Arts and Crafts

 How is it Monday again? Before we know it, there’ll be Easter eggs in the shops… oh wait a minute! 

My new (£2 from Vinted) cookery book arrived midweek, and I was very pleased with it. I’ve already identified a couple of recipes I want to try. 

It wasn’t the book I used to make a mid-week potato and spinach curry though, that honour went to the Madhur Jaffrey cookbook Mum bought me for Christmas. It was a delicious curry, I will definitely be making it again. Making midweek meals tends to be the highlight of my working week. 

At the weekend though, we were off to York again! This time we were meeting the chap and heading to the Morris and Co Art of Wallpaper exhibition at the York Art Gallery. We arrived in York around Midday, and after enjoying snacks and coffee, took a meander across town. We stopped at a few shops and paid a social visit into our friend’s shop for a natter, before getting to the  gallery at the other side of town. 

I’ve not been to York Art Gallery before, but even on a miserable February day, it’s still a beautiful building from outside. 

We weren’t allowed to take photographs in the exhibition, so after a quick couple of pictures in the lobby, I put my camera away. The exhibition itself was great. It started with examples of Morris’s influences. Ornate Italian hand painted wall papers adorned with flourishes and decorative features that stand out a mile as being part of his influence. 

Then it progressed through Japanese papers, including an inlaid leather wallpaper which I would definitely not fancy trying to hang! Then it was on to the papers of Morris and Co. It was quite busy. Hardly surprising given the popularity of Morris and Co designs even to this day. I found it very relaxing though, just to sit in the seats and browse at some of the beautiful intricate designs. 

On leaving the exhibition, I vowed that in my next house I will endeavour to put a Morris-esque wallpaper in every single room. There’s just something so relaxing and homely about them. 

After a wander around the gift shop, we set off back through the rain drenched streets of York. We stopped for coffee, and perused more shops. It’s such a long time since I’ve been to Betty’s and they had Valentines fondant fancies in the window. I couldn’t resist nipping in to treat myself to a box (which I did share, I didn’t eat them all to myself).

Before heading home, we stopped off at the Hop for a beer. It was bustling already, as the chap kept pointing out, it was Saturday afterall! If you’ve never been to York on a Saturday, every pub and bar is filled to the rafters with revellers, all year round. The Hop tends to be a bit more local, so we were at least able to find a spot to sit and enjoy our drinks. 

It was a lovely day out and a lovely end to the day. 

Sunday was a far more relaxed affair. Me and little Miss had a lie in, and then I made our favourite weekend breakfast, pancakes. We got the watercolours out, and inspired by last weekend’s trip to Beningborough hall, I grabbed a lemon from the fruit bowl and tried to render it in watercolours. 

Not a bad try for a beginner. We walked Thelma and I made us a hearty chicken casserole. One of my friends always says she loves to hear about my wholesome weekends. I can see what she means now.