Sunday, 9 August 2009

DEVON BLISS Part 1



Hello again! I hope that you are all enjoying the summer holidays.



We have just returned from a holiday in South Devon. It is an area which I have visited on many occasions and could easily live in as I enjoy being close to the sea. The scenery all along the River Dart is exceptionally beautiful! I particularly enjoyed the various boat trips that we went on, such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

My first stop was Totnes to visit Amanda's stall. I was not disappointed, not that I thought I might be! There was plenty to tempt me. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car packed with all our other holiday things so couldn't take a picture of Amanda's beautifully displayed stall.


Jar covers, a tablecloth, union jack bunting, cards... bought from Amanda's stall


and a very pretty night dress for Phoebe also bought from Amanda


I found this lovely 1930's plaster statue of the Virgin Mary on an antique stall at the Totnes market


After our journey down to Devon via Totnes, we arrived at our holiday accommodation

Here is where we stayed in Venn, the setting is beautiful and peaceful. The barn has only just finished being converted and is only a 5 -10 minutes drive from Dartmouth. The owners live just behind it. They were very friendly and ensured that our stay was a pleasant one.


The view from our accommodation

As we were not far from Dartmouth, we popped over there on most days. There are some lovely shops, art galleries and a wonderful French patisserie!


The Quay, Dartmouth


Dartmouth Museum & shops


Bought from a vintage shop called Second Love in Dartmouth


I love the scent of this soap!! I bought it from The Cove in Dartmouth


All aboard




Boat that takes you to Dartmouth Castle


Dartmouth Castle


View from Dartmouth Castle





Back in Dartmouth


Can we do more crabbing please?


The next day....and what happened to the sunshine? A day out at Woodlands (an adventure park for children) We were soaked as it rained the whole day! Why choose that day to visit the Park? Well some of Phoebe's favourite TV characters were visiting on that day only!

During the holiday, the weather was mixed but that did not stop us from doing things. On one of the days we took at trip on the steam train from Kingswear to Paignton and back






View approaching Dartmouth on the way back from Paignton




The cafe at the Kingswear Station

Another place I love visiting is Salcombe. It is colourful and a vibrant place in the summer.



Always have to get a few sweets from here

I also popped in to Amelia's Attic. The interior is lovely and full of gorgeous gifts, jewellery, bags etc.. For some reason I forgot to take some pictures...too busy browsing!




One of the many pretty houses to be found in Salcombe


And another one, both these houses overlook the water

There are many pretty little pubs to discover around the area. We stumbled across this pub, The Trademan's Arms in Stokenham by accident after having taken a wrong turning and ended up having a lovely lunch there. It had been closed for several months and had only just recently re-opened, it is fully refurbished and redecorated.






We went to this little cove near Dartmouth Castle

Despite it being in summer, we still managed to find some areas which were not crowded.


Part 2, soon....which will feature a visit to Greenway, Agatha Christie's holiday house.


Isabelle x

Thursday, 30 July 2009

Lacock Part 1


In my last post, I mentioned that I went to Lacock village & abbey. Pride & Prejudice, Emma & Cranford were filmed here. Here are the some of the photos as promised.


Tea room and gift shop


A lovely location for a wedding




This shop is gorgeous, a wonderful scent greats you as you walk in.
Click on the link to have a look at their website


Lavender bouquets for sale outside the shop


I love the way the bars of soap are displayed.






At the back of the shop they sell all sorts of gifts and cards


I couldn't resist taking a picture of this little dog patiently waiting for his owner to come out of the post office


One of the many stalls in Lacock. It is so nice that this system still exists based on trust. Choose your items and simply put the money through the letter box.


One of the shop windows


The village bakery


One of many interesting doors


Lacock village is full of beautiful architecture


This made me smile as I walked by the National Trust shop. All the men waiting for their wives or partners....


I fell in love with this house! The photo doesn't do it justice. It has to be seen! I wanted to take more pictures but I didn't want to intrude on their privacy by leaning over the gate...

More to follow...

A bientôt!


Isabelle x

Monday, 20 July 2009

Garden flowers


Freshly picked flowers to brighten up my kitchen



I love the mixture of colours



On Saturday, we went to Lacock village again, this time to take my parents who came over for a surprise visit. We were lucky with the weather. One of the things that I like in Lacock is that several houses sell home grown flowers and vegetables just outside their door. My Mother bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers that had just been freshly picked and put outside for sale.

I had to share the flowers with you, so beautiful! You really cannot beat garden flowers.



Photos on Lacock village outing to follow. Only had time for a quick post today!

Thank you for all your good wishes! :0)

A bientôt!


Isabelle x

Friday, 17 July 2009

The WINNER is...AND DO YOU HAVE PROBLEMS ACCESSING CERTAIN BLOGS?



Well done to Mate from Bleu de Lavande whose number came up on the random number generator.
The goodies will be posted to you on Monday
(Please note that anyone who left more one comment, only the first entry counted)

Thank you to all of you who left comments and for all your lovely Happy birthday wishes. I had a lovely birthday and gorgeous gifts! On the weekend of my birthday Alan took me to Lacock village, Abbey & museum. I had not been there before but had wanted to for some time especially after having watched the BBC TV series Cranford which was filmed there. I will put some photos of my day out there in my next post.

If you live in UK or are on holiday in the UK, this week will not have been a very good one weather wise, very wet indeed! I do feel sorry for those who have opted for a family holiday at the beach this week...

Here is a video of what it's looking like in Somerset this morning...



Things have a habit of happening at once....
These past couple of weeks we have been busy dealing with things going wrong. My spare computer gave up on me so I had to buy a brand new one last Monday. Our car has broken down 3 or 4 times in the past week, so we decided it had to replaced as it is no longer reliable and needs to have quite a bit of work done to it. Yesterday we bought another one which we will pick up next week.

Our water leak in the lounge meant that the carpet had to be pulled up and be thrown away. We will be painting the floorboards, something we had planned on doing eventually but not just yet.

Today....we are having electrical problems in the kitchen, main switch keeps tripping. Trying to establish if boiler or cooker is the cause, cannot work that out yet...

All these things you can accept better when spread throughout the year but not in the space of just 2 weeks!

A parcel arrived in the post this morning from Sal, I bought a couple of beautiful scented sachets. Thanks Sal. A wonderful parcel to open up all beautifully presented, it brighten up my day!



PROBLEMS ACCESSING CERTAIN BLOGS USING INTERNET EXPLORER???

THERE IS A PROBLEM THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIX FOR SOME TIME. IN THE MEANTIME I AM USING FIREFOX TO ACCESS CERTAIN BLOGS INCLUDING MINE! NO PROBLEMS ACCESSING ALL BLOGS SINCE USING 'FIREFOX'

A bientot


Isabelle x

Thursday, 9 July 2009

BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!!!!



Tomorrow (Friday 10th July) is my birthday and to celebrate, I am having a giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post please.
The winner will be picked using an online random number generator. I will post worldwide so the giveaway applies to all!


The draw will take place on FRIDAY 17th JULY 2009 at 12 noon (UK time).

The winner will receive these items.



72 Pink Heart paper doilies, union jack notebook, VV Rouleaux blue crystal buckle


Vintage millinery leaves, Roger & Gallet carnation soap, vintage fabrics
Vintage trimmings and buttons too...

Events have taken over of late, Larry (cat) needing a little operation (He is fine now), water leaking in lounge (carpet has to be pulled up). There is more... but I won't bore you with the rest! It has been a strange couple of weeks!


A bientot


Isabelle X