A POCKET FULL OF RYE ..........

So, after a day of pure indulgence, my sister and I went off to Rye for a couple of days. We had been invited to a 'big' party in Rye, but more of that in the next post. We booked in to ' Willow Tree House' Bed and Breakfast and what a good choice it was.


It has been beautifully renovated by the present owners, which had take them 4 years !! I took photos of some of the bedrooms before the other guests arrived !!

After settling in to our room, we went off to explore Rye. It is such a pretty town. Beautiful old houses.... even Paul McCartney has a place there and is often seen around the town.

Don't you think that it was good of this pigeon to pose for me ?!!

The weather was glorious and we had the party to go to the following day ..........

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

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 ..........

ARE THE SILVER STARS SHINING ON YOU ? ..........

First of all, many apologies for being AWOL for so long and not commenting on any blogs for a fortnight !! I have been rather busy with this and that !

One thing that took up a great deal of the fortnight was folding up over 200 pieces of white paper to find the winner of my giveaway !! I am going to use random.org next time !! haha

After tearing, writing on and folding said pieces of paper, and mopping up blood from various paper cuts, they were placed in my birdcage, shuffled about a bit and I can now tell you that the winner is ..............................

.......... Zaira @ Little Emma English Home. Zaira has the most beautiful blog with wonderful pictures of interiors and travel, so it's well worth your while taking a trip over there if you haven't already been. I'm so happy that you have won, Zaira ( and sorry that everyone else didn't, especially Mise !!) and I hope that you will enjoy them.

I'm afraid that I won't be around for a few days.....AGAIN !! I'm off to stay with my sister in Horsham in Sussex. Mr. Home and my bother-in-law are going to Le Man's, as they do every year, and I stay with my sister and we eat and drink and generally enjoy the good life, until they come back !!!!

Wishing all of my American blogging buddies a very happy 4th of July.

.......... and, before I go, thanks to each and everyone of you for entering my giveaway and to all of the new followers. It's lovely to have made lots of new friends.I think that I'll have to do giveaways more often !!

Have a lovely week everyone .......... I know I will !!