Road Trip to Edinburgh

It’s nearly three weeks since we returned from holiday, and I still haven’t got to the end of my holiday posts. We did do a lot, and it has been busy ever since we got back. So, more holiday tales.

By the time Friday arrived, we were ready for a rest. In the short time we’d been on holiday, we’d already explored lots of places and our promise to ourselves to have at least one day on site, hadn’t so far materialised. We decided Friday was the day. It turns out that Friday was a good day to have a relaxing time on site because it’s one of the change over days, so a lot of people go home and there’s a 3 – 4 hour lull of quiet in between. I booked me and little Miss onto one of the craft sessions, friendship bracelet making, and we took a relaxing walk by way of the lakeside to our session.

 

That was a nice way to spend half an hour and we both come out with some cute beaded bracelets. Then we went to take a look at the ‘show home’ caravans for sale. Some were pre-loved and quite tempting, although others cost more than the remaining mortgage on my house and were definitely more in the category of mobile home than holiday caravan. It’s nice to look though.

 

Later on we spent some time (and money) in the arcade, Little Miss got to enjoy the soft play area and we grabbed some food from Chopstix, which was one of the on site vendors. Then, it was a relaxing afternoon of reading, walking Thelma and doing as little as possible. Saturday morning, we’d planned to go to Edinburgh on the train, but while we were getting ready I decided I quite fancied a cross border drive, so we all hopped in the car and headed for Scotland. It was a super easy drive and in just over an hour we were parked up at a park and ride on the outskirts, getting a cheap and short train into Waverley station.

 

I’ve been to Edinburgh a few times. It ranks highly amongst my favourite cities, and I think if I was looking to live in a capital city I’d choose Edinburgh over London any day of the week. Little Miss has never been though. We’d already warned her on the train that you have to keep an eye open for the small rodents called ‘Haggis’ that run about the streets, I think she may have believed us!

It was Irish themed, although you wouldn’t tell from this photo

 

The architecture of Edinburgh is grand and beautiful, and straight off the train we headed for the old town. It wasn’t long before we saw a Scottish bagpiper, an experience Little Miss hadn’t had before. We chose an Irish pub for lunch, enjoying a delicious Lamb Stew, before heading slowly along the Royal Mile in the direction of the Castle, taking in the street entertainers and buzz of visitors along the way. It was the week before Edinburgh Fringe, and already the crowds were starting to gather in anticipation. We dipped in and out of shops, and in one particular shop I spent a significant amount of time drooling over some very expensive tweed clothes.

 

I’ve always had a weakness for tweed. I think it’s such a classic and beautiful fabric. Mum was a bit shell shocked when she left that particular shop having accidentally spent £12.99 on a box of Peppermint Tea. She’d been too proud to leave it at the counter when she found out the price at the counter. We reached the castle, but we were only able to glimpse it from the barricades at the front since the Edinburgh tattoo was on, meaning only ticketholders could go in. Nonetheless, we got to see a bit of it. 

We headed back down, further into the old town, stopping for tea and cake along the way. It was absolutely buzzing, there were so many tourists and at the Grassmarket area which is home to many pubs, there were pipers, and every table filled with revellers and drinkers. It’s a vibe! After a long day of walking around and perusing some lovely shops, treating myself to posh candles and some nice natural beauty products, it was time to head back to the train station and to the car to drive back to Northumberland. As always, I’d had a wonderful time in Edinburgh and little Miss had been thrilled to visit Scotland for the first time, even if she didn’t spot any Haggis roaming the streets.

Summer Breeze, Makes me Feel Fine

 Having listened to promises of an impending heatwave, and waking each day to grey skies through last week I must admit, I thought it was going to be yet another weather flop. I went off to get my nails done during my lunch on Thursday. I wasn't sure what to get, so I'd asked Little Miss for a suggestion during school run that morning. Of course, her suggestion was turquoise blue, because that's her favourite colour. Actually, when I got to the salon it was the colour that took my eye too, so I did go for it. 

Thursday was starting to show signs of cheering up, but by the time Friday arrived it was glorious. I was stuck at my desk of course, but was heartened by the fact that I was trying to wind up all of my loose ends and finish my holiday handover before taking a week off. The day got very hot, very quickly and by the end of it we decided to forgo our usual Friday dinner of fish and chips for a large salad. Something about the hot weather makes it a lot easier to eat healthily and I've found that salads and healthy lunches have been much more present in my diet the past few days. 

Top to bottom: Salmon fillet with baked sweet potato and salad. Scrambled eggs, mushrooms and avocado on toast. Roast chicken salad

Friday evening, I finally finished the top I'd been crocheting. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I have a few more projects lined up (Little Miss is desperate for me to crochet her a creeper from Minecraft for one thing) but I definitely think I'll make a few more versions of this top. 

Saturday morning I actually went to the gym. I'll give you a second to get over the shock! I felt quite smug afterwards. Then we took a trip over to Whitby. Being slightly further North than us, and positioned on what seems to be a wilder point of the North Sea (there are reportedly around 530 shipwrecks off the coast off Whitby) it's always a little bit cooler than Scarborough, and when it's as hot as it is at the moment, that's welcome. 

Sandals - Dr. Martens, Skirt - Flamer Heritage, Top - Homemade

It was the perfect opportunity to wear my newly finished top, paired with a Falmer heritage skirt I picked up on Vinted last year. It's a very comfortable top, I'm very pleased. 

Stalls in Whitby

We had a potter around the antique shops, and the bohemian and gothic clothing shops where I always fall in love with so many of the clothes. Then we walked down to the harbour. and bought a fish from the famous Magpie fish and chip shop. We ate them outside on a bench near the lighthouse, careful not to get mugged by one of the many seagulls waiting to swoop. It was really starting to feel like summer had arrived. 

Sunday, the mercury continued to rise. The weather had certainly delivered on its promises. During the afternoon a nearby hotel was holding a family fun day in their grounds. Live music, cold drinks and a bouncy castle for Little Miss sounded perfect. 

Sandals - Dr. Martens, Dress - Kharibu, Bag - Caudalie free gift, Hat - Max Mara weekend

I decided to give my summery Kharibu dress its first outing of the season, and I was thrilled to find that the yellow tote bag I got free with my Caudalie skincare order the week before was the perfect match. 

Perusing stalls at the family fun day

Soaking up the vibe

At the fun day, we met up with my friend and her daughter (little Miss' friend), and set up the picnic rug in a shady spot by a tree. The children were thrilled to spend most of the afternoon bouncing around on the bouncy castle. Every now and again they'd reluctantly come off to cool down, get a drink and a snack and play snap on the picnic rug. 

Selfie stick's out! 

We stayed there for pretty much the whole afternoon and it was the epitome of a perfect summer Sunday afternoon. 

Bank holiday Monday arrived and, unbelievably, an even hotter day. We wanted to go to the local waterpark. Little Miss has pretty much learned to swim and now she just loves being in the water. Alas, it seems everyone had the same idea and so it was fully booked until early evening. We opted to hop on the train and head to York instead. 

It may have been a crazy idea and is the first time I've ever completely worn the battery out on my portable fan, but we had a great time. We walked in by the river, enjoying ice creams along the way and pondering what it would be like to own one of the boats moored there. One was for sale, but at £27,000 it was more than a little bit out of my price range. 

Drooling after the boat with the blue roof

Sandals - Dr. Martens, Dress - Urban Touch, Bag - Fairfax and Favor

Wouldn't it be fabulous to live on the river all summer, and then move back to your home come Autumn? I'd love that. The good thing about York is getting to peruse shops that we don't have in Scarborough, like Monsoon and Urban Outfitters. I saw so many things I loved in those shops. I bought me and little Miss a new summer hat each in Monsoon. 

Little Miss spent her pocket money that she's been saving in the toy shop, and we enjoyed lunch at Black sheep coffee. Iced coffee, of course, and a chicken wrap. 

We finished up with a drink at Thor's tipi, watching the world drift by before tackling the hot walk back to the station. "See, we'd be home by now if I had that boat" I exclaimed as we passed the boats on the river again. We were exhausted by the time we got home, so we just had a quiet evening watching Jaws... again! 

I can't believe how perfect the weather has been for the first bit of my week off work. I just hope it holds out for the rest of the week. 

Adventures in York and Leeds

It’s most definitely starting to feel Christmassy. Most of my Christmas shopping is done now, well aside from the food shopping of course, the tree is up and the Elf on the shelf has arrived. 

Last week, I was down in the office for the day and the York Christmas market is in full flow. After last year’s hellish visit on a Saturday, I vowed never to do that again, but this was midweek so, after work, I was happy to meet up with the chap and have a wander around.

It was even busy then, but not as bad as the weekend would be. The chap treated me to a Baileys hot chocolate and a lovely Scandi sausage and chips. 

Baileys Hot Chocolate and sausage and chips from the Scandi sausage stall

We had a look around the stalls, and even if you aren’t intending to buy, it’s still nice to have a wander. Especially while it’s a bit quieter.

Saturday, me, little miss, Mum and Thelma caught a train down to Leeds. The last time we went, during the summer, it was for the museum so we didn’t get much shopping time. This time around Thelma was in her pushchair so that we could take her in all of the shops, and it was full on Christmas shopping.

To be fair, everywhere we went people came over to give love to Thelma and to talk to us all. Leeds is such a friendly city and the thing I really like about it is the amount of space. It was crazy busy, but because it’s big and there’s plenty of space it didn’t feel oppressive. I also love the Victorian arcades juxtaposed with much more modern shopping centres.

How beautiful is the Victoria Arcade?

I fell in love with so many things in River Island, although I was restrained and didn’t buy any. We did all the big shops and little Miss made lots of friends in Lush while I was buying bath bombs. 

Outside my favourite choclate shop, Charbonnel et Walker

We grabbed a snack in Popeye chicken, which I’ve never visited before but was delicious, as well as many coffees and all in all it was a lovely and rather exhausting day.

Krispy Kreme's for the train journey

Sunday was mostly spent getting over Saturday. I did take Thelma for a good long walk, and finished wrapping my Christmas presents. We ate a hearty sausage casserole and had a fairly chilled day.

Despite some pretty sketchy weather it's been an altogether lovely week. It feels like the start of lots of lovely things. 

Halloween Tales

We don’t really tend to do a lot for Halloween. On the drive home from the Dales I’d been tempted to stop off at one of the Pick Your Own farms along the way for a pumpkin, but with evening drawing in I’d decided against it. Instead I picked one up with the weekly shop on Wednesday morning and we carved it on Wednesday night.

Little miss had insisted on a wolf and even though I’d taken inspiration from the internet, I was pretty impressed with myself when I freehand drew this wolf on the pumpkin before carving it out. Little Miss was very pleased.

I spent Thursday painting the woodwork in the dining room/office/lego room/animal sanctuary. A project I’d started much earlier in the year, and left half done. If I managed my professional projects the way I manage my personal ones I’d have long since been fired. 

Friday it was Halloween, and we decided to pay a visit to the outlet in York. I gave a nod to the day with my Munsters t-shirt, pumpkin pug brooch and of course, my Halloween backpack. I actually got a fair few compliments on my outfit, and especially my bag which my Mum kept insisting I ‘switch on’ for people.

I was quite restrained, only buying a massive box of Hotel Chocolat chocs to gorge on later (although with half a box still remaining, this was a task even too big for me). Mum did buy my Christmas present though, which I’ll be very excited to get. 

By the time we got home it was late and wet and so windy I couldn’t even get our pumpkin to stay lit. Saturday we had a chilled day. I was keen to see if I could replicate the pancakes that Mum had in Malton last week, for our Saturday brunch. I did and they were a resounding success and promptly added to Little Misses list of favourite breakfasts.

During the evening we went to one of our local cinema’s, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, to watch the original Ghostbusters on the big screen.

I’ve loved this film ever since I was a child, and so does little miss. Given its original release in 1984, I was too young to see it at the pictures the first time around so we were thrilled to see it now. Little miss even got to see some Ghostbusters kit at the end.

We got home to find our pumpkin had been stolen! The things that go missing hey? Never mind. 

Sunday, I took Thelma for a wander to the seafront and I had a luxury hot chocolate at Flamingo Bay. 

Then it was home to finish painting that woodwork! Just the wallpapering to do and then that room will be complete. I’ll share when it’s done.

Towns beginning with ‘M’

 At long last, half term descended on us on Friday, and I must admit, it’s been rather busy ever since. Despite taking lots of photos of our various trips over the past few days, not a single one has me in it! I could simply be making it all up, but you shall have to trust that I’m not.

Saturday morning I mostly spent doing laundry and packing overnight bags for me and little miss for our trip to the Yorkshire Dales. During the afternoon though, I took Mum across to Malton for a wander.

Bistro 46

Luckily, I had let Mum out of the car in the square while I went to find parking because, when I caught up with her again, she’d found a delightful cafe serving the most delicious brunches.

After a feast of pancakes (mum) and eggs Benedict (me) we went for a wander around some shops. I managed to bag this lovely Staffordshire plant pot for a bargain £4 in the charity shop, now home to a plant which the chap’s aunty sent for me. We found some lovely boutiques that we hadn’t passed before, and a massive health shop with the best selection of herbal tea I’ve ever seen.

The afternoon flew by. We finished up with a drink in Pizza on the Square before heading home. I like Malton and last year I was planning to move there, since it’s a little closer to work too. Eventually I changed my mind though since I love my house, and didn’t fancy doubling my mortgage. Scarborough has its faults, like anywhere else, but it also has a lot going for it and I do love it as my home now.

Pizza on the square

Everything has been so busy lately that me and the chap have struggled to see each other, so he popped along on Sunday afternoon and we all went out for a lovely Sunday lunch. The pub we visited is one we used to frequent for Sunday lunches when we used to go out for them more often, and it was absolutely packed. Everyone must have decided they needed someone else to cook the Sunday dinner! 

Monday, we packed up the car and headed West to the Yorkshire Dales. When I first moved to Yorkshire 12 years ago (I can’t believe it’s that long) I lived in the Dales, near Masham. We made some good friends there, who later became little misses God-Parents. We were off to visit them, but unable to check into our cottage until 4, we stopped off in Ripon first.

Ripon is the 5th smallest city in England, but despite that it has a beautiful cathedral. I could only take photographs from outside because they don’t allow dogs inside. 

Before we got to the cathedral though, we stopped at Wilfred’s for a delicious dinner. I had a spiced cauliflower, spinach and lentil pie with chips. It was absolutely delicious, and very good value for money too. That’s something that’s becoming increasingly important to me, the amount of times I’m truly surprised by a bill in a cafe or eatery these days is shocking. 

Then I stumbled on an amazing shop filled with jewellery, incense, crystals, and recycled sari clothing called Karma. I bought a lovely silver Tigers eye ring. I seem quite drawn to Tigers eye at the moment.

As evening started to draw in we headed off to Masham, and once we found our cosy little cottage, settled in with a cuppa. Later in the evening we ventured out again to meet up with our friends in the pub for a very long overdue catch up. It’s been a while.

The cottage was cosy and warm, although a wild wind battered it all night long. We were up and checked out early on Tuesday, maybe a tad too early as many of the cafes in Masham didn’t appear to be open. Even the brewery was closed, so we drove off to Leyburn for a wander.

It was lovely and sunny in Leyburn, and after enjoying breakfast and, most importantly, coffee, in one of the cafes there we had a wander around the shops. I didn’t find anything in the charity shops at all, mostly it was all bric-a-brac. It’s a nice town just to potter around though, and there are some good little viewpoints out onto the Dales too.

View over the Dales 

At lunch time we headed back to Masham, and after a quick stop at the Black Sheep brewery to get a few beers for the chap, it was off to the town hall for a very brief catch up with our friends before settling down to a performance of ‘The Tale of the Loneliest Whale’, which little miss thoroughly enjoyed.

Then it was time to say our good byes, and head back to Scarborough. It was a flying visit but it was lovely to spend some time back in the Dales and seeing little Misses God-Parents. 

Images of Masham