Taking it Easy...

After a good few weeks of being busy, busy, busy, this weekend has seen an incredibly welcome return to laziness! The last two days has been the longest time that D and I have both been at home without any visitors since we returned from our holiday in Italy in June!

Friday night started with a little tour around the Cathedral Close to admire Sean Henry's sculpture exhibition: Conflux: A Union of the Sacred and the Anonymous, a series of amazingly lifelike sculptures that are both around the close and in the cathedral itself. I could only see the outside figures as I had a date with D to try out a new pub that has recently opened just outside St Ann's Gate, The Lazy Cow. The bar itself was nice and lively, with a great atmosphere. I think it's probably the kind of place that would be nice for a long Sunday brunch. We didn't get much of a look at the menu, but I'm sure that we'll be back to try it out before too long.   

Saturday started with a quick trip on the train to Southampton. We needed to check out some wallpaper for our bedroom and after very thoughtful debate, we decided on a steel blue botanic rose print. It's quite big and bold and somewhat modern, whilst still feeling appropriate for our ramshackle old house. We just have to find the appropriate colour for the remaining three walls, but I'm hoping that it'll be one of those colours that you know is right, just as soon as you see it. At least that's the theory...

I also took the opportunity to spend the "towards crafty projects" birthday money that my parents sent me in June. Browsing through the selection in the haberdashers was a real treat and I finally settled on teh following prints from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow collection. I'm planning on using the fabric to make the Sample Book quilt from Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making. It's going to be another long-term project, but I enjoyed making my first quilt so much that I'm itching to get started on a second.

The short journey home from Southampton was broken up with a very welcome stop at Mottisfont and Dunbridge for a tasty pint of cloudy cider at the Mill Arms and this afternoon has seen a trip out into the country to visit the newly re-opened Beckford Arms at Fonthill Gifford, near Tisbury. On the drive home D and I decided on our top five country pubs, all within 30 miles of Salisbury and here they are:

1. The Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury (great food, drink, accommodation and a lovely atmosphere)
2. The Mill Arms, Barley Hill, Dunbridge (great location close to Mottisfont Abbey, gorgeous beer garden) 
3. The Ship Inn, Burcombe (this is a regular go-to for delicious dinners and Sunday lunches)
4. The Spread Eagle, Stourton (just outside the grounds of Stourhead, the Spread Eagle does a wonderful line in afternoon teas in the summer and toasty fires on a cold day with Winter Pimms)
5. The Compasses Inn, Lower Chicksgrove (award-winningly good grub)

All five of them are absolutely wonderful and if you are ever at a loose end in Wiltshire (or Hampshire in the case of The Mill Arms) then you would be hard-pushed to find a nicer way of spending a couple of hours than visiting any of them. 

I'm rounding off the weekend with some homemade ginger biscuits and tea, listening to the new album from Bon Iver and reading Meg Rosoff's new book, There Is No Dog, which is as brilliant as it is funny.

And finally, on the needles, Bunting is growing before my very eyes. I need to get a move on to get him finished by my end of summer deadline, but with a good wind and a few more weekends at home, all will be fine!