SPORADIC SUSSEX ..........

Having been away for a while, I am posting lots of photos. Feel free to whizz through them and just say hello in a comment ..... just to let me know that you still remember who I am !!!!

Here I am in the four poster bed in my sister's spare room ,which was all mine while our husbands were gallivanting around Spain. I was woken up each morning with a nice cup of tea and a chat with my sister.

This is the entrance to my sisters studio..........

One sunny morning, we sat in the garden and sorted through some of the old photographs of our family that we needed to share out.

This is my Dad, Ken and his sister ( my aunt ) Corice.....I love that name.

.......... and here is one of my Grandad.

We ate lots of nice food ..... above is an amuse bouche of white onion foam and ham hock ..... just one of the lovely restaurant's that we visited .....

..... and this was my starter .....  crab with gazpacho.

We went to the farmer's market  and bought fruit and veg, sea bass and crab claws .....

..... and listened to the band at the bandstand.

We went to Brighton for the day and, after popping into a few shops and making a few purchases, we had lunch at Riddle and Finns in the Lanes. Jane and Lance over at Hattatt recommended the Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell exhibition at the Royal Pavilion but, after lingering over lunch and being forced to duck into a few more shops ( haha ) we got there about 5 minutes too late and they had just let the last visitors in for the day !! We did peep into an open door ( that was guarded by a couple of  security men ) and I think that I just caught a glimpse of Vanessa's Byzantine Lady.  

We could have consoled ourselves with a couple of the above but, we resisted and had a stroll along the beach instead ( considering we had just had that massive plateful of seafood and a starter before it AND a few glasses of wine we thought that a walk by the sea was a healthier bet !! ) .....

We will have to go back for the exhibition which is on until October so, here are some images of the wonderful Brighton Pavilion which is so exotic and oriental in appearance, it never fails to amaze me..........

Built by John Nash for the Prince Regent, later King George IV, in stages between 1787 and 1823, it has the most extravagant chinoiserie interiors ever executed in the British Isles.

We both had a lovely ten days, as did our husbands, but, we are now back to our normal lives and, it has been raining for the last few days ..... typical English summer !!!!

All photos by me

SUSSEX IN THE SUN .......... hopefully !!!! ..........

Am off to stay with my sister for a couple of weeks in Horsham, Sussex. Every summer, our husbands go off in  ....................

the Morgan to Le Mans but, this year they are off, driving in Spain. Meanwhile, my sister and I eat and drink our way through all of the lovely restaurants in the surrounding area and polish off quite a few bottles of my sister's cellar !!!! haha. Well, considering our husband's will be enjoying the delights of Spain and what it has to offer, it would be rude not to, wouldn't it ?!!
........... I probably won't be commenting on your posts for a few days but will make up for it on my return.
Also, many, many, thanks to my blogging friend Simone of The Bottom of the Ironing Basket.

I won her fantastic giveaway of a pot of Dr. Perricone's Cold Plasma which is worth a pretty penny and much needed on my face !!!! I am looking forward to at least 10 years being taken off of my age  and many offers of modelling assignments so, thank you SO much Simone. I have been reading Simone's blog ever since I began blogging two years ago ( note to self ..... have some sort of giveaway myself to celebrate my 2nd blogging anniversary !!) Simone lives fairly near me and loves London as much as I do. Her blog is one of the most beautiful in Blogland and you must go over and see for yourselves. She is kind, open and generous and her blog is a joy to visit.

See you all when I return and, please don't forget me !!

first two images by me and last image from Dr. Perricone website.

WHILE THE CAT'S AWAY !! ..........

Well, there they go.......... the husband's were off to the Le Mans Classic in my brother-in-law's Morgan .......... A kiss and a wave and then it was off to Horsham town for us vintage car widows, for a bite to eat ..........

This is Tristan's, a wonderful restaurant, situated in one of the oldest buildings in Horsham ..........

Isn't it gorgeous ? Just right for lunch ..........well, the boy's were off to France, so us girls couldn't and shouldn't be left behind !!!!! ..........


A little ' amuse bouche ' to start off with ..........

Then we chose lamb with cockles .......... de-lic-ious .......... then a summer fruit sorbet and coffee, all of which was washed down with a nice Sauvignon Blanc and then, a little retail therapy was in order !! ..........

This is a delightful shop that I am devoting the rest of this post to .......... Oh, my week away has provided me with material for quite a few posts !!!! As you walk in, you just know that it is going to be a wonderful shopping experience. First of all, there are clothes !! A quick peruse and a try-on of a few garments, resulted in my first purchase !! A little something for my upcoming holiday in Italy. I'm sorry .......... it had to be done !! Trouble was, this was the first shop that we had been in and I had already made a purchase !! Note to self .......... try to go shopping before lunch and before drinking a couple of glasses of wine !!

We then climbed the first set of stairs ..........

At the turn of the stairs was this gorgeous, beautifully worn leather chair .....no, have a little restraint, it won't go in my car !!!! ..........

This was what greeted us on the first floor.......... silver votives, a distressed silver mirror and an angle-poised lamp ..... NICE ..........

A fabulous full length old mirror, vintage accessories, and a wonderful chair ..........

Fantastic whitewashed floorboards, vintage plates on the floor, a '40's dress and a beautiful piece of lace, casually thrown over another old mirror .......... oh, and I HAD to buy that piece of lace, I just HAD to !!!! ..........

Doesn't that bowl look brilliant with the hair clips in it ? It's the little things, isn't it ? ..........

Amongst the vintage dresses on the rail, was the most wonderful wedding dress. I forgot to take a photograph of it but, take my word for it, it was exquisite.

Up another flight of stairs to the attic, passing a great chest of drawers along the way, and into another fantastic room. It was like exploring someone's house, with precious items strewn all over the place. I just loved the way that they had displayed everything. The shop is owned by three sisters and they had all brought their artistic talents to the layout of the shop ............ and, nothing was particularly expensive ..........

Another old, distressed leather chair and an old screen. If I could have got them home, I would have bought them.

There were even rose petals strewn across the floor !

Well, there we are .......... our first half day on our own ! .......... and this was just day one !! See the carrier bag ? Well, that's mine, Suprise, suprise !! I was hoping that Mr. Home and Mr. Brother-in-Law were experiencing their own delightful pursuits ( within reason !!) Well, they were in France, after all. My sister and I were just trying to keep up.

To be continued ..........