Wonderful Weekend

Last Friday was a bit of a special day. I turned yet another year older.  The years certainly fly by and as it has been such a busy one for us, it has been even more true this year.  My mum had rooted out some old photos of me which she enclosed with my card.  These were taken quite some time ago!

The sneaky Mr HenHouse had kept it a surprise that we were going away for the weekend.  So we hopped in Delia Disco and off we set, navigating Devon's tiny windy country lanes to our secret destination, deep in the countryside.  After a hair raising journey, we arrived at our destination.  It had certainly been worth it.  Tucked away was the stunning and exclusive Gidleigh Park country house hotel.  Oh my!

There is a babbling brook running through the gardens in front of the hotel so there is a constant sound of running water which was pretty soothing.

The hotel had thought of everything and had coats and posh wellies for guests to borrow in order that they could explore the grounds.

Inside did not disappoint either.  Our suite was very sumptuous and had everything we could ask for...and more.

I was a very spoiled lady and some special treats awaited me in our suite.

We headed downstairs to the lounge in the afternoon which had a stunning view over the gardens and way beyond.  Afternoon tea was pretty fabulous, complete with a special birthday cake for me!

Gidleigh Park is renowned as a foodie destination, with head chef Michael Caines holding two coveted Michelin stars.  On Saturday night, we had the eight course tasting menu which was pretty sublime and culminated in this spectacular dessert. Yum!

A super duper treat awaited me on Saturday when Mr HenHouse informed me that we were going on a little trip.  Off we set on the windy lanes again and found ourselves in Barnstaple in Devon.

In this town, a special lady and friend of mine has recently opened her dream shop, an emporium of vintage clothing and textiles.  You will likely recognise the name Donna Flower whom I have mentioned many times on my blog.  She has helped me build my stash of vintage fabrics and I couldn't have been happier to be visiting her wonderful new shop.

Donna, along with her daughter Jasmine, has done a spectacular job of creating a fabulous interior to her shop.  At the front, rails of gorgeous vintage clothes await along with all the accessories you could need to create the perfect outfit.  Donna has sourced some beautiful shop fittings, too, which really enhance the clothes.  The shop offers clothes for both men and women.

Jasmine is the perfect model for the shop's beautiful clothes.

The big draw for me however, was the area at the back of the shop, a stunning shrine to vintage textiles.  Donna has created a dream setting for the fabrics and haberdashery with the most beautiful antique shop fittings setting off the incredible stock she has curated.  Heaven!

At the back of the shop, was a fab vintage Stockman mannequin.  The naughty Mr HenHouse had bought this for me as a birthday surprise, an item I had long coveted.  Donna had kindly wrapped her with birthday ribbon and a vintage sparkly brooch.  Lucky lucky me!

I was like a child in a sweetie shop and set about selecting some vintage fabrics on which to spend my birthday money.

I cannot recommend enough that you visit this wonderful shop, I can't imagine it really has an equal anywhere else.  Donna still runs her online shops too, Donna Flower for fabrics and Donna Flower Vintage for clothes, so if a visit is really beyond you, you needn't miss out on her impeccable sourcing skills.

We had a really wonderful weekend but luckily, coming home was not too much of a come down as my birthday present was waiting for me to play with it: a vintage Singer featherweight sewing machine.  She just needs oiling then I can't wait to try her out with some of those special vintage fabrics.