1. Tucking in
I wanted to eat in a restaurant every day for seven days, be it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. This is something I tried to do during the week of my birthday last year. I failed, partly due to lack of planning, and partly due to eating waaaaay too much on day one!

I did better this year. I started with a meal in Ask with my Dad that ended with ice cream filled profiteroles, the next day I had my traditional birthday cooked breakfast with Andy. I then had Afternoon Tea with my Mum and a friend. Then lunch with some friends. Next year I'll get the full seven days!



2. Getting crafty
I wanted to make use of a bag of fabric scraps I'd been collecting. I'd seen an idea on Pinterest and had a go myself. I love the result and plan to make more...



3. Going Coastal
I'd planned to spend an entire day at the beach. I didn't manage a full day but I did visit Southwold with family twice in one week. Each visit included digging large holes in the sand with my nephew, a picnic, an ice lolly, paddling, and beach cricket. On the second visit I swam in the sea, it's the first time I have done this in years!



4. Rocking it
I wanted to paint and hide a #stoneofjoy or two for someone else to find. I hide the first one at Latitude Festival in a tree. Moments later a young girl spotted it and she excitedly pointed it out to her father. The miserable old git told her to leave it. But when I passed back that way later that evening the stone had gone, so it's out there somewhere...



Once the first one had been painted I was hooked, and six more followed, but I keep forgetting to take them with me when I go out, which is a significant hindrance to my plans...

5. Day tripping
I'd hoped to take a trip to Snape Maltings and Marlsford Mill. I didn't make it to either place.



6. Finishing off
The bedroom redecoration needed to be finished. I had three tasks to complete, the first was to paint a pine shoe rack white to match the rest of the shelving in my wardrobe. All the little nooks and crannies made it fiddly but it looks so much better now.



Next I needed to tackle painting a chest of drawers that I spilled nail polish remover down the front of. Once I started progress was swift. The result? I bloody love it!



Whilst varnishing the top of the chest of drawers I also sanded down and varnished a mirror, one reason being it had a few scratches that I wanted to deal with, the other was to match the rest of the furniture in the room.

7. Visibly mending
I had some jeans, a parasol, a picnic blanket, and a large bag that all need attention. The jeans will be an on going project, as as soon as I mend one hole another appears!



The parasol didn't get mended but the picnic blanket did. It was a victim of a beach fire that started spitting out red hot rocks that had been thrown into the flames over the course of the evening. They burned through and, in some places, stuck to the blanket. It was it's first outing and I wasn't going to throw it away. I'd put it in the cupboard at the end of the summer last year vowing to mend it.



I created some waterproof patches for the reverse of the blanket by fusing together some plastic bags, these were stitched on with a sewing machine. On the front I made it a little more pleasing to the eye by handstitching different coloured circles of felt.



The bag had split around the top seam. My Mum gave me this a few years ago and it's been used for storing wool and various knitting projects.



I mended the bag using some leftover pieces of cross stitch aida patched onto the inside, and some material scraps. It's not perfect but it's good enough to store wool, and with luck it'll last a while longer.

8. Baking goodies
I wanted to make a giant Jaffa cake, and Bourbon biscuit brownies, I got as far as buying the ingredients. But baking is more of an autumnal pursuit, right?

The morning of October 27th went by in a flash and I hadn't realised that it was Photo An Hour until lunchtime. I'd spent the morning pottering, doing housework and bits and bobs so the photos wouldn't have been very exciting anyway.

1pm
I sat down for a pre Afternoon Tea snack. Knowing I was going to be eating lots of delicious sweet treats later on I went for a healthy option.


2pm
Pom poms in the making. It's the perfect thing to do when you've got an hour to spare.


3pm
Pom pom dust! I don't mind the fallout from pom pom making, at least it's pretty.


4pm
Afternoon tea. We went to Seckford Hall in Woodbridge, Suffolk. I can highly recommend it, the food is delicious, the service is good yet unobtrusive, and the location and venue are stunning.


5pm
It doesn't take long to demolish the dainty sandwiches and little sweet treats. I was the only one to eat all it, I'm not sure I should be proud of that fact for not...?


6pm
Home to tea by the fire (because I hadn’t drunk nearly enough tea that afternoon!). I got the fire going and sat with a satisfyingly full belly.


7pm
Neither cat was in the least bit interested Strictly Come Dancing, but it's become our Saturday night viewing.


8pm
Tink left her fireside spot to sit on my lap and then got annoyed when Socks nicked her spot by the fire!

By 9pm I was in bed with a book.

Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

The summer is a dim and distant memory now but I still wanted to share how I got on with my summer to-do list.

1. Eating
I wanted to eat in a restaurant every day for seven days, be it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. I thought that this would be a good way to celebrate my birthday but after just two days of eating out I was done. It probably didn't help that on my birthday I had a cooked breakfast in a local cafe, a roast lunch with family, and then went out for Italian food in the evening. The next day I had a pub lunch and that finished me off. But I do still like the idea, it feels like a very decadent way to celebrate a birthday. I think it's doable, I just need to be a little more sensible about it.


2. Camping
I went to Latitude for a day this year, and I camped at a local campsite in Dunwich on the Friday and Saturday night. Dunwich is lovely, and the campsite is next right next to the beach. I went early to set up camp and when my friend went to pick up his kids from school I had a stroll on the beach, read for a while and had a bit of a nap. Walking back I picked up feathers and shore flora and made a beach bouquet. Typing this feels really familiar and I think I probably already wrote about this in a weekend post.

3. Going Coastal
I wanted to spend a day at the beach, 9 to 5, eat ice cream, and fish n chips. But I decided to stay away during the summer holidays. By the time the school term started the weather dipped into clouds and high winds, by the time the weather improved the summer was over.

4. Hosting
I wanted to invite friends for afternoon tea, but I failed to make a plan so it didn't happened.


5. Reading
I wanted to read 12 books over the summer months, but I haven't been reading as much recently. I managed only 10 books with September taking all of September to get through! I did survive the Zombie apocalypse, and loved reading 22 Britannia Road. My friend used to live on that street so I know it well. I could visualise the house and garden, and when he talked of cycling up a hill on his way home from work, I knew the hill as I'd cycled up it on my way home many times. The labels on June irritate me, but I did forgive it for being a hardback book (not stated when I ordered it) as it was an enjoyable read.

6. Decorating
Our bedroom has been at the planning stage for about two years now... and Andy threw a spanner in the works just as I was about to buy the paint and make a start, more on that in another post.

7. Exploring
I wanted to give Geocaching a go, locally at first, but again plans weren't made ...


8. Attending
My intention was to visit the Hemingstone Flower Show. But it wasn't on until the early autumn, so I went along then instead. It was very quaint, the flowers in the church were beautiful, I was particularly drawn to the dahlias.

Afterwards refreshments were available in the Hut, which is a WW1 hut given to the village by Rendlesham Forest in 1920. It's the social centre of the village, which has no other amenities apart from the church.

I thought I heard an almost imperceptible lull in conversation as I entered the Hut. I felt like an interloper, never seen before, it tickled me and I had to try hard not to laugh - was it just my imagination? Luckily I saw a friend of mine and in talking to her I hope I gained some credibility with the locals. I had a delicious homemade tomato and basil soup which warmed me nicely for my walk back to the car, and I bought a huge slice of chocolate cake for Andy for £1.00. I hope to return again next year.

9. Concocting
I wanted to make lemonade from scratch. But I didn't due to the amount of sugar involved and I'm trying to limit my sugar intake.

10. Utilising
I wanted to get a book from the library, I joined last year and have yet to do so. I really should, I really want to, but I didn't get around to it.

For all the things I didn't tick off the list there were several things I did do. To name a few I dined out with friends, with family, spent an afternoon on Southwold beach with my young nieces and nephew, celebrated my oldest nephews 18th birthday with a family BBQ, discovered that I like love figs, avocados, and creme brulee. I developed an obsession with pom poms and spent a lovely afternoon teaching my sister in law and her children how to make them. I celebrated my birthday with two birthday cakes (double the wishes when I blew out the candles). Caught up with old friends over a chili and a scary movie, and with others over coffee. The summer was fab, and I hope autumn will be equally as sociable. I haven't written an autumn list, but plan to look back and write a post about the ten best things I do this autumn.

Oh my goodness, what a week!

I always leave things to the last minute and end up rushing around like a crazy person with to-do lists coming out of my ears. I enjoy the chaos but have found it somewhat tiring this year. Still, it nearly all done.
This week has been quite sociable. It started with lunch at the Lavenham Swan with Andy, a belated anniversary meal, back the the scene of the crime. It was absolutely lovely. The smell of the place as we walk in the door takes us right back to our wedding day. I feel like this is our hotel, it's such a special place.

I had a G&T before eating, forgetting that I hadn't had time for breakfast. I was rather giggly by the time my food arrived - which didn't help productivity that afternoon. But it was a welcome distraction and so lovely to spend time with Andy, and the food was delicious, as always. Although, being a traditional sort of fellow, Andy really didn't know what to make of the beetroot ice cream that was served with his chocolate mousse :)


I nipped to Felixstowe with Mum to collect the pottery I'd painted from Crafty Coffee. Again I hadn't had time for breakfast and was hoping for a cheese scone (they are so good) but they didn't have any, so we walked to the other end of the high street to our favourite wool shop / cafe, The Wool Baa, and had one there. It's worth a visit if you're ever in Felixstowe, The Wool Baa is lovely, especially if you're a fan of wool. If you're there on Monday evening or Thursday morning they have 'Knit and Natter' so you can take your knitting and get sociable.

I enjoyed lunch with some of my best friends at The Cookhouse Restaurant at The Suffolk Food Hall. I ate too much (fish and chips and a chocolate and salted caramel sundae), and was then served fish and chips by my Dad for supper. I was so full I had trouble driving home!

I had a haircut - just a trim, coffee with my sister in law, wrapped some presents, gave up on the idea of writing Christmas cards, braved some last minute shopping (but I've realised I need to do a little more), put marizpan on the cake (and some in my stomach), started to clean the house ready for guests on Christmas Eve, attacked the laundry so I don't have to do any next week, and I managed some work in between all of this.

Yesterday Andy came home with a second Christmas tree so that needs decorating, I need to ice the cake, make a Malteser Cheesecake, finish a website design, finish the housework, find the big table cloth, stop Andy from eating all the snacks purchased for our guests, and remember where I put the gin.

And tomorrow we're celebrating our youngest nephew's birthday with go karting and pizza.

I do enjoy Christmas, but I'm looking forward to Boxing Day when I can put my feet up. In the days that follow we'll do as we please, we'll make it up as we go along, which sounds pretty perfect to me.

I hope you all have a lovely, lovely Christmas, however you choose to celebrate.

xx

For my birthday Andy booked us a night away in Aldeburgh, of course we couldn't actually go on, or even near, my birthday due to harvest, so we went last week instead.

He booked us into The Brudenell, in a room with sea views. When we arrived it was too dark to see the sea but we could see the white splashes of waves breaking on the shore in the darkness, and hear the delightful sound of the waves rolling in, dragging the shingle back as it withdrew.


The hotel, and our room, were both lovely. We did chuckle on arrival when I spotted a letter, addressed to Andy, saying 'Thank you for choosing to stay with us again'. 'Again?' I asked raising an eyebrow. Andy looked confused, until I realised that The Brudenell is part of the same group of hotels as The Swan at Lavenham, where we got married, and thus avoided a marital dispute.

We had a little while to relax before going to dinner so I made us a hot drink and we sat with the lights off (minimising the reflections in the windows, maxmising the sea view), and listened to the waves. It was windy and raining, and knowing how cold it was outside made the room feel very cosy and warm.


We dined in the Seafood Grill restaurant, which reminded us both of a restaurant we visited whilst in Paris on our honeymoon. Dinner was delicious, the menu had a variety of fresh seafood on offer. I was a little limited in what I could have as my lactose allergy prevented me from having a number of things, in the end I went for scallops to start, followed by beer battered cod and chips, I had to forgo the tartare sauce and had peas instead of mushy peas. Thankfully the waiter was very helpful and happy to help with my questions on ingredients. I didn't have a desert as the only thing I could have was the sorbet and I'm getting pretty bored of that now.


After a comfortable night's sleep, an early start to watch the sun rise over the sea, and a lovely cooked breakfast (I can highly recommend Stokes tomato ketchup to add pep to your fry-up), we wrapped up and headed out to the beach. We both anticipated a cold day but it was actually pleasantly warm. It was a welcome surprise after a few days of wind and rain.


Aldeburgh beach is a long expanse of shingle, and in early november it's delightfully free of crowds. We saw only a handful of people as we trudged from our hotel to the Maggi Hambling sculpture. We played chicken with the waves and collected a few keepsake stones.


Sadly I had to be back at my desk early afternoon so we didn't stick around for a fish 'n' chip lunch, Aldeburgh are famous for their fish 'n' chip shops, but we did have f'n'c for supper so felt we'd indulged enough. There is something so nice about eating chip shop fish and chips on the beach though right? Maybe next time...

Even though it was a flying visit, it was lovely to get away and spend some time together. We're definitely going to return, maybe by then I'll have my allergies sorted and I can go ahead and order the classic fish pie with creamed potato, garlic greens and herb crumb, followed by the traditional British cheese board with grapes, biscuits!

In early June Andy and I spent a week 'doing lunch'. As neither of us had the time for a holiday this year, it was our way of spending some time together and doing something a little different.

Day one didn't get off to the best start. The first pub we tried was closed, as was the second. Although we did find this amusing, by the time we reached no.3, The Bildeston Crown, we were both really hungry and very pleased to find it open!


Sitting outside we ordered our food, tried not to fill up on bread and chuckled at the other diners. We've done this since our second date, commenting on how happy / annoyed they seem to be in each others company, eavesdropping and making up back stories for them.


I started with a fish cake in chowder and it was delicious! We both had Cod and Chips with crushed peas for our main which was equally good.


Day two we went to Maison Bleue in Bury St Edmunds. It took us a while to find it but when we did I instantly loved the quiet subtle decor, the crisp white table clothes and heavy cutlery. Andy commented that the 'art appears to have bits of sack in it'. He's more of a John Constable kinda guy, but I liked it.


I loved my food, especially the starter - Norfolk quail breast, soft quail egg and asparagus and almond crust. Sadly Andy couldn't identify most of his starter and didn't enjoy his main as it was overwhelmed with corriander - neither of us like it and it wasn't mentioned on the menu.


My main was salmon fillet with langoustine and cognac sauce and buttered salsify. The petits fours where lovely and the coffee divine but Andy was so unimpressed it's unlikely that we'll be returning, but I think it's definitely worth a visit.

On day three we ventured out to the coast. The Anchor at Walberswick is a lovely spot, sadly I was too much of a wimp it was too windy to sit outside but it's just as lovely inside. We both ordered steak, I had one small bite of mine and it was delicious, so flavoursome and cooked just the way I like it. Then I picked up the salt seller to add a little salt to my chips. I turned it the wrong way and emptied half of it onto my plate (so no photo). I wanted to cry.

I scrapped it off the best I could but it was still really salty, never have I drunk so much water with a meal! Shame. When the waitress came to take our plates, I explained what happened and she just gave me the oddest of looks. Andy said 'she thinks you're an idiot'. She was right of course but it did make me laugh.


Day four was a real treat, we went to the Fox & Goose in Fressingfield. I love it there, the food is always amazing! The starter - caramelized mackerel with gooseberry and peppercorn relish, apple, radish and lemon balm salad.


Swiftly followed by cod fillet with runner beans, samphire (I love samphire), tomato confit, lobster sauce and sauté potatoes. Di-vine!


On day five we went back to the pub we tried to go to on the first day - The Buxhall Crown. I had free range slow roasted pork belly, glazed with Crabbies ginger beer glaze, served with spring greens, croquette potatoes and a chunky apple sauce, followed by three scoops of ice cream - lavender, elderflower and beetroot ripple - all made in-house.


I have to be honest I couldn't tell which was the lavender and which the elderflower but both were delicious. Before we ordered, Delia Smith came in and sat down, you can be pretty sure that if Delia Smith is eating somewhere, it's going to be good.

Can you imagine being the owner of a restaurant and having Delia Smith wander in with a rumbly tummy? The pressure!

That concluded our lunching, it felt very decadent and was a real treat to get some proper time together. An added bonus was that neither of us were hungry come supper time so I didn't have to cook for a week.

Any recommendations of where to eat in Suffolk?

Love