Natalie Riot in the...Country!?

So I started this blog to try and make the most of living in the city, to push me to explore and make the most of all that it has to offer....

So the last few weekends has seen Natalie Riot in the Country....see what i did there?!

Weekend 1: Rye

My first weekend away took me to Rye in Sussex for one of my best friend's hen do weekend. I have never been to Rye before, and with it being only a short distance from London, it made the perfect setting for a weekend with the girls. I loved walking along the cobbled streets and having a good old nose in all the antique and charity shops.  One of my favorite shops was Jane Wick's Kichenalia which housed some of the most beautiful vintage kitchen wares..I literally just wanted to take everything home with me! I also really loved the penny arcade which housed the weird and the wonderful! (see Sidney above).

We stayed right in the middle of Rye on the quaintly named Mermaid Street. As we stepped into Tower House on the Friday evening I couldn't believe that I was going to be calling this home for the weekend! Complete with piano, cinema room and fabulous bathrooms it made the perfect backdrop to our murder mystery evening and the many games of murder in the dark. I think Tower House is probably the most luxurious place I have ever stayed in - I'm mean, there was underfloor heating - and I absolutely fell in love with it!

One of my real highlights of the weekend was our garter making workshop at Sew Not Strawberry Jam. With tea and cake on our arrival, the workshop was set in the picturesque Kent countryside and made for a fantastic Sunday afternoon activity. Sam was a fantastic teacher and really reignited my enjoyment of sewing and textiles - so much so I'm currently looking for similar workshops here in London (blog post for the future!).

We all had such a great weekend it was a complete wrench to leave Tower House and Rye. Next time we are all together will be the wedding - EXCITING!!!!!!!

Weekend 2: Cotswolds Wedding

The following weekend saw myself and Lyndon head to the Cotswolds for one of Lyndon's colleague's wedding. The weekend didn't get off to the best start with me missing the train by 50 seconds, but luckily we managed to catch a lift with some fellow wedding guests!

The wedding was held in the stunning Cripps Stone Barn and I spent most of the day in awe of how beautiful everything was (including the bride herself)! The day was truly wonderful; the food was insanely good (we ate canapes, the most AMAZING lamb I have ever tasted in my life and creme brulee - er DREAMY!!) and all the personal touches (table props, books and salvanian families) were just perfect. We then danced into the night with copious amounts of presecco and Beyonce, leaving with a cute jam jar full of beautiful flowers (which managed to survive the journey home!).

Now I'm just wondering where I can go next?! Have you been away anywhere nice recently?