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. 

Beningbrough and Sunday Dinner

 When a news report on the radio today confirmed that we’ve had rain in the UK every day this year, I wasn’t at all surprised. 40 days of Rain! Noah built an ark for that! With that in mind, when the chap and I were brainstorming places to visit this Sunday ‘indoors’ was a key consideration.

In the end, we settled on Beningbrough hall, just outside of York. We have been before, but I couldn’t quite remember it.

Although I did once we saw the gardens. It wasn’t crowded, but was still fairly busy. The snowdrops were out, which is particularly early this year. Otherwise the gardens were, as expected, fairly sparse!

It’s a beautiful grand hall, very ornate and filled with light. I did find the four poster beds a bit creepy though, and I have no explanation as to why. I think it was perhaps the height of these particular ones.

There was an exhibition of willow sculptures  by Laura Ellen Bacon, which were quite fascinating. They were located throughout the hall.

After picking up some bird food from the National Trust shop (my tiny garden is now frequented by two wood pigeons, 2 robins, a sparrow and as of today a Jackdaw), it was time to head off and find some food for ourselves.

On the drive through the village of Newton on Ouse, we’d spotted a couple of pubs. One, The Dawnay Arms had looked particularly inviting. It was very busy when we got there, but we were able to have drinks at the bar while waiting for a table. 

It’s obviously quite popular as there were birthday celebration meals and family get togethers taking place. The food was delicious. We both plumped for roast beef, and I had treacle sponge for dessert. It was delicious.

Lucky for us, it didn’t rain! We managed to enjoy a whole day out without ducking for cover, and it was grand indeed.

Snow way!

 Living on the coast, with all the salt in the air, ordinarily when we do get snow, it doesn’t last very long. I fully expected that when I logged on for my first day back at work on Monday, the snow that had appeared over the weekend would be well on its way to melting. It wasn’t, and throughout Monday afternoon more fell.

My garden blanketed in snow

It was really quite beautiful. The silence while out walking Thelma because cars weren’t going up our street. Little Miss being able to play snowball fights with kids in the street and the general feel of nowhere to go and nothing to do other than stay warm. I didn’t venture any further than my local Lidl for 2 days, on foot and my trusty hiking boots have been the only shoe I’ve dared wear. 

Tuesday came, and luckily for little miss, who has grown quite attached to her pyjamas, school couldn’t open. By Wednesday it was turning to treacherous ice. School remained closed, but I did have to crack the car out of its ice block to take it to the garage. I suspected a slow puncture but ended up needing two new tyres! It seemed to be a busy day for deliveries though, and amongst them was my white company candle I’d ordered from the sale. It smells amazing. That cheered me up.

Despite barely leaving the house I’ve still been making the effort to wear more than jeans, and this snuggly Michael Kors jumper I bought a few months back, paired with my old faithful TOAST cord skirt and my trusty Berghaus hiking boots (which are about 10 years old or more now) made a very cosy outfit to venture out in.

Boots - Berghaus, skirt - TOAST, jumper - Michael Kors 

Jumpers and cardigans have been a constant necessity this week with the temperature struggling to get above zero for much of it. By Thursday, school was able to reopen and some semblance of a routine could start again. 

Saturday it was still bitter, but we decided we’d take a trip over the Helmsley. I donned a lovely new dress that Mum had bought for herself but found too long (at 6ft tall this is a problem I never have), and gave to me. While boots were still very much in order, I could finally get out of the chunky hiking ones.

There were still signs of the snow all along the way, and alas our trip to Helmsley wasn’t to be. Half way along one of my engine warning lights came on, so I decided it was wiser to turn back than carry on. Another car issue this week! 

We went into town instead, which actually turned out to be a really good decision. Little miss managed to persuade me to get her a new toy in the Claire’s accessories sale, and then we had an early dinner/late lunch in a local restaurant called Lezzett.

I opted for their lunchtime bowl with chicken and it was divine. Definitely something I would have again. 

Wet and cold York

Sunday morning I caught a train down to York to meet up with chap. The weather was terrible, but after warming up with hot chocolate we set off to the gallery to see the Aesthetica art prize exhibition. Filled with a variety of works and installations in all types of media, it was really interesting.

York art gallery

The chap immersed in one of the installations 

Climate change seemed to be a common theme amongst many of the works, as well as belonging. One of our particular favourites was a massive light installation which you could walk through called submergence. I’ve linked a YouTube video of it below.

Lots of layers needed

It was incredibly relaxing. We walked back into town, where I managed to bag myself a gorgeous pair of leather boots for a steal in the Monsoon sale. Then it was off to grab some dinner at the pub, before I caught my train home. Despite the weather we had a lovely Sunday.

Snow Day

 It’s hard to believe that only 2 weeks ago I was sat around a fire pit on a warm Bonfire night. By contrast, last week we were well and truly plummeted into winter. I was planning to go to the office on Thursday but the snow and associated chaos it brings made me think better of it. 

School was closed for the day, and the walk to the local shop for a loaf took me twice as long as it usually would. It does make the world look lovely though when it’s covered in a white blanket, even if it does make me retreat to giant boots and fleeces for warmth.

After my Mum encouraged me to watch the 1980 film, Xanadu a couple of weeks ago, me and little miss have become obsessed with the Electric Light Orchestra (all of the music in the film is ELO). I bought a CD to listen to in the car and it’s been on repeat. I’ve really got back into buying records and CDs again because frankly, I find streaming to be a bit shit! Endless adverts and never the song you ACTUALLY want to hear! Saturday afternoon I had a little peruse around the local charity shops and vintage record shop and bought a couple of new LPs too. The Sorcerers Apprentice, much loved by little miss, cost me a mere 50p and how could I possibly leave that cover behind? Bing was from the record shop but was exactly what I was looking for, to listen to over Christmas. Slightly pricier at £5 but still a bargain. Buying and listening to music definitely makes me happy. It did when I was a teenager and it still does!

The rest of Saturday afternoon was a mixture of shopping and relaxation. Grocery shopping, not too exciting. Mum and I did go out o Wilson’s food hall for lunch though, which never fails to brighten up an otherwise standard afternoon.

It’s located in a village just outside of Scarborough, and always has quite a buzz. They have it all done up for Christmas now, and I thought it would be lovely to have a photo in one of the ski chalet set ups. Shame it was sopping wet, and a bigger shame that I discovered that by sitting in it!

The awkward pose of someone who sat on wet blankets

Never mind, it was still lovely. Sunday the weather actually started to brighten, and after having pancakes and playing some pool with little miss, I walked Thelma to the seafront.

I stopped for a cuppa at brewed and enjoyed the scenery, just making it home before the weather turned again.

After a hearty dinner of chicken casserole, we decided to put our tree up. I’ve had to buy a smaller tree this year. Over the course of the year I’ve added more furniture to my home which just makes the giant 6ft tree I’ve had for the past few years unviable.

My old tree

This year’s tree

This cute little white one is adorable though and little Miss loved decorating it! I realise it’s still November and ordinarily I’m a put it up on December 22nd kind of person, but I have a lot planned over coming weekends so it was easier just to do it now. Bing and a Christmas tree, I’m definitely getting in the spirit early this year!