local eats :: the mockingbird deli

 

Having just moved to the area recently, we're on the look out for a new list of favourites. Favourite restaurants, coffee shops, pubs...you get the jist. In a bid to avoid anymore unpacking, we decided to drive to the local town, Yarm, for a breather. If you've never visited Yarm, let me tell you, it's one of the quaintest little towns I've ventured to. The High street is super quaint, with lots of pretty independent stores, just begging to be shopped in. But, on this particular day, food was our priority, so we wandered into The Mockingbird Deli. Boy, am I glad we did. The deli is one of these little cozy nooks, that you want to have all to yourself all damn day. They have shelves full of tasty looking morsels and don't even get me started on the cake! After much deliberation, we decided on one of the meat and cheese deli platters. I'll let this photo speak for itself....

Are you drooling whilst you're reading this? Because I'm drooling as I type! Can you see the balsamic onions?? I think these were my favourite part! Unfortunately, my phone battery died straight after this photo, so I didn't get to show you how lovely the actual deli itself is, but I'm hoping to be back there sometime soon, so I'll fix this then!

So, if you're in the Yarm area, please give the deli a visit, even just for a coffee. You won't regret it. The staff are super friendly and I think they even have a resident dog...what more could you want? You can find them on Facebook here.

Where have you eaten in the NE recently? Tell me about your tasty adventures!

 

 

Friday {in numbers}

2:: hours driving to Manchester to see O's family (including this pretty little lady, Holly ^^).

3:: hours spent shopping in the Trafford Centre...woops!

5:: pork gyozas eaten for lunch in Tampopo. Can't get enough of gyozas at the moment...so tasty!

40:: minutes waiting for a takeaway for the whole family (there's a lot of them!)

5000:: calories consumed whilst eating said takeaway...

2:: trips to Selfridges, because let's face it, one just isn't enough!

1:: freezing cold Asahi beer guzzled in the sunshine!

25:: tennis balls thrown for Holly to fetch!

2:: squash balls purchased (more on this later!)

1:: bass guitar plucked from O's parent's loft.

50:: + pounds spent on BBQ paraphernalia for Saturday. We do love a good BBQ!

1:: happy Lou to have O off work for a long weekend <3

Now tell me, how was your Friday? 

10 things that've rocked my world this week...

 

I originally nominated Fridays for these posts, but I'm off adventuring the whole day tomorrow, so we're a little early to the party this week. Compiling this list has been a little tough this time. Mainly because there have been too many things that I've loved and have made me happy this week! Which really isn't too much of a problem, is it? So, let's see what we've got...

1:: Nashville! Umm, you may have been bombarded on my social media accounts this week by me proclaiming my love for this show! What can I say? I'm a little bit country! This has filled the little Friday Night Lights shaped hole in my heart. I have a serious girl crush on Connie Britton. If you don't know who she is, we are no longer buddies! Now, I'm not a huge fan of Hayden Panettiere, but even I love to hate her in this show. Did I mention how awesome the soundtrack is? Get that schnizz on your iTunes, stat.

2:: My new (old) digital SLR camera. Oh yes! O bought me a second hand Sony α200! I didn't want a new shiny one until I've mastered the basics. So, bloggers, help me out here...where do I begin with a digital SLR? I hear "depth of field", "shutter speed" and "aperture" being thrown around the blogger world, but I'm clueless! Help!

3:: Birchbox! I've just subscribed and I am ridiculously excited about receiving the May box. If it doesn't land through my door today, my head will truly explode!

4:: The infamous Tangle Teezer. Now, I've been coveting one of these for months now after reading, what feels like, hundreds of reviews. To be honest, I was dubious that it was going to tease my seriously tangled wet hair...but I was not disappointed! Even O uses it, because he "likes the scratchy feeling"! So it's definitely a new staple in the O & L household.

5:: Crazy thunderstorms! We've had a few of them this week and there's nothing nicer than sitting inside watching the downpour outside our patio doors and listening to the thunder blasting away.

6:: Late night dinners with O at the actual dining table. We get so lazy these days and end up sat on the sofa, with our plates on our laps, watching TV. I love the nights that we clear the mess (usually mine) of the table, switch the TV off and listen to the radio whilst munching away. Usually I like them better with some red wine on the side...

7:: Getting comments on my blog! You have no idea how happy this makes me! It's nice to know that some people enjoy reading my nonsense!

8:: Inspiring others to start blogging. Two of my Essex buddies have just starting their own blogs after reading mine. I love this. Go have a mooch around and see what you think. Danni's is here and you can find Amy's here.

9:: O having three-day-long weekends! It makes the weekends that he working seem much more worthwhile. So, today is his Friday. Which means a tasty dinner this eve...and mayhap some wine! I think we're also roadtripping to Manchester tomorrow to visit O's family (love Manchester, FYI).

10:: West Wing! Oh lordy! We finally finished all seven seasons this week. West Wing: it's been emotional! I think it's taken us roughly over a year to get all the way through, with a few rest stops in-between. I think this may be the best TV show I've ever watched. Bold statement, I know. I am usually pretty fickle with these things, but seriously. Josiah Bartlet will always be my president (Santos, you are pretty awesome too, but you're no Bartlet). We're now left with a big empty space in our DVD player. What should we tackle next?

Wow. I did ramble on a bit in this post, didn't I? Ah well, what has made you happy this week?

 

                                                            image credit

 

 

 

adventures // micro-barning!

I'm not sure if you know this, but O and I lived in a hotel in Kent for the best part of a year. It ain't as rock n roll as it sounds, trust me! Why am I telling you this, I hear you ask? Well, when we go away for the weekend or go on holiday, we like to lay our heads somewhere slightly different from the generic hotel scene. So, a month or two ago, I was searching for somewhere to go adventuring and I discovered this micro barn!!

The Crown at Mickleton is in the idealic town of Barnard Castle, which in itself is quite beautiful. There are castles to storm and rivers to stroll by. Plus, it was less than an hours drive away from home. It still amazes me that we are now surrounded by so much mind blowing countryside and scenery up here. Lordy, I'm in love with the North East. There, I finally said it! And this means a lot coming from a die hard Scottish girl, trust me!

Anyway, after that confession of love, let's get back to the barn, shall we? To be honest, the photos speak for themselves, but let me fill you in anyhoo. We checked in at the bar in the Crown and we got a little tour. They didn't lie when they said the barn was micro, it's teeny tiny! But oh so cozy and snug. The open plan sitting room and kitchen are full of little trinkets, the comfiest couch and the obligatory tartan shawl (I love tartan shawls). The bathroom is seriously compact, but in the loveliest of ways...I wanted to take the gorgeous sink home with me!  The bed is snoozily comfy and they supply a TV and heater just in case you get cold or bored!

Now, the barn is a shining jewel in the Crown (see what I did there?!), but it's not the main prize. The restaurant...oh my! You'll meet Andrew, the chef (and possibly the owner, should've asked more questions before I started on the wine!) who, if you're lucky will tell you about his bangers (awesome story) and if you're luckier, you may even get the pleasure of tasting them! The Crown was recently refurbished and it shows. They have a roaring fire and amazing high-backed chairs along side many packed tables. What's next...oh the food and the beer! Heavenly! The specials board is stuffed with tasty looking morsels and let me tell you, it was tough choosing my main, but in the end I went with the homemade chicken kiev with wild garlic. Holy! Words can't even describe how scrummy this bad boy was! The portions are huge as well, no scrimping at the Crown!

Did I mention that you also get a full English breakfast included in the seriously modest price? This is where I got the opportunity to try Andrew's bangers :)

If you're looking for something a wee bit different to do at the weekend, I would highly recommend the Crown at Mickleton. The barn is snug as a bug, the food is fantastic and the staff are super friendly and welcoming...what are you waiting for?? We booked through booking.com.

Tell me about your adventures...

Monday :: Plans

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Good morning campers!

Hope everyone had a grand weekend? It went by super fast, as usual. I have so many things on my to do list today, but struggling to put my MacBook away and actually start ticking some of them off. So here we go, plans for this week are:

1. Buy and post a birthday present for my lovely Mumsa. Her birthday is on Friday and as of yet, I have nada. I'm rubbish at posting things, so will really need to get my ass in gear!
   
2. House chores. Yuck. The lawn needs mowing (O's job!), the kitchen needs cleaning and the carpets need hoovering.
3. I need to figure out how to use my new DSLR camera! Particularly excited about checking this item of my list!
4. Gotta get some training in for the KiltWalk today. O has made a training plan for us and I think today is just more walking. Might have to invest in some new trainers, my Nike Free Runs hurt my tootsies when we go on long walks (which is sad because I love them). Have I mentioned that you can sponsor me here?!
5. Today I must find some pretty stationery. Have I mentioned that I have a new pen pal? I've joined Snail Mail Revival on Instagram. They pair you up with a like minded person and you...y'know, write to each other! So new stationery is a necessity!

Hmmm, I think that's all I've got on my list. Well for today, at least. What are we all munching on today? I need some scrummy food ideas for lunch. I'm thinking something pesto related. I have a serious pesto obsession right now, much to O's dismay as he hates the stuff. What's that about?? Who hates pesto??

What are your plans for today? :)

PS How lovely is this photo that I found on Pinterest? This is what I actually want to be doing today, planning a holiday or a long overdue road trip!! 

 

 

Our Weekend, as told by my camera roll...

 

How is it Sunday evening already? Why do weekends always fly by? Too many questions for a Sunday eve? Mayhap! So we didn't have much of a weekend due to O working, but we managed to fit some lovely stuff in!  On Friday night we had an awesome date night with flowers (tulips, my faves!), steak and wine. I love date nights! No tv allowed, just the radio and good banter! O worked most of Saturday, so I just pottered about for most of the morning and afternoon. I baked some banana bread, had the most amazing soup (sweet potato, coconut, lime and chilli...oh hiii Tesco Finest!) and read some lovely blogs.  Saturday night was mainly spent sitting on the sofa watching trashy tv (we are grannies). Today we went for a nice leisurely walk in a nearby country park. We just managed to make it back to the car before a torrential downpour, which went on for over an hour! Then the bestest thing happened...O had found a second hand digital SLR camera on Gumtree and had sneakily arranged for us to go pick it up! BESTEST surprise ever! I have no idea how to use it, but I'm hoping to discover the basics tomorrow...any help/tips would be appreciated!

Currently, we're sat watching Big Bang Theory and waiting for some chicken shawarma to arrive (naughty, I know, but we didn't fancy the out of date stirfry beef in the fridge!). I seem to have said "lovely" a lot in this post...I guess that can't be a bad thing really!

How was your weekend? Hope you managed to escape the rain!

spring nails

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I've been a little obsessed with spring nail polishes! Here's a few that have been rocking my world for the last month or two. My favourite is in the top row (in the middle) by Rimmel and it's called "Oh, Mr Darcy!". Seriously, even if the colour was awful, (which it isn't, by the way) I would still wear it just because of the name! I may've just bought some new colours (don't tell O!) which may show up in a blog post soon!