Wonderful Wednesday 38

Focusing on the fact that this week is just four days long and unlike the week after Easter, I concentrated really hard so as not to lose track of just when Wednesday is this time! It's been a fantastic long weekend so I'll need to remember that when I'm working on my coursework this weekend... Onto the good times!

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♥ Three day weekend snacking... We have a glorious tradition of popping to Marks & Spencer just before boarding the train to visit my mother in law in Norfolk and picking up an abundance of treats for the weekend. Percy Pigs for the train, naturally, then Nachos and delicious gluten free mini bites to snack on over the course of the next few days. There's something about visits to my mother in law that makes me feel I can just relax and snack with impunity, that feeling of Christmas time snacking as if whatever you eat doesn't count in any way, until 1 January (or in this case, the train back to London) at least!

♥ Friendly donkeys... A trip to Norfolk wouldn't be complete without a visit to the three little donkeys in a field close to my mother in law's house. These chaps (/ladies, I don't know - I respect their privacy) are always in the same spot, sometimes vocal sometimes not, but always close to the gate and keen to be fed from the long grass that grows opposite.

♥ Sunday lunching... On Sunday we decided to eat at a restaurant a short drive away, beside a river and aptly called the Water's Edge. The restaurant has wonderfully large windows, enabling you to look out at the boats passing outside while sipping your wine - bliss! We had let them know in advance that I needed a gluten free option and the staff  were fully briefed when we arrived, with a manager coming over to say that the roasts could be served with gluten free gravy and any of the other options made to suit as everything is cooked from scratch. Tempting though the roast was, I opted for the wild mushroom risotto with a parmesan crisp and it was oh so delicious, followed by the largest slice of flourless chocolate cake.

We then walked along the river and then along through the fields nearby to walk off some of that lunch. The sun was shining through the trees, butterflies were fluttering around us and we stumbled across the prettiest little bluebell glade. It was perfect!

♥ Gluten-Free treats... Another week, another new gluten free treat discovery. This week it was excitedly falling on something from the new Mr Kipling range in our local Tesco. I'd seen various bloggers in the gluten free community sharing these new delights but hadn't spotted any myself so I couldn't just walk past the cherry bakewell now, could I? It was so delicious, went down a real treat with a cup of tea on Monday evening with the return to work looming ever-closer. Yum, can't wait to try more from this range! Any sign of a gluten free Viennese Whirl? Now those I really miss.

♥ Do let me know what's made your week a little rosier by leaving me a comment below or dropping me a tweet (I'm @happygoluckycat) or better yet, why not join the fabulous bunch of #WonderfulWednesday bloggers? Pop over to their blogs for a dose of mid-week happiness - Sally, Michelle, Helen, Kate, Jo, Samantha, Kerri, Laura, Sarah, Peta, El, Laura, Sarah, Mimmi, Jasmin, Martina, Lynsey, Katie, Debbie, Kelly and Em (I think that's everyone - shout at me if you're not on the list!) - and then join me in counting down the days until the weekend. It's in sight! ♥

Saturday, glorious Saturday.

Wasn't this weekend absolutely glorious?! It seems like a long time ago now, on this rainy Monday evening, but the memory of it will keep me going for a few more days at least.

The mister and I went to Norfolk to visit his mum over the weekend. We travelled there on the Friday evening, as we usually do to ensure that we get at least one full day together before we travel back to London again on the Sunday. As I've mentioned on this wee blog before, a visit to his mum's usually entails a list of hearty chores but this weekend was to-do list light and, as the sun was shining so very beautifully when we woke up on Saturday morning, we decided to drive a short way and walk along the Broads.

We parked in a little village called Surlingham, just by a beautiful Saxon church. I can't resist an old church so we popped in first of all for a peek and just by the entrance, spotted a little honesty book sale - something else I can't resist! My mother in law and I excitedly pored over the books for sale - she found a selection of lovely old embroidery magazines and I found several lovely romance novels, which are my guilty pleasure. I was very restrained though and only came away with one - I can't resist a Katie Fforde novel and I may have already finished it...

We picked up our purchases and went inside the church, which was very simple and beautiful, and (perhaps explaining the embroidery books for sale in front of the church) had a beautiful tapestry illustration of the village hanging on one of the walls. It was amazingly intricate, with beautifully-worked rivers, roads and farmlands, and I even spotted a tiny heron, hedgehog and scarecrow. We could have spent much longer examining the tapestry and all the old tombstones in the church but didn't want to miss the sunshine so we headed out...

We left the graveyard surrounding the church, after giving a friendly passing moggy a scritch behind its ears,  and headed down a small path shaded by trees, following signs for the Broads and before long we could see water in front of us. Patches of the walk were really muddy, with boards to walk across every so often but in unlikely places (and few and far between) and surrounded by damp muddy stretches. Once we'd got past those though we were able to walk along for quite a way with dry shoes (my Converse probably weren't suitable for walking great distances on muddy paths!) looking at the sunlight glittering on the water, and the butterflies zipping around happily.

It was so peaceful, almost silent apart from the sound of the birds and a light breeze stirring the leaves of the trees and bushes, and the occasional puttering of a boat passing on the water - I know there are busier stretches of water along the Broads but this one was just perfect.

We passed a little bird spotting nook, where eager bird watchers had made a note of the birds they'd spotted and, hilariously, some local kids had spotted a heron 'in da sky' and a crocodile 'in da water'. And to think I thought it was just a rat stirring the reeds as we passed a shady spot earlier in the walk...

Before long we came across a little pub on the waterfront and we sat out under a large umbrella sipping cold drinks. It was so lovely that we decided to stay for a spot of lunch...well that and I saw that I could have a baked potato (tempting despite the heat!) so I wouldn't have to sit and enviously watch the others tuck into their fish and chips.

Full and satisfied, we headed back along the waterfront re-tracing our steps to the car. Disaster struck! The water had risen slightly and started to flood the bank in places... Remember those boarded stretches I mentioned earlier? Full on streams now. We jumped across where we could, with my poor loyal Converse getting soggier and soggier, until we got to an impassable stretch. There was only one thing for it, the shoes and socks had to come off and we squelched through the mud and water until we got to the other side (while I desperately tried not to imagine what lurked inside the mud! Crocodiles - oh no!) It was a perfect ADVENTURE, in the manner of an Enid Blyton novel...I even got my first nettle sting in several years! What a day.

And the perfect end to the day? (In the absence of lashings of ginger beer, of course.) Curled up in the shade of an old beach-windbreaker in my mother in law's garden, with an ice lolly and my new book. Bliss.

What adventures did you get up to this weekend? I'd love to know! 

If you fancy more of a photographic peek into my adventures, such as they are,  pop on over to my Instagram feed where you'll find most of the above!

Review: The Norfolk Gluten Free Shop & Café

Twitter is fantastic for the gluten-free community. I've discovered so many new products and heard about exciting restaurants and events thanks to some of my favourite tweeters (twitterers?!). A few months ago, I heard about the Norfolk Gluten Free Shop and Café, and excitedly bookmarked it for the next time we came to Norfolk for a long weekend. THIS WAS THAT WEEKEND!

On Easter Saturday, we headed into Norwich planning to re-live the mister's childhood with a visit to Norwich Castle and then do a spot of wishful thinking for our new flat in the hallowed halls of John Lewis. But first, lunch! We arrived at about 1pm, which was probably the worst time to visit because every table was full - definitely a good sign. You can make reservations every day apart from Saturday but, rather than come back later, we decided to just wait for a table, popping upstairs for a quick look in the shop beforehand.

The shop is full of all kinds of delicious gluten free treats - cereals, condiments, pastas, bread, biscuits and a fridge full of pies and pastries, to name but a few! I made a mental note of a few items to come back and buy on our way out before heading downstairs to wait for a table. We didn't have to wait too long, about 10 minutes or so, before a table freed up. Most of the tables were two-seaters but as there were 3 of us waiting for a table, it took a little longer for one of a suitable size to free up.

You've no idea how exciting it is as a coeliac to be able to look at a menu and choose absolutely
anything that's on it! I'd say it doesn't happen often enough but really, public knowledge and availability of gluten free products have improved so much over the last few years that I can't complain, but it's still such a treat to be able to eat somewhere and not worry about cross-contamination. We all chose to have the 'pie and side' - I chose the chicken pie, which was served alongside a dressed salad and some lentil chips. I think next time I would have the extra gravy too (any excuse for more gravy!) but the pie was delicious, beautifully flaky pastry and lots of filling. Hubby chose the chicken and stuffing pie, and his mum went for the steak pie and there were clean plates all round. There were lots of other options to choose from on the menu and I'm already deliberating between the Ploughmans, doughballs and quiches for my next visit.

Room for dessert? Absolutely! There were an array of fabulous-looking cakes and sweet treats to choose from, including some Millionaire Shortbread which will have to wait for another visit when I'm back on the chocolate. My mother in law chose the cherry frangipane tart, my mister went for a sweet little carrot cake and I (after much thought) chose the victoria sponge. Oh they were so delicious - sweet, moist and thoroughly enjoyed even by my gluten-eating companions.

It was very difficult to even think about food after our lunchtime spread so probably a good time to pop back to the shop to pick up a few bits to take home with me! I decided to get some Italian gluten free tagliatelle, some Walkers shortbread, which I haven't had for years, and the selection of bread on offer was simply too irresistible. I chose a tiger bloomer and it's honestly the best gluten free bread I've ever had - I still remember gluteny bread and it tastes like that!

Definitely worth visiting if you're in the Norwich area - not far from the castle too, culture-buffs!

♥

The Gluten Free Shop & Café

21 Timberhill, Norwich NR1 3JZ

Opening Hours:

(excluding Easter Sunday and Easter Monday)

Monday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm

Sunday: 10am - 4pm

My Happy Place

 I love London, I really do, but I also love escaping it for the peace and quiet of the countryside. My mother in law lives in a small village in Norfolk and we're staying with her over the Easter weekend. I've always loved the thought of living in the countryside. Hubby, who grew up here, tells me it's not always so fun but it's hard to persuade someone who grew up on a diet of Enid Blyton books that it's not picnics, ginger beer and collecting eggs from local hens all the time.

We try to visit the mother in law for a visit at least once a month but the beginning of this year has just been nightmarishly busy, with a sprinkling of house hunting and packing thrown in for good measure, so this is the first time we've come for a visit this year. We got the train from London on Thursday evening, to give us three full days here over the long weekend. I always notice the quiet as soon as we arrive. We don't live in an incredibly noisy area in London but I suppose you get used to the background hum and don't notice all of the hubbub - the trains and buses in the distance, and the sound of people spilling out of bars and pubs on a Friday or Saturday night. But I really notice the peace when we arrive here, lying in bed on the first night the silence is almost deafening.

Coming here is slightly different for me than for the mister. He usually has to spend at least one of the days trimming hedges or cleaning out gutters for his mum but I can curl up in her lovely conservatory, looking out at the birds in the garden (there was a pheasant strutting around today!) and reading a book or a magazine, with copious cups of tea. I've kept that thought in my mind over the last few weeks, when work has been particularly busy. My new issue of the Simple Things arrived just yesterday so I saved it to enjoy this morning and the content seems designed just for me this month - a veg patch could-do list, yoga (which I really want to get back into) and a recipe for cardamom banana bread which I can't wait to try...hopefully a straight gluten free flour swap will work fine.

The next few days ahead should involve nothing more taxing than what to have for dinner, when to open another bottle of red wine and from Sunday onwards, chocolate! Oh how I've missed you.

Hope you all enjoy wonderful Easter weekends!

It's all about the Simple Things...

The Simple Things

Have you read the Simple Things? I adore it! It's a monthly magazine dedicated to encouraging you to sit back and enjoy the simple things in life. It focuses on recipes with delicious seasonal produce, growing your own vegetables, local places to explore, crafts, hobbies and enjoying the wonderful outdoors. It's perfect for curling up with and planning your next adventure.

I often pick up a copy when travelling to Norfolk to visit my mister's mum (future mother in law! :-o) She lives in a tiny village and I notice that the pace of life seems to slow down as soon as our taxi arrives from the station. (As, I suppose, it has to when the nearest shop is the farm shop, which is about 1.5 miles away and has some scarily-restrictive opening hours to this London girl). If you follow me on Instagram (you can find me at 'happygoluckycat' or by clicking the link in the sidebar) you'll know that we were away in Norfolk this weekend and this time, rather than travelling up on a Saturday morning and losing most of the day, we travelled up after work on Friday, arriving late at night and falling straight into bed, only to wake up the next morning to the sun streaming through the curtains and the blissful silence that heralds a weekend in the countryside. It was wonderful.

Blue Skies and Green Fields

Londoner born and bred, I do love to escape to the country and weekends with mother-in-law-to-be are always so peaceful. While the mister was up a ladder cleaning gutters and trimming hedges (teehee!) I was curled up with tea, toast and strawberry jam, and a notebook to jot down little wedding-planning ideas. [Don't feel too sorry for him - he ran in with a gardening glove covered in spiders' eggs and shoved it in my face, causing me to scream the house down.] Highlights from the rest of the weekend include seeing a pair of pheasants strolling in the garden, curling up in a sunny patch in the conservatory and doing a lot of reading, a beautiful long walk through the village and round the fields (and seeing alpaca!), lots of tasty food and a Saturday evening watching Friday night's episode of Jonathan Creek and some Miss Marple mysteries. A wonderfully cosy retreat from a very busy week.

It's very easy to get caught up in the busyness of our everyday lives - rushing from one place to the next with a constant to-do list running through your head. It can sometimes be difficult to sit back and just enjoy life with the list of must-do/see/haves growing ever-longer. The beauty (and the terrifying nature) of the internet is that everything is at your fingertips, and the list of 'wants' can grow each day. In the spirit of this weekend and a delicious new magazine to savour over the course of this week, here are some simple things that I treasure...

♥ A pre-bed bath, PJs warmed on the radiator and freshly-laundered bed sheets.

♥ New stationery, particularly the delight that comes from writing on the first page of a beautiful new notebook.

Blossom!

♥ Curling up with a new book and a big mug of tea.

♥ A clean house and fresh flowers on the mantelpiece.

♥ Long conversations with dear friends.

♥ Walks by the sea...in fact, trips to the sea side in general.

♥ Christmas time, long scarves and sparkling lights in shop windows.

♥ The first signs of blossom on the trees.

And last, but by no means least:

♥ Turning your morning alarm off when you remember that you have the day off work tomorrow! I shall of course be thinking of you all though!

What are your favourite simple pleasures?

Silent Sunday: a Crisp Winter's Day in Norfolk

A beautifully crisp winter's day in Norfolk between Christmas and New Year. 

You can find a few more photos here.