Spicing things up...

This weekend was pretty damn awesome. There were adventures a plenty and I took LOTS of pictures to share with you all. Controversially, I'm going to go in reverse order and start with Saturday.

Saturday started bright (well maybe not so bright - which explains the slightly gloomy looking pics!) but certainly early as we all piled in the car and headed up the Northumberland coast for this year's inaugural North East Chilli Fest - laid on by my very favourite Newcastle deli Mmm. Hurrah!

The event was held at Seaton Delaval Hall (located near the attractively named Seaton Sluice - yum!) which made for a very picturesque setting, looming out of the sea mist. The courtyard was filled with the nation's best purveyors of all things chilli and other things of general loveliness. So much to sample - even more bought! Round the back of the hall, there were gourmet food stalls (I opted for Indian Street Food mmm) and beautiful gardens to stroll around. Here are some of our highlights: 

These wild mushrooms looked amazing.

Cupcakes from the always delectable Pet Lamb Patisserie. The green ones on the left were white chocolate and wasabi - delicious!

All of the statues at the Hall have a severely murderous vibe. Not sure what to make of that...

My absolute favourite stall wasn't actually foodie, though it was filled with fantastic Mexican crafts by Viva la Frida. I now officially a devotee of theirs. I treated myself to this gorgeous Papel Picado necklace. 

Yes, yes there was. And it was delicious.

Chilli corn muffins made for a tasty pre-lunch treat. I'll definitely have to seek out a recipe for these (anyone got a good one?)

Another (audio) highlight were the two guys on guitars playing tunes on the theme of 'spice'. My particular favourite was 'Spice Up Your Life' by Spice Girls - geddit? You've never really heard that song till you've heard it bellowed by two guys wearing ponchos.

To end our trip we headed down to the not-so-very-sunny Whitley Bay coastline. The sea is there... somewhere.

(These last two pics were taken by my friend Alison)

It may not have been fit for sunbathing, but I got to try out my new wellies! Positives where you can find them and all that...

All in all, a wonderful day - here's hoping the Chilli Festival becomes a permanent fixture in the North East foodie calendar.