It’s that time of year again, yep – you guessed it… Blogmas time π
It’s time to get festive and enjoy this wonderful spirit filled season.
And what better way than with 25 festive blog posts, throughout December!?!
What is Blogmas?
For each of the 25 days of advent, from December the First, leading up to Christmas Day, you post a festive themed blog post! This can be anything that you like, as long as the theme is Christmas!
What should I expect?
I do a variety of festive blog posts ranging from foodie recipes, my ‘favourites’, Christmas parties/events that I go to, Christmas traditions, decorations, and much more!
It’s a lot of festive fun and a great way to indulge in the festive season, picking up some ideas, tips, and tricks along the way.
So, something pretty cool happened last weekend!! I finally got to see Darren Criss perform live π±
It all happened kinds fast to be honest- one minute I was watching people’s videos of him performing all over America, Canada and Australia wishing he would come to the UK and the next minute he was announcing a ‘One night only’ London show that I just had to get a ticket for!!
So we only actually had to wait two weeks between buying the tickets and going to the show, which was both awesome and mad.
He performed for one night only (included an added Matinee performance due to high demand) at the London Palladium on Sunday 15th October 2023.
As I write this, I still feel like it was all a bit of a dream… I can’t believe that I’ve actually been in the same room as Darren Criss!!
It was an absolutely unforgettable evening.
So, let’s go through it…
He opened by suddenly appearing on the stage.
And started with the national anthem π€£ which was hilarious.
He then started his set with one of my favourite Glee cover songs (although he doesn’t sing it in the show) ‘I’m so excited’ – Such a banger!
& from there on in, it was just an awesome mixture of the many facets of Darren Criss from Glee, his solo work, Starkid, and some of his favourite songs.
He also did a beautiful acoustic encore to finish the show π₯Ή
In true Darren fashion, he forgot the words along the way, talked alot (we love to hear it) and even almost knocked a microphone over, but hey – it wouldn’t be a Darren Criss show if he didn’t!
It was also amazing to see Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez (Part of Starkid) performing too. This made the Starkid ‘A Very Potter Musical’ songs even more epic to behold.
He was just unbelievable, in so many ways – the pure talent he exudes is just phenomenal, the laid back Darren esque showmanship and the fun he is clearly having just shines through, and I feel so privileged to have witnessed it.
Hearing him sing some of Blaines’ songs live [Somehwere only we knowz Cough Syrup AND Teenage Dream] was a real tick on the bucket list moment for me as a fan of Glee and Darren for a long time now.
And I’m gonna be really real with you here – as soon as I heard the first note of Teenage Dream, my eyes welled up.
But seriously, I honestly never thought I would get to experience that. Treasured memories forever.
Once a gleek, always a gleek β
πΆ ‘We’ve waited for forever for a night like this!’ πΆ
Happy Summer Holiday’s. This year’s is very much needed.
Now, every year, I volunteer for the Library’s ‘Summer Reading Challenge’ for Children. I volunteer for a day at my local library, and I love it.
I love seeing the children come in and excitedly tell me all about the book that has captured their imagination that week, what happened, what they liked about it, their favourite part. Fostering, encouraging, and indulging a love of reading in children is just magical.
This year is my 11th year volunteering (10th if you don’t count Covid 2020 as the challenge was only online) so I thought that I would set myself a little reading challenge too.
The premise of the Summer Reading Challenge is to complete six books over the Six Week holiday. Over the last few months, I have definitely picked up my reading speed, so I thought, why not choose six books of my own to try and read over the six weeks.
It’s a little daunting, but I thought it would be a good challenge and a bit of fun too. I do get to do some reading in-between people at the library and obviously I have a bit more free time as it’s the school holidays.
So, Here are my Summer Reading Challenge Picks:
Fairy Tales by Stephen King
Confess by Colleen Hoover
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
+ one other tbc
I tried to go for a variety of books – obviously, a couple had to be my Book Club books, as this still takes place during the summer hols, which made choosing a lot easier. I still have one spot left that I am planning on being another Book Club book, depending on when our next meeting falls (I do have a backup if not)
So it was recently my birthday, and I got quite an awesome haul of books – the perfect present I’d say.
I thought I would share the books that I received with you.
Let’s take a look!
The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent
‘Birdy Finch just got her dream job. The trouble is, it’s not hers… It was a simple accident. Well, maybe a tiny fib. Ok, maybe an all-out, blatant, mayhem causing lie. Because the life Birdy has just claimed as hers actually belongs to her bestfriend, Heather. Obviously she’ll tell Heather (eventually). And the first guy she’s properly liked in for ever (probably). Absolutely nobody will know – just till she sorts herself out… So can Birdy carry off a Summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be a world-class wine expert? And can she find the courage to fall in love, even if it means telling the truth?’
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
‘Daisy Darker is arriving at her grandmother’s house for her eighteenth birthday. It is Halloween, and Seaglass – the crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island – is at one with the granite rocks it sits on. The Darker family haven’t all been in the same place for over a decade, and when the tide comes in they’ll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again, because one of them is a killer…’
Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
‘Charlie Wynood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They’ve been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning… they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love… every memory has vanished. Now Charlie and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be… the more they question why they were ever together to begin with.’
The Humans by Matt Haig
‘There’s no place like home, or is there? After an ‘incident’ one wet Friday night where he is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling quite himself. Good sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst an alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he’s a dog.’
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
‘Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average women. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out there is no such thing. But its the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation. And soon a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.’
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
‘Everybody knows Daisy Jones and the Six. Their sound defined an era. Their albums were on every turntable. They sold out arenas from coast to coast. Then, on 12 July 1979, Daisy Jones walked barefoot on to the stage at the Whitby. And it all came crashing down. Everyone was there. Everyone remembers it differently. Nobody knew why they split. Until now…’
Breathless by Amy McCulloch
‘Journalist Cecily Wong is offered the chance of a lifetime: to join an elite team on one of the world’s tallest mountains. But from the start things start to fall apart. An unexplained their. A horrible accident. A terrifying note: there’s a murderer on the mountain. Six strangers set our. How many return?’
With this kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher
‘From the outside, Lorelai is an ordinary young women with a normal life. She loves reading, she works at the local cinema and she adores living with her bestfriend. But she carries a painful burden; whenever she kisses someone on the lips, she sees how they are going to die. Lorelai bas never known if she’s seeing what was always meant to be, or if it’s her kiss that decides their destiny. And so, she hasn’t kissed anyone since she was eighteen. They she meets Grayson. Sweet, clever, funny Grayson. And for the first time in years, she yearns for a man’s kiss. But she can’t… can she? And if she does, should she try to intervene and change way she sees?’
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
‘On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. He’s celebrating the success of his lakeside holiday homes, and has generously inviting the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake. On New Year’s Day, DC Ffian Morgan has a village full of suspects. She grew up in the tiny community, so the murder suspects are her neighbours, friends and family- and Ffion has her own secrets to protect. With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead… but who finally killed him.’
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
‘Early morning: On the foreshore of the River Thames, a bag of bones is discovered. Human bones. DI Samuel Owusu quickly sends the bag for forensic examination. The bones are those of a young women, killed by a blow to the head many years ago. Also inside the bag is a trail of clues which lead DI Owusu to a mansion in Chelsea where, thirty years previously, three people lay dead, while a baby upstairs waited for someone to pick her up.’
The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendry
‘Margery and Clementine work on the front line serving meals to the students at Summerview Secondary School. They are enjoying a peaceful middle-age together in the idyllic town of Dewstow, but their calm life is shattered when their kitchen manager is found dead. The police are adamant that it’s an open-and-shut case of accidental death. However, Margaret and Clementine are convinced there’s something far more nefarious going on. As they investigate and inch closer to the truth, someone will stop at nothing to keep the pair quiet. Will the perpetrator get their just-desserts before their time runs out?’
Harry Potter Character Compendium
The Hobbit & the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Box Set
I am currently reading.. ‘Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
So, last months Book Club book was βThe Curfewβ by T M Logan.
I am already a big fan of T M Logan’s books, and this was my recommendation to the club this month.
This books genre is thriller.
The Curfew by T M Logan
Here is a brief overview of the plot:
‘The Curfew: Andy and Laura are good parents. They tell their son Connor that he can go out with friends to celebrate completing his exams, but he must be home by midnight.
The Lie: When Connor misses his curfew, it sets off a series of events that will change the lives of five families forever.
The Truth? Because five teenagers went into the woods that night, but only four came out. And telling the truth might mean losing everything..8.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? ‘
Some opinions on the book:
This book was a really interesting thriller, it definitely kept you guessing.
It is interestingly written from the perspective of the Dad which is a bit different, I enjoyed that.
There is a really good twist at the start that I enjoyed, although I have to say there aren’t as many as there usually are in his books.
There are some interesting characters, I especially liked the little sister Harriet.
I think the ending of this book lets it down a little, it’s a little unrealistic.
Out of 5 stars I would give this book ββ.5
I enjoyed this book but I would recommend some of his other books ie: ‘The Holiday’ and ‘The Catch’ above this one.
First stop, airport breakfast. Are you even going away if you don’t have one?!?
We flew quite early on our first day (half a good idea as you get a whole day, half a bad idea as we were knackered and needed a nap before dinner)
Once we had landed we got the tram from the airport to the town centre, which was cool.
We then found our accommodation, left our bags and headed out to look around and book a tour. We had been hoping to book the tour that day as we had prebooked some others, unfortunately there were no slots available so we booked it for the second day.
We had a little bit more of a look around. The architecture and city centre are amazing, its such a beautiful place.
We found this awesome place for some lunch. How cool is it!! Bats are my favourite animal so I fell in love with this place immediately. It was really quirky and unique inside too, I love finding independent places like this.
Once we had enjoyed our food we wandered back to our accommodation as we could now check in. Hubby listened to the football whilst I had a nap as I was knackered thanks to the end of term/early start. It was much needed.
We got up and ready for the evening and went to a delicious Italian (our favourite) which we had spotted earlier.
We just had a chilled evening as we were both travel tired and wanted to be ready and raring for the next few days.
A brilliant start to the trip!
D A Y β’ T W O
For our second day, we headed back down to the Royal Mile for our first tour of the day.
Our first tour was called ‘The Real Mary Kings Close’. It is an hour long guided tour where you learn all about the history of the different closes and the people who lived there. Our guide was brilliant in character and really funny, which made the experience that bit more fun too.
After the tour, we hung around the Royal Mile for a bit, had some lunch and a drink before our second tour.
Our second tour was a history of the old town. It was so interesting and really cool learning about the different buildings all around the Royal Mile and their significance in the growth and development of Edinburgh.
We were shown the ‘only official’ Harry Potter merchandise shop on our tour, so at the end of it, we queued up (yep, it’s so popular you have to queue) and we went in. It was so cool, the decor is insane! And there’s so much cool merchandise.
We rounded off the evening with ‘The Best Fish & Chips in Edinburgh’ which tbf were pretty delicious. I even tried a battered Mars bar, which was really yummy.
D A Y β’ T H R E E
We enjoyed a yummy breakfast at our ‘hub’ Accommodation before walking the length of the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace.
I always loved the Queen, so it was cool to see Holyrood Palace and its grounds. We didn’t have time to go in, which was a shame, but it was a lovely day, so we went for a walk through the garden and admired it from the outside.
We also had a look around the Scottish Parliment building, which was interesting, too. You had to go through proper airport style security to get in, which was a bit mad (but understandable).
We then walked all the way back up the Royal Mile to Haymarket station where we met my Uncle.
He lives in a different part of Scotland, so we arranged to meet up with him for a day while we were close by. We took the bus together and went to Edinburgh Zoo.
It was an unprecedented hot day in Edinburgh, and everyone had obviously decided to do the same as us and visit the zoo… the queue was mad, but we got in eventually, and we had a lovely day.
It is such a lovely zoo and a really good variety of animals, some which they don’t have in our local zoo.
We especially enjoyed seeing the different types of penguins (the King penguins are amazing!) and the Gentoo penguins, as well as the Sun Bears, Sloths, and most incredible of all, the Giant Panda!!
That is an animal I never thought I would actually see, and it was so cute.
We rounded off a brilliant day with a delicious Italian before we headed back to our respective homes. It was one of my favourite days of the holiday and it was great to catch up.
D A Y β’ F O U R
For our penultimate day, we had an earlier start. Again, we enjoyed a hotel breakfast before heading back to the Royal Mile for our Harry Potter tour!!! Exciting β‘οΈ
Here is a little rundown of some of the cool things that we saw…
Harry Potter Walking Tour β‘οΈπ΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ
1. Outside The Elephant House Cafe where JK often wrote βοΈπΌ 2. Sorted into our houses at the start of the tour π 3. Tom Riddles grave πͺ¦ 4. Hogwarts inspo for the exterior, houses & alot of interiors eg Great Hall π° 5. Victoria Street, the inspiration for Diagon Alley πͺ 6. Outside the shop that is believed to have inspired Flourish & Blotts Bookshop π 7. Bank of Scotland, inspo for Gringotts 8. The Balmoral Hotel where JK finished writing the last ever Harry Potter book β‘οΈπ 9. On the Royal Mile, the main body of this monument inspired parts of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets π 10. JK Rowling’s Handprints on Edinburghs very own ‘Walk of Fame’ ππΌβ¨οΈ
Once we had some lunch, we headed to the National Museum of Scotland. They had a Doctor Who exhibition that we wanted to look around.
It was really good, we enjoyed looking around the exhibits.
We even went inside a Dalek!
We had a brief look around some of the animal areas of the museum before we headed back for a chill before dinner.
We went back to our favourite Italian ‘Pomo’ one last time for some delicious food.
I had been eyeing up the frozen Raspberry Daiquiri all week, so I decided to have one ok our last night… it was amazing.
We then headed back to the lovely bar we visited earlier in the week – The Hanging Bat π¦ we got a cocktail each to round of the evening.
D A Y β’ F I V E
Our final day!
We went out for breakfast at a little cafe before heading to the Royal Mile one last time.
We went to the Writers Musuem, where they have rooms all about three famous Socttish writers; Robert Louie Stevenson, Robert Burns, and Sir Walter Scott.
We then walked down to the new town and had a look around, had a drink,and even got to get right up close to ‘The Balmoral’ (as mentioned in the HP tour on Day 4) which was really cool.
Finally, we headed to the castle to have a closer look before we left. We didn’t get around to going in, but to be honest, there is so much to do that we could definitely visit again.
The views of Edinburgh from up by the Castle were amazing, too.
We rounded off the trip with one last lunch stop at The Hanging Bat π¦
We’re going to miss this place!
We then grabbed our things and headed off to the airport.
All in all we had a brilliant trip- Edinburgh is beautiful and we got so lucky with the weather. There is SO much to do and it would definitely be great to go back.
So, last months Book Club book was ‘It ends with us’ by Colleen Hoover.
Now I know she is a bit of a marmite author and to be honest I was dubious when it was chosen as our latest book club book, however I was pleasantly suprised.
I had seen this particular book all over TikTok but I had resisted reading it, I’m glad I did.
This books genre is a romance.
It ends with us by Colleen Hoover.
Here is a brief overview of the plot:
‘Lily hasnβt always had it easy, but thatβs never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. Sheβs come a long way from the small town where she grew upβshe graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lilyβs life seems too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. Heβs also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesnβt hurt. Lily canβt get him out of her head. But Ryleβs complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his βno datingβ rule, she canβt help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corriganβher first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.’
Some opinions on the book:
Such an easy read!! I couldn’t stop once I started and was so invested in where it was going.
I instantly wanted to read the sequel to see how the story ended.
Surprising turn of events in the story, that I didn’t see coming.
There were some sweet characters. I also really liked the unusual names.
Short chapters!!
It addresses and gives voice to important issues.
Some of the relationships, the friendships particularly were born very unrealisitisly quickly and were a bit obviously plot driven in some ways.
I’m sure an independent business isn’t as easy to set up and make a success as it is suggested in this book.
Out of 5 stars I would give this book ββββ
I really enjoyed this story, I couldn’t put it down and it reinvigorated my reading mojo! I’ve read so many books since I finished it which is awesome as I had been in a bit of a slump.
It’s been a little while since I’ve done a book recommendations post so I thought I would do one for you this weekend.
I chose the Thriller genre because 1, its one of my favourite genres to read (for many reasons) but 2, because it is a saturated genre and sometimes overwhelming… so take a look at a few that I have read and would thoroughly recommend, you know to make it easier for you!
These are all books that I have read (of course!) and that I would 100% recommend to people if they asked me.
These are some of the best books I have read and give you that perfect mixture of being gripped and gasping in shock!
Enjoy!
Wrong place, Wrong time by Gillian McCallister
‘It’s late. You’re waiting up for your son.
Then you spot him: he’s with someone. And – you can’t believe what you see – your funny, happy teenage boy stabs this stranger.
You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is charged with murder. His future is lost.
That night you fall asleep in despair. But when you wake . . . it is yesterday. The day before the murder.
Somewhere in the past lie the answers – a reason for this crime.
And your only chance to stop it . . .‘
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
‘Alicia Berenson lived a seemingly perfect life until one day six years ago.
When she shot her husband in the head five times.
Since then she hasn’t spoken a single word.
It’s time to find out why.‘
The Girls Who Disappeared by Clare Douglas
‘THREE GIRLS MISSING
Twenty years ago, Olivia Rutherfood crashed her car while driving home with three friends. When she regained consciousness, she was alone – her friends had vanished.
THEY WERE NEVER SEEN AGAIN
Now, journalist Jenna Halliday visits the town where it happened, determined to unlock the girls’ disappearance.
But Olivia won’t speak. And as Jenna probes further, the locals grow frightened . . .
How many secrets can one small town hide?‘
The Invisable Girl by Lisa Jewell
‘YOU DON’T SEE HER. BUT SHE SEES YOU.
MIDNIGHT. In the bad part of town, where cats prowl and foxes shriek, a girl is watching…
When Saffyre Maddox was ten, something terrible happened, and she’s carried the pain of it ever since. The man who she thought was going to heal her didn’t, and now she hides and watches him, learning his secrets, invisible in the shadows.
Owen Pick is invisible too. He’s never had a girlfriend; he’s never even had a friend.
Nobody sees him. Nobody cares.
But when Saffyre goes missing from opposite his house on Valentine’s Day, suddenly the whole world is looking at Owen.
Accusing him. Holding him responsible for Saffyre’s disappearance…‘
The Holiday by T M Logan
‘Four women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember – Kate, Rowan, Jennifer and Izzy – making the most of a luxurious villa in the south of France. But Kate has a secret: her husband is having an affair.‘
The Perfect Lie By Jo Spain
‘He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with murder.
Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny’s police colleagues one morning, it’s the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death.
Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband’s murder. Over thatyear and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect.
But it was all built on the perfect lie.‘
Have you read any of these? Have you got any good Thriller recommendations?
So, something super fun happened last weekend! March 4th.
Me and my Husband went to our very first comic con. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was at times as stressful as I thought it would beβ¦ but also, not as stressful as I thought at the same timeβ¦
Let me explain – so I don’t think the where’s and when’s of your photo experiences were massively well explained. I was never explicitly told a time but thankfully someone I know worked it out for me and we arrived with plenty of time, without prior con knowledge I have no idea how you’d ever work it out… but,
Once we were there the staff were super helpful and it was relatively easy to find/ask where you needed to be and when for any experiences and photos you may have booked, so that made it alot less stressful! Everyone else who was also visiting were helpful too which was lovely.
So, anyway – our first comic con was really fun and it was exactly how I imagined it to be. There were so many people in so many costumes, epic costumes. Seriously impressive stuff. It was just a vast room filled with people geeking out, having fun and being unapologetically themselves and maybe slightly irrationally excited about celebrities π€£ (my self included) I walked past Sylvester McCoy for christ sake!!
And best of all… I MET JOSEPH QUINN.
It was actually surprisingly nervewracking just before the photo slot but it all went well, mostly… I had to have my photo done twice as the camera flash left a glare on the photo because of my glasses… so I had to go again… I had to stand and have everyone look at me as I had a photo taken, again… which I hate… but, it meant I got to say ‘hi’ and put my arm around Joseph Quinn twice so… π€·πΌββοΈπ€£ I’d take that as a win tbh
Plus – I thought it was really nice that they let me go again and made sure everyone got a nice photo.
I mean, I literally said ‘hi’ x2 and ‘bye’ and ‘thanks’ to him but in those 10 seconds he seemed very lovely (as I had heard he would be) his very enthusiastic ‘HI’ and smile as you walked over was very sweet. I kind of wish I had plucked up the courage to say a bit more to him but you don’t really have much time anyway… I would probably buy a autograph next time if he goes to any nearby cons again.
The two things that struck me the most were how totally normal he looks (and I mean like in a non celebrity way, he looked great but I think it’s very easy to forget that celebs are just people and they don’t like float around on clouds, with gold sparkles around them or whatever ) and how friggin tall he is in real life- jesus.
I enjoyed having a walk around and looking at the stalls and costumes. A highlight being when I rounded a corner and saw Ghostface casually browsing a t shirt stand π€£π€£
I got me and my sister a cool Stranger Things Poster each and then we headed over to the mainstage and queued for Joseph’s talk. It was the final event of the day and it was so packed, I’m glad we started queueing when we did.
It was so surreal seeing the set up that I have watched so many times on tik tok of his previous con ‘talks’ but it was really cool to listen to one and see him chatting in real life. To be honest, if you’ve seen one you’ve probably seen most as he gets asked alot of the same questions… but there were some really funny moments that made it worth it… and some adorable moments from a few little kids too.
All in all I really enjoyed my first comic con experience and I would definitely go to one again and be more confident and less panicked now that I know how it all works.
Roseanne Byford 