A glorious weekend

 Hello, 

How are you doing today? I hope anyone reading this is really well and perhaps curled up somewhere with a book... I have a cup of chamomile tea in hand and a wooly jumper on whilst writing this as it definitely has gone a bit cooler recently. The warm sunny days a few days ago are very much a welcome surprise as we creep closer into May.

May is a month I feel very excited about. Mainly because it is the month my Jack turns 25! But also because with it brings the promise of warmer days, and hopefully slowly towards restrictions ending. 

I feel prompted to write about this weekend as slowly but surely it has begun to feel ever-so-slightly more 'normal' and I think it's nice to be able to recognise this in the present and look back on these trips in days to come. 

I feel very thankful that this weekend has involved seeing my parents, it was nice to be able to see each other outside more casually. On Saturday we went to a farmer's market and it was wonderful to see businesses of all kinds trading again. Our excursion involved just having a browse, not really for anything in particular, other than for something sweet for J. The brief was that it needed to include coconut. This was a mission I was willing to accept, despite both of us being gluten and dairy free and so sometimes struggle to find certain foods. I'm happy to say that I did manage to fulfill this request in the form of some delicious coconut homemade marshmallows from a small independent business, which I brought alongside a book from a charity shop. Being able to buy from small shopkeepers who put everything into their businesses and have such passion and pride for them is amazing. It also means that you can buy something that you otherwise may not be able to. I can say we had never tried coconut gluten and dairy free marshmallows before, simply because we hadn't seen them. They are definitely worth looking out for!

Today we decided to have a look around the Emma Bridgewater factory shop and whilst it was sunny we managed to sit outside in the beautiful cottage garden. All the colours are so delicate and the pastels and bold colours together really make you see the potential inspiration behind the products. This little tucked away outside space really makes you feel like you're in a cottage garden, rather than a factory and it was so nice to go back there after so long for a wonder around. All the ceramics are so vibrant and it makes me really proud to come from an area which has produced and is still producing such beautiful pottery. Mum came away with her very own mug and as someone who has had a Emma Bridgewater mug also with my name on it for around two years now, I know she will get so much joy from drinking from it. 

After a mooch, we decided to head to a Tea Room for spot of lunch outside. Whilst mum had English Breakfast  tea, I had a cool Dandelion and Burdock and thought how lucky we are to live near a place with such lovely and traditional Tea Rooms. There is something really special and old fashioned about drinking tea in china cups and it felt like such a luxury having dainty sandwiches on vintage plates. We had a mix of sandwiches and savoury scones and chutney and it was delicious. 

Lockdown has definitely made me appreciate, now more than ever, the amazing activities and days out right on our doorstep. There are so many things to see and do and it is wonderful to be able to do them more and more!

I hope you have had a nice weekend with whatever you have been getting up to and that you feel the same way.

Write soon!

Molly x