A recap of this year's blog posts

I've had a busy few weeks which means I haven't had time to come up with any new content for a little while. So, rather than leaving the blog blank for a week, I thought I'd put together a recap of this year's posts instead.

My blog stats have been quite disappointing for the last few months and I'm not too sure why. Hopefully this summary will remind my readers about posts they might have missed, giving my stats a much-needed boost at the same time!


Christmas and new year 

My first few posts of 2019 were all about Christmas and the new year, as you'd expect. I blogged about our Christmas and new year celebrations and my Christmas sale bargains, as well as my annual 'best of 2018' blog post which summarised all my highlights from last year.

New York 

I went to New York in December which meant some of my blog posts from that holiday spilt over into 2019. I posted a mouth-watering summary of what we ate in New York, and I also blogged about what I wore in New York.

Lifestyle 

I've written one very personal post this year about remembering what makes me 'me'. This post has had three times as many views as my other recent posts! People are nosey and we all love scrolling through a good personal post. I've also blogged about rediscovering my reading mojo, as well as blogging about why I love having a dog last week.

Venice 

Lastly, we went to Venice at the beginning of March and I managed to get three blog posts out of our lovely trip. One was a photographic summary, and I also blogged about what I ate in Venice and what I wore in Venice.

Hopefully there'll be some brand new content on the blog next week. In the meantime, feel free to catch up on any posts you've missed! 

Christmas sale bargains

It's become a bit of an annual tradition for me to blog about the bargains I've treated myself to in the Christmas and new year sales. You can read last year's post here in case it passed you by.

January always feels a bit gloomy in lots of ways so it's been nice to brighten it up with some discounted treats. I usually do the vast majority of my shopping online throughout the year because I find it less stressful, but I actually ventured in to Cardiff for some of the purchases below. There's something very satisfying about buying an item in-store and being able to use it straight away rather than waiting for it to be delivered.

I had £250 saved up in my eBay profit account so I decided to use that for my sale shopping. Using my eBay pot instead of dipping in to my current account made everything feel like even more of a bargain!

Let's find out what I bought and how much I saved...

This beauty from Kate Spade was my biggest treat to myself. I was on the lookout for a pink bag to replace one of my old ones so I was delighted when this one popped up in their sale. 

Saving = £146

I always end up buying a few things from the New Look sale over Christmas. This year I bought a pair of heels, a dressy dress and a jumper. 

Saving = £39

I ran out of proper hot chocolate just before Christmas so I popped in to Whittard to top up my stash. The pretty tin was a bonus. 

Saving = £5

I had quite a few gifts from Lush for Christmas so I didn't go mad in their sale, but I couldn't resist this bath melt at half price. The solid perfume was an impulse buy at the till because it was cute, yellow and also half price! 

Saving = £7

We went to Bridgend's McArthur Glen at the beginning of January and I picked up this cute polar bear jumper in Next. I also bought a pair of jeans for £8.99 (!) on the same trip, so the epic saving I made on those is included in the figure below. 

Saving = £40

These shoes were a complete impulse buy from Dorothy Perkins as I couldn't leave them behind when I clocked them in my size at Leckwith's Outfit store. They're so beautiful and sparkly! 

Saving = £12 

It's been a while since I bought a hoodie from Animal, so I treated myself to one a couple of weeks ago. It's a nice neutral colour and goes perfectly with my classic Ugg boots. 

Saving = £23 

I'm really pleased with my bargains and feel as if I bought a nice variety of items. I've also already sold a few things on eBay this year to make room for my new purchases and started replenishing my eBay profit account in the process. 

So, how much did I save in total? The results are in... 

Total savings = £272

Total spent = £236

I stayed within budget and actually saved more than I spent. That's the kind of result I like!  

Christmas and new year celebrations

Happy new year! I've had a busy couple of weeks over the festive period with my family and friends so I thought I'd write a little summary for my blog.


Friday 21 December

I finished work on the Friday before Christmas and drove straight to McArthur Glen after leaving the office to meet Sarah. We had a massive meal in Frankie and Benny's and wandered around a few shops before exchanging Christmas presents. It was absolutely pouring with rain but that didn't take away from the company and the festive atmosphere.

Saturday 22 December and Sunday 23 December 

Neil and I finished off all our Christmas shopping and wrapping on the Saturday, then we had our own little Christmas Day on the Sunday where we opened our gifts from each other. We also went to the cinema to see the new Fantastic Beasts film, had an Indian takeaway and watched Elf on DVD in the evening.

Christmas Eve

Neil had to work on Christmas Eve which meant I had a quiet start to the day. I did some pre-Christmas cleaning and watched The Holiday, then Neil came back home just after lunch. We then headed to my parents' house with Jessie and a very full car boot! My brother had already arrived so Jessie had plenty of attention to keep her busy. We had a lovely relaxing evening with lots of chocolates, Pringles and Christmas TV.

Christmas Day 

Me, Neil and my brother opened our stockings together on Christmas morning, then the three of us went downstairs with my parents to open our presents under the tree. We had bacon sandwiches for brunch then settled down to watch TV and to play with our respective gifts.

My brother cooked the Christmas dinner and it was scrumptious. After dinner, we all flopped in front of the TV and watched Home Alone 2 and Rise of the Guardians. Jessie was spoilt rotten with lots of new toys and treats, and she was in her element all day. We left my parents' house at around 10pm to drive home, and she slept like a baby all the way back.



Boxing Day 

We went to Neil's parents' house on Boxing Day to spend the day with his parents and sister. We all opened our gifts before eating another lovely lunch, then we watched Paddington and Mrs Doubtfire before Neil and I headed home. I know I say this every year, but I feel very fortunate that we've got so many family members to celebrate the festive season with.

Thursday 27 December 

We had a day to ourselves on the 27th, and I'd well and truly reached the stage where I had no idea what day it was. We took Jessie to Cosmeston for a long walk, then I spent a couple of hours sorting through all my Christmas presents and putting them away (after I'd painstakingly photographed them, of course). As always, I'm hugely grateful to everyone for my thoughtful gifts and I can't wait to use them all.

We had a meat, cheese, chutney and mulled wine feast in the evening. I can confirm that it was just as delicious as it sounds.



Friday 28 December 

On Friday 28th, we drove back to my parents' house to see my sister, brother in law and nephews as they'd arrived there on Boxing Day. Jessie loved all the extra attention, and even my smallest nephew made a fuss of her even though he was nervous at first. We then called in to see Nicola and her two children on our way back to Penarth. I think Jessie and Nicola's eleven-month-old baby were equally fascinated with each other! I had some more lovely gifts to open from my sister and from Nicola, so of course I had to photograph those too.

Saturday 29 December and Sunday 30 December 

We had a quiet weekend recovering from all the festivities and spent lots of quality time with each other and with Jessie. We went in to Cardiff for a few hours and picked up some bargains, and Neil cooked a Christmas dinner just for the two of us which was pretty spectacular (and huge).

New Year's Eve 

We did some shopping in Cardiff Bay in the afternoon then went out with my in-laws for a meal in the evening. We all walked to our local Harvester restaurant which was surprisingly peaceful and quiet. Neil and I somehow managed to get a decent pre-dinner family selfie with Jessie after many failed attempts!

New Year's Day 

We had a nice lie in on New Year's Day before taking Jessie for a walk in the sunshine. We then went to see my in-laws in the afternoon and had another lovely lunch with them before watching The Croods together. I was exhausted in the evening so went to bed before midnight for the first time in ages!

We both had the rest of the week off work so we've managed to get a few bits and pieces sorted around the house as well as lots of shopping, walks with Jessie and a trip to the cinema. We're off to see Neil's auntie tomorrow to finish off our Christmas visits, then we'll be taking the decorations down on Sunday to officially mark the end of our Christmas break (sob).

Hope you've all had a great Christmas and new year!

Best of 2017

Happy new year to all my readers!

2017 was a mixed bag. In some ways, it was even more difficult than 2016 as the reality of what I'd been through the previous year really started to sink in. I hit a very low point between June and August as the one year anniversary of my diagnosis loomed large, and I had lots of niggly health issues all year which caused some frustration. However, there were also many positives to report on from 2017. 

I really enjoyed writing last year's highlights post so I thought I'd do the same thing for 2017 to make sure I reflected on all those positives. Enjoy!

Celebrated three months all clear 

We celebrated my first 'all clear' appointment after my operation with a visit to Via Napoli. This started the tradition of going for a nice meal after every oncology appointment! 

Fake Christmas 

I celebrated fake Christmas with my university friends in Minehead. 

Milton Keynes 

We went to Milton Keynes for the weekend to visit Fee and Dave. I blogged about it here. 

Spa day at the Hilton Hotel 

Nicola and I went to the Hilton Hotel for a spa day and an excellent afternoon tea.

The Lion King theatre break 

Neil and I went to London for the weekend to see The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. I blogged about it here. 

Celebrated six months all clear 

We celebrated my next 'all clear' appointment in April with a meal at Miller & Carter. 

Walt Disney World 

We went on another amazing holiday to Walt Disney World! I blogged about our meals here, my shopping haul here and my character meets here. 

Sophie and Bryan's wedding 

We celebrated the lovely Sophie and Bryan's wedding day with them at Court Colman Manor in Bridgend. 

First support group meeting

I attended my first ever support group meeting (and subsequent lunch!) which I blogged about here. 

Rhys and Rhiannon's wedding 

We celebrated Rhys and Rhiannon's wedding with them over two days in the beautiful Brecon Beacons. 

My birthday 

I celebrated my 31st birthday with a lovely meal at Bar 44! 

Celebrated nine months all clear 

We celebrated my next 'all clear' appointment in July with our first visit to Moksh. I blogged about it here. 

Jessie 

We brought our beautiful puppy home. I blogged about her first few weeks with us here. 

Weekend in Portishead 

I visited Amy for the weekend in Portishead. I blogged about it here. 

Third wedding anniversary 

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary with dinner at Etc, afternoon tea at Pettigrew Tea Rooms and a visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. I blogged about our anniversary here. 

Celebrated one year all clear 

We celebrated being given the 'all clear' for a whole year with an amazing meal at Restaurant James Sommerin. I blogged about it here. 

Florence 

We spent a week in beautiful Florence. I blogged about it here. 

Bristol shopping trip 

I spent the day in Bristol with my university friends, and blogged about my amazing festive pizza here. 

More afternoon teas than I can count 

I had afternoon tea at the Mercure Hotel in Swansea, the Hilton Hotel, Llanerch Vineyard, The Park Plaza, and at Pettigrew Tea Rooms (several times!). 

Christmas 

We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends. I blogged about it here.

So as you can see, 2017 had lots of highs as well as lows and it's important to remember this as I step tentatively in to 2018! 

What were your highlights of 2017?

Twelve posts of Christmas #11 - Christmas food

It won't surprise you to learn that I ate a lot over the festive period. I'm still eating a lot, but let's not dwell on that.

As well as all the usual Christmas snacks which suddenly become irresistible at this time of year, we were lucky enough to have five amazing meals over Christmas and New Year. I obviously have photographic evidence for all five, in preparation for this very blog post.

I'm not going to write a long explanation for these meals... the photos speak for themselves!

Christmas Day - Miller & Carter

Prosecco, hand rolled goat's cheese and walnut roulade, champagne sorbet,
turkey dinner, lemon tart, and a hot chocolate.

Boxing Day - my mother's dinner

Turkey AND chicken, and all the trimmings!

28th December - Neil's beef dinner

That gravy. Those roast potatoes. Those parsnips. YUM. 

New Year's Eve - Mint and Mustard

Taster menu:

Amuse Bouche;

Goan crab cake, water chestnut pattie, angara chicken tikka;

Champagne sorbet;

Guinea fowl kori gassi, mughlai lamb shank, dal panchratan, aloo katliya;

Berry parfait, almond halwa, pistachio kulfi

New Year's Day - my mother in law's dinner

Another beautiful turkey dinner with strawberry sorbet for dessert

Aaaaand I'll be going back to the gym tomorrow. Have you blogged about your Christmas meals? Please send me your links! 

Happy New Year... exciting times ahead!

Happy new year, everyone! What did everyone get up to on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day? I thought I'd say hello to the new year by listing a few things I'm looking forward to in 2014...

1. Wedding
2014 is the year of our wedding! The church and reception venue are all booked and Save the Date cards have been sent out, but I'm looking forward to sorting out all the finer details before the big day in August. I haven't had too many 'bridezilla' moments yet... watch this space.

2. New house
I'm looking forward to becoming a home owner this year as Neil and I will hopefully have our own house within the next few months. We'll be moving in together after the wedding and I can't wait to choose furniture, curtains, utensils, rugs and so on... Pinterest will come in very useful for the next year or so!

3. Honeymoon
I'm so excited about having a long relaxing holiday in September after the wedding. We're hoping to start booking flights and so on in the next few weeks and will probably be visiting two or three Italian cities. Italian food is amazing... I can't wait!

4. McBusted
I'm off to see McBusted in May! Neil bought me tickets for Christmas after I moaned for weeks about not being able to afford to get any. I've already seen McFly 8 times but have never seen Busted, so I'm in for a treat.

5. Hen weekend
I'm also very excited about my hen weekend which will be taking place in July. I'll be having one hen weekend with university friends, school friends and friends based in Cardiff, then another hen do with my friends from work. They will both undoubtedly be Disney-themed and full of food!

6. Six Nations
I always look forward to the Six Nations, and this year Neil has bought tickets to two of the Welsh games in the Millennium Stadium. We're off to the first game and the last game, and I'm hoping for another championship win for Wales. Fingers crossed!

7. Russell Howard
Neil very generously bought tickets for us to see Russell Howard in February (he's a keeper!). Russell Howard is one of my favourite comedians and he's always been hilarious when I've seen him in the past, so I'm very excited about this little outing.

8. Fake Christmas 
I'll be celebrating Fake Christmas with my university friends this month. We've decided we prefer to celebrate Fake Christmas in January as it expands the Christmas period even further. I'm excited about Kirsty's amazing Christmas dinner, more presents and traditional Fake Christmas games such as 'rate the boys'!

9. Mini break
Neil and I are hoping to have a little mini holiday in the next few months just to get away for a few days. Some possible options are Snowdonia, Dublin, London and Disneyland Paris. Any other recommendations for a relaxing little break?

10. Christmas 2014
Christmas 2014 will be our first Christmas as a married couple! 356 days to go :)