I’ve been writing recently about our wonderful honeymoon to the West Coast of America. We started off in Las Vegas, before hitting up Hawaii and Anaheim for some Disney fun.

We spent a couple of days in Anaheim as I wanted to be within walking distance to Disneyland. We’ve been to three different Disney parks and I know exactly how full on Disney days can be. Trust me, the last thing you need after prancing around after Mickey all day is a long old journey back to the hotel. You just need to get in and flop. Plus I’m pushing thirty these days and I need my bed!

So once we had exhausted Disney, we travelled to Long Beach. This was our base for the rest of our time in Los Angeles. I chose Long Beach so we could get away from the hubble and enjoy our honeymoon together. It worked out perfectly, Long Beach has a lot to offer, without the crowds and expense. They have a beautiful Marina with a few shops and restaurants. It’s perfect for an evening stroll.

Not to mention the little chocolate factory where you can buy chocolate covered brownies. Totes delish!

We had a few things planned for our time in Los Angeles and were lucky enough to be gifted a Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Whilst it only took a couple of hours to look around everything, our guide was very knowledgable and we had a lot of fun.  

    
The Harry Potter museum aspect of the tour is a cute addition and a gentle nod to the mammoth Harry Potter tour that we have in Leavesden. Naturally, I was sorted into Gryffindor and Phil into Slytherin. This amused me way more than it should have.

    
    
Phil was pretty excited to hit up the Batman exhibition and we learnt lots of facts about the vehicles used in the movies. It was pretty cool!

    
    
I was super psyched to investigate the set of Friends and sit on the couch in Central Perk. I’ve always adored Friends and enjoyed channelling my inner Rachel having a coffee break!

 
They have a few green screen areas where you can pretend that you are in the movie. Here’s Phil starring in Gravity!

   
 
Another highlight was being able to hold an actual Oscar! They are quite weighty and pretty awesome.

As we were quite close to the Griffith Observatory, we decided to visit after our tour. 

It’s such a special place with incredible views. We had a great time in the planetarium, although the person next to Phil fell asleep early on, so the soundtrack had a gentle simmer of snoring to it!

   
    
    
   
We also decided to hit up Universal Studios whilst we were in town. I was really looking forward to the studio tour and Jurassic Park ride and I can honestly say that they didn’t disappoint. The tour was absolutely brilliant, we got to see so many amazing sets (including Wisteria Lane!!!) and there are a couple of 3D experiences thrown in which were pretty rad. My advice would be to go on the Jurassic Park ride early on so that you have time to dry off. You will get wet. Very wet.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
 
Whilst we had a fun day at Universal, I can’t help but feel that the Hollywood park is not quite up to scratch with the Florida park. We actually had tickets for two days but felt that we had seen enough after one. They currently only have eight rides although they are adding a Harry Potter part that will open soon.

On our last full day in Long Beach we just soaked in it’s beauty. The marina, beach and southern Californian lifestyle. We ate lunch at an AMAZING Asian fusion restaurant. Honestly it was so could that I think I could eat all of my meals there for eternity. It’s called Wokano. Check it out!

We also borrowed bicycles and cycled along the beach. It was my favourite bike ride of all time and I adored the carelessness and freedom that came with that vintage bicycle. We rode for miles, stopping for ice cream and a paddle. It was heavenly.

   
    
    
    
    
    
   
So there you have it. The moment I fell in love with Los Angeles. I would live our time in LA over and over again because they were so special, loving and ultimately magical.

L x

If you have visited my little blog before, you may have read that my husband and I got married in July and two days later embarked on our honeymoon adventure to the West Coast of the United States. 

We started our adventure in Las Vegas and then flew to Hawaii. After our Hawaiian adventure, it was time to fly to Los Angeles.

Neither of us had visited the West Coast before, but a few of our friends had and they have always commented that we would fall in love with Lala Land, so I was quite excited about going.

I must admit that I had a lot of preconceptions about sunny Los Angeles including that everyone would be stunning at all times and I would resemble a garden worm. Thankfully the reality was that everybody was pretty much the same as people are anywhere. All different shapes and sizes, perfectly imperfect and wonderful as they are. Although I was fortunate enough to clap eyes on an absolutely stunning life guard whilst strolling along Long Beach. Remembering that I am a newlywed, I managed to refrain from throwing myself into the sea, arms flailing and looking like I was in trouble. Instead, I stuck with my wonderful new husband and drew the conclusion that a paradigm of a hunky life guard does exist and can be found flexing his tanned muscles in Long Beach. 

My other preconceptions were that it would be beautifully sunny and warm (which it was) and littered with palm trees (there’s quite a few about), so I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

The first stop during our stay in Los Angeles was a couple of days at the most magical place on Earth – Disneyland.

  
I bought our tickets before we left and from the moment I held that tiny piece of cardboard in between my fingers I was positively bursting with excitement. I mean, who doesn’t love Disneyland?!

Over in California, Disneyland is celebrating being open for sixty years. Sixty whole years of having Disney becoming a reality. What a time to be alive!

They have two parks – just like in Disneyland Paris. One is of course the iconic Disneyland and the other is the California Adventure park. We were slightly concerned when we were greeted with this sign upon arrival to the Disneyland vicinity:

  
Although the signs were a bit freaky, they certainly didn’t stop us from risking death and happily we skipped into Disneyland. We later discovered that these signs are quite common in California and apparently it’s due to lead being present in the area.

Our first stop was the California Adventure Park. I was pretty psyched to see the iconic Mickey Mouse wheel and this park closed earlier than Disneyland, so we decided to explore it first. 

   
 
It certainly didn’t disappoint and we loved all of the different rides that they have. Phil really enjoyed the California Screaming coaster. I wasn’t brave enough for that one, so readily shoved him down the single riders queue and watched him whizz around the track, doing a loop the loop.

The lovely folk at Disney had asked us if we were celebrating and when we told them that we were on honeymoon, they presented us with badges. Which we proudly wore both days we were at Disney! 

   
 
My favourite thing about the Disneyland Adventure Park is their Cars ride. The queues were over two hours long all day, so we almost didn’t bother. We waited until just before closing time (10pm) and jumped in the queue as it was a bit quieter. I’m so glad that we did because we only waited about twenty minutes and it was awesome!

  
 It combines the magical Disney aspect of animation with a fast paced thrilling race. It’s just brilliant! I adore this photograph so much because I feel like it really sums up our Disney experience – fast paced and full of fun.

We also enjoyed watching the water show in this park. It was a really moving tribute to Walt and was called ‘World of Colour’ or something like that! It was full of beautiful projections of Walt’s life and achievements. What a remarkable gentleman.  

    
 
We were lucky to be blessed with beautiful sunshine for pretty much the entirety of our honeymoon and it was wonderfully warm. Which was great for exploring the parks.

The main Disneyland park was pretty rad too, although I found their castle very disappointing. Maybe I’ve become a Disney snob, but in Florida and Paris both castles are spectacular and really iconic. In California its… Well it’s more like a house. A reasonably sized house. Certainly not a castle fit for Disney. I think they need to rectify that. Even the bobsled mountain is bigger than the castle and that’s certainly not what I would refer to as a Disney landmark. 

  
On our second day at Disneyland, we mostly explored the main park as we pretty much covered the Adventure park the day before. There is so much to do and look at that you could probably spend a week there and not get bored. I do feel like we saw everything though. We went on every ride except for Space Mountain. There are quite a few rides that are different to Paris and that was really refreshing. The rides that are the same are actually all slightly different too which was cool. I also enjoyed the fact that everything was in English because in Paris I either have to concentrate hard or not bother listening to the information! 

   
    
    
 We really enjoyed the shows in the main park. They put on the most tremendous firework display that was absolutely remarkable and full of magic. We loved it. You haven’t seen a firework display until you’ve seen a Disney one!

  
Disney parades are reknowned for being truly amazing with even the grumpiest of souls being warmed by a wave from Micky on his majestic float. Well they have a parade that is the Mother of all parades going on at night. An amazing array of colour and design with all of your favourite characters and songs. Honestly it’s pretty special!

   
    
    
    
 
My top tips for visiting Disneyland are:

1. Go to the rides with the shortest queues first

2. Work out which parades and shows you want to see and what you are happy to miss

3. Stay late. And when I say late I mean closing time late. All of the rides have shorter queue times in the evening

4. It’s often quieter when a major parade is on

5. Be prepared to be a single rider if you don’t want to wait long

6. Go on the water rides early in the day so that you have time to dry off

7. Make good use of the Fast Pass system, even for shows!

8. Get the park that closes earliest out of the way first

9. Be prepared to be on your feet all day and pretty much ache all over by the end of it!

10. Have fun! Enjoy it, release your inner child!!!

So there you have it – a tiny snippet of our time at Disney California. We had so much fun and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

L x

My husband and I got married at the end of July this year and two days later headed off on our honeymoon to the West Coast of the big old USA. Neither of us had visited the West Coast before, although we have travelled to the East Coast a few times, so it was all very new and exciting. I spent a couple of months meticulously planning our honeymoon adventure. We had decided on the destinations that we wanted to visit – Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. I had quite a few ideas regarding how we would get from one place to the other and spent a considerable amount of my existence in 2015 researching each place in grave detail in order to maximise our stay. The first thing that I needed to do was book our flights from London. As we were travelling in the height of summer and in the school holidays, we were looking at around £2500 for a return flight in economy. I looked in to each destination that we would like to visit and found that Vegas was coming in cheapest, so we decided to start and end our wonderful honeymoon there. The fact that my friend’s Mum worked for BA and managed to get us a couple hundred of squid off sealed the deal and before we knew it we were booked onto our flight before you could say ‘Viva Las Vegas’. We were both a bit apprehensive about travelling to Vegas. We both wanted to go, but as we weren’t really going to party or gamble, would it really be exciting enough for our post wedding adventure?! Yes, there’s the glitz and the glamour, but would spending our first few weeks as newlyweds in the middle of a desert with a few hotels cut it?! With this in mind, I began researching activities to do in Vegas. I decided that we needed to experience it all, so I planned where we needed to go and on which days, beginning to discover more to Vegas than heat and concrete until I was super excited about heading to Nevada. 

Our flight from London resembled nothing less than the constitutions of the depths of hell. Okay, I might be exaggerating slightly, but it was remarkably unpleasant. With British Airways you can check in online twenty four hours before your flight. Unfortunately I was at the hospital with my Uncle at this time with NO INTERNET SIGNAL (also resembling the depths of hell), so by the time we left (we were there for hours), all of the window seats were taken and there were only two seats left, two rows from the back of the plane (tailies). I resided myself to the fact that this was probably going to be okay because I’ve flown with BA a few times and always had a delightful experience. Flash forward twenty four hours and I’m on (probably) the worlds’ oldest plane with a screen the size of my phone, crammed in like cattle with no leg room and sat next to a guy who I felt I vaguely recognised who was knocking back gin like we were flying into oblivion. He also had a freakish inhuman ability to remain in the exact same position for the entire flight. Not even a pee break. Oh and the darkest moment of that flight? When they ran out of food. And drink. Yep, five hours into our eleven hour flight all of the alcohol and most of the soft drinks had been consumed. I hate to sound melodramatic, but I honestly despised my time on that flight more than I could ever have imagined. Anyway, once we landed, equilibrium was restored and we could continue our jolly honeymoon. We picked up our hire car from Dollar rental (longest queues EVER) and off we went to find our hotel. 

   
   
Phil really enjoyed this car and after selling my convertible two years ago in favour of a more practical car (sob), it felt great to be cruising along with the wind in my hair. Aah, how I love a spin with the roof down.

We were staying in The Stratosphere for the first part of our trip, it was quite handy as it was in the middle of both the old and new strip. I hadn’t realised that this meant it was mostly in the middle of nothing, but we have legs and a car, so it was all good.

I quite enjoyed our time at The Stratosphere. A perk of staying there is free entry to the top, where you can enjoy amazing views of Vegas. It’s also always alive, which is incredibly convenient when you have jet lag. They have a gorgeous, authentic Italian restaurant too, which I would highly recommend. I also very much enjoyed getting a Pain au Chocolat (or chocolate croissant if you’re American!) from Starbucks and rolling around the bed whilst stuffing my face. This lead to us being in an awkward situation when I left chocolate crumbs… Oops!

  
On our first day in the party town we woke up ridiculously early (I think it was 4am!), watched a movie and went out for breakfast.

  
I’m always a fan of pancakes and there is an IHOP conveniently located next to The Stratosphere, so it was the perfect place to start our day.

We then decided to hit up the strip and for some completely insane reason we thought it would be a great idea to walk from The Stratosphere to Mandalay Bay in forty three degree heat. This resulted in us walking over twenty miles on our first day because we also walked around all of the hotels and around the shopping mall. We then walked back to The Stratosphere after we were satisfied that we had seen the whole strip and collapsed on our king sized bed in a heap. We were out for the whole day and it was great. I simply adored cooling off and noseying around each unique hotel. I recognised a few from the movies (particularly The Hangover series!).  

    
    
 
Each hotel is completely unique and it’s brilliant how they have embraced having a theme. 

As we walked around the heat was incredible, really thick warm air kissing my skin. It felt like I was constantly under a fan heater. Although it may sound odd, I loved it. I can take heat quite well and it was nice to prance around in a sun dress and flip flops.

   
  
The people of Vegas are zesty and remarkably friendly, everybody is simply there to have a good time and forget about the mundane routine of ordinary life.

We were very lucky to be gifted an incredible helicopter experience as a wedding gift. So on our second day in Vegas we were greeted by a limo that took us to the airport for our incredible tour of the Grand Canyon.

   
   
I really love flying around by helicopter, so was really excited for our trip. They choose where to sit you based on weight distribution and luckily for us we were placed next to the pilot. It was forty seven degrees that day which felt crazy hot to us English folk. There wasn’t any air con in the helicopter, so it was super mega hot. I think I was the hottest I’ve ever been on that flight. It really was incredible though, flying across Nevada into Arizona. We flew past the Hoover Dam before being consumed by the desert and almighty Grand Canyon. We were lucky enough to land inside the Grand Canyon for a champagne lunch. It was blissful and blisteringly hot! My foot touched a rock and scalded me. We saw tiny birds and chipmunks scampering around searching for food and relief from the scorching sun and I couldn’t help but feel compassion towards them – desert life is visibly tough on the little creatures.

   
    
 
The pilot offered to take photographs of us and right in the middle of my camera roll, I found this beauty!

Soon enough it was time to leave the glorious Grand Canyon behind us and head back to the glittering Las Vegas strip. By limousine of course!

   
Whilst researching things to do in Sin City, I stumbled across the idea of firing a gun at a shooting range. I have never even held a real gun and thought that this would be a unique experience, so I booked us in to Machine Guns Vegas before you could say ‘aim and fire’. This I thought was a great idea until we were actually at the range. After signing the disclaimer, my heart was pounding and I could hear the fiercest of guns being fired. Soon we were escorted in and my gosh I was terrified. I quickly decided that it wasn’t for me and readily shoved poor Phil towards the raging war weapons whilst backing out of the room. After a couple of minutes I mustered up the courage to watch Phil fire a hand gun. He’s got quite a good shot!

We also visited Ethel M’s chocolate factory and cactus garden, which was a welcome change to the lights of the strip and hit up an outlet mall. There’s actually so much to do in Vegas, we wet never bored.
    
  

No trip to Vegas is complete without a photograph with the iconic sign. It’s such a popular spot with constant queues, but so worth it.

Channelling his inner Iron Man!

We also took a trip to the old strip which was retro tastic! It was so cute and felt like we had stepped into the 1950’s! You can zip line along Freemont Street. I think I might try it next time!
    
    
 

We adored our first stay in Vegas, falling head over heels in love with this dessert city. Everything about it was wonderful and I would jump back in a heartbeat. If you haven’t already been, you simply have to go. Embrace it, feel it and fall in love.

L x

Modern day life is littered with responsibility. We juggle work, family life, maintaining a perfect home, keeping up with endless errands (I still need to take my car to be cleaned!!) all whilst trying to salvage some sort of social life. We have so much going on with many of us working long hours. If you have children, then any sort of spare time that you have is eaten up with homework, bath time and organising their little lives. Even if you don’t have children, family is still important and making time to fit in visits and general helping out are all in all quite time consuming. Don’t even get me started on keeping up with things at home. After all of the cleaning (which appears to dominate my daily existence!), there’s gardening and keeping up with paperwork all whilst simultaneously trying to keep everything organised and clutter free so that you don’t become a reality star on Hoarders next door. The second that you leave the warm and comforting nest of your family home, you are thrusted with bills, cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing. My husband and I are three years in and are completely used to juggling such tasks (who am I kidding with ‘we’ – I think I’ve seen him iron twice!), but some of our friends are new to the game and it’s reminded me of how much of a culture shock being a real life independent adult is. Your underwear really isn’t going to wash itself. Nor will a plate of food just appear in front of you at supper time. Oh no. These are all things that need to be done by yours truly. When I lived at home, my evenings really felt like mine. I used to swan off out for dinner with friends or wallow on the couch watching movies. No housework/general chores. It was all about me. Flash forward a couple of years and my evenings are mostly keeping the home tidy, cooking dinner (which can take quite a while depending on the dish!), cleaning up from dinner, preparing for the next day and trying to salvage some me time (this normally happens around 21:30 and results in me falling asleep on the couch whilst trying to catch up on Game of Thrones). Yes, being an independent adult sure does keep me busy! 

I think that we also put a lot of pressure on ourselves, which is ridiculous as the pressure is piled on enough already from other aspects of life. As young women (and probably men too), we have aspirations and targets to meet deadlines that we have set ourselves. To be married and own a home by the age of thirty, to have a small figure and be fashion savvy, to have a kickass career… The list is endless. These days we are so heavily influenced by various forms of media that it’s so easy to get swept up in what we should be doing and what stage we should be at in our lives. It’s great in some ways as it helps us set our dreams and provides a focus, but it also is a lot of pressure. Many women haven’t met Mr Right by the age of thirty. Even if you have met ‘The One’, marriage might not be something that you really want. We need to think more about ourselves and what is right for us. If you want to reach the peak of your career, by all means go for it, but make sure you don’t kill your soul with it. Take time out to just enjoy being you. You might own your own home by the age of thirty-two, but if you don’t, that’s okay too. You can still have your dreams and ambitions, but just go easy on yourself. Life is mad enough as it is!

I try to take time out regularly to just be me. Think about what I like to do (writing, reading, singing, slobbing out on the couch whilst stuffing copious amounts of junk food) and just embrace it. Try not to worry about all of the crazy goings on and expectations that are both placed on us by others and ourselves. I try to sit down and be ‘me’ once a day. Even if I just manage to read a few pages of the book I’m reading, I find it makes me a better person. When I’m encapsulated with the storyline I’m not worrying about anything else, I’m just having pure, organic, selfish me time and it feels great. 

Last Sunday my hubby was off to an event at Wembley (having some ‘me time’ of his own!) with his friend who happens to be my friends boyfriend. My wonderful friend suggested that we had a spa day whilst the boys were busying themselves with computer game goodness. Naturally I jumped at the chance as I am a huge fan of spa days. Lounging around, hopping between the sauna, jacuzzi and steam room before being pampered for an hour or two. Pure bliss. We had a great time catching up properly and stuffing our faces. We had a full body massage and a facial. It was most divine and the perfect way to spend a Sunday. Whilst I was wrapped up in spa heaven having all sorts of lotions and potions applied to my face, nothing else mattered. It’s these pockets of self indulgence that help keep me sane. I came home stress free and ready life. Of course it doesn’t have to be an elaborate spa day that can allow you to refocus and chill out. Go for a walk, watch a movie, read a book. Have a think about what you enjoy and embrace it. You are a person too and you deserve it! Leave the wash load until the morning, contrary to popular belief it won’t grow legs and take over your home. Put yourself first and take some time out. You never know, not worrying about things and just enjoying the here and now might be the dream you’ve been searching for.

L x

This weekend was such a busy one. One of the highlights was completing a twelve hour first aid course. Now, I’ve got to admit, a first aid course doesn’t exactly sound like it would be the epitome of one’s social events on a weekend and I wasn’t looking forward to the long day. Especially as the cooler weather and longer nights draw me in to hibernation. I was also thinking that I’ve completed the course before and wasn’t entirely sure that I needed to do it again. I am so glad that I did though, as I had shamefully forgotten so much. They also have changed some of the rules/regulations/recommendations, so it’s good to stay up to date. For my job, it’s really important that I am a competent first aider, but I believe that everybody should know first aid. A lot of the time it’s not going to even be in work when you will need to whip out those first aid skills. How many times have you scorched yourself on the oven? Accidents can happen at any time, anywhere, so it’s good to be clued up. They say that the most common time to go into cardiac arrest is during the hours of four AM and six AM. Where are you normally during these hours? At home! It’s really great to have an idea (even if it’s just a rough one!) of what to do should you find yourself in such a situation. We practiced CPR before lunchtime on two dummies. One child/adult sized and one a small baby. I’m not going to lie, I was a little worried about giving the rescue breaths to a dummy that probably a gazillion other people had slobbered over, but after a thorough wipe with anti bac, I decided it was safe! It was definitely worth practicing as actually you have to push quite hard and in the right place, so I’m glad we had a practice.

We covered so much during the course from high temperatures, grazes, embedded objects, right through to the recovery position. I found it so interesting and a complete eye opener. I think it’s really important to know what to do if you see a baby choking or a child unconscious, because these situations need to be treated differently to adults. You can actually make things a whole lot worse if you try abdominal thrusts on a baby. There is a great website for the Child Accident Prevention Trust that can keep you up to date on things that you may not have realised are potentially dangerous. Their aim is to lower the amount of serious accidents and deaths in children by educating of the risks. I think it’s a great idea and well worth a nosey.

Another pearl of wisdom that I picked up from the course is registering your phone to text 999. It’s such a great idea because as much as I hope it would never happen, you could find yourself in a situation where you need to be incognito or have low phone signal. It’s easier for a text to go through if signal is low and you can send a clearer message.

We also talked about having a fire escape plan in place for the home, as well as the workplace. Having an escape route at home isn’t something that I had really thought about before, but I think it’s worth thinking about and having a chat with your family because you never know if you will ever need one!

I had a great day polishing up my first aid skills and luckily one of my friends was doing it too, so we snuck in a tasty lunch and huge dinner afterwards. It was great to have a catch up and stuff my face, which lets be honest is one of my most favourite things to do!

If you haven’t guessed already, I would highly recommend completing a first aid course because I really feel that it’s something that could come in handy one day and are far more detailed than watching Vinnie Jones do thirty compressions to Staying Alive!
L x

A few years ago I was watching a documentary that was filmed at Blist Hill Victorian Village in Shropshire. I have always been fascinated by the Victorian times as I feel that it was during this era that us Brits really showed how hard working we are. Industrial work took over with many working in mines and various factories across the country. Of course working conditions displayed constitutions of hell back then to the modern day man, but at the time it really changed people’s lives. We couldn’t imagine a child scurrying through clay mines these days, but it was due to the hard work and determination of the Victorian era that has enabled us to provide for our children now. Our country is strong and well respected. We are able to provide all children with education and a childhood. It was during this era that so many of the things we take for granted such as electricity and running water in our homes really took off. 

We needed to check out of our room in Blackpool by ten AM on the Sunday of our weekend away, so we thought that we could drive the two hours straight from Blackpool to Shropshire and stop off at Blist Hill on our way home. It’s only two hours from Blist Hill to London, so it seemed to work out well.

I was quite excited to see what it was really like in Victorian Times. What the streets were like, how people lived. They say that you can even smell what it was like in Blist Hill Village. Which is, mostly, smokey! 
When we arrived the sun was shining and it was beautifully warm. Especially for Autumn. We had enjoyed gorgeous views of rolling countryside being kissed by the sunlight on our way there and couldn’t have chosen a better day to go.

It’s around £16 per adult for entry and the site is around fifty-two acres. It’s the kind of place that you could spend as little or as long as you like. We stayed for around three hours, but you could easily stay for longer. Make sure you take change for the car park (£2), because there aren’t any cash machines on site. You can pay by card in the pavilion cafe and gift shop, but all of the shops in the village only accept cash (chip and pin devices unavailable in 1900!).

  
The site itself has been reconstructed brick by brick from a nearby village that was being demolished for building new homes. There are a couple of original buildings, mostly to do with the mines.

  
There is a gorgeous little canal with ginormous fish living in the clear water. The canal is also a nice spot to sit with your authentic chips from the fish and chip shop and take five minutes to chill. You can also go for a nice walk along the canal to the other end of the village. It was very cute with all of the colours of Autumn littering the floor.

   
   
We loved wandering around, peeking in and out of the little shops. The staff are all dressed in period costume and living as though they would have over one hundred years ago. You will find people talking to guests about how most people couldn’t afford shoes and kept the front room only for best. You will also see staff working their jobs as they would have back then, carpenters, coal mine train drivers, plasterers.  

    
 
We visited the Toll House and church. The Toll House was a bit larger than the other houses we had been in. The residents said they would be able to keep the house as long as they worked hard collecting the tolls. They had tiny rooms with a roaring fire and a vegetable patch in the garden. They also had chickens and there was a real sense of living off of the land.

The little church was wonderful. Religion was extremely popular during the Victorian era and we were asked upon arrival what our favourite hymn is. I couldn’t think of one at the time, but have since remembered that I quite enjoy ‘Seek Ye First’! Another visitor chose ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ and before we knew it lyrics had been shoved into our hands and we were belting it out whilst a Victorian played the piano. It was very fun spirited!

We had a nice lunch in the Pavilion Cafe and continued our snoop around the village, visiting everywhere from the Doctors surgery to Carpenters. The Doctors’ house was a little more upmarket with running water in the scullery and electric lights. Apparently the Doctor would have actually had a larger house in a wealthier part of town, a short commute to his posh patients!

We had such a lovely day mooching around and enjoying the beautiful autumnal day. I would definitely recommend a visit to Blist Hill Village if you are in the area. Phil and I have already said that we would like to return one day soon!

L x

A few weeks ago my husband and I had just returned from our honeymoon and were having serious post wedding blues. For almost two years we had lived in a bubble of excitement, planning our special day and amazing honeymoon. After returning from our honeymoon, “normal” life resumed. We were no longer worrying about where to seat guests, nor were we researching the best hotels in San Francisco. Everything felt a bit flat. It was during this dull normality that a conversation took place in which we decided to take a trip to Blackpool. I used to go every October half term as a child and absolutely adored our seaside autumnal getaway. It was always so lovely to spend the week with my little family, braving the northern coastal winds to witness the annual Blackpool illuminations. Phil announced that he had never been before, to which I decided he had to go. I mean who can live a life without seeing an illuminated Noddy in a British seaside town?! It was decided that we would go on our only free weekend in October. The illuminations are only on for a few weeks, and if you are going to drive for four hours to Blackpool, it might as well be when the illuminations are on, so you can get the full experience.

We set off straight after work on a Friday evening. We were so lucky to have an amazing drive there, Phil driving whilst I sang along to Taylor Swift in the passenger seat, no traffic in sight. 

I had chosen a little B&B near the tower as we were only going for the weekend and I wanted us to be near everything. The B&B was so cute and delightfully British. We awoke to a mammoth fry up on both days. I normally shovel a pain au chocolat into my mouth whilst simultaneously sipping on a smoothie, so a large breakfast was a welcome change. 

Saturday was our main day in Blackpool and I wanted to both reminisce and show Phil what Blackpool is about, so straight after Breakfast we hit up the Tower.

  
 
I had pre booked our tickets online as it’s actually quite expensive to just rock up.

Visiting the Tower as an adult was very different to my trips as a child. For a start, I wasn’t desperate to dive into Jungle Jims upon arrival, not to mention the makeover the Tower has had since being taken over by the Merlin Group. We were going to go straight to the top, but after a couple of flights of stairs on a full stomach, we decided that the ballroom was the perfect place to start our Tower adventure.

   
   
The Ballroom is by far my favourite thing about Blackpool Tower. With such intricate detailing and a chilled out atmosphere, it’s the perfect place for a piece of cake and a break. I loved watching people dancing, embracing the moment and letting the music carry their bodies. Maybe it’s the history or maybe it’s the fact they sell cake, but one thing is for sure, there’s a little bit of magic that can be found in the Ballroom of Blackpool Tower.

Our next stop was the “Blackpool Eye”. This was a new experience for me as often when I visited, the top was closed due to bad weather. I did make it up a couple of times though. It has been completely renovated since I last stepped up to the top of the Tower.  

    
 
They now have a really cool glass floor. My poor husband is absolutely terrified of heights and couldn’t even look at me on the glass whilst I happily danced about above the promenade. 

There are some lovely views across Blackpool and the Pennines, so I would recommend clambering to the top if you get a chance.

We also visited the circus, which has been going for over thirty years. The circus is really fun and one of the best that I have seen (although I am hardly a circus connoisseur). My favourite part of this circus is the water pool at the end. Because it is a static circus, it is able to have a remarkable pool which is filled as the floor lowers for the finale. I watched this as a child and it fascinated me just as much then as it does now. I would highly recommend incorporating a trip to the circus if you are planning on visiting Blackpool.

We also had a look around the Town Centre, and walked along the sea front. I would be lying if I said that Blackpool holds the key to enchantment and glamour like London does. The reality is that it is a seaside town that has been really affected by the rise in affordability of holidays abroad. What Blackpool is and will always remain is a little a piece of British seaside history. It’s a classic northern trip to the seaside with arcades and souvenir shops lining the promenade. The town centre boasts high street shops such as Topshop, Waterstones and Primark (which came in especially handy for an emergency pair of earmuffs to protect my little ears from the chills of the coastal wind). 

   
    
    
   
After stopping at Harry Ramsdens for a late lunch, we went for a lovely stroll along the seafront. I’ve always adored a beach and Blackpool actually has a really lovely British beach, complete with families playing and the noise from the sea gulls. There’s just something about the sea meeting the land that warms my heart. I think it’s the natural purity of the environment. Aside from the piers, it’s relatively natural. I love how powerful the sea is. Full of life and uncontrollable. When we no longer crave the delights of London, I know that we will reside in a seaside town.

When darkness falls, the lights are illuminated in Blackpool. They are usually switched on just after 6pm and stay alight until midnight. So after a trip to Pizza Express, we embarked on our illuminated journey.

   
   
As a child we used to stay in the North Shore, usually renting a place for the week away from the rowdiness of the town. This would mean that we would end up near Bispham where the large light displays are in full bloom. On this occasion, we stayed near the Tower, and decided to walk along the coastline, pointing out the changes in the lights. They start off as string lights, not too dissimilar to what you would see in most major towns around Christmas. The large displays in Bispham are remarkable and unlike anything you would see anywhere else. As a child, these light displays were amazing. They may as well have been all of my hopes and dreams displayed in lights along the promenade. I remember there used to be a large Postman Pat display which I adored. One year, we were lucky enough to stay opposite the three little pigs display and I remember watching it from the living room window. It was all very exciting. This year there are a range of displays including Doctor Who and Basil Brush. There are also a couple of displays from my childhood. The teddy bears picnic display has been there every year. As a complete newcomer to the Blackpool illuminations scene, Phil found the experience enlightening. He couldn’t work out the reasons behind it and why it’s not on over Christmas. I think it’s just become a tradition and the lights aren’t themed for Christmas. They have their own unique entity. 

   
   
Another one of Blackpool’s charms is the trams. They run along the sea front and even have a special train tram and boat tram all lit up for the illuminations tour. We decided not to use the tram and just enjoy the walk. Which actually turned into a thirteen mile stroll resulting in us getting back really late and through the centre of the town near midnight *insert monkey covering eyes emoji here*. I think that walking through the town centre sober and late on a Saturday night is not for the faint hearted. You will witness an array of uncouth behaviour and general rowdiness. Still, at least they were having a good time.

So, which display was my favourite I hear you cry? I loved the hula girls because of its Hawaiin vibe, the haunted house because it played MJ’s Thriller and the Alice in Wonderland display for its magical garden and attention to detail.

   
 
It was soon time to say goodbye to the seaside and endure the drive home (another couple of hours of me singing along to Tay Tay). Would I visit Blackpool again? Absolutely. It’s a real gem of a place if you look underneath it’s scruffy exterior. Plus it holds so many memories for me. Do I think you should go if you haven’t before? Absolutely. Go during the illuminations, stay in a B&B and take ear muffs. There’s lots to do there and as long as you let your inhibitions go, you’ll have a great time.

L x

It’s no secret that I am not a fan of the ‘darker months’. The late autumn, entirety of winter and even early spring are all on my hitlist. Although with my only options being to get on with it or immigrate, I pretty much have to embrace them. 

The way I have learnt to cope with the impending feeling of doom that comes with the cooler months is to seek out their individual charms. In October you can hear the crunching of leaves during your early morning walk. Watch the squirrels hunting for supplies to carry them through the challenging times ahead and even carve a pumpkin if you fancy. In November you are shaken alive by the roar from the fireworks, forcing even the biggest of pessimists to look into the sky in awe of the fire glitter. Then there’s December. What a beauty of a month. Almost everybody is riddled with festive cheer. The days are short (the shortest in fact), nights are long and filled with festive tunes. Holiday mode is in full swing and you can’t do anything without being reminded of the jubilant day. Seriously, even turning on the telly will result in the great man in red invading your home and spreading the love. Without a doubt,  the best part of December is the food. Oh, the abundance, the acceptance of over indulging. The fact that every friend/relative you visit has copious amounts of chocolate. It’s just marvellous. Coupled with two bank holidays, December really helps dull the wintry pain. My birthday is in January and usually by this time I have found the cold, miserable winter far too much and we jet off somewhere to numb the pain. The air is cool and crisp. Your commute is that bit longer with precious minutes in the warmth of your bed snatched away by icy footpaths and car windscreens. The fashion is great though, you can pile on the layers without anyone noticing the few pounds you have put on through festive indulgence. February is the month of love and also feels as though you are coming to the end of winter pain. Spring is within arms reach with longer days and warmer temperatures, providing a wealth of optimism.

  
As soon as the cooler evenings sweep in, I am whipping out my favourite scented candles. I love having candles dotted around our home for many reasons. Firstly it makes me feel all warm inside. It may sound a bit nuts, but psychologically I find watching the tiny flame lower itself further down the wick and surrounding itself in scented gooey-ness makes me instantly feel warmer after coming in from the cool evenings. We are lucky to have a real fireplace and this obviously has the same effect only on a much larger scale as the heat emitted is actually beneficial as opposed to relatively artificial. I love snuggling on the couch in candlelight. It just feels right. The other thing that I adore is of course the delicious aroma that fills the room from a beautiful scented candle. I hate to be a snob, but I really do feel like you get what you pay for when it comes to candles. There are so many on the market, all different shapes, scents and sizes. For me, the shape or size doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I’m all about the smell. I like the air to become completely smothered in the wonderful perfume scent that comes from a good candle. I feel it completes our home and makes being at home just feel extra nice. There’s nothing more relaxing than being all snuggled in a dressing gown watching telly by candlelight. It’s my favourite thing about the cooler months. 

Jo Malone create the most beautiful scented candles. They ooze luxury and sophistication. Being in the presence of a Jo Malone candle is how I imagine heaven would smell. The quality is divine and there is such an extensive variety of scents to choose from that even the most fussy can find a happy medium. The candles are always perfectly presented and are simply classic, designed to fit in with even the sharpest of interior design. The only downside is the price. This paradigm of a luxury candle certainly comes with a price tag that doesn’t fit with everybody’s budget, with prices for a luxury candle coming in at two hundred and eighty pounds. Never fear, you can get your hands on a home candle for a mere forty two pounds. They do last well and the amazing scents that Jo Malone are reknowned for completely fill any space that they are placed in to, not to mention how gorgeous they look generally, so it’s up to you if you have the cash to invest.

  
Relatively new to the market, Heir and Grace certainly provide competition for the luxury candle makers. With their classic design and sumptuous scents, they really are the Kate Middleton of the candle world. Hand made and poured in Windsor, they always arrive beautifully packaged with a palatial charm. What I adore the most about Heir and Grace candles is that they feel so organic. You can instantly tell that they haven’t been mass manufactured using ghastly chemicals. They have been crafted with love and passion. They have grown their collection of scents and whichever scent you choose will certainly fill your home with air that isn’t remotely artificial. It’s pure, elegant. Perfect for cosy nights in or even dinner parties. How much would such an opulent candle set you back? Well, a home candle costs thirty six pounds. Whilst there are a lot of other, less expensive brands on the market, Heir and Grace candles come with a story. You aren’t simply paying for a little scented flame in your home. You are paying for a loving creation with a rich, well thought out scent. 

  
I first laid eyes on a Bath and Bodyworks candle whilst shopping in New York. They are an American brand that I am desperate to move to the United Kingdom. Even if they only open one shop that happens to be eight hours away from home, I’ll be happy to travel. I just adore their products so much. They stock the most unique scents from candles to hand sanitizers and are wonderful. Unfortunately, they don’t ship to the UK, so getting your hands on one of their delightful candles can prove quite tricky. They stock a variety of sizes, from mini travel candles that are a few dollars, right up to my favourite three wick candles, which come in at twenty two dollars. They offer excellent value for money and the three wick candles last for quite a while. Whilst their design isn’t as classic as the luxury candles, they are still lovely and aren’t unsightly if left out. Their scents are far more fun than any other company I am aware of and you can certainly find a candle for everyone from Gran to your best friend. Plus, if you find a scent you love, you can indulge in bath products to car air fresheners. 

  
Ah, Yankee Candle. Where do I start? They have become so iconic over the last few years and have really made an impact this side of the pond. The design of their jars is often mimicked, although the product usually in these imitations pales in comparison to Yankee. With an extensive selection of scents to choose from, as well as many other products such as wax melts and tea lights, they really appeal to the mass market. Yankee are really great at embracing the holidays. There is pretty much a scent for every occasion. We were even given a ‘wedding day’ jar as a gift on our wedding day. That’s the other thing about Yankee, they make wonderful gifts. They aren’t too cheap and they aren’t too expensive like their luxury competitors. They do a lovely job of filling the home with a nice scent. They aren’t as classically designed as the far pricier luxury brands, and come in a vast array of colours, some of which aren’t to everybody’s interior taste. Coming in at a couple of pounds for a small candle up to twenty two pounds for a large jar, they are great value. If the jars aren’t up to your taste, they also make pillar candles and have some other, classic designs.

So that’s how I intend to spend the cool evenings, snuggled up and surrounded by my favourite scents. Who needs to leave the house anyway?!

L x

You may have felt the colours of Autumn come creeping in over the past couple of weeks. Slowly the evenings are duller, darker and cooler. The mornings are met with vibrant green grass covered in morning dew. The car windows are no longer vividly transparent, with the signs of the cool night clouding the view. The flowers are no longer quite so voluptuous and singing a warm and bright song. Darker shades of green are in their place, with these greens slowly turning to beautiful rusty colours before carpeting the ground. Spiders are in complete abundance, constructing their webs wherever they see fit (including across footpaths and covering gates!). Gone are the floaty dresses and straw hats of summer. To be replaced by autumnal attire.
Summer has always been my favourite season. I’m in love with the longer days and adore feeling the sun’s warmth settle on my skin.  The careless attitude of just running out of the door in sandals without a care in the world. The gorgeous pub gardens and evening sunshine snatching. I love it all. With this in mind it may surprise you to learn that when it comes to fashion, I love what autumn brings. The berry colours, the cute knits and even the coats. Oh, how I’m a sucker for a coat. I have acquired quite a few over the years because for me a coat or a jacket is the main outfit when you are outside. You could be wearing a gorgeous dress fresh off of the runway, but when outside the part of your outfit the world sees is your coat. It will be with you on cool, crisp icy mornings and rainy afternoons. It will be there if snow falls overnight. That’s why I believe that you should have a variety of coats. A coat for every occasion. This leads me nicely on to my wonderful new addition – my stone coloured Mac from Jack Wills. I have a complete love affair with Jack Wills and am probably sporting something from their collection most days. I have never been over struck on macs as they are a sort of in-between coat. Too hot for summer, not hot enough for winter. However, when I laid eyes on this beauty, it was quite clear to me that my life has been incomplete without it. I dreamt of autumnal morning walks, evening dinner date trips and even April showers, all with this beautiful Mac on my back.

  
They also make a pink version, although I feel that is best suited for springtime. Unless you are Elle from Legally Blonde. In which case, go right ahead. 

The cut is just perfect and the beautiful stone colour sets the perfect tone for almost all autumnal outfits.

  
 
I took this coat for a sunny afternoon Sunday walk through the woods. We have my Mum’s dog, Elizabelle, staying for the weekend. Elizabelle was quite keen to creep in on my shots. She’s quite cute though, so I’ll let her off.

  
We’ve been having some absolutely glorious weather recently, so I could get away with a simple striped boat neck top from Uniqlo and black jeans, also from Uniqlo. 

  
I first laid eyes on a Uniqlo store a few years ago when one opened up in Uxbridge. It wasn’t there for too long and I sort of forgot about the brand (sorry!). When I was looking for some leggings a couple of years ago, a friend mentioned Uniqlo had some good quality pairs. I hit up their Oxford Street store and voila! I was hooked. They make some lovely casual items, perfect for layering or lazy Sunday’s. Simple, affordable and good quality. They are a bit of a go to place for basics now.

To complete my OOTD, I slipped on my trusty black Moroccan crochet Toms. I am such a huge fan of Toms, as is my husband. We both live in them during the warmer months.

  
I bought this pair around three years ago from Office. They were £46 and have definitely reduced their cost per wear to a minuscule amount. I have a cream pair too and frequently skip between the two pairs depending on what I’m wearing. They are just so super comfy and go with everything!

  
 
We all thoroughly enjoyed our woodland stroll and now feel as though we have earnt a hearty dinner and chocolate gateau. Sunday’s are for over indulgence – right?!

L x

We were fortunate enough to spend a week in Hawaii whilst on our honeymoon. We stayed in Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. I have wanted to visit Hawaii since I was a small girl growing up in the nineties after my Great Aunt and Uncle went. They bought me back a cute pineapple necklace, t shirt and bag. I absolutely adored their gifts and I think I still have them kicking about somewhere today! 

When Phil and I first started talking about our wedding and honeymoon as teenage dreamers about nine years ago, I mentioned how much I would love to go to Hawaii. It’s quite a long journey and when you add up the flights from London and the hotel etc, it’s actually quite an expensive trip. Weddings in themselves are quite expensive, so I’m very grateful that we managed to go. 

We actually landed up flying there from Las Vegas as we planned a West Coast tour of the United States. The flight was around six hours. I didn’t realise quite how far Hawaii is. I’ve always thought that it’s just off of the West Coast, which it is in theory. It’s also only 7-8 hours from Japan and Australia. There were a lot of Japanese tourists and I only saw a British family once during our stay. It was in Hawaii that I felt furthest away from home (obviously I was, but you know!).

When we arrived, I imagined it would be like an unspoilt deserted island with little wooden shacks and people walking around in Hawaiin shirts with flowers adorning their necks whilst sipping on coconuts. The reality is that Waikiki is actually quite built up (although there are plenty of fun shirt wearers). The beach has a backdrop of skyscrapers and concrete engulfs the coastline. You can still see the rainforest if you look behind the man made jungle though. Despite the human invasion, Waikiki is still absolutely beautiful. Nobody can deny that the beaches are incredible and the sea is so clear that you feel as though you could be in an Evian advert. As much as I was initially disappointed to see such huge buildings towering over our idyllic honeymoon setting, it was actually okay. It was better than okay. It was incredibly convenient. You see Waikiki’s beauty hasn’t been killed off by homosapien invasion. Waikiki is very much alive. We struggled terribly with jet lag whilst away. We were barely used to being eight hours behind the UK when we thrusted ourselves to Hawaii, throwing us a further three hours behind what we were almost used to. This meant that our timing was a bit odd and we would be very awake quite early or quite awake very late. This doesn’t matter in Waikiki Beach. You can go out early in the morning, indulge in an early morning Starbucks treat and be greeted with people, with life. Likewise, the shops and restaurants are buzzing into the late hours. You want a new outfit at 9pm? Not a problem. Dinner at 10? That’s okay too. Eighty percent of Hawaii’s population reside in Honolulu. That coupled with the huge amount of tourists means that the sky scrapers are a necessity in ensuring that needs are met. I totally get that. Plus, if you do fancy a more laid back, untouched approach to your trip, you can always go for a little drive where you will be met with tiny villages and miles of agriculture. 

    
 
We used our time in Hawaii to relax and just enjoy each other’s company. Our entire trip had been meticulously planned almost down to the minute and so it was nice to explore at a leisurely pace and just embrace what Honolulu has to offer. We did book our shark swim before we set off though, as I wanted to research the company we were choosing and secure a slot as in the height of summer things can get pretty booked up. We opted for North Shore Shark tours who are an established company with lots of experience. This was very important to me if I was going to throw my body into shark infested waters. Especially as I am not the strongest of swimmers and am certain I cannot out swim a shark back to the boat. I used trusty Trip Advisor to source out the companies with the best reviews. I would highly recommend checking anywhere you aren’t sure about on Trip Advisor as it is so easy to use and provides a wealth of information. 

Hurricane Guillermo was expected to touch down whilst we were in Honolulu and also on our shark swim day! News reports of how awful the hurricane was going to be were in full swing and I was a little terrified. I even thought about stocking up on necessities such as Pain au Chocolat and M&Ms (as long as you have chocolate everything is fine right?!). Fortunately the hurricane didn’t live up to the forecasters expectations and turned out to actually be a short rain shower in the morning. Not too dissimilar to often rainy London. This thrilled us as we could continue enjoying our adventure and our shark tour was scheduled for the next morning. We organised transport through the shark tour which made our journey there really easy and pleasant. We were picked up from the Hyatt Regency with a couple of other thrill seekers. One of the other passengers was a lovely girl from Brisbane who it turned out I had quite a bit in common with. We had a natter in the car and before long it was time for our encounter with sea predators. We were warned to take anti sickness tablets beforehand, which is something I never normally do before boarding a boat. I am very lucky that I don’t suffer from motion sickness (a fact I once bragged about over dinner, citing that my brain was ‘too intelligent’ before somebody pointed out I was holding my knife upside down – awks!), so I’m not used to popping pills. Poor Phil often feels seasick when we are on a boating adventure, sadly even a couple of the pharmacy’s finest anti sickness tablets didn’t help him out. The sea was particularly choppy the morning of our swim thanks to cheeky Guillermo which resulted in poor Phil feeling particularly poorly. That didn’t stop us though as we still readily hopped into the shark and whale infested waters upon command (second group!). We were all quite jovial on the ride out, peering over the side to spot our new oceanic friends.  

 
Pre swim selfie!

At first our only worry was the temperature of the water. We were four miles off of the coastline and although on land it was a delightful thirty two degrees, I was rather concerned that the water would not reflect that and would leave me regretting wearing a couple of pieces of minuscule fabric instead of a wet suit. I needn’t have worried though as the water was absolutely gorgeous. It may surprise you that I wasn’t scared of going into the cage and being surrounded by fishy friends. I did have a moment when I saw a few over the side of the boat though and it all felt very real. We were in the cage for around twenty minutes, dipping underwater to spectate the wonderful Galapago Sharks. It was incredible to see them in their natural habitat. It was such a beautiful experience watching these creatures swim wild and free in the ocean. I did spend a lot of our experience being battered against the cage as the sea was so excitable. This was the most terrifying part of the whole trip. A few times one of my limbs would be forced out of the cage through the (rather large) bars. I’m not going to lie, this did freak me out a little and I decided to hang out near the ladder so that there was more of a barrier for my poor limbs. Obviously I’m not a sharks natural choice of food, but if it’s hungry and my leg is hanging out… Well let’s just say that’s a risk I didn’t fancy taking. We were so lucky to have such an amazing shark encounter, there were so many swimming around us of all shapes and sizes. It was truly incredible. Soon our time was up and we were reeled back in and onto the boat and driven back to Waikiki with our GoPro footage and our new memory. I have put a video up on my channel of our swim. Excuse the rough edit – I was jet lagged and in a hurry! You can check it out here. 

   
   
I loved the Hawaiian lifestyle and vibe. It was great to see people enjoying being outdoors so much. Hawaii also has a thriving wildlife which is just fantastic. We loved shopping. Everywhere from market stalls with local produce to high end designer shops. Waikiki has it all. Before long we were hopping on a plane to Los Angeles, leaving the chilled out vibe behind us. We have vowed to return to Hawaii, although we will spend more time there and hit up the other islands as we have heard that they are just perfect.

Until next time Hawaii x