Our fourth wedding anniversary

It was our fourth wedding anniversary last week. I know I know, I can't believe it's been four years either. 

Our anniversary fell on a Thursday which meant we didn't do much to celebrate on the day itself. However, we still opened our cards and presents and indulged in a few cranberry and white chocolate welshcakes from Fabulous Welshcakes.

The themes for fourth wedding anniversary gifts are fruit, flowers or linen, depending on which version you read. Neil and I don't stick to the themes too rigidly, but sometimes they can provide a spark of inspiration.

I had some lovely gifts from Neil, as always!

Beautiful flowers and a Mickey and Minnie Disney Traditions figurine. We got engaged in Walt Disney World five years ago so I love the sentiment behind this figurine. 

Cute Winnie the Pooh pyjamas which I've been coveting from Asda for ages. I'm a little disappointed that it's still too hot to wear long pyjamas to bed. 

Neil also bought a little floral charm for me from Amazon which fits perfectly on my Pandora bracelets. It's very pretty but didn't photograph well, so it couldn't be featured in the blog post! 

I got home from work on the day of our anniversary to discover that Jessie had very thoughtfully bought us a card. She'd also written a lovely message in it, although her handwriting looks suspiciously similar to Neil's. I still find big events and anniversaries a little difficult after the events of two years ago, so this gesture meant the world to me. 

We wanted to make sure we celebrated our fourth anniversary in style, so we went to Llanerch Vineyard for our celebratory meal last Saturday evening. It was a beautiful day which made the tranquil surroundings even more spectacular. 

We went the whole hog and had three courses (obviously), and everything tasted just as good as it looks in the mouth-watering photos below...  

Asparagus, black garlic emulsion, and a beer and charcoal polenta coated poached egg.

Sirloin steak with confit'd banana shallot, mushroom ketchup, crispy capers, smoked pancetta and truffle salted chips. 

Strawberry and pistachio meringue with clotted cream and vanilla ice cream. 

After finishing our meal and walking back to the car via some lovely views, we went home to Jessie and shared a bottle of wine to finish off the evening. Well, Neil and I shared a bottle of wine. Jessie had a dental stick and some chicken. 

I can't quite believe that another wedding anniversary has been and gone! We're now wondering how we should celebrate our fifth anniversary next year... watch this space. 

My wedding day highlights

Truth bomb... I didn't enjoy wedding planning in the slightest.

It was stressful, it was expensive, it was time consuming, and it often felt as if it wasn't worth all the stress just for one day.

However, even though there were times when I couldn't wait for the day to be over, the day itself was perfect. I managed to relax and to enjoy it, and all that meticulous planning and preparation meant that nothing went wrong on the day. 

As it was our fourth wedding anniversary yesterday and I've been looking through our lovely wedding photos, I thought it would be nice if I blogged about some of the things I particularly enjoyed on our wedding day. Some of them are pretty obvious highlights which I knew I'd enjoy, but others took me completely by surprise on the day.

1. Getting ready

I thought the morning of the wedding would be a massive stressfest and that everything would feel really rushed. And what on earth would I do if my wedding dress suddenly didn't fit any more?! Thankfully, it turned out to be a lovely morning with my mother and my bridesmaids. The lady who did my hair and make up was super friendly and put me at ease, and we were all ready and raring to go by the time the cars turned up to take us to the church. And, most importantly, my wedding dress fitted like a glove!

2. Walking down the aisle 

I was partly dreading this part in the run-up to the wedding just in case I tripped over my dress or bawled my eyes out, but I loved walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing all my friends and family waiting for us. Although a few tears did threaten to spill over when I saw everyone staring and grinning at me, I managed to hold it together and didn't end up with make up all over my face.

3. Car journey from the church to the reception 

This was one of the most relaxing parts of our wedding day, and probably the most Neil and I spoke to each other throughout the entire day. The formal part of the day was over, we had the rest of the day to look forward to, and we didn't have to worry about entertaining our guests for this brief period of time. So we sipped champagne, had a chat with the driver and generally just laughed a lot while we got chauffeured to our reception venue in style.

4. First look at our reception venue 

We held our wedding reception at the Copthorne Hotel and I'd put loads of thought in to the colour scheme, the centrepieces and the decorations. I was worried that it would look like a mishmash of slightly different shades of turquoise on the day or that the hotel wouldn't have followed my very precise instructions, but it all looked perfect and just how I wanted it. (It's worth noting that this particular shade of turquoise still gives me a little flutter of stress whenever I see it.)

5. Food! 

I mentioned at the beginning of this post that some of my highlights were obvious... this is one of those obvious ones. I was absolutely STARVING by the time we sat down for our wedding breakfast meal and I couldn't wait to tuck in to the food we'd chosen for the day. All three courses were really good and I also loved our wedding favours from Fabulous Welshcakes. We put on a buffet for our guests later on in the evening so we definitely didn't skimp on food for our big day. I'd been on a strict diet for months before the wedding so I wanted to make sure there was plenty of food available for me on the day!

6. Speeches 

If I'm being completely honest, I was mostly excited about the speeches because I could just sit back and enjoy them rather than having to take part. My dad's 'father of the bride' speech was amazing and lots of people have said it's the best wedding speech they've ever heard. Neil's speech and his best man's speech were also funny and very touching, and it was lovely to see everyone smiling and laughing at all the appropriate moments. I really wish they'd been recorded so that I could watch them back whenever I feel sad.

7. Dancing 

Neil and I were dreading our first dance. We're not really dancing people, and our choice of first dance music meant that people would be staring at us for the entirety of Tangled's 'I see the light'. True to form, we didn't really enjoy the first dance and were glad when it was over, but I really loved dancing more informally to our poptastic playlist later on in the evening. I lost count of how many times the DJ played McFly and S Club 7, and that's always a sign of a good night.

8. Breakfast the next morning 

I know this wasn't strictly part of our wedding day, but it was really nice to eat breakfast with our family and friends the morning after the wedding. It was a lovely way to wind down and to say thankyou and goodbye to everyone properly before they went their separate ways and got scattered across the UK. It was also nice to sit down for some food before starting the stressful job of packing away and transporting all our wedding paraphernalia!



I really can't believe four years have already gone by since our wedding day. I also can't believe this is the first time I've blogged about my wedding day highlights... better late than never. Look out for a post about our fourth wedding anniversary next week!

New thing every week in 2016 #2

This is the second post in my 'new thing every week in 2016' series - you can read the first post here.

I love documenting one new thing I do every week, however big or small. This instalment is a pretty good mix of big exciting things and terribly mundane ones... here's what I got up to between 11th March and 19th May 2016!

Week 11: Went to the top of the CN Tower in Toronto

Week 12: Went to Toronto Island 

Week 13: Ate cream tea at a wedding 

Week 14: Had a meeting in the Harvester 
(yes, this was obviously a very dull week!)

Week 15: Went to Cafe Citta

Week 16: Got layers in my hair 

Week 17: - Went to the Stable 

Week 18: Bought plant pots for the garden 

Week 19: Went to the gym in the middle of a working day 

Week 20: Attended a conference in the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea

I'm sure you can spot the terribly mundane entries, as well as noticing that I ate a lot of pizza during these ten weeks! Check back next week for the next instalment in my 'new thing every week in 2016' series. 

2016... the good bits!

You know a year has been particularly bad when people start using it as an adjective... 'Oh it was terrible, so 2016!' 2016 has given itself a bit of a reputation for being a lousy year, mostly because of game-changing political events and the seemingly endless stream of celebrity deaths.

Sadly,  aside from all this, 2016 has also been a bit of a personal disaster for me. It started with my grandmother passing away in February, then the whole summer and autumn disappeared in a thundering wave of horrible emotions caused by lots of tests, nail-biting delays and my resulting cancer diagnosis and surgery. When you combine these personal issues with the wider political calamities of 2016, it's hard to look at the year in any kind of positive light. In fact, I'm pretty sure I cried more in 2016 than in all my other adult years put together!

However, before I gladly condemn this year to the rubbish heap at midnight on New Year's Eve, I wanted to find a way to remind myself that 2016 hasn't been ALL bad. That's why I decided to blog about all the good times I've had this year - there have been plenty of them which means the year hasn't been a total write-off. I want to keep all those good times at the forefront of my mind rather than looking back in complete doom and gloom.

Without further ado, here are the greatest hits of 2016!

Fake Christmas

The annual much-anticipated 'Fake Christmas' event took place in January with my university friends. The year had already got off to a bad start by this point as I'd just found out that my grandmother was very ill, so this was a nice distraction with some of my favourite people.

Liz's hen weekend 

I had the opportunity to meet up with my university friends again in February for Liz's hen weekend. We spent the day in London with an underground challenge and afternoon tea, then had a sleepover in the evening with lots of crisps, wine, reminiscing and Cards Against Humanity!

Homes for Wales rally 

This was one work achievement I absolutely had to include in the best bits of 2016. Months of hard work preceded this huge event in March to raise awareness of the housing crisis ahead of the Welsh elections. It all paid off and this was one of my proudest days of the year!

Toronto

We spent a week in Toronto in March and had an amazing time full of sightseeing, spectacular views, Canadian culture and (of course) eating. I would definitely recommend Toronto if you're currently planning your next holiday!

Liz's wedding

I was very honoured when Liz asked me to be her bridesmaid for her and Pete's wedding in March. It was a lovely day (in spite of the torrential rain) and it was yet another chance to catch up with my university friends! Three times in three months... we really were spoilt this year.

Visits from friends

Nicola, Sarah, Liz and Fee all came to stay at various points throughout the year... I love having a spare room with a proper bed! These visits all consisted of lots of laughing, talking about old times, shopping, eating and drinking, and never failed to cheer me up whatever else was going on.

My 30th birthday 

I celebrated my 30th birthday in June and it seemed to go on for about a month. I was lucky enough to have lots of celebrations with different people and I received a huge amount of lovely gifts.

A visit to my nephews 

We visited my sister, brother-in-law and my two nephews in Southampton in July for my youngest nephew's second birthday. It was an unexpectedly sunny day and we had a lot of fun!

Second wedding anniversary

Although our second wedding anniversary was overshadowed by the news of my diagnosis a few days before (and my MRI scan on the day itself!), we still made sure we went out for a nice meal near Penarth Pier to celebrate.

Florida 

We went away to Walt Disney World in September, in between my diagnosis and my operation. In spite of the circumstances, we had an amazing time and were able to spend some quality time together in our favourite place.

Theatre trip to London

Three weeks after my operation, we went to London for a theatre coach trip which include a night away and tickets to see Aladdin on stage. We'd booked it months before everything happened but decided to go ahead anyway as there wouldn't be too much walking for me to do. It was so nice to be out and about again after being confined to the house for so long!

Harry Potter Studio Tour

I visited the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford with my university friends in November. It was even better than I'd ever imagined and I definitely want to repeat the experience!

Celtic Manor 

We went to the Celtic Manor for a night away, dinner and breakfast at the beginning of December because we thought we deserved a treat, quite frankly. It was a nice mini break and the Christmas decorations at the hotel were beautiful!

Christmas

I couldn't blog about my highlights of the year without including my favourite time of year... Christmas! We spent lots of time with family and friends, as well as relaxing with each other, and it was nice to finish 2016 on a high. 

So there you have it... obviously 2016 wasn't all bad. However, I'll still be glad to see the back of it and am desperately hoping for a calmer and happier year next year!

What were your best bits of 2016?

A very belated post... our first wedding anniversary!

It's been nearly six months since our first wedding anniversary, so what better time to blog about it? I'll pretend I meticulously planned it that way rather than quite simply forgetting to blog about it until today. 

Our wedding anniversary was on Sunday 30th August, but we decided to start our celebrations on the Saturday evening as that was exactly 52 weeks from the wedding day itself. This also meant we could celebrate for longer (and eat more celebratory food) which is always a bonus. As we held our wedding reception at Cardiff's Copthorne Hotel with amazing food, we decided to go back there for dinner on the Saturday night. Everything I wore was from New Look, of course!

I chose the goat's cheese and balsamic red onion tart to start and it was really really good. I was a bit worried about the goat's cheese as I hadn't tried it before, but it just made me realise that I've been missing out on a tasty flavour all these years! I had steak for my main meal which was also delicious (although not photogenic enough to appear here). 

It was great to be back at the Copthorne a year on, eating in the exact same room where we ate our wedding breakfast with our family and friends. The restaurant was nice and quiet, and I enjoyed a glass of wine while we were there. I also took the opportunity to pose in one of our favourite wedding photo spots! 

On the day of our anniversary itself, Neil gave me a beautiful 'cariad' locket from Clogau to mark the day. This photo definitely doesn't do it justice! He also printed a tiny wedding photo which fits perfectly inside the locket to make it extra special and significant. It has quite a long chain so it looks great with high-necked tops and dresses, and I absolutely love it. 

In the afternoon, we went to one of my favourite places in Cardiff... Pettigrew Tea Rooms! As usual, the afternoon tea was spectacular and I even got to try a new cake flavour - blueberry and orange. Absolutely divine. 

We went to the cinema after our afternoon tea, but I'm afraid I've completely forgotten what we went to see. This is what happens when I don't blog about an occasion until six months later! I'm sure the film was good, whatever it was. 

I obviously used our first anniversary as an excuse to post a few collages from our special day on Instagram. I love a good collage, and I had hundreds of wedding photos to choose from! 

We went to Florida a few days after our anniversary and enjoyed a few special celebratory meals there too, so it was a really lovely first wedding anniversary all round. 199 days to go until the second one! 

New thing every week in 2015 #2

After publishing my first 'new thing every week' post a few days ago, it's now time to look at the new things I did in the next ten weeks of 2015. I'm really enjoying putting this series together as it's reminding me of all the great times I had last year, so it's definitely something I want to continue in 2016. It's almost doubling up as a 'highlights of 2015' series!

So, here goes... the second ten weeks of 2015 were more photo heavy than the first ten so there's plenty for you to feast your eyes on. 

Week 11 (12-17 March) - Went to a housing rally in London.

Week 12 (18-24 March) - Went on a Bannatyne's spa day for Fee's hen weekend. 

Week 13 (25-31 March) - Celebrated our seven month wedding anniversary.

Week 14 (1-7 April) - Went to the Forest of Dean for Fee and Dave's wedding. 

Week 15 (8-14 April) - Tried Katsu curry at Wagamama... it was good.  

Week 16 (15-21 April) - Went for a walk around Cosmeston Country Park on my own. 

Week 17 (22-28 April) - Went on holiday to Amalfi.

Week 18 (29 April - 5 May) - Had a Limoncello Fever.

Week 19 (6-12 May) - Bought a hanging basket for the front of our house. 

Week 20 (13-19 May) - Had a make-your-own pizza from Asda.

Look out for the next instalment in a few days!