Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Twenty Five

'You have turned your heart into a museum of people you've loved to keep them alive inside you.'

(Nikita Gill)

I'm going to skip through the majority of this week as it was pretty uneventful with staying at Aum's. I got a poem up on Instagram, read it here, and I went to watch him in his school production of Mary Poppins on Thursday which was amazing, and that is no exaggeration! The school he is at really pull out all the stops when it comes to drama performances: hand painted backdrops, elaborate costumes and full makeup, a live band, mic attachments, the whole she-bang. Considering it is an all boys school and the lead (as well as multiple others) did the complet hour long play in heels and a wig, I was beyond impressed, this year was probably my favourite so far.

On Friday as soon as I had dropped Aum at cricket, I drove 'round to Tasha's and together with Hannah we road tripped up to Carlisle for Lydia's hen party. We didn't arrive until gone 10pm, by which time most were already there and in the hot tub! We hired a beautiful Georgian manor for the affair (there were 16 of us altogether and we all fit in very comfortably), and it was literally my dream house - fireplaces in all the rooms, roll top baths in the bathrooms, its own orchard, an Aga, a twisted staircase/ entrance hall fit for a queen and William Morris wallpaper galore. The rest of the bridesmaids and Emily had arrived early and decorated everywhere with banners, photos and balloons so it looked a treat!

As we turned up quite late we headed to bed after a couple of glasses of fizz, but were up bright and early yesterday ready for an action packed day. After a hearty breakfast we drove in convoy to Ullswater, where we took part in a canoe treasure hunt, which was beyond fun. Lydia's mum sat it out so we were in three teams of five, each in two canoes that had been strapped together. We had to follow clues and row to each next point in order to try and reach the booty first - four bottles of champagne!

 

I'm not going to lie, I am not cut out for rowing! Even with help from our guide who used his speedboat to push us along at times (shoutout to James at Glenridding Activity Centre) we were not exactly speedy. Unfortunately our team didn't win, but four bottles was more than enough bubbly to go around us all, and we needed the Dutch courage for the cliff jump that we did at the end, which was such an adrenaline rush, I did it twice!

Once we were home and had scrubbed up (after I had a quick dip in the hot tub to try it out) we all convened in the dining room for a three course dinner that we'd hired a chef to cook. I had the Thai fishcakes to start, followed by a vegetable tagine, and we all had the trio of desserts to finish - homemade pistachio yoghurt ice cream, triple chocolate mousse and a lemon meringue. The dessert and my main was delicious, but the starter had too much coriander in for my liking, and the meat-eaters main (chicken meatballs?) didn't go down too well. It took the hassle out of cooking or trying to find a restaurant to fit us all in though, especially in the middle of nowhere, so it was worth it.

After food I became a cocktail maker! I had devised a menu and me and a couple of others took orders and whipped up some alcoholic creations for everyone, which were very well received. Lots of silly games, drinking and dancing ensued, which you can thank for my choice of track of the week below, as it is mine and Lydia's 'song'! the last trio standing, Lydia, fellow bridesmaid Lizzie and I made it back into the hot tub with a bottle of prosecco at 2am, so you can imagine I was not feeling the freshest this morning!

Today we set off for home before midday, so I was sunbathing on the roof of the boat before 4pm, and Chris threw together a lovely tea for us ready in time for a Love Island catchup. Corker of a weekend!

Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Twenty Four
'Honour both the crazy and the peace in you. You will need one to create, and the other to ensure you do not destroy what you create.'
(Erin Van Vuren)

IT'S BIRTHDAY WEEK! It started with a very pleasant trip to Tarporley on Monday, a quaint little village in Cheshire. The weather is still amazing so Emily and I decided to go on a roadtrip somewhere and Tarporley has been on my list for a while. We had a wander, got some lunch at Chestnut Cafe (formerly No 6 The Tea Room) and relaxed in a park before heading back so I could do the afternoon school run. I had onion chutney, stilton and grapes on granary toast, which was a great taste combination, with an iced coffee. It was so nice to make the most of a day! 

On Thursday it was the big day, and although I was working I treated myself to getting my nails done and having a hair cut. I decided to take the plunge and get '70s style bangs cut in on a centre parting, which is taking some getting used to but I really like the change and have had loads of compliments on it, which is never a bad thing! I also got a birthday themed poem up on Instagram here.

I didn't finish work until half 7, but when I got home I was in for a surprise! Chris had the Love Island theme tune playing in the communal corridor (sorry neighbours!) and had put candles by the doormat and a sign on the door... The candle theme continued throughout the whole flat, and he had a bath ready for me with chilled prosecco on the side, a paneer curry bubbling away for tea, and a caterpillar cake for dessert! He had put so much effort in I was so touched, and to top it off he wore one of my favourite shirts of his, and bought me a new fancy yoga mat and the Stories for Rebel Girls book of short stories which is ace. Massive boyfriend points all round.

The following day I met up with Lydia in Lymm for a bridesmaid dress fitting and a quick coffee afterwards. Wearing the actual dress was so exciting (we had previously only tried samples of it on in different colours) and I can't wait until it is all adjusted and ready for the wedding day, I'm sure it will come around in no time. That evening Chris and I took the dogs to Levenshulme night market to meet up with Timna and her boyfriend Sam. We had some tasty dumplings and spring rolls from Rockin' Buddha, gin cocktails and salted caramel brownies from Lush Brownies - heaven! I love the community spirit in Levenshulme, and am keen to support local businesses whenever I can; the market is always buzzing and full of good vibes, and usually lots of super cute doggos too!

Yesterday I started another week of living at Aum's whilst his parents are away, but since I had already made plans for birthday part three I took him to his Grandma's to stay the night so I didn't have to sacrifice my partying! I met up with a few of the girls and Smeed at Altrincham Market for a couple of drinks, before moving on to The Cellar where Tasha's sister Genevieve also joined us. It wasn't a crazy one, but it was lovely to all get together for a catch up and a few bevvies, and the girls bought me a new Pandora bracelet and some charms which are beaut. I could definitely feel the alcohol buzz when I was walking home, and the house behind Aum's was having a mad party in a marquee with a full band when I got in, proper cool to bounce around the room getting ready for bed to!

Today I had a bit of a lie in and then went to collect Aum, and we have had a quiet day at home, which has been blissful after a hectic week, albeit for all the right reasons. Track for this week is the new single from Lily Allen, who I have never previously liked that much, but this tune is a real ear worm and I can't get it out of my head!

Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Twenty Three

'Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.'
(12 Rules for Life - An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson)

This week has been super quiet in comparison to the last few, but I'm not complaining. On Thursday I got a poem up on Instagram after having a week off last week, read it here. On Friday Aum had the day off school, and he had to do some Geocaching as part of a project. It was so much fun! For those that don't know, it is where an app on your phone is used to locate millions of hidden vessels known as geocaches on a map of whatever location you are in. They are placed in secret by fellow geocachers and contain a logbook to record the lucky finders, and often items for 'swaps' such as trinkets and hair bobbles etc. It is a craze that anyone can be involved in and is completely free, basically the world's largest treasure hunt! It was a top way of getting outdoors and having fun without spending any money.

We stopped for lunch at The Little Deli Co next to Stamford Park; Aum tried their croque Monsieur on my recommendation and loved it, whilst I went for the special: a 'grown up' fishfinger sandwich with fish goujons and homemade tartare sauce on wholemeal toasted bread. We went home afterwards and I spent the evening on the boat once I had finished; with the blessed return of Love Island this week I have managed to get Chris hooked already!

I adopted this weekend for early birthday celebrations, and yesterday some of the uni crew came out to help. We met at Hatch, a gorgeous little gem hidden on Oxford Road that is perfect when the sun shines. It is a hub of foodie pods and shops with a DJ and bar and pretty outdoor seating. After a couple there Chris headed home to babysit the doggies (being teetotal he had been warned of our impending messiness and decided to save himself!) and we went on to The Flour & Flagon, formerly The Pub and then had one in The Refuge inside The Principal Hotel which is serious #interiorgoals.

Feeling peckish we moseyed over to Grub, similar to Hatch but on a much larger scale, and I had a sundried tomato, cashew and spinach blend bagel by Schmear which was delicious. I'm not going to lie the night gets very blurry from that point! We had a few in The Shack, including multiple Jaegerbombs (thanks lads) and ended the night dancing in Bar 21. Shoutout to my boys for looking after me as I woke up with personal possessions fully in tact in my own bed this morning!

Christ I have been hungover today. I managed to hold it together long enough to force down some mac and cheese at my local pub and wave the boys off at lunchtime, before getting back into bed for a few hours! This evening was birthday celebrations part 2, a meal at Yara, a Lebanese and Syrian restaurant in Altrincham with Chris, my parents and Jasmine. As there were a few of us, we ordered loads of starters and mains and shared most of them (Mum and Dad are meat eaters so we couldn't share everything). The food is always so good at Yara, and it has the added bonus of being BYOB which makes the bill a bit cheaper, especially in a big group. I managed to take one for the team and have a glass of cider, the hair of the dog worked a treat.

We have just got back to the flat after pressie opening and homemade Victoria sponge birthday cake at Mum and Dads, in time for Love Island on ITV2 +1 - winner! A smashing weekend with some of my absolute favourite people. I am such a birthday whore, but for me it is not about the presents or a fancy meal, I just love everyone spending time together (being the centre of attention has absolutely nothing to do with it of course). Track for this week above is by a band I discovered via Candid called grandson, a bit of a banger if I do say so myself!

Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Twenty Two

'I don't have goals I have fantasies. They're exactly like goals, but without the hard work.'

 (Emily Levine)

I have been lucky enough to be off work this week. It started with a beautiful little trip to Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire with Chris and the dogs. He was meeting with the owners of a corporate wellbeing company that he occasionally works for, so we all bundled into the car and joined him. I found a gorgeous secluded glen for a walk with the dogs whilst he was busy, and took full advantage of noone being around by snapping some self timer shots whilst I had a pretty backdrop. Afterwards I went for a cup of tea at Square One Coffee Company which was in a cute paved area where an acoustic duo were playing. 

Once Chris had returned from his meeting we walked all the way along the canal (Mr Whippys in hand), stopping for a cider as it was unbearably hot. The landscape around there is so lush and rural, it was such a lovely way to spend a Bank Holiday Monday. We ate tea at a mediterranean restaurant called Rendezvous where we shared a few mezze style dishes - houmous, halloumi, olives, pitta, tsatziki, garlic green beans, feta and salad, and then drove home for an evening of Netflix; we finished Safe which I would really recommend, such a juicy twist at the end!

On Tuesday Chris surprised me with some tulips for looking after him whilst he was ill over the last couple of days, such a cutie, and especially well received as I had had a gynae appointment that morning, which I don't think any woman enjoys! I headed over to check out my mate Timna's new gaff in the afternoon as she is renovating a place in Levenshulme, bit of inspo/ a reality check for when I finally get in mine. That evening we started a new Scandinavian drama series called The Rain; we absolutely smashed it, watching four episodes that night. 

On Wednesday I arranged to meet up with Chris' mum Christine and his niece Izzy at Coffee Fix in Gatley. Christine looks after her during the school holidays, so I thought it would be nice to get together for a girly brunch. I had eggs Benedict, and one of the baristas showed us some of the latte art he does, he did a teddy bear for Izzy, which she was very impressed with. That evening I went for tea at my parent's whilst Chris felt sorry for himself on my sofa, and we finished The Rain once I got home.

On Thursday after a few errands and getting my nails done I drove to Leeds to stay with my friend Bex in her new flat. She cooked halloumi fajitas for our tea and then we walked into the city centre for a some drinks. We started at a new cocktail bar called Cuckoo that was like Alice in Wonderland meets Glastonbury - very up my street! We had salted caramel espresso martinis before moving on to a secret bar called The Domino that was cleverly hidden behind a barbershop front; downstairs was a prohibition style bar where a live jazz quartet were playing. We ended the night in Blind Tyger, a steampunk themed bar that served flights of different gins and mixers, fab idea!

On Friday after a lie in whilst Bex did a market research study, we went for lunch at Sylva in Roundhay Park. The location was beautiful, a treehouse like building set in rolling parkland, but our overall experience wasn't the best. Firstly after a half an hour wait, we were told they had forgotten to process our order, and then that the dish I had ordered was now unavailable. Then when the food finally arrived, Bex found a hair in her sandwich! In all fairness, the staff were very apologetic, giving us a free slice of cake each due to the wait and then wiping both of our sandwiches off the bill after the sold out / hair debaucle, so we literally only paid for our coffees, winner!

That afternoon we went back into the city centre to meet Lucy, who despite originally being Bex's friend from the Meetup scene in Leeds, we actually realised a while ago went to my high school, her mum lives around the corner from where I work, and my friend Tasha was the estate agent that sold her the flat she now owns in Ancoats, such a crazy small world! We had a cocktail in Be At One before I drove straight to the boat for a barge sleepover, and we started watching The Handmaid's Tale, which is depressing as hell but very gripping!

Yesterday I had a chilled one, hitting the gym and pottering around before heading to Ellie's with Chris for early joint birthday celebrations. There was maybe 15 of us, including a few I hadn't seen for a while, and we sat in the garden nattering and drinking sangria until about 11pm when it seemed to be dying down. Never one to stop the party, I suggested we head to Dulcimer in Chorlton where Chris had left to DJ; most wanted an early one, but me and my mate Africa moseyed on up, and had a couple more bevvies before catching a lift home when Chris had finished his set.

Today I have mostly been... VERY hungover! I just about managed to get Africa back to the met stop around midday, before heading back to bed for another couple of hours. I am now tucked up on the boat, after a rejuvenating afternoon sprawling in the sunshine before walking into Poynton for a Pizza Express, which was the nail in the coffin for my lurking alcohol withdrawal. FYI track of the week above is by the gorgeous Lykke Li who I have recently discovered and she is rad!