Me & my friends from work (past & present) when on a little walk and coffee catch up this morning.
It was super foggy – it looked so pretty, it was just a shame that it was so damp! My feet were a little chilly.
We did a short walk before heading in for a coffee, a snack and a much needed catch up.
When my husband Tim came to get me we decided to embark on the longer walking route before heading home.
We have enjoyed this walk many times and with a Candy Cane Hot Chocolate in hand (very festive!) we made our way round the route. Its roughly a 40/45 minute walk. It was lovely.
I took some photos whilst we were there and here they are…
Walks are one of my favourite things to do these days.
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.
As I have said many times, Autumn/Winter are my favourite seasons!
I know its chilly but hey, its England, we were made for this weather.
Plus, it’s so pretty đ
Theres nothing like a crisp autumn walk, frosty, leaves crunching under foot, trees fire bright against a pale sky, wrapped up in cosy jumpers, a hot beverage in hand.
Now tell me that isn’t a delight!?!
Here are some of the ways I’ve been enjoying the Autumn so far!
⢠P U M P K I N ⢠P I C K I N G â˘
Me, my sister and my nephews had a great time pumpkin picking, at a local patch đ
We went early Oct to get the most out of our Pumpkins.
I’ve used them to dot around the lounge to create a cosy, autumn vibe. Some will of course be carved on Halloween.
⢠A U T U M N ⢠W A L K S â˘
I definitely have a new appreciation for walks since the lockdowns and the pandemic in general.
Theres alot of enjoyment to be had in the fresh air, amongst the trees and pretty plants. I loved our sunny summer walks but in Autumn it’s an even more beautiful experience.
⢠C O S Y ⢠R E A D S â˘
…because I could read anywhere… but, theres nothing better than in my little reading corner, in autumn and winter, because it just feels even more cosy.
⢠H A L L O W E E N ⢠F U N â˘
I am a big horror film fan so I enjoy the spookiness of Halloween.
Lockdown no 2 was announced this Halloween (Horror!) So I wanted to make it even more fun, because if you can’t enjoy the little things, (even when stuck at home) during a global pandemic, when can you!?
Over the weekend I ended up watching eight different horror films!
â˘Nightmare on Elm St (New) â˘Friday the 13th ⢠Psycho (New) â˘Anabelle ⢠Freddy Vs Jason â˘Nightmare Before Christmas â˘IT (The Original) â˘Hocus Pocus
We like to carve a pumpkin each year, because its just some harmless seasonal fun, and since I had a few from our picking spree, I carved a few.
As well as the films and pumpkin carving, we also listened to some Halloween tuness (until the X-Files theme freaked me out đ¤Łđą) we had Spooky, mummy sausages and jacket potatoes for dinner (because why should kids have all the fun) and Halloween Hot chocolates to round off the evening.
And a spot of Halloween Animal Crossing!
It was really good fun and it made us forget about the pandemic a bit, a fun weekend/evening spent together.
⢠P U M P K I N ⢠C A R V I N G â˘
Because you have to do one of these every year! Come on now.
‘Parry’ By me & Tim My slight fail, HP lightening scar and glasses attemptThis was really flippin’ hard 𤣠Yes, I’m that cool.
… and yes I am indeed wearing a Bat onesie in this picture, my traditional Halloween costume/pumpkin carving outfit! đŚ
Don’t hate me cause you ain’t me!
⢠A U T U M N ⢠N A T U R E â˘
⢠H U N T â˘
As a fun little pre lockdown 2.0 activity with my nephews, we went on a Nature Hunt.
They love running about in the park and exploring and they enjoyed it even more than I thought they would (so did I!!)
⢠B A K I N G â˘
I spent another lovely pre lockdown day with my niece đ
What’s more cosy (and delicious) than baking!?!
We had a lovely time together âĄ
Gotta love a Unicorn Cupcake đŚđ§
& finally…
⢠B O N F I R E ⢠N I G H T â˘
Again, due to Lockdown (thanks Rona!) we won’t be seeing people for a bit, but its timing did coincide with Bonfire Night and so we resurrected a Byford tradition, and got together to celebrate.
Outside, wrapped up, enjoying other peoples fireworks, sparklers, s’mores, soup, jackets, bangers, log burners and catching up!
A great evening! We missed this tradition last year as there was alot going on, so it was great to do it again.
It’s been a little while (probably the Summer hols) since I’ve done a little ‘life’ update and I love capturing memories on here. I think I forget to use my blog this way sometimes when I get carried away sharing about my hobbies.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Every year me and my husband Tim go to our local theatres Rock N Roll panto.
It’s one of our Christmas traditions and we always look forward to it. We have been going for a few years now.
This year the panto was Aladdin.
It was an absolutely brilliant show, as always!
The set was my favourite so far. As you can see from the above picture, it was really well done. The panto was set in Shanghai and the set was so colourful with lanterns decorating the rest of the theatre.
The show was hilarious, one of the funniest yet! We were seriously laughing out loud alot during the first half.
We usually go earlier in December but it was really cool to go so close to Chrsitmas as it always makes me feel so festive and it was perfect for getting into a Christmassy mood.
It was a great evening together and one of my favourite traditions that we do together đ
Recently me and my husband Tim made an impromptu visit to the theatre. I saw a local Christmassy show advertised on Facebook and thought, why not!?
Every year we see the Rock N roll Christmas panto at the same theatre so we hoped this would be to the same standard! And it didn’t disappoint.
‘A New Musical by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan
Itâs Christmas Eve and Dougal has travelled from Ipswich to New York for his fatherâs wedding. At JFK Airport heâs greeted by Robyn. Tomorrow her sister becomes his stepmother and Robynâs dreading it. Dougal canât wait. But then Dougal loves Christmas and Robynâs the original Grinch.
Thrown together for a wild weekend in the city that never sleeps, their adventure becomes a musical whirlwind of confession, frustration and maxing-out credit cards in Macyâs. Will these two endearing misfits provide the ultimate test for the theory that opposites always attract? ‘
It had a lovely Christmassy feel to it and it was a very cute story.
The songs and acting were great and it was really funny, a feel good story.
It was set in NYC at Christmas which is famously magical and festive at Christmas so that was really cool.
I always think it’s so amazing how they do such an awesome job of portraying a story with few actors (there were only 2 in this show) and a simple stage layout that they adapt for different scenes. It’s very clever.
We felt so festive afterwards and it was the perfect pre Christmas activity!
I’m really glad we went as we don’t often go to these kinds of shows, favouring the cinema. It was a very welcome change and a lovely evening spent together.
If you’ve followed my blog for any sort of time you’ll know that it all began when I was planning our wedding and wanted to document the journey… if not, hey đđť & that’s how this little blog began!
Fast forward two years and here we are on our second wedding anniversary… yep, two whole years!! Where did that time even go.
So, what can I say about two years of marriage...
âRemember that you’re in it together, part of a team đ
âYou’ve always got someone to make cool plans with â
âBest friends for life, Husband & Wife.
âHe’s still as annoying 𤪠but he’s my annoying, forever ⥠(& I’m sure I’m just as annoying too tbf)
âThere’s support, whenever you need it & when you don’t even realise you need it yourself.
âI still find it weird that I’m a Mrs! đ
â& it still feels a bit strange to say ‘My husband’… far too adult haha đ¤ľđŠđ
âIt’s not easy but it’s always worth it.
âIt was the best day of my life.
How did we celebrate?
We stayed over for a night at Waveny River Centre in Norfolk, in a Yurt! It’s like a fancy and super cosy tent, very cool.
As you can see from the pictures it’s really lovely and a fun change from a hotel.
We had a nice meal out at the local pub and just spent some time together playing games and such in the evening which was nice and chilled.
This morning we opened up our lovely cards, Tim got me some beautiful flowers & I got him some of his favourite sweets.
We only got each other a little something as we like saving money to do things, like staying in the Yurt, instead.
What’s better on a Saturday night than a cosy movie night!?! especially at Christmas!!
Me & the hubby put on our comfys, got a blanket and I made us some hot choccies whilst Tim scrolled through Netflix.
He settled on ‘Deck the hall’s’ starring Danny Devito.
With hot choccies in hand and sweet & salty Popcorn packets we snuggled down to watch the film.
I actually really enjoyed the film, it was one I had heard of many a time but had never watched. It’s super festive and I love all the Christmas, lights and snowy scenes, perfect for making you feel christmassy.
So, at the weekend, (Sat 1st July) yes the 1st of July, the first day of the SEVENTH MONTH of the year! Seriously 2017, slooooww dowwn. Basically we went to the 02 for the Star Wars: identities exhibition as my husband Tim loves Star wars and its his birthday next week.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. As someone who is only now watching the Star Wars films properly I found it really interesting and a fun experience.
There were over 100 pieces that were used in the actual Star Wars films, costumes, droids, models, to look at as well as an accompanying audio guide.
You also got given a wristband at the start and you build your own Star Wars character and shape their identity using it. You make choices about their species, home planet, job, personality etc and this creates your character for you.
Here is Tim’s:
Here is mine:
This was so much fun and I remembered alot more about the film’s than I though I would.
Tim had a great time which is the most important thing âĄ
After we had been to the exhibit we headed to get some food (also in the 02) there is such a good selection of restaurants in there to choose from and because we had been to the exhibit we got 25% off our food bill, winner!
We went to Zizzis and had a delicious Italian feast.
For starters Tim had this A-maz-ING bruschetta with creamy mozzarella, tomatoes & basil pesto đ
I had one of my favourite starters, calamari (V.fitting after my character choice haha)
Tim had a classic Bolognese for his main, which was so rich and delicious. (Yup, I stole a sneaky taste, I’m not the only one who does that am I? I mean what’s mine is yours right! đ)
I had a delicious mushroom tortelloni dish in a creamy sauce.
We shared their new tomato, basil & mozzerella bread đ
We love having days out for a birthday, I love receiving gifts people have chosen for me but there’s something lovely about having experiences and making memories too.
Definatly worth a look for all you Star Wars fans đ
We really wanted a chilled out holiday for our honeymoon and have therefore spent alot of this holiday doing just that, perfect 👌
But, we have also filled the time with other activities to break up the days and to make sure that we saw plenty of this beautiful country (Well the part we were in anyway)
Here goes…
So, as I said alot of chilling by the pool & swimming for at least a few hours everyday (it’s a hard life but someone’s gotta do it :D)
We went for walks around the hotel complex & the local area… 🏨👣
…Usually followed by a nice refreshing drink… 🍹🍸
…And a game of pool! 🎱
There was also great live music most nights courtesy of our hotel 🎶🎹🎸🎤
We went on an allday boat trip that took you over to Madalena Island, a must see area of Sardinia. We sat on the front of the boat, enjoying the views and sunshine, had a delicious lunch prepared for us, swam in the sea and saw some cool fish and dolphins. 🐠🐋🐚
By boat is a fantastic way to see Sardinia in all its glory. âľ🌊
Exploring Madalena Island…
We spent a morning on the beach! 🌞🐚
And took the shuttle bus to Baya Sardinia to look round, do a spot of shopping and have some lunch! 🚐
We’ve had the BEST time ever 💗
I thought it fitting to write about our honeymoon as I started this blog when we began our wedding planning đ 💐
Roseanne Byford 