Holiblog: Northern Italy Edition 🇮🇹

Hey guys 👋🏻


This Feb Half Term, we embarked on our latest Italian adventure, this time in Northern Italy. This trip was sort of inspired by our 2020 Italy trip that never was (thanks, Covid!)

We changed the plans a little from the original idea, as we only had a week half term instead of the Summer Hols, but we knew we wanted to travel around more of Northern Italy. I found some cheap flights to and from Verona, and we went from there.

Let’s see what we got up to!

Day 1 – Travelling to Italy

Sat 17th – Today was mainly spent travelling to Italy. It was pretty uneventful (and actually an ok flight, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t very fond of flying)

We arrived in Verona at 7 pm and after a short bus ride and a check-in at our hotel we went in search of food.

The little Pizzeria (Rio’s) that we found nearest to our hotel did not disappoint. It was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in Italy.

Day 2 – Verona

Sun 18th – Today, we spent the day in Verona, exploring the town.

We did lots of walking.

We had a short tour of the Verona Arena, which was really cool!

It’s the best preserved Arena in Italy! 

The Arena was probably my favourite ‘sight’ of the trip.

In the early evening, we travelled to Lake Garda, the next destination of our trip.

Day 3 – Lake Garda

Mon 19th – Today, was we visited Salo in Lake Garda.

It is home to the longest promenade in Italy.

& it is very beautiful.

They also do a bangin’ sandwich. This was an insanely good lunch. That bread 🤤

We had a lovely time walking up and down the promenade as well as looking through the city streets.

We rounded off the day with a delicious dinner, Caprese, Rosemary Foccacia, Risotto, and Tiramsu – so good.

Day 4 – Lake Garda

Tues 20th – We started off Day 4 with another yummy breakfast at our lovely B&B  before we headed off to get our bus tickets for the day.

We didn’t realise a market was on, and it was quite extensive. There were some amazing food stalls, including fruit, veg, soooo much cheese and meats.

We decided to pick up some bits and create our own lunch. We chose a delicious fresh tomato, a fresh ball of Mozzarella, a fresh Foccacia, and some amazing strawberries. Delicious.

These made a yummy picnic.

In the afternoon, we headed off to explore another part of Lake Garda – Sirmione.

They are known for their delicious gelato, so we had some in the sunshine when we arrived!

We then had a walk through the castle and town on our way to the ruins of a Roman villa. There was a museum and the ruins itself so that was really interesting to see.

The ruins were so vast.

Once again, the weather was amazing.

We went back to freshen up before having a delicious dinner and a chilled evening in our room.

Day 5 – Milan

Wed 21st – Today we travelled to Milan! We were sad to leave our lovely accommodation in Garda.

Milan Centrale Station is massive! It gives Grand Central Station NYC Vibes for sure.

We spent the day doing LOTS of walking around Milan, seeing the city on foot, there is some cool architecture and graffiti. We picked up some more delicious ice cream, and we went to the Leonardo Di Vinic museum to round off the day.

We had these incredible crepes for dessert from those amazing Gelatoria that we discovered first in Verona.

Day 6 – Milan/Verona

Thurs 22nd – Today, we travelled back to our starting point, Verona, for our final leg of the trip!

Once we made it back Verona (after a 40 min delay at Milan) we freshened up and spent some time just chilling/reading in our hotel room.

It rained in the evening, so we just ventured out nearby to get some food. We didn’t stay out for long before heading back and watching a film in bed.

Day 7 – Verona

Fri 23rd – Today was the only day it rained pretty much all day. We had been so lucky with the weather so far. Typically, we had our Verona Walking Tour.

We didn’t let the rain dampen our spirits and we both thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the city. It was so interesting and Verona is such a beautiful place.

Booking a tour is well worth it!

We grabbed a spot of lunch from a place near the end of the tour, as recommended by our tour guide. The fresh pasta was delicious, and the tiramisu was insannnne.

We were very glad to have such a lovely shower in our hotel room because we were freeeeeezing 🥶 after walking back in the rain. 

And of course, we had another delicious dinner to round off the day!

Day 8 – Verona

Sat 24th – Today was our last full day 🥲

The weather was beautiful, which was great for our final day. We headed over to a cafe that we heard was really nice. We had yet another delicious coffee and pastry.

We spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon looking around the castles museum – it was really interesting with our audio guide, and at the top, you get soke beautiful views of Verona.

After all that exploring and walking around, we enjoyed a lazy afternoon in the hotel.

In the evening…

WE WENT TO VENICE!!! My favourite 😍

It was beautiful as always ❤️

We had a delicious pasta dinner when we arrived…

… before heading to our favourite gelatoria!! 🍨 Su So is incredible. We had to squeeze some in for dessert.

It was buzzing in Venice as it was the Venice Carnival that weekend.

Venice is truly unique.

I love sitting by the Grand Canal. It’s so peaceful.

💗

Day 9 – Home time

Sun 25th – Today, it was time to go home!

We enjoyed a nice walk into the city centre of Verona to find a nice cafe for breakfast again. We really enjoyed doing this the day before.

We had a final delicious coffee, pastry (and Lasagne for Tim 🤣)

We then had a walk around a bit more, including the arena before heading back to make our way to the airport.



We had such a brilliant trip and it was great to see so many new parts of our favourite country.

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

My 2023 Reading List 📝📚

Hi guys 👋🏼

I usually do a little reading challenge of some kind each year, over here on my blog. This year, I decided to take the pressure off. I was just trying to read a bit more and read more of a variety of genres. (Which I think I definitely achieved!)

I have kept a list of all of the books that I have read throughout 2023. I kept a list that is in sections depending on the type of book that they are.

I have highlighted our 2023 Book Club books in pink.

In 2023 I read… 🥁

47 books

Let’s take a look…


Books

  • The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
  • The Maid by Nita Prose
  • It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
  • The Murder List by Jackie Kabler
  • The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain
  • The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
  • The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow by Amy McCulloch & Zoe Sugg
  • The Magpie Society: Two for Joy by Amy McCulloch & Zoe Sugg
  • The Curfew by TM Logan
  • Verity by Colleen Hoover
  • The No Show by Beth O Leary
  • You and me on vacation by Emily Henry
  • The Shell Seekers By Rosamunde Pilcher
  • Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
  • The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
  • The Book Lovers Retreat by Heidi Swain
  • Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
  • The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle
  • Fairy Tales by Stephen King
  • The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
  • The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent
  • Confess by Colleen Hoover
  • The Minaturist by Jessie Burton
  • Sleepovers by Jacqueline Wilson
  • The Best Sleepover in the World by Jacqueline Wilson
  • My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • The Mother by TM Logan
  • The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns
  • That Festive Feeling by Heidi Swain
  • The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
  • The Christmas Book Club by Sarah Morgan
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Novellas

  • Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
  • This Winter by Alice Oseman

Kindle App Books

  • It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover

Audio books

  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
  • Needful Things by Stephen King
  • Friends, Lovers and the big terrible thing by Matthew Perry
  • The Twat Files by Dawn French

Graphic Novels

  • Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman
  • Heartstopper Vol 2 by Alice Oseman
  • Heartstopper Vol 3 by Alice Oseman
  • Heartstopper Vol 4 by Alice Oseman
  • Heartstopper Vol 5 by Alice Oseman

Autobiography

  • Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
  • Friends, Lovers and the big terrible thing by Matthew Perry
  • The Twat files by Dawn French

Genres, I’ve read include…

  • Domestic Fiction
  • Graphic Novels
  • Thriller
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • YA fiction
  • Historic Fiction
  • Autobiographical
  • Festive

Some of my favourite books last year were..

  • The Heartstopper Graphic Novels by Alice Oseman
  • The Book Lovers Retreat by Heidi Swain
  • It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
  • Verity by Colleen Hoover
  • The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
  • The Christmas Book Club by Sarah Morgan

My favourite Book Club book this year was…

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover


What have been your favourite reads this year?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

2024! What’s on my tbr list 📚😃

Hi guys 👋🏻

Here are some of the books on my tbr (to be read) shelf that I would like to read first in 2024! 📚😃

Let’s see which books are on my list!

ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀꜱᴛᴀᴡᴀʏꜱ ʙʏ ʟᴜᴄʏ ᴄʟᴀʀᴋᴇ

My friend bought me this and it sounds SO intriguing!!


ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ ʙʏ ɢᴀʙʀɪᴇʟʟᴇ ᴢᴇᴠɪɴ

This was a ‘Book of the month’ in Waterstones when I bought this, and I have heard so much good about it since then.


ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪʀʟꜱ ʙʏ ʟɪꜱᴀ ᴊᴇᴡᴇʟʟ

I love a Lisa Jewell, so I can’t wait to get stuck into this.


ʟᴇꜱꜱᴏɴꜱ ɪɴ ᴄʜᴇᴍɪꜱᴛʀʏ ʙʏ ʙᴏɴɴɪᴇ ɢᴀʀᴍᴜꜱ

I have wanted to read this FOR AGES!!! but I am hoping to read this with my book club so I am going to suggest it. I really want to watch the series of this too, so I need to read it first.


ᴀᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀɴ ᴅɪʀᴛ ʙʏ ᴊᴇᴀɴɪɴᴇ ᴄᴜᴍᴍɪɴꜱ

This has been on my list wayyy too long, and it sounds like such an interesting book.


ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴇᴋᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴀʟᴇᴘᴘᴏ ʙʏ ᴄʜʀɪꜱᴛʏ ʟᴇꜰᴛᴇʀ

I feel like everyone’s heard about this book and its good to see the hype for myself and if it lives up to it.


Lots of lovely novels to get excited about. I can’t wait to get stuck in.

What’s on your tbr for 2024????

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

A year of cinema 🎥

One unlimited card, one year, let’s go!

Here is everything I saw at the cinema this year!

January

1. ‘Till UNLIMITED SCREENING’ with Tim.

☆☆☆☆ 1/2

2. ‘Strange World’ with Sarah and the boys.
☆☆1\2
3. ‘Matilda the Musical’ with Tim
☆☆☆
4. ‘A man called Otto’ with Sarah
☆☆☆☆
5. ‘M3gan’ with Sarah
☆☆
6. ‘Empire of Light’ Solo trip
☆☆☆☆

February

7. ‘Puss in boots: the last wish’ with Sarah & the boys.
☆☆☆
8. ‘Titanic 25th Anniversary edition’ in 4DX with Sarah ☆☆☆☆
9. ‘The Whale’ with Sarah
☆☆1/2
10. ‘Whats love got to do with it? UNLIMITED SCREENING with Tim
☆☆☆

March

11. ‘Aftersun’ with Tim
☆☆☆
12. ‘Scream VI’ with Sarah & Charlotte
☆☆☆☆

April

13. ‘Mummies’ with Sarah & the boys
☆☆☆
14. ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ IMAX with Tim & they boys ☆☆☆☆
15. ‘Renfield’ with Tim
☆☆1/2
16. ‘Evil Dead Rise’ with Sarah ☆☆☆
17. ‘Missing’ with Sarah
☆☆☆☆. 25
  • Till
  • Empire of Light
  • A Man Called Otto
  • Elemental
  • Love again
  • Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Vol 3
  • One Life

May

18. ‘The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ with Tim
☆☆☆☆
19. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3’ with Tim, Dan & Wes
☆☆☆☆
20. ‘Book Club: The next chapter’ with Sarah
☆☆☆
21. ‘Love Again’ with Sarah
☆☆☆☆

June

22. ‘Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse’ with Crash
☆☆.5
23. ‘The Boogeyman’ with Sarah & Demi
☆☆☆1/2
24. ‘National theatre live: Fleabag’ with Tim
☆☆☆☆
25. ‘Greatest Days’ with Eloise ☆☆☆☆
26. ‘The Little Mermaid’ With Tim ☆☆☆☆

July

27. ‘No Hard Feelings’ with Tim ☆☆☆
28. ‘The Tunnel of Summer: The exit of goodbyes’ with Tim
☆☆☆☆
29. Insidious: The Red Door with Sarah ☆☆☆
30. Oppenheimer IMAX with Tim ☆☆☆☆

August

31. ‘Elemental’ with Sarah, Noah & Casey
☆☆☆☆
32. ‘Barbie’ with Tim, Charlotte & Wes
☆☆☆☆
33. ‘Haunted Mansion’ with Tim ☆☆☆
34. Unlimited Screening: ‘Theatre Camp’ with Tim
☆☆☆

September

35. ‘Canterville Ghosts’ with Tim, Noah & Casey
☆☆☆.5
36. ‘The Nun 2’ me, myself & I ☆☆.5

October

37. ‘Saw 10’ with Sarah
☆☆
38. DISNEY 100 (& FROZEN 10 YRS) Frozen with Charlotte & Evie
☆☆☆☆☆
39. ‘Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie with Noah, Casey & Evie ☆☆☆
40. ‘Trolls: Band together’ with Tim, Noah & Casey
☆☆
41. ‘Five nights at Freddy’s’ with Sarah
☆☆☆.5
42. ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ with Sarah
☆☆☆☆

November

43. The Hunger Games: A Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes with Tim
☆☆☆☆☆
44. Thanksgiving with Sarah & Charlotte
☆☆.5

December

45. Elf (20th anniversary screening) Me, myself & I ☆☆☆☆☆
46. Teddy’s Christmas with Sarah, Noah & Casey.
☆☆☆
47. Secret Screening…. with Sarah. (Next goal wins)
☆☆☆
48. Napoleon with Tim
☆☆.5
49. One Life: UNLIMITED SCREENING with Sarah & Tim
☆☆☆☆.5
50. ‘What Happens Later’ with Sarah
☆☆
51. Wonka with Casey
☆☆☆.5
52. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ with Sarah
☆☆☆☆☆

I am so happy that I got to my target of 52 films, the equivalent of one a week, all year.

Chuffed with that!

Favourites…

  • Till
  • Empire of light
  • A Man named Otto
  • Love again
  • Elemental
  • One Man
  • Guardians of the galaxy: Vol 3

Here’s to 2024, and hopefully, another good year of cinema!


Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

Blogmas 2023 Day Twenty Five: Merry Christmas! 🎁✨️

Hi guys 👋🏻

The big day is finally here!

(Well it’s actually pretty much over as I write this haha)

I hope you’ve had a good one.


Thank you for coming along for this Blogmas journey of 2023! I can’t remember how many years I’ve done it for now (alot) but I have really enjoyed it again this year.

& your comments have been great!

So, all that’s left for me to say is…

❤️

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

Blogmas 2023 Day Twenty Four: Christmas Eve 🎅🏻

Hi guys 👋🏻

Christmas eve is here!

The penultimate blog post of this year’s Blogmas!

Here’s what we got up to this Christmas Eve…

I finished off our Christmas Day dessert with a dark chocolate glaze and some festive sprinkles!
Me and my sister watched ‘It’s a wonderful life’ at the cinema
One of my favourite traditions -In the evening, we drove around our local area and looked at the Christmas lights. We found loads of awesome ones.
We had a delicious picky dinner of a baked camembert with tiger bread 😍 whilst we watched the ‘Miranda Christmas Special’ on TV.

All that’s left to do when I get home is to put out my stocking and tuck into bed with my Christmas pyjamas!

Happy Christmas Eve 🎅🏻

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

Blogmas 2023 Day Twenty: Our Christmas Tree 🎄

Hi guys 👋🏻

If you saw yesterday’s post it was all about my Harry Potter Christmas Tree! (Epic, I know)

So I thought it only right to also show you our main Christmas tree!

Here it is…

The colour scheme for our tree is very traditional, red, gold and green.

We have a basic, original set of baubles that my Mum got us when we moved in together (inc a star)…

And then we have a box of all of our specific baubles that we have collected, been gifted or made over the last 10 years (where did those 10 years go!!!)

I do love our little tree, and it looks lovely with the warm lights, red and gold tinsel and red star on top.

I do think that perhaps we will need to invest in a taller tree next year as it was getting hard to find free branches for all of our lovely baubles. We have added a few each year from various shops, creations from Nephews and Niece, picked up on holidays, and a new one from Mum each year.


What themed do you have for your tree?


Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

Blogmas 2023 Day Eighteen: Christmas Nails 💅 ✨️🎄

Hi guys 👋🏻

I thought I would share with you my festive nails for today’s post.

Having my nails done is one of my favourite things to do, and I especially love it at Christmas time. This year I managed to fit in two sets of Festive nails!! Let’s take a look…

This was my November set. I went for a simpler design using those classic festive colours, red and gold.

I love the accent nails and the combination of the super glittery gold and shimmery red.


My next set for December (that I got today!!) was super festive.

We went for a lovely nude base with adorable little festive nail art drawn on each one.

She did Candy Canes, a Christmas pudding, a Christmas tree, and holly. She finished them off with a sprinking of snow on each nail

They look so awesome, and after a super festive weekend and only 3 days of work left, I am feeling extra festive now!

All ready for Christmas!


Do you get Christmas thened nails done?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂

Blogmas 2023 Day Seventeen: Christmas book/film update 🌟

Hi guys 👋🏻

So one of my favourite things about the festive period is all the times spent reading festive books and watching Christmas films.

I thought I would update you on which books and films I have read so far as well as what’s next on my list.

Let’s start with books!


I haven’t read as many as I would like at this point as I have been so busy, but I am hoping that once the holidays start, I can fit two more festive reads in.

So far I’ve read:

‘The Adventure of the Christmas pudding By Agatha Christie

&

‘That Festive Feeling’ By Heidi Swain

NEXT ON MY LIST…

‘The Christmas Book Club’ By Sarah Morgan


So far I’ve watched:

  • Elf
  • Teddy’s Christmas
  • The Holiday
  • Falling for Christmas
  • Deck the Halls

NEXT ON MY LIST…

  • What happens later
  • The Santa Claus
  • The Grinch who stole Christmas
  • Love Actually
  • The Snowman

8 days until Christmas !!

Until Next Time

Roseanne 🙂

Blogmas 2023 Day Fifteen: Advent Calendar update 📆

Hi guys 👋🏻

Welcome to another day of Blogmas and not just any day… It’s ten days until Christmas!!

So exciting.

I thought I would give you a little update on my advent calendars.

Check out Day Four here to see which calendars I have.

Let’s take a look…


The F.R.I.E.N.D.S advent calendar has been really fun with lots of cool little bits and bobs in it, including a bookmark, Central Perk coasters, Trivia, Christmas decorations and more!

I love this advent calendar. It’s so pretty and magical. I love the detail on it and the fact that it’s reusable.

I have lots of decorations on it so including a Golden Snitch, the Deathly Hallows Symbol, the Hogwarts house symbols, lots of magical creatures, and loads more.

That one is definitely my favourite, although I must say I am very much enjoying my morning chocolate coin from my third adventure calendar 😂


What advent calendar do you have?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne 🙂