In August 2015, we started planning our wedding, and that is when I began ‘Roseanne’s blog’ to document our wedding planning & the big day!
So, heres a little look at our wonderful day 🥹
Some of my favourite things about our wedding day that we planned were:
•The venue – it was a converted barn that was beautiful, and we both fell in love with it the first time we visited. We just got this feeling that this was the place ♡ I loved the incorporation of all the old features of the barn in the venue, as well as the two separate rooms for the ceremony and reception. It was just perfect.
•The Colour scheme. My two favourite colours and I just love how they look together in all aspects from the flowers, centrepieces and decorations.
•The people involved in our day. It was so lovely spending the day with so many loved ones. We really enjoyed having some of our favourite people for both the bride & groom parties, that we chose together, as well as those doing the readings, photos/videos (which were family & friends) It all added to the day and made it so special.
•Our geeky touches that made the wedding ‘us’ from a Middle Earth wedding breakfast to Harry Potter wedding programs and a Honeydukes sweet shop at the Reception. I just loved adding all these little personal details to our day.
•Our Italian inspired food (Pizza & antipast!!) including our cake with authentic Italian decorations from Venice 😍
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.
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.
I hope you had a nice weekend, it probably wasn’t the weekend we all planned or thought it would be.
So, we actually have a few traditions that we usually do at Easter but obviously this years a bit different (for now)
But, lets not dwell on what would have/should have been… So, what did we do to make the Easter weekend fun and what traditions did we manage to uphold in lockdown?!
Board games are a must!
We opted for LOTR Monopoly as we haven’t played it for a while and Monopoly is the Queen of board games, so it’s the perfect choice.
Plus, this one is great as you move the one ring along so you can either play a manageable length game or go the long haul.
We also got together on Good Friday night (on Skype) as we have been since this began, to do our weekly quiz night so that was good to get together that way.
Easter treats!
We also made the good old Easter tradition that is chocolate crispy cakes.
We made individual ones using shredded wheat, chocolate and Terry’s choc oranges mini eggs.
The large one was cornflakes, chocolate, cut up Creme eggs & lots of sprinkles.
Delicious!
Easter Sunday Breakfast 🍽
As a family, on Easter Sunday we usually get together, exchange Easter eggs, do craft with the kids and have a chinese takeaway for dinner (I know, traditional Easter food 😂 but that’s just what we do, my Nana started it!)
Our Asda Chinese ‘Takeaway’
It was nice to play games together, just me and Tim, watch some TV and have a few treats. (Well, quite a few treats but it’s one weekend aye!)
Plus, I had a nice video/call from my niece and nephews so that was lovely as I am missing them alot and I love to spoil them on special occasions like this. But, most of all I just love to give them a big hug and have some fun with them!
Let’s hope we’ll all be together again soon!
How did you get through the isolation Easter weekend?
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
It’s Christmas Eve and Dougal has travelled from Ipswich to New York for his father’s wedding. At JFK Airport he’s greeted by Robyn. Tomorrow her sister becomes his stepmother and Robyn’s dreading it. Dougal can’t wait. But then Dougal loves Christmas and Robyn’s 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 Macy’s. 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.
I’m not going to write alot in this post, just simply share with you a beautiful place that me and my husband recently visited for out 3rd Wedding anniversary 💍 (3 years since my blog began, in preparation for the wedding!)
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 👋🏻 & 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...
○Remember that you’re in it together, part of a team 💑
○You’ve always got someone to make cool plans with ✈
○Best friends for life, Husband & Wife.
○He’s still as annoying 🤪 but he’s my annoying, forever ♡ (& I’m sure I’m just as annoying too tbf)
○There’s support, whenever you need it & when you don’t even realise you need it yourself.
○I still find it weird that I’m a Mrs! 💐
○& it still feels a bit strange to say ‘My husband’… far too adult haha 🤵🎩👞
○It’s not easy but it’s always worth it.
○It 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.
This weekend me and Tim went to stay with my Auntie & Cousin in Norwich. We had planned this trip for a little while but the snow had scuppered our plans earlier on in March!
With the weather clear and our bags packed we headed off on Friday after work. We made it in good time (although a slow moving tractor on the way almost trapped us for a bit, good old East Anglia)
We were greeted with a delicious tea of pizzas which we all enjoyed, whilst catching up.
We also got cuddles with my Aunties new baby guinea pigs Digby and Tufty. They are brothers and are super cute! (Below is Digby!)
On Saturday Morning (being the keen parkrunners that we are) me and Tim got up and went in search of Brundalls Parkrun, our first outing as Parkrun tourists. We actually found it quite easily and it was really cool doing a different course. Plus being good and still going out for a run whilst away meant we could be more indulgent when necessary over the weekend haha.
We really enjoyed the run and although it was a bit worrying not knowing the course it turned out to be pretty straight forward, A 4 lap course, we just had to remember which lap we were on!
We headed back to freshen up and have some brekky.
We spent the rest of the day watching films and playing board games. perfect weekend entertainment, especially the board games as they were vintage ones from my aunties loft (They don’t make board games like they used to these days) We found some real gems.
We went out for a meal in the evening to a local Indian restaurant that we frequent on our trips to see my Auntie, it’s lovely there and the food is really tasty.
We enjoyed poppodoms & sauces to start and for the main I chose the tandoori chicken with boiled rice, yummy.
On Sunday we all indulged in a much deserved lie in followed by a chilled out day of watching tv, chatting, having copious amounts of tea, an amazing roast dinner cooked by my cousin and playing a fun word based card game called Wordsmithery.
It’s always such a shame when a lovely long weekend ends! Back to the reality of a working week. Thank goodness it’s a short one, roll on the Easter Hols I say, I’m defiantly feeling it now ZZZzzzzz.
So yesterday was mine & Tim’s 6 month wedding anniversary, where has that time gone?!?! 😱 I can’t believe it’s been half a year since our amazing day.
This Christmas will of course be our first one as a married couple, so how are we making it special? How is it different as husband & wife?
Well I’m not sure it’s massively different to be honest haha but here are a few ways we are making it special;
1. Mr & Mrs decoration; as one of our wedding presents we got a Mr & Mrs wedding decoration. This is really cute & looks lovely on out tree.
‘Best friends for life husband & wife 💗’
2. Personalised Christmas cards; As I’m making our Christmas cards this year I thought it would be cute to get some christmassy stickers personalised to say ‘Merry Christmas from Mr & Mrs Byford’
I got these on eBay and they are really cute & festive. I’m going to put one on each card to seal them.
3. Weddingphotos: Tim doesn’t know but I am getting some of our wedding photos printed off to go up on the wall in our home ♡ Here are the ones that I’ve chosen…
I got a lovely white frame with three spaces in it from Wilko, only £5 that I’m going to put them in and wrap up for Tim, I hope he likes it 🙂
& just generally enjoying the festivities together as a couple 💑 We have been to a few Christmas markets together & will be having our traditional panto trip too (Look out for those later on in Blogmas)
Today in my beauty advent calender…
I got this lovely eye primer. This is so handy as I find eyeshadow applies so much better with a primer. I havnt tried this one either so I’m looking forward to giving this a go.
13 sleeps to go, seriously!! I need to get wrapping ✂
Roseanne Byford 