Happy Mothers Day 2021 πŸ’

I used to share snap shots of my life on her, things we had done to celebrate different occasions, fun days out, holidays, however, obviously this last year has been quite an unpresidented one.

I feel like I haven’t really shared much of what I have been doing because really we’ve all been doing the same haven’t we! Staying home, Locked down, on and off since Summer, working and just trying to stay safe.

But I thought to myself, why not share the celebrations we are still having, as wierd as they may seem in comparison to how it used to be, because it’s all we’ve got at the moment and we should still be grateful for what we can do during such a mad time.


Today is Mothers day and I have shared on here, for several years, our tradition of our Mothers Day, homemade afternoon tea.

This year was a very 2020/21 affair, via Skype, but it still involved Afternoon Tea so no complaints here.

We ordered the individual Afternoon Teas from a small local business (All Covid safe) and enjoyed them at our own homes via Skype.

They were delicious and it was nice to be able to continue the tradition, even if it was a little different to usual.

Most of our ‘Usuals’ seem a distant memory right now don’t they 😣 but, it’s also so important to embrace what we can do, communicate and spend time together however we can, whilst staying safe, because we can still stay in touch and stay connected, and we will all be back together properly one day.

It gets to everybody at some point, this wierd time we are a part of, but I’m so very conscious that there are people in such a worse situation than me, who have experienced some of the worst times during this pandemic.

If the worst part of this whole situation, for me is that I can only speak to people through a computer then I’ll be forever grateful. I know some people have it much worse.

It’s still ok to find it hard though and I hope you’ve had a little bit of light and joy come your way today!


β€’ Happy Mothers Day Everyone β€’


Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

Harry Potter Geek Gear Haul βš‘

Hi guys πŸ‘‹πŸ»

So, late last year I got an awesome glass cabinet for all of my Harry Potter Merch!

If you’ve been around here before (or you know me) you’ll know that I’m a massive Harry Potter fan.. ⚑

So this is very exciting!! Any Potterheads on here!?!

I will be doing a post on here, of my HP Cabinet once it’s as I want it, so keep your eyes peeled for that πŸ‘€

Let’s get into the haul…

There was a sale on Geek Gear and I just couldn’t resist buying a few new bits that I didn’t have.

Mini Skele-Gro Bottle πŸ’€
Umbridge Cat Plate πŸ’
Yule Ball Invite 🏰
Neville’s Remembrall 🌟
Hogwarts Crest Print β€πŸ’šπŸ’›πŸ’™

I love that the items came packed in (what I assume is intentional) Weasley Wizard Wheezes coloured packaging πŸ‘ŒπŸ»

I can’t wait to add these to the cabinet.

The print is going up in our room, with our other ones.

And I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for more cool HP merch, because now I have a cabinet I can never have too much haha 🀣🀣


Have you guys got any cool HP Merch recommendations?

Or personal favourite pieces?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

A Book Haul: Xmas 2020 πŸ“š

Hi guys πŸ‘‹πŸ»

So, this is my last post with the word Christmas in, honest!

Here is my book haul. I was very lucky to receive quite a few lovely books for Christmas this year, my ideal gift, so I thought I would share them with you.

It’s quite a mixed bag so let’s take a look…

  • Ant and Dec Once Upon a Tyne

I LOVE Ant & Dec, they are my absolute faves so I was super excited to receive this. This one I requested, so I hoped it was on it’s way. It’s really funny so far.

  • Finding Love at the Christmas Market by Jo Thomas

I had seen this one advertised and heard alot of great things (plus I love a cute, warm, festive story) so I was pleasantly suprised when my sister got me this. I’ve finished it and it was as lovely and heart warming as I’d have hoped. Perfect for Christmas & Blue January!

  • ‘Still Friends’ 25 Years of the TV show that defined an era. By Saul Austerlitz

I can’t wait to start reading this. F.R.I.E.N.D.S is my ultimate fave TV show and my lovely friend bought me this for Christmas, knowing I love both books & friends. Definatly onto a winner with this one.

  • Collectors editions of: Peter Pan By J M Barrie, A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens & The Railway Children by E Nesbit

I discovered these in my local indie bookshop. They are absolutely beautiful. The covers are amazing 😍 I have wanted to add some classics to my collection for a while so I picked these out and my Mum and Dad gave them to me for Christmas.

  • I also got two illustrated Harry Potter books; ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ illustrated edition & ‘Quidditch through the ages’ illustrated edition

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know that I’m a MASSIVE!!! Harry Potter fan, so I was super excited to add these to my collection. I had asked for the illustrated ‘Goblet of Fire’ but I wasn’t expecting the ‘Quidditch through the ages’ illustrated version… IT LOOKS AMAZING.


Did you get some books for Christmas?? How are they??

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

My 2021 TBR List πŸ“š

Hi guys πŸ‘‹πŸ»

2021 is here and of course that means a fresh start to the reading for the year.

I still have one more festive book to read, that I was gifted for Christmas, ‘Finding Love at the Christmas Market’ By Jo Thomas.

This is the first book I’ve started in 2021.

I’ve complied a list of my TBR (to be read) books for the coming year… it’s quite a mixture but I like that!! I can’t wait to get stuck in.

  • The Winter Garden by Heidi Swain
  • Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
  • Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
  • The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
  • Normal people by Sally Rooney
  • The Holiday by T.M Logan
  • An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
  • Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
  • Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls
  • Girl, Other Women by Bernardine Evaristo
  • Dear NHS by Adam Kay
  • The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer
  • My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • The Lido by Libby Page
  • Once Upon a Tyne by Ant & Dec

Which books are on your ‘To be read list’ ??

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

My 2020 Reading Challenge: The Fourth and Final Quarter πŸ“š


So, here it is! The final instalment of my 2020 reading challenge, and the final quarter…

October, November, December

Let’s have a look at what I have read during this quarter…

Books I’ve read:

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owen

The Kindness Club at Mapleberry Lane: A Summer Suprise by Helen Rolfe

The Kindness Club at Mapleberry Lane: An Autumn Promise by Helen Rolfe

Coming home to Glendale Hall by Victoria Walters

New beginnings at Glendale Hall by Victoria Walters

Hopeful hearts at Glendale Hall by Victoria Walters

The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine


The Midnight Library is one of my favourite books that I have read this year. Its fantastic and I have recommended it to so many people already.

It’s so thought provoking and interesting, but gripping too.

I can’t recommend it enough

Alot of these were a similar type of book this quarter, easy readers. These are some of my favourite types of books, cosy, romantic, lovely and easy to pick up and get through, so I was super pleased to discover the Glendale series in particular.

I didn’t get through as many of my festive reads as I would have liked but I have one more on the cards for January, I recieved it as a gift for Christmas, from my sister.

It’s called ‘Finding Love at the Christmas Market’ by Jo thomas.


I haven’t quite decided how my reading challenge will take shape this year yet… maybe I will continue with the quarterly updates or I may go back to a monthly update, either way, keep your eyes peeled for that!

What’s been your favourite book of 2020?

Until next time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

Blogmas Day Twenty Five: Christmas Fun πŸŽ„πŸŽ…πŸ»


The Big Day is finally here!


For the final day of Blogmas I thought I would share some of the Christmas fun we’ve been up to on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve

Me and my sister continued our tradition of meeting up for a burger with our friend.

Obviously being 2020 we had to get it takeaway and outside 😷

So we incorporated a walk around the park and it was really nice (except the rain shower!!)

I had the Caffe Nero Mint Hot Choc finally, and it was so delicious and festive too


We also have a tradition of going around our local town to look at the christmad lights.

We keep an eye out in the weeks leading up to Christmas eve and there are a few that are always good too.

There were some brilliant lights on display this year.

Keepin’ it COVID secure by going in our separate cars and we just chatted over a voice call, worked pretty well 🀣

Left my Stocking out for Santa, obv!


Christmas Day

Me and Tim started the day with a delicious and festive nutella pastry Christmas tree & a cuppa!

Followed by present opening 🎁

My father in law provided a lovely Christmas lunch for us, we had my brother in law on Zoom, at the dinner table with us… very 2020!

We enjoyed a bit of a relax and a TV break before another family Zoom with a game of birds names.

We had the standard Christmas day buffet in the eve with the other half of our bubble, my twin sister, brother in law and nephews.

We had fun opening presents, had a bit of a dance and enjoyed some yummy food.


It’s been a strange one in the sense that we are all (hopefully) being more cautious than usual this year, but it has been fun to be able to keep some traditions alive and to get together, where possible, to celebrate

I really hope that you’ve all enjoyed your day πŸŽ…πŸ»

Tier Four tomorrow! But we still have Boxing day Skype fun planned with a Christmas themed family quiz.

Stay safe and thankyou so much for joining me again for another fun, festive and unforgettable Blogmas.

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

Blogmas Day Twenty Two: Winter Walks πŸŒ²


β€’ 3 days to go! β€’


Autumn/Winter are my favourite months and I have really enjoyed my new found appreciation for walks, especially during these seasons.

So, thanks for that 2020 (because there isn’t alot else fo thank you for)

❄ Winter Walks ❄

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

Blogmas Day Twenty One: Chocolate Orange Cookies πŸ«πŸŠ


Time for another baking post!

Especially because I feel like I haven’t done enough of these this Blogmas!

I do have another recipe up my sleeve, that I am hoping to make for our Christmas day dessert, so keep your eyes peeled for that one too πŸ‘€


Chocolate Orange is one of my absolute favourite flavours ever, but I also think its quite festive too.

I used a ‘Tasty’ recipe this time which I will leave a link for here

I obviously adapted it to make them Chocolate Orange flavoured.

I added some cocoa powder to make the cookie batter chocolatey, a little orange extract instead of vanilla and I used chopped up Chocolate Orange segments, instead of choc chips.

These don’t take long to make, honestly the longest part is refrigerating the mixture for a minimum of 30 mins before baking. They only take 15 mins in the oven.

This is how they turned out. The chocolate orange pieces were all gooey 😍

They are a lovely, soft cookie.

Let me know if you give them a go!

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

Blogmas Day Twenty: The Christmas Panto πŸŽ­

Well those 20 days have flown by!

Madness.

I hope everyone is doing ok here, in the UK, after the Corona announcements yesterday.

But, let’s try and enjoy what festivity we can, safely.

& one of the things we’ve still been able to enjoy is one of mine and my husbands favourite traditions…

The Christmas Panto!

This years panto, which we would usually watch at our local theatre, was offered as a live stream.

As you can see, this year it was their adaptation of ‘The Snow Queen’.

There were still a few people in the theatre (Covid regs in place) but we watched it on the live stream, from the comfort of our own home.

It was a blended panto, so that it worked for both the in house people and those watching at home, and honestly it was really impressive.

The way they incorporated the videos and video montages into the show as well as special effects onto the screen during certain moments was really impressive.

Considering you weren’t actually there it really was a lovely, intimate and immersive experience.

They also added interactivity to the show which was fun.

The troupe was made up of only 5 people, which is alot smaller than usual, but they did a fantastic job (as always) and they still played their instruments live, (always a favourite part of ours) They are all so talented.

It was great to see some of the familiar faces from pantos past.

And, it was as hilarious, fun and silly as always!

We thoroughly enjoyed the show! With snacks & drinks in hand.

I’m so glad we could still enjoy this tradition. Theatre is one of our absolute favourite pastimes, we love watching a show whether it be in a small theatre or in the West End.

It’s such a valuable and important part both of the entertainment branch and of our lives, and I for one hate to see it struggle.

We added a donation to our ticket cost to help support our local theatre.

I also donated to the Theatre Support fund. I’ve left a link below for you to check out how you can help, and the cool ‘The Show Must Go On’ merch that they have available.

Theatre Support Fund

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚

Blogmas Day Nineteen: Mince Pie taste testing πŸ₯§


Only 6 days to go guys! Less than a week πŸŽ„

During December, me and my friend at work have been trying out different mince pies. We work together two days so on a Monday I would bring one in and on a Thursday she would bring one in.

We got to try six different mince pies during this time, and we rated them to see which ones we preferred.

We tried the following Mince Pies:

  • Aldi Specially Selected
  • Gregg’s Bakery
  • Sainsburys Shortcrust Bakery
  • M&S Puff Pastry
  • Waitrose Extra Special
  • Co op Locally Sourced

β€’ The Rankings β€’


We went for a few categories to score each mince pie on, these were:

  • Appearance
  • Overall Taste
  • Pastry
  • Fillage

And then we gave them an overall taste each.


β€’ The Results β€’


Aldi Specially Selected

Appearence: 9/10 & 8/10

Overall taste: 7/10 & 7/10

Pastry: 7/10 & 7/10

Fillage: 8/10 & 7/10

Overall Rating: 7/10 & 7/10


Gregg’s

Appearance: 8/10 & 8/10

Overall taste: 5/10 & 7/10

Pastry: 6/10 & 7/10

Fillage: 8/10 & 7/10

Overall rating: 5/10 & 6/10


Sainsburys Bakery

Appearence: 8/10 & 8/10

Overall taste: 8/10 & 8/10

Pastry: 9/10 & 9/10

Fillage: 5/10 & 5/10

Overall rating: 8.5/10 & 9/10


M&S Puff Pastry

Appearence: 6/10 & 6/10

Overall taste: 6.5/10 & 8/10

Pastry: 5/10 & 3/10

Fillage: 3/10 & 3/10

Overall rating: 6/10 & 7/10


Waitrose

Appearence: 8/10 & 8/10

Overall taste: 9/10 & 6/10

Pastry: 8.5/10 & 8/10

Fillage: 8/10 & 8/10

Overall rating: 8/10 & 8/10


Co-op Locally Sourced

Appearence: 6/10 & 6/10

Overall taste: 10/10 & 10/10

Pastry: 8/10 & 9/10

Fillage: 10/10 & 9/10

Overall rating: 9.5/10 & 9/10


So, the winner of our taste testing was… (drum roll please)

The Co-op Locally Sourced !

These are my favourite and even with trying others that hasn’t changed, and my friend agreed too.

Which Mince pies are your favourite?

Have you tried any of these ones?

Until Next Time,

Roseanne πŸ™‚