31.10

Rosie-Friday-happy-lists

Happy Friday, and hey, happy Halloween too! We don’t really go in for Halloween much in this house. We do have a pumpkin sat on the kitchen windowsill right now…but sadly it’s destined to be chopped up and turned into this salad here, rather than made beautiful and filled with candles! Poor poor pumpkin. We might ‘nod’ to it being Halloween by watching Hocus Pocus on Netflix later on this evening, probably whilst drinking hot chocolates and eating something sweet. In fact, yes. I’ve just this minute decided, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing! I hope you all have a lovely Friday! Here’s a little round up of this week’s ‘happy things’…

1. Soft wintery evening sunlight. Last night’s sunset was a lovely misty one. I’d forgotten how beautiful the cold light of this time of year can be!

2. Sending letters! There’s something so lovely about good old fashioned snail mail, isn’t there? :)

3. Cooking fresh pheasant! We were given a couple of (dead, but intact!) pheasants earlier on in the week, and after some pretty inexpert plucking, we managed to get them cooked up! I did get kiiind of squeamish during the whole process, but it was far more interesting (and eye-opening!) than just cooking with meat that came via a supermarket shelf!

4. An afternoon stroll along the river in Richmond.

5. Spiced apple + cinnamon candles! Always some of my favourites to burn around this time of year.

6. The clocks going back. So much easier to wake early now that it’s brighter in the mornings!

7. Hummingbird’s ‘Smores’ cupcake. Oh boy. Oh BOY. I think they’re limited edition, so you must grab one whilst they’re available! Seriously amazing!

8. Hot water bottles. All day, every day. (I’m just waiting for it to get cold enough that I can go out walking with Teddy with one tucked up the front of my padded gilet, like I did last winter! It does make me look at least 4 months pregnant, granted, but the warm stomach feels make it totally worth it.)

9. The magical moment that happened yesterday morning, where I happened to be doing the sun salutation part of my yoga sequence right when the sun was actually rising and shining through the morning fog straight into my living room. Too perfect! (Yep, this is the fifty billionth mention of sun rises-and-sets in the past week. Sorry about that. Guess I’m kind of obsessed.)

10. Going to our lovely friends’ wedding last weekend! It was such a special day, and kind of made me wish my own wedding was set to be an autumn one!

Three posts I’ve loved reading this week :: Natalie’s autumnally-themed round up || this style inspiration post from A Little Opulent || Amy’s post about her sweet Henry’s first birthday!

What’s made it on to your happy list for this week? :)

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Posted in 10 THINGS, HAPPINESS

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30.10

Quaintrelle-Cider-with-Rosie-cover

There’s just something special about Setarra. You’ll see what I mean when you hop over and have a read of her beautiful blog, Quaintrelle. I warmed to Setarra the very first day I clicked through to Quaintrelle, and have been reading along ever since (though how I missed the news of her elopement, I don’t know!). Her posts are always so full of honesty and vivacity and love, and I always feel inspired when reading them. Setarra lives in DC with her other half Charles, and shares posts on her blog about their beautiful life together. And I just love reading them! I sent a few questions across the Atlantic to Setarra this week, and now, here are her lovely answers!

1.What made you want to start writing Quaintrelle back in 2012? :)

I started Quaintrelle after I had corrective ACL & meniscus surgery on my knee. A little back story: I used to dance professionally and teach dance but I tore my ACL during the tech rehearsal before a show in DC. To say the least, I was devastated. But I was able to lock in an opportunity to move up to NYC soon after to work behind the scenes for one of the top collegiate dance programs in in the U.S. But following my surgery (which has a 6 month recovery period to be able to fully walk and run; a full year to be able to dance), I went into a bit of a slump because I wasn’t used to being sooo inactive. So I promised myself that once I was able to walk, I would walk my ass all over NYC and see what it was about this city that made it tick which is exactly what I did. I shared those experiences on my blog to keep family and friends who lived afar in the loop and fast forward to today = different city, same story. I’m back in the D.C. area, sharing bits and pieces of my crazy/beautiful life on Quaintrelle along the way.

Quaintrelle-Cider-with-Rosie-2

2. What three words would you use to sum up Quaintrelle?

Constantly Evolving, Serendipitous

3. Your posts always exude so much energy and happiness! What do you find most inspires you to blog?

Would it sound crazy to say that the motivating factor for me to blog on Quaintrelle is death? Because it is. I am fully aware of the fact that I only have a limited time on this Earth and so I use Quaintrelle as a platform to help me focus on the positive moments and living my life to fullest. After all, a Quaintrelle is defined as a women who emphasizes a life of passion through personal style, leisurely pastimes, charms and cultivation of life’s pleasures and that definition is what I aspire to embody everyday and through my blog.
 Quaintrelle-Cider-with-Rosie-4

4. What do you hope your readers take away from your blog, when they visit?

I hope that readers come away from my blog feeling inspired to be fully present in their everyday lives, even in the little moments. It’s all about looking at the glass as half full.

5. You and your lovely Charles have been together for a good long while, right? :) Will you tell us a bit about your story- how you got together, when you’re planning to get married? :)

Oh yes, Charles and I have been together for 7 years now. Our love story is actually kind of funny because when were first met each other, we could not stand each other what so ever. But then one night with the help of a few alcoholic beverages, we realized there was major potential for something like love grow between us and the rest is history.

As for planning our marriage… SURPRISE! We eloped this past July at the D.C. Superior Courthouse! Promptly after, we traveled to Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona for our honey-cation which I’ve been recapping on the blog. I haven’t gone into detail yet on Quaintrelle about our wedding day but one day soon.. Until then, all I have to say is that I am soo glad we decided to be selfish and get married OUR way ☺
 Quaintrelle-Cider-with-Rosie-3

6. What advice would you give anyone considering starting a blog of their own? Any top tips?

Honestly, just do you and try your hardest to not compare yourself with other bloggers. Believe in what makes you different and be honest with your online voice. There are hundreds of blog posts out there with tips and suggestions for how to have a great blog but at the end of the day, your blog is a reflection of YOU. So only take from those posts the tips/ideas that fit into your aesthetic and fill in the rest with whatever makes you happy.

7. Last of all, let’s do a round of deserted island discs! If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you bring with you? You can choose two albums/CDs, two books, ingredients to make two meals, and one luxury item!

Ahhhh only TWO albums??? So tough. Hmm, I will have to pick “The Moulin Rouge” and “Bob Marley and the Wailers Deluxe Edition” albums. For books, I would bring “Sabriel” by Garth Nix (The Abhorsen Trilogy is one of my favorites) and “Wilderness Survival for Dummies” because I’m a city girl through and through and have no idea how to survive on a deserted island haha. As for the two meals, I would bring bread, deli meat, milk and cereal because if there’s one thing I can get by on; it’s sandwiches and cereal. My luxury item would have to be my iPhone6… Because what’s the point of be stranded on an island if you can’t take pictures and share them with your friends and family? I also picked my phone so I could call someone to rescue me; after I got my tan on of course. ☺’

Quaintrelle-Cider-with-Rosie-1

** Thanks so much lovely Setarra! Don’t forget to click through to Quaintrelle and have a read of Setarra’s beautiful, joyful posts, and follow along via Bloglovin‘ too! **

p.s. If you’d like to see your own blog featured here on Cider with Rosie, click through to the Sponsor page and book up an advert! Only one or two spots left for 2015!

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29.10

Rosie-Reynolds-Barbour

Our final day up North ended with a trip to Barbour HQ in South Shields, to watch those most famous of waxed jackets being made on site. I’d been looking forward to this part of the trip the most- years of having a boyfriend partial to watching shows like ‘How It’s Made’ has rubbed off I guess! So I rose early once again (in my little Newcastle hotel room with its beautiful view over the River Tyne), resorted to laying my full body weight onto of my suitcase just so I could get it zipped up, and we were on our way out to South Shields by 8.30am!

Barbour-South-Shields
Barbour-tartanBarbour-waxed-jacket-in-production

Inside the factory, we began the tour by moving right to the start of the production line, where the waxed cotton is measured out and the pattern for several jackets is cut at once. The machinists in the factory are absolutely incredible- the speed at which they work, and their skill and eye for detail, is a sight to be seen. I spoke with Tracy, who sits towards the very end of the production line and whose job is is to sew the final hem on the jacket, and she told me that it takes on average one whole year to train and get up to production line speed. And considering Tracy works to a pace of sewing 54 hems per hour (YEP!), it’s hardly surprising that the training takes such a long time!

The energy inside the factory was amazing. Photos don’t do it justice at all! It’s noisy- hundreds of sewing machines buzzing and clicking and humming all at once, not to mention the odd screech as the rails of partially completed jackets are pulled down the line on to the next station, ready to have pockets attached or zips sewn on or soft corduroy-lined collars put in place. Every single one of Barbour’s classic waxed jackets are made at the South Shields factory- some 600 jackets are made each day alone, an average of 3000 per week!

Original-Barbour-waxed-jackets

^^ ‘Dress tartan’ lined waxed jackets! ^^

Sewing-Barbour-labelsBarbour-waxed-jacket-UK-production

^^ Kerry’s role within the production line is to sew the ‘Authentic Barbour Tartan’ label onto the lining of each jacket. Because of the intensity of the training, each of the machinists specialise in just one or two jobs on the production line. What fascinated me most was how easy they made their task look- one or two quick zips with the sewing machine, and each piece was complete! ^^
 Rewaxing-Barbour-jacket

Once we’d got to the very end of the production line (and watched completed jackets being parcelled up ready to be sent out to customers), we moved on to the repairs department of factory.

Compared with the frenetic pace of the central part of the factory, the repair department felt practically laid back! I hadn’t realised before, but Barbour offer a repair and rewaxing service for all their waxed jackets, a service which is on offer to customers for the full life of their beautiful jacket.

The loveliest lady named Jean showed us around her department, and explained about the process of repairing jackets. Barbour frequently receive jackets that’ve been worn for upwards of ten or twenty years in for repair, that might never have been rewaxed and are beginning to suffer from years of heavy use! Each jacket is assigned to a machinist, who spends time assessing the jacket to understand what on it needs fixing, repairing any rips and tears, and replacing any panels or hardware that might need a complete renovation, before sending the jacket on to be rewaxed. The day of our visit, one particularly old jacket had just undergone a 5 and a half hour repair!

Jean told us that even though oftentimes the cost of having an old Barbour jacket repaired might be equal to the price of buying a new one, customers form such strong bonds with their coats that they’d rather pay to have their old ones fixed up! The jackets become part of family heritage too- some have been sent in to be rewaxed and repaired by sons and daughters wearing their parents old coats!

New-and-vintage-Barbour-jackets

^^ New, freshly made Beadnell jackets, vs. an old, well-loved example in for repair! The colour differences on the jacket on the right are due to the coat having just been patched up with freshly waxed cotton. The faded panels had never been rewaxed, and would have originally been the same colour as the dark green panels on the centre of the jacket. This one was about to go off and be waxed, ready to come out looking good as new and a uniform dark green colour! ^^

Vintage-Barbour-archive

After our tour of the factory, we headed up to the Brand Room to be given a guided ‘tour’ of the Barbour archive. It was nothing short of *fascinating*- I truly could’ve listened to archivist Gary talk all day! He showed us the oldest Barbour jacket in the archive, named ‘Uncle Harry’ after its owner, which was made in 1910 and donated to the Barbour archive by Uncle Harry’s family after he passed away. It was incredible seeing how the years have shaped Barbour’s jackets, from the full length waxed capes they made early in the 1900s (designed to provide protection from the elements for drivers of horse-drawn carts), to the traditional shooting jackets that helped make Barbour the luxury brand we recognise today later on in the 20th Century.

And after all that, (and following lunch, a little talk from Dame Margaret Barbour herself in her very own office, and a visit the Barbour shop), it was time to head back home. The whole trip was such a wonderful one- I always leave experiences like this feeling so inspired, and getting to see the decades of love, dedication, and drive that’ve gone into making Barbour such an internationally successful brand was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Listening to Dame Margaret talk with such pride about her company too was incredibly moving- she took over running it after her husband, John Barbour, passed away when he was just 30, and is a passionate supporter of women in business.

A true role model in every since of the word.

Rosie-tartan-scarfCider-with-Rosie-Barbour-outfit

What I wore :: Barbour cream aran knit jumper  || Jeans (on sale!) || Scarf || Barbour ladies quilted utility jacket

p.s. My friends, if you’re ever in the vicinity of Newcastle, you must stop by the Barbour factory outlet store in South Shields! Some killer deals to be found there, I’m telling you!

p.p.s. Thanks to lovely Sarah from Barbour and Jen from J for Jen for snapping a couple of photos of me during the trip! Credits to the photographers, and all! :)

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Posted in DAY TRIPS, EDINBURGH, FASHION, PRESS TRIP

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28.10

Rosie-Sunrise-in-Scotland Watching-the-sunrise Sunrise-on-Arthur's-Seat Cider-with-Rosie-Barbour Edinburgh-sunrise Silver-coffee-pot Prestonfield-Whiskey-room

I woke up early on our first morning in Scotland. We’d gone to bed late the night before (after that beautiful formal dinner), but I couldn’t resist getting up early to watch the sun rise over Arthur’s Seat. My alarm rang at 7am…and then at 7.15am too. The room was pitch black and totally silent, and rising from the sheets wasn’t easy. I put on every layer of knitwear I’d managed to fit into my little suitcase, and headed outside about ten minutes before the sun was due to rise. The hotel staff promised to have a fire and a coffee waiting for me when I got back in…

The sunrise more than lived up to expectation. A deep purple sky turning pinker and pinker as the sun rose, with streaks of peach sitting low over the treeline. Getting to watch it in all its bright, short-lived glory was worth the cold toes (I missed not having my wellies and thick socks to hand, I can tell you), the colder fingers, and the coldest nose.

When I got back in to the hotel (and was installed in front of a fire in the ‘Whiskey Room’, with coffee in one hand and Elle Interiors in the other), the very first article I read began with the following:

“Scottish-American naturalist and author John Muir has this advice: ‘Keep close to nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.’

I can’t think of any advice I’ve ever been more inclined to follow.

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Posted in AUTUMN, COUNTRY WALKS, EDINBURGH, PHOTOGRAPHY, PRESS TRIP

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