…it has been a lovely day. The weather was fantastic – cold but wonderfully sunny with a perfect blue sky.

J and I went shopping this morning in our nearest big town which is something we do very rarely, I’m not a shopper and don’t enjoy fighting my way through busy shops full of people but….J needed trousers and I needed to get some yarn and a pattern for a swap I’m in so….

We left home a little before 9 and arrived at about 9.30 so the shops hadn’t been open long and it wasn’t too busy. J got his trousers in Debenhams and we headed to John Lewis for me to buy the yarn and pattern.

As I very rarely get into an actual shop selling yarn (as opposed to virtual online ones) it was quite exciting to see all the colours together…I had a leaf through some pattern booklets and couldn’t resist buying two Debbie Bliss books-

on the left is the “Pure Cashmere” book and on the right Debbie Bliss Book Seven which has patterns for Soho and Cashmerino Aran. When I was sorting my stash the other week I discovered 4 hanks of pure cashmere in bright red, a bag of cashmerino aran also in bright red and some balls of soho (again in red) … not sure how I managed to buy so much bright red Debbie Bliss but there are some lovely patterns for hand warmers and scarves in the Pure Cashmere book and a pair of bright red cashmere hand warmers sound yummy!

Also in this picture is Rowan 41 which arrived in the post yesterday….I spent last night flicking through thinking “that’s gorgeous, I can see me wearing that” to practically every pattern!

After John Lewis, J and I strolled around the Oracle shopping centre in Reading and I did some serious luxury purchasing. It’s so long since I’ve treated myself to some real goodies so I went to town.

First stop, Hotel Chocolat this place firstc came to my notice about 8 or 9 years ago when they were just a mail order business and ran something called the “Chocolate Tasting Club”. The idea was you subscribed for a number of months for a fee and each  month in the post you received a box of a dozen chocolates, two each of 6 different chocolates I think. These were serious hand-made chocolates and you had a feedback card to fill in which then went back to the chocolatiers so they could try out new recipes and see what the reaction was.

The business grew and a few years ago changed it’s name to Hotel Chocolat but they still sell <i>serious</i> chocolates. Just before Christmas they opened up a shop in Reading and today was the first time I’ve been in there  – talk about a kid in a sweet store!

I bought three little packets of truffles (well, if you bought three together you got them cheaper) and a packet of the most amazing hot chocolate pictured above.

It comes as litle “marbles” of solid chocolate which you drop into a cup and then pour boiling milk over them and stir till they melt. The packet I bought is called Aztec Chilli and is as near as we can guess how the Mayans and Aztecs would have drunk chocolate - very bitter and flavoured with chilli and vanilla. I added a spoon of honey as well.

It’s definitely a differnt taste to Cadbury’s drinking chocolate – J didn’t like it (shame!) but I love dark, bitter chocolate and think it’s wonderful. I’m drinking it as I write this post – you get a real kick in the back of your throat from the chilli and the chocolate is as bitter as it gets. Yummy!

Right next door to Hotel Chocolat is another of my favourites – Whittards of Chelsea, tea paradise! I bought some things in here that are for presents and swaps so no pics I’m afraid. Also bought a jar of instant green tea with echinacea to take to work. I can never remember to take in milk so it’s easier for me to take instant tea or fruit tea, at the moment I’m drinking Rooibos (much to the amusement of my South African colleague!) 

After satisfying my insides it was time for some luxury for my outsides so next was a visit to Body Shop and then Crabtree & Evelyn. J always makes a pilgrimage to C&E at Christmas to buy me lots of goodies and a year or so ago he bought me a gift box containg goats milk products. I now use their Goatmilk Comforting Body Lotion all the time – it is wonderful. Goes on like silk and really does make you feel comforted!

This Christmas he dutifully bought me a gift box of Goatmilk products but it didn’t include the Body Lotion so I bought myself a big bottle today and then some Vitamin E moisturiser and Ginger shampoo in Body Shop.

This photo sums up my idea of heaven – a bath followed by covering myself in body lotion, a box of chocolates and my knitting!

Our final stop was at Waterstones. I cannot resist a bookshop and, despite having at least 100 books in my “to be read” pile, I still buy more. My excuse this time was I needed to buy Secret River which is the next book that my book group are reading …

…and when I picked it up it was one of their 3 for 2 books so it would seem silly not to take advantage of the offer. I immediately saw the Mitch Albom book “for one more Day”. I loved Tuesdays with Morrie (let’s face it, who didn’t?) and so had to buy this. Then I spotted “A Winter Book” by Tove Jansson.

As a child her Moomin stories were my favourite books but I’ve never read anything else by her. For those who don’t know her, she was a Finnish/Swedish writer born 1914 who died recently in 2001. Her parents were a Finnish sculptor and a Swedish cartoonist. Tove is most famous for the Moomin books which she wrote and illustrated – if you have never heard of them go get one and read it, they are wonderful.

This little book “A Winter Book” is a collection of short stories and essays written throughout her life.

And okay, I bought 4 books – it’s been ages since I read a good crime/detective/murder mystery so I bought Minette Walter’s latest “The Devil’s Feather”

I’ll just add them to the pile…..

We finished our shopping by midday and drove back home, I had to be round at my friend’s house by 1 to drive to High Wycombe to see a matinee performance of Swan Lake on Ice by The Imperial Ice Stars.

 We were taking her daughter (my God-daughter) who is 6 and also my friend’s sister was coming with her two girls 5 and 8.

The show was amazing – we were just transfixed all the way through. An ice-dance show in a theatre, can you imagine???!! They had laid ice on the stage (somehow…) and they were doing all these amazing ice dance moves, which they usually do on a huge ice-rink, on a tiny stage.

My G-D thought the best part was when the prince dances with Odile (the Swan Queen) for the first time. She was on a wire so kept spinning up into the air whilst they were dancing. One minute they’d be spinning on the ice, then he would lift her up, then lift her above his head .. then she’d keep going up into the air. My G-D now wants to go flying on a wire….in the woods….

II couldn’t promise to get her to fly (even if I am her Fairy Godmother – very long story) but I got her a t-shirt, and then bought one for myself. Ok, it’s a child’s t-shirt but who cares I think it’s cute….I got a pink one (of course) for my G-D and a white one for me. I’ll get a picture of hers sometime but here’s mine

So, knitting progress today very little although I did sit and turn the heel on my Bayerische sock whilst watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (gotta love Johnny Depp) this evening, followed by Notting Hill.

Off to bed now. I have swap packages to pack tomorrow – very exciting. Magic Yarn Ball swap and Winter Scarf Knit Kit swap to sort and pack ready to send to my swap partners.

I also hope to finish the first Bayerische sock, pick some yarn for my Vintage Sock KAL for Feb/March - Plain Winter Sock – do some more on my UFOs and, if the weather holds, get out for a walk to keep up my marathon training.

Busy weekends….I love them