Monday 29 October 2012

Campbell's Calendar - A Photo Shoot and Happy Holidays!

Hello all!  I'm back from a week's R&R 


So I'm putting together my new weekly round up a little later than last week. It's a funny thing running your own business - it's only after you stop for a short while that you realise just how hard you've been working. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure all you regular readers out there know how passionate I am and how much I absolutely love what I'm doing, but a few days without any Internet access has been a bit of a 'work/life balance' wake-up call.

I need to make some changes and work out how to get the best from each day - more time management than anything really drastic ... I'll let you know how I get on over the coming months. I'm not promising a magic formula, but if I find things which work for me - I'll pass them on!

Anyway, here's what I got up to last week:

Sunday

Earlier in the week I'd been asked by a national magazine to make up a set of designs which needed to be delivered to an address in London for 9.00 am on Monday morning - the whole request was simultaneously exciting, nerve-racking and terrifying!
So Sunday I made up my designs, and then whizzed down to stay overnight in Hertfordshire with my best friend, Lou.


I can't show you the final designs for the shoot, but I can tell you that they featured this lovely limonium!


Monday

Was the big day - I left Lou's house at 6.30 am (allowing two-and-a-half hours for a 30 mile journey!!). After the sat nav taking me in various directions (into the congestion charge zone - not sure might have a fine on the way, sadly) I finally arrived at my destination, exhausted, at 9.30 am! I'll just express that slightly differently - three hours for thirty miles! That's an awful 10 miles an hour!!!!

Having said all of that, my contact was completely lovely, really grateful to see me and adored my flowers! So all was good. I set the sat nav for 'God's own County' and headed for home!

Once home, Ally and I (with lots of help from M) packed up the car and headed off to the cottage we'd booked for the week in North Yorkshire, just outside Pickering. It was just us two, with the hounds for a couple of days. M & Izz were to join us mid-way through the week.  Our cottage, on a working farm, was gorgeous - just the right side of comfy, cosy but practical too.


Home-made lemon cake greeted us! 


I promise the chrysanthemums weren't mine!


The view from the front door


And a bit further! 


My bathroom, which was just lovely

Tuesday

After taking the dogs for a walk in a paddock full of horses (the hounds were very curious), Ally and I went into Pickering and mooched around a gorgeous flea market full of vintage loveliness and then imagined a shoot on the gorgeous station platform amidst the romantic steam engines - lovely!

In the afternoon we drove to Scarborough singing Scarborough Fair, pretty much all the way there! We took the dogs to the beach for a run (Lily whippet just loved it - it was her first encounter with the sea!).


An hearty, but yummy breakfast before our trip to Pickering


Ally on a foggy Scarborough beach (no dogs in sight - think they're in the sea!)



Wednesday

Popped back into Pickering to a cafe with WiFi as I needed to order flowers for Joan & Jim's wedding - more about them soon.

Then to the stunningly beautiful Mallyan Spout across the moors (this time singing Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights'!) - a sudden fog created even more atmosphere and was a bit scary, but really worth the journey.

Back at the cottage Ally was absolutely determined to get the fire going - which she did! Bliss! We then had a proper girly pampering session - lovely!



Clambering over the rocks was worth it ...


Beautiful


... and again


Fire lighting


So lovely and cosy



Thursday

To Whitby for Fortune's smoke house, kippers, breakfast, the beach and jet! A really wonderful day and I treated myself to these earrings which combine two of my most favourite things!



Such a fab little cafe/tea room (and the hounds were welcome too)



Sooo good!


Friday

Having packed up we all headed to an amazing farm shop for a full English and then back to Scarborough for one last blast on the beach before heading home, very happy.



Saturday

Up early to the market to collect all my flowers for the wedding, get all the conditioning done and then a consultation with a really lovely Bride, based in London, (who found me through the post I wrote for Love My Dress).

A really fab week - I'm refreshed and ready to put a few new ideas and plans into operation. Watch this space lovelies!

Up soon on the blog - Jim and Joan and Women of Steel ... exciting!

Tx

2 comments:

Lottie Clark said...

Hey T!
Sounds like you guys had a great week - very jealous of all the yum food! Glad you found time to get away and chill out, sounds much needed and much deserved. And now, back, refreshed and ready for the next phase of Campbell's Flowers - Business Extraordinaire! :-D
L. x

Campbells Flowers said...

Hello lovely - thanks so much for your comment. It was a great week and much appreciated by all (especially the hounds!). Tx