Fun Things To Do On Halloween

Hi lovelies,

Ok, let's be honest here. I'm not a fan of anything remotely scary. I hate being terrified.. I can't think of anything worse! I know some people love it & I applaud you for it. I wish I had the guts to visit haunted houses & watch scary movies but I get no enjoyment out of it, just a slight heart-attack & feel sick. But, the reason I wanted to write this post, is to prove that you don't have to be into scary things to enjoy Halloween. I absolutely love decorating the house with cute sparkly pumpkins & baking cute spider cookies, so I've put together a few ideas to inspire you to do the same.

Pumpkin Picking
This is something I have wanted to do for years & finally, this year I got to go to a pumpkin patch! I took my mum & we visited Tulleys Farm. They have a PYO section on the farm, where they grow over 75000 pumpkins each year! There was so much choice, from big traditional pumpkins, to small bobbly ones! Mum & I picked a selection, as I find the little ones are perfect for decorating around the house, including our window sills, ledges & bookcases! Tulley's are open until this Wednesday, so there's still time to go along if you're local.

Baking

There are so many mouth-watering Halloween treats that you can bake from the comfort of your own home. You just have to walk into a supermarket & you are transported to confectionery heaven. I've lost count of the amount of magazines I've picked up over the past month & how many page corners I've turned to save the recipes! I made the most delicious Salted Caramel Tart this week & oh my goodness, it was incredible if I do say so myself! I decorated it using white icing to give it a Halloween theme, but I'm definitely saving the recipe for other occasions as it went down so successfully. If you simple type 'Halloween Food' into Pinterest, the most amazing selection comes up & the recipes are incredibly easy to follow. I loved the idea of these little strawberry ghosts, so easy & quick to do.

Movie Night
This doesn't have to involve scary films as such.. any Autumnal / Winter themed movie will do! The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favs, alongside Halloween Town (who remembers this from the Disney channel?!) But even films like Chalet Girl that make you feel all warm & fuzzy are definite crowd pleasers. I would highly recommend one of these over the Final Destinations! You can make up for the lack of scariness with some Halloween snacks & decorations after all!

Walk
Now you can make this as scary as you like! There's nothing I love more than wrapping up in my fluffiest coat, putting on my hat, scarf & gloves & going for a walk at this time of year. I much prefer to go in the daytime.. however if you did feel daring, you could venture out at night for an extra scary experience! (Just make sure you go with friends / family & take your phone!)

Games Night
There are so many fun games I've found online for this time of year! The girls & I are heading to visit our friend Nicola this week & I've printed off Halloween themed quizzes & prepared some games! So far we have 'pin the nose of the witch', 'Mummy wrap' & 'dangling donuts'. All you need for the Mummy wrap, is to be divided into teams & see who can wrap the person of choice in as much toilet roll as possible in a short space of time! & the dangling donuts game I thought would be hilarious to play; you just need to put some donuts on a piece of string & hang them from a door frame or something similar & blindfold the person before they try to eat the hanging donut! Think of a pinata but with donuts & you can only use use your mouth! You can tell we're taking alot of alcohol with us.. haha!



I would love to know what you've got planned for Halloween.

Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a wicked time : )

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Life Lately #146

Hey lovelies!

So I'm back after my 'break'. I hate calling it that, but to be honest, that's exactly what it was & what I needed. I learnt from when we moved last year that it was almost impossible to keep up with blogging while moving house & working a full time job. I don't know how some people do it! Anyway, we are now all settled & have just got our internet activated again, so I'm officially back!

Giving myself time off was excatly what I needed. I know last year I went through a phase with my blog where I just didn't enjoy writing it anymore. I was pushing myself to get posts out that I just wasn't that happy with but I refuse to do that now. Hopeully I'll have a lot more of the content I want on here & not just posting words because I need too.

Anyway! Enough of me waffling on! I wanted to share a few updates of what I've got up to over the past few weeks.

Firstly, little Alice celebrated her 1st birthday! I met up with Gem at Costa to give her her presents & cards & she loved them! I can't believe a year has gone by of her life.. only seems like yesterday Gem was pregnant.

I also went with Mils to see a show our friend Sheryl was directing. It was all about the pangolin, an endangered animal being hunted for fun. It was truly eye-opening & the cast where all from our local college & they were fantastic!

& then it was Easter! I unfortunately had to work alot of the extended weekend, but managed to have some time with my family around my shifts. James & I went to visit his mum & partner Barrie on Easter Friday & we saw the Greatest Showman Singalong on Saturday evening! It was so much fun, the whole theatre came alive. (COME ALIVVVVVE, COME ALIIIIIVE) Easter Sunday was spent with Allan & Maria & finally Easter Monday we headed to my mums for an Easter egg hunt. We were so spoilt, we're still making our way through our Easter eggs!

& finally, we moved house! The weekend before last, we moved from one side of our home town, to the other! Even though the flat & our new house are only 10 minutes apart, it felt like we were moving miles! The past week & a half has been spent organising our new home, with a trip to Ikea thrown in along the way. I'm going to write a full post on our move, so I won't harp on about it too much now, but we are so happy & can't wait to get started in our garden. (yes, I can finally say we have a garden now!) Our garden furniture arrived last Tuesday & I'm currently sitting writing this in the sunshine. It's seriously the best feeling.

I just wanted to say a masssive thankyou to everyone that helped us move & to those that have helped us out everyday since. We couldn't have done it without you!

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Life Lately #142

Hi lovelies,

My birthday seems like so long ago, but also like it was yesterday. I managed to pack so much into my 5 days off, it felt like I was constantly on the go!

I started my celebrations off with an evening meal at my Grandparents' last Friday. We had a catchup over a roast dinner.

On Saturday, James & I went to brunch with Allan & Maria at our local pub. They have only recently started doing breakfasts & after James & I tested it out a few weeks ago, we brought Allan & Maria to try it out. I had a full English last time we went, but tried the pancakes this time & they were so delicious. Definitely will be going back again!

Our friend Tom came down to stay for the weekend on Saturday evening & we spent the evening playing games & eating pizza!

Sunday morning I'd organised a brunch with my girlies at Sunmers Pond. I won't go into too much detail as the service wasn't great, but the food was lovely. We had a walk around the pond before coming back to the cafe for cake & tea. I was thoroughly spoilt by the girlies & although we won't be going back there in a hurry, it was a lovely morning.

In the afternoon, we went to see The Greatest Showman. It was absolutely fantastic, I can't reccomend it enough. We've had the soundtrack on repeat since we saw it!

On Monday, James, Tom & I went to Brighton for the day. Tom had only visited Brighton once before, so it was nice to show him Churchill Square & The Lanes. It was pouring all day, so even though we didn't get to venture onto the pier, we briefly saw the sea from afar! I treated myself to the most beautiful coat from Pull & Bear, which I'm sure will be appearing on my Instagram in the next few weeks, as I've literally not taken it off since buying it!

& Tuesday was my actual birthday & I spent the day at my favourite place, West Wittering Beach. I wrote a full blog post about this place just over a year ago & why it's so special to me. It really was a no-brainer when Mum asked what I wanted to do on my birthday! It was extremely cold, but not too windy & it just started spitting with rain when we were driving home. We met so many adorable dogs & had birthday cake & tea when we got home.

& finally I wanted to mention one of my lovely birthday presents that I've become obsessed with, The Bullet Journal. I'm going to do a full post on this once I've properly finished organizing mine, but if your not sure what this journal is all about, just have a search on Pinterest & you'll find loads of examples!

& finally finally! I wanted to say a massive thankyou to everyone that wished me Happy Birthday. I had such an amazing week, filled with cake, presents & the best company! Roll on 28!

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Life Lately #140

Hello lovelies,

Sometimes with these life update posts, it takes me ages to fill them, but this month has been so manic, with events & social gatherings, it was pretty easy to get this one together so soon after my previous one!

Last Friday morning, I visited my friend Lorna at her new place. It was so lovely to have a catch up with her over a cup of tea & a shortbread. I absolutely loved her new place & it's the perfect area for exploring which I know she loves to do. We exchanged Christmas presents, I opened mine early as she explained I'd enjoy it more on the lead up to Christmas. How adorable is it!? James & I have placed it right by the door as you enter our flat so it's the first thing you see : )

I also caught up with Shez on the Friday afternoon. (Friday was so manic as I literally went straight to work after the socials!) We had a tea & swapped pressies. I actually wanted to desperately write this post to tell you what she got me, as she was seriously paranoid I wouldn't like it, but I love it. It's a massive pug canvas, which matches perfectly with our pug cushions at home. I need to find the perfect place for him to live, but at the moment he's residing under the Christmas tree!

As I said, after meeting the girlies, I headed to work for Christmas Jumper Day! I blogged a few weeks back showing you my favourite red jumpers from the high street this year & I purchased the Dachshund one from Tesco! I absolutely love it so much, definitely wearing it for Christmas day!

On Saturday, the girls & I travelled to Wakehurst Place for the Glow-Wild Lantern Walk. We booked our tickets way back in September, as it sold out almost immediately last year. The walk itself was quite muddy, but absolutely beautiful. It took you through the grounds of the house & actually into the house at the end, with lots of little photo opportunities on the way. They had some hot chocolate, waffles & marshmallow stands at the end, which smelt incredible. Definitely recommend going if your local. 

James & I had a day off together last Sunday, so we spent the day wrapping & watched Love Actually in the evening. It's my favourite Christmas film & I couldn't wait to watch it this year, I actually might try & watch it again in the next few days if I have time..

So, I started organising our work Christmas meal back in September & on Wednesday it all came together. This year we decided to go to Bills in our local town, for a 3 course meal. It was so delicious, I couldn't fault it! I'm so lucky to work with such amazing people, I couldn't do the job I do without them.

& finally I spent yesterday with mum, wrapping the last few pressies & trying on Christmas jumpers with the dogs. Just look at Honey! She is going to look extremely festive on Christmas day!

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas & Happy New Year if you celebrate it! : )

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Our Adventure To Wales

Hello lovelies!

James & I took a trip to visit our friend Tom at the end of May. We'd been planning on visiting Wales for the longest time, so seeing as he lives in Tenby, it was the perfect excuse to go!

From our home town, it was due to take us a total of 5 hours without traffic & pit stops for food, so we set off at 2pm as James had to work in the morning & arrived at 9pm. The traffic was actually quite bad around Heathrow, but we managed to get through to the Severn Bridge without too much trouble.

For our first night, we stayed in a B'n'B in Tenby called Little Red Rooster Rest. It was quite an unusual place, filled with lots of little touches, including this towel swan that we found on our bed when we arrived!

We woke up early the next morning to meet Tom & check out of our room. We'd only booked one night here, for the second & third night we were staying in an apartment I found through Air B'n'B, which was in Saundersfoot. It was absolutely pouring that morning, so we decided to head to Carmarthen town centre to do a bit of shopping. We saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie before heading back to Tenby to eat at The Blue Ball.

They just have the cutest shops in Tenby high-street. I spotted this one called Bali Hai which was selling ice creams & milkshakes. If we weren't so stuffed from dinner, we definitely would have gone in!

Tom was performing in a play during the week we went to visit, so we dropped him off about 6pm at the theatre & went exploring the beach at Saundersfoot.

It was so quiet - perfect time to take some sneaky pictures of the dogs running around!

We then went & checked into our apartment in Saundersfoot. I can't stress to you how adorable this place was, the photos really don't do it justice. I absolutely love booking through Air B'n'B as it always feels so personal. The owners lived next door & came round to meet us when we arrived & made sure we settled in without being intrusive. When we entered the apartment, we also found they had left us milk & tea making facilities, despite it being self-catering, which was a lovely touch.

We woke early the next day to beautiful sunshine, perfect for our day at Folly Farm. Tom visited the zoo last year & said how lovely it was & he was right! There were lots of animals to see & talks to listen to.

As well as farm animals, they had a lot of the bigger animals you expect to see at zoos, including my favs, giraffes!

We then headed to Tenby for a proper explore, including a walk on the beach & seeing where the final episode of Sherlock was filmed! It's such a beautiful place, I swear I could live there happily for the rest of my days.

After our guided tour by Tom, we headed back to the apartment to get changed before heading to see Tom's play in the evening. It was such a wonderful show & was lovely to see all his family who were either in the show with him, or watching that night. We went for a drink afterwards & got home just after midnight!

Unfortunately the next day, we had to make the 5 hour journey back home again. It took us another 7 hours, but we eventually made it, just in time to change & head out again to Allan & Maria's pre-wedding dinner! But that's for another post..

Have you ever visited Wales? I can't wait to start planning another adventure there..

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Life Lately #128

Hello lovelies,

It feels like ages ago since we caught up! How are you all?

So if you didn't already know, James & I moved into our first flat together! I'm sure you've experienced moving house & know everything is a bit chaotic, so I haven't been able to blog properly since we've been living together! I miss it so much, so it's been lovely to finally sit down with my laptop & write this. We have finally got settled in with just a few boxes left to un-pack, but what I'm hating most of all is all the paperwork. Urgh. Can someone come & organise my life please?

Gosh Easter seems like a distant memory now.. how was it only the weekend before last?! I luckily managed to only work 2 out of the 4 days over Easter, so had Easter Sunday & Monday off. Easter Sunday was spent tidying the whole flat for James' family to come over in the afternoon, before we headed to my Grandparent's house for dinner. It was so lovely to spend time with our families, but equally heart-breaking when I had to drive back to our new flat from my previous home. Felt so weird & I think that's when it finally set in that I wasn't living at home anymore.. Since then though, I've been absolutely fine & our little flat is really starting to feel like home.

On Easter Monday, James had to work, so his family invited me to go to the Plumpton Races with them. It was so exciting as I'd never been before & I had no clue how to even place a bet. After a few goes, I got the hang of it, but sadly none of us won much money! Some didn't win anything at all.. :') We had a lovely picnic; soup, rolls, hot cross buns, salted caramel cheesecake & of course lots of tea.

Last Tuesday, Cathy, Muffin, James & I went to see the new Fast & Furious movie, which is absolutely insane! One of my favourite ones so far. Have you seen it? We also had a BBQ at Gemma & Ollie's house so I got to catch up with some of the group who didn't go to the film.

On Sunday, my tea ladies & I headed to Littlehampton to visit our friend Lorna. We try to go twice a year & luckily, it was a very over-cast day, but it didn't rain! We usually do a walk on the beach, followed by fish & chips & of course a trip to the arcade. All hail Kym; Queen Of The Keyrings! : D

Hope you've all had a wonderful April so far lovelies. Kkeep a look out for some more posts coming soon featuring some flat updates & my monthly favourites!

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Life Lately #126

Hi lovelies,

So, I've had a very exciting few weeks!

Firstly, Naomi came back from uni to celebrate her birthday with us. We drove to Brighton to play Globalls, which I'd never heard of before. It's a new indoor ultraviolet golf course in the marina. They've also added a few dinosaurs for good measure! It was so much fun (& I won yay!) then we headed back to Naomi's for lunch & a few games & our first Deliveroo! They've only just come to our home town, so it was most exciting!

Last Wednesday, I met up with Shez, Elisa & Lily & we went to Guildford for a shopping day. I managed to pick up a few bits & pieces, including some shoes, a rug & a cleaning cloth. When did I become such an boring adult.. haha! We finished up the day by popping into a nursery, filled with animals which I think we all loved more than Lily..

On Thursday, Lorna & I met up for tea & cake at Pretty Things. We love it in there so much, there's always new decorations, it's just the prettiest, pinkest shop you can imagine. We also discussed Beauty & The Beast, which I went to see on the opening day. How amazing was that film? Seriously.. I want to go & see it again!

Last Saturday was Maria's hen do. Maria is James' 'soon to be' step mum, which in reality, she has been for many years, but Allan popped the question early last year & they are officially tying the knot in less than 10 weeks! We had such a lovely evening on Saturday, (full post here if you want a read) & the boys were sweet enough to pick us up at 1am, after dancing away to Michael Buble in the local pub!

Sunday was Mother's Day as I'm sure you all know & I spent the day with Mum. We visited Nan & Grandad & had a lovely walk in the woods with Dad & the doggies. I also took mum to see The Time Of Their Lives on Monday as part of her present which we both really enjoyed.

Finally, on Monday I got to meet the newest addition to our group, baby Alice. Isn't she just the cutest thing? Gemma gave birthday to her last Tuesday (21st March) so I met her at 6 days old. I was bridesmaid for Gem nearly 2 years ago now & we've known each other since the induction day of secondary school, when I asked her for a pencil (haha!) so meeting Alice was truly over-whelming. Congrats again Gem & Ollie, I'm so proud of you both.

How has your week been lovelies? Any plans for the weekend?

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Life Lately #124

Hello lovelies,

So on Valentines Day I did my last update post & said James & I were off to Brighton. We had such a lovely day. We explored The Lanes, popped into a few shops & visited the pier. I got some beautiful new tops in Primark & even got to pick up a few bits in Lush from their Valentines range, which was extremely exciting (reviews coming soon!) I mentioned we were hoping to go to The Breakfast Club, but we actually ended up in Days, an oriental buffet. I'd never heard anything about it & looking at the exterior of the place, you would never have guessed that it was like walking into a rainforest as you go in! The food was absolutely delicious & we are already planning another trip to Brighton again soon so we can go again! I also finally revealed to James we were going to see Craig David in concert in April! I bought the tickets back in December & had been waiting for the right moment to announce it & Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect time.

Ok, so last week was actually so miserable for me. I had conjunctivitis (I'm not gonna link to what it is, looking at pictures of people's eyes makes me feel so un well!) but basically it's an eye infection. It's one of the most painful, frustrating things I've ever experienced. You feel like a bucket of sand has been tipped into your eye, it constantly runs & hurts to open. I spent my first 3 days with my eyes shut, feeling hot / cold & not eating much, but then that subsided & I was just left with very sore eyes. My doctor prescribed me some eye drops which I had to take for a week & after a few days of hating the sunshine, I'm back to being able to see again! James was the sweetest thing & luckily this all started happening on a Friday morning & he was off over the weekend to look after me. He downloaded the audio book of Harry Potter so I could listen to that as it was impossible to watch TV or YouTube. He is simply amazing.

Last Thursday, Cathy & had a date day & went to Giggling Squid for lunch, followed by watching Sing at the cinema. I've mentioned Giggling Squid many times on my blog, but it seriously is one of my favourite places to eat. (There'll be a post coming soon about my top 5 restaurants to eat at, keep your eyes peeled for that!) Also, Sing. Most people I've talked to about it have loved it, but some haven't been so keen. I have to say, I really enjoyed it & will definitely be purchasing it when it's released on DVD. I didn't think it was as funny as some Disney films I've seen recently, but that didn't seem to matter because the characters were brilliant in my opinion. I might do a full review on it as I enjoyed it so much!

Last Friday; Cathy, Lily, Elisa & I went to Guildford shopping, on the search for my dream pair of jeans! I've been dreaming about the fit, cut & style of these jeans for weeks but alas, I still didn't find the perfect pair. I did however get some comfy blue jeggings from Primark for £6, so I'm gonna try to distress them myself & see what happens! We also had brunch in The Tea Terrace which is just the most adorable café at the top of House Of Fraser.

We also met up with Char & Mils at Nandos for dinner that evening. It was so lovely to see Char as she'd come back for the weekend from uni to visit us & her family. Mils had also just completed her first week of a new job, so we had lots to catch up on.

Last Sunday, it was my Nan's birthday. She turned 88 & we had a buffet lunch at my grandparents' house. My mum bought her the most fabulous cake, covered in iced rose petals. It was sooo delicious.

I also attended my manager's surprise leaving do on Sunday afternoon. Just look at the cake Elisa made! We all know how much Mike loves popcorn.. haha! So anyway, we'd been planning an afternoon tea since May last year, as Mike had a retirement date set early on! It was such a beautiful afternoon, complete with bunting, floral crockery & of course, a lot of tea & cake. He was so shocked when he walked into the barn we'd hired to see all of us standing there waiting for him. It's actually hit me harder than I thought seeing him leave. If you didn't already know, I've worked at my current place of work since I was hired at the age of 17 by Mike. I started as a steward for the films & after a few years & deciding not to go to uni, I was looking for full time work, to which he suggested I move onto the box office & that's where I've been ever since. I remember the day he came up to me & asked if I'd like to go on box office & I was so excited & asked when my interview would be, to which he replied 'you've already got the job Cat, you just need to start training'. I also wouldn't have met James if it wasn't for Mike. We met when he became a steward & we were put on the same evening shift together. I still like to think Mike knew we'd hit it off & become the power couple we are now! I can't thank him enough for all his support & friendship over the (almost 9) years I've worked with him. He really is such a wonderful man & I will miss him so much.

His final shift was last Saturday evening & we have his official farewell do this afternoon. People that know him or have worked with him over the years are travelling to say goodbye, so I think the worst is yet to come. Yes, I cry at everything, so I dread these type of things! Plus.. who's idea was it to jump straight onto box office after the leaving do.. I'm such an idiot.

How has your week been lovelies? I can't believe we are almost in March!
Where does the time go..

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Life Lately #119

Hello lovelies,

In my last post I mentioned that panto prep was well under way. We officially opened last Friday night so we are now a week into the shows. It's absolutely manic at work, especially as Star Wars started Thursday & we also have Moana showing too (which I'm seeing today & am so excited about!) Have you seen either film yet?

My parents went to see the panto last week, so I stayed at home & watched Christmas films with Honey & Harv - they looked so cute by the tree.

Oh & just look at my friend's fur babies! When we got out all the Christmas decorations & put up our tree, we found these two little jackets of Honey's. After a good 10 minutes of trying to cram her fluffy slightly tubby body into them, we decided it would be best if they went to a new home.. : ' D

Last Sunday, it was my "tea lady" Christmas meal. We went to a curry house this year for something a bit different & it was so nice to catch up with all of them. I hardly get to see them over the course of the year as we are all so busy, so it was lovely to spend some time with them & stuff myself with curry before work! We also did a secret santa, thankyou Sarah for my present!

On Monday, Mum & I went to my Grandparents' to decorate their house for them. They are in their late 80's, so not too fussed about Christmas now, but we made the house look extra festive! Just look at Harv, stretched out on the sofa. He really does know how to make himself at home!

On Thursday I met up with my friend Ricka & we went for lunch at a local pub. It was so lovely to have a catch up before Christmas & swap pressies!

& finally yesterday was Christmas Jumper Day at work, so I wore my new addition to my jumper family this year, my grey festive Dachshund jumper! Just look at it! I'm seriously obsessed with it : )

How is your December going lovelies? Have you done all your shopping?

I'm finding it so difficult to juggle work, blogging, socialising & staying healthy at this time of year, it all gets a bit much sometimes, but Christmas Day is a week tomorrow which is so exciting! I can't wait : )

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Life Lately #113

Hello lovelies,

Let me introduce to you some of the best people you will ever meet. At the beginning of the month, myself & the ladies from work, met up with our old boss Nigel at ASK. It was such a lovely meal & we had an awesome time catching up with him.

As the Summer is coming to an end now, I've been enjoying taking in the last of the sunshine with the doggies. We've been going on some exciting walks near my house & just enjoying the outside world. I literally take my phone just in case of emergency & love being dis-connected from social media, even if it's just for half an hour at the end of the day.

When I was in ASK with my work colleagues, we discovered a menu for breakfast there. Please tell me I wasn't the only one that didn't know they did breakfasts? Cathy, Gem & I decided to try it out & went there for brunch last weekend. I had pouched eggs on toast & it was seriously delicious!

Last Monday, the girls & I went to see the new Bridget Jones film, Bridget Jones' Baby. I seriously can't rate this film enough. We literally laughed the whole way through & I would even go as far as saying it was my favourite one of the three films. I actually want to go & see it again it was so good! Have you seen it?

On Wednesday I met Shez for lunch at a local farm house. It was so lovely to have a catch up with her & put the world to rights ; D

& these past few days, my parents' have been on holiday to Exmoor, which means I've been in charge of all the animals, including the chickens. I love going to see them & just watching them. There's something about chickens that I find so calming.

& finally on Friday I had my hair re-dyed & cut. I always feel so happy after a hair cut, there's something so uplifting about it! (when they do it how you want it of course!) I had a darker balayage than I'd normally go for, as we're getting into the winter months, I thought it would be nicer than the blonde tone I tend to go for.

How has your weekend been lovelies?

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Life Lately #108

Hello lovelies,

Long time no speak! I've been away in Corfu then as soon as I returned & went to download all my photos onto my laptop, the bloody thing wouldn't turn on. I've spent the last week or so on the phone to the help line, resetting everything & getting it back to a healthy state, so I apologise for the lack of updates.

Just before I went on holiday, we had 4 ducklings hatch! They are just the cutest little things & have been regularly coming in & enjoying a bath in the house. Ducklings are so messy compared to chicks, so they need to come in to clean themselves every few days & have a splash around. Love this time of year for animals being born!

Ok, so my main update this month is our holiday to Corfu. I want to do a full post & vlog on our adventures, so I won't write much about it here except how amazing it was! We did so much in a week & had non-stop sunshine. (Bit different to our holiday to Lefkas 2 years ago when it rained for half the holiday!) Keep an eye out for that post coming soon & if you'd like to see what I took with me to Corfu, I wrote a full post about packing just before I left.

Last Sunday I held my annual Summer BBQ. I'd bought a marquee for this year as I wasn't sure how the weather would behave, but despite a few short showers in the morning, we had brilliant sunshine all afternoon & evening! Lily arrived in the cutest little dress, can you believe she is now 6 months old?! Crazy. She has just started sitting up on her own so won't be long before she's crawling around. Try & spot her in our pyramid!

I also stole a few ideas off Pinterest (anyone else obsessed with it as much as me!?) for some buffet food ideas. I made these pepper dips, which just involved cutting the bottom of the pepper & taking out the middle, before pouring the dips inside. I also made a watermelon jelly which I didn't manage to photograph unfortunately, but that turned out ok until we had to cut it into slices & it fell apart!

On Monday James & I went to see The Secret Life Of Pets & although it was good, I was a bit disappointed with the storyline, it just wasn't what I was expecting. The characters were good & it was funny, but I wouldn't rush to see it again. Have you seen it?

This week, I also got to meet this gorgeous puppy called Phantom. He belongs to a lady I work with & he came in to visit us on Monday. Isn't he cute?

Yesterday, Alex celebrated his birthday & we had a family meal at a local pub. Too much food was consumed! We also managed to get a group of 'older men' (they must have all been at least 70!) to sing to him! Was so adorable.

& finally I just wanted to include this image I took of our garden last week. Every time I look at it, it reminds me that even during the darkest times, there is light at the end of the rainbow. I've drafted a few more lifestyle posts recently that I can't wait to share with you over the next few weeks, as I'm hoping to change up my content on here to make it more 'me'. I think that's why I had gone off blogging at the beginning of June, it was just so impersonal for me to keep writing reviews of products etc, I want to make this blog about me again.

Hope you're having a lovely week so far guys : )

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Life Lately #107

Hello lovelies!

Feels like ages since I've done an update post. My head hasn't really been into blogging the last week or so, thank goodness for sensible me who decided to draft some posts a month ago! I don't know what it is, but I've been struggling to even want to sit down at my laptop & start typing. I think because I sit & look at a computer screen every day for work, I'm reluctant to want to do it in my spare time.. anyway, hopefully I'll soon get back into the swing of things.

The month has felt so busy, but when I actually look back over the past week or so, I don't seem to have taken many pictures..

My group of friends & I had a games day round Cathy's house  at the end of May & her cat Millie decided to hunt me down & rub herself all over me. I think cats have an inkling when someone has an allergy & will pounce as soon as they see you. As well as Millie infecting me for a few days, my hay fever has been driving me insane ever since. It's fine some days, but then others I'll feel completely run down by it. Please tell me its not just me?

On Friday 3rd June I went to my first football match in Southampton. I bought James tickets to the Sidemen VS YouTube Allstars charity match for Easter (who am I kidding, they were a gift to myself as well!) & we travelled up in the afternoon to grab some lunch before the game. We ate in a lovely place called Pitcher & Piano. The starters were delicious but we were unsure of the main courses. I had a burrito & James had a burger. They were a bit plain to be honest but it was a nice place to eat as it was right on the harbour. Anyway, the match was so good! It finished 7-2 & up until their young male fans decided to run onto the pitch at the final whistle destroying everything, it was amazing. I just wish they had been able to do the trophy presentation properly at the end. I vlogged the day, so that will be coming soon on my YouTube channel if you're interested.

Last Sunday, myself & the ladies from work took part in the Race For Life. It was our third year raising money & awareness for Cancer Research & thankfully, we had a dry, hot day! I'm so proud of them all!

I met up with Gem & Cathy last week for dinner at ASK. I always seem to forget about this restaurant in our local town as it's at the far end of a row of restaurants & because I cook pasta dishes regularly at home, it doesn't feel like a treat when I go there. However, I had the mushroom & chicken risotto & oh my god, it was amazing. To finish our meal, we had one of their new desserts, the chocolate lava mountain. It was heaven!

On Saturday, the girls & I went to the Ardingly Show, which is filled with animals; pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, horses, cows, rabbits etc & lots of food tents, stalls & floral displays. We had such a nice day, despite the rain & overcast skies. This is Gareth, you might remember me mentioning him in previous posts. He was on display in the chicken tent. Little Lily also came on our day out & had a lots of fun looking at all the animals!

& finally yesterday I had a day off. I can't tell you how excited I was to do nothing but cook, blog & relax. How did you spend your weekend?

 & I think that will be the last update from me before we head to Corfu next Monday. I'm actually so excited to spend some time in the sunshine away from work & every day life. I haven't decided if I'm going to set up a few posts while I'm away, I'll have to see if I can get my head back into it. Thankyou as always for your love & support on this page & all my other social medias. You guys are amazing < 3

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The Perfect Date

Hello lovelies!

Seeing as it's coming up to Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share with you a few date ideas. Obviously these can be done on any day of the year (& you should definitely make time to date your other half, regardless of if your married or not!) Last year I gave James a "date jar" which contained random date ideas, like the ones I've listed below, written on tiny scraps of paper & every time we struggle to think of something to do together, this lucky dip manages to give us a few ideas. You can either make one yourself or there are some extremely cute ones already made online you can purchase for less than £15! Totally adorable.

So here are my suggestions to help inspire you & your other half.

1. Bake together

I absolutely love baking (when I say baking, I mean buying those pre-made cake boxes from Tesco & adding eggs & water..) I really can't cook to save my life, however, nothing beats a fun day making cakes & covering the other person in flour! You could also try making a mug cake, they are so easy to do & don't take hardly any time to prepare. I got this one for Christmas a few years back & swear by it for all the best recipes. There's even a chocolate section!

2. Go out for the day

Depending if the weather is on your side, you could go to the beach or to a local park. If not, there is always tea rooms or cafes. There are so many beautiful places to explore, usually not far from where you live.

3. Watch films / TV

If you're feeling a lazy day, nothing beats watching films, snuggled up on the sofa. If you're looking for a romantic tear jerker, I'd recommend anything based on the novels by Nicholas Sparks. A Walk To Remember, The Notebook & The Longest Ride are some of my favourites. If not, why not start a new series. James has recently got me to watch The Walking Dead (not very romantic but seriously addictive!)  

4. Go to the cinema

Although I work at a cinema / theatre, I love going to see films. I'm really keen to see The Choice (by Nicholas Sparks!) & if you're looking for comedy, How To Be Single looks so funny, especially as Rebel Wilson is in it!

5. Go out for dinner
I'd advise booking this ASAP as I know places get so booked in advance for Valentines Day. Treat your other half to dinner at their favourite restaurant, or maybe try one you've both never been to before.

6. Cook dinner

If your feeling creative (& maybe a little strapped for cash) why not trying making a meal at home for your other half. James has done this for me before & it was the most romantic thing ever. He told me to leave the house for two hours before dinner was being prepared & I went & got ready at my parent's house. I arrived to find candles, wine & dinner & it was the loveliest thing ever.

7. Go for a bike / car ride & picnic
Now this again depends on the weather & if you own bikes / cars! One of mine & James' first dates was a picnic in the car after a drive to the seafront. It was perfect.

8. Go for a walk
I love walks, there's something so peaceful about them. I'm lucky enough to live in the countryside so I can literally step out my front door & be greeted by fields, woods & endless paths to choose from. Why not take a camera & capture a few snaps together.

9. Make a photo album
Ah now this is something I'm hoping James & I will be doing together! We got a photo album for Christmas & have been waiting for a day to just go through all our pictures & pick some out for the album. Like most people our age, we take photos all the time, but hardly have any printed off.

10. Plan an adventure
Writing 'plan an adventure' reminds me of Up, love that film! But seriously, I have so many places I want to go & things I want to do this year, planning is my favourite thing at the moment & what better way to do it than with someone else who shares your excitement.

What are you planning on doing this Valentines Day? I hope this post gave you some inspiration : )

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