Life, Lately October 2014

 

Hello my little teacakes

Once upon a time, I used to do an occaisional series of posts called 'A Week in the Life', which pretty much did what it said on the tin. 

These fizzled out, mainly because, I'm sorry to say, an average week in my life is not that exciting, and I didn't think you'd all want to read about the endless pattern of working late, going to the gym and watching repeats of the 'British Bake Off' that is my usual weekly existance.

But I really like reading the 'lifestyle' posts on other blogs, so I've decided instead to do some posts simply called 'Life, Lately'. They will be a bit sporadic, and they don't encompass a standard length of time, but they'll just be little glimpses into my life, usually though the lens of an iPhone!

Ready? Great. Then here's what I've been up to lately...

Home is Where the Heart Is

 

Those of you who read my occaisional 'Life Update' posts, or who know me personally, will undoubtedly be sick of hearing about the trials and tribulations of our moving house. 

We've been trying to 'second-step', or move from our small first house to more of a family home, and it has been more difficult than I would ever have imagined it could be.

We have had an unbelieveable, almost unbearable amount of bad luck. Its taken two years, four lost buyers, two lost 'dream homes', and dozens of unaccepted offers. It has nearly broken us, lost us sleep, tested our relationship, even. 

But finally, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Part of me doesn't even want to hope because we've had so many false dawns where it seemed our luck was finally changing, only for something awful to happen again. Yet things seem to be at a point now where I almost can't think anything else could go wrong. We want to focus on the positive.

So here is (hopefully) the new home sweet home...

 

The new house is an Edwardian 5 bed semi with plenty of space for us to grow into (and I will be having a bedroom to use as a dressing room, its already been agreed - eat your heart out Carrie Bradshaw!)

We have all sorts of plans for doing the place up, and check out the gorgeous garden, where I'm already dreaming of chicken coops, floral archways, a fire pit with seating and raised vegetable beds...

Plus, it backs onto the canal at the end of the garden, so kayaking to work is a very real possibility...how would that be for a commute?

 

This move has literally been blood, sweat and tears, and its not over yet. So I'm just hoping it will have been worth it.

If we manage to pull this move off, doing up the house is going to be occupying a lot of my time, so I'm sure there will be lots of house posts to come... 

So Fresh and so clean

 

These little beauties are totally my new addiction at work - Pukka Peppermint & Licorice Tea. Soooo yummy! They really give you a lift. 

The taste is a hit of refreshing peppermint with the sweetness of licorice, which really adds something. Plus, the packaging is so sweet! 

I truly love these, and as the weather turns colder, they'll be helping to keep me warm as I churn out press releases at work.

Outlaws in the forest

 

We went to Centre Parcs in Sherwood Forest for the day with my sister in law Kirsty, her husband Nick and our little niece and nephew. I've never been to Centre Parcs before so I wasn't sure what to expect really -  but I was so pleasantly surprised! 

They were staying there for a week, but you can get day passes for guests. There is so much to do there, from the giant wave pool under the dome with all its flumes and rapids, to organised activities like archery and horse-riding - anything really! Plus, restaurants, boutiques and cafes, all just tucked away in the middle of the forest!

 

I'm getting a re-style from the best little hair stylist in town! It seemed like such a great place to take kids, because there's so much for them to do. I also found it surprisingly relaxing. Even though there's plenty to do, its also really peaceful and quiet in the forest, and you can easily tune it all out and feel that deep, calming feeling if you want.

 

There's a Cafe Rouge on site, so you can have all the crepes and lattes you need. We joined them in the morning and after a walk around the forest and a good go on the play areas, plus lots of spotting of ducks and moorhens (our niece loves them!), we stopped for some refreshments before heading to the big swimming pool in the afternoon, where we made the most of all the flumes and the rapids.

 

This was the view from the back of their holiday cottage, just straight out into the trees. Imagine having your morning coffee looking out at that!

 

We were thoroughly tired out after a day of running around in the great outdoors, but we really enjoyed it. I can imagine us going there in years to come, when we might have our own kids as well, as a big family group, taking over one of the treehouses!

Deeper and Darker

 

I forgot to share my Monday Mani on Twitter! At the moment, I've gone darker to match in with the falling leaves and the colder evenings. 

This shade is my current favourite - its 'Black Cherries' from Rimmel's I Heart Lasting Finish range. It looks fairly black here, but its actually a deep purplish-burgundy with dark red sparkles that seem to flare up from the depths -its an absolute beaut, and such a steal.

Robin Hood Marathon

 

Last Sunday, Seb ran the Robin Hood half marathon, and it was such a brilliant day. The sun came out, and it actually turned out to be really hot and sunny. 

My mother in law and I camped out with coffees near the finish line. I bumped into a few people I know through work, and it turned out to be such a good atmosphere. 

He crossed the finish line in 1 hour 34 which was amazing, but he can do the distance in 1 hour 20 so I think he was a little disappointed, but he still did fantastically well. 

 

 

The furthest I've ever done is a 10k race at Sherwood Pines, and I have no desire to go any further than that! I run home from work but I hate doing long distances, I don't know what people think about for all that time. 

I was so, so proud of Seb though, he's an absolute hero. He's so fast and so focused - I felt in awe of him. It did get me thinking that perhaps I should enter another race to give me something to focus on with my health? 

Feet First

Major, major crush on these shoes from small label Roma. Aren't they something fabulous? I just love the tassels, and the coiled rope effect. It strikes me that having tassels on your high heels is beyond sexy. The design is also quite edgy, something about the casualness of the rope.

I haven't bought them yet, because they're quite expensive and I'm trying not to spend too much, but I reckon I might crack before too long! They'd look amazing with everything from skinnies to a little black dress, and ideal for party season. WANT.

 

Flutterbyes

 

Got tipped off about these amazing falsies by the gorgeous Sonya over at OnceUponAGlam, and they are seriously some of the best I've ever used. 

You guys know by now that I wear lashes most days, and its very important to me to get ones that look natural, are hard-wearing and fit comfortably. These lashes tick all those boxes and more - because they're only £1.99! 

Made of real hair, they look soft and natural on, the band is clear as well so you can pass them off as your own quite easily. The quality is unbelieveable, as well as the price. If you're into your flutter power, I highly recommend these babies.

 

Autumn Walks

 

Now that the weather's changing and its all going a bit autumnal, I've really been enjoying taking some walks, usually with a nice latte in hand. 

Its those golden, slightly chilly mornings that I really enjoy - somehow they make it seem like anything is possible. I get bundled up and go out for my sunshine fix before getting home for tea and cake. It might be simple, but its one of the best pleasures going at this time of year. 

Visit to Edin's Natural Kitchen and Patisserie

 

On Saturday, I met up with my friend Kati, and we went for a hot chocolate and a catch up at this cute little patisserie and cafe in Nottingham's Lace Market area. 

I feel like I haven't seen some of my friends for far too long at the moment, and it was a good reminder that sometimes you need to make time for important stuff like hanging out over a coffee! 

She's off to Iceland on holiday in a couple of weeks and I am soooo jealous, it looks amazing with all the natural hot springs. Definitely one for the bucket list. 

We hid from the rain and had a good old catch up, all about our plans for the next few years. Good times.

Honey Honey

Also tried out a new recipe and baked this Honey Cake, which was rather delicious (if I do say so myself) and also very easy.

What's in it? Literally buckets of honey, eggs, butter, a bit of flour and a lot of spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. It makes a richy, gooey, dense cake.

When its still warm, you make a flavoured honey syrup and drizzle it over. Then for the final touch, I added some chopped hazelnuts on top. Very tasty! This would make a good pudding with some creme fraiche as well.

So, that's what's been happening in my little corner of the world lately, what have you been up to?