This Sunday we told ourselves we would spend the day decluttering and organising, in particular finding a home for all the Christmas presents I have already been buying in my efforts to get ahead, which are currently piled against my wardrobe door and getting in my way. We had a bit of a lie in, and by the time we were up, showered and ready to start, we looked out the window at the sunshine and decided not to waste such a lovely day.
We decided to head out to a place I had read about on Mimi's blog, The Secret Garden Cafe in Writtle Road Nursery, Chelmsford. It took half an hour or so to get past the traffic and out on the motorway, but once we had done that it was a lovely half an hour's drive. The trees were all the gorgeous shades of Autumn, the grass in the fields was a very deep green and the sun shone on, despite the wreaths of mist across the fields.
The nursery itself was arranged in a higgledy piggledy fashion, with pathways and pots of plants and statues all around, and pumpkins everywhere. We didn't linger long outside in the chilly air, I hope to explore more when the weather is warmer. There were two chickens that had taken up residence on a plant pot, there was even an egg in there! We enjoyed half an hour browsing in the shop, there were lots of Christmas decorations and country style items, I bought some beads and other bits and pieces for a project I have in mind. The tearoom was an absolute treasure, everything cooked from scratch and a pot of tea that held about three cups each, and covered with a delightful knitted tea cosy. That's what I call a proper pot of tea. The Prof had lasagne with garlic bread and salad, and I chose vegetable soup which came in a hollowed out loaf of bread. For dessert we both had apple and raspberry crumble with custard, which was delicious. A perfect Sunday afternoon.
