Life Lately #131

Hello lovelies!

It seems like ages ago now, but did you all have a lovely Father's Day? I stayed over at my parent's house the night before (I mean, just look at that sunset I was driving into, just perfection) & woke early the next morning to give my Dad & Grandad their gifts. Honey was so excited to see my Grandad appear, she ran the length of the garden & got seriously puffed out!

Our best friend Sheryl celebrated her 30th birthday last month & we organised a surprise evening out. She thought it would just be the two of us, but after I rocked up with Elisa, her little face was already beaming before she even knew where we were going! We drove her to a local pub called The Greets Inn, which she'd never been to before. We sat outside, next to the ducks & chickens & waited for Cathy & Mils to arrive (again more exitment!) We bought her a personlized book & some tiaras for us all to wear! It was so much fun.

We also managed to have a catch up with Allan & Maria now their back from their honeymoon. We had a family BBQ & got to see all their beautiful photos from their adventures last month! So jealous of the safari.

I met up with my tea ladies last week & we had lunch at Pretty Things. I've mentioned them before I'm sure, they just have the prettiest cafe in town. Everything is pink & girly, it's just so me! We had a slice of cake & a catch-up before heading to the park to sit in the sunshine.

Alex celebrated his 21st birthday this month! How scary is that?! Alex is James' little brother, so we met up with the family at Allan & Maria's for another BBQ in the evening, then headed to Valerie & Barrie's for dinner on the Friday night. A night or two of extremely naughty food.. but so worth it!

& finally, last Sunday I organised a brunch with the ladies I work with. As we didn't do Race For Life this year, I decided it would be nice to arrange a brunch to get us all together like we would have done for the race. We went to Sumners Ponds & sat in the safari tent, next to the pond. It was such a beautiful day & the food was delicious. I'd highly reccomend going if you're local.

How has your month been so far lovelies?

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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 #125

Hello lovelies,

I went to my first ever bra fitting just over a week ago. I know right, I've just never been brave enough to do it before, but I wrote a blog post on my experience & why I think it's such an important thing to do. I won't go into too much detail as like I say, I've written a whole post about it, but you can read it here if you like : )

I had a lot of leave left at work from this year, so I decided to take a few days off last week. It was so lovely to just be at home & doing lots of bits & pieces I never find the time to do. One of which was finally editing the footage from our holiday to Corfu last June. I couldn't be more proud of how it turned out! You can watch it on my YouTube channel if you like. I also noticed it became Spring, almost over night! The sun was shinning & it was actually so warm walking the dogs.

Last Thursday my parents went to Crufts. James & I went last year & after we came home & raved about how much we loved it, they decided to book tickets & go this year. Crufts is a big thing in my family & we all watch it together every year, but they'd never actually been. Did you watch it this year?

Last Friday, mum & I went to Guildford for the day. We did some shopping & I took her for tea at The Tea Terrace at the top of House Of Fraser. We had such a lovely day & managed to pick out a few options for an outfit I'm hoping to wear to a wedding in June.

For my birthday, Cathy bought me a voucher for afternoon tea, so on Sunday, we booked a table in the local tea room & got this feast! It was so nice, all the sandwiches & scones were freshly made & we even got a slice of cake to takeaway as well!

Oh & finally, Honey on my bed yesterday morning. She hasn't been feeling too well recently, just a bit of an upset stomach, so has been snuggling down with me watching Netflix before work. I'm finally up to date with Riverdale! Is anyone else watching it? I'm really enjoying it but find it a bit weird how sometimes a massive storyline in one episode won't even feature in the next.. I won't give away any spoilers, but those of you who are watching, do you feel the same? : )

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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 #123

Hello lovelies,

Cathy, Gemma, Gail & I met up for brunch at Cote last Sunday. They do such a good breakfast deal; you can have any cooked breakfast, with a juice & hot drink for £9.95! Definitely try to go if you haven't already.

After brunch James & I went to our local sports hall to play badminton. We booked a court for an hour & it was so much fun. I was really nervous about playing but it was so chilled there, it put me right at ease. We managed to do a full hour & even though it isn't the most energetic sport, we managed to make each other run around a bit & got our heart rates up.

Awwh just look at Stan. Isn't he just the cutest thing? James' family rescued him just before Christmas & he is always so excited to see us when we go round!

On Thursday, I met Lorna for tea at Pretty Things. It's one of the cutest little tea shops you'll find & they are currently doing a unicorn hot chocolate which Lorna had & it was the most sparkly, pink concoction I'd ever seen! If you live near or in West Sussex, I'd definitely recommend going! I had a piece of their home-made lemon cake & earl grey tea which comes in the cutest little teapot.

On Friday evening, we met James' parents at the pub for a meal. I was so excited to have a steak as I hadn't had one for so long! (Oh & some cheeky brownies!) Val & Barrie also have a new car, so we got to see that too!

Because I'd mentioned to the girls how awesome badminton was last week, Boop & Cathy decided to join James & I for an hour last Sunday. It was so much fun!

& finally, today is Valentines day! I hope you're having a lovely day whatever you are doing. James & I are heading to Brighton in an hour or so to do some shopping & hopefully go to The Breakfast Club. We've never been before, so I'm hoping it'll be as good as the hype suggests.

How is your February going lovelies? Do you have any plans for Valentines?

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Life Lately #122

Hello lovelies,

I met my friend Ricka for a late birthday treat at Bills last Sunday. I haven't had afternoon tea there for over 2 years & even though they've changed it up a bit, it was so lovely! We had two scones each, a pot of blackberries, a piece of Victoria sponge cake & a pot of earl grey tea each. Heaven.

It was Bo's birthday on Wednesday, so we went to the pub for dinner. James & I both had a burger with pave for pudding, just look how delicious it was!

On Sunday Cathy, Boop & I planned Gemma's baby shower. It was so much fun to organise (if a little stressful at times) but we managed to get all the decorations ordered at the beginning of January, invites sent out & cakes baked. Everyone was asked to bring along a sweet treat, so we had mountains of food! Also, Elisa made this fantastic cake for Gemma & Ollie, just look at that little elephant! Gemma knows she's having a little girl in March, so it was easy to buy presents for her. I managed to pick up a personalised penguin dressing gown & had 'Baby Rogers' printed on the front. It was so adorable, I wanted to keep it for myself to be honest..

Tuesday morning I met up with Shezza, Elisa & Lily to have a catch up with life. Those girls seriously know how to put a smile on my face, especially Lily, just look at her little bunches!

Oh, & I always try to include a picture of Honey in these posts, because she's always a massive part of my life & makes me smile so much everyday. After my birthday in January, all the excitement of the last 2 months fades away. I know for most people that happens at the beginning of the month as Christmas & New Year becomes a memory, but it can get you down. All I need to do is make a cup of tea & cuddle this little one & my day is instantly better.

& I have to be honest & admit, a bit of retail therapy does help too.. look at my beautiful boots I managed to pick up in the ASOS sale! They were £19 down from £34.99 & I can't wait to style them once storm Doris has passed through.. the weather really knows how to bring down your mood. I seriously can't wait for Spring now & for us to head into the warmer months. It's seriously scary to think we are in February already though? Madness.

How was January for you lovelies?

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Life Lately #121

Hello lovelies,

The girlies & I met up for a catch up a few weekends back to discuss baby shower ideas for Gemma's up & coming day! We are so excited & plans are coming together nicely. I can't wait for her little one to be born.

We had a staff meeting at work on Tuesday morning & I had a gap between the start of my shift, so James & I went for breakfast at Bills. I've mentioned this restaurant hundreds of times on my blog I know, but they honestly do the best breakfasts ever. Just look at those pancakes!

Last Thursday we had a short downpour of snow! I'd just arrived at work & suddenly the sky opened & we had a snow shower! It only lasted a few hours but still, it was most exciting! Elisa & I thought we'd be trapped at work forever.. luckily we weren't.. ; )

Thursday was also my last day at work before 5 days off. On Friday, James, Allan & I moved our furniture into storage. We were kindly offered some furniture which had been hardly used (including a sofa, 3-doored wardrobe & bedside cabinets) just before Christmas as a friend of the family was moving into a rented house, but bringing her own furniture. As James & I are currently looking for our own place, but not yet found anything, we put all the furniture into storage. It took all day to move it from the house to the storage area, but it's one step closer to being in our own place!

On Friday evening, we had a meal at my grandparents to celebrate my birthday. Mum brought the most amazing cake for me, it was called Freddie The Frenchie. Isn't he just the cutest!?

Saturday morning I'd arranged a pottery painting session in town with my tea ladies. It was so lovely to catch up with them all & to obviously paint with a cup of tea & some cake! I decorated a bowl for Honey, which we get to pick up in a few days time.

Saturday evening I'd organised a pub trip with my best ones in town. It was so much fun, despite the fact I've been put off orange licquer for life..

Sunday morning the girls & I went for brunch at Joanna's Tea Room. I tried it out in December with the family & loved it so much, I had to book it for the girls to try as well. They have chandeliers, pink tea cups & endless supply of cakes. What more could you want? The original plan was to go for a short walk while we were there, but due to the rain, it was a walk to the duck pond & back!

Finally, on Monday, James & I travelled to this adorable little lodge we'd booked for the night. It literally was half an hour down the road, but right in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to do a full review post about it in a few weeks, but oh my goodness. We are already looking to book it up again in the Spring / Summer. It was so perfect.

How has your week been lovelies?

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Life Lately #112

Hello lovelies!

I never realised how much I say to the girls "Lets have brunch". A friend said to me the other day "I'd love to have your life & go out for brunch in the mornings!" Haha! I think because I love breakfast but I'm not a massive fan of eating first thing in the morning, plus most of my shifts are 12-8.30, it just makes sense that's what we all love to do! Anyway, I met up with the girls a few weeks back & saw this lovely little one again. Can you believe she is now 8 months old?! Crazy.

My mum & I went for afternoon tea at The Hickstead Hotel on Bank Holiday Monday. It was a birthday gift from James & we'd been saving up to do it for the longest time. It was lovely to spend the afternoon with mum. I'm going to write up a full post on our day so I won't say too much about it now, but make sure you check it out as it features lots of delicious food!

Oh & here we are again.. another brunch, haha! This time with my girl Ricka. We realised we hadn't seen each other since May, so we had a lovely catch up over pancakes!

Last Sunday, our friend Faye took part in Alice In Wonderland & she was Alice! It was such a lovely afternoon out. We got given balloons on arrival & were told to wait in the little café area (outside) & we would be taken into Wonderland. So much effort had been put into the show, it was such a good day.

I came home that evening to our first family BBQ of the year (bit late I know!) but it was so lovely. Even Honey was helping with the cooking!

& finally yesterday I had a day off in the sunshine & spent the morning with my girl Lorna. We went for tea in town, followed by a natter in the park. I'm sitting here writing this while the rain is pouring down outside, it's hard to believe it was boiling hot sunshine in the UK yesterday, but I guess that's just British weather for you!

How has your week been lovelies? I'm working a 3 hour shift today, followed by a 10 hour one tomorrow, but I'm actually off on Sunday which is exciting! Do you have any plans?

Oh & a massive thankyou to everyone who left a comment on my latest blog post. I mentioned on my Instagram I'm not massively comfortable with my appearance at the moment & you were all so kind. The blogging community really is a special one to be apart of.

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