Life Lately #117

Hello lovelies,

At the beginning of the month, myself & my work colleagues travelled up to London to attend the annual Spektrix Conference at the Lyric in Hammersmith. I've never been before but felt so inspired when we got home. We had a range of inspirational talks by speakers & users of the system, plus theatre royalty from all over the country. I can't stress how amazing it felt to be apart of the theatre community & I'm already counting down the days till next year's event. The only downside was the travelling. I'm sure if you live in the south of England & regularly use trains, you'll feel my frustration. A journey that would usually take us an hour from London to home, took almost three. We had cancelled & delayed trains & eventually got picked up (thankyou to Tracey's husband & James for coming to get us!) from a station that was 20 minutes away from the one we usually would come into. Nightmare. I sympathise with you if you get trains to work everyday..

You might remember me mentioning before, that James' dad & partner Maria are getting married in June next year. They had a food & drink tasting session a few weeks ago so we drove them to & from their chosen venue. As it's about a 45 minute drive from home, we had a meal at a local pub to save us going back & forth. It was so delicious. Just look at that pudding..

Ah & straight on to another pudding.. oops! I met up with Ricka last Wednesday night & we went to ASK Italian. Ricka had never been before, so of course I introduced her to the Chocolate Etna. Oh my god, have you ever had it? It's seriously the best thing on earth.

My grandad turned 89 on Thursday! We had a family meal the Saturday before, but went up for tea & to give him his presents last Thursday. Just look at him in his hat!

James & I also went Christmas shopping last week & I managed to nearly finish buying everything! We bought dinner & a bottle of wine to celebrate! Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

Yesterday night James & I went to a comedy night at our local theatre. It was so funny! There were three acts; our favourite being a guy called Markus Birdman. If he ever comes to a comedy club near you, go & see him. We were in stitches! 

Oh just look at Honey here. She is just the cutest thing. With everything that's been going on lately, she is always there to keep a smile on my face. This time of year can get stressful or actually quite depressing with Winter sneaking in, but she is never too far away for a cuddle.

What have you been up to this month?

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Life Lately #109

Hello lovelies!

Can you believe little Pushka is 4 months old!? Last weekend we took him for a walk in the fields around Gem's house & he's doing so well with his training. She's been taking him to puppy classes & he's been amazing off the lead. He gets so excited when he sees other dogs, all he wants to do is play! After our walk, we went to see Absolutely Fabulous at the cinema. Have you seen it? It's such a silly film. It did have funny moments, but the storyline was so rubbish! I won't be rushing to see it again if I'm honest. We went for dinner at Ask Italian (working for the local council, I get 30% off which is a bonus!) after the film & I'm currently obsessed with risotto. They do the nicest chicken & mushroom one, it just melts in your mouth!

Ah look what arrived this week! I ordered this little camera from Groupon a few weeks ago as a cheaper alternative to a GoPro. Obviously I wasn't expecting too much from it as it was literally a quarter of the price, but I'm looking forward to taking it on holiday with me next week. I'll write a review on it when I'm back.

My parents went to Yorkshire for a couple of days last week, so I was dog sitting while they were away. Harvey & Honey were so well behaved & it gave us an excuse to go out & enjoy the mostly cloudy but warm days. We walked for miles (I was trying to wear Harvey out as he hates mum being away & gets very anxious when she's not around) & it worked! I love this little pond that's near my house. We stopped here & watched the ducks swimming around while having a rest in the shade.

Look who was born this week! I feel like in every update post I announce someone has hatched, haha! This week it was our first peachick. We won't be able to tell for a while if this little one is male or female, but it's already become such a character. On it's first day in this world, it sat with me for an hour or so, just cuddled up. It ate some crumb & had it's first drink before going back under it's heat lamp. Hopefully it'll be joined by a few more chicks soon!

Now unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have heard that Pokémon Go hit the UK middle of last week. Of course, we all downloaded it (by we I mean our friendship group) Char & I worked 11 hours on Saturday & just across from us is a park which has lots of Pokestops & gyms in it, so we went for a stroll after our shift! We caught a few Pokémon, but it was mostly just nice walking around with the park on a warm evening getting some fresh air. I think we're going to try & do that now a lot more as we have late shifts together. I managed to head over to the park on Tuesday & took over my first gym! I've never been so excited. It lasted a whole 5 minutes mind.. but I was so proud!

On Sunday, the girls & I had a picnic in the park before work. It was so nice to have a catch up with them all (& eat all the remains from my BBQ a few weeks ago!) We also went shopping on Monday to Guildford. We sat & had lunch by the River Wey. It was so hot! Little Lily was looking so adorable in her hat & sunnies!

On Thursday I met up with Lorna for a bite to eat & a catch up. We don't get to meet up that often so it's lovely to see her when I can. The weather is so beautiful in the UK at the moment, it's been lovely to spend some time in the sun.

I'm actually off to Lanzarote with Cathy on Sunday! I have scheduled a post while we're away, but I'm going to be taking another break from social media as I found it so refreshing last month. Hope you're all well lovelies : )

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Life Lately #102

Hello lovelies!

Hope you had the most wonderful Easter! James travelled back from Gloucester on Easter Friday so we got to spend a few days off together over the long weekend. My grandparents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary (still can't get over how amazing that is!) on 24th March, so we had a family meal on the Sunday. It's so nice to actually have the day off work to spend with them all & eat ALL of the chocolate!

Lily turned 3 months at the end of March! Can you believe that!? She's growing up so fast & getting cuter by the day!

I met up with the girls after a meeting at work on the Tuesday for a cup of tea & breakfast at our local pancake house. Just look at that meal! Pancakes complete with bacon & eggs, it's the most amazing thing ever!

On Wednesday, myself & the girls went to Ikea. It was Lily's first trip & she loved it! & she even managed to get a few cute toys from her aunties. We also stopped for lunch at the café & sampled the meatballs, which are soooo good. I've never had them before, but everyone raves about them, so thought I'd give them a go. I went to work that evening & my stomach swelled up! It was so painful, I've never had a pain like it. It actually felt like a balloon was inside me.. now I honestly don't know if it was the meatballs or not, but has anyone else ever had this?

Last Thursday I met up with Lorna before work & we had a catch up at one of our favourite cafes. We even got to sit outside for the first time this year! Myself & the girls are travelling down to see Lorna in her home town in a couple of weeks & I'm going to try to vlog our day out, so keep an eye out for that!

& finally myself & James made these amazing crème egg brownies last week. Neither of us are master chefs in the kitchen, but we found a simple recipe on Pinterest that both of us thought we could accomplish & they actually turned out amazingly well! I took them to work for people to sample & we got such a good response so we're definitely going to try more brownies in the future, maybe Maltesers & Mini Egg ones!

Hope you've having a good week lovelies : )

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Life Lately #84

 

Hello lovelies,

 

Myself & the girls managed to squeeze in a cheeky Nandos last week! I haven't been for ages. We only recently got a Nandos in our local town, so we try to make the most of it when we can!

 

August is full of birthdays, (7 in fact!) in our friendship group, so it's a very manic time. Throw in a hen do & a wedding & you've got one of the busiest months of the year! It was Cathy's birthday last Thursday & we celebrated with a BBQ & quiz at her house, complete with the world's biggest chocolate cake. Gail's was also last week, but we are celebrating this Saturday at a joint Taylor Swift themed BBQ. I've almost got my costume sorted now! Pictures to follow..

 

Hasn't the weather been weird this week? Sunday was full of sunshine (of course I was working all day..) & since then it's been rain & thunder storms, but it has made the sunsets so beautiful. Just look at that sky!

 

Last Friday James & I went to Brighton for the day. The sunshine was out the whole time & we managed to visit The Lanes & have a walk on the pier. I love Brighton & even though I live just over half an hours drive from it, it's such a gem to visit & really feels like I'm on holiday when I'm there.

 

Just look at that poser. Harry has been very keen to show off his feathers before Autumn hits & they all fall out. He's been lucky enough to find a wife this year, so hopefully we should have some chicks next Spring! Very exciting.

 

& finally yesterday, Elisa, Cathy & I went for lunch at a local café. They serve the most delicious lunches & we couldn't resist a cake for afters! We managed to finish off the hen do preparations for tomorrow (eeeek!) We are planning a day at a local spa, complete with treatments, pool, jacuzzi, breakfast, lunch & a few drinks before heading out for a meal & cocktails in the evening. I can't believe how quick Gem's wedding has come around, it's a week on Saturday till the big day!

 

How has your week been so far lovelies? : )

 

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Life Lately #81

 

Hello lovelies,

 

A few weeks back, I had a day out with my mum to do some shopping. We hardly get to spend quality time together so we had a lovely day, walking around the local shops & buying clothes we didn't need.

 

This beautiful weather has got me back into reading. I'm awful when it comes to books, especially in the colder months, but the sunshine gives me an excuse to sit in the garden with a good read. I'm a massive fan of rom coms, anyone recommend a good series for me to start? 

 

I went to see The Longest Ride with the girls & it was brilliant. Such a heart felt story, I was in tears the whole way through. Definitely recommend seeing it.

 

At the end of June, myself & James booked a trip to Birmingham to visit Cadbury World. I got two tickets for Christmas last year, so we booked a few days off to travel up & go on the tour. James goes to uni in Gloucester, an hours drive from Birmingham, so we decided to stay there to save on accommodation. We had a lovely breakfast at a local pub, went on a tour around Cadbury World, played miniature golf & finished up having dinner at Frankie & Benny's. I'm going to do a full post on our day out, so keep you eyes peeled for that!

 

Last Sunday, I organised a breakfast for the stewards I work with at our local Beefeater - we never all work together so it was nice to introduce a few new faces into the group, plus have a yummy breakfast!

 

How was June been for you? Can't believe we're in July!

 

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Life Lately #80

 

Hello lovelies!

 

At the end of May, we dog sat Tetley. Isn't he just the most beautiful dog? James' family went to see a Strictly Come Dancing show at our local theatre, so we looked after him for the night. He was so well behaved & even resisted our takeaway without too much use of those puppy dog eyes..

 

Ah Sunday roast! I really don't have enough of these. I usually work Sundays so miss out on them, but recently I've either been off or had shorter shifts, so was able to meet up with the girls for a bite to eat at lunchtime.

 

On 1st June, myself & James celebrated our 2 & a half year anniversary & him finishing 2nd year of uni (any excuse for a date night..!) so we went to the Giggling Squid in our local town. You might remember me mentioning this restaurant before as myself & the girls went there for my birthday back in January. It does the most gorgeous food, definitely worth a visit!

  

Last Friday I had my hair cut. I won't bore you with the whole backstory, as I've already posted about it last week, but I'm so so so happy with it! I had a good chunk cut off & am feeling a lot more sophisticated with my new do. Amazing what a few inches off can do for your mood.

 

On Saturday, myself, Boop, Gem & Cathy went out for dinner & a catch up. It was so lovely to see them. We rarely get to meet up because of our rotas & shift work, but we discussed Gem's wedding plans (which is less than 3 months away now!) & hen do plans. Can't wait for August now!

 

Last Sunday, myself & all the lovely ladies from work took part in the Race For Life. It was such an amazing & emotional day. I've written a full post on it which you can read here if you like. : ) 

 

& on the Sunday evening, after completing the race, I met up with Kym, Lauren, Lorna & Boop for dinner. We went to ASK Italian & had the most delicious meal. I had the Pollo Piccante Con Pancetta & the Chocolate Amore cake for pudding.

 

Finally, yesterday myself & James made the most of the sunshine & went to the South Of England Show for the day. It was so gorgeously hot! I'm going to do a full post on our day so keep your eyes peeled for that. : )

 

How has your week been lovelies? : )

 

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Life Lately #79

 

Hello lovelies,

 

I went to Specsavers last week to pick up my new glasses. Anyone else get a buzz from getting new specs? I did a full post on them here if you'd like a read.

 

My grandad went into hospital for a knee replacement last Tuesday (week & a half ago) & has had a few ups & downs. Although he's getting on well, the recovery period is taking a while. Honey has been keeping me company more than ever this week, which has been exactly what I've needed.

 

James came back from uni for his mum's birthday last Friday. We hadn't seen each other for nearly a month, so it was exciting to have him back. We were booked in to the Carey's Manor Hotel in the New Forest for the weekend, along with Valerie, Barrie & Alex (his mum, stepdad & brother) The hotel was stunning! Myself & James had chocolates waiting in our room, plus dressing gowns & complimentary slippers to wear to the spa. The spa consisted of a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, steam room & sauna. You can also pay to upgrade to the 'secret spa' which had another large pool plus themed showers. It was stunning.

 

With the amount of food on offer, I tried to be healthy where I could. This platter was delicious & had all my favourite fruits included. Our evening meals were slightly different, where we indulged in three course meals most nights!

 

The Saturday when we arrived, we went golfing. I'd never been before & although I wasn't playing, I managed to become in charge of driving the buggy, which was great fun! As exciting as watching the boys play was, I couldn't help but notice all the wildlife that live on a golf course. We saw a deer, buzzards, squirrels & woodpeckers.

 

Each evening we dressed up for dinner. I absolutely adore this dress from ASOS. I've had it for around 2 years now & find it's perfect for any fancy occasion.

 

Myself & James also went for a walk around the local village, looking for ponies! Unfortunately we didn't see any but found some quaint little tea rooms & pubs along the way.

 

How has your week been lovelies?

 

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Life Lately #78

 

Hello lovelies,

 

Last weekend, my friends & I went to support my friend Boop & all the lovely vet nurses she works with to raise money for charity, by doing a mud run. In case you're not sure what that is, it's basically an obstacle course, in the mud. They did fantastically well & managed to complete the course in under an hour which was fantastic!

 

Once Boop had showered thoroughly & managed to get rid of the smell of muddy ponds, we went out for dinner at our local Indian. As it was Sunday, they do an all you can eat buffet for £9.95. So delicious. We all went back to Cathy's for pudding, which consisted of chocolate ice cream & milk chocolate buttons. You can tell we're all health fanatics can't you..

 

I've been feeling a bit under the weather these past few days, but nothing makes me feel better than having cuddles with Honey. Just look at that annoyed face when I stuck the camera in front of her. Just too cute. I haven't seen James for 3 weeks (only 3 days to go!) as he's been studying for exams. I can't wait for our mini break this coming weekend!

 

Last Friday, my group of friends & I went to see Pitch Perfect 2. Oh my goodness, it was hilarious. I haven't laughed as much at a film in ages. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth paying to go!

 

We went to Frankie & Benny's for dinner before hand. I had the steak & chips & ended up sharing a cinnamon waffle with ice cream for pudding with Boop. I love eating there, even though the music does tend to be very loud & you end up shouting at each other, the food is always delicious.

 

Finally, Saturday night was girl's night. We watched Burlesque, with a massive chocolate pudding made by Gail & Mils managed to do this brilliant hair style on me. I wanted to get up & head straight out the door to a prom. ; )

 

How has your week been lovelies?  

 

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Life Lately #77

 

Evening lovelies!

 

Aren't you just loving the Spring weather? Here in the UK it's been beautiful (minus a few rainy & blustery days) I've been making the most of it by pondering through the woods, taking endless photos of the flowers. You just have to, right?

 

My girl Charlotte came home for a few days last week, so we met up for lunch with our friend Mils. We went to our local pub, which serves the most lovely food & at a totally affordable price. All of us had the same; gammon, chips & peas.

 

It was Gemma's 24th birthday last week, so we hit the town wearing pretty dresses & drank outrageous cocktails. Was a lovely night catching up with everyone.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to have a '3 day weekend' like most people. I had work on Saturday & Sunday, but was off Monday. Myself, Cathy & Elisa hit the town for some serious shopping. We made a pit stop at Costa, where I re-discovered the lemon & raspberry sponge cake, along side a iced lemonade. So delicious.

 

After a 3 hour look around the shops, we headed back to Cathy's for dinner, which was garlic bread alongside pasta, with peas, sweetcorn, chicken, bacon & Philadelphia. A meal none of us had had since our holiday to the Isle Of White last year! The rest of our girl group joined us in the evening, for some games & tea drinking.

 

Also, I managed to squeeze in a pamper hour last week, where I ran the hottest bath & used a face mask. I always forget how happy I feel after taking time to myself, I really should try to do it at least once a week!

 

On a side note, I can't do this update post without mentioning voting in the election yesterday. I still hadn't really made up my mind completely but when I was given the paper & scanned down the list of names, I just put what I felt was right. It felt empowering & when I came out of the village hall, I felt a sense of pride that I'd taken part & voted. I did get to vote 5 years ago, but don't ever remember feeling this happy with making my voice heard.

 

How have you been lovelies?

What did you get up to over the bank holiday weekend?

 

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Life Lately #76

 

Morning my lovelies,

 

How are you all? I've been loving this warm weather lately. I mentioned in my last post that I've been getting back into my health & fitness, but I hate running & walking on my own.. so I've been dragging my dogs with me! I say dragging, Harvey is only too happy to accompany me & Honey, well, depends on her mood! You can see from the second photo along that she's more into chocolate eggs than an exercise routine!

 

I managed to have a catch up with Gemma last Thursday. We went to one of the unhealthiest places to eat in our local town.. just look at that crepe! It was filled with chocolate & praline oh & a helping of cream on the side. Delicious. And is it just me, or does everything taste better when it's in a glass with a straw?

 

My mum bought me the cutest mug last week, I've fallen in love with robins even more this year as a family have decided to nest near our house. The come & sit near you if your in the garden & are so beautiful to watch.

 

Last Friday I drove up to Gloucester to visit James at uni. We went shopping, watched movies & ate Chinese. It was such a lovely chilled weekend. I said goodbye to him yesterday & drove back home. I won't see him now for a month because of exams, which is heart wrenching, but least we still have ways of keeping in touch. (That's a lot more than we had when he went to Africa!)

 

Finally, our first two ducklings were born! This little one is just the cutest. If you've ever held a ducking, they're one of the wriggliest animals to hold! I could only keep this one still long enough for a quick photo before it was squirming around again. So cute.

 

How has your week been lovelies? : )

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Life Lately #75

 

Hello lovelies,

 

How are you all? I've been getting back into my health & fitness this month, starting with my new purchase, a blender. I made my first smoothie & got a bit excited by throwing in every fruit we had in the house into one bottle.. it tasted ok, but I really need to find some good recipes for smoothies. Is there any you'd recommend? I've also been jogging every other day / 3 times a week to get a toned body for summer. Primark's sports wear section has been a complete life saver!

 

Did you see my Easter posts? I decided to try my first ever set of false nails over the Easter weekend & spent the day on Sunday with my family.

 

I've also been loving this hot weather! James has been home over Easter, so we've been doing lots of fun things around work in the sunshine. This was my outfit of the day last week when we went to see Fast & Furious 7. It was amazing. Seriously. I've loved the previous movies for as long as I can remember & was so excited to see it even though it's the last one with Paul Walker. I wore my Dad's denim shirt, with leggings & my trusty New Look boots.

 

Last Monday, I went to see McBusted in Bournemouth with the girls. We saw them last year in London & decided to go for the standing area this year. We travelled down by car & stopped for a cheeky Nandos on the way. The concert was amazing. The atmosphere was incredible & the boys didn't disappoint : )

 

Hope you've had a lovely week lovelies!

 

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Life Lately #73

 

Hello lovelies,

 

Sorry I haven't blogged in over a week! Everything's been a bit manic - but hey ho! I'm back with an update post today. : )

 

So in my last "Life At The Moment" post (which I've now updated to be called Life Lately) I mentioned about the first little chicks hatching. So here's the first picture of them! Aren't they cuties!? Since posting, we now have 9 chicks hatched & more due today!

 

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you'll have seen I've been up to Gloucester visiting James at uni. I was greeted with this adorable teddy when I arrived on Wednesday! We spent the rest of the day shopping & buying some home ware items to brighten up his flat. First of all, this spider plant, which we named Peter, (Spiderman was called Peter Parker.. see where we're coming from..?) & he is now happily sitting in the middle of James' table, along with some cute candles from B&Q.

 

On Friday, we travelled up to Liverpool. For Christmas & James' 21st birthday, my parents bought him a trip for two around Anfield Stadium. He's supported Liverpool all his life but had never been to their home stadium! We stayed over night at a Travelodge near by, right next to a Toby Carvery, which I had never eaten in, but was delighted by the food (plus it's cheap as chips!) We had a roast on the Friday night & a full English on the Saturday morning before heading to the stadium. We had a guided tour by the legend himself, Phil Neal, who was absolutely lovely & animated as he showed us around the grounds. I'll do a full post on our day soon!

 

After the tour, we had a spare hour or so before heading back to Gloucester, so we decided to head down to The Albert Docks as one of my close friends at work had suggested it was worth seeing. It was quite a cloudy day, but we still managed to take a few snaps & have a cheeky Costa before heading back home. 

 

I arrived back home from Gloucester yesterday evening, to spend the rest of Mother's Day with my mum. We had a lovely dinner & watched TV.

 

I was also surprised with a card & some flowers from Honey (my Dachshund) that were left on my dressing table. So cute! Oh & please tell me your as in love with my new duvet set as me! Frenchie's are so adorable.

 

How did you celebrate Mother's Day?

Let me know if you've been to The Docks or Anfield & what you thought. : )

 

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Life At The Moment #72

 

Hello lovelies,

 

Last week was so busy! Last Friday was my beautiful Nan's birthday. You can see her opening her pressies with the help of Harvey, who was convinced that bottle of wine was made of chocolate.. it was also my Dad's birthday the following day, but being a very reserved person & us working complete opposite shifts that day, I was unable to take a picture!

 

Don't you just love it when surprise packages turn up in the post for you? I got this gorgeous pug cushion case sent to me from James & it arrived at work on Saturday morning! He knows me so well.

 

I mentioned in a previous update post that Gemma was getting married this year & I received my invite on Friday! How exciting!

 

I also received some belated birthday pressies! So excited to try my MAC lipstick & the unicorn horn from Lush's Valentines range.

 

I mentioned that myself & James went to Ikea a few weeks back & I've finally managed to put up my mirror! When I say 'I', I mean my dad. I'm hopeless at stuff like that!

 

I've been getting back into walking recently. I started the year by saying I'm going to do regular work outs, blah blah & I've mostly failed at that, but I have been getting back into going on long walks, much to my two doggies excitement. The first image of the corn fields is right outside my house & the following image is from today, when myself & mum took a trip to Walton-On-Thames with Harv & Honey. The sun was beautiful but so so so cold.

 

& finally, our first little chicks were born yesterday! I don't have any pictures yet as they're still in the incubator, but as soon as they're strong enough to come out, I'll have my camera ready! Oh & nearly a month till Easter! How quick is this year going?! Crazy.

 

How has your week been? : )

 

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Life At The Moment #71

 

Hello lovelies,

 

Let's start with Sarah's 24th birthday which we celebrated at the beginning of the month. We went to our local pub for a meal & drinks. Their brownies are simply the best.

 

I mentioned in a previous life at the moment that my best girl Gemma got engaged at the end of last year & she's now set a date for August this year! So last week we went to a bridesmaid fitting & finished up in the local curry house. So pleased with my dress & can't wait for the wedding now!

 

How was your Valentines day lovelies? Myself & James spent the day with some sheep & had a romantic dinner in the evening. Sounds weird I know, but I did a full post on the day if you'd like to see it, you can here. : )

 

I went for a date with Cathy a few weeks back to Wagamamas. I have to be honest, I'm not a massive fan of this restaurant, I do struggle with food in general & finding things I like & last time I went, I didn't find anything that appealed to me. But Cathy knows me better than I do & found me the perfect dish, so I'm now converted!

 

Last Tuesday Sing-A-Long-Frozen came to our theatre & myself, Mat & eight of my girls went to watch it. It was actually fantastic, do go if they ever tour near you!

 

On Thursday, I took James to Ikea for the first time. He actually really got into it (minus the candle section!) & spent more than me. He also bought me this little heart-shaped cactus. How adorable. I'll be doing an Ikea haul soon!

 

& finally, today is Sunday. I've just said goodbye to James & he's heading back to uni in Gloucester. It's raining & I'm snuggled up on the sofa with a cup of tea. I'm planning on taking a nice hot bubble bath in a bit. Today has been one of those days where all I want to do is curl up into a ball & sleep.

 

How has your week been lovelies? : )

 

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Life At The Moment #70

 

Afternoon lovelies!

 

I wanted to do a quick update post as today is the 1st February can you believe! January has flown by..

 

So a few weeks ago, I braved the hairdressers. Yes, that was a big deal for me. Last time I had my hair cut I hated it & refused to wear my hair down for a month! & that was last June.. so I knew I'd have to go back sooner or later. I tried a new salon in my local town & was so much happier when I came out. I also received a text from them the next day (as it was my birthday) that I could claim a free blow dry, which was awesome!

 

& that leads me nicely on to my birthday night out on the Saturday. I did a full post on my birthday adventures here if you'd like a read, but in conclusion it was one of the best birthdays I've had.

 

One of my favourite gifts I got was from my parents & it was this stunning Pandora ring. I've been wearing it none stop alongside my other rings & despite it looking quite bulky, it doesn't catch on things which I was worried it was going too.

 

Last weekend, we celebrated one of my girl's birthdays. Bo turned 22 on the 25th January. We went out for drinks at the local pub & played card games to celebrate.

 

& finally this weekend, I've spent up in Gloucester visiting James at uni. We've had a lovely few days, spent watching films, shopping & going out with friends. I have managed to catch a very irritating cold though, so I'm travelling home to snuggle myself up & have a nice hot bath. Luch bubble bars make everything better right? : )

 

How has your week been?

 

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Life At The Moment #69

Hello lovelies!

Haven't done a catch up in a while & as the last few weeks have been very eventful, I just wanted to do a quick round up.

First of all, I know it was nearly a month ago (crazzzzzzy how fast the time goes) that it was Christmas! If you're like me & still have those festive blues, you can check out our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & Boxing Day adventures here. I love Christmas, but after it's been & gone, it feels like your life is half empty.. is that just me?

At the end of December, myself, James, Alex & Flo went to Winter Wonderland. You can see a post about our adventure here. I'd highly recommend going if you haven't, even after Christmas day it's still a beautiful place to visit.

Myself & my work colleagues finally managed to meet up (so hard to find a day where none of us are working) & we went for a late Christmas breakfast at the local Beefeater. I never realised before but they do an all-you-can-eat breakfast before 10.30 every morning. We had a full cooked English, plus access to the continental breakfast menu, which included croissants, cereals, toast, muffins & yogurts. Oh & endless refills of tea & coffee. Perfect.

It was James' 21st birthday on 1st January & I managed to book a hotel just outside of London for New Years Eve. It was the most stunning place, complete with heated flooring, a tv in the bathroom & the biggest bed to spread out on. I've done a full post about our stay which you can read here.

& finally, one of my New Years Resolutions was to re-connect with friendships & last Sunday, myself & my three best girls got to spend the day together; shopping, eating & playing games. It seems silly, but to find a time when we're all free is near enough impossible with our working hours.. just need to book in a few more days now : )

What have you been up to recently?

As always, please leave your links to your blog posts, I'd love to read them!

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Life At The Moment #68

 

Ah December is going by so quick!

 

Let's start with my work Christmas meal with my box office ladies. I obviously had to go for a roast, nothing beats a bit of turkey in December! We did a Secret Santa which went well, it was so hard to find a pressie suitable for all ages..  but I loved mine, thankyou Lisa!

 

Last Friday, myself & my manager Nigel organised staff to take part in Christmas jumper day! Although we are a small theatre & cinema, we managed to make a grand total of £42, getting people to donate towards wearing their jumpers for the day & taking part in a Snow Sweepstake. Was such a fun day.

 

Oh & look who else was wearing her jumper all day on Friday.. we match!

 

Last week, I managed to meet up for brunch with the girls. Nothing beats a full English.

 

Just look how festive Logan is right now! Incase you didn't know, Logan is my car & just like every other thing I own, I had to make him pink & Christmassy! 

 

Last night, myself & my tea ladies went for our Christmas meal at Bills. Was such a lovely evening catching up with them all, especially my girl Lorna. We've both been through so much this past year, it's just made us even stronger & I'm so proud of her.

 

& finally, my tree is now up, my house is decorated & my bedroom looks like the home of a million fairies. I simply adore Christmas & everything looks so beautiful & festive right now!

 

What are your plans for Christmas this year? : )

 

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Life At The Moment #67

Hello lovelies,

 

Can't believe we're in December! Myself & Honey have been getting so excited for Christmas! She's been helping me deliver cards & presents this week, she's like my own little elf, so adorable.

 

A few weeks back, my best friend announced she was getting engaged after her boyfriend proposed in Rome! So exciting! The four of us have been friends since we started secondary school together in 2002 & she's the first of us to get engaged so we're all buzzing right now!

 

I went up to visit James at the end of last week & (forcefully) we went Christmas shopping. I'm so happy to say I'm nearly finished! With only two days off in December before Christmas, I don't have much time to go shopping. I love how festive & pretty all the shopping centres become at this time of year : )

 

Myself & James took a trip out to Bourton-On-The-Water last weekend for the day. I did a full post here so you can read all about our adventure, but it was such a beautiful place.

 

Monday was our 2 year anniversary. Because of me working & James being 3 hours away at uni, we couldn't see each other on the day, but had a lovely weekend celebrating regardless.

 

Like I mentioned before hand, our family is getting extremely excited for Christmas! Harvey has already started to get festive in his new Winter collar & I started decorating the house yesterday.. so it's starting to look a lot more Christmassy.

 

& finally on Thursday I met up with my girl Lorna in town for tea & cake & for a final bit of Christmas shopping. So pleased with everything I've got this year!

Have you put up your tree yet? Hopefully ours will be going up sooooon!

 

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Life At The Moment #66

Hello lovelies,

Did you see my post about Northern Lights last week? As soon as it starts to get colder, I crave baths. Usually in Summer, I'm in & out of the shower as quick as a flash & out the door. But in Winter, I adore a good long soak in the bath! & of course, who can resist Lush at this time of year, with all their beautiful Autumnal & Christmas products!

As well as loving baths, who else has been loving the TV at the moment? The Apprentice, I'm A Celeb, Strictly, The X Factor, Life is Toff.. my life revolves around them! So sad I know, but this time of year just makes me want to hibernate in my cosy Christmas leggings with a cup of tea in front of the tv. & if I get the odd night where nothing good is on, I find myself snuggled up in bed with my fairy lights & pug duvet, watching YouTube. Life is good!

Myself, James, Alex (James' brother) & Flo (Alex's girlfriend) went to Nandos yesterday for lunch before watching Hunger Games. Being the only one that hadn't read the books, I was sitting there on the edge of my seat.. definitely recommend seeing it.

If you follow me on Twitter & Instagram, you'll know that today was a big family party, where we celebrated my Mum's 60th birthday, my Grandad's 87th birthday & my Auntie's 50th birthday, which are all spread out between October - December this year. We had a buffet lunch, complete with champagne & a massive handbag cake! Look how amazing it was!

Hope you've had a lovely weekend lovelies : )

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Life At The Moment #65

 

Morning lovelies,

 

How was your Halloween? Myself & James got to dress up for work. The one day a year he lets me decorate his face with makeup & I loved it! We managed to scare a lot of children as it was half term & busy at the theatre.. mission accomplished! ; )

 

Have you been to see any fireworks this year? James & I went to our local village display last weekend, which was lovely. The smell of all the food makes me hungry just thinking about it!

 

I met up with Gemma last week for a late lunch, just look at my stack of pancakes! Yum : )

 

Elisa, Cathy & I went Christmas shopping on Saturday & of course, we had to make a pit stop at Costa to try out the new Christmas range of drinks & snacks. I had the salted caramel yule log & the orange hot chocolate & oh my goodness, I've never tasted anything so nice!

 

I decided to paint my nails firework themed this week (mainly for Char's birthday & to wear for the second display we went to this weekend) which was one of the best in the country. Seriously, I've never seen fireworks like these.. 

 

& finally, yesterday marked the 100th anniversary since the start of the first world war as I'm sure you all know. I've been wearing my poppy at work & we've had so many people coming in to buy poppies, it's been lovely to see.

 

Hope you're all having a fabulous Monday : )

 

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