It's been a while...

Hello... it's me!
(Yes that was sung in a powerful Adele voice)
Well it's been a busy few months and I'm afraid the blog had to take a bit of a back seat, I've moved back into the countryside and not having the internet in my new flat has made it particularly difficult to get on here. Everything's been kind of hectic, so I apologise for being mute for so long! Do not fear I will be back up a running on here and will post as often as I can, I've felt like a little part of me hasn't been satisfied over these last few months!
Everything has changed in such a short space of time, unfortunately I had to leave the beautiful Steel City for now, but on the up side I have obtained a permanent job working at non other than Emma Bridgewater in Stoke-on-Trent.. exciting ey?
I have adored the brand for a long time and it's such a great company to work for, and I get my own personalised mug!

On the down side Neil has taken off and gone on an adventure to the winter wonderland of Whistler in Canada for the ski season; he's having an amazing time so far and has sent me some pretty cool photos which would be rude not to share with you.

So its a Skype relationship for the moment, but we are making the long distance thing work well, its just the time difference which is proving to be difficult for us as he's 8 hours behind. I'm hoping to get out there and join him at some point over the next few months for a little adventure - though I've never skied before!

Just before he left we spent some time together and decided to visit Chatsworth House during the Christmas Display, the theme this year being Wind in the Willow's, 'Mr Toad at Chatsworth' so I couldn't not share the photos I had taken.

Feeling rather small!

This is the perfect Christmas Tree, woodland themed covered in Toadstools, Mushrooms, Acorns and Apples!

Mr Badger

I made Neil take a photo of me walking up the stairs pretending I lived there!

And these are the stairs I want in my house! 

To finish off our time together I attended Neil's Graduation; we both dressed up rather smart and headed over to Sheffield for the day, and it was the perfect way to say our farewells.

I'm wearing the Lara Sparkle Dress in Damson from Boden. 

More to come soon.. I promise!

xx

Real Ale & Rain in the Roaches

Hey everyone! Have you caught up on your sleep yet? I'm still feeling like I've lost an hour, I must admit it's nice to have the lighter nights again but where has the sunshine gone? As I'm typing this all I can hear is the sound of rain hammering my window.

The weekend just gone Neil and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to visit my parents, as his weekend away working in Glasgow had been cancelled (the bad weather actually did me a favour!) My parents have a lovely little holiday flat which they rent out and it was a real treat to stay in it on Saturday night, we felt like we were on a little mini break away...

Upon arriving we settled ourselves in - by this I mean the classic get straight on the bed to test out its comfort - then popped across to the pub for some proper home cooked hearty food. Neil went for the Mixed Grill and I had the Rump Steak washed down of course with some Real Ale.

They had Peregrine Ale on which is brewed locally at Peakstones Rock, and five pence for each pint is donated to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Follow the link here for more information on this beer and where to get your hands on a pint, if you enjoy pale ales then I would definitely recommend it!

After a few more drinks we headed back to the cosy flat and climbed in the massive super king bed; I had the best night sleep in a long time!

As we both live in the city we are very much used to the constant sound of cars, sirens and people so it was very relaxing to wake up to the sound of bird song rather than a car alarm for a change. It was a nice change to get up and sit with a cup of tea looking out at the countryside through the rain spattered windows.

Though we had planned walking, cycling and horse riding we didn't let the rain dampen our spirits and instead played a classic game of Guess Who? I seem to remember the game being much harder as a child.

I think we're planning on heading up to Newcastle for Easter weekend to stay with Neil's parents, so you'll be in for a Northern post some time next week! We hope to head out into the lovely Northumberland countryside for a good walk, I hear Hadrian's Wall is a must see!

How are you spending your Easter? I'm keeping my finger's crossed the weather picks up!

xx