What a strange few weeks it has been. Little Miss has been spending a lot of time at home after being quite poorly with some other virus or bug that she picked up at school. I won’t lie, it’s been demanding, and really it’s only this week with a return to something like normal, that I realise how stressed I have been.

For me, stress looks like being over tired, snappy and standing at the cupboard binge eating unhealthy snacks. It’s not been pretty, and so now I hope for some health in the household as we go into Spring, and I’ve started looking at my own habits and trying to recognise that self-care isn’t a luxury. If I fall ill, then how do I look after others? With that in mind, I’ve adjusted my diet to reduce the snacking, as well as trying to instill a daily Yoga practice in my life.

I do love Yoga, but it can be quite difficult to get out to a class regularly, so I’m doing one of Adrienne’s 30 day journey’s on YouTube and, hoping, that by the end of it I will have created a new habit.

It was nice to get down to the office this week on Thursday. I was able to meet the chap for lunch, and we decided to go to a place on my Meerkat Meals app, that neither of us had been to before, Manhatta.

It’s tucked away down one of York’s many lovely little streets, quite close to the Mulberry shop, and given we were a bit early for our table, it would have been rude not to drag a nervous looking chap in there for a look. I’ve been after a Mulberry leather bracelet for a while, but at £185 on the website, I wasn’t about to fork out. The ones on eBay tend to be overpriced and well used, so imagine my joy when I found this one in the shop reduced to something I could afford.

I didn’t hesitate to snap it up, and the chap put a second one aside for me, that he’s going back for later in the week so that I have a couple of colours to choose from. Finding that one item that’s been on my wishlist for a while gave me such joy.

When we got to Manhatta, I realised I needn’t have booked a table, it was empty. The decor was lovely, and I imagine that it has a nice vibe when it’s full, but it was a bit flat for lunch to be honest. Nonetheless, we ordered our food, Steak for the chap and a juicy burger for me.

I can’t fault the food, it was absolutely delicious. Would I be in a hurry to go back? Not really at lunchtime with so little atmosphere, but maybe of an evening when there’s more going on. Even so, the company was fantastic, and given that me and the chap haven’t had a great deal of time to catch up in recent weeks with so much disruption to the standard routine, it was just really nice to spend some time together.

Being in the office meant I also go to have a coffee and a catch up with my good friend H, who had also brought me a bag full of goodies in the form of books for little miss, and a skirt and dress for me, the dress I love so much I couldn’t wait to wear on Friday for the school run/working from home/walking the dog. It’s always lovely getting to spend time with H, having a good old rattle and a catch up about life in general.

Saturday, the weather didn’t look too bad, so after a morning session of yoga and finishing my latest book (a parenting book which has been really interesting), I decided to take Mum down to York for a spot of shopping, tea and cake. Parking was a nightmare, and after half an hour cruising around the inner ring road, I finally found a space. Then we settled in to Bennetts, by the minster for tea and a toastie while waiting for the rain to pass.

My assertion that the weather didn’t look too bad was totally misplaced, and it rained for much of the afternoon but it didn’t stop us having a lovely afternoon shopping. It did stop me taking many photos though.

Yesterday, of course, was Mother’s Day in the UK. I was spoiled as Little Miss had bought me a giant box of Milk Tray, a lovely snow globe and had made me a little pot with a seed in for gifts. She’d also made me a delightful card at school, and I spent my day feeling truly blessed.

We made red velvet cupcakes together, played Lego and watched cartoons on TV, before heading out with my Mum to a pub in a nearby village that I’d only become aware of a few weeks back when I read about it.

The Piebald Inn at Hunmanby is a lovely village pub, with 52 different varieties of pie on the menu. Yes, I am the person who gets excited by 52 different varieties of pie.

I had a gorgeous Game and Pork pie, the Yorkshire Coach Horse, while Mum had a delicious chicken one. Little Miss had sausage and chips because, as she pointed out, she doesn’t really like pie. Genuinely, it was one of the tastiest pies I’ve ever had, and definitely one of the biggest. I can’t wait to go back and sample other delights on the menu.

The rest of the evening was spent trying to fight off sleep after that massive meal, grateful for a lovely few days and hopeful for more to come.