Valentines in Harrogate

Happy Sunday! Hope you've had a good weekend? I can't believe how quickly mine has gone. So not ready for it to be Monday again in the morning. We've spent most of the weekend decorating so finally the bathroom is finished for now. We still need to add the finishing touches of skirting board and architrave but we've done all the hard work for now. Hoorah.

Anyway I thought I would share some snaps from last weekend, as managed to spend a rare Saturday with The Boyfriend. His break in the rugby season happened to coincide with Valentines Day, otherwise I'd have had a hot date with my paint roller. We decided to drive over to Harrogate which is only about 40 minutes from where we live, and hadn't yet been there together.

We started our little day date with coffee and cake (and a cheese and ham toastie for The Boy) in a cute little coffee shop. Apart from my own (I'm not shy of saying I make a mean brownie) it was the best brownie I've ever bought. Topped with pistachio nuts and perfectly gooey in the middle; a definite winner. The coffee was rather lovely too.

Next I suggested we "pop into" Jo Malone for "a browse". A nice surprise was that being Valentines Day we were greeted with a glass of champagne which I think definitely helped loosen up The Boy's purse strings, as he treated me to a bottle of some gorgeous smelling perfume. It was a close call between Wood Sage & Sea Salt and Vanilla & Anise, but the Vanilla just tipped it. Again as a Valentines treat they included two cute little sample bottles of Red Roses and Dark Amber & Ginger Lily. I like the Ginger one but really not a fan of anything Rose scented which is a shame
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Next we mooched around the shops, which I thought were quite similar to the shops in York, before heading back out of town for our lunch. My friend at work had recommended The Pine Marten which was a 5 minute drive from the centre, and I'm so glad we listened to her suggestion. It had a lovely, countryside feel with a huge roaring fire and wood paneled dining room. It was a little bit quiet for my liking, but I guessed most people would have been headed there for Valentines night rather than at lunchtime.

To start we shared a platter of different types of pork which was delicious (apart from the unnecessary addition of watermelon, yuk!) then I opted for the roast lamb while he devoured a huge steak. I was secretly jealous of his chips which looked divine. The food was perfect and just what we wanted. I'd definitely go back, especially as the outside space looked like a gorgeous place to spend a summer evening.

We spent the rest of the day back in York watching the Six Nations at the pub, then cosied up with a DVD. All in all it was a perfect day and so nice to be able to spend some time together outside in civilization, not imprisoned by having to work on the house.

How did you spend your Valentines Day? Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet @btwncandc