Good company, good food, good for us...

Today has been so lovely! Whilst Summer is a great time of year when the weather does what it should and everyone enjoys themselves, Autumn is definitely a step better because you can be proper snuggly in nice, warm clothes AND enjoy crisp wintery sunshine. Even better when shared with friends and a dog over a nice cup of tea.
Fizz and I lived together for 3 out of 4 of our college years together. She now lives in London with boyfriend Nick and their dog Clover. They haven't been to Herts to see us for a day out before, so we took them to Ashridge Estate for a walk and a piece of cake at the Brownlow Cafe.

My day started early; I was determined to prove Fizz wrong and cook her and Nick a slap-up meal, putting to rest all the times I might have otherwise cocked up dinners when we were living together. I had pork chops already in the fridge defrosting and loads of yummy eating apples given to me by Alex last night from her new garden... A combination that can't be ignored! I decided we'd have these with green beans fresh from the garden and mash. The thing is, I couldn't have Fizz over to dinner without attempting to recreate one of her specialties - Butternut squash, parmesan and sage tart:

This delicious tart recipe can be found here, and boy is it special!! I managed to get three out of the mixture. Butternut squashes really are the best vegetable ever because they go such a looooooooong way, in soups or pies or as part of a roast. If you've never used one, you really should!

Ashridge Estate was busy with people and dogs and children, but that's fine! It's rare to find places where the dogs are almost made to feel more welcome than their owners! 

Ashridge Monument - you can walk up it, if you have the stair-stamina!!

Clover showing off her repertoire of tricks!

We walked into the woods and past 'The Three Bears House' (which Fizz commented looked more like a 'Rapey-Murder-Scary House', which it does.)

Me and my man :) xx

Clover loved it, and by the time we sat down to a cup of tea and slice of cake, she was knackered.

 I would have taken pictures of the cakes we had, but we ate them far too quickly. The coffee and walnut there is divine, but I chose the more unusual sour cream, apple and cinnamon today, which was ridiculously moist!

Clover attracted a lot of attention; apparently Welsh Terriers are very rare breeds, and there aren't many breeders around the country.

All in all, for what I would consider to be the first weekend of the season, I had a great day. The house is warm now from all the cooking I've been doing... it smells of cider and apples (from dinner), pastry and candles being blown out... and now we're going to get an early night, watch some crap on tv, and rest up for yet another busy week at work.
It's days like today that make me realise how wonderful life is when you strip it back to the basics, and just enjoy what and who is around you. I'm definitely one very lucky lady :)

Fizz and I, still being muppets 3 years after moving on from RNCM. Love it. x

Hope you've all had as relaxing a weekend as we have!
BB xx