Birthday Trip Day 4

On the Sunday of my birthday trip to Helmsley we had to leave the cottage, but not until 11am, which gave us a good long time to get everything packed up and loaded into the cars. Then I had booked brunch at La Trattoria for all five of us. When Lee and I went to Helmsley with my mum and stepdad we ended up in La Trattoria for breakfast just before we left, so I already knew it was nice and obviously invited Sarah and Tom and Robyn along. Lee and I took photos of each other but I promise Sarah and co were there too!

You can build your own breakfast in the Italian, so I had scrambled eggs, mushroom, avocado, hash browns, and French toast. Plus a lovely hot chocolate! It was a nice breakfast. We all set off home around noon, saying goodbye. It was really lovely to spend so much time with Sarah and Tom and of course Robyn. 

I was wearing my red Joe Browns dress with navy flowers on it, and my navy Sprinkle of Glitter cardigan, and navy Snag tights. It's a nice winter outfit I think! 

Delicious hot chocolate 

Lee!

And me looking slightly odd because of the light behind me in the window

Breakfast! It was yummy

And finally my outfit once we got home

Birthday Trip Day 3

On the Saturday of our weekend in Helmsley, Sarah and Tom were up early with Robyn but Lee and I managed to sleep in for a bit. We relaxed in the morning - I was cross stitching - and Robyn played. Then she went for a nap about midday so Lee and I headed out to look at some of the shops in Helmsley we had missed the previous day. We got a few things in those shops. We then went to Cornercopia cafe to wait for Sarah and Tom and Robyn, who came after Robyn's nap. I haven't been in that cafe before but it was really nice, I would go again. I had falafel and cucumber and tzatziki on sourdough, and it was lovely. 

As we had headed out it was really foggy, but the sun started to break through. We had decided to go to the castle as Tom likes castles and Robyn likes running about. I've never been, but it's English Heritage so it costs a little bit to go in but I felt it was worth it. I probably wouldn't go again as it's not going to change much, but I did enjoy it. 

The people on the desk on the way in told us to go up the left hand path to get in as it's a shallower path which is obviously better for me and for a pushchair, so I was glad she had said that. The sun was breaking through and leaving some lovely effects on the ruins, so we all took photos and Robyn ran all over the place. It wasn't far to go so that was good. The path down the right hand side was much steeper and a bit icy in parts, but I managed it with Lee. 

Lee and I walked back into the market square and had a hot drink in Cafe Crema which was lovely. We all met back at the cottage. Lee went for a lie down again around 5pm and the rest of us cooked tea which was fajitas - chicken for the non vegetarians and halloumi for me. Robyn had some too! She had a bath and bed again and she fell asleep quite quickly so the rest of us managed to play a game and watch rubbish music channels on Sky. It was a lovely day! 

As Lee and I went into the square at about midday, there was proper fog going on! 

Hot chocolate in Cornercopia

Me and Sarah

My lunch, which was really nice

The sun just starting to poke through as we walked towards the castle

A plan of what the castle would have looked like before its destruction

I love the light in this one

As this one, as we walked up towards the entrance

This is one of the entrances

The bronze sculptures are pretty cool

One of the old entrances

Lots of ruins

Inside the keep

Me standing in a doorway like I like to

Our shadows

Sarah and Tom and Robyn

Looking down into the moat

Looking at Helmsley from the castle

The beck as Lee and I walked over it - it was far fuller than it usually is

And looking the other way - I always take these pictures in Helmsley

And finally my outfit - my Judi Love top and a Scarlett & Jo skirt, pretty typical outfit for me!

Birthday Trip Day 2

On Friday the 20th of January my mum and stepdad were in Helmsley with us, so we got up and had some breakfast and then set out into Helmsley at maybe 11am. There's lots of nice little shops so we went into loads of them. One of my favourite places is the deli right on the square, where I spent some of my Christmas money on some delicious treats from the plethora of amazing things they have upstairs. 

We went in to the charity shop which was kind of parallel to the cottage where we were staying, and I managed to find a planter shelf which I had been wanting for ages, so I was pleased with that. We then ended up at Barker's for lunch; I like Cafe Crema but was willing to try somewhere new, especially as the sign outside said it had a large vegan menu. They weren't kidding, there was plenty of vegetarian and vegan choices. I went for chickpeas with mayo and red onion and I also had a lovely hot chocolate too. 

By the time we had finished lunch Sarah and Robyn had arrived in Helmsley. We helped Sarah unload the car and then got Robyn all set up with snacks. She was a little bit shy with everyone but basically fine. My mum and stepdad left for home not long after that. Lee went for a lie down as he was very tired, so Sarah and I had a good chat and walked over to La Trattoria in the square to order some pizzas for tea. Robyn had her tea and then a bath and then Tom arrived about 7pm, just as the pizzas were ready. Lee picked them up and they were so delicious. 

We just relaxed for the rest of the night as Sarah was putting Robyn to bed. 

I was wearing my Sprinkle of Glitter outfit, all from quite a few years ago now. The dress is lovely but maybe a tiny bit short on me, but I've decided to not worry about it. Under that I was wearing the striped pink and white top from the range too, I love this top and often wear it with other stuff. Finally I was wearing the wrap cardigan from the range - it has a full wrap that goes round and makes the cardigan really comfortable and warm to wear. I will have to wear this dress more I think! I was also wearing purple Snag Tights

View of the frosty rooftops out of our bedroom window first thing in the morning

This was our cottage from the front

This is the deli that I love, it has a whole floor upstairs full of lovely things. Opposite this, behind me at this time, is a really good bookshop too - I didn't buy anything this time though!

Gorgeous Belgian chocolate hot chocolate

Chickpea, vegan mayo, and red onion sandwich in Barker's

Sarah brought me a unicorn cake! It was so good

Here's Robyn watching TV at this point I think

Sarah also bought me this ridiculous thing which will live on the bed I think

My outfit with the cardigan on - the cottage was quite cold so I was glad to have the cardigan on too

And here's the outfit without the cardigan, showing the striped top!

My Birthday 2023

On the 19th of January I was 39, meaning I have now outlived all the Bronte siblings! Wow. I always like to do something on my birthday so I booked to go to Helmsley which is one of my favourite places ever. I invited my mum and stepdad along on my birthday itself, and then my friend Sarah and her husband Tom and baby Robyn for the weekend itself. My mum and stepdad have both been a bit unwell, so they arranged to meet us in Helmsley at 2pm, which was an early check in to the cottage that the owner kindly agreed to. Lee and I decided to call in Thirsk first which is also a really lovely place just on the way to Helmsley. 

We got there about midday and went into a couple of charity shops. I managed to pick up a nearly new pair of white t-bar shoes from Clarks and some Yankee Candles in the Cancer Research shop which I was thrilled about! We went into the White Rose bookshop and cafe which I also love, and had some lunch there. I had a cheese scone and a piece of chocolate cake. I didn't buy any books even though I was tempted to! We left there around 1.30pm and went to Helmsley, travelling up Sutton Bank as we did so. We were staying in Clothes Prop Cottage which is just off the main square. It had a parking space at the back and we had to unload down an alleyway, but it was fine! We got everything in and then my mum and stepdad arrived not too long afterwards. The cottage wasn't huge but well appointed and nice enough. 

I opened my birthday presents - I got some lovely stuff including a spa voucher from my mum, some jet jewellery from Lee's mam, and a bunch of nice little bits from Lee. Around 6pm we left the cottage and went to The Pickwick Bar which was really old and cosy inside. We had a drink in there before heading over to The Royal Oak for tea. It wasn't very busy in there which did mean that the atmosphere was a bit flat, but the food was nice. I had garlic mushrooms and vegetable lasagne with chips, which were both lovely. We didn't have any pudding because I had bought cupcakes from someone in my village to take with us. They were delicious! 

The selfie was me showing off my new lipstick - my mum bought me one from Lancome, it's lovely! I had asked for a nudeish lipstick and this fitted the bill perfectly. The last two photos were of Helmsley at night, aren't they lovely? It is such a lovely place 

Cheese scone with cheese and chutney 

And a lovely piece of homemade chocolate cake

We were staying just down this little alleyway between two shops

Whitby jet jewellery

Make up face ready to go out 

Gin and lemonade in the pub

Garlic mushrooms which had a ton of sauce which is how I like them

Veggie lasagne

The memorial in the market square as we walked home, this is looking up towards the top of the square where The Black Swan is

And this was some cute little ornaments in a shop window

Secret Santa 2022

I just did one Secret Santa in 2022. In the past I've done more, but I wanted to cut it down to just one. I always really like The Broke and The Bookish's swap, so I signed up to send two books and some goodies to someone, and receive the same back. I got Jo as the person I was sending to, and I bought two books off her wishlist and then was careful to choose other things that I thought she would like. I bought a gonk decoration when we went to Chatsworth Christmas market, and I bought the plain chocolate that she liked, Aero and Galaxy. I sent the parcel about ten days before Christmas. Jo was really active on the #TBTBSanta hashtag, and I have followed her on Twitter for years, so I was looking forward to her opening and appreciating the presents.

Sadly, on the 19th of December her brother told us on her twitter account that she had died of pneumonia. Certainly, she had been ill with a bad cold - but surely it had been just a bad cold?? Until it wasn't, I suppose. I can't tell you how much Jo will be missed in book twitter. She worked at Foyles in Charing Cross and talked all the time about fab LGBTQIA books that were coming out. I can't tell you how many books I ordered just because Jo talked about them! I am truly saddened by her death and I was really sad that she wouldn't get to open and appreciate her presents. 

However, I received a really lovely parcel from Sharon! Sharon actually sent my gifts for the same swap a few years ago, and as then she did brilliantly! These were well thought out and personalised presents and for that I'm really grateful. I got three books off my wishlist, two of which I had totally forgotten about and one of which is the prettiest book of cross stitches. I got chocolate and a hot chocolate packet, and pens, and a brilliant wax melt kit! I am always burning wax melts so it'll be nice to make my own! I was thoroughly spoilt, thank you so much Sharon! 

The second photo is of the books I got for Christmas including the two novels I got from Sharon. The others were all from my in laws - Lee's brother bought me the Janice Hallett book and Lee's sister bought me the two M A Bennett books. I can't wait to get to them!