Monthly Round Up: March 2016

There are daffodils everywhere, lambs in the fields and the sun makes an occasional appearance, which can only mean we're now in Spring. I mean if you were judging March on weather alone, then the 4 degree temperatures mixed with downpours of rain would make you question that. But, the flowers and bundles of wool make up for it, and the weather can only get better, right? Lol, jk, don't kid yourself Beth, this is England we're talking about. However, putting British weather talk aside, I managed to have a pretty chilled out March. I can now put in and take out contact lenses*, I've spent hours on Pinterest saving the perfect iphone and desktop backgrounds and the kitchen is stocked up with ingredients for Spring related recipes- what a combination. There are also a few other highlights that are probably worth mentioning which include all things Easter and weather (obvs). 

The Good
Once Upon a Time and Daredevil returned to Netflix- what a month for TV series. Admittedly I'm a week behind Once Upon a Time, but that just means I get to watch two episodes back to back #winner

The Bad
My converse have come to the end of their life and it's a very sad time. They've been with me for years now and the idea of having to chuck them out, replace them and wear new ones in is killing me slightly. 

The Ugly
I organised an Easter egg hunt at work, and lets just say things got a little hairy. Some people take competition pretty damn seriously. I probably should have realised that from the Office Olympics I organised the week before in aid of Sports Relief- yes I'm stepping up my internal social organisation game. 

The Weird
That time it snowed enough to build a snowman at the start of the month. When you leave York with no snow and arrive in Leeds with a good few inches of snow it throws you off a little bit. Especially when you wear dolly shoes and have a 12 minute walk to get to work. 

The Wonderful
That wonderful long weekend where I got up too all sorts of fun activities with families and friends. It also meant we scored to short weeks at work, which is heaven to all us monday-fridayers. 

Easter: Photo Diary

You are never too old for a game of pooh sticks

Aren't we a good looking bunch

Garden centres are the best in Spring

Pizza is my one true love, especially when it involves ham & pineapple 

 Dinner and drinks with my girls, how sophisticated

Dodging the showers meant we got these views

Watching the wildlife doing its thing

Every time I see a rainbow I have an urge to sing

Daffodils and boats make a great picture

We made some friends

Just 'swanning' around

I'm currently in a chocolate induced coma and I don't regret one bit of it. All I have seemed to have done for the past four days is eat and it has been great. It does now mean I'm back on the salads for lunch and runs after work though, unless I pretend that it's still Easter because I've still got Easter chocolate to eat, that's a legit thing to do isn't it? 

The best things about Easter

Easter is one of those celebrations that either comes round super quick or you feel like you're waiting forever. I love Easter, and not just because of it's an occasion where you give chocolate and receive chocolate. To some it's a religious celebration, and to other it's a four day holiday that couldn't have come sooner. When I was younger my Easter was spent; recreating an Easter garden at lower school, getting competitive in a Easter Egg hunt, putting all my (And mum's) efforts into making Easter bonnet, colouring patterned eggs, painting eggs, hoping my number is called out in the school raffle to be able to go and pick the biggest chocolate egg from the front, and lining up all my chocolate eggs I've received, hoping I'd got more than my sister. 

Nowadays, it's a lot more toned down and I'm much more appreciative of the doubley-long weekend, feeling grateful that I've only received two eggs because I've still got Christmas chocolate to get through. Howevs, I can always make room for a Creme Egg or two, and would be lying if I said I haven't had one this year. So along with Creme Eggs, I've pulled together a list of everything I love about Easter. 

• Hot cross buns
• Mini Eggs 
• 4 day weekend
• Woodland walks
• Shortbread bunny rabbits
• Chocolate for breakfast is acceptable
• LUSH Easter collection
• Chocolate nest cakes
• Creme Eggs
• Easter scented candles
• Daffodils
• Easter house decorations
• Easter bouquets

One thing I've learnt this year is that you are never too old for an Easter Egg hunt, you're looking at the chief organiser of an Easter Egg Hunt for thirteen 20-50 year olds, it's going to be egg-cellent. 

Malton Food Market

Last Saturday we woke up to sun, and after my morning Twitter catch up I realised it was Malton's monthly food market- music to my ears. We've  always been busy when this event cropped up, so with nothing planned and weather good enough for an ice-cream we jumped straight outta bed. {If food is involved I will jump out of bed, literally}

One piece of advice I'd give my future self is always look at where you can park. Usually, I do this, but in our hurried state we wanted to get on our way so we may have driven up and down the same road three times until we found a spot. 10 tense minutes later, and we were wandering towards the most heavenly smells. If anyone was watching I probably looked like a dog picking up a scent- think bread, cakes, fresh fruit, more cakes. 

The temptation to spend all our money on food we didn't need was high, but with a firm hand (and image of my financial excel spreadsheet in my mind) we managed to escape with a pie and tomatoes. Although, we did splurge out on some stone-baked pizzas for lunch, and the sunny weather made it okay to sit outside, sun and pizza what more could you want? 

Ice-cream you say? Well, conveniently we spotted a chalk board directing us to a top-notch ice-cream parlour, so naturally we followed- a bit like Sleeping Beauty to the spinning wheel. A little way up the road sat a popular gelato with too many good flavours that you spend 5 minutes trying to decide. In the end we settled for gingerbread, cookies and cream and mini egg, three flavours that were an ultimate combo and left you feeling sick, a happy kind of sick though. 

After a little stroll to walk off the pizza and ice-cream, my salads for the week made it slightly okay, we headed back to Dudley and set off home with our pie and tomatoes. If any of you are ever around for this event I would highly recommended it, and if you're ever passing through Malton I'd definitely make a pit stop at Groovy Moo's ice-cream parlour, you won't regret it!

Little Things #19

Happy Monday chums! It's finally starting to feel like Spring, hallelujah! (Not like it's taken 14 days or anything...) As of yesterday I became a contact lens wearer. I can't say I'm currently digging poking myself in my eyes voluntarily, but it takes me back to my 19 year old days before uni ruined my eyesight and I could see clearly without glasses. On the topic of eyes, my conjunctivitis has cleared up and I've bought some brand spanking new make-up to make sure it doesn't come back, so this week was a pretty good week for my eyes!

1. I also bought a, wait for it, banana bag from H&M for a bargain £1.  I don't eat bananas, I don 't like bananas, but I thought it'd be a great little accessory for a summer holiday. 
2. We took a 4 mile hike round some Yorkshire towns and hills, and made friends with the cutest pony.
3. We then went for tea & cake after.
4. I've been getting a lift to work every day this week and it has been gr8.
5. Once Upon a Time returned to our screens and I feel like a fan girl feels at a One Direction concert.
6. We headed to Malton for their monthly food market and had pizza and ice-cream for lunch- just counterbalancing the salads I've been eating all week. 
7. The royals released some family ski trip photos and they are #goals.
8. On Saturday night we had some friends round for drinks and a catch up about life and it felt like such a grown up thing to do. 

This week is going to be leading up to a trip home for a 1st birthday party, so I'm super excited about that. No doubt it'll go as slowly as possible now!

Diary of a Working Girl: Bus Thoughts

This week was the beginning of a new era, I never have to get the bus to work again!* Conveniently, our lovely, new developer lives just down the road from me which means I've bagsied myself the front seat in his four-wheel machine every morning and evening. In my time of getting the bus there have been many things that have crossed my mind, so rather than keep these to myself I thought I'd document for them all to read!

1. Monday morning and my bus is late, what a good start.
2. "Can I have a weekly to...." Oh god, where is it I'm going again? I don't know. I cant remember. "Thorner!" Phew. 
3. There is someone in my seat. Do they not realise that I sit there every day so I don't have a mini panic attack where I think I've missed my stop. 
4. Where is my stop? When do I press the button? Oh gosh, I have no idea. 
5. Where's my phone? Did I put it my bag? Yes, okay, stop panicking Beth. 
6. Walk down the stairs, on a moving bus, in a skirt? Challenge accepted. 
7. OMG, WHERE'S MY PHONE?!?! Right where it was 2 minutes ago Beth. 
8. Wifi, y u no work?
9. It's rush hour and you're taking up 6 seats between 2 of you. You don't need 2 seats for all your Primark bags, how greedy can you be. 
10. Who looks friendly enough for me to sit next to them?
11. Bus conversations are the best to earwig. Listening to music? Nope, I'm listening to your conversation. 
12. 8:14- We're meant to be at this stop. We're not. We're 3 minutes behind schedule. 
13. It smells of wee. Am I sitting on a wet seat? OMG, DID SOMEONE WEE ON THIS SEAT? No, its dry, chillout Beth. 
14. My bus ticket is on my phone. I don't like this. I need a physical piece of card. Sod the planet. (I actually love the planet and make a conscious effort to save it)
15. Why aren't these school kids wearing coats. Do they not realise its like -537393 degrees outside. 
16. Everyone needs to stop breathing. It's fogging up my window. 
17. Note to self: Don't finish your book in your morning journey. You won't have anything to do in the evening commute. 
18. People watching is great. 
19. My bus is coming- *waves dramatically like a mad women until it indicates that its stopping*
20. I should have got my ticket out before waving the bus down. Why did sensible Beth not kick in. 
21. When I get home, I'm getting in my PJs and doing nothing else. 

There is only one thing I'm missing about my daily bus journey, and that's the ability to start and finish a book in three days, I have to be sociable now. But I'm extremely grateful for my new ride, it means I get an extra half-an-hour in bed and get home before it's dark. Until the next diary entry amigos. 

*There may be a few times I have to get the bus to work. 

Little Things #18

Happy Mothering Sunday to all those Mumma's out there. I know I wouldn't be the person I am today without my Mumma, quite literally, so to thank you for being you I'm going to dedicate this post to you, you lucky thing. This week has been a pretty good week minus the wet weather and the fact I currently have conjunctivitis, not cool. But British complaints aside, I have a whole bank of things that have made my week a wonderful one. 

1. I am no longer a bus w-anchor as my wonderful agency have employed a new guy who lives just down the road to me. Hell yeah to an extra hour in bed each morning. 

2. I treated myself to this super cute top from Oliver Bonas and it's totally appropriate for this coming month. 

3. Tom Fletcher released a new video this week and it was not what I expected, but it didn't disappoint. 

4. This week I celebrated my 1 month workversary and it was a giant party like any other day at work.

5. After 4 long weeks, Jay was offered a post-graduate job at York Hospital which means come July we will both be real-life adults, with two real-life incomes coming in. 

6. Naturally we went out for food to celebrate- I had a burger. 

7. Our estate agents have finally sorted someone to come and fix our blind that has metal rods sticking out of it left, right and centre. It's only taken 7 months. 

8. Royal Mint have released a new coin design with Peter Rabbit, and it is adorable. {Although it has currently sold out.} 

9. I caught up with PLL this week, I was two episodes behind, and it's safe to say my heart breaks a little even more at Spoby. 

It's probably about time for some more eyedrops, however I react in a similar way to Rachel from friends, click here if you have no idea what I'm on about, so it's not going to be a pleasant experience. 

March goals {2016}

Looking back I did pretty well in hitting my Feb ambitions, we've booked Barcelona, had a non-stop fam weekend, kept my flat plants alive, lit my candle to GBBO and settled in nicely at work but March is here which means one thing, Spring is on its way. I absolutely adore Spring, pretty flowers, fluffy lambs, creme eggs, what isn't there to like? It also takes us one step closer to Summer which is even better as I need some vitamin D in my life. I feel like after a very hectic February, March is going to be a very much lets-get-my-life-back-together kinda month with a few other goals thrown in the mix

1. Purchase birthday & Easter presents

2. Stick to my new work-out DVD

3. Devour my body weight in creme eggs and mini eggs

4. Enjoy some quality family time

5. Try some new recipes 

6. Order some desk accessories

I'm definitely looking forward to having some normality and routine back in my life whilst munching on all the Easter chocolate and feeling very guilty as I still have Christmas chocolate in my cupboard.

Happy 1 month workversary

Today marks two different events, my Mumma's birthday and the celebration of my first month at work, I started on a satisfying date. It's been a whirlwind of a month, but I honestly can't remember now what it was like to be unemployed as it feels like I've been there forever. So what better way to celebrate my 1 month workversary, then to share a few things I've learnt about what it's like to have a real-life agency job. 

• Making the office brews is a stressful activity
• Coming up with a new agency name will divide the team
• Always plan your outfit the night before. If that fails, then use the time in the shower to plan. If that fails, then just hope your clothes don't clash. 
• No matter how much you enjoy work, hearing your alarm go off at 6 o'clock in the morning is never fun
• Don't take change to work. It will result in buying out all the chocolate in the tuck shop box
• Lunch time trips to Tesco are a regular occurrence
• Lunch = lunch & dinner = tea #Southernerprobs
• Clients are more often than not on the opposite sides of the spectrum. You can have all the bants or talk to them like your grandmother
• Employees love freebies. We got doughnuts delivered to the office last week and it was like a pack of hyenas pouncing on their prey
• If you take in cakes you get bonus employee points
• Not all clients are exciting- I am now an expert in guttering 
• You'll always have a never-ending to-do list on the go
• Your job still carries on after 5:30pm
• Going to bed at 9pm is part of my evening routine

That's just a snapshot! As cliche as it sounds I am learning something new every day and with that comes a new challenge to keep me on my toes!