Great Barrington & the Berkshires

The highway that takes you from Boston to Albany is nothing to right home about, but once you get off at and head into the Berkshires you you get the feeling you have slipped back in time or forward 40 years to your retirement, everything is a little slower and calmer.

:Briar cliff motel welcomed us to Great Barrington, our hosts were fantastic as is their lovely Motel ,especially the fresh breakfast pastries and the proper British teabag!

:Friday night was spent enjoying the local brews & food at the  Barrington brewery

:Saturday we enjoyed a drive through the berkshires stopping off at a great store LOCAL picking up some beautiful locally produced items

: The sun shone for Nic & Giulia at route 7 grill where we enjoyed the sunshine and the beautiful Berkshire view as well as celebrating with all their friends & family, whilst enjoying a hog roast and dancing the night away.

Great Barrington, MA

Great Barrington, MA

Maine

We just got back from a fantastic trip to the US visiting my big brother and sharing in two our very good friends promise to share their lives together.

We headed up to Maine from Boston with a lunch stop off in Freeport, then on to Arcadia National Park & Bar Harbour.

What a fantastic week we had exploring bays, eating fresh seafood and relishing the absolute unspoilt natural beauty of this area. It didn't disappoint as to why we (brother & I) wanted to return with our signifcant others to show then why we fell in love with Maine in 2008. Slow down get a beer and basket of crab claws and enjoy the view, whilst trying to keep a 4 year old entertained!
A few of highlights from our trip...

:: Day After Thanksgiving Sandwiches from the Downeast Deli in Bar Harbour

:: Fish Cakes and Fresh Crab Claws.

:: Waiting for lowtide so we could walk across to Bar Island

:: Getting soaked from head to toe and using my niece as protection at Thunder Hole

...there's so much more to see and do, we will definitely be going back...there's the whole world of junk shops to explore yet...

Arcadia National Park, Maine

Bar Harbour, Maine

Bar Harbour, Maine

Booth Bay, Maine

Portsmouth NH

Portsmouth NH

London

I'm back home after a 4 day work shopping trip to London, we tried to get in as much as our legs would allow, couple new spots to report and our hotel was great.
We stayed at the hoxton hotel in Shoreditch...I know it's a little of a trek out of the city but with Liverpool Street Station a 5 minute walk it really made no difference to us...plus with all that's happening in Shoreditch at the moment...surely it's the place to be...
A nice breakfast spot was at the book club  decked out in a mixture of old school furniture (the type of chairs that snagged your tights as a 6 year old) and vintage Ercol... I imagine it can get a little young and hip after 5.30pm but it's literally just around the corner from the hotel and en route to the underground...

The Book Club

Pizza East for a bite to eat on Shoreditch High Street (I advise booking) 

Folklore  If you head up to Islington be sure to stop by.

Bills  nice easy food spot.

Folklore

We stopped off at Somerset House to view the Tim Walker exhibit which would have been great except the space was too cramped and they should've had a limit on the number of people in the space. But all their exhibits are free, so one can't complain too much...well just a little.

Tim Walker

Sunday is Market Day...headed out early to Columbia Road Flower Market which is a short walk from our hotel...unfortunately no flower purchases for us but we enjoyed fresh sausage rolls from The Lily Vanilli Bakery hiding just around the back in The Courtyard. Along with some other cute stores.

daylesford organic A favorite for lunch

I only picked up a couple treasures, some fabric from Liberty's the plan is to make a dress for an upcoming wedding in May...I'll keep you posted.
As always the cloth house  had plenty for me to feast my eyes on the temptation was obviously too great and I picked up  some beautiful indigo striped linen mix I must have something that needs covering...

Friends Gathering

We headed down to NYC not sure what we'd find in the wake of Sandy, knowing that many of our friends were still without power and access to Manhattan was pretty difficult, thankfully we missed all the chaos and headed straight into Brooklyn.
We were invited to stay with our friends Karuna & Vipal who have a beautiful home in Crown Heights, I love their home, from the first moment I stepped inside just over a year ago before all the hard work and before moving in, it felt like their home and their hearts, warm, peaceful & welcoming.
We spent our time with wonderful friends hanging out, eating, movie watching, sofa lounging, walking, record shop perusing for the boy - contentment for all.

jimmys diner brooklyn  - great wholesome breakfast

friend of a farmer - we stopped off for pie, peacon, cherry & pumpkin

wythe hotel - we had a nosey around this new hotel, the view of Manhatten from some of the rooms is pretty cool!

cheryls global soul - stopped off for hot apple cider, black bean soup & a sandwich

Powerless

Wakefield MA

My husband and I have just got back from our first trip together to the USA...I loved being there with him rather than always with work,  and it was just the break that we needed. 

It was a little touch & go if we'd make it, due to the mega storm Sandy that hit 2 days before our departure, thankfully Boston missed out on the full extent of the rage so we landed to relative calm. A couple of days spent with my family, enjoying much needed niece time, which included pumpkin carving out on the porch in preparation for that evenings halloween activities.

It was a really short trip with my family, but we'll be back again in the Spring...

Rockport MA

Favorites

NYC & beyond..

I feel as though I've been swept up in a tornedo visited Oz and come back down to earth with a bump! My sleep pattern is all over the place and I'm home sick for friends & family.

The first part of my trip was in NYC, after cramming in days of shopping (work related) the evenings were spent chilling with friends. 

I met the newest addition little Dottie Rose, who sensed my fear of holding little ones! She was briskly returned to Mamma - she is perfect.

A couple lovely surprises along the way and New York held it's own as always I can't wait to return (soon) with my husband in tow.

Normally I've got new restaurants to recommend but this trip was inspired by friends beautiful homes and a very warm welcome.

tinys giant nyc - nice lunch spot lower east side

the bowery hotel - hotel lower eastside

peels nyc - nice for late lunch

the smile nyc - breakfast, lunch dinner

Grilling out in Connecticut

With a drive to Boston and a quick lunch stop in Cape Cod for another warm welcome with friends.

We headed out of the city to Brimsfield for the giant trunk show, if only I had a container to ship back all the wonderful treasures there, but was super content with a few selective pieces.

Lobster Bisque a favorite when in New England

thailand part 1

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It's a little late in the posting stakes but here are some photos from my trip to Thailand with Kim B. It was just the trip & treat I needed having had a a couple of stressful weeks at work. Time to escape.

It was relaxing, theraputic and a little indulgent.

My first time to Thailand but the smells, sights and sense felt a familiar and welcoming taste sensation. 

The first 4 days were spent relaxing on the island of Koh Samui, and relax we did...spa treatments, fresh food, sleep and a little exercise.

Taking great advantage of our hotels spa treatments, sampling as many as we could the Indian head massage was fantastic, if I could have one of those everyday I'd been a seriously chilled out individual, and the Thai massage hit just the right spots.

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Flights delays hampereed both our attempts at Bangkok, but we had a fab couple of days exploring the temples, markets and canals of this vibrant city. 

M.I.A

My yeomanssmock.com blog has gone missing, so I've gone back to my original address yeomanssmock.blogspot...who knows where it's gone...but it's gone. This also explains my lack of posts in the last couple of weeks...not forgetting my week in Thailand which I will be posting about shortly...

Here is a quick up date of what we've been up too...

We've finally bought 2 bikes it's a little sad, as they're matching his and hers...but the excuse is we got a good discount and if not I would still be in the shop trying to decide what sort I wanted, my husband made a good executive decision...which with me can be tough!

We're  now desperate for the 40° heat to cool off so we can get out and about...it's too hot!

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We had my partner in craft come stay with us for a week...the wonderful Emma K, who brightens our hearts and bought smiles and extra warmth to our home,  a real treat for a both of us, but especially for me to have her for a whole week. I've been spoilt this summer for having the vacation time to spend with my lovelies and for my wonderful husband not feeling left out xx

Late afternoon aperitivo in Bassano

We did up wonderful hike around the Falzerago Pass to Rifugio Lagazuoi, the last stretch up to the rifugio was tough but knowing that there was a beer & goulash waiting for me at the top, it was the perfect way to spend Fiere Agosto especially with Em.

We spent a lovely day in Venice although the temperatures were rising from the minute we arrived, we headed straight to one our favorite restaurants, a relaxing lunch and a nice cold glass of vino...this is how I love Venice on a hot, tourist filled day...

Somerset

Had a fantastic weekend back in Somerset with my folks, we all know I miss home...but when I'm there I miss it so much more, Somerset is a place of magic, comfort & homely warmth that I fall straight back into when I am there.
The main objective for being home was to sort through my life archive that Dad has removed from the loft...a daunting job, I got to it though and managed to separate myself from the majority of the stuff. Hanging on to the essentials and a little bit extra! So many happy childhood memories and then those awkward teenage years all written down in diaries of no content and terrible grammar!

We had a great day out to Exmoor on Sunday, cheese & bean jacket potato (YUM) for
lunch followed by a beautiful drive through the Moor and a stop off at 'the best junk shop in Somerset' too many bargains to be had...the decision has already been made to go back with a van and load it up!

A week in Provence Part 3

::Part 3::

Too much to write about....

the wonderful couple we met from Brentwood and the delicious BBQ we enjoyed at their home...along with the beautiful sunset over the Ardeche from their patio.

Great Vintage finds at the local jumble sales and brocantes

Kayaking down the Ardeche to the Pont du Arc

The disappointment at not seeing one horse in the Camargue

Celebrating Michaels Birthday

Wine buying at local Caves
(we were recommended the cave at St.Gervais)

Drinking local wine
The arrival of a very special bundle...Dorothea 26-06-2012 NY

There are so many memories that make up a fun vacation, we had a great time spending time just the two of us, but also meeting fantastic people, discovering new things and new treasures to bring home.

A week in Provence Part 2

:: Part II ::

We always manage to spend too much time driving whilst we're away, but we can't help it we love to get out and about!!
A real treat for us was the town of Uzes, it's such a picture prefect town, which pretty streets and pastel painted shutters, lovely shops with the most beautiful store signage, a real treasure which I would imagine often gets overlooked looked for nearby Avignon.

A morning in Aix du Provence, the home of Cezanne where you can visit his Atelier, which although is a quick trip, is well worth it to see the workshop he created.

 Avignon

An afternoon in Avignon, with a fantastic lunch at Chez Lulu, we both ordered the Assiette Lulu and was a food highlight of the whole trip...
There were the usual suspects of shops Sessùn, Sandro and Maje where I did splurge on a new dress...Michaels fault!