2016

It's been a while. I've been busy. Anything noteworthy happen for me in 2016? NOT HALF!

August 2016. She was born. My precious girl. I could never have expected to love someone like this. It takes my breath away. She is growing happy and healthy, and far too fast! We went to buy her first pair of shoes this weekend. Shoes to fit her tiny little feet that I have held in my hands and started at for more than a few hours.

Lots of other wonderful things happened in 2016, but none have had the impact that she has, and continues to have. I'm thinking she'll be the 2017 highlight, too. And pretty much every year's highlight. Little wonder-nut. I love her.

London. February 2016

A weekend in an area I've never really explored to date

• Soaking up the noise, smells and colours of Brick Lane and demolishing a curry despite wanting to peg my nose at the strong smell #downsidesofpregnancy
• What a show, what a venue for City and Colour at the Troxy
• Graffiti spotting
• Sunday Up market
• Hot chocolates in cosy cafes watching the world

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The Best of 2015

• 2015 was the year of thirtieth birthdays with some of my favourite people turning 30 this year: Celebrating M's 30th in a log cabin and sitting in a hot tub with a glass of bubbly surrounded by snow, the private screening of Pretty Woman for my birthday, and dressing up as Helga and (Hey) Arnold for a friend's fancy dress party were some favourites!

My birthday afternoon tea at The Panoramic, Liverpool

• It was also a good year for travel: Summer road tripping in Nevada and California; spending five nights in Paris in April with friends; a girls holiday to Barcelona in May; exploring Lisbon with M, his sister and her husband; an Autumn work trip to Osaka, Japan eating sushi, singing karaoke and meeting academics from Japan; an August trip to London with my Mum and watching Les Miserables; an Autumn weekend in Centre Parcs with good friends

Kinkakuji Golden Pavillion Temple, Kyoto Japan

• Lots of brilliant little (and bigger) moments: Finding out we were pregnant (first in July and, after some heartbreaking moments, again in December), the complete quiet of the crowd listening to Sufjan Stevens at End of the Road, meeting the beautiful, precious babies of 2015, being treated to Chester Performs' Romeo & Juliet in Grosvenor Park, dancing around to Basement Jaxx, naked bathing in the hot springs in Japan, creating my Christmas wreath at a floral workshop with friends, dancing to Chvrches in Manchester's Albert Hall in November, attending the stunning woodland tipi wedding of two lovely friends, The Snowman at Chester Cathedral 

• And there were a few personal achievements in there as well: Running my first 10K  in April, winning an award at work and robing up at the Summer graduation ceremonies for its presentation, completing my photography course, driving 'on the wrong side of the road' in the USA

Summer 2015

California. One of the best holidays I've ever had. We flew into Las Vegas and, after a few nights in Sin City, we hired a car and drove through Death Valley, Yosemite, Sonoma, San Francisco, down the stunning PCH to Venice Beach, San Diego and, finally, back to LA. Brilliant.

I finished my photography course at the start of the Summer. It was one of my #30forThirty aims and, despite a few grumbles, I'm glad that I took the course as it's encouraged me to experiment with my camera settings and generally take my camera out more.

As Fleetwood Mac cancelled their Manchester gig hours before they were due on stage, my Mum 'replaced' the tickets with two nights in London. I went to the V&A museum for the first time, wandered through Kensington Gardens, had a lovely afternoon tea, and cried my way through Les Miserables. I love this musical and saw it performed in Manchester a few years ago. This was the first time I'd been able to see it in the West End and it lived up to every expectation.

Meeting beautiful babies. Four of my good friends have become mums this Summer and I've loved cuddle time with their precious cuties.

M bought me tickets to Chester Performs: Romeo and Juliet as a birthday treat. It was such a lovely, and thankfully dry, night. You can take your own picnic and the theatre is set up in the round, with all the action in the centre. The performance was fantastic and the light dipped as the play approached it's final, candlelit scenes. I also took my mum to see the same company perform Wind in the Willows in the afternoon - bonkers, but lots of fun!

We wandered the short distance to Sefton Park for Liverpool's International Music Festival. I danced to Basement Jaxx, ooo-ed and aahh-ed at the pretty fireworks, and realised how old I was when Artful Dodger and Space took to the stage.

End of the Road festival was a brilliant weekend away and a welcome distraction from some of the personal rubbishness that was going on this Summer. We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and treated each other to tickets. We travelled down on Thursday, arriving in time to pitch our tent in the dark and drool in front of food trucks. I settled for a delicious grilled cheese toastie. Over the next three days, I wandered between the four main stages enjoying the brilliant musical line up (highlights: Sufjan Stevens, East India Youth, Alvvays, Tame Impala), belly laughed at the comedy stage, had my portrait drawn in a photo(portrait)booth, had a private folk performance in a tiny dark box (Folk in a Box), successfully hunted out a couple of secret gigs, told Charlotte Church to 'sssshh' (realising it was Charlotte Church only when she was invited up to the stage to belt out Hopelessly Devoted at Robin Ince's midnight Dirty Bookclub) and walking around Larmer Tree Gardens.

We'd expected our kitchen refit to be a pretty painless experience. It has not been. We've had crumbling plaster, workmen who've not given us all the information we've needed to be able to plan ahead/we've not asked the right questions of our workmen, and we've juggled it at the same time as some pretty crappy happenings.

This has been a Summer of highs and lows, but California was a definite high- what a holiday! I've not been able to look at my holiday photographs yet, though (a combination of mood and a broken PC). Looking forward to editing them!  

30 for Thirty: No#11 Volunteer my time to a cause that matters to me

I was a Rainbow, a Brownie and a Guide. I volunteered as a Young Leader and was in the Senior Section. I worked hard to get my Baden Powell award.

Once a week, for the last year or so, I've loved working with amazing, energetic 7-11 year olds. I've baked cookies, helped them to plan table sales, watched their curiosity grow when people from local organisations come to speak to them, and heard their squabbles over prit-stick and glitter. Girl Guiding empowers young girls to make their own decisions, grow in confidence and develop friendships. I've bloomin loved the time I've spent with my Brownie pack and I'm working towards my Leadership qualification and maybe at some point in the future I'll consider growing my own local pack of amazing young girls.

Light at the End (of the Road)

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I have definitely had the holiday blues over the past couple of weeks, which hasn't been helped by waving colleagues and friends off on their own Summer holidays. Other rubbish things have been going on outside of work, too, which has made me wish I could return to the simplicity of days exploring Yosemite's beautiful trails and nights of stargazing. However, it's all been that bit easier knowing that I am going to End of the Road festival in Dorset with M next week. They've treated us to a lovely little line up for their 10th anniversary and I am super excited. Three days of distraction: music, comedy, literature and film under the stars, before wriggling into a new cosy double sleeping bag -no more zipping two mismatched singles together. Hoorah! 

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A Californian Adventure

The half way point at Glacier Point, Yosemite

This was one of my favourite holidays, for all sorts of reasons. We flew into Las Vegas, hired a car, and drove through Death Valley, to Yosemite, to Sonoma, and San Francisco, before driving down Highway 1 to San Diego and, finally, flying home after a few nights in LA. I had the BEST time. Each place we visited had it's own landscape, food and atmosphere and our daily routine changed with each city. 

Here are some of my favourite memories:

• Stargazed in Death Valley and Yosemite
• Watched the sunset over the Grand Canyon
• Drove an automatic car on the 'wrong side' of the road
• Pulled a one-arm bandit in Las Vegas
• Cycled along Venice boardwalk
• Scuba dived in La Jolla's magical underwater kelp forests 
• Hiked until my feet blistered in Yosemite National Park
• Screamed on the Giant Dipper in Santa Cruz, followed by a snacking on a corn dog 
• Escaped from Alcatraz National Park
• Visited Hollywood Bowl to watch an anniversary screening of Back to the Future, with the original score played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
• Got a parking ticket in Venice for parking facing the wrong direction
• Spied a little brown bear eating his dinner from brambles in Yosemite
• Watched Cirque du Soleil's Mystere  
• Cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge 
• Posed next to Route 66 signs in Seligman, Arizona
• Cheered for San Francisco Giants at their bayfront stadium, against San Diego Padres
• Kissed at the top of Santa Monica pier's Ferris wheel
• Paddled in the Pacific Ocean at California's beautiful beaches
• Slipped on rock at Huntington Falls in Golden Gate Park (and walked around with a soggy bum)
• Ordered expensive steaks which were carved table side at Carnevino in Las Vegas
• Stumbled upon an in-store (mewithoutyou) at San Francisco's Amoeba Records
• Watched dolphins jumping in and out the water from Carmel beach
• Shopped in Beverly Hills and squealed a little in front of the Beverley Wilshire 
• Cracked open a rock crab on Santa Barbara's Stearn's Wharf
• Ordered off-menu Animal fries at In-N-Out Burger
• Celebrated 4th July with San Diego's Big Bay Boom fireworks display
• Went to a gig (Soak, The Echo in Los Angeles)
• Snacked on dim sum in San Francisco's Chinatown
• Mixed a souvenir cup cocktail at the Purple Zebra in Las Vegas
• Toured a vineyard (Sanford Winery, from Sideways!)
• Walked down Bubblegum Alley in San Louis Obispo
• Ordered dinner at some of San Francisco and LA's amazing food trucks
• Admired McWay Falls
• Toasted marshmallows for s'mores under the stars at El Capitan Canyon
• Ate a burritto in San Francisco's Mission District
• Sampled some of Sonoma county's pinot noirs and chardonnay... and pinot gris... and sparkling...
• Queued to see the pandas at San Diego Zoo
• Scoffed doughnuts at San Diego's 'Donut Bar' (Creme brule, maple bacon, and boston cream. Fit.)
• Watched waves crash into the cliffs along Big Sur's coastline 
• Ate BBQ food at LA's 97 year old Grand Central Market
• Laughed at seals, sealions, and elephant seals
• Stood on the outside of an historic cable car up and down San Francisco's hills 
• Camped in Panamint Springs, Death Valley, after day time temperatures of 120F
• Watched surfers ride the waves, including my very own surfer on his first lesson in Venice
• Took in the views at the top of Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes
• Guzzled local craft brews and visited breweries and tap rooms
• Snapped a photograph of Bixby Bridge
• Explored the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach
• Saw the lone cypress on Pebble Beach's 17 mile scenic drive
• Posed in front of the Hollywood sign in Griffith Park

30 for Thirty: No#13 Run a 10K

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YES! On Sunday 3rd May 2015 I took part in the Liverpool Spring 10K race at Sefton Park. Not only did I take part but I ran it (-just a little ~30 second walk to chug down water at the 5K mark, and another ~30 second walk around 8K). My chip time was 1h 07m 09s. That 9 seconds is annoying me, but I'm trying to quiet that ever-ready part of my brain which tells me that it isn't fast at all compared to lots of people and that I should have ran that little bit faster/ paced myself better/ shouldn't have walked for those two short bits and, instead, CELEBRATE! In less than four months, I've gone from a red-faced panting mess after 30 seconds of running on the treadmill, to completing my first 10K road race. Hoorah!

Turning 30

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• Trains, a cathedral, make-up counters, beer and barbecue ribs with M in Manchester on my birthday-eve 
• Heading to my Mum's and unwrapping five early birthday presents
• Present number 5/30 from my Mum: "Laura loves to... travel", a DVD of our family holiday to California in 1998
• A midnight toast, with happy tears after seeing my Dad's smiling face and hearing his voice for the first time in years
• Serenaded awake at Mum's and opening cards with Stevie Wonder buffering its way out of M's phone
• Taking in the view at Liverpool's Panoramic with a champagne afternoon tea, a birthday treat from M
• Laughter and Thai food at Chaophraya 
• Delivering my first lecture as a 30 year old with a belly full of Tavern breakfast
• Making pin hole cameras to watch the solar eclipse in the alleyway
• Hiking to the top of Moel Famau in the rain, then warming up over a pub lunch 
• Relaxing at Ribby Hall and Spa with three of my favourite people in the world
• Opening present number 30/30 from my Mum before dinner at The Orangery: Tickets to see Fleetwood Mac (YAY!) in Manchester in June
• Heading to Blackpool for fish and chips and penny slots
• Spritzing myself with my new Diptique parfum and slipping on my new heels for a birthday night out 
• Watching a private screening of Pretty Woman at Cafe Tabac's cinema room, mojito in hand, surrounded by amazing friends
• Getting teary-eyed opening a 'Remember When' gift from my girlies
• Tucking into the delicious Hollywood themed birthday cake made by a friend at work
• Couching out with a big jug of water and The Killing the next day
• Seeing Toro y Moi in Manchester
• Catching the Eurostar with three friends for five nights of fun in Paris

I had an absolute blast celebrating my 30th birthday and the celebrations continue with trips away of the next few months and I'm looking forward to all of the lovely experiences I was treated to as gifts!

The Big Birthday Road Trip

So, it's booked. The big birthday USA road trip will definitely be happening this Summer. I am EXCITED. We'll fly over to the USA for three weeks, starting in Las Vegas and working our way across through Death Valley National Park, Yosemite National Park, Sonoma wine country, San Francisco, down the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) over a few days to San Diego, before heading back up the coast for our final stop in Los Angeles.

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(I'm a bit in love with all of the cute place illustrations on suitcase-heart.com)

We've researched each place and booked each of our overnight stops independently, which has afforded us lots of flexibility in price and location. We toyed with the idea of booking as we travel but given the popularity of the PCH route, especially in the Summer months, we decided against it. The scenery, our itinerary and our bed will change drastically with each place we visit. We'll sleep in a room in one of the themed casino hotels in Vegas, sweat it out in a tent in the middle of the desert, hide food from bears in a forest tent cabin in Yosemite, guzzle wine by a fire pit at a tranquil bed and breakfast in Sonoma, head down to the beach from our private room at an airbnb.com apartment in Santa Monica, and swim in The Chamberlain's rooftop pool in 'WeHo'. I'm especially excited to spend two nights in this safari tent at El Capitan Canyon, just north of Santa Barbara. We're big fans of the film Sideways and plan to head to Bulleton and visit the Hitching Post!

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Daily question at the moment: 'What are you most excited about RIGHT NOW about our holiday?"

At this very moment, here are my top five: 

• hiking in Yosemite
• food trucks
• sunset over the Grand Canyon and remembering when I shared the view with my Dad in 2001
• wine tasting
• 4th July fireworks in San Diego 

If you want evidence of quite how distracting planning this trip has become, you can find my ever-growing Pinterest board here! 

Thirty Minus Four Weeks

It's four weeks until my thirtieth birthday. I've not posted about my 30 for Thirty progress for a while, but I have been crossing a few off here and there, and making plans to complete others over the coming months. One I've been working on since January is #13. Run a 10K. 

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I remember deciding to join a school friend when she signed up for the cross-country lunchtime club in Year 7. I quickly swapped it for choir and orchestra, preferring these to running around the local park in gym knickers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy exercising and recognise all of its physical and psychological health-related rewards. I have just never been a runner and usually avoid the treadmill when I'm at the gym. For the past five years, I've gone almost weekly to an aqua run class which is brilliant and a great cardio workout, but the most I could run out of the swimming pool, before passing out, was probably around five minutes, and that would've been on a very good day! 

I fear 'run' a 10K might have been too optimistic as a 30 for Thirty goal, but I do really want to see what I can train my body to do. People say that it's a case of building it up slowly, not giving up after the first few painful, beetroot-faced runs. So, in the cold, windy days of January, I decided to start my slow build up. My sister-in-law suggested one of the many different 'couch to 10K' run programs and within the week I was on a treadmill at the gym faced with 9 repetitions of 1 minute run, 2 minute walk. For a runner, simple. For me, it was a daunting prospect. The poor man next to me had to put up with heavy breathing, sweating and muttered cursing. I was so pleased with myself afterwards!

Yesterday was the first session of week 5 and I'm impressed by the difference from day 1 to now. I never thought I'd see over 5K on my distance reader. Yesterday it read just under 6K, from a 46 minute effort (5 minute warm up walk, 5 minute cool down walk, and 9 reps of 3 run, 1 walk). I'm curious to know just how much I can push my lazy little body. I'm enjoying the buzz (afterwards, more than during!). As the nights get lighter I'll start running around the nearby park as I've been assured that it's easier to keep going for longer when you're outside. There's a Spring 10K in Liverpool in May and I'm really tempted to sign up and see what I can manage. 

January 2015

• Welcoming the New Year in PJs with champagne, candles and a good movie
• Family time on the first day of 2015
• Celebrating M's 30th with a weekend with family at a cosy forest lodge near Delamere Forest: relaxing in the hot tub, sipping champagne, blowing up balloons, wrapping up for forest walks, overeating, playing lots board games, cosying up by a log fire.
• More celebrations, just the two of us, finally eating at Kaasbah, Birdman at Fact, and cocktails
• A Sunday breakfast with friends and playing board games until late
• Dinner and Pandemic with friends
• Burgers, beer and the fun sounds of Alvvays at the Deaf Institute
• M's band's last gig (for a while), followed up by Friday night send off drinks for the band's guitarist who has moved to Scotland
• First Aid Kit at Manchester's Apollo. An unplugged version of Ghost Town - amazing!
• Planning and Pinning for California
• A Sunday afternoon at Liverpool's Albert Dock visiting the Tate Liverpool to view their Andy Warhol collection
• Birthday cake and catch ups with friends in Birmingham
• Booking a birthday trip to Paris with friends

Thanks for the Memories, 2014

I try to use this space to remind myself of all the lovely things I've had chance to do, and refocus myself away from the groans and grumbles typical after a long day/week/month of work deadlines or other little struggles. 2014 was not without its challenges but there were lots of highlights along the way that I want to remember. On NYE, M suggested we each write 10 of our 2014 highlights. Those 10 are below, as well as some of my other favourites.

January

Dinner at Liverpool's London Carriage Works restaurant, a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean, accompanied by the Liverpool Philharmonic, and drinks before crashing at Hope Street Hotel

February

Ghost, Liverpool

David Hockney at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery

March

Learning to knit with a workshop from Purlesque

A birthday mini break to York, Betty's, Fame, craft ales and cocktails

Dinner date with Mum at The Side Door and Sarah Millican, Liverpool Philharmonic

Attending my first night at my local craft group

April

Afternoon tea, aerial silks, mojito making and dancing at one of my best friend's hen do 

May

Standing next to one of my best friends as she married her lovely Mr as their bridesmaid

Liverpool's LightNight 

My first opera trip to see La Bohème at The Lowry

Getting back into Girl Guiding and starting my Leadership Qualification as a Brownie leader

The Lion King, Liverpool

June

First ever skiing experience at the Chill Factore, Manchester
A Brighton wedding
Three weeks exploring land and sea around Bali and the Gilis

July

Proud sister at my brother's PGCE graduation
London with mum: Afternoon tea at Claridge's and Miss Saigon

August

Chasing Giants around Liverpool

A spa trip to The Quay and exploring Conwy
A leather wedding anniversary
September

Keeping up tradition with a trip to see Blackpool's Illuminations, eat fish and chips and play mini golf

A trip to Latvia
A day as tourists in Liverpool
Second of two little breaks to Centre Parcs with friends

October

Spas and catchups in Birmingham
Open top buses, bagpipes and whiskey in Edinburgh
November

Allo Darlin' at Manchester's Deaf Institute
Planning my Oh Comely's #perfectstrangers parcel swap
Mammoth task of redecorating downstairs

December

Making my own Christmas wreath at a flower arranging workshop at The Olive Tree, Brimstage Hall
Choosing our Christmas tree at Delamere and decorating it with mugs of mulled wine

Eleventh Christmas dinner with my girlies
Christmas movies, including Miracle on 34th Street at Woolton Picture House

 Thanks for the memories, 2014. Hello, 2015. Let's make it a good'un.

Resolutions

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In 2015, I promise to try to:

• Take (more) pleasure in all the little things
• Spend more time with friends
• Take more time out alone 
• Ruminate less
• Exercise more
• Be kinder to myself

Adventures in Bali: Nusa Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan is a little island about 30 minutes boat ride from Bali's South-East coast. It's less spoilt by tourism compared to Bali and Lombok and its waters are well known for their surfing and diving potential. 

We stayed on Nusa Lembongan for four nights, arriving after the most frightening boat ride I've ever taken. We'd taken the final seats available, facing backwards on the front row of a small boat, about to sail on very rough waters from Gili T. It was never going to be dreamy. Water came in through the 'sealed' door frame overhead and sweat soaked through my camisole. My bum was lifted from the seat, then crashed back into it with force. My hands kept a sweaty grip on the seat in front of me and nervous laughter escaped each time to boat crashed down against the water. M wasn't faring much better than me. When we stepped of that boat onto Nusa Lembongan's sandy beach, the relief matched the exhaustion. We stayed at World Diving in a sunset seaview room, around ten minutes walk along the beach from the harbour. The room was clean and comfy, and only a low wall separated us from the beach. We'd arrived early evening so got everything planned for the next day's diving and then headed down the beachfront, eating at Bunga Bungalo and heading uphill for a drink on Jungut Batu Hill, watching the waves crash into the cliffs and feeling very glad to be off that boat!

All of our dives were early morning at World Diving, setting up around 7.30am. They have a brilliant outrigger dive boat with a toilet, hot and cold drinks, and a sun deck with bean bags to relax on between dives. My diving experience is still fairly limited but the corals around Lembongan were spectacular. They were the most vibrant rainbow of colours I've seen. Lembongan is known for having strong currents and all of our dives were drift dives. You could really feel the current pushing you at times, but we didn't have any issues. At the right time of year, you can see mola molas in these waters. We weren't so lucky - too early, but we did see another turtle, scorpion fish, cuttlefish, a banded sea snake, nudibranch, and lots of other beautiful marine life. World Diving were wonderful and they are by miles and miles the best dive school we've dived with. 

The dive schedule also meant that we had the afternoons to ourselves and we used them to explore this beautiful island. There are no cars on the island so we decided to hire a scooter. Ten year old girls in pigtails whizzed past as we juddered slowly forward, but twenty minutes into it, we were away! We headed north to the mangrove forests and visited Lembongan Village and the seaweed farms in the south of the island. Seaweed farming appeared to be the main industry here. We saw lots of islanders walking the stretch of the beach late at night collecting seaweed. As you move around the island, and particularly on the south east side, you can see men and women working on the farms and drying out their stock in the sun.

One of the central reasons we hired the scooter was so that we could visit Nusa Ceningan, a smaller island which neighbours Lembongan which can only be accessed across a pretty rickety wooden suspension bridge. We'd initially planned to stay on Ceningan at La Pirate, which offers small seahut accommodations on Ceningan. It looked charming and peaceful, but we'd have paid a lot more to dive from this island. We stopped to eat at La Pirate and, as expected, its isolated location created an atmosphere of absolute calm. I'm glad we stopped off for a visit. There wasn't too much else to see, as such, on Ceningan but the scooter allowed us to move through the thick vegetation to access its highest points and take in the views. We headed back over the bridge to Nusa Lembongan and watched the light change over Jungut Batu, with Bali's volcanoes peeping through the clouds in the distance.

Nusa Lembongan definitely felt like a more authentic Balinese experience. It can become fairly busy in the middle of the day as tour providers visit the island from Bali but at night, those tourists disappear. There's no shortage of places to eat. We ate at a lovely little restaurant attached to Tigerlilly's hotel. We also had a good breakfast at Bali Eco Deli, which works hard to promote eco tourism on Lembongan. One evening we took advantage of the free pick up and drop off service at The Beach Club at Sandy Bay. As long as you buy food or drink, they'll come and collect you from anywhere on the island and drop you back off when you're ready. The food was delicious and I'd happily make my way through their cocktail list. The cliffs in this bay are unreal so time your visit so that you can climb up and walk around the coast to Devils Tear for the perfect spot to watch the beautiful sunsets.

I really enjoyed Lembongan. World Diving's social media feed is filled with photographs of mola mola's at the moment and I've been so tempted to book flights to get back to this captivating island. From Nusa Lembongan we headed by boat to our final stop, Sanur.

Remember to Remember: Summer 2014

I love this photo taken of an overgrown van in a garden in Latvia

This Summer seemed to pass by quickly. I had quite a full diary and there were fewer chances than I'd hoped to just sit in the yard-en and admire the plant pots and beautiful honeysuckle, which flowered for the first time this year, four years after it was first potted.

Diary scribbles: Summer 2014

• A trip to London with my mum: Miss Saigon and afternoon tea at Claridges
• Crafting
• Dinners and sharing holiday photos with friends
• Betting on black at a casino to celebrate a good friend's 30th birthday
• A three week adventure travelling around Bali and Gili Trawangan
• Mid week wine dates with friends
• A weekend of board games, cycling, spa fun, barbecues, crazy golf, boules and hot chocolates with friends at Centre Parcs, Sherwood Forest
• Watching the rain fall, cosy with a mug of hot chocolate
• A family spa visit to Ribby Hall for my mum's birthday
• A week visiting M's family and exploring Latvia: beaver watching, saunas, castles, beaches, elderflower beer, turning trees
• Treating myself to Clarins Beauty Flash
• Investing in our own copy of Settlers of Catan
• Long sunny walks
• Baking homemade peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies
• Impromptu pub dinners
• Stripping (wallpaper) and prepping to redecorate our second bedroom/office
• Little spending sprees, including my new favourite Autumn coat
• Total relaxation on an overnight stay at the Quay Hotel and Spa and a day exploring Conwy
• Graduation celebrations in honour of my little brother's PGCE
• Lunch dates and Frappuccinos
• Liverpool's Summer Art Market Craft market
• A day as tourists in our own city
• A beautiful Brighton wedding
• Garden centres, making the yarden look pretty and wishing I had a garden of my own
• Overeating at Liverpool's Food and Drink Festival
• Chasing giants around Liverpool for Giant Spectacular's Memories of August 1914
• Celebrating a leather anniversary and falling in love with my beautiful new leather satchel
• A long overdue hair cut and pamper
• Impromptu half price Indian head massages
• Becoming an ebay whizz

It's already October and I'm only just publishing this post! This is mainly because of the ongoing redecorating project in our office which has meant that the computer has been in bits, and stored in the bedroom, living room, even the bathroom over the past month! I'm finally sat at my desk in my home office, sliding the chair across the new flooring. Still staring at a bare plaster wall, though. As I said, it's ongoing!

Today's find: HeForShe

Here's what I saw, and loved today.



"If not me, who? If not now, when?"

I've long loved Emma Watson and this poised, thoughful delivery for the HeForShe campaign for gender inequality has made me love her more. The message isn't new but the packaging works for me.

Adventures in Bali: Gili Trawangan

The three tiny islands which form the Gili's are actually off the coast of Lombok, not Bali. There are horses and bicycles instead of cars, there is lots of sand, there are turtles in their waters, and cocktails are served in coconuts. This all made for a very promising start for our seven night stay on Gili Trawangan, the larger and 'wilder' of the three islands. Actually, not very wild at all.

We watched the sun rise...

And set...

 We ate fish (some good, some not so good...!) 

We scuba dived and snorkelled...

We read books, lazed in hammocks, watched the stars, scoffed amazing pizza at Il Pirata, got sunburned, drank Bintangs and mojitos, cycled around the island, stretched and meditated at Gili Yoga, ate too much ice cream, showered with spiders, watched a movie on the beach (Wolf of Wall Street!), got food poisoning, bought cheap souvenirs, ate sweet treats at the food market. Basically, we got very used to island life.

I loved Gili T. It was a lot calmer than I'd expected. This was probably, in part, because it was Ramadan and also because our accommodation was further up from the main 'strip'. We'd decided to stay on one island and get day boats across to the others. We didn't end up getting to either of them. Gili T's a little island paradise. Just don't eat at an empty restaurant where the 'really fresh' fish may have sat out for a lot longer than it should have (ah, hindsight). Oh, and cats definitely rule this island. Yay for well fed cats!

From Gili T, only the most frightening boat ride of my life stood between us and Nusa Lembongan.

Adventures in Bali: Ubud

We spent three nights in Ubud, Bali's cultural centre (of Eat, Pray, Love fame). It wasn't nearly enough time to fully explore it. We stayed at Alaya, which was stylish and peaceful, though a little bit of a walk into central Ubud. All of the rooms overlooked rice terraces. The view from our room is my go to mental image for moments of calm!

We travelled with a driver from Seminyak, stopping at Tanah Lot and Taman Ayun (and a pretty terrible coffee plantation) on the way. Bali is a very spiritual and predominantly Hindu island. Balinese temples are built from volcanic stone or red brick and feature split-stone gateways and intricate carvings. They're quite different from the ornate gilded temples we'd become used last Summer in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore but every bit as beautiful.

We spent our first night in Ubud wandering nearby side streets, eating too much fried rice and watching a local dance performance in the grounds of a temple. We were awake early the next morning and decided to head straight to Monkey Forest. There's a small entry fee to pay but you could wander around this sacred forest for hours. There are lots of stories about these pesky macaque monkeys stealing food and jewellery, scratching people and getting up to general mischief. We left food at home and kept our bodies to ourselves. We didn't have any problems. Look at that stylish do!

After a scrumptious lunch at Art Kafe (Jalan Monkey Forest), we headed off towards the rice terraces and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through fields. I think we passed fewer than ten people as we walked. It was blissful. It's quite exposed though so wear a hat, take suncream and drink water. We also had a massage at a little spa we found down a side street. If you find yourself in Ubud, I'd definitely recommend wandering away from the main road, which welcomes coachloads of day trippers from Kuta. You're more likely to find traditional Balinese walled communities, unusual handicrafts and local warungs down these little side streets. I wish we'd had more time to do this.

It was should have been early to bed that night (thanks for blocking our card and making us spend hours on the phone, Halifax), ready for a 2am pick up and hike up Mount Batur, one of Bali's breathtaking volcanos. We climbed by flashlight with a local guide and arrived to the summit with time to spare before watching the most spectacular sunrise I think I'll ever see, high above the clouds with a view of Mount Agung. It was one of my favourite moments of our trip. If you get the chance, do it! Be careful on the descent. We saw one tourist being carried on a stretcher after presumably losing her footing around a raggedy rock. "Careful. It dangerous", became a favourite phrase for our guide. 

We were back to central Ubud in time to re-fuel with Alaya's amazing breakfast. We flopped by the hotel's pool for an hour or so to rest. Next, we explored some of Ubud's quiet side streets, drank a coconut or two, and headed out to the Campauhan ridge for another walk through the lush countryside. The walk itself will take around two hours but plan in a stop at Karsa Kafe for a coconut and roasted sweetcorn cob with stunning views out onto the rice terraces. 

We were keen to try Nuri's warung, recommended in countless tourist guides (and in the New York Times, apparently). Their barbecued ribs did not disappoint. It was a bit of an uphill trek from central Ubud (around 45 minutes) but there is a stunning temple and pretty handicraft shops along the way. Walking back down towards our hotel, we saw a temple ceremony procession. That was something! We spent the rest of our last night sipping a few cocktails and admiring carved entrances to the local walled communities. 

The next morning, it was time to leave Ubud and catch a ferry to the Gili islands.