Midsummer: Day 7

It's the final day of our Midsummer celebrations. We had our big night last night, and Rob was at work today, so it was just a few quiet seasonal treats for me to round off the festivities.

Midsummer Tea Break

I enjoyed a nice cup of Sunny Days tea from Tugboat Tea.

The Midnight Feast

A bit of seasonal reading - I started The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley today (I meant to read it at the Solstice itself, but ran out of time!).

Tutti Frutti Nougat

This was a very summery treat, especially because I bought it from the seaside when we were in Scarborough in earlier this month... Tutti Frutti Nougat from John Bull.

Daisy Bath Bomb

And then a nice festive bath with a Daisy Daisy Bath Blaster from Bomb Cosmetics.


And so the wheel of the year turns. We'll be celebrating again at Lammas.

Beltane: Day 5

Another day of celebrating the season... and we had lots of nice seasonal treats lined up today.

Bakewell

It was our last morning in Bakewell today. We had a bit of a mooch round the town, and then lunch at The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. I had Derbyshire Rarebit and a Bakewell Pudding (of course).

Beltane Wreath

This was a lovely surprise... when we got home from our holiday, my mum had hung a lovely springtime wreath on our front door.

Cherry Bathe-Well Bath Bomb

A bath-time reminder of our holiday... it's a Cherry Bathe-Well Bath Bomb from Bomb Cosmetics.

Beltane Wax Melts

We lit our diffuser tonight with some seasonally inspired wax melts: Wild Bluebell by Orgánico.

Beltane Dinner

Rob cooked our traditional Beltane dinner of Sausage Casserole tonight.

The Wicker Man

And we watched our traditional Beltane film, which is obviously The Wicker Man.

Beltane Gifts

After dinner, we exchanged our Beltane cards and gifts. We'll add the whiskies to our seasonal collection, to drink when we're in Cornwall in December.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 3

Another day of celebrating the Christmas season, and another blog post that's a little late! It really was a very busy start to December!

Advent Tea

Today's advent tea from my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Rhubarb and Custard!

Elf Bath Bomb

A festive bathtime with an elf bath bomb from Bomb Cosmetics!

Ghost Stories at the Old Library

We had a fab night tonight at Levenshulme Old Library, listening to ghost stories by lantern-light, written and told by Richard V. Hirst, Adam Farrer, Melissa Wan and Marie Crook. Proper seasonal entertainment.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 30

And now the penultimate day of our Halloween celebrations. It was the last day of celebrating with Rob, as he had to work on Halloween itself, so we had some nice things planned for the evening together.

Today's Tea

Sunday's Halloween tea was the wonderfully named A Nightcap on Elm Street from Tenacious Tea! It's Ceylon and Pu'er teas with cacao husks, coconut, coffee beans and cornflower petals. It's a very unusual but really quite moreish brew.

Today's Story

The penultimate classic tale of horror this month was 'The Japanned Box' by Arthur Conan Doyle.

‘Blood Month and Virgin Queen’

Looking ahead to November, I read 'Blood Month and Virgin Queen' from Ronald Hutton's The Stations of the Sun.

Samhain Forest Bathing

I went to a really great Samhain forest bathing session on Sunday, run by Natalie Rossiter Wellbeing. The session ended with tea, parkin and reflection around a fire. I feel like I really needed this.

Eyeball Bath Bomb

Eyeball bath bomb from Bomb Cosmetics!

Halloween Dinner

We had our Halloween Dinner tonight because of work commitments on Halloween itself. Rob made us an amazing and very seasonal Pumpkin and Sausage Casserole!

Halloween Gifts

We exchanged our (now) traditional Halloween cards and gifts. These are the final seasonal whiskies for the sets we'll be enjoying at Christmas.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 24

I have fallen so far behind with these posts! Oops. Let's see if I can't get them all finished by the end of Halloween, eh? I can but try.

Today's Tea

Monday's tea was Witch Forest from Hebridean Tea Store. It's green honeybush, apple, elderberries, raspberry leaves, strawberries and blackcurrants!

Today's Story

Monday's classic tale of horror was 'Rappaccini's Daughter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup

Our primary pumpkin was so big, I managed to get a second soup out of it. This one's Pumpkin and Red Pepper. (We still have secondary and tertiary pumpkins to deal with, of course.)

Vampire Bath Bomb

Halloween bath bomb from Bomb Cosmetics!

Spooky Pasta

A present from my mum. She knows I love a good creepypasta.

Live and Spooky Campfire Stories (Anastasia Garcia)

Monday's Campfire Stories video from Flame Tree Press was Anastasia Garcia, reading her story 'Dark Skies', which features in their Weird Horror Short Stories anthology.