Woke up this morning to this sight! What a beau
I love cold mornings in bed! I love the snug feeling of being cosily tucked in my warm duvet until the sun or my husband coax me out of it. Umm…bliss. I love that I can sleep until later in winter. I don’t enjoy the thought of moving my clock back by an hour in summer!
For me, the most exciting part of any holiday is the unexpected. I mean, sure I like to do the popular sights but I’m always looking out for something the tourist guide may have overlooked and discover a new place or experience unspoilt by crowds of regular tourists.
And I don’t mean any exotic find, off the beaten path. Just experiencing something simple, preferably local yet special. It’s what really gives you a peek into the ethos of the region you’re visiting. I have a fondness for the quaint and seek out charming little shops or cafés when travelling.
On a recent jaunt to Plymouth, my husband and I discovered a local treasure, The Tudor Rose Tea rooms located in a Tudor House dating back to the 1640s. We were ambling along one of the oldest cobbled streets in Plymouth, soaking in the atmosphere and admiring the ancient buildings when we came upon this quaint little place. What better way to experience the famous Devon cream tea than at a historical site?
The very friendly Chef informed us that the house belonged to a wealthy merchant in the Elizabethan age. The tea rooms had the original antique heavy teak tables and chairs owned by its former occupants and had some lovely vintage tea ware displayed. It still had the original banister & staircase intact. The floors were gently sloping, a typical characteristic of the era we were informed. At the back of the house was a pretty garden where perhaps the lady of the house would have entertained in summer.
The cream tea arrived with 2 scones - a fruit and a plain, lovingly dusted with icing sugar placed on a pretty white paper lace doily served with fresh strawberry jam and clotted cream. It was just gorgeous and more than lived up to my expectations.
We were so thrilled with the experience that we returned the next day to sample some more of their lovely food. This time we sat in the garden as it was sunny and very pleasant. The breakfast of crispy flaky croissants and crisp golden French toast was just what one needed to make one's 
day! That was topped by delicious apple pie which came highly recommended by the chef....scrumptious pastry and not filled with soggy stewed apples but a very nice and light apple-cinnamon filling. It was a perfect way to end a relaxing weekend.
We were very sorry to leave the place.
Even though we are self absorbed beings,isn't it paradoxical how we don't break redundant, wasteful, even self defeating behaviour patterns. If we are so obsessed with ourselves and our likes and dislikes and wants and desires, shouldn't that make us want to have more pleasant, deeply satisfying and efficient experiences.
Funnily enough, we don't do that. In our fast paced, hyper, cyber active, quick gratification oriented lives who looks at the bigger picture? But there are times when life slows down a bit and you catch yourself acting in what is now a behaviour pattern, surprisingly not one you chose to develop very consciously.
I am so used to getting instant results for everything; instant coffee, online shopping, which is very addictive and a trend that credit card companies will cash in on leading to the next banking crisis, instant food - fast and unhealthy takeaways, instant entertainment, instant communication - if my broadband takes more than 30 secs to connect I panic!; that anything that doesn't deliver quick is automatically eliminated from my list of available choices.
I have lost patience, I no longer read as much as I used to, Google is the answer to all qs including what to cook tonight, why think just google it! I eat fast, I shower quick, I scan the newspaper, I take short cuts to housework, I multi-task (damn American jargon!) at work and slowly I've forgotten how to live a simple happy well paced life! I'm only running a marathon each day but I'm not sure why, or even if I want to, or chose to. It just happened.
Then one day you get a wake up call....something snaps and you realise what you've been mindlessly doing. Isn't this the story of most of our lives? scary isn't it! Is this what technology has done to us? I mean wasn't modern technology meant to make life more convenient and save time? Then how come I find, that with my mobile phone, high speed broadband, sat nav, wi-fi and what have you, I'm more pressed for time and more stressed than ever before? Work carries itself home in my laptop, a relaxing family dinner is disturbed by the beeping cell phone, suddenly I'm working more hours than before. Earlier once you left work, you really left it. But now I'm accessible! Strange paradox?
I came across this quote the other day and it made me wonder what is this haste we make? What are we trying so desperately to achieve that we unknowingly lose control of our lives and would we do this if we realised we're running without really getting anywhere?
“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?”
What is your dream? What would you want to do if you were free of worries about money, responsibility, attachments. What if u had the liberty to do whatever your heart desired...what would be that dream?
For me I would cook and travel and eat and write and read. I would roam the countryside and explore the pristine locales....towns and villages that time hath forgotten.....and learn how to make simple yet delicious local recipes. I would live at a local B&B or hire a room with a local who has space to spare or even pitch a tent in a meadow with mountains in the background and flowers in bloom, where march hares have a field day and birds sing their sweet tunes. I would work to fund my stay; any odd jobs that I could do....even cook at the local restaurant and share my collection of recipes.
I’m a Sweet tooth with a special weakness for all things chocolate. I eat chocolate everyday since i can remember. So naturally, I always have chocolate stocked at home. There’s this lil treasure trove in my pantry that’s full of delightfully sinful things! It’s my haven when I’m in the mood for some TLC. Here then, is one of the newest additions to my store cupboard ;)
So fellow chocolate lovers, tell me this……what is better than chocolate??? Well, it’s chocolate with a sense of humour! No no, I haven’t gone bonkers obsessing so much over a bar that I've begun to speak to it! I’m talking about my latest fancy – Bloomsberry Chocolate.
I chanced upon it during one of my visits to the chocolate aisle of my supermarket. It was an instant connection! These guys know they speak to chocoholics! They understand us intimately and I love their sense of humour.
The chocolates are “Just what the doctor ordered”, if you know what i mean girlies ;) It’s good old swiss chocolate with a dose of circumstantial humour. Their fun covers are for keeps! They have some great chocolate names with prescription drug type instructions that make you giggle…Who needs a doc?? ……i say self medicate and feel free to try what suits ur predicament in the dosage of ur choice ;)
Their Varieties that I've tried are:
Emergency Chocolate : in plain milk chocolate & hazelnut milk chocolate & dark. For immediate relief of: Chocolate Cravings, Lovesickness, exam Pressure, Mild Anxiety and Extreme Hunger.
Marital Bliss which is dark ….fittingly so ;) & which I feel truly recognises a woman’s contribution to a marriage ;)
Girth Control….hehehe…the cover is a must read
Yet to try: Chocóscopes! which by the way, was very accurate for me, Dechox, Bochox (there’s still time for that!), Doctor Chocolate, Oral Pleasure, No Weight Gain and even one called ‘ Chocolate makes it all bearable’ with a bear on the pack!, DIY, Dig in and many more such gems!
Go n get ‘em girlies! ;) ;)
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