What I Wore November 10th

One Sunday in the middle of November Lee and I went to Leeds to see our friends Leanne and Adi. We haven't seen them for a while, so we had made plans to go to their house for lunch.

It was at the end of our week of holiday, and as I had done a lot while we were away I was really in pain and tired. Plus the bed on holiday wasn't ideal for me and I hadn't slept well. I woke up early, but took a bit of a while to get going. I showered and got ready but we were a bit late setting off. Leanne didn't mind, which was good, but I'm sharing the story just to say that just because I look okay doesn't mean I'm not in pain. Chronic illness and pain suck, and really take it out of you!

Anyway, Leanne and Adi and their baby A were pleased to see us. They made lunch and we chatted for ages about all kinds of things. It was a really lovely afternoon.

I was wearing this new burgundy skirt from New Look. I saw it on someone on Instagram and thought, ooh that's lovely, I need to have that immediately. It was only about £24 and while I don't often wear midi length skirts I liked it so much that I thought I would keep it. I love the colour and the silky feel of the material.

I had already decided that it would look best with tights, so I put on my plain black ones from Snag Tights. I love them, they fit me really well. I also pulled out this black top, which I think came from Everything5Pounds originally, although I haven't worn it in ages. I like black with this colour. It felt like a comfortable but somewhat dressy outfit, and I liked it!

The skirt has an elasticated waist at the back, which gives it a nice shape at the front. It's pleated and I love the colour

And here's my outfit in full!

My New Jacket

By the time you read this, Christmas will be over and the 2020s will be days away from beginning. That makes me feel really old! It feels bonkers!

Anyway, I had been looking for a jacket for ages. I usually just wear my hoodie, but sometimes it's just not smart enough. I really want a new coat, but can't currently afford one - I'm hoping that the January sales might yield something! I had been on Crazy Clearance though, looking for one.

As you may know, Crazy Clearance sells Simply Be stuff only a couple of seasons later, and at really low prices. They may not have every size in stock, but I narrow it down by my size when I'm looking for something. I browsed all the Joe Browns stuff because I find it expensive on Simply Be, and I ordered a bunch of pieces to try on. I ordered a short coat which must have been mislabelled because it was tiny and wouldn't have fitted me. I also ordered this turqoise biker jacket.

I wasn't sure if it would fit but I thought I would take the chance. It's a really soft fabric, not very structured, and it's got a stretch to it. I put it on and it fitted, and zipped up. The sleeves are a bit big, but I decided that didn't matter as I really liked it. I put it on straight away to go out to Sheffield.

It's really warm, so even though it's only hip length it was nice in the cold weather. I'll definitely be wearing it over the winter! I posted a picture on my instagram and got a bunch of really lovely comments, so I think it must look nice! It was just £23.50 on Crazy Clearance, which is a total bargain!

I love the colour and the collar, and it has zipped pockets which is really good!

Afternoon Tea in Sheffield

After we got back from holiday we went out the next day for afternoon tea in Sheffield. We had been given a voucher as a present at our vow renewal by our friends Claire and Sandra, which was really lovely. It was for Jameson's tea room on Abbeydale, which we've never been to. We rang up to book a table and I was glad because it was quite busy when we arrived.

The day before there had been loads of rain and a lot of flooding across South Yorkshire. Lots of people got stuck in Meadowhall for hours because of the flooding around there. So we set off on the Friday in plenty of time, and decided to go down the Parkway as that is higher ground and is usually okay. It was, so we got there about ten to one.

Jameson's is quite posh! It's got linen tablecloths and vintage china, which was lovely. We had a few choices in the afternoon tea - what kind of sandwiches, what flavour of scone, and then which cake. They had about fifteen cakes, including vegan and gluten free choices, so we were spoilt for choice! I choice all the vegetarian sandwiches - egg, cheese, and cream cheese and cucumber - a fruit scone, and a piece of chocolate Malteser cake. We both chose decaf coffee and got a cold drink too.

The sandwiches were lovely and fresh. The scone came with lots of clotted cream and strawberry jam, but the scone was a bit dry, I thought. The cake was absolutely delicious - really moist and with a delicious buttercream in the middle. We really enjoyed it, it was a lovely present and I will definitely go back!

We went home via Hillsborough and had to drive through a couple of really deep puddles, but it was fine!

Sandwiches!

Scones and cake - Lee had chocolate orange cake. We had a bit of each other's, but I preferred mine

Lovely Lee

And here's me!

And here's one of the very deep puddles!

Yorkshire Dales Trip - Day 4

On the Wednesday of our trip we weren't sure what to do. However I had seen a sign for Pateley Bridge so suggested we went there. We have been before but it was years ago - it was with my mum and dad, and my dad died in 2008 so it was definitely before that! We set off in the rain but it was only spitting when we arrived. We parked and walked up the hill as I had spotted a hot chocolate cafe and I thought we should get a drink!

Cocoa Joe's is right on the main street and serves just hot drinks - mostly hot chocolate but they have tea and coffee too. They have eleven different types of chocolate to choose from, from white chocolates to 100% dark chocolate, and a bunch of different things to put in. They use the chocolate to melt into hot milk, but you can taste it first. I went for a 64% dark Peruvian chocolate with orange in it, and it was so nice. Dark, but not too dark, and really zingy with the orange. The owner, Joe, was really enthusiastic and nice, I recommend it if you're ever in the area!

We went into a bunch of shops, buying a few bits. I treated myself to a nice scented candle, I do love a scented candle! Then, I said I really wanted chips, so we went into the Crown Inn for lunch. It is a bit of a rough and ready pub, but the food was homemade and so good. I went for garlic mushrooms with toast, and chips. Lee had a tuna sandwich and chips - he ate tuna every day that we were away. He eats mostly vegetarian at home with me, but often chooses chicken or fish if we're out somewhere. Which I definitely don't mind, I don't really care what he eats, I'm just glad we cook vegetarian at home and eat the same thing.

We didn't stay loads later in Pateley Bridge, we just went back to the flat and watched TV. We did however go to the Black Horse pub for a drink later on, which was again really nice. That's where we had lunch last time we were in Grassington, but it's changed the layout since we were there before. Their menu is a bit more vegetarian friendly so next time, we'll go there.

On the Thursday we just packed up and came home. They were actually filming on Thursday and Friday so I was sitting in the window seat watching that first thing. All the vintage costumes were gorgeous, but it was throwing it down with rain so we could also see them all standing around with their modern coats and umbrellas! It was fun to see, really interesting.

I love Grassington - it has really cute amenities and shops, and it's all in walking distance. I really recommend it if you've never been, there's enough to do for a couple of days, it's a good break! I think we'll be back as I find it easy to navigate, and the flat was really nice so I would definitely go back there!

This archway in Pateley Bridge was so cute and small

Hot chocolate! Lee chose 45% milk chocolate and also had orange in his

Lovely Lee

This was the side of the sweet shop

Which is apparently the oldest one in England!

Garlic mushrooms, they were SO garlicky!

Back in Grassington, the ladies' clothes shop had been turned into the ironmongers!

And it had this sign on it

We went into the craft shop in Grassington at this point, which you would think would be my thing, but the men behind the counter were talking about the "dolly birds" from the TV production company, which I found really disrespectful, so I quickly left and didn't spend any money there. It really disappointed me

Back in the flat we had bunting up at our window!

And tons of bunting around what they had made into a makeshift animal pen

This is on Thursday when filming was going on. Doesn't it look fantastic? Look at that old truck on the left. Also, all the cast coats had been stashed in the back of that Punch & Judy cart

There was a donkey and some goats! 

See the cast members in their costumes?

The roundabout was going round too, making a lovely jangly noise

And then they led a bull across! Bonkers!

I bought this wire wrapped piece of sea glass for myself in one of the gift shops in the village :)

Yorkshire Dales Trip - Day 3

On the Tuesday of our break we had already decided to stay around Grassington and go round all the shops. We had decided to eat out, too, so I had done some research into where to eat. The pubs didn't have a lot of vegetarian choices, so I had suggested the Indian restaurant, which has a takeaway downstairs and just five tables upstairs. Lee rang up to book a table and was told it wasn't necessary, but they did tell him that it's cash only and that they don't have a licence so you can take your own alcohol - both of which are useful things to know as there isn't a cash machine in Grassington and we wouldn't have had enough cash between us. Plus, if I could take some wine I needed to buy some!

Anyway, we had breakfast and then set off around the village, starting at the bottom near the deli. I'm pretty sure we went in every shop that was open and we bought some Christmas presents and a couple of bits for me. The village was still a hive of activity with the television stuff going on outside and there were tons of tourists around too. It made for a nice atmosphere!

There's quite a few cafes in Grassington but we had already decided to go to Cobblestone Cafe for lunch. It was the one we were staying above and run by the owner of the flat, Jess. She was pleased to welcome us. Her menu is quite small, but she has some vegetarian toasties and had two veggie soups. I went for carrot and cumin soup and it was SO good. I am so picky about soup but this was really yummy. I'll have to try and make some at home.

We went back out after we'd eaten to go in the rest of the shops. The Stripy Badger bookshop was open so I had a good look around. He didn't have a huge Young Adult section but the ones he did have were contemporary books which I like to see. I bought a book as I like to support independent bookshops.

There are so many lovely shops in Grassington and most of them had really friendly people working there too, which I like. We went back into the flat at maybe around 3pm, eager for a bit of a sit down before we went out in the evening. It was my turn to fall asleep this time, all cuddled into Lee which NEVER happens!

At 6pm we went to the Devonshire Arms for a drink before we went to eat. It was quite busy with some of the television people, but we were served quickly and got two comfy seats by the fire. Lee doesn't drink so we don't often hang around in pubs, but I really enjoyed it.

The Indian restaurant was lovely! We had poppadums and pickle tray to start with, and there was a lot of vegetarian choices (and probably vegan choices too) for both starters and main courses. I had vegetable rogan josh and we shared a cauliflower side dish. The waiter couldn't have been nicer. It was really nice.

It had been a really tiring day but really lovely, too.

They were building some kind of fairground activity in the square when we set out

And they had turned the post office into the local newsagent

It had been raining, but wasn't raining while we were walking around, which made for a nicer day. We sat down on the benches around the tree for a little bit

A coconut shy being built!

My ridiculously nice carrot and cumin soup

More work going on

Inside the bookshop! It was nicely laid out, very inviting

These were shelves of adult fiction but a few YA titles had snuck in here too

The bestsellers table

And the YA and Middle Grade shelf. Some good choices there I felt!

The shop next to the Stripy Badger had been turned into a local dress shop

And this shop sells men's fashion items! Also, the date on it says 989, so old!

I liked this sign on a shop we went in

These vintage signs were being put up by the TV people too, on the side of Grassington Folk Museum which was sadly shut, or we would have gone in and looked around!

Look at the roundabout that turned up! I love these

And all the bunting

And this was the Stripy Badger after its makeover! I took these photos on our way to the pub

Yorkshire Dales Trip - Day 2

On the Monday of our holiday, we went to Long Ashes health spa in the neighbouring village of Threshfield, but before that Lee went across to the village bakery to buy croissants for us for breakfast. It turned out they also sold vegan sausage rolls, so he bought a couple for tea later!

Croissants felt like such a holiday luxury, it was a lovely way to start the day. We drove to Threshfield. The spa is on a caravan holiday park, but you can pay ten pounds per person to access the pool, sauna, steam room, and jacuzzi. That sounded perfect and within budget, so we had already decided we would go.

The changing rooms need a bit of a makeover, but I was soon in the pool, which is beautiful. It is L shaped and plenty long enough for a good swim. Not too warm, but not too cold either. We swam around a bit and then went in the jacuzzi. It's really big and it's got plenty of seats, and it was lovely and warm. We both really enjoyed it. I also went in the sauna, but the steam room was too hot and steamy for me, so I didn't bother.

We got out around 1.30 after a couple of hours. We showered and then had lunch in the cafe of the spa. It was nice food but it took absolutely forever to come which was annoying as we were hungry.

We drove back to Grassington via Arncliffe and then decided to go to the Stripy Badger coffee shop. It has an attached bookshop but I saved that for the next day. The cafe was really nice - we both had caramel shortbread which was homemade and delicious.

We got back into the flat around 5pm and hunkered down for the evening. We were both tired; Lee in particular was in need of a good break, I think he even fell asleep cuddled up on the sofa! I was doing some crochet, on a new blanket that I am hoping to get finished before Christmas!

Here's my photos from the day:

This was the living room of the flat. We both enjoyed sitting on the window seat watching the world go by outside. You can't see but there's a fairly big dining table to the left, which was really useful and nice to sit at. The sofa was HUGE and so cosy!

This was the square on Monday. The production company had put the cones there to stop people parking there, but nothing else much had happened. This was taken from the window of our flat

This was round the back of our cottage, to the left we had a parking space which was really good in a village where parking is limited. I loved the architecture here, I don't understand why there's a beam across the lane there

And this is the back of the cafe, that window in the middle of the photo is of the kitchen of the flat

Oh, we drove to Arncliffe because it was the original filming village for Emmerdale, from 1972 to 1976. The Falcon was the original Woolpack! You can see how it looks like the one they use now. There's not much else to see in the village but I liked seeing this and it was only about twenty minutes out of our way

Back in Grassington, they had taken down the sign above the pub and replaced it with the Drovers Arms sign ready for All Creatures Great and Small! There was so much work going on, it was ridiculous

And the gift shop on the left had become the village bakery...

Caramel shortbread!

And a very lovely cappucino

I loved the architecture here, too, just off the main square. I utterly couldn't work out which bits of house belonged to what. It was like they started off with one building and then just kept adding random bits. So cute!

And here's the village library, housed in a really old building too