What Sarah Kate Says

Afternoon Tea is a bit of a British institution and one I am always happy to partake in. I was recently very kindly treated to a wonderful afternoon tea for my birthday at a gorgeous old mansion hotel & spa located not far from where I live in the beautiful county of West Yorkshire . The inside of the hotel reception just looked amazing and for the tea we were escorted to a wonderful drawing room, with open fires and cosy seating. We were positioned right next to a huge window overlooking the majestic golf course, so could enjoy nature as we glutted our way through delicate finger sandwiches, scones as big as our fists and other pretty sweet treats. The service was friendly and attentive (without being invasive) and I would highly recommend this as an Afternoon Tea venue. My friend and I just had the loveliest time nattering away whilst stuffing our faces - a great way to spend your birthday...or any random afternoon to be honest! Oulton Hall itself...

I'm sure we all have those spots in our house that we avoid cleaning or sorting right?  I can't be the only one! Well the purpose of doing this spring project series is to force me to just do it and stop procrastinating (I am an A* procrastinator btw). Tupperware: The first area I tackled was the dreaded tupperware cupboard. For weeks my partner has been moaning at the fact we have more lids than we do containers and how long it takes him to pair them up correctly. So after we purchased a couple of new containers from Home Sense I felt it was time to finally sort it all out. All the extra lids were put in the recycling and any containers we rarely use, or were just really stained, were also trashed. Taking on board my partners number one peeve I now pair the container and lid in the cupboard - it takes up more room so we keep fewer/better tubs, but it is so worth it for no moaning! Pet Junk: If you're like us and have a dog you may have noticed they seem to...

Finally winter has past and signs of spring are literally sprouting everywhere. When the seasons shift like this I find it motivating for finally getting some stuff done around the house and garden. Usually things that I've either been putting off for a while or tend to only like to do once or twice a year. Having taken a short hiatus from blogging I feel like now is the best time of year to get my mojo back and start sharing with you once again. Today I am sharing with you my sort out of under our kitchen sink. The before: As I'm sure it is in most households the cupboard space beneath our kitchen sink has somehow become a dumping ground for all things cleaning and laundry related. It's a normal sized cupboard but is made awkward by the pipes from the sink above. It's become harder to find things when we need them and every time I open the doors my heart sinks at the mess of it all! So having been motivated to spring (ha ha) into action...

It is the time of year when I start to realise how soon Christmas will be upon us and how many of those "little" jobs I didn't get round to yet. So there's now more motivation to get them done when I think of the busy festive season ahead and having family come to stay. We started this weekend with a quick trip to the local tip.  Finally we are rid of that damaged lamp, old iron and broken Christmas Tree!  We are lucky enough to have a cellar which hides a multitude of sins, so it felt good to get even just a little of that space back (although you cannot tell really!). I enjoy seeing other peoples posts about getting stuff done, sorted and tidied, so I'm going to be sharing just a few of the little pre-Christmas jobs I like to get done.  Hope they motivate you to tackle yours. First up ... drum roll ... is the dreaded pantry cupboard.  No matter how we organise it this happens after a week or two: (Before) It's always quick to sort ou...

For several years now I have been watching excited American women unbox and gush sheer joy over an item called the Erin Condren Life Planner. Put off by the prices and high shipping costs I sought, and found, a very viable alternative in my Plum Paper Planner.  I enjoyed this product so much I re-purchased and will do a future post on my latest Plum Planner . However I recently learnt that EC do more than just Life Planners and when I'd watched a few unboxing videos on the monthly planner product range, I am ever so slightly ashamed to admit I finally succumbed. How did I justify the expense this time? I'd been given birthday & Christmas money early - so can't waste it sitting in the bank! I wanted something to specifically plan my blog in separate to my general life planner I'm a complete sucker for pretty stationery! Thing is though - it doesn't stop with the personalising of said planner.  No, before you know it you're adding ext...

Today I thought I'd share with you my current morning routine when I'm at work. I really enjoy seeing how other people organise themselves and over time have developed my own slightly OCD-like routine. It has become so embedded that if I deviate too much it really can throw me off and that can resonate throughout my entire day. I find that having a similar daily routine in the morning means I am less likely to forget things (case in point, when travelling by train to a job interview, whilst at University, it was so out the norm and I got so distracted it took me two hours to realise I'd forgotten to put a bra on!). True story! So that is why a morning routine is so important to me. It gives me peace of mind and reduces the risk of me flashing in public. It's worth noting that a successful morning routine really begins the night before. See  here  for my post about my evening routine. THE ROUTINE: Starts at 6am: Get up, drink a glass of water, b...

I recently stayed in the lovely city of Norwich for a couple of nights, so I thought I'd share with you details of where we stayed - The Rosebery. We found this place because my boyfriend used to live very nearby, so the area is like a second home to him.  The Rosebery is first and foremost a friendly local pub. It specialises in selling locally sourced ales and it sports a relaxed, welcoming vibe that is family friendly. The pub menu looked fabulous, but we did not eat there this visit. Instead we walked the 10 minutes into the city centre for a few drinks and a curry. The B&B section has its own entrance separate to the pub, which is nice, and houses about 4 rooms. The room we had was large, spacious and nicely decorated. The en suite was clean and modern.  Even though we were above a pub we were not disturbed in the slightest and slept really well.  We also really enjoyed the continental breakfast with its cute li...