And in the blink of an eye, another week has gone and we’re approaching the end of September! I’m not entirely sure how that happened… Grab yourself a cuppa (or a beer) and strap in, this is a long one.
Surprise Trip to Cheltenham
This week saw a surprise and impromptu visit to one of my favourite places, Cheltenham! I thought we were popping to Wickes to get a few things for the house, but I soon cottoned on we were heading somewhere else and saw a twinkle in the handsome one’s eye, as I screeched, “We’re not going to Cheltenham, are we?!’.
Cheltenham is a very special place for both of us; I lived there for over 10 years and it was where I was living when I met the handsome one. He actually moved to Cheltenham for a while and we enjoyed everything that it has to offer – the Jazz Festival, Literature Festival, abundance of bars and eateries, spending time with friends and living in the magical place that it is.
No surprise to anyone, but once we arrived in Cheltenham I was hungry as I had been advised not to eat anything earlier on, and now I know why! We talked about going to The Vine, which serves the most incredible thai food, however it wasn’t open until later on in the day, so instead we headed to The Tavern. Oh The Tavern – I’ve had many fantastic times there, including the time a friend found out that I’d never had a Bloody Mary. So one evening, she came and picked me up and took me to The Tavern to pop that tomato (real bad pun), which has actually won awards for their Bloody Mary. Safe to say I’ve never looked back (I actually think this was in 2014 – Christ, time actually does fly…).
Immediately scouring the menu for my favourite item, I was disappointed not to see it on there. Now I know this may sound weird, but what I was looking for was deep fried olives. They sound odd but if you like olives, you will LOVE these. They’re crisp, warm, salty and deliciously moreish little nuggets of heaven. We got chatting with our lovely waiter and I mentioned these olives, to which he said, “Don’t worry, I can get the chef to make some for you”. Now that’s service for you. We shared these, perhaps share is a little strong as the handsome one kept getting his hands batted away, and a chorizo scotch egg which was very tasty, followed by the buttermilk chicken burger with sweet potato fries.
After a lovely time spent at The Tavern, we got up out of our seats, happily groaning at our full tummies and took to the streets of Cheltenham. Still the same, but with some new additions on the High Street, including the huge John Lewis! We walked around hand-in-hand, talking about all of our memories of our time spent in this wonderful place until we decided we needed a sit-down. As we looked at one another, we knew exactly where we were headed. Somewhere that we used to frequent most weekends, somewhere we would sit outside or inside with the Saturday papers and a pack of cards, settled in for the afternoon. The one and only, Sandford Ale House.
This is not a high-end pub, there are no filament lights, no luxury hand cream in the loos, and I probably wouldn’t eat here, but this is truly one of my favourite places in Cheltenham. Everyone is welcome and as the name suggests, the focus is around beers, so if you don’t like beer then this might not be the place for you. However, in truth, I wasn’t a huge ale fan until the handsome one took me there many years ago and after I tried my first cherry beer, I was hooked. There are so, so many beers to try and the staff are brilliant, as they really know what they’re talking about and will help you find something you like. As surprises go, this trip to Cheltenham was a pretty special one.
House Renovations
Oh house renovations. So the house is really coming along and anyone who is / has renovated will know there’s always something to do. It’s coming up to three years since we moved in – we got the keys in the July, but we needed to sort a few things out before actually living here. You know, things like running water and heating – nothing major.
We’re actually doing the fun stuff now; we had a visit from Carpetright to measure the carpet for the upstairs, the handsome one has put up the panelling in the spare room and painted it in the most incredible blue (it was a right pain in the arse because of all the grooves – he really is a star), and we’re buying furnishing. Slowly but surely we’re getting there and it’s really turning a corner!
Chicken with bay leaves and sweet onions
Even though the sun is shining and it’s warm, there’s still that nip in the air first thing and early evening – well the sun is setting at just after 7pm and it only seemed like the other day it was still light at 10pm – and because of this I want hearty, comforting food. I had some free range chicken pieces in the fridge to use, so inspired by my bay plant that just keeps getting bigger by the day, I rustled up the chicken with bay leaves and sweet onions.
It was so easy to do and it smelt incredible – I’d taken Bella out for a walk whilst it was cooking and my neighbour commented on how nice it smelt as he walked past the house! Good try, but he wasn’t getting any. All I did was skin the thighs (I can never skin the drumsticks, so just left them), slice up three onions, added half a dozen bay leaves, made a pint and a half of vegetable stock (organic chicken stock would be fine also) and nestled half a lemon into the mix and bunged it in the oven for an hour and a half at 160C, turning the chicken once about half way though. Served with some cabbage and brown rice, it really hit the spot!
Peace of mind
I’ve experienced something this week that I’ve not for quite a while; peace of mind.
You can never undervalue the importance of peace of mind and it has given me a sense of freedom. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel peaceful all of the time, believe me. My life is changing and there are some things out of my control and some that are in my control. Life is a funny old thing, but you are in charge of what you make of it. Things happen, life changes but it’s not always a bad thing and sometimes the best thing you can do is embrace it.
Make time for you
And last but not least, and this really made me happy, I was ‘selfish’! One evening instead of cleaning, making supper or doing one of those million and one jobs you feel like you ‘should’ be doing, I poured myself a glass of wine and watched Sex and the City for about an hour and a half. It was pure and utter bliss! It wasn’t selfish really, but you get caught up in doing jobs and forget about yourself, so what I’m saying is, be selfish and indulge yourself. I can highly recommend a glass of rose and some SATC.
Have a great weekend!
A x
Abi in the Garden 