Wrapping it all up

After a brief two month hiatus for which I can only apologise for I am back for the New Year.

I found that towards the end of last year I really wasn't in the mood for blogging and I was suffering from writers block. I didn't just want to blog for the sake of blogging, so decided to give myself a little bit of a rest.

What better way to start the New Year than by wrapping 2015 up, and what a year I had!

At the start of the year I was good to my resolutions and managed to lose 17lbs in six months, although I may have just put it all back on with the amount of cheese that I have been consuming over the last two weeks. As always I make resolutions and fail to keep most of them so this year I'm not making any at all! 



After a few months of uncertainty I was made permanent in a job which I absolutely adore. Most recently I have just become a Manager as well which is something that I had hoped to achieve before I became thirty and a goal which I am thrilled to have reached. To be able to not mind going into work on a Monday morning, to have a brilliant working and personal relationship with my boss and to have friends who support me and are a joy to see five days a week is something that people dream of.



With the summer came Glastonbury and the engagement! Exactly five years after we had met Leigh proposed to me at the top of Glastonbury and of course I screamed 'Yes!' Swift wedding planning began and we fixed a date for October 2016.



I also completed my final Open Uni course in the summer which meant that finally after five years of study I walked across the stage at the Barbican Centre and picked up my 2.1 English Literature degree and I felt so proud of myself.
 


Things have been going so well that I almost fear that they won't continue into 2016! But with going to LA for my best friend's wedding in March (and finally getting to go to Disney!) to my own wedding in October with a honeymoon in Bali I think that 2016 is going to be a cracker as well.



I wish you all a very pleasant year and I hope it brings you everything you desire. Here's to 2016!

C x

Glastonbury 2015

I may have dropped the ball slightly on this post - a month after the event is very bad even for me, who can be a lazy blogger at the best of times. But I am on holiday so I really have no excuse!

As most of you will know I am a huge Glastonbury lover, and after two years away it felt like a lifetime. This year, for me, had a brilliant line-up, I went with some very good friends and really I was just ready to immerse myself in the whole experience again.

Of course it didn't disappoint because how could it. Even the hour queue to get in (a first for me!), and the sweaty walk with what felt like my body weight resting on my back couldn't dampen any spirits. Even getting absolutely and completely drenched on Friday whilst dancing to Mary J. Blige didn't bring me down that much, although later realising that I could wring water out of my bra wasn't fantastic.

Bands I loved played, and a certain artist I had always wanted to see headlined. Once again I made it through Glastonbury without going to the Rabbit Hole but I was having so much fun doing other things that it didn't really matter. I sort of wish for a year with a crap line-up though just so I can go and do all the fun things that there are. This was my fifth year at Glastonbury and still I haven't seen everything there is on offer. Sometimes you just end up walking in to completely random things without realising, like the Dalai Lama giving a speech on love or a band at West Holts who had just stepped in to cover and were brilliant with the crowd.

My highlights this year were getting the a section of the crowd around us to start singing Golddigger before it came on at Kanye West started by my friend and I, the crowd cheering at Years & Years because gay marriage is now legal across the whole of the US, raving out to Chemical Brothers covered in glow-sticks, the heavy bass vibrating my voice at Jamie XX, getting dirty feet and not really giving a damn, 100,000 people chanting 'Lionel, Lionel, Lionel!' and of course getting engaged.

It is always so hard to leave that place, it becomes home for five days and there isn't anything better than waking up in the morning, crawling out of your tent and seeing the Pyramid stage, along with thousands of other tents, every single one of them having such a different Glastonbury experience. I say this every single time I go but if you haven't been at least try it once. Try it and maybe you will see what I mean when I say that Glastonbury is the greatest place on earth.

C x

A Day Trip to Oxford

As it is the bank holiday weekend what better time than to take a little jaunt out of London to Oxford. I have never been before. When I was growing up I always wanted to go to Oxford University to study English but that just never worked out so instead I contented myself with a lovely day wandering around and looking at the beautiful buildings.

We took the Oxford Tube down from London and arrived early afternoon. We had such a lovely walk through the streets admiring all the architecture. It is such a shame that a lot of the interiors are off limits as I can only imagine how stunning they are.

This is a very picture heavy post so grab a cup of tea and have a scroll!

 

After we has our fill of everything  we could see we followed a tip on a pub and we were not disappointed. Hidden down an alleyway 'The Turf Tavern' is a perfect little hideaway with a very good pub grub menu and plenty of seating and some fire pits. The courtyard is framed with original mid 13th century city walls. I would highly recommend visiting if you are in Oxford.

 

 

We honestly has the nicest day. It was lovely to do something different and get some fresh air over the bank holiday weekend.

I hope you had a lovely Easter.

C x 

A Year in Cooking

Its been a good year for cooking so I thought I would do a easy to navigate review post. I really love cooking and I hope that I can inspire you to make a few bits and pieces. Hopefully I should be trying out even more recipes next year so look out for those!

January

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

February

Chicken Soup

March

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

April

Lime and Coconut Ice-cream

May

Pink raspberry cake

June

Honey and Pistachio Cakes 

July

Granny's Pie

August

Chocolate, Cherry, Honeycomb Parfait 

September

Apricot and Ginger Chutney

October

Carrot Cake

November

Cranberry Mincemeat

December

Mini Christmas Cakes

 I hope this inspires you to try some of the recipes :)

C x

A Weekend in Bath

We popped to Bath this weekend for a friend's Birthday! I am very lucky as Leigh's family live in the area and so I often get a chance to go to quite frankly one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen.

Sometimes you don't need to go there for anything other than to wander through the streets lined with Bath stone buildings

Find lots of little shops selling their wares.

You can stop and marvel at the cathedral

Or take a step back in history and visit the Roman Baths and the Pump Room which Austen brings to life in Northanger Abbey. 

It is rumoured that Austen disliked the city but I cannot see how as it is filled with history and charm.

It's always worth taking a trip up the hill to see the beautiful buildings curving round in the Royal Crescent.

And do make sure you stop and say hello to the locals

It is also a good place to get very merry on local cider from the number of different bars and pubs which is exactly what I did when I decided it was a good idea to drink 6.5% cider, followed by more cider, followed by beer on Saturday night.

If you haven't been before I really would recommend that you do....especially as they have finally, after years of waiting, got a Primark!

C x