to buy some bargain plants too. Barry enjoyed meeting lots of dogs of all shapes and sizes; he was quite nervous, as always, around other dogs but that's exactly why we go to these types of events where he'll hopefully meet lots of friendly dogs. He was amazed at watching the K9 Aqua event where the dogs launch themselves into the water after a tennis ball. I think he'd have been good at this as he loves tennis balls and loves water but he wasn't going to let me out of his sight and there's no way I was going for a swim! We did however take part in the hurdles which Barry really enjoyed. I waited at the other end and he flew over the straw bales to get back to his mummy as quickly as possible! He went so quick he almost somersaulted over the last! He was so tired by the time we got home that he almost seemed glad when we told him we were popping out without him!

Happy worn out dog

Jack and I popped into Newbury on Saturday afternoon; we bought some dinner from the butchers and bought me my very first pair of walking boots! I live in my wellies at home when out walking and they're so comfy and versatile that I don't feel like I need better walking shoes, however we're off to Wales this weekend and I feel like walking boots will be a good purchase as I'll live in them from now on! I tried on numerous pairs, some felt so heavy on my size 4 feet! I eventually found a pair I really liked; they're very comfy and quite lightweight and I've worn them on a few dog walks now and they're great for supporting my weak ankles (how do you build muscle up on your ankles?!). I'm sure I'll rack up plenty of miles in them anyway; my Fitbit informed me this morning that since last Autumn when Jack bought my Fitbit for me as a Birthday present, I've walked the length of Italy - 736 miles to be precise! Although that obviously includes miles you do around the house when doing housework and we all know just how much ground you cover darting from kitchen, to living room etc.

My first pair of walking boots!

We had a nice quiet Saturday evening finally catching up on the Night Manager (BBC 1 TV drama series). It was very good, Tom Hiddleston is a great actor and I can see why they've now put him in the running as a potential 007 of the future, though I still wish Daniel Craig would continue as he's a great Bond. We had an indoor barbeque on Saturday for dinner; we bought marinated ribs and chicken wings from the butchers, all reduced as they don't open Sunday and wanted rid of them. Very tasty and I can't wait for outdoor barbeques.

I also spent Saturday evening baking a fruit loaf for my Nan and Step Grandad as we were visiting them on Sunday for a roast dinner and catch up. Syd has a sweet tooth so I knew he'd be over the moon if I turned up with a cake for him. I also bought Nan a beautiful bunch of flowers.

Fruit Loaf for Syd

And Flowers for Nan

We had a lovely roast dinner at Nan's on Sunday; she did far too much food as per usual but Nan is famous for that! My brother and his girlfriend joined us too which made Nan's day, she loves to see her grandchildren and it was lovely to catch up. Both Nan and Syd were also very pleased to have Barry there too for lots of cuddles, sadly they had their Boxer, Daisy, put to sleep a few weeks ago, so they feel very lost having had dogs in the house continually for over two decades. Daisy lived to a very good age for a Boxer though and was totally spoilt, so I keep reminding Nan that she lived the most wonderful pampered life with them. Barry was a very good boy anyway and did stay still briefly to be cuddled to death by both Nan and Syd (they treat him as if he is a great grandchild!).

My Nan was fascinated by my brother's selfie stick - I always laugh when I see people with them but it was the best way to get us all in this photo.

Nan cooked roast beef and pork chops, "because you can't have just one meat", along with a field's worth of broccoli, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes AND new potatoes! Nan also did one of her famous Yorkshire puddings, which we all passed around as if it were a hat and tore off a piece (it's tradition in our family!). This huge dinner was then followed up with strawberries and ice cream. It was lovely chatting away with Nan and Syd anyway and I felt guilty when we had to head home again, but it's a two hour journey each way to Bedfordshire so we wanted to be able to get home and make lunches etc. for work on Monday. Nan as usual sent me home with half the contents of her freezer; a whole chicken, a gigantic gammon joint, steak for Jack and bacon. She tried to send me home with a 4kg pork joint too but there was no way that beast would fit in my freezer sadly! So instead she replaced said pork joint with a dozen fresh eggs from their hens and some chews for Barry.

Beautiful fresh eggs from Nan's hens, laid that day

So it was a lovely weekend of dog shows, a little bit of gardening and family time. Lovely! I'm counting down to the end of the month when my parents return from their latest trip out to France, I've really missed them this time and it's feeling like a really long time so I'm really looking forward to seeing them at the end of this month. I said 'really' a lot!

I'm also very excited for our trip to Wales this weekend! I surprised Jack for Valentines by booking us in at a lovely B&B Pub that's pet friendly too so we're going for a mini holiday. It's my first time to Wales too which is exciting as the scenery looks stunning. We're off to the Wye Valley; it's less than 2 hours' drive from home and looks like there are plenty of walks to explore, which Barry will love. We're staying in Penallt, not far from Monmouth and I've already planned our walks while we're there (just staying Saturday night but heading there early Saturday morning to get two full days there). I've planned for us to head towards Abergavenny on Sunday and we're going to do a walk on Blorenge mountain, so that's exciting. If anyone has been to the Wye Valley and can recommend walks, places to visit etc. then please do let me know. As I say, it's a totally new area to us so I'm only planning walks based on my internet research. I hope the weather is nice, regardless we will still have fun!

Have a good week all!

Em x



One Year Anniversary In Our Own Home

I can't quite believe that a year has passed since Jack and I got the keys to our very first home. It was a very exciting day, especially after the stress of the weeks leading up to it when there seems to be endless paperwork, keeping fingers crossed that the mortgage is accepted etc. but we did it! Here we are a year down the line and loving having our very own place. We'd rented a flat in Newbury before that and though our little flat was homely and nice we were both super keen to get a place of our own to decorate and also so that our money felt like it was going somewhere - even if our first annual mortgage statement that we received last week was rather depressing!

The view from our bedroom window - at our first viewing

 

The house was rather dirty when we moved in and so I spent the two weeks I'd booked off work cleaning like mad. The previous owner smoked in the living room and so my first mission was so get rid of the musty smell. Sugar soap became my new best friend and the filthiest rooms we painted in magnolia to freshen it up in the interim until we got around to decorating properly. Affording a deposit on a house is NOT easy! Both Jack and I worked extremely hard to save for our deposit and we were very lucky that our parents lent us some money too. What that meant though is that every penny we did save up went straight on the deposit and fees leaving us not a lot of savings when we moved in. That means that we've had to decorate a room at a time as we've managed to save the money up. We don't really mind this though because we've gradually seen the house transform from a neglected and out-dated two bed terraced home to a much-loved, brighter home. However, my tip for anyone who's buying for the first time (we've been trying to give some of our friends advice too) is that whatever you think you need... you need more! I'd like to have been in a position where we had a bit of savings set aside for decorating, tool buying and furnishing but then I suppose if you were buying a new build you wouldn't have the decorating costs quite so much.

 

I loved the bathroom tiles when we moved in but absolutely hated the wall colour...

 

Jazzed it up to a 'periwinkle' blue! The bathroom now has a beach theme

 

I like to be thrifty when possible and so we visited the local community project shop regularly to see what pieces of furniture had arrived. We came home with some lovely dining chairs which now sit downstairs and in the spare room. I also got a bargain old book case which I've already filled on the landing - I now need to source another antique book case because I won't diminish my quantity of books!

 

Lovely dining chairs - they only had 3 but they cost us a total of £15 and just need a little TLC.

 

The garden was probably what I was most excited about when we moved in; I've always loved gardening from a young age when I used to help my mum in the greenhouse at home. To have a garden of my own means so much and I love escaping outside to potter around the plants or just to admire the countryside views over our back fence. The garden was quite the jungle when we moved in so our first job when Spring arrived was to get the choking plants under control and I planted lots of new plants too. All look pretty healthy still, only a few casualties along the way which is par for the course and a learning curve for me.

 

The clematis had completely engulfed the oil tank and the oil company refused to deliver more until they could actually get to it so our first job was to give the clematis a hair cut. The small shed you can just about make out as also gone; it was totally rotten inside and this is where Jack has now built his shed

 

Jack and Dad putting up new fence panels ready for the imminent arrival of a little puppy... You can also see the very harsh hair cut I gave the clematis (near the trellis). It bounced right back last year and was covered in flowers, I look forward to it being in full bloom again this year.

 

When I started to put plants in...

 

 So we are very happy with our home and it's definitely lovely having your own place to do what you want and make changes that you want (as opposed to renting). We've still got lots to do, garden wise; Jack's almost there with the shed, I need to finish building the raised vegetable bed and finish the tortoise's outdoor run, then inside we have the hallway, kitchen, living/dining and conservatory still to decorate. All good fun and all in good time...

 

Em x 

26th December: Ten Mile Boxing Day Jaunt

Hello everyone!

I do hope you've all had a lovely Christmas Day and Boxing day and are feeling suitably relaxed and full of lovely Christmas food! Firstly I have to also say how saddened I am for all the people who have had to deal with the flooding and other after-effects of this terrible wet weather we've had. It hasn't affected us down here but I really feel for those who have had their Christmas ruined by flooding.

Yesterday we decided to get the map out and explore some new walking routes around here. So far we've ventured south towards Newbury on our walks to take in villages such as Beedon and Stanmore, but we wanted to see more of the Ridgeway. This time we headed along a different by-way out of our village, East Ilsley and walked to West Ilsley. The by-way brought you in through a lovely small wood and then past many paddocks with Thoroughbred youngsters. I know Mick Channon's racing yard is situated in West Ilsley so these horses could have something to do with him. They were gorgeous anyway and very inquisitive. Barry, ever the wimp, wasn't too keen to meet these tall animals but Jack forced him up to the fence for a sniff anyway and he soon gave their soft noses a lick. I loved being near horses again, I really miss being around them and I'm determined to get back into riding next year.

 

 

We popped through West Ilsley and up onto the Ridgeway where it was very windy. Thankfully the weather was dry during our walk but very muddy which made the going even tougher. Barry loved it though; muddy puddles, various wildlife to try and sniff out and we met lots of other dogs and walkers too. There was some lovely views along the Ridgeway and I really can't wait to explore more next year (in the sunshine too!). We walked down past the gallops in East Ilsley where we usually join the Ridgeway and instead carried on right down into the next village, Compton.

Once into Compton we carried onto some other footpaths and by-ways, through some lovely forests and back towards East Ilsley.

Barry loves a stick!

 

In all, we walked ten miles and our achey legs prove that today! We got home, showered and de-mudded and then all snoozed for the rest of the afternoon before enjoying cold meats and pickles. It certainly felt good to go for a long walk and I enjoyed exploring new routes.

 

 

 

Em x

9th December: Christmas Wreath Making

Last night I had a great time attending a Christmas wreath making evening at Shaw House, Berkshire. The event was organised by the local St Marks School in Cold Ash to help raise money for the school and everyone seemed to have a fantastic time, I know I did. The location made it extra special in the beautiful historic Shaw House and the atmosphere was great. We all chatted away (it was lovely to meet people) and the Christmas music in the background made it feel really festive, I'm certainly in the Christmas spirit now!

Beautiful Shaw House (Google Image)

 

Holly and Kylie hosted the evening and were friendly and helpful as they wandered around, while Lynn showed us how to make a wreath and gave us some very useful tips. I really wanted to have a go at making a wreath but honestly wasn't sure how to start! There was plenty of different foliage to choose from as well as other colourful accessories. I decided I didn't want too much colour on my wreath and instead wanted lots of texture, especially using the holly leaves which are one of my favourites despite the fact my hands are now shredded (I'll remember gloves next time).

 

Choosing our foliage and other accessories

 

Lynn demonstrated how to start the wreath, using evergreen foliage around the very edge of the oasis to hide it. The oasis had been soaked for hours and the first thing I did was pour the excess water straight into my lap haha! I found going around the edge with the initial foliage layer quite easy, but after that I felt a bit like "where do I go next?!".

 

 

Some of my chosen foliage

 

Here goes...

 

Made a start...

 

Filling in the top...

 

Having a minced pie and mulled wine break!

 

Pretty foliage

 

Getting there...

 

I decided I just wanted some white and red on my wreath to add a bit of colour; Lynn told us working in odd numbers is best when it comes to wreaths or any flower arranging for that matter. I loved the dainty little white flowers contrasting with the festive red berries. Lots of people used lovely Ivy to trail down from the bottom of their wreaths, another lady I saw had used lovely little fairy lights in her wreath; it was so lovely looking at everyone's handiwork.

 

Finally I finished my wreath off with a few dried orange slices; they smell amazing and added just a little more colour to my wreath. At that point I think stopped because it's oh so tempting to keep sticking bits of foliage into the wreath!

 

Ready to put on my wreath...

 

Ta-Da!

 

I'm really pleased with the end result; lots of texture, different shades of green with a bit of Christmas colour! For my first attempt at wreath making I'm rather impressed with my efforts and now look forward to making more in the future! I think some little coloured wooden Christmas toys would also look great on a wreath (little nutcracker soldiers, little trains and presents), as would bows and ribbons - so many ideas now!

 

Here's the finished wreath, Jack held it up for me last night so I could take a proper photo. I just need a wreath hook for the door now so it can have pride of place on our front door!

 

I had such a great evening, I love doing crafty things and it was nice to try something new. I can't wait to make one again next year and would definitely go to the evening again next year if they arrange it :-)

 

Em x