I hope you enjoyed NYE, however you spent it. We had a chilled one with out friends, playing games, eating party food and having a few drinks.
We made the most of the first new day of the new year by spending the day together.
We started off still at our friend’s as we stayed over last night. We all had a nice chilled, lazy get up which was great as I was knackered from staying up but also from a rubbish nights sleep the previous night (I never usually have trouble staying up until midnight!)
Once we left, we decided to stop off for lunch on our way home. We both fancied a roast to roll in the new year, and let’s be honest, a roast is way better when you don’t cook it or there’s no washing up at the end, so to Toby carvery we went.
Perfect for a Sunday or Bank Holiday and there was a slot that fitted I’m perfectly with when we would be arriving home.
I went for Roast Turkey as I didn’t have any at Christmas. It was so really juicy turkey and it was delicious with cranberry sauce, the thick gravy and awesome roasties.
After our yummy roasts we decided for go for a walk.
After that we headed home for a little while before we went to the cinema.
We went to watch the film ‘Till’ which was playing as an Unlimited Screening, so you can get to watch the film before it comes out to everybody, if you have an unlimited card (which we both do)
The film was incredibly powerful, thought-provoking, inspiring but also truely heartbreaking. The film was from the perspective of Emmett Tills mother Mamie, which it what makes it so compelling and as I said, emotional – It is told from the perspective and experience of a black women and is co-written and directed by a black women.
I took some of the Christmas chocolate in a tub for us as we have loads left still. It saves us buying anymore and is a good way of getting through it as you need a cinema snack!!
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 Love Autumn & Halloween… here’s what we got up to !
Spooky fun at the farm.
We went out for the day, to a nearby farm!
It was brilliant.
There was SO much to do.. we made wands, got sorted into our Hogwarts house, had a spooky trailer ride, explored the spooky maze, picked and decorated pumpkins, pettee guinea pigs & rabbits, looked at loads of other animals and had a bug trailer ride.
With our Nephews 💙
A great family day out, themed really well and with lots of fun to be had.
A fanily Halloween party for the kiddies.
We had a fun little family Halloween party at my sisters house.s
She set up some fun activities for them, we also had a buffet of party food, spooky tunes and Halloween pass the parcel.
Halloween at ours
Me & Tim always do a few Halloween traditions at home – these include carving a pumpkin (we’ve done one every year that we’ve been together) and I make us ‘Spooky Sausages’ which are meant to look like mummies.
I also like to watch horror films but Tim isn’t too keen on those so thats usually just me haha
Some of my favourites are Scream, Halloween, Hocus Pocus, Nightmare before Christmas and Nightmare on Elm St.
Our local cinema was showing some Halloween classics on Halloween.
Me and my Twin sister Sarah always watch horror films together so we went along and watched the original Scream! I can’t believe its the 25th Anniversay 😱
Scream is my favourite ‘Scary Movie’ and it was cool to watch it on the big screen.
I thought I would do a little post to comemorate our anniversay.
I usually post a little something each year because, after all, our wedding is the reason I started this blog. I wanted to document the planning and experience of our wedding.
I can’t believe its been 5 years. It was a wonderful day.
Hubby ♡
Mum
Bridesmaids
Dad
The ceremony
The best man
The in laws
Auntie, Uncle & Nephew
1st dance
NEVER FORGET
Confetti
Our Cake
‘I do’
The date is the same as our original anniversary as I really wanted to get married on our anniversary.
So, today also marks 10 years together and that is absolutely mad. How time flies.
Especially when you are having fun 💗
To my husband…
I wish I could put into words how wonderful you are, but my words would never do you justice.
From our 2011 trips to the Heathlands, Nights out, Uni Visits & Cinema dates to now, 2021 … having just come out of a year of doing none of those things because we are in the midst of a Pandemic (who’d have thought it aye)
Thanks for always making me laugh, for always taking care of me and for always dancing like a fool around the lounge with me.
Marrying you is one of the best choices I’ve ever made. You are my bestfriend. 10 years later and I still find myself thinking, Wow, soulmates really do exist.
One of the best parts of Christmas is putting up your tree, so here’s ours!
I love putting up the tree, christmas jumpers on, christmas tunes blaring out… perfect!
From Disneyland Paris ’19So pretty ❤🌟From Universal Studios, Florida ’18Our 2020 decoration from Mum Bought at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park ’19Our tree topper ☆
I love the traditional red, gold and green of our decorations.
2020 has shone a light on the reality of racism, in all its forms.
Sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests, which stemmed from horrific injustices such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (to name a few) we are informing and educating ourselves on the wrongs of a nation, (well I hope you are) with regard to black lives and their treatment. People are educating themselves on black heritage and culture… and learning all about black history is such an important part.
‘A genuine change must first come from within the individual, only then can he or she attempt to make a significant contribution to humanity.’
Dalai Lama
This is why educating and informing ourselves is so important and Black History Month is the perfect opportunity.
Black History Month began in 1987, in order to celebrate and bring a focus to the history and contributions that black people have made to the UK.
Black history is almost completely forgotten in most traditional history curriculums.
One of my favourite mediums of information is of course print & books.
I have been purchasing some books over lockdown and in the recent weeks. These books were recommended by many people that I follow on my blogs Instagram page.
They touch on the stories and injustices of black people and they are certainly eye opening.
I would particularly recommend ‘Just Mercy’ by Bryan Stevenson, (although this is focussed on the American Justice system it is still such an important read)
Amazon have a great Black History section that offers book suggestions for both adults and children.
These include:
•Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga •Black British History: New Perspectives, Edited by Hakim Adi •Black Poppies: Britain’s Black Community and the Great War by Stephen Bourne •Black, Listed by Jeffrey Boakye
& for children..
•Bedtime Inspirational Stories – 50 Black Leaders who Made History: Black History Book for Kids by L A Amber. •Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison •Black Heroes: A Black History Book for Kids: 51 Inspiring People from Ancient Africa to Modern-Day U.S.A by Arlisha Norwood. •Coming to England: An Inspiring True Story Celebrating the Windrush Generation by Baroness Floella Benjamin.
I have also been listening to Podcasts on Spotify, a brilliant resource. There is a Black Lives Matter & Black History Now playlist.
This playlist is brilliant and I’m enjoying the ‘Inspirational Black Life Stories’ And the ‘BLAM UK: Black History Bites.’
I love documenting what we get up to in the Summer holidays.
Though thanks to Covid we didnt actually have a Summer ‘holiday’, I also didn’t have to work this Summer, so I had all six weeks to enjoy, have fun and relax ready for Sept!
So, without further ado, let’s have a look at what we got up to…
So, here is the first quarter of my Reading Challenge. Three months down. I have to say I didn’t think I would writing this post in ‘Lockdown’ during a global Pandemic, this is just insane.Maybe I’ll get a few more books read whilst this is going on?! Its such a crazy, scary time so its nice to be able to ‘escape’.I thought this picture was very apt.
January/February/March
So, what have I read…
Last Light: The Lucy Harwin series Book 3 by Helen Phifer
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (Halfway, but I’ll leave it on the list as its a biggun’)
The Secret Santa by Trish Harnetiaux
Struck by Lightening: The Carson Phillip’s Journals by Chris Colfer
I’ll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson
Stranger Than Fan Fiction by Chris Colfer
I have really enjoyed all of these books, especially ‘I’ll take New York’. Chris Colfer, who you may know from Glee, is a brilliant writer, his books are so well written, so easy to read and hilarious, which is why I’ve read two of them during this period. Well worth checking out.
I have bought a few new books to get me through the Isolation… my next book is called ‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides.
I recommended this to a friend and she has already fisihed it. It even made her gasp with suprise (don’t you just love it when a book does that!?) So, Im looking forward to getting stuck into that.
As a child I always loved reading, but steadily, over the years it has grown to be my most favourite of hobbies.
And there is most definitly one book that I can attribute alot of that joy to…
As J.K Rowling so eloquently put it; ‘I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.’
Never has a story, characters, A LOCATION (because we all wanna be at Hogwarts, let’s be real) captured my imagine like the ones in Harry Potter.
…It’s the comfort of something you know so well… a constant, magical source of enjoyment, imagination, comfort and belonging that sometimes you can only get from immersing yourself in a wonderful story.
So, thanks J.K 👍🏻
& just remember; ‘The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.’ ⚡❤📚
So, if you havn’t recently, pick up a good book, go to your local library, start that one you’ve been meaning to for a while, read that childrens book they’ve asked you to read 100 times because you never know, it might just change your/their life… and if it doesnt you’ll still have a lovely time in the process.
Roseanne Byford 