Our Weekend in Pictures...

Hong Kong Mouse is back in town and as a result the whole of last week was jam packed with way too much London fun and frolics! There were no sofa nights in watching Orange is the new Black sipping tea that's for sure! Friday rolled on in and we were T-I-R-E-D and in need of some serious R&R - what better way of revitalising and re-booting our mousey selves than a weekend away in the country.

We hopped onto airbnb to search for the perfect weekend hideaway and fell hook line and sinker for an 18th Century 3-bed barn in the Picturesque village of Montacute, Somerset. Newly renovated by the owner, the barn looked perfect for three girly girls and Hong Kong mouses' boyfriend, Jasper. Done & done and before we knew it we had contacted the owner and booked after country bumpkin weekend away!

As always we had planned our breakfast, lunch and dinner menus down to a tee, emptying the entire contents of M&S into our weekend shoppers! We had enough food to feed the UK's population ... You know us and food! Friday arrived and we bombed it down to Somerset in our hire wagon, eagerly anticipating the fun and sun to come! Silly boozy roadtrip pictures obviously obligatory...

We arrived around 10pm after a traffic-fuelled journey - weary but hugely excitable, we were met by the friendly owner and shown around our swish pad. Beautiful and everything we could possibly want or need! 

Next? Eat of course! We whipped up chilli crab linguini followed by lemon meringue pie - yum yum. Full, happy and sleepy we all headed to bed to make sure we were fresh and raring to go the next day. 

Birds tweeting and light streaming through the blinds we were woken up naturally feeling rested, ready to dig into a tasty brekkie and explore the house and grounds in daylight - yippee! 

First up, the house - stark white pristine walls, the comfiest squishiest sofa that ever lived, antiquey accents, a fancy new kitchen and a grandfather clock to boot!

Interior grand tour complete, next we ventured outside to roam the 1.5 acres of surrounding ground. The only disappointment to note was that the outdoor swimming pool advertised on airbnb was actually closed - sob - so no poolside Pimms for us. What you gonna do - onwards and upwards...

That level of exploration called for a stiff drink and some serious sunbathing! Luckily there were four super comfy loungers all lined up ready for us to fall back onto...

After a strenuous morning of fashion magazine reading, champagne sipping and chit chat galore we decided it was high time we topped our rumbling tummies up with a rip-roarer of a lunch...

We were kept company by our new doggy pal, Wiggles AKA the owner's pet...

In the afternoon we turned our hand to something a little more civilised and cultural so off we scampered through the winding streets of Montacute...

...in search of Montacute House, a late Elizabethan house designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The three-storey mansion was built in 1598 by Sir Edward Phelips (the prosecutor during the trial of the Gunpowder Plotters). The house was occupied until the early 20th Century and was then acquired by the National Trust in 1927. Stunningly beautiful grounds and fascinating history unravelled as we walked from room to room inside the House itself.

Puffed out, thirsty and hungry for our next feed off we went in search of our home away from home. Champagne with bobbing strawberries and a spot of cards was how we spent the next few hours...

...followed by more food and many bottles of wine!

And this is how the evening and weekend ended - a success in every sense!