A trip to Norfolk, a sad farewell & a lovely store!

It was with sadness that we planned our fleeting visit, to one of my favorite parts of England, to attend my Aunt's funeral in Norfolk earlier this week.  We may have said our goodbyes on a very wet and cold Tuesday morning, but this was most definitely a celebration of the life of a very clever and stylish lady!

As with all things in life, our sadness was mixed with happiness at meeting up with my cousin, her lovely family, and finding out all that they had been up to since we were last together - lots of great news, including an amazingly romantic New York wedding!

On our trip down we took the coast road all the way from Hunstanton to Sheringham.  The weather was glorious with blue, blue skies and verges filled with, what I now know as, Horse Parsley. Unfortunately, we did not have time for a walk along the beach, also having with us an elderly parent for whom walking any distance is now an impossible task!

We did, however, get to stop off at Thornham village to visit the lovely Jo Griffiths in her equally lovely store, Vintage Home and Garden at Drove Orchards.  If you are ever in North Norfolk, on holiday or just passing, then I can highly recommend a visit to this beautiful little shop...

Angel x

A Weekend in Northumberland...

We have a group of friends that we have known for years and years and years [you get the idea!] and every so often we try to get together for a long weekend.  So, on a cold Friday in February, 7 adults [I use the term loosely] and 2 dogs set off, from various parts of the UK, in the direction of Northumberland, for three days of merriment, reminiscing and general all round raucous behavior! 

Our 5 Star accommodation at Beal turned out to be a little closer to the A1 and not quite as close to the sea as the company's website had implied but, this slight disappointment aside, the interior was, as they say in property circles, 'well appointed', comfortable and most importantly, given the time of year, warm!

The weather was very 'braw' but the skies remained bright for most of the weekend.  Given the early Spring setting [whose daft idea was that?!] we were pretty lucky really.

We spent Saturday at a very blustery Bamburgh.  Parking up close to the castle, we set off down the beach at the kind of brisk pace required to avoid hypothermia!

Teasel on her usual 'high speed' setting!

One of the very few times we saw Teasel stand still all weekend!

It is certainly the time of year for 'long shadows'

D in contemplative mood?

Majestic and magnificent - and that's just the castle!

OH suggested this was a bit 'Reservoir Dogs'?!

 

There's nothing quite like a pristine sand dune!

My OH and Tilly [his ever faithful shadow]!

Wouldn't fancy 'assailing' this from any angle!

Wind and sand hardy dune grasses!

Moving faster now... did somebody mention 'pub lunch'?!

 

A Change is as Good as a Rest!

A much needed week of rest and recuperation.  Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside, I do like to be beside the sea...

 

It may be rather dull and grey but being here, and not there, is just what the doctor ordered!

It does body and soul good to be blown and chilled, in equal amounts, by bracing sea air and long beach walks.  No time for everyday worries, just early mornings on the sand and lazy afternoons, in front of the fire, curled up with a good book and faithful friend...

I love this time of year.  The earthy smell of woodsmoke, golden canopies of autumn trees, the muffled sound of wet leaves under foot and wonderful soft, subdued light...

All in a Day's Work...

Keeping our website fresh and interesting, as well as updating our image library with newly launched designs, is a full time job but one I really enjoy as it is always very satisfying, as a designer, to see my work in 'print' - it makes me feel like a grown-up [almost]!

Last week I spent a fabulous day at Millennium Studios, with Kayti Peschke, photographing our new Vintage Mini's range and producing wonderful new images for our Winter 2011 and Spring 2012 Collections.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself styling each of the collections for shooting.  My husband would tell you that I can "waste hours re-arranging things" [his words not mine!] so I was in my element!  We soon got into the festive spirit ready for shooting our Vintage Noel collection... 

We shot the collections in the poshest 'shed' I have ever seen - all whitewashed floors and walls, crystal chandeliers and plenty of gorgeous natural light.  In fact, I am seriously thinking of moving in! Doesn't our Beach Life collection look great?  Makes you wish summer would stay around a little longer...

 

We ended a very enjoyable day with a bit of vintage Brit-Chic and our favourite, and best-selling, Vintage Jack collection. My [ebay-find] antique Union Jack flag made the perfect backdrop...

Watch out for Kayti's wonderful images, appearing soon on our twitter page, in our newsletters [you can sign up to receive Angel News on our website], on our facebook page and, of course, here on our blog.

It goes without saying, Kayti's images are much better than my amateurish attempts to capture our days work but don't just take my word for it, here's a sneak preview...

Off to the Beach?

If only!

This gorgeous image, featuring our best-selling BEACH LIFE cushion, was styled by the lovely Selina Lake for Country Homes and Interiors magazine.  The bright, bold colours always make me think of summer holidays on the beach.  All very rockpools, flip-flops, deckchairs and beach huts!

So we will keep wishing and who knows... maybe!

High Days and Holidays

We have just returned from a lovely week's holiday in Scotland.  Chris found us a wonderful 'home from home', with Wilderness Cottages, on the fabulous Applecross peninsula [Wester Ross].  Since words fail me when it comes to describing the beauty of this place, I thought I would let my photos do the talking for me...

Applecross Bay in the evening light

Applecross Bay in sunlight [with Skye & the Cuillins in the distance]

Butterfly Orchid

The fluttering flags of Cotton Grass

This lovely hand-carved sign caught my eye...

A very pretty Marsh Orchid

Bacon and Eggs anyone?

A beautiful day on the beach

Sleepy Head!

Applecross Walled Garden - a cultivated haven in the midst of wilderness!

A lovely corner of Applecross walled garden

Our gorgeous 'retro' cottage

A hidden cabin bedroom at the top of the stairs

The view from our cottage windows [over our own terrace on the beach]

Vintage Nautical Interior

Coffee at Shieldaig with my 2 favourite travelling companions!

Just to show that the sun didn't always shine on us!!

A river runs through it...

A mill pond at Lochcarron