Sometimes it’s good to indulge.

To give yourself over to pleasure, allow yourself to partake without guilt and to feel nothing but joy at doing so.

That sums up my Saturday in Sheffield.

Yes, I know that probably sounds a little odd, because if you try to think of a place symbolising pure pleasure, Sheffield probably isn’t the first one that springs to mind.

But you’re clearly just not as au fait with what Sheffield has to offer as you should be. Because my Saturday meet-up there with Jen of Little Birdie blog was about as full of pleasure as any day I could wish for.

Jen and I hadn’t met in person before. And neither of us know Sheffield that well. But it’s appeal lay in the fact that it lies about halfway between me in Nottingham and Jen in Leeds, and that it boasts a developing antiques quarter, crammed with enticing places to shop and eat.

First of all there was the matter of breakfast. Jen was keen to try Marmadukes Cafe Deli, which turned out to be spectacularly nice, both in terms of decor and food…

I know my granola looks healthy. But that really was honestly what I fancied most in the world – and it was absolutely delicious.

Suitably fortified, we headed for Abbeydale Road, home to the Sheffield Antiques Quarter’s attractions, aided by the helpful maps app on my phone.

I love a good rummage in a vintage shop or two, so being spoilt for choice I was in my absolute element.

Particularly when we got to Honeysuckle at Home. I even had the honour of having owner Jude go and rummage up some extra items out of her car, just for me!

Here’s some of what I brought home with me…

To be honest, I could happily have spent all day in there.

But I think I was pushing it as it was, as I realised that Jen had done her browsing and was patiently waiting for me to be ready to move on.

So we did.  To my second-favourite place of the day – florist Swallows and Damsons.

I know that flowers are a difficult thing to mess up in terms of making your shop look nice, but really, Swallows and Damsons is floristry styled to die for…

The smell was divine too!

So divine was it that Jen left with a pot and an armful of eucalyptus, despite the impracticality of lugging pots and plants around, whilst I succumbed to a couple of those trendiest of plants, succulents…

They sit just perfectly in the pair of vintage eggcups I got at Honeysuckle At Home.

I could, I suppose, list all the other things we bought, and ate (Forge Bakehouse, where we had lunch, richly deserves a mention, despite it’s predilection for calling quiches “pies”) and all of the places we went to, and the conversations we had, but that might leave you a bit bored.

It’s one thing to experience pure pleasure, but it’s quite another to hear, at length, about someone else’s.

Suffice to say that you can read about Jen’s favourite bits of the day over on Little Birdie.

And that I’m hoping to be heading back to Sheffield soon.

And if you should fancy a sybaritic Saturday of your own, you know what to do…

You really should sally forth to Sheffield. ♥