A Little Bit of May

It's been a while, hasn't it! The past few months have been busy and I've had lots to do at work. I cannot believe it's nearly the end of another academic year. Here's a little snapshot of what I got up to between marking coursework scripts!

• A London hen do, cocktail making and dancing induced blisters
• Time with friends and a trip to Bath Thermea Spa
• Liverpool's LightNight, playing Buckaroo at The Brink and posing for a portrait for 2014 exhibition
• Leaving meal and drinks ahead of my best friend's travel adventure
• Celebrating my lovely mother in law's 60th birthday

• A growing obsession with Mad Men
• A roadtrip to London with my husband
• Dinner in Brixton market and discovering creme brulee martinis
• Dancing excitedly in my seat to The Postal Service in London

• Trying on my bridesmaid dress for next year's big W day
• Late night cookie baking
• Taking a scuba diving course with my brother
• Thank you flowers and chocs from lovely students
• Scrabble in the sunshine 
• Ice creams on Crosby beach
• Family BBQs

All in all, a pretty great month. My June highlight will almost definitely be my friend's wedding in Buxton gardens next weekend. Hair appointment needs to be booked, postman brought my fascinator this morning and I'm zumba-ing and aqua running myself a toned back as often as I can! I'm very VERY excited!

Bath and Buns

I was meant to visit my friend in Reading back in March but snow got in the way. Last week, I was finally able to make the journey down South. We travelled to Bath for the day, visiting Bath Abbey, eating Sally Lunns' buns and relaxing in Bath Thermea Spa. We had hoped for the gorgeous sunshine that we'd been having days before but ended up with clouds and rain. Boo. Here are a few photographs taken in Bath.

This was my second trip to Bath Thermea Spa and, although it was much busier this time, it was blissful. These few days away with two of my closest friends were just what I needed after a busy couple of weeks.

Once Upon an Easter Weekend

Things I've loved about this Easter weekend:

Family

Making bread
Homemade tomato soup
Chocolate and pear pots
Sefton Park walk with a visit to the Palm House
Lap-cat
A (failed) hot cross bun loaf
Summer holiday research
Singing along to Annie
Bunting
Hallelujahs
Tulips
Mini eggs and other chocolatey goodness
A lamb roast
Chick costumes and charades
Finding Nemo
Harry Potter Cluedo
Family walk on Crosby Beach
99 ice creams with sauce and sherbet

Once Upon a Snowy March Weekend

What's going on with the weather? It's nearly April for goodness sake! I had a great weekend away visiting friends planned, including a trip to Bath Thermea Spa, but the drive to Reading in snow and ice scared me. So, instead, I (more or less) hibernated at home this weekend.

On Friday afternoon I missed a girly Twilight movie afternoon with friends to delivered a lecture to only around half of the first year cohort. It was an afternoon lecture on the last teaching day before Easter so chances of full attendance were already pretty slim, but Mr. Snow didn't help the situation! I stopped by my friends after work for a catch up cuppa and hear about their afternoon. Friday night was a salt and pepper fish and chips night, snuggling up under the blanket, cat on lap, and watching The Constant Gardener.

Saturday morning, up and to the gym for an hour or so. Hot shower followed by a scummy plate of huevos rancheros and catching up with MasterChef UK. Travel update: We also booked a hotel for our stay in Bangkok. It is FIT. I'm so excited to stay there in August!  

Infinity pool overlooking Bangkok

Later on, we met up with friends for drinks on Lark Lane before heading back to theirs for a competitive games night, including Categorically Speaking (a 'fake' Scategories), Pass the Pigs and John Lewis' Gender Wars. Conclusions: Girls rule!

Sunday was a shlomp day. I spent most of it in my pjs marking essays, drinking hot chocolates, catching up with online pretty and watching Legally Blonde on TV. "Bend and SNAP". Veggie burger tea and yummy homemade fruit crumble pots, followed by a lovely bubble bath to round off this low key weekend.

Today was the first day of the student holiday and work was very quiet indeed. It was a nice change from the busy last few weeks, but isolating. I took Jacques to his third veterinary acupuncture session this afternoon and tonight, we're going for a Nando's and cinema date night to see either Side Effects or Identity Theft.

Hope you had a fun weekend and the snow didn't ruin any plans!

Once Upon a Weekend

Another fun weekend. On Friday we tried out Lark Lane's Caribbean restaurant, Raggas. I had jerk chicken and M had jerk prawns, both served with coleslaw, rice and beans. The food was fresh, colourful, inexpensive and tasted delicious. Better still, it was BYOB so we took a bottle of vino and drank it out of tumblers.

Afterwards, we popped over to Bier, a busy, candle lit bar serving beers from around the world. Love a good unplanned dinner date and it was good to feel our age on a Friday night, even if we did mutter about how loud the music was!

Saturday I was in work for an open day but in the afternoon, my beautiful friend and her new husband came over to look at the photographs I took at their wedding last weekend. 

Saturday night we met up with friends for Mexican food and a showing of Grease at the cinema. Cue lots of singing and hand jive!

Sunday was February's official 'Date Day'. I cannot remember if I've mentioned this before, but basically for our wedding anniversary I made up a box of date day vouchers (paper), one for each month with a particular activity that we love to do together. This month was spa pampering. I am lucky that I have a man who jumps at the idea of a spa day, who has enjoyed countless massages and loves getting wrinkled in a hot tub.

We went to Rookery Hall and Spa in Cheshire, about an hour drive from us. After one of the most friendly, helpful spa inductions I've had, we changed and headed straight for the glass roofed pool side and worked our way through the sauna, crystal steam room, hydrotherapy spa pool and swimming pool. This area is open to all health club members but even for a Sunday it didn't get too busy. Wrapped in fluffy robes, we took advantage of the spa relaxation areas, available to spa customers only and complete with complimentary water, juice, herbal teas, and fruit. Our treatments were quite late in the afternoon so we had something in the spa cafe before enjoying a very relaxing aromatherapy massage. I think I floated out of that treatment room! 

Once Upon a Chinese New Year Weekend

I can't believe it's Friday again. Where has this week gone? Here are some photographs to remember highlights of last couple of weeks. The photograph of the gorgeous lady in the beautiful white dress is a reminder of my favourite day of February 2013.

• Made (another) teacup candle as a birthday gift
• Car radio finally fixed (three years later)
• Long drive with radio
• Catch ups with two of my favourite people over cheese toasties and cups of tea in Birmingham
• Chinese New Year, Chinese buffet, dragons eating lettuce, and dodgy dancing
• Bridesmaid chats in pjs and making plans a Bath Thermea Spa trip
• Traffic jam on M6 and singing along loudly to Radio 2
• Service station creme egg
• Home for a chicken roast
• Evening alone catching up with Mr Selfridge, packaging #Heartswap, making an origami heart for a homemade Valentine's card, and watching BAFTAs
• Impromptu midweek cinema trip with M to see 'I Give It A Year'
• Too many Nutella pancakes on Shrove Tuesday
• For the first time ever, received a delivery of flowers at work
• A lamb, wine, champagne and candles dinner
• My AOW #bookswap arrived
• Hair pampering
• Baked a cinnamon Nutella cake and made carrot cake for the first time (and it looked decent)
• Leftover lamb rogan josh for dinner, from scratch
• My best friend got married and I played 'wedding photographer' for the morning
• Tears and laughter, cake related compliments, ridiculous dancing to Proclaimers' 500 Miles
• Recovery duvet morning and About A Boy
• A Sunday walk along the Mersey
• Pub lunch watching M get frustrated as Leeds United concede four goals
• Scrabble
• Rewatching BBC1's Spy in the Huddle and laughing at rockhopper penguins' walk

Just a few more hours of work between now and another fun filled weekend! Whoop.

Once Upon a Celebration Filled Weekend

• Celebrated my brother's PGCE acceptance with pizza, champagne, fizzy strawberries and Silver Linings Playbook

 

• Run (walked with a handful of running efforts) around Sefton Park for the first time this year
• Housework (boo)
• Across to M's parents for his grandpa's 86th birthday feast

• Happy Birthday sing song in Latvian and sponge cake 

• Competitive game of Scrabble with my lovely in-laws
• A cooked breakfast and meet up with M's friend
• Traffic jam
• Cadbury Creme Eggs
• Suit shopping with M at the Trafford Center
• Thai dinner at ChaoBaby

• Cat cuddles
• A bubble bath
• Sofa, candles and Youth In Revolt
• Fresh bed linen

Once Upon A Snowy January Weekend

This weekend was lots of fun! What did I get up to?

• Our big boss men approved our holiday time and so WE BOOKED OUR FLIGHTS (see here for earlier trip related rambles).
• My best friend is getting married in less than three weeks. All very exciting! We braved the snow in our heels and went for a meal at Carluccio's followed by lots of dancing. My amazing little bowl of  amaretto chocolate cake (it had a suitably Italian name, but I can't remember it!) gets a feature spot here, as does the bride-to-be in all her hen do finery.
• Saturday morning and afternoon was all about relaxing with a girly spa day and lunch. 
• Home with time for a couple of episodes of The Wire and a hot chocolate.
• A 30th birthday do, with a gorgeous cupcake tower.
• Breakfast date with friends at the Tavern Co. Their 'American' breakfast, which comes with a syrup pancake on the side, is the best Sunday morning breakfast. I was too busy eating to remember to take a photo so this one is taken from Tavern Co. webpages.
• A post-breakfast game of Articulate.
• Curl up on couch for another episode of The Wire (nearly finished! Last two episodes of Season 5 to go).
• Over to Manchester to see Davad Bazan in a small, intimate venue with a well stocked bar.

Take that, ice and snow. You couldn't stop our fun!

What did you get up to this weekend? Did the snow stop any of your plans?

What Weekends Were Made For

For me, this weekend was just what weekends were made for: Long walks together, Scrabble, dancing feet, family and friends. Here's what I got up to.

 Thursday 

M had a day away from work, but only because he had an exam in the afternoon to pass. Well, the boy passed! Hoot-hoot! This meant we had the rest of the afternoon together and we went for a long walk around our local park, stopping at The Moon and Pea on Lark Lane for some food, hot chocolates and a game of Scrabble. The night was finished with more episodes of The [very addictive] Wire. 

 Friday

Image via xxbluemoonxx on Tumblr

Day off spent in Manchester with mum and a cinema trip to see Les Misérables. One word: Amazing. I've not stopped singing! 

Saturday

Sun setting over Crosby Beach

LAZY pjs morning, The Wire, boiled egg and soldiers. A walk at another favourite spot, watching the sun set over Crosby beach. Scouse, red cabbage and wine at the lakeside bistro. Back home, heels on and tissues packed, and out for lots of dancing to send a friend off on her travels in style! FIVE megamix got some airtime, and for about two seconds we pretended we couldn't remember the moves. Three seconds in, there was no stopping us.

 Sunday

Pennington Flash Country Park

A trip to pick up a drum pedal turned into an opportunity for another walk at a new spot, Pennington Flash Country Park, an extensive nature reserve about 30 minutes drive. Warmed up with cupasoup and hot Vimtos from the man-in-a-van, we had a good couple of hours exploring. We'll definitely be making another trip there, maybe when the ground's a little drier! Squeezed in another episode of The Wire, before heading to my mums for a Sunday dinner. 

There's another weekend on its way, but this one's looking pretty empty at the moment. What to do? 

What's your idea of a perfect weekend?