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

Totnes comes to Shepton Mallet & Award Time & Cath Kidston 15% off discount

On Saturday I went to the Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair. Once there, I headed straight to Amanda's stall. Amanda, as many of you already know has a stall at the Totnes Market on a Friday. I have seen her beautiful stall featured on many of your blogs and when Jane told me that Amanda also sells at the Shepton Mallet Fair, I simply had to go.

Amanda was not there but her parents were. They were very friendly and helpful as I spent ages going through all the sheets and table cloths, spoiling their neat displays... The stall was beautifully displayed. So annoying that I forgot to take my camera with me! As you can see, I came back with quite a few things. Several candy stripes sheets, candy stripes pillowcases, a picture, two tablecloths, a handkerchief and some cards.

More candy stripes....

The pink and white tablecloth I used yesterday for our lunch in the garden.

Such pretty embroidery

Card I am keeping to put on display somewhere in the kitchen

My next stop was to visit Liz who was just a few stalls further up. Liz's stall is always a pleasure to look at, so many things to tempt you!

I came back with a picture, an apron and a tablecloth with matching napkins.

My time was very limited on Saturday morning so did not spend any where near as much time there as I usually would.
On my way out, it was lovely to stop and have a chat with Niki who spotted me walking by.

BLOG SHOPPING
Over the past few weeks, I have bought some lovely items from various bloggers' websites. Here are some of them, others will be featured in my next post.

Such a beautiful picture from A Vintage Mood

Rosie from The Vintage Magpie has found a new home here

Lottie arrived at the same time. These bunnies are so sweet. I have bought 3 so far and can see the family of bunnies increasing in time...

All these goodies came from Elfie & Me (Made in Pixieland)

The book box is a great idea!

I love this plaque, so pretty! It came from Vintage Home

OTHER RECENT FINDS

This sweet little baby doll, I spotted whilst out and about in Shepton Mallet last week.

I have also had some new additions to my vintage book collection

I love the style and colourful covers of these 1950's books

Phoebe enjoys reading some of them, she has started taking an interest in my vintage children's books.

AWARD TIME!

I was lucky enough to be given an award by Pink Feather Paradise.

THANK YOU Alex it is very much appreciated!

I am now passing it on to 7 lovely ladies in no particular order:

Lisa from Knitty Vintage & Rosy

Lesley from This'n'that

Sall from Sal's Snippets

Sonia from Vintage Rose Designs

Debbie from Debbie's English Treasures

Pat from The Sewing Room

Sal from Doolallysally

To the winners of this award, it is entirely up to you if you wish to pass this award on to another 7 blogs.

FINALLY, for those of you who are thinking of shopping at Cath kidston soon you may be interested in this:

EASY LIVING Magazine June 2009 Issue has a copy of Cath Kidston catalogue. There is a 15% off discount offer as well a free plastic wash bag included with the magazines. I don't normally buy this magazine. I bought it to get the wash bag and the discount but then was pleasantly surprised with the contents of the Easy Living magazine. Well worth buying.

Happy shopping!

A bientôt!

Isabelle x