A lovely Sunday lunch.

Whenever we visit Looe we always like to have a Sunday lunch and there is no more perfect place than the Hannafore Point Hotel. http://www.hannaforepointhotel.com/

It reminds me of holidays when I was young. It's a very traditional style hotel. There's a lovely grand entrance with a revolving door (which the kiddywinks love), leading to a foyer/reception area with lots of staircases. A huge dining area with fantastic windows giving panoramic views of the English Channel and Looe Island. And a relaxing bar/lounge area with sofas and a beautiful sun terrace where you can enjoy an after dinner drink.

The service you receive from the staff is fantastic. They are a mixture of ages and all friendly and welcoming. They made the children feel very special, which we loved.

The Sunday lunch itself is lovely.

You have the option of either 1, 2 or 3 courses.

The starters we enjoyed were Pineapple, Melon and Blueberry salad, Liver Pate, Carrot & Corriander Soup and Smoked Mackerel. 

We all then had the Sunday roast, a choice of pork, beef or turkey (or if you ask nicely, a bit of each), stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, cauliflower cheese, gravy and sauces.

Desserts were Sticky Toffee pudding, White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, Lemon tart, Chocooate Fudge cake, Ice cream or Cheese board.

Afterwards we meandered into the louge for a coffee and enjoyed more of the amazing view.

Tummys full and all happy.

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Family!

We love Looe and if we get the chance, try to holiday there every year.

I have great memories of holidays there when I was younger and I want to create new memories with my own little family.  That's me below on Hannafore beach, looking out to Looe Island  in 1977!

This year is particularly special as it is my mums 60th birthday. She had mentioned a few years ago that for her big birthday she would really like it if we could all go to Looe together. It's a place she loves dearly and we really wanted her plan to come together.  

Thankfully we all made it!

Myself, Tim, kiddywinks and my parents all stayed in a lovely holiday cottage in Hannafore called Sea Breeze. We've stayed there a couple of times before and new it would be perfect. http://www.crumplehorncottages.co.uk/sea-breeze-hannafore-looe.html

My uncle and aunt have their own little flat about 100 yards along from Sea Breeze, so they stayed there. And my mums aunt and uncle travelled down in their own camper van and pitched up just outside Looe at the Camping Club site at St Martins.

Having us all there made my mum extremely happy and if she's happy, I'm happy!

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Journey to Cornwall

We started our journey around 9am, the kiddywinks bursting with excitement. Had a quick stop at Hopwood Services, a nappy change for George and a Starbucks for Tim. Then continued along the M42/M5 until we almost reached Bristol. 

We pulled off at Junction 14 and just over a mile later arrived at Tortworth Estate Shop and The Farmers Table. http://www.tortworthestateshop.co.uk/

This is a lovely farm shop and restaurant that sell home reared produce. Perfect for if you want a light lunch, slice of homemade cake or a full English breakfast!

Tim plumped for the full monty, the kiddywinks had sausages, beans, egg and toast and I enjoyed a lovely baked potato.

Whilst enjoying your meal you are able to take in the amazing views over Gloucestershire through the huge panoramic windows or outside on their beautiful sun terrace. 

There's even a cute little play area to keep the kiddywinks entertained.

After the meal we stretched our legs around the duck pond and then headed back to the car to continue our journey.

Both children then fell asleep whilst watching Frozen and when they awoke we were just about to enter into Cornwall over the Tamar Bridge. 

We arrived in Looe about 3.30pm to glorious sunshine, where we met up with the rest of the family and had a well earned cup of tea.

Car unpacked, rooms sorted, ready for the week!

Let's hope the sunshine sticks around!

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Holiday Time!

Everybody is very excited in the Thompson/Robinson household, as tomorrow we are off on holiday.

We are heading down to Looe in Cornwall for a week with family and can't wait.

Not only are we looking forward to the holiday itself,  but we really enjoy the drive down. Who doesn't love a road trip?

We are going to get the car packed and ready tonight so we can head off first thing, after the kiddywinks have had breakfast. They love the fact we leave them in their pyjamas and they get dressed when we have a stop later in the journey.

The journey itself takes around 5 hours, but we then add a couple of rest/toilet stops in.

We are planning on stopping at a lovely farm shop, just off the M5 near Bristol, for brunch and a chance to stretch our legs.

We try to find alternative places to take a break, rather than expensive services, sometimes nature reserves, country parks or farm shops. Somewhere exciting that adds to the fun of the holiday and is enjoyable for the kids.

Right, enough of this procrastinating, I need to get on with some packing.

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Long time, no see!!

Hello there.

Yes I am still alive!!  Apologies for the lack of posts since January.

To be honest there has been so much going on that I've really struggled with putting pen to paper, so to speak.

But thankfully things are starting to settle down and there are lots of exciting things coming up in the next year or so that I'm really looking forward to writing about. 

The main thing is that I am getting married! Yay!!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

Until next time.

Sarah xx

Take time to appreciate!

Recently, while my son George was attending Playgroup, I decided, rather than go home and clean or tidy toys away, I'd go for a walk.

Now I walk a lot, but never alone!

I walk to school and back twice a day, to Playgroup several times a week and regularly take a stroll around the village with the family.  But very rarely do I get the chance to go alone.

So off I went, iPod at the ready with appropriate music for brisk walking.  

I'd only been on my way for a few minutes when I realised how much I take my surroundings for granted.

I live in a beautiful village on the banks of the River Soar, but rarely do I notice it's beauty as I'm always slightly distracted, whether it be by rushing to school drop off or pick up or watching Scarlett and George to make sure they don't run off or jump into a puddle up to their middle!

However on this occasion I was able to soak up the joys of the riverbank!

The weather had been quite wet, so the ground underfoot was particularly boggy in places. Thankfully I'd donned my wellies!  

With only my camera phone to hand, I managed a few snaps of the wonderful scenery I was privy to.

The light was amazing and just gleamed off the water.  I lifted my whole mood and made me smile.

I only encountered a couple of people on my walk, a jogger and a fisherman, and I wondered if they'd stopped, taken a breath and soaked up their surroundings.

We all need to take time to appreciate what's around us. I'm definitely going to do that from now on!

Until next time.

Sarah xx

                                      

                                   

Goodbye 2013. Hello 2014!

As we dive headlong into a new year, it's always a good time to reflect on the one just gone.

2013 was a year with some amazing highs, but also some real lows!

Finding out my dad had been diagnosed with cancer was the biggest low of the year. My parents had struggled through a few really tough few years and were finally in a place where they felt more happy and content and then BOOM!!! 

His first course of treatment began in November and comes to an end in late January. Hopefully with a successful result. It has been stressful and emotional for everyone, especially my dad and mum. But we have pulled together and had strength for each other when we've felt low. I would have been lost without my fiancé Tim, so I thank him with all my heart.

During the same period my Uncle became ill and was admitted to hospital for several days. Thankfully an operation in the next month or so should rectify his problem, fingers crossed.

As you can imagine these two events were real shocks and it was in a way nice to have some really exciting things going on at the same time to give us all a welcome distraction.

Our children are the best tonic for us and our family. They can make even very sad times seem better!

Scarlett has continued to do well at school and has again exceeded our expectations, making us immensely proud of her every day.  Seeing her love for learning and achieving is a wonderful thing. Long may it continue.

George is coming on leaps and bounds.  Having turned two in September, his speech is really improving. He loves interacting with all age groups of people and gets really excited when he learns something new. As with his sister, he makes us proud every day.

They are growing in to wonderful little people and I'm excited to see what 2014 brings.

The really big event of 2013 was the purchase of a house in Wales.

For the past 5 years we have been looking to buy a property to set up as a holiday rental. We knew where we wanted it, it was just waiting for the right one to come along and in August it did. 

Six weeks later it was ours and after a lot of hard work sourcing furniture, painting, and fitting a new kitchen, at the end of December it was ready to take bookings. And we've actually got our first booking, yay!!!

So 2013 has been testing at times, but I feel all things are sent to make us stronger and I feel strong!!

So bring on 2014, I'm ready!!

Happy new year to you all and may you have health and happiness.

Sarah

xx