26.05

Cider-with-Rosie-adventures-in-yorkshire-breakfasting-outside

 

The drive north, from Surrey to Yorkshire, took well over six hours. Two and a half hours longer than we’d expected, thanks to the mass Bank Holiday exodus we’d forgotten entirely would be happening this weekend when we planned our trip away. In those six plus hours, we between us worked our way through far too many jelly sweets, a couple of coffees (thank you service stations), popcorn by the messy handful, and a few rounds of ‘would you rather’. The landscape got greener and greener as we drove, the skies got wider, and eventually we turned down a tiny country lane marked with a tinier sign that said, simply, ‘JollyDays’. We even had to stop to let some hares pass as we drove down the lane, and realised there and then that the trip was set to be a magical one.

Our first night under canvas was lovelier even than we’d anticipated. The wood burning stove kept the tent toasty throughout the evening, and the charm of whistling stovetop kettles and reading by candlelight and being totally screen-free was a novelty to us both. We woke early the following morning, to soft bright light pouring in through the white canvas tent walls. Jason stoked the fire and set about lighting the barbecue outside, and I got to work on the coffee.

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We’d arrived the previous day to a kitchen (a kitchen, in a tent! Complete with gas hob, a teeny tiny Welsh dresser, and hot running water!) stocked full of breakfast ingredients, all wrapped up in the sweetest (and most Instagrammable!) brown paper bags. The menu included a couple of eggs, sausages, a couple of rashers of bacon, tomatoes and a handful of mushrooms, not to mention the loaf of perfectly crusty bread and little pat of butter. In true man-make-fire style Jason took charge of all the cooking this weekend, and lived up to his reputation within our family as Barbecue King. It left me free to tinker about taking photos of milk swirling through black coffee and listening to the bird song and watching the deer bound through the fields out back from our tent, which, it turns out, is my very favourite way to spend a morning in the forest.

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We settled down to eat at the little picnic table right outside our tent (just next to the barbecue, and under the cover of an awning), slicing and toasting bread right on the grill until our supply of butter ran out, and making endless pots of fresh coffee. I’m not sure if it was the smoke from the charcoal, the flavour imparted by a well-seasoned grill, or just the novelty of cooking and eating our breakfast in a little clearing of birch trees outside our tent, but it was easily the tastiest breakfast I’ve had in a long time.

And since I haven’t stopped daydreaming about the experience since, I think I’ve caught the camping (or rather, ‘glamping’) bug…

Cider-with-Rosie-glamping-breakfast3

More from our adventures in Yorkshire to come…

* Thanks to JollyDays for having us to stay in one of their beautiful tents. A total dream weekend!

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Posted in BREAKFAST, COUNTRYSIDE LIFE, DAY TRIPS, TRAVEL, WEEKEND BREAK

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10.05

Cider-with-Rosie-Boden-London

After several days of Biblical rain storms, the unseasonable cold, and a sun so pathetic the newly-appearing freckles on my face all but jumped ship and disappeared, spending the whole of Thursday in a bright and (mostly) warm London was total bliss. I always forget quite how glorious London becomes when the sun shines, even when said sunshine is a touch on the intermittent side.

Thursday was a busy old day. It was a day for ditching the tube and walking round Soho, for meeting friends (both old ones and new), and eating. Always, always eating, because what else is a girl to do when in London? The day began bright and early- brighter and earlier even than was necessary for catching my train, because I had errands to run before heading into town. Turns out though, running errands whilst wearing a pencil skirt is more like…’trotting errands’. Running (or even walking fast) with knees that are tied to one another is a total no-go, and it made trying to dash across the village high street whilst carrying the pair of heavy curtains I’d just collected from the dry cleaners a pretty memorable experience…

But, to the exciting things! First on the London-agenda was…Boden! Boden’s twice-yearly press days (one for Spring/Summer, the other Autumn/Winter) are fast becoming one of my favourite blog-related events to attend. Not only is it always a treat to get chance to preview all the beautiful pieces that’ll be being released over the coming months (check out the handbag below- isn’t it a total dream?), but they’re always the most sociable of days too! Kat, Natasha and I were introduced to one another via the lovely folks at Boden (on that most fabulous of trips down to Dorset last July!), and now take the chance to meet and catch up every few months at press days. A few months ago was a S/S preview followed by afternoon tea at The Berkeley, and this Thursday was AW15 and then a whole afternoon of treats!

First things first though, to The Old Vinyl Factory on Marshall St for Autumn Winter newness…

Boden-new-season-collection Boden-AWcollection-New-British

^^ The collection is totally gorgeous. It’s called ‘The New British’, and has so many so many stand out pieces it was hard to pick my favourite! That denim dress is one of them though, for sure…^^

Comptoir-Libanais

After we’d taken a thousand photos and each bumped into so many bloggers and journalists we knew from other events (including my love Lucy, who I met in Cologne), we said our goodbyes (sadly to the clothes, whilst we’ll be waiting a few months for) and headed out in search of lunch. We decided to pace ourselves and go light for our midday meal, so nipped up the road from where the event was being held, and straight into Comptoir Libanais.

Frozen-mint-lemonade-Comptoir-Libanais lebanese-tortilla

I’ve only been to Comptoir Libanais twice, but both times have left me wondering why on earth I ever eat anything other than pickles and hummus. The pickles in Comptoir are out of this WORLD fantastic- so salty they’ll make your tongue tingle (which is exactly what I look for in a pickle, just in case you’d ever wondered), and the pickled jalapeños are just hot enough without being up there in blow-your-head-off territory. (How many times can a person write the word pickles in one paragraph without it being annoying? Pickles. There’s another one just for the sake of it.)

Kat and Natasha both pronounced the chicken wraps they’d ordered to be delicious, and the halloumi tortilla with chopped salad I ate was pretty delicious too, as was that frozen mint and orange blossom lemonade concoction in the photo above! I love how fresh and vibrant the food is, and it’s so very affordable for a quick lunch too. If you go, promise me you’ll order an extra side of pickles on my behalf, okay? (The lurid pink ones are the best…)

Cider-with-Rosie-London-Bond-Street

What I’m wearing :: Sheer top || Navy pencil skirt || Nude flats || Trench || Bracelet

Rosie-Boden-London

Post-lunch, the three of us went in search of dessert and found our way over to The Parlour in Fortnum and Masons. I’d never been to Fortnums for anything other than a browse and a potter before, and now I’ve sampled the delights of The Parlour, I can’t think why on earth not. I mean, the tea and coffee cups come with miniature ice-cream cones on the sides, for crying out loud!

The-Parlour-Fortnum-and-Mason-Cider-with-Rosie Fortnum-and-Mason-CiderwithRosie

Between us we sampled a flat white (mine, predictably), a couple of pots of Earl Grey tea, as well as pistachio, mint chocolate, raspberry, and salted caramel ice creams. Everything was just lovely, but those ice creams are what make the Parlour worth stopping by for, truly! The flavours are fantastic (the salted caramel rocked my world!), and sitting in the adorable cafe with its American diner-meets traditional British finery setting was a total treat. The prices are as dear as you’d expect from Fortnum and Mason, but for a little taste of dressed-down luxury, it was truly lovely.

And, what put the proverbial cherry on top of the ice-cream sundae was that after Natasha, Kat and I had sat and eaten our afternoon treats and put the world to rights for an hour or so, we were joined by Sara and Xanthe! We’d all known of one another for such a long time via Boden, and it was so fun to finally connect in person instead of just via Instagram! It was yet another of those moments that make me glad to have started this little blog almost three years ago to the day, because of how many connections it’s allowed me to make to people from all corners of the world.  lemon-meringue-tart-Fortnums- Fortnum-and-Mason-The-Parlour

^^ Don’t you just want to dive right on in to that bowl? ^^

The-Parlour-mini-icecreams-Cider-with-Rosie

Summer? I’m ready for you now.

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Posted in BODEN, DAY TRIPS, FOOD, FRIENDS, LONDON

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14.04

CiderwithRosie-London Tate-Britain-CiderwithRosie CIder-with-Rosie-try-this Tate-Britain-London   Cider-with-Rosie-art-gallery-London tate-britain-coloured-silks-piece-CiderwithRosie tate-britain-coloured-silks-exhibition-CiderwithRosie

Some might say that the very best thing about spring, aside from cherry blossom (of course), is the frequency with which bank holiday weekends roll around throughout April and May. And I’d have to say that I wholeheartedly agree!

There’s nothing that can top the joy of shutting down your laptop on the last working day before a bank holiday weekend, knowing that three (or four, if we’re lucky!) beautifully long, sunny (if we’re really, really lucky) days are stretching out ahead of us. Alongside all the BBQing and home-sprucing and dates with friends during those long spring weekends, my Mum and I (sometimes with my sister, too) always book in a day in London visiting the art galleries and museums.

I’m up in London lots these days, and the Plan Of Attack usually centres around food. Or shopping. Or food AND shopping. Which is never a bad thing, of course, but every once in a while it’s so lovely to wave goodbye to Regent Street or the King’s Road or Covent Garden, and head in search of a little quiet culture instead. It’s a tradition we’ve kept up or years now, these gallery-hopping days. We to head into town early one morning, stop for coffee on the way, and then spend our time wandering from one gallery to another.

{Try…Tate Britain.}

On the sliding scale of art galleries in London, with absolute Classicism at one end and Modernism at the other, Tate Britain falls somewhere in the middle. There are beautiful classical paintings, and modern sculptures, and right now, my favourite piece from the day, there’s a soundscape of bird calls called ‘Something Going On Above My Head’ being used to fill the main entryway of the gallery itself (pictured first in the post).

There’s an incredible exhibition running at Tate Britain at the moment of Turner’s paintings, that showcases the variety and scope of his work. It explains a little about his painting techniques too- he apparently used to work on several canvases at once, and would build up several paintings at once colour by colour. It’s fascinating and well worth a visit (as are those beautiful dip-dyed silk hangings pictured above).

Saatchi-gallery-Cider-with-Rosie Saatchi-Hermes-Flaneur-exhibition Hermes-Saatchi Saatchi-Hermes-Flaneur-exhibition2 Hermes-Saatchi-exhibition

{Try…the Saatchi Gallery.}

For a little contrast to all things classical, try the Saatchi Gallery on the Duke of York Square. It’s full of the type of art that’s most divisive- I heard at least three people scoffing and saying ‘this isn’t art!’ whilst we were there! One of them may or may not have been my own Mum…

But! As much as it’s easier to appreciate the artistry or a classic piece by Turner or Constable, I do really enjoy looking at Modern art. I find that, because it’s often immersive, it holds my attention far longer than a painting can. There’s an exhibition running at the moment by Hermes, called ‘Wonderland’. It explores the concept of ‘Flanerie’, the art of wandering.

A quote from Pierre-Alexander Dumas (Hermes’ Artistic Director) says ‘Through flanerie, time is not lost, it is rediscovered! [...] Flaneurs garner, forage and gather. They unearth the unusual in the mundane, the unnoticed in the already seen, the distant in the near, the visible in the invisible.’

The exhibition guides you through a series of rooms that feature light displays, music, video, graffiti, visual displays, and pieces from Hermes themselves. Because it’s such a rich visual feast and a totally multi-sensory and immersive experience, I found myself wandering through at snail’s pace trying to take in every single detail. And I think the concept of ‘flanerie’ is easily my favourite thing I’ve learnt so far this year!

‘Wanderland’ runs until the 2nd May at the Saatchi Gallery, SW3 4RY.

{Past seasonal ‘To Dos’}
Try this :: practise a skill.
Try this :: festive baking.
Try this :: get lost in the countryside.
Try this :: have a hot chocolate picnic.

p.s. If you do happen to get sidetracked and pop into the shops on the Duke of York Sq during your day of culture, don’t feel guilty. Even the best of us can’t resist the lure of Zara and Banana Republic during summer dress season…

 p.p.s. What I wore :: navy print wrap dress.

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Posted in DAY TRIPS, LONDON, SPRING, TRY THIS

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31.03

Cider-with-Rosie-calligraphy-lesson

If there’s something I’ve always dreamed of having, it’s beautiful handwriting. The kind that our grandparents have- elegant and swirling, with the sort of unique quirks and traits that make it as instantly recognisable as the sound of their voice. My own handwriting has always been as changeable as the weather. I never managed to find my own style whilst at school, and basically formed my own ‘hand’ at the age of about 10 by copying the writing of a friend of mine who always had the most admired handwriting in our class ;)

And so, when an email pinged in my inbox a few weeks ago inviting me to attend a workshop in which I’d have chance to learn the basics of hand lettering and calligraphy, I sent back a ‘yes please!’ faster than you can say ‘joined up writing’!

The workshop was held in Stockbridge and hosted by the lovely ladies behind a store called Hero, whose beautiful aesthetic I’ve admired via Instagram for a long while now. Our day began at 10 in a tucked away room of Woodfire restaurant (right on the high street), where we warmed ourselves up with a few coffees and pastries and chit chat about what a beautiful setting Stockbridge village is. I’d spent the whole of the drive down that morning admiring tiny farmhouse cottages and spotting fat pheasants in the fields and birds of prey flying overhead- if only it wasn’t quite so far away from Guildford and beyond the realms of a sensible commute for Jason, I’d have added it to our ‘house hunting locations’ list already!

Flat-white-Cider-with-Rosie Hero-lifestyle-store-Stockbridge-Ciderwithrosie

^^ How dreamy is Hero’s range? I’d have taken that blue jumper home with me in a heartbeat! ^^

Cherry-blossom-Hero-CiderwithRosie Hero-Betty-Etiquette-event-Cider-with-Rosie

The calligraphy workshop itself was being run by Becky of Betty Etiquette, who was the most patient and encouraging teacher you could hope to find. We each were supplied with a pen and nib (which felt so elegant and old-school to write with, I loved it!), black Indian ink, paper, and an instruction card that walked us through the basics of Copperplate hand lettering. We started small- drawing out painstakingly careful vertical lines onto the paper that varied in thickness and weight- before moving on to lines in diagonal directions, curved shapes, and then finally on to numbers and letters. Becky explained the rules behind the Copperplate script that give it its characteristic style- downward strokes must be thick, sideways lines fine, and the lettering should be fluid with a slight forward slant.

It was far, far trickier than you’d imagine, and yet a thousand times more satisfying and enjoyable than it was fiddly! As someone whose artistic ability was maxed out during Art GCSE (all I ever wanted to do was play with the cameras anyway, and oh what a foreshadowing that turned out to be!), it was so pleasing to see the results of the morning’s work coming out looking not too shabby at all! I mean, I don’t think I’ll be attempting any hand-lettered place cards for the wedding any time soon, but you know! Maybe when the time comes to write thank you cards, I’ll have it in the bag! ;)

Handlettering-practise-CiderwithRosie

^^ Nines were hard for me, okay? I never did get it down…^^

Betty-Etiquette-calligraphy-Cider-with-Rosie Cider-with-Rosie-handlettering Rosie-Chappel

My favourite, *favourite* part of the morning was moving on to writing out our names. It was harder than you’d imagine not to just slip straight back into your own handwriting, and instead to remember that the letters should have a forward slant to them and a distinctive pattern of weight and heaviness.

I decided to have a go writing my married name, which is, as you can imagine, my current favourite activity. I’m like a schoolgirl with a crush at the moment, writing out ‘Mrs Rosie Chappel’ and practising my signature in the corners of to-do lists and notebook pages every chance I get! ;)

Woodfire-Stockbridge-CiderwithRosie Woodfire-Stockbridge-CiderwithRosie-1

Our workshop ended all too quickly (I could’ve sat there scribbling away for hours!), and was rounded off with a beautiful mezze lunch and yet another round of delicious coffee. It really was the loveliest way to spend a midweek morning, and I can’t recommend looking into a workshop with Betty Etiquette highly enough. It would make the loveliest hen party activity!

Thanks x1000 to lovely Laura from Hero for inviting me to attend. Do search ‘shopathero’ on Instagram and follow along- it’s the dreamiest feed!

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Posted in DAY TRIPS, PRESS TRIP

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