This years escape was a much needed one.
With all the care and concern around my mother-in-law,
we both longed for the peace and tranquillity England always brings us.
At the beginning of this year I had subscribed to a monthly embroidery kit of the Stitchery
from the lovely Nicki.
Sadly there hasn't been much time to finish even the one of January,
so this was the first thing to pack and a good excuse to take this lovely Basket along with me
A sunny crossing brought us from Hoek van Holland to Harwich
After some detours (wrong directions from Airbnb)
we arrived at our first cottage greeted by my favourite flower
And this was our stunning view for a whole week at the Barn in the wonderful Shropshire Hills
With at the back 'our own Bluebell Wood'
Having beautiful nature on our doorstep, we didn't have to go far for the stunning views
I often see on the many Instagram accounts I love to follow.
So after a very short drive, we arrived at Cording Mill Valley to take in the lovely scenery
and its inhabitants on our walk to Long Mynd
The next day we went to the lovely market town Shrewsbury
After some shopping we had a lovely walk at The Quarry Park
And ended our visit with a drink with a view on the river Severn at the river bar The Boathouse Inn
We were so very lucky with the weather, so perfect conditions to unwind at the cottage
that really felt like home.
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| Mugs and Hanging Bottles both available on our Website |
Enjoying the lovely garden
All the blossom in the orchard
Accompanied by this one
We also made a tour through the beautiful landscape
and visited some little towns in the area
Including the lovely small market town Bishops Castle where
we had such a lovely conversation with
a very friendly gentleman about the love for England.
I couldn't have said it better as he did .... 'it gets into your soul'
On our last day in the Shropshire Hills, I saw this beautiful photo on the account of the lovely Nicola and
just had to visit this spot, especially as it happened to be very near to us
It appeared to be the perfect place after some distressing news from the home front.
We had a lovely walk and eventually sat down and soak up the
wonderful views at Lyth Hill
After a fabulous week in this beautiful area we left for our next stay
in West Sussex escorted by this one
On our way we had a stop at Hogben Pottery to collect new stock for the Shop and
took some lovely new designs home with us.
Personally I'm in love with this gorgeous Rosebud Mug
Always looking for a rural location often makes it quite a task to find the cottage,
but after (again) another detour we found our second 'home from home' .... Post Office Cottage
Which happened to be a real home to spend time with the rest of the family
who would arrive the next day
And with some lovely old features, like this hatch in the door
which is the entry to the utility room
The very large but cosy kitchen where we spent most of our time
And had celebrations, with my husband and middle son both
having their birthday during our holiday
And again a wonderful view, this time on the South Downs
also completely at home
With the arrival of two of our boys and my sister-in-law and husband the sight seeing had begun,
with first the lovely city Brighton
Because already being here a few years ago, of which you can read all about here
I had several spots in mind I wanted to show my family.
One of them was the Royal Pavilion
One very happy mum, showing these two around in this wonderful city
Being so near, a walk at beautiful Petworth Park was also 'a real must',
loved being the guide of the day again
Making the most of this one still likes to be in a photograph with his mum
Next stop was the lovely village Tillington
To celebrate the sixtieth Birthday of my husband with a meal at The Horse Guards Inn
Being so often in this beautiful area it already feels like home. So a walk at Black Down was
something I really wanted to share with my family.
It's already such a happy place and now even more being there with them, more happy memories made ....
Introducing them to my 'favourite bench'
Boys will be boys
Admiring the view of the Temple of the Winds
Time really flies when you're having fun, because before we knew, it was
already time to go home again.
I really tried to save this view on our way back to Dover
At home, not quite ready to face real life again, the garden gave us such a lovely welcome.
This is my favourite spot at this time of the year with the Mock Orange in full bloom,
of which the scent is really divine
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| You can find the Tablecloth Lace Crochet on here |
Since we've been back the temperatures are wonderful and
we're living outdoors the most of the day
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| You can find the Jane Hogben Strawberry Bowl on our Website |
And like every time when there's new stock, I couldn't help myself, and just had
to keep some of these lovely Mugs with the gorgeous new design to myself
Trying to keep that holiday feeling alive with a recipe from the Country Living Magazine
I made for the first time while being on holiday
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| You can find the Embroidered Tea Towel here |
Another lovely new item I took home with me and you can also find
on our website, Jane Hogben Greeting Cards
Having still a few days off after returning from our break, I also had
some time to do some 'faffing' inspired by this image I found on Pinterest
With an abundance of flowering Alchemilla I had enough material to make this wreath
As long as you don't bind it to tightly and don't hang it in full sun,
it will take some time before it will dry nicely
I love how it turned out in this heart shape, because isn't it just home where the heart is.
I think I've got two homes by now ....
I think I've got two homes by now ....
Enjoy the weekend!
Anita
~xo~
