Day at St Andrews

st andrews the home of golf

We had plans with friends last week to meet up but for the second time we have had to reschedule last minute.  I wasn't going to let a weekend with Mr B at home go to waste though!

I like a few local vintage fairs & crafty people on Facebook so I knew the Carnaby Vintage Market was coming up this weekend in St Andrews.  Perfect!  Mr B is a big fan of golf but me not so much, but I do like quaint towns with boutique shops so I have been to St Andrews before.

As we found a space to park the car down a side street I immediately noted lots of independent businesses with very unique selling points all open & thriving.  It was lovely to see the shops busy & not see for sale or closing down signs in every second window.

We wandered briefly round some gift shops & Mr B had a look at some overly priced golfing gear but we were really there for the market & possibly a spot of lunch :)  (this is my usual tactic to get Mr B to come the offer of cakes or lunch)

We nearly walked past it!

Vintage Market

In quite a small room there was lots of stalls all set up with vintage & homemade wares on sale.  There was even a pop tearoom with cake that looked delicious, but of course I'm back on track so we just looked at the homemade cakes on offer.

Actually when we first went in we were invited to try some homemade jams & preserves from Days Gone Bye.  Well we were blown away, the beetroot chutney was sweet but also sharp & will go great with a nice oatcake & cheese, so we had to get the oatcakes too.

Then we tried we thought we were done but chatting some more meant trying some more so we ended up with the most intensely flavoured raspberry jam I have ever had & a sweet chilli jam also will be fab with salads or on meats at BBQ time.  Nicer people you couldn't meet - if you like local small produced preserves these are your people! 

Days Gone Bye - go on like the Facebook page thejamwitch - with a fab username!

I bumped into the lady I bought my purple diary cover at Dundee Vintage fair & she had more lovely pieces like bags & passport holders & coasters.

Well Mr B had just that morning given me a row for putting cans on my lovely desk with no mat underneath - so it was just what I needed! And here it is in situ 

Again if you fancy anything home made in Harris Tweed visit her website Cridhe Ghabhsainn to look at her lovely pieces.

Then next stall caught Mr B's eye.  After all our social occasions we like to send Thank you cards just to show our appreciation to the host & so we had just been talking about them too!

I think those things are bit spooky thinking bout something then it appearing but Mr B is much more logical & passes it off as just a coincidence.

Anyhoo we picked up some handmade cards - 6 Thank You cards with foil lined envelopes in a wee storage box - how nice would it be to receive these?

And we got chatting to Pauline the lady behind the cards.  She is Pollycraft on pinterest & if you are at all into paper craft or scrapbooking you should follow this lady!  She also has a blog where she can showcase what she's been up to - again I would recommend a read for crafting people.

She showed us her photo albums, well, these are a work of art! They are have a theme, the one we looked at was haunted house.  It had beautiful charms, frames, loads of pull out sections, pieces to lift up, pieces to open - it truly was interactive & that was before a single photo has been added!  Once you add your photos you end up with a truly stunning album that you could literally spend hours looking through & sharing.  We are on the look out for something special for Mr B's mum's 60th birthday & something like this would def fit the bill & she does commissions so …… watch this space!

Honestly nicer people you could not meet at this market!  Mr B is def the socialite out of the two of us & another wonderful person Susan Karim invited him over to try her homemade pickle.

This is no pickle like you would get in the shops, it had loads of rustic veg & eastern spices in a fig vinegar.  The vinegar had a slight sweetness after you had the spices it was delicious.

So we promptly bought two jars of Big Mamas's Pickle one for us & one for the in laws because this is the kind of thing Mr B senior would LOVE!  She also had a lovely selection of jewellery & tea cups & will be showing at different fairs with more family recipes like baclava & falafels mmmmm so hopefully we will bump into her again if not we will be placing an order for our own batch of pickle!

Final stop for us in this little hall which by the amount I've written here makes it sound massive, was Dear Rose with Love.  I had followed this talented lady on Facebook since the last fair in Dundee & beautiful hand made jewellery just keeps popping up on my timeline.  GO visit her shop to see her latest pieces.

I browsed her table with so much to choose from I was unsure what to get, but decided on earrings & a necklace which will both be put aside for birthday gifts this year - I won't tell you who in case some one spys them!

Excuse the blurry photo but want to keep some of detail for recipient 

I have also have business cards which I seem to be collecting so I have a host of handmade or different gifts that I can look for when in need of a thoughtful minding.  Don't know how best to share these but I will have a think.

After spending all Mr B's money he still insisted we go for lunch!  We went to a very cool trendy looking place called the Vic.  I loved the quirkiness of it all, Mr B said it made him feel old!  I think as I took so many pics during the lunch I should possibly dedicate a whole post to it lol  So to be continued on that one guys!

We had such a lovely day & although we spent a bit of money it would have been equally nice to meet these people & gather just ideas.

Going to small run local events really stretches me out my comfort zone as I struggle meeting new people.  But I chatted to everyone & guess what? Nothing bad happened!  Social anxiety 0 - Clare 1

Do you like markets & fairs?

Do you ever get that feeling when you talk about something then it happens or appears?

Any small businesses you would recommend?

ps I am in no way paid or compensated this post is truly an account of a lovely day out meeting talented people who I think deserve a shout out!