The Peak District second time around ....

Due to my reduced vision (which takes almost six months now😔) 

I still didn't wrote a blog post about our annual escape to the English country. 

Because computer work isn't really possible at the moment I write this post on my phone

 (which is not the most easiest way🙈) so it will be a short one. 

But I just had to document this lovely trip before we leave for our next holiday.

Again we had our first stop in the wonderful city Cambridge where Spring was at its best!

For the first ever time we booked the same location for the second time and it didn't disappoint, 

because it really felt like coming home at The Wee House on the Hill ....
You can read more about our first stay and see indoors photos of the cottage here

Gorgeous Bluebells at Lea Wood

We had a lovely walk at Dovedale

Our daily walk into the little town Wirksworth

The lovely Secret Orchard Nursery

Serious Wisteria envy 💜

At the cottage a view that never bores ....

And also the same breathtaking view on the little enclosed terrace next to the cottage. 

Not only the cottage gave us a wonderful week
 but also provided me to take some photos of the new Hogben stock
 we picked up during our stay which you can find on our website.

In two weeks time we will leave for the Provence

 to have some family quality time.

Hopefully an eye operation will be on the cards when we return.
Who knows, maybe next time I will be able to write a proper blog post again.

Until then!

Anita
~xo~

Celebrating Summer in the best company ...

Just can't believe it's only a week ago we returned from our family holiday in the Provence.

Despite all our good intentions to slow down after our return, this past week was a busy one.

Unfortunately some things can't be ignored (read the daytime job 😉) 

But also busy with the pleasant ones, like our frequent visits to my dear mother-in-law

 and of course the Webshop 😊

Even during our break you've been so very generous with your orders, 

can't thank you enough for your constant support for our small business!

Blogging about our holiday sure is a way to remember and document the lovely time we've had.

You must agree with me that we were so very lucky with the luxurious accommodation we stayed in,

 Villa la Farigola

Two whole weeks of enjoying blue skies and Oleander

And clearly not the only one, because it was a coming and going of butterflies and bumblebees.

Being in the Provence, visiting a market is a real must (at least to me it is 😜)

So we went to the market in the lovely town Cotignac

In my opinion, you only find market stalls like this in France

For me another typical french thing is the taste of their melons.

 At least, I never have tasted them better than in France.

Before we left I found a very easy recipe for a salad including melon.

Here it is;

You will need:

- one package Serrano ham

- one ball mozzarella         

        - one bag of rocket salad           

        - a half ripe (cantaloupe) melon
- olive oil                           

- balsamic vinegar             

 - pepper and salt                 

Spread the rocket salad on a large bowl.

Then divide the mozzarella together with the Serrano ham 

into small pieces over the salad.

Drizzle the salad lightly with olive oil and balsamic 

vinegar (and some salt &pepper)

Bon Appetit!

        

After a stroll in town and having crepes on a lovely terrace accompanied by live music,
we continued our way to the village Tourtour

On our way me made two unexpected stops.
First one was this wonderful cascade near the village Sillans-la-Cascade
we encountered along our way.

We also passed the town Aups where we camped many years ago when
 our boys were still young, so we just had to stop and have a little walk.

Love this display as an entrance.

After lovely Aups we finally reached our destination Tourtour , with this wonderful view!

Such a privilege to have again two of our sons joining us during this holiday.  

Not only a fabulous view but also a very picturesque village

I finally had time to catch up with my embroidery 

Accompanied with a cuppa made by the husband who was 'in charge'

 for our daily one on this holiday.

Another outing on our list was going to Lac Sainte-Croix and

 hire a pedal boat to explore the Gorges du Verdon

Nature at its best

Afterwards we ended up in the lovely village Moustiers-Sainte-Marie 

Just can't beat facades like this (📷 my sister-in-law).

And again stunning views

After a day of rest we went to the village Cannet des Maurus to go to the 

Brocante Market I already visited a year ago. 

And also this time it was worth the visit, because I found these lovely Tureens

 you can find in our shop on here 

After that we continued our way to Aix en Provence 

A city that never disappoints, despite the fact that all the roads around the centre looked 

more like a building site, due to the construction of a new electric bus.

The villa were we stayed was surrounded by vineyards

Here is one of the stunning views driving to our villa at dusk

Still making (holiday) memories with two of our boys is such a blessing, 

the second town we explored this year was Marseille

Where we climbed a lot of stairs to reach the Notre-Dame de la Garde 

The stunning interior of the upper Church

On one of our last days we went to the town Vidauban

In love with the shutters, balcony ... well actually everything in this photo. 

Our main reason going there was to eat a real french delicatessen, Profiteroles!

I've so enjoyed spending time with this lovely lot and having serious
 intentions to go for a repeat next year. 

This home coming sure made up for missing blue skies and oleander every day, my Cafe au Lait 😍 

At the moment we're having a little Sale on our Website to make room for our new Autumn stock, 

which I'll share with you next time. 

Until then, have a peaceful Sunday all!

Anita

~xo~