Shopping ...............

Earlier in the week I had planned a little shopping trip, it was a cold but really bright cheery day which gave me quite a spring in my step. I had a whole morning of "me time" so I headed to my favourite store (no sadly not Liberty - maybe it's my second favourite then) John Lewis.

Stepping into the store was like stepping into spring with plants, wheel barrows, baskets and such amazing colour everywhere. The shop was styled and decorated so beautifully I wasn't sure where to start.

The first floor always captivates me with fabric, yarn and haberdashery to the right, kitchen and cookware to the left - straight on dazzling confectionery and seasonal gifts - Easter eggs, bunnies, gingham and candy all forming vibrant displays - it was just so overwhelmingly lovely.

I'm not sure if you can take photos in John Lewis but I just snapped and snapped with my iPhone - hope you like my collage's.

I had saved some vouchers from Christmas so it was very exciting to be looking for a present for me. After lots of careful consideration I bought four balls of Rowan Amy Butler yarn in an adorable shade of pink which I couldn't resist - not sure what it's for so will be adding it to my stash (don't tell anyone as I promised not to buy any more yarn unless it was for something specific......so keep that one to yourself) I also bought a little white tree to decorate for Easter, I have explained to Mr R that it will be very useful, as he couldn't quite understand what I was going to do with a tree! To go with my very useful tree I bought some little wooden bunnies (another essential buy) my last purchase was some rolls of washi tape - John Lewis just has everything.

Before I left the store I nipped downstairs and had a quick peek at the furniture as I needed some inspiration for my lounge, then vouchers all spent and possibly a little more I headed for home. What a perfect few hours and then the added joy of some lovely purchases to look at and enjoy later.

It was nice to spend some time in a big department store as most of my shopping is done on line, although I do try to support local shops and I'm always happy to spend time browsing charity shops looking for interesting finds or things to up cycle or renovate. In fact over the last few weeks I have been to about ten different charity shops looking for some old fashioned grey blankets - Kate wants to make some industrial looking cushions (not quite sure that makes sense) and grey woollen blankets would be perfect. - no luck yet though.

Hope you are having a fun day and looking forward to a nice weekend, can you believe it's just started to snow - it's really cold today.

Thank you once again for following my blog and all of your lovely comments (a few of you have even nipped over to my face book page)

Talk soon x

shopping with Daisy ..............

I am a very very lucky Nana and I get to share so many lovely moments with my grandchildren. I recently took Daisy shopping and her favourite place at the moment is Marks and Spencer mainly because she likes the children's meal in the cafe. She just loves choosing her sandwich, snack, drink and of course a piece of fruit. It takes her an age to eat it all and usually we end up having to take some home with us.

As we walked around the store hand in hand my three year old grandaughter announced that she was just like my big sister - with a melted heart I gave her a big hug and said that she was a perfect big sister.

It was quite a sunny but chilly day and Daisy decided that she really really needed some sun glasses, so of course we set ourselves the task of finding some for her. Marks and Spencer didn't let us down and we found some lovely pink retro glasses that she fell in love with - she just looked adorable in them .....and of course had to wear them on the way back to the car.

When we arrived home she was exhausted, she snuggled on the sofa and went fast asleep.

what a perfect day.

Before I go I must thank you all for the lovely comments on my posts, I do really appreciate them and also a special thank you and welcome to my new readers and followers.

I hope you all have a fun weekend, I will be having fun at Inspire Market Craft Fair later today, pop over to my  Sweetpea Face Book page  for more details.

talk soon x

shopping and pampering .......

To start our Christmas celebrations Pam and I had planned a girlie day out. We decided to go to Buxton which is a picturesque spa town in Derbyshire, and is often described as the gateway to the Peak District National Park. It would only take us about 45 minutes in the car and we thought we could start with some Christmas shopping and then a spot of pampering.

We set off early it was bitterly cold, the temperature was - 4 degrees, so before we set off we had to make sure we had wrapped up warm and thoroughly de-iced the car. On arrival in Buxton we needed hot coffee to warm us up before we hit the shops, after we had re-found our fingers we set off for the Pavilion arcades.

Behind the shops in lovely gardens nestles the Palace Hotel, the Victorian Hotel is situated within 5 beautiful acres of land. 

crisp frosty trees ....................

The exterior of the hotel was designed by Henry Currey, architect to the Duke of Devonshire at the time it was built, and the interior is equally splendid. 

The hotel  not only boasts fine dining and luxury accommodation it also has a pampering spa, which we had booked into - we are so lucky.

After our shopping expedition we made our way to the hotel and sipped a sparkling glass of champagne before we had our treatments. I was booked in for a massage and a facial, and Pam had decided on a facial and a manicure.

We both enjoyed our luxurious treatments and felt relaxed, rejuvenated and totally de-stressed.

Alas though we had to wrap up warm again and brave the cold for our journey home. The gritter trucks were already salting and gritting the roads as we left Buxton.

We arrived home before dark and had really enjoyed our special day.

Talk soon x

an afternoon of fun ...........

I have had a lovely indulgent afternoon - it started with a manicure. My nails have been shaped, buffed and polished to perfection, the nail varnish is a lovely soft dove grey colour with a little bit of sparkle on the top, they look so sparkly ( if that's a real word).

I then called in to see Laura who was sorting out her cellar, she was taking advantage of the fact that both her little boys were having a play date at their cousins. I did distract her a little from her chores and persuaded her to have a quick coffee and chat.

My next stop was John Lewis, one of my favourite department stores. They have just opened a Christmas Shop and everything is so pretty and festive ( I want to say sparkly). I spent quite a long time looking at the wondrous confectionery they have, it's always good but at this time of year it's quite spectacular.

Another favourite of mine is the baking section, it is full of glorious bowls, jugs, jars, utensils, cookie cutters, cake piping sets, in fact an endless number of wonderful kitchen treasures  - I would love them all.

I bought a few little things as stocking fillers, that were good fun to choose - what do you think...............

cute little change purse filled with coconut mushrooms .........

Eskimo money box with chocolate coins ...........

little sweet treats ...............

I have got more Christmas fun to look forward to as I am out for lunch tomorrow with my partner and hopefully we can explore some of Manchester's Christmas markets.

talk soon x