My Afternoon Tea experience at Bellinter House

Bellinter House is an 18th century manor nestled in the countryside of Co Meath. Being only a stone throw away from where I grew up I'm surprised that I had not visited before and was delighted to have recently received a voucher for Afternoon Tea for two which gave me the perfect excuse to go check it out.

Not knowing what to expect I called the morning of my visit too see if I needed to book and was told I could just walk in which is nice if you're in a spur of the moment kinda mood! There was lots of parking outside and we fell in love with the romantic setting straight away. The outside of the house was surrounded by rose bushes and the staircase leading up the the reception was full of character and very inviting.

We went through reception, passed the library and drawing room which took us to the bar. The entire building was decorated with a mixture of old and new furniture. Very quirky, colourful and simply amazing. Friendly staff and a cosy atmosphere made Bellinter house a real home away from home experience for us. As the weather was good (believe it or not!) we decided to sit outside and I'm so glad we did as we had a lovely view of the back of the house and the surrounding countryside.

John had never been to afternoon tea before so it was exciting to see his reaction when the three tier cake stand of absolute goodness arrived. We had a selection of sandwiches made up of chicken and cheese, salmon and salad and plain salad. We moved swiftly onto the lemon scones. Can I just stop and say HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD! If you know me you will know that I am obsessed with lemon cake. These scones made my weekend folks, simply delicious! Yummy butter, cream and jam accompanied them also. I think John felt like it was a bit of a race or else he wanted everything for himself because before we knew it we had made it to heaven...I mean the top tier! Chocolate biscuit cake, mini strawberry meringues and a chocolate mouse filled cake with raspberry on top.  I got a cappuccino sprinkled with chocolate and John had a pot of tea.

Overall we really enjoyed our visit to Bellinter House and will be back again. Afternoon Tea for two costs just €25 which is a really great price for the service, atmosphere and of course yummy food.

Check out their website and see just how wonderful this place is. The drawing room has a vintage pool table which is great for the guys. Stable rooms perfect for a girlie getaway and bath house for luxury treatments. 

Love,

Sarah

Vintage Make-up and Handbags galore with Bernie's Bags this Christmas

Have you ever walk into a shop and thought WOW!, my friend would love this? Or OH MY GOD!, my mam would really love this piece. Well that happened to me recently when I went to the home of Bernies Bags. Bernies bags is a vintage shop owned by a lady in Co Meath. She sells vintage items through her Facebook page and also attends vintage and craft fairs regularly in the area. She also does repairs and hires out a number of her really special pieces.

She has some absolute gorgeous pieces and an unreal amount of vintage make-up I thought you might all be interested in. The fact that I got to see and hold theses pieces was a real delight for me. Just think about who owned them previously and the sights they might have seen.

 Irish Made sandalwood Leather Beverly Bag from the 1970's

Bernie has a small number of Beverly bags in her collection. Beverly was very populary in the 60's and 70's around the world for making handmade leather bags right here in Ireland. Fans at the time included Grace Kelly and Jackie O. If you are lucky enough you might be able to grab yourself one from Bernies Bags, the company went out of business in the 90's which is a real shame. The quality of their work is very hard to come by today.

I love this quirky clutch bag she also had in her collection when I went to visit, I've never seen an opening like that before. And the beading is gorgeous. Her pieces are in really great condition and deserve to be loved again!

Bernie's bags also has a wonderful collection of vintage make-up which includes compacts and lipsticks with the original make-up still contained. She also has vintage manicure sets which might appeal to collectors and any ladies who are interested in nails.

I really would recommend checking out Bernie's Bags out, you are sure to find a real gem for yourself or a friend this Christmas.

Check out her Facebook page for photos and you can contact her through her page also. She is currently show casing her pieces at the Christmas Craft fair in The Central Pub in Navan, Co Meath on Trimgate street. You can also contact her by email at handbagsforhire@hotmail.com.

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Are you a fan of vintage? 

Love,

Sarah