It might as well be spring

Spring is definitely here now. How glorious are those flowers everywhere?
Of course, I've had a field day with all the cherry blossoms in the past couple of weeks (don't think I'm the only one there, am I?) but oh my, the weather has been super nice as well, and with family coming around to visit we have not missed our chance to go and visit our favourite English gardens around. First we went to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Their gardens are sooo pretty, and this time it was definitely the tlips that stole my heart. Being so much into flowers and history must be a sign that I'm getting old. Oh dear. But truly, you'd have to be a fool not to appreciate the beauty here.

Over in Churchill's old country home it was all about the camelias. We fell in love, once again, with the building. It's such a lovely country home filled with history, memories and amazing furniture. Sadly I can't show any of it because photos aren't allowed inside - but I totally get why. It's a whole experience to see it for yourself and it would be a shame to spoil it here.
Flowers, though, are all go, and I hope you'll enjoy them.

Armed with all this amazing inspiration we planted a few seeds this weekend, some simple tomatoes and salad - perfect for our little girl to look after. Last year we just had a few odd bits growing outside because it was our first summer in our new home, but this year we are making more of an effort with our gardening skills - and hopefully our camelia plant will make flowers. Fingers crossed it will work out. Actually, I still haven't decided if I have green fingers or not, but by this summer I should have a definite answer.

Deck the Halls

Although Christmas is now creeping up in the shops from September, for me it's quite important to wait until December to decorate the house and fully embrace the festive spirit.And this year it is the first time we can truly say we are spending Christmas "at home", so it has been a very special month spent decorating and planning for our guests to enjoy the festivities without the hassle of moving furniture around as a bonus!

We used to live next to a funky little pub where they used to sell fresh trees, and for as long as we lived in our old place we used to get one, but with age comes a more environmentally-friendly conscience and last year we took the plunge and went plastic. I can hear you say : "oh but it's not the smae thing" and that's quite true. I miss the smell, but not the dead needles. Instead now we have the luxury of having our very own shrubs, which I made several bouquets with. The main tree remains plastic. Best of both worlds, right?

Over the years our collection of trinkets has grown too, and it's always a nice moment when we open the decorations box and find things we had almost forgotten from the year before.
I love my little glittery deers and iceskating owls, but I will always have a serious penchant for my Maldivian seashell ornaments ;)
Do you have special ornaments from years ago too? 

Wishing you all a ***lovely Christmas***

Mini holiday

 I've been eager to tell you about our mini holiday in the Lake District a couple of weeks ago. The bulk of our first day there was spent climbing Helvellyn. OMG, did my man undersell me the difficult journey it would be! But hey troopers as we are, we did it in no less than 6 hours from the village and back to our car. The views were breathtaking - or so I'm told (I suffer from a slight aversion to heights, so you can imagine me on the famous "stiding edge") and in the end, despite cursing my way through the difficult bits, I was a pretty proud woman at the end of the loop. Sadly, I won't be sharing any embarrassing selfies taken before and after, they've somehow not made the final cut here. Oops.
Instead what I can show you is the fabulous suite we'd booked at the Gilpin hotel just a few miles away in sunny wet Windermere. What a treat at the end of such a strenuous day, it was just perfect. How cute is the little doorstop cat? The hotel is actually split into a more classical side and a brand-new extended area with ultra-modern cabins cum-spa facilities.
We stayed in one of the more classic rooms in the main building, a super calm, laid-back place with lovely staff. We decided to upgrade our night and dinner package to the 7-courses tasting menu and kicked it off with a glass of champagne to celebrate our achievement, not to mention that Mr Peony had a birthday that day. The food did not disappoint and we actually really struggled to finish our meal. Special mention to the fish course, "une tuerie" as we say in French!
Breakfast was heavenly in the morning, complete with fresh fruit salad and juices. We so did not need to eat, but couldn't resist the eggs benedict (I looove those!)
Thank you Gilpin for making our stay so comfortable and pleasant.  I have a hinch we might come back ;)