Bath Archives - She and Hem

#sheandhembristolkids / Bath Soft Cheese Farm

Posted on 28 February, 2020 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

One of our go-to places is Bath Soft Cheese Farm Cafe and, honestly , you will find us there at least once a week! It’s a wonderful cafe, with delicious food on offer, but which happens to have the added bonus of being a total dream for small children! There are various seating areas on offer but the one directly above the cafe itself is very much geared up for kids. There are lots of toys to play with and a viewing area so you can watch the cheese being made. Poppy adores playing cafe there!
If it’s full, or if you want somewhere quieter, there’s also the option to walk just behind the main cafe to a separate seating area in the old dairy, which also has some toys, and a view of the cows! If that wasn’t enough, they’ve just opened up a new extension area that looks very nice indeed!
It’s great on a wet day as a place to take cover (with the option of puddle splashing after) but in the warmer weather there is a great outside seating area with a playground (and chickens 🐓 ) plus you are next to some lovely walks! It really does tick all the toddler boxes.
They also have a little shop selling local produce and a milk machine, which we have now started to use. For £1 a litre you can get their wonderful fresh milk dispensed in to your glass bottle

Mama Club at Number Three

Posted on 28 April, 2018 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Mama Club at Number Three

It would be an understatement to say that since Poppy and Ada came along, a lot has changed. The girls are 15 & 16 months old now (I know, what) and, until a few weeks ago, in that time I (Jo) could count on one finger the amount of haircuts I had managed to have. It’s really not easy to find any baby-free time during the week and at the weekends we would much rather be hanging out with the family than disappearing to have our tresses trimmed. It’s tricky.

We were therefore intrigued when an invitation from Number Three hairdressers in Bath appeared in our inbox to come and try out their Mama Club. The idea, they said, was to bring the girls along to the appointment. We’d been a few times to Number Three in the past and loved it but couldn’t imagine how our boisterous toddlers were going to be compatible with their stylish, relaxing salon. The concern only deepened when we rocked up at 11am with two girls who had skipped their morning nap and were ripe for a whinge.

We needn’t have worried. Number Three have really thought this one through and have a whole private floor dedicated to the Mamas. There’s no pressure, no rush, and no need to worry about disturbing anyone as you are neatly tucked away on the top floor. We parked up our prams in the space provided and ascended the stairs!

Mama Club at Number Three

The top floor is split between two gorgeous rooms with the first containing a kitchen area complete with bottle making and sterlising facilities, as well as what every parent needs, coffee on tap. We were then led through to the private salon area, which is perfectly geared up for Mums and their tots. Poppy and Ada were very happy indeed as it had toys, space to run around and biscuits. Lots of biscuits. And we were happy as it had lots of lovely comfy chairs for feeding, coffee and biscuits. Lots of biscuits.

Once the girls were nicely occupied, we robed up and sat in our chairs. For once, it wasn’t awful staring into the hairdresser’s mirror as instead of looking at our sleepy faces, we could instead keep an eye on our two trouble makers. Despite their lack of sleep, they were pretty angelic and it was really, really cute to watch them play. On the occasions they did need us, we were free to go to them without feeling awkward and both girls spent time sitting on our laps during the cut without our stylists batting so much as an eyelid.

Mama Club at Number Three

It was actually all rather fun and at the end we both had lovely new dos! I just had mine tidied up but Victoria went for a proper chop and looked thoroughly gorgeous as a result. We skipped off for lunch (after saying hello to a very small baby arriving with his Mama for their appointment), agreeing that Number Three have really nailed it. Local Mums have got a real treat in store and we hope word spreads as to how great a service this is.

If you’re local to Bath and fancy checking out Number Three’s Mama Club it’s on every Wednesday and everything you need to know is right here.

Thanks for inviting us along, Number Three!

J&Vx

Thanks for the support | Bravissimo

Posted on 4 August, 2017 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Thanks for the support | Bravissimo | Bath

Bra shopping has always been a bit of a nightmare for us, and to be honest it’s even harder now that we both have little ones in tow. Babies and changing rooms just do not mix! Neither of us have ever enjoyed getting measured for bras in the past, so much so that we recently confessed to each other that we had both been guessing our bra sizes throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding – not our breast idea!

We were therefore slightly apprehensive when the lovely Bravissimo got in touch to invite us to their new Bath store. Was it a booby trap? We had visions of them laughing at our ill fitting nursing bras whilst we crammed ourselves into the changing rooms with a pair of screaming babies. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Holy macaroni, this is bra shopping! This store has been so thoughtfully designed, and was a bit of a revelation to us. We had no idea underwear shopping could be such a positive, welcoming experience. First, we were ushered to two huge changing rooms, which were even large enough for babies to crawl around in. Then, we were introduced to our lovely fitters. They listened to our needs, which were (of course) mostly breastfeeding related, before measuring us (yep, totally wrong sizes) and bringing us some styles to try on. AbracadaBRA!

Thanks for the support | Bravissimo | Bath

There were some seriously glorious looking bras in store that we knew were going to be off limits to us, but we were still pleasantly surprised by the nursing offerings. Bravissimo’s nursing range is all about comfort and practicality, without skimping on style. Just because these boobs have a job to do, it doesn’t mean that us mums shouldn’t feel special.

Did you know that Bravissimo also sell clothes for the rest of your body? Because we didn’t! Good thing they set us straight, as Jo is now obsessed with the stunning wide leg jumpsuit* seen above, and I’m not surprised because it looks gorgeous. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of their colourful bikinis for next year’s holiday. Since our visit we’ve found that due to the right size underwear (thanks again girls!) our shapes have both improved, which has done so much for our post-partum confidence. If you needed any more convincing to give Bravissimo a visit, check out their changing room doors. Each has a quote from customers based on their super experiences shopping at the store. And last but not least, they also have a reward system. Free bras! Cup a load of that.

Thanks to all at Bravissimo for inviting us both along to check out the new store and for being beyond lovely to the babies. As you can see above, the wonderful Emily even managed to get Jo’s daughter Poppy to have a little nap whilst we were browsing. I know a lot of mums who’d pay extra for this service!

Thanks for the support | Bravissimo | Bath

So BRAvo, Bravissimo. Reader, are you a Bravissimo girl?

V&J

Food & Fashion Challenge at SouthGate Bath

Posted on 14 April, 2017 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Food & Fashion Challenge at SouthGate Bath

We love any excuse to visit our very attractive next door neighbour, Bath. A quick hop on the train at Temple Meads and a few minutes later you are in the the World Heritage Site of dreams. As you exit Bath Spa station you are immediately thrust into its newest quater, SouthGate… and not a Gareth in sight (niche joke there). It might be relatively new but thanks to the way it has been built, it blends seamlessly into its Georgian surroundings. We just love the quirky sense of fun that’s usually evident when you walk around. Last year they hung colourful umbrellas high in the air (we’ve embedded our Instagram photo of this at the bottom of the post but please note they aren’t there anymore!) and followed that up with some equally fab bicycles. We aren’t sure if they’ve got anything similar planned for this year but even while we were there a phonebox was being painted a fetching shade of yellow.

And great news! A bunch of tasty new restaurants have recently opened at the centre, including Comptoir Libanais, Thaikhun and the incredibly named Absurd Bird! To celebrate this, we were set a food and fashion challenge by the team at SouthGate which was literally the greatest challenge ever as it basically involved us buying clothes and eating food with a £150 budget. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

We were first asked to choose one of their fashion retailers to buy an outfit from. We plumped for Topshop because we both really wanted new jeans and theirs are the best in our opinion! We had a great time scouring their sale rails and each managed to buy a top and jeans without blowing our £100 clothing budget. We were both a little nervous about how we would manage trying on clothes with the babies (in buggies) with us but we needn’t have worried as the lovely assistant in Topshop sectioned off a whole area of the changing room for us. For the record, Topshop had no idea we were coming or what we were doing whilst we were there so this was in no way special treatment. It was so refreshing to see a major brand go out of their way to help two flustered mums. Hooray! We then changed into our snazzy new get up and headed for the next part of the challenge, dinner!

Food & Fashion Challenge at SouthGate Bath

We spent a bit of time researching our food options before spotting the outrageously colourful Comptoir Libanais on Instagram. It was right up our street! Whoever designed the interiors for this Lebanese chain is our kind of human. Its like dining in a kaleidoscope. We were also big fans of the menu and opted to share a few of their hot & cold mezze dishes as well as a pretty epic salmon salad. We are also now obsessed with their frozen lemonade. If it’s green it must be healthy, right? Either way, it was so flippin’ tasty.

Like the troopers we are, we managed to squeeze in dessert and another tasty drink (this time it was the iced fresh rose mint tea – yum!). Victoria plumped for the baklawa which was very tasty indeed and I (Jo) went for the pomegranate and orange blossom yoghurt which was a nice light option after getting messy with the mezze.

Food & Fashion Challenge at SouthGate Bath

Technically we failed our challenge as we actually went £2 over our £150 spend but that was mostly because we couldn’t resist pudding! We were so impressed with Comptoir Libanais and can’t wait to go back and try more of the dishes.

If you like our looks then here you can find Victoria’s Jamie Jeans* and my Jonie Jeans*. The cactus print shirt and spotty affair were both sale finds so we recommend heading into store if you want to track them down.

J&V

A post shared by Blogging duo | Jo & Victoria (@sheandhem) on May 29, 2016 at 1:56pm PDT

*SouthGate Bath very kindly provided our food and shopping vouchers to review but all opinions are our own.

Harington’s Hotel Spa Day, Bath

Posted on 26 February, 2016 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Harrington's Hotel Spa Day, Bath | She and Hem | #lbloggers

It is pretty much impossible to have a bad time in Bath. The architecture is stunning and the range of eateries are out of this world. We consider ourselves to be ever so lucky that it is just a mere 12 minutes from Bristol on the train!

As you can imagine, we were extremely excited last month when an invite popped into our inbox from Harington’s Hotel asking if we’d like to go along to a relaxing spa day in the fair city. A spa day you say? Who could refuse? We spent the next week or so looking forward to bubbling jacuzzi’s, sweltering steam rooms and lounging for hours in the sauna. The reality was a little different, as despite their outdoor hot tub being particularly lovely, it was an exceptionally chilly day! Bravo to the girls who jumped straight in though!

Whilst they bubbled away we did what we do best and sampled as much food and drink as humanly possible. Winner! And we were very well catered for indeed with trays of delicious canapes, an incredible hot chocolate bar and boxes a plenty of the very-posh-indeed Charlotte Brunswick handmade chocolates! Crikey!

After a tour of some of the unique rooms in the hotel, we sat down for a cheeky espresso martini before heading off to view a couple of the hotel’s separate apartments, located just a couple of minutes walk from the main hotel. Their location is absolutely perfect, right in the very centre of the city and their interiors are just smashing. Almost as smashing as the delicious afternoon tea which rounded off a lovely day with some of our favourite local bloggers. Cakes, scones and sandwiches…oh my!

It’s fair to say we were quite full by the time we left but as we sat on the train home we discovered some fudge courtesy of Sarah’s Heavenly Fudge – along with a small porcelain bath tub of course – in our goody bag. You’ll be relieved to hear that we found some extra room.

Harrington's Hotel Spa Day, Bath | She and Hem | #lbloggers

Thank you to all at Harington’s Hotel for the tour and the delicious afternoon tea. Thank you also to the lovely team at Lush for our wonderful hand massages, we can’t wait to head to Lush Bath Spa for some more pampering!

V&J

Girls with curls and Sugarhill Boutique

Posted on 31 May, 2015 by She and Hem — 10 Comments ↓

Girls with curls and Sugarhill Boutique

Last Wednesday we both managed to have the day off work so took the opportunity to pack in a full day of blogging fun in beautiful Bath! Naturally it wouldn’t be a proper blogger day out without taking some outfit photos so after having our hair perfectly cut and curled by the delightful ladies at Frontline Style (our full review will be up on Total Bath shortly so keep your eyes peeled locals) we frolicked around near some of our favourite Bath buildings in some super lovely Sugarhill Boutique pieces.

We both adore the fun and feminine style of Sugarhill boutique so it was an absolute joy to be able to choose and style a few of their Summer pieces! We are both usually drawn to their quirkier prints (dogs, lollies, massive toucans – that sort of brilliant shenanigans) but thought this might be a nice opportunity to try something a little different.

Girls with curls and Sugarhill Boutique

Victoria chose the gorgeous blue Stripe Organza Midi Skirt* which looked breathtakingly good as she swished her way around Bath! It’s so elegant and flattering and looked perfect when teamed with the white Emma Shell Top* which features a very pretty broderie detail. She finished her look with her white Forever Comfort sandals from Next* and an extra pop of colour in the form of her staple Boden Westminster handbag*.

I went for the vintage inspired Aurora dress* which features the most beautiful pastel floral print. The colours look stunning and the fit and flare cut make it such a comfortable dress to wear. I was, as always, thrilled to discover the dress has pockets which I will no doubt be stashing all manner of things into at a Summer wedding near you! I teamed the dress with sheer dotty tights from Pamela Mann at MyTights*, a mustard belt from Primark, cream brogues from Faith at Debenhams (old) and, seeing as great blogging duo minds think alike, an extra pop of colour in the form of my staple Boden Milan clutch*!

Girls with curls and Sugarhill Boutique

Oh to have a personal hairdresser!

J&V x

1 Hot Bath Street, Bath Boutique Stays

Posted on 16 April, 2015 by She and Hem — 2 Comments ↓

1 Hot Bath Street | Bath Boutique Stays | Bath UK

As you may know, we love spending time in Bath…..not just to keep ourselves clean you understand, but also to eat, be entertained and get pampered! Although it’s only a short train ride back home to Bristol, we just couldn’t refuse when we were offered the chance to stay in the tub a little longer and have a snazzy sleepover at the incredible 1 Hot Bath Street. There wasn’t a rubber duck in sight!

1 Hot Bath Street is one of the insanely gorgeous properties owned by Bath Boutique Stays. There is certainly nothing wishy-washy about this accommodation, it’s a Georgian dream! It sleeps up to twelve people in four bedrooms over three floors, but you may not be surprised to hear that we just couldn’t bear to leave each others sides and ended up bunking in together! After all, it wouldn’t be a real sleepover if we were on different floors, would it? It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the idea of being alone in a massive townhouse, no sirree. We needn’t have worried though as we slept soundly and felt very secure indeed! We were also pleasantly surprised not to be disrupted by any late might revelers, which was impressive as the property is right in the centre of Bath. Top marks!

1 Hot Bath Street | Bath Boutique Stays | Bath UK

We had so much fun exploring all the rooms and admiring all of the detail that has gone in to creating such a fab space. We would have gladly taken a lot of the furniture home with us! They really have done an excellent job of creating a modern contemporary space whilst being faithful to this beautiful 200 year old townhouse and we really appreciated the local touches they have incorporated too. Our bedroom (which we chose because we liked its lamp so much) overlooked one of our favourite Bath hotspots, Thermae Bath Spa. Sadly we didn’t have time to pop along this time, but what an excellent excuse to stay again! I (Victoria) will be dropping lots of subtle hints to my exceptionally beautiful, intelligent and generous bridesmaids over the next few weeks as I’ve recently discovered the Roman Goddess Gold Hen Spa Package and HELLO, it sounds incredible. Vintage tea party! Cocktail making! Makeovers! Spa! It sounds like my perfect hen do. Hint hint.

1 Hot Bath Street | Bath Boutique Stays | Bath UK

I think possibly our favourite room in the house was the kitchen, which has a beautiful breakfast bar area and everything you could wish for having a big celebration with family or friends, including cake stands, picnic baskets and even champers. They really have thought of everything. Naturally we had to have some champagne whilst we were there, as you really shouldn’t have Bath without bubbles!

She and Hem

Gaga for Superga

Posted on 9 April, 2015 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Superga | Bath | She and Hem

Whilst in Bath recently for Bath in Fashion, we stumbled across a new store that has recently opened, Superga. The store instantly caught our attention as it is filled with shoes of every colour imaginable. A great feet indeed! We popped in and got a little carried away trying on the Italian beauties. The store was so buzzing that we felt slightly embarrassed that we’d never heard of the brand before. Luckily, the staff didn’t give us the boot!

After trying on several (hundred) pairs and discounting any cobblers, we chose our favourites. Jo picked the Superga 2750 Jutau in Grey*, and Victoria went for the Superga 2750 Cotu Classic in Sunflower*. We are total converts, especially after finding out fellow blonde duo Mary-Kate and Ashley were made creative directors for Superga US in 2011 and our girl crush Suki Waterhouse was their brand ambassador last year. Err, how do we apply for that job? If you are ever in London, Guildford or Bath, hightop it over to one of the seven UK stores and let us know which colour you choose!

Superga | Bath | She and Hem

Got to run, see you loafer!

V&J

Don’t drop your phone in the Bath….

Posted on 19 December, 2014 by She and Hem — 11 Comments ↓

She and Hem | Huawei | Bath Day Out

What happens when you challenge two bloggers to have a swell day out on a £100 budget? They have a day full of macaroons, mulled wine and markets of course!

We recently accepted a challenge set by Huawei, who are celebrating the launch of the Ascend Y550 smartphone, to show what we consider to be an excellent day out in the UK. We both quickly agreed that a day trip to Bath would be just the ticket! Bath is one of our favourite places in the South West, especially at Christmas time when the city comes alive thanks to the sights and smells of the Bath Christmas Markets. Bath is truly buzzing, but this isn’t just due to the markets, oh no, there is so much more to see…

She and Hem | Huawei | Bath Day Out

We started the day the only way we know how, coffee and cake (and smashed avocado on toast, obvs). Having only previously been to the recently opened Colonna and Hunter for a cheeky 1/3, we decided to pay them an early morning visit as we had heard wonderful things about their food. We planned our day over a couple of flat whites and, as you can see, with all that caffeine our ‘To Do’ list got a little bit ambitious! Although, apart from the cat cuddling, I think we managed to tick everything off! We apologise to all of the cats of Bath that didn’t get cuddles that day…our bad. We then went for a little stroll around the Royal Crescent to pick out our future estates and then, after at least 12 minutes of exercise, we were swiftly back into the other Colonna, Colonna and Small’s, for more caffeine. It’s a hard life.

She and Hem | Huawei | Bath Day Out

One of the highlights of our bonza Bath day was the wonderful Bath Artisan Market, where we finally had chance to meet Amy Laws (there’s only one, after all), a lovely and super talented lady whose dresses we often feature on She and Hem! They are so blooming good! Unfortunately it was the last market of the year but, never fear, they start again in February and we would totally recommend that you pop along if you are ever browsing in Bath. We’ll be dreaming of those mincepie macaroons from Marilyn’s for a very long time to come (thankfully we bought quite a few to keep us going!) and Oscar the cat by Ben Rothery is now at the very top of our Christmas lists (see, we did cuddle a cat after all!). It was then time for a delicious roast and a mulled cider at the Bath Brew House before heading off in search of more festive frivolity!

She and Hem | Huawei | Bath Day Out

We rounded off our day with a look around the lovely Bath Christmas Market, which had quietened down after a busy day of trading. Bath is such a picturesque city anyway but exploring the 170(ish, apparently) wooden chalets selling everything from local cheeses to wooden ties is a charming experience and, with a mulled wine in hand, a lovely way to spend a crisp December evening. We left laiden with goodies from Speckled Wood, My Bear Hands and some yummy blackcurrant rum liqueur from Friary Liqueurs. A merry Christmas indeed!

She and Hem | Huawei | Bath Day Out

Do you think you could have a better time than we did for £100? I know it’s QUITE the ask but the very kind people at Huawei are feeling the Christmas spirit (or perhaps have just been drinking them) as they would like to offer one of you the chance to win your own super stylish Ascend Y550 4G smartphone and £100 if you share your itinerary in the comments below! Good luck everyone!

J&Vx

Jo wears a hat from Fox and Feather, scarf by Karen Mabon sent as part of Not Another Bill*, mustard jumper from Sugarhill Boutique, pink Eliza coat from Boden*, shoes from Debenhams, milk carton bag from Skinny Dip at ASOS and tights from ASOS. Victoria wears an Ingrid coat from Boden*, tights from UKtights*, silver glittery brogues from New Look at ASOS, a dress from Primark and a French Connection* bag.

She and Home: No.3 Hairdressing, Bath.

Posted on 14 July, 2014 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

A couple of weeks ago, after enjoying a post we had written about Fashion Bloodhound, the talented bunch at No.3 Hairdressing in Bath got in touch and offered to tame our manes in their beautiful Georgian hairdressers. We have to admit, we are usually both quite daunted by the whole hairdressing experience. Small talk is not our forte! Thankfully, our worries vanished upon our warm welcome from the girls (and guy – hi Stefano!) and we were soon bonding over Cara Delevingne’s eyebrows, Game of Thrones inspired hair do’s and Taking Back Sunday’s upcoming Bristol gig!

She and Hem | No.3 Hairdressing

After chatting to the girls over a cuppa about styles we like and what would look jazzy with our outfits for the Company Blog Awards later that evening, we both decided on our do’s. A big thank you to Lucia and Jess for understanding instantly what we wanted and for not trying to persuade us otherwise, which is something that we’ve both dealt with before when visiting the hairdressers. Lucia created an incredible fish tail plait for Jo in under 10 minutes. Nothing fishy about that! Meanwhile, Jess whipped my hair into an all over plait so sturdy that it still looked awesome a week later! Jess explained that this was very much due to the magical power of Bumble and bumble’s Prêt-à-powder.

She and Hem | No.3 Hairdressing

The interior of No.3 is right up our street with a boutique yet friendly feel, so it was really easy to relax, be pampered and get giddy about the night ahead. We just wish this was a normal day in the life of She and Hem! The fun did not stop there though gang, as we also had our nails made somewhat more excellent by Tina. What a fab job she did too! We chose Topless and Barefoot (cor blimey!) and Bond with Whomever (I say!) by Essie. The nail varnish colours were a lot more subtle than their saucy names, but just as alluring. For our little pamper session Jo wore a floral jumpsuit (similar) from Topshop and an Olivia Burton watch and Victoria wore Modcloth’s Air of Adorable dress.

She and Hem | No.3 Hairdressing

Thank you so much to No.3 for making us feel so chilled. We will definitely be back soon!

V&J