Looking for Spring

Between bad weather and bad health, it seemed like an eternity since I'd been out and about with my camera.
So when Saturday came along, I was determined to go and seek out some signs of spring. Ideally I would have inspected the garden, checked on the bulbs I planted last autumn, and maybe taken a walk though the fields.
But still it rained. And rained. And rained.
I'd have to  find spring indoors and what better place than Strandfield Flower Market? I had time to pop in for some quality 'me time' before going into town.
There was a cosy fire to chase the chills away but the blinds were pulled in the coffee shop making it too dark for photography.

However, there was plenty to see in the large conservatory and flower shop.
The spring bulbs look tempting so I think I might buy some later in the week to augment those I planted.  Perhaps I will drop a few hints that they would be preferable to overpriced roses for Valentine's Day.

I am really drawn to that botanical print and would love to buy it but unfortunately I  don't think there's a space for it on our already crowded walls.

Fortified by a hot chocolate, I made my shopping list, read some of my book, and left refreshed to face the weekly grocery shop.

Measuring Out My Life With Coffee Spoons

We're all got our favourite coffee shops. Places where we feel at ease, where we meet friends to catch up with what's happening in their lives, where we can sit quietly in a corner,  reading or  watching the world go by.

During the week,  I  have my coffee breaks with friends or colleagues in coffee shops  in town, but at the weekend  I like to drop down to the coffee shop at Strandfield Flower Market  for some quality 'me time', to read the newspapers and take some photos.

It's a charming mix of shabby chic vintage and Irish country farmhouse.  Coffee  is served in mismatched china and the homemade cakes are the sort which farmers' wives used to bake.

In summer, tables are set  outside to give a view of the mountains while in winter logs burn in old stove.

The flower shop is filled with the most beautiful flowers which look as though they've been picked from a cottage garden and there's always a treasure trove of bric-a-brac to browse through