A little nostalgic online window shopping

Hi! From Emma over in Prague

This month I’ve taken some time out to explore the gift and giving world!  Maybe I’m missing visiting the UK trade shows that happen at this time of year

Here are a few of my favourites:

A cute donkey cushion is from Poppy Treffry. This website would be a great place to look around for some gift ideas, there’s everything from phone cases to egg cups!  If you’re feeling brave you can even watch videos on how to improve your own embroidery!

The drinks from BrecklandOrchard  are delicious – my favourite is strawberry and rhubarb! 

If you browse through their blog you can find loads of recipe ideas, I think Norfolk Hot Toddy sounds like a good way to get through the rest of this winter (a combination of rhubarb and ginger, and orange juice).

I also really like the products from What Katie Did Next. This Kindle cover might have to go on my birthday list! They also do lots of personalisations, so it’s a great place to find a special present for somebody!

It's lovely to take the time to explore some websites when you've met the designers and seen them at various shows. We know how hard it is to keep our website looking fun and up to date, so we were really impressed with all of these – we’ll have to keep working on ours!

A Winter Walk Around The Village

Let me take you around a part of our village, where I love to take the dogs for a gentle stroll. 
Let's start with the village sign:

 And then over the main road to the church:

Up a few steps and then along a footpath

and across to the style

and along one of my favourite parts of the village

along past these beautiful beech trees

and this lovely fat tree.

We then turned left to go along this shaded footpath (where I'm expecting to see snowdrops quite soon)

And finally we need to walk along Back Street to wend our way home. I loved the snow on these:

A few ideas sown - germination may take some while.

New Year Happiness

Happy New Year!

From watching Jools Holland from the comfort of the sofa with a Baileys in hand, to dodging homemade fireworks on the streets of Prague, everyone has their own way of seeing in the New Year. These are a few of our favourites:

• Spanish people place a grape in their mouths on each of the twelve chimes of midnight for good luck!
• Germans prefer a small marzipan pig! Apparently pigs are a traditional symbol of good luck, the idea is thought to have originated in farming families who considered themselves lucky if they owned a pig

•  We also think the fireworks in Dubai look pretty impressive

We can’t offer you marzipan, but if you want to send some luck, then take a look at some of our handmade pig cards (which you can find online here)

And if the excitement of Christmas and New Years has gotten the better of you, what better way to relax than with a nice long soak with some of Royston and Hayes bath products, handmade with all natural ingredients in Suffolk?  Mmm, now that’s what I call a good end to the day and a good start to the new year.