Weekly Musings

2018 - Week Seven
'Fall for someone with an air of mystery and wildness in their bones, but with the kindest eyes and a thousand beautiful stories woven into their soul.'
(Nikita Gill)

 It's always difficult to kiss goodbye to the end of a week off work, but I have had such an amazing time I almost don't mind (almost). I had a super lazy Monday and started watching Gossip Girl; how I managed to let it slip past me when everyone else was bingeing on it back in 2007 I will never know. It's trashy and far fetched but deliciously entertaining, the perfect fodder for background viewing whilst pottering around the house. Tuesday was pancake day, so I thought I'd be a bit experimental and devised a recipe all of my own - a spinach, mushroom and squash baked pancake stack which turned out really well (and we still had room for sweet ones for dessert!).

On Wednesday morning after swapping Valentine's day cards and presents with Chris I headed to a yoga session at InHale studio. I have been fitting in an hour or so every day this week so far and really enjoy how invigorated it makes me feel. The class was a bit more difficult than I am used to but I thrived off the challenge, and knowing I had avocado bruschetta waiting for me for brunch at The Garden afterwards definitely made it worth the extra effort. I grabbed a quick coffee at Abi's 'round the corner and then headed home to get ready for my date that evening and pack for a late night roadtrip to Wales for a few days.

As a surprise Chris took me for tea at HOME in town, followed by a viewing of the live stream of Twelfth Night from The Globe in Stratford-upon-Avon. We shared a flatbread platter for starter (with tapenade, beetroot and cumin, and aubergine and yoghurt dips), and then I had a North African 'Buddha bowl', with chickpeas, courgette, spinach, kale, seeds and Cajun fried halloumi on top. The food is top notch at HOME, they have so many options (tonnes of veggie and vegan stuff too), a cracking drinks menu and the atmosphere is super chilled. The play was fab; I am hugely biased as an avid Shakespeare fan, but I felt very lucky that Chris sat through it with me, as he admitted afterwards that he didn't have a clue what was going on! We drove straight to Chris' family house in Llangynog, Wales once it had finished, with a quick pitstop to collect the doggies from the flat, and arrived just after midnight.

On Thursday morning after a lie in and some breakfast we set off on an amble up the side of a mountain. We totally misjudged the wind though so had to turn back after about half an hour - a cliff edge, a bouncy cocker spaniel (Ferryn) and a very lightweight ball of fluff (Lola) seemed like a recipe for disaster. We grabbed a coffee in the local pub and then snuggled up back at the house watching House of Cards instead. That afternoon Chris' mum and her friend Maggie arrived and we got on the wine after eating a lovely homemade lentil lasagne, and his stepdad got to the house later on to join in. It was nice to get to know them all a bit better - definitely one of the most relaxed and enjoyable 'meet the parents' I've done!

On Friday (feeling a little worse for wear!) we drove to nearby Oswestry to a vegan restaurant called The Fat Rabbit for lunch. The choices were so good that Chris and I got two to share: mushroom and white wine gnocchi, and tamarind gyoza with edamame and rice noodles. We also got a raw Snickers bar with ice cream for dessert, oh my gosh it was all incredible! We had a little mooch around the market and shops, before heading home as Chris was DJing that evening. Beautiful little Welsh jaunt!

Yesterday I was up bright and early to head into Manchester for another yoga class, this time with a few friends to celebrate my mate Emily's birthday. It was a reggae version at Hyper Island in the Northern Quarter, and it was HARD! We did core work, inversions, loads of hamstring stretching poses, and ended the class with headstand practise, which I gave my all, but it will be a long time until I have perfected it. A few more joined us for brunch in Trof, I had a couple of soya lattes (needed the caffeine boost!) and the vegan brekkie but with added halloumi. I saw a few friends that I haven't caught up with for ages so didn't get home until mid afternoon, and then I went to Chris' boat for an amazing Swedish massage as I am one of the case studies for his current college course.

Today was spent cleaning the house and cooking in preparation for my parents and Jasmine coming for tea. As Chris makes an awesome paneer curry, we did all Indian themed food - we had poppadoms and I made onion bhajis to start, (that actually came out pretty well for a first try) followed by the curry with chapattis that Chris homemade, and my mum made a raspberry and cherry pavlova for dessert. A gorgeous evening with some of my favourite people. Proper stuffed now!

FYI - track of the week at the top is one of my old faves, and upon googling it to stick the original on here I found this absolute gem of a live version filmed just last September. The epic drum solo (seriously listen to the recorded version) has been replaced with piano and it is so delicate it completely melts my heart. 

Weekly Update!

Trof, Hale Country Club, Cake Gallery & Gastronomy - a week of eating!

This week has been a really good one, Aum was back at school so I relished having my days free again, and I found plenty to keep myself occupied. On Monday I went into Manchester for lunch with Mo at Trof, which was really nice. I had broccoli and feta soup with sourdough bread which was off the specials menu, and was tasty. It was also good to do something a bit different whilst Aum was at school, and broke the day up by having something to look forward to.

On Tuesday I did a gym workout and swim, and had tea at the country club. I had a sort of deconstructed sushi dish called Kabachi - it was a bowl of diced raw salmon with avocado, sugar snap peas and chilli in a lime and sesame dressing. As it was so low calorie I treated myself to a dessert called Paris Mess, basically a variation on Eton Mess. It had broken macaroons, toasted almonds, caramel, chantilly cream and apricots in it and was amazing!

Wednesday was payday finally, so I filled my car up with petrol, bought my Parklife ticket, and paid to enter the triathlon I am competing in, as well as paying off various debts - it is gradually disappearing already! That evening I went to see Reel Big Fish with Mo, Dom and Kirsty (see previous post). On Thursday I met Hannah and Abi at the Cake Gallery for a catch up, where I had a pecan pie that was delicious, and totally took me back to my childhood when we used to have it all the time. Afterwards I did a 40 minute bike ride in the cinema room at the gym whilst watching Interview with a Vampire, and then had a fairly quiet evening.

On Friday I did a Body Combat class again which was fun, and then was told that I wasn't needed to pick Aum up, so spent the afternoon catching up with some reading and blogging. Mo came round in the evening, and we had pork meatballs with vegetable risotto for tea, and then had a few drinks and chilled out. We went out for lunch at Gastronomy on Saturday, which was really nice, I had a ham and cheese panini with chips, and Mo got a chorizo and cheese omelette. The weather was gorgeous so we sat in the garden for a while when we got back soaking up the rays, and then I got a lift to the airport to catch a train to Northampton to visit Geoff and see Timna.

I started on the gin as soon as I arrived, which coupled with a lack of any tea meant that I got ridiculously drunk and only just made it out of the taxi into town before falling over, so it was decided we would go back home. At least it was a cheap night! Today I journeyed home feeling very tired and sorry for myself, and then Mo came round for a Sunday roast and to officially 'meet the parents' haha. It went well, but I am so tired I will be glad when I can just collapse into bed!

Weekly Update!

Mazes, Dancing & lots of Food!

The first week back at work after a holiday is always a drag, although it could have been much worse in my case, as Aum is on school holidays at the moment, so we get to do lots of fun stuff.

On Monday we didn't do very much, just ran a few errands and then went to look at the animals at the pet shop, and then I worked at the pub. On Tuesday the weather appeared quite fine, so we went to Red House Farm with my two cousins and my auntie to do the Maize Maze there. This year it was Jubilee themed, so was shaped like a giant crown, and the nine stamps you had to collect around it were all quintessentially British, including a postage stamp, a union jack flag and a sceptre. It was more difficult than I remembered, and didn't help that it started raining half way around, so we cheated slightly to get all the stamps and find our way out (shh!).

On Wednesday we went to see Brave at the cinema (see previous post), and on Thursday I took Aum and his friend to the Blue Planet Aquarium which was really fun (see previous post). In the evening once I had finished work I very quickly got my nails done, and then went round to Hana's for some pre-drinks before going out to Sakura on Deansgate Locks in Manchester. It was a really fun night, we all had a good dance, and got rather more drunk than we had intended; so on Friday I was a little tender at work! Luckily Aum had a tennis lesson in the morning so I got to have a little nap, and then we went for lunch at Hale Spa & County Club, where I had a sunblush tomato, mozzerella and pesto risotto which sorted me right out!

That evening Lydia was back from uni so I went out with her in the Northern Quarter in Manchester. It was really nice just for the two of us to chill out and have a few cocktails in Bluu and Trof, and we ended up in this club called Mint, dancing to 90s pop music and having a laugh before getting the last met home. I was at work the following day, and afterwards I had the girls round to mine for a few drinks as I had a free house. We went out into Altrincham at around 11pm, starting in Bloom and then moving on to Heart and Soul which was a laugh. Lydia and Tasha had ordered a sharing Zombie cocktail in Bloom, and Emily and I had been doing shots of rum, so we were all nicely merry, and stayed out until the club shut at 2.30am.

Today Tasha and Lydia came round to chill out for a while this morning, and then I have just got back from Hana's house, where Lydia and I were treated to a hangover feast of lemon tart, clotted cream, After Eights, strawberries and chocolate. Not that I haven't eaten enough this week... and lack of gymming due to work is not boding well - it's a good job my scales at home have broken!

Weekly Update!

Full-Time Work With A Dash Of Socialising!

This was the first week doing my nannying job full time and I love it! Not only am I looking after the cutest boy, but during the day whilst he is at school, aside from a bit of shopping and washing, I am free to do whatever I like!

Rather than be really naughty and spend the time shopping and coffee shop hopping (although I have done that a bit...) I have joined the gym, and so last week I did a yoga class, went swimming and ran three times - go me!

Aside from that and actually working, I haven't done much in the way of socialising, mainly as I'm still adjusting to long days with early mornings and getting into a routine. However, I went to Chris' for tea on Wednesday, and took some time over the weekend to enjoy myself which was nice.

On Friday I had my nails done, and then in the evening I went for a few drinks at the Moss Trooper with an old friend. I'd not seen him properly for two years (except a brief encounter at Benicassim which I can barely remember due to intoxication!) so it was good to catch up.

On Saturday after work, Chris came over and we met up with some university friends in Manchester. We started in Sam's Chophouse, which I'd never been in before, but it is apparently one of the oldest pubs in Manchester. It had loads of beers on tap and a mammoth wine list, yet wasn't too expensive and had a great atmosphere - so I'd like to go back sometime as it was a bit of a rushed visit!

Next we headed onto the Northern Quarter starting in TV21 and then Trof. Both were really busy, but in a vibrant way, and I had a lovely cocktail courtesy of Chris in the latter that tasted like Parma Violets - yum!

On Sunday after a nice lie-in and cooked breakfast, Chris left and Mum, Dad and I went to a family party in Derby (see previous post). Life is good!