The ramblings, happenings and meanderings of Ratty Golightly.
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Halloween is now past and winter will be with us before too long. I love this time of year. I can’t say that I have a favourite season - each time we’re in one, it feels worthy of the crown - but this could be it. Look around and you see that nature is starting to prep for the colder months - shedding the unnecessary and getting ready for a little behind the scenes work. The colours are glorious. This was one of our reasons for picking the Peak District for our half term break.
We packed the Volvo bus with necessary layers, walking boots and waterproofs and set forth to a beautiful barn conversion nestled in the Hope Valley. I worked furiously in the weeks leading up to the break, in order to be able to take time off - self-employed life means that it is tricky to step away. We don't get paid holiday, after all.
The week was as restful as we could have hoped for with plenty of time spent in the freshest of air, scaling the Peak District hills. There was time for a trip to Chatsworth - beautiful Christmas shopping and lovely to spot some fellow Friends of Joules brands on display - and several new spots discovered too.
Christmas is only 7 weeks away! The Ratty Golightly Christmas shop is packed with cards, baubles and gifts and whether you choose to gift yourself or another lucky soul, you will be supporting a small business and making me dance around the studio.
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Thank you for your support, scroll on for five great things of the week and don’t forget to subscribe!
The Rat’s 5 great things of the week…
1) Baubles
These beautiful fine bone china baubles are back! There’s 11 designs to choose from including 9 four-legged friends together with the pheasant and a
print-maker’s star. They arrive in a beautiful Kraft recyclable box - ready for gifting or a perfect way to store them safely each year.
Check out the Fine Bone China Bauble collection now
2) A Book to Read
Lucy Worsley’s Agatha Christie travelled patiently to the Peak’s and back but sadly didn’t get a look in. I got to see Lucy talking about the book and Agatha Christie at a recent event.
I did get to open the hefty tome once we returned and, so far, it's brilliant. I have loved Agatha since I was about 10, so it's thrilling to learn even more about this incredible woman.
I'll no doubt be banging on about this one on the socials soon!
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3) It's Not Too Early...
…to write a Christmas card. It is definitely the right time to buy them. Ratty Golightly 12 Dogs of Christmas cards are available as individual cards or economically in packs of 5. You can even use your subscriber discount to save a few more pennies. They are printed in Suffolk on beautiful paper that makes writing a joy and supplied with a Kraft envelope.
Click below, put a few cards in your shopping basket, check out and get ready to spend a few minutes with pen in hand, writing to your friends and family.
4) Simple Cooking
I love this book by Leon that was gifted to me some year’s ago by my Sister in Law. It’s the perfect assortment of tasty, relatively simple one pots that work for the frantic pace of this time of year.
I took this away with me to the Peak’s and made a great dumpling-topped casserole for the end of a hiking day.
Click here to buy the book from Blackwells
5) Simple Joys
Aside from the WiFi, there was much merriment found from the simplest of activities in the holiday home. All smalls found time to draw, creating their own inventions and pictures. There was even a little adult sketching - everyone has that tentative “I’m not sure what to draw’ moment but then it’s like the old adage of riding a bike and the fun takes over.
We played a game most evenings - in a few weeks I’ll share some of our favs, in case it’s helpful for the stocking filling.
Keep up with our adventures on the Ratty Golightly Instagram page here.
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Thank you for reading, see you next time.
