Sunshine, Strawberries & Scones

Sunday the 24th July 2016 has officially been renamed to Strawberry Sunday. It should probably include raspberry in there somewhere, but it doesn't have quite the same ring, just like my super alliterative title that just rolls off the tongue. We've just celebrated our four year anniversary so what better way to spend day one-thousand-four-hundred-and-sixty-two of our relationship than by filling punnets with juicy berries. {no innuendo intended}

The last time we went fruit-picking the strawberries were out of season, so my pre-weekend mission was to find a farm that still had strawberries to pick. Turns out most farms do (need to work on my seasonality knowledge for when we get our allotment), so we chose The Balloon Tree, just a fifteen minute drive outside of York. 

Obviously we headed for the strawberries first, they're my favourite if you haven't already guessed. It didn't take us long to fill up a punnet of the plumpest strawbs so we then took a trip to the bottom of the field to find some raspberries. It seems no-one had ventured down to the spot we chose, so we had a wide bunch to choose from, and quickly filled up a second punnet. 

It's probably worth saying that this PYO farm isn't the cheapest, especially when it comes to paying per kg not per punnet, but the experience is super relaxing and it's a lot of fun choosing your own fruit/veg for the week. The also do some very tasty scones which make for a great afternoon tea!

A Little Life Update

The title of this post should be 'Little Things #26' however since my last little update Theresa May has appointed what seems to be a rather worrying team of sidekicks, Murray won it for us Brits and Pretty Little Liars got even more dramatic. My weeks seem to be flying by lately so here's the 411 on what's been keeping my little self content.

• We celebrated our first flat-vessary and I'm impressed to say we've only locked ourselves out once.
• I bought some shoes that have pom-poms on them.
• It's 37 days until I go on holiday and workouts have re-commenced which I'm quite enjoying so far. 
• I attended a viewing of Harry Potter & The Cursed Child and it was magical. 
• I'm totally digging work at the moment because a) we've had a change up and I love my little team & b) part of this month's allocation was to read the dreamiest of magazines, also known as Country Living. 
• Sunflower season has started and I'm in my element.
• James Cordon released a new Carpool Karaoke.
• The country experienced tropical weather which led to lunchtime sunbathing sessions.
• We're celebrating our anniversary a week late with tickets booked for a drive-on cinema and I am beyond excited! 
• Once Upon A Time released their return date of the 25th September and I am counting down the days. 
• I did a charitable deed and chopped off my mop to donate to the Little Princess Trust. 
• I caught up with my childhood BFF when I went home and got to cuddle baby guinea-pigs that had been born that morning. 
• It's 12 days till I can listen to Swiftie's 22 all day long. 
• My evening treat currently consists of either a Smarties or Rolo mix-in yogurt which I'm totally addicted to and could eat the entire pack if it was seen as greedy pig like. 
• Me and Gossip Girl have re-kindled our relationship and it's going great xoxo

Side note: A breaking Twitter hashtag tells me that One Direction may be No Direction as Liam has signed a solo contract. This deeply devastates the secret side to me that loves One Direction and is a massive Directioner. 

The One Where I Cut Off All My Hair

Totally feeling like I'm part of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S gang with this post title, and I may be over-exaggerating a teeny tiny bit. I did (the hairdresser did) however, cut off 12 inches of my hair to donate to the Little Princess Trust, which to me is practically all of it. I am a little late to the short hair don't care trend, but as Queen Clarisse Renaldi once said, the Queen is never late, everyone else is simply early. 

To celebrate we spent the past weekend out in the sunshine showing off my new look, with a day trip out to Yorkshire Lavender. Surrounded by lavender plants and countryside views, it was the perfect location for a sunny Sunday with a few posey photos and an over indulgence in lavender food & drink. 

This past week has been an emotional one- who knew you could have such an attachment to hair, but I'm feeling like Rapunzel and totally loving it! {Although it is only day three of the chopped mop so an emotional breakdown could follow.} To go along with sending my mane off to the charity, I thought I'd try and raise some money along the way. 

For those who don't know, the Little Princess Trust is a charity that makes wigs for girls and boys who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatment. Hair donations mean they can provide these children with wigs free of charge, but without them they have to source hair from elsewhere which can cost up to £500. I'm super happy to say I've raised £275 thanks to my very generous friends and family and l'l leave the link below in-case any of you want to donate or check out the before and after pictures. 

For now I'll be spending my time watching short-hair tutorials and mastering the art on how to straighten my shortest strands without burning every part of my scalp/neck/ear. 

Donation link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Bethany-Webb1 

BFG Dream Jars

When it comes to planning a day out in London it tends to naturally spark a Google search along the lines of 'super cool fun things to do in London this weekend that everyone will be really jealous of' with little to no search results. However, upon my weekly research for whats happening in the exciting part of the digital world, I came across the latest London goings on which got me a bit giddy. 

To celebrate The BFG movie release and Roald Dahl's 100th birthday, Visit London, and some other people, have placed giant dream jars across London, with "splendiferous" sculptures based on celebrities dream stories. If you weren't a BFG lover then this will mean diddly squat to you, however to someone who loved Roald Dahl's work as a young girl, this was super exciting. It also gave us something to do inbetween the most magical theatre performance you'll ever see.  

Granted we only managed to see three, as not all of them are up and running just yet and we didn't quite have enough time to complete the trails- there's three different trails you can follow. Yes, I downloaded and printed them off. Yes, I'm really that cool. If you're planning a trip to the big smoke any time soon I'd thoroughly recommend having a look to see if there's any nearby your destination, they're super special, although they're not always the easiest things to spot! 

{Just to add: Covent Garden have some pretty cool things going on too for #CGAfterHours including this Swing of Dreams that I need in my future garden}

Harry Potter & The Cursed Child

 Warning, this post does NOT contain any spoilers what so ever, I'm all over that #keepthesecrets business as I have a snazzy badge which tells me to do so. (Plus I wouldn't want to upset J.K Rowling, she's a feisty bird!)

*Skip to paragraph four to avoid the ramblings* Throwback to the end of October, where I was in the height of unemployment and priority booking for the eighth Harry Potter story opened, meaning I had nothing better to do then fight other avid Potter fans for tickets. It's safe to say my laptop got a bit of a shouting at, but we got through it and I ended up with four tickets to the West End performance #BossedIt 

When booking I didn't really take into account dates, and ended up travelling home for the third weekend in a row, but who doesn't love a good road trip in Dudley when you forget about the fact that you can't feel your bottom anymore, and the battle between opening the window for fresh air or keeping it shut to stop getting blown away because you're avoiding turning on the air con to save fuel. 

Fast-forward to Sunday just gone and we were on the train heading to the Palace Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue via the box office to pick up our tickets. Before joining in the queue we decided to take a short stroll, bad decision. Ever wondered what happens when a Chinese restaurant catches fire and your in close proximity to it? It spreads pretty damn quickly and visibility is minus one-hundred. But what better way to take your mind off the fact that your lungs are filled with smoke and you're sitting in the Balcony of a very hot theatre, then by Part One starting. 

The creators behind the show did an amazing job at bringing the magic of the wizarding world to life, along with the composers and choreographers- it continually amazes me how a certain tune or dance (not that it was dancey) can reflect the scene so perfectly. The first half whizzed by, with an ice-cream interval of course, and before you know it part one is over leaving it on the biggest cliffhanger- for those of you who watch Pretty Little Liars, it felt like one of the series finales. 

A two hour break before watching part two meant time to feed the grumbling tummy. We opted for Maxwells in Covent Garden after hearing my parents rave about it, and I opted for a classic BBQ chicken, chips and apple coleslaw. It's probably most famous for it's Instagram-worthy freakshakes, but if I had one of them I would have definitely been in a food coma for the second performance and so not in the right state of mind to concentrate. 

Part Two commenced and although it was like 100 degrees inside and I could feel the sweat dripping down my face (slight exaggeration) I enjoyed every moment of it. The actors were amazing at keeping the energy alive, and the atmosphere in the theatre was incredible- you were literally surrounded by crazy Harry Potter fans who cheered when the most annoying character was defeated and laughed at every pun. 

If you can still get tickets I would 1000% recommend purchasing them as you won't be disappointed! I also realise that this is a bit of a long post, however we're currently having a Harry Potter marathon and it's taken me far too long to write this for me to go back and change it all. (Yes, we probably should have done this before seeing the play, but we like to be unconventional) 

P.S. If you can spot yourself a wizard amongst the muggles in one of these pictures then you're a true Potter fan. 

Monthly Round Up: June {2016}

I'm currently struggling to keep my eyes open whilst munching my way through my penultimate Easter Egg. Yes, it's only 9pm and I'm only twenty-one but I had a late night last night and this girl needs her rest. And yes I still have Easter Eggs left, I'm just savoring every last piece of them. The end of June/start of July has been far too manic with work and going home three weekends in a row. Whilst it's been lovely, I'm super excited to get some routine back in my life as of next week, with a hopeful return to regular blog posts, but for now have my well over-due June round-up!

The Good
We chased the sun, when it decided to appear, and spent many a day discovering some new places. One of these was a gem of  restaurant in the heart of the city where I had a yummy soup and the tastiest bread I have ever had, no word of a lie. The best/worst part of it was that it was homemade so I couldn't even go and buy out the bakery it could have come from. 

The Bad
Prepare for this one. As we were over said part of town (see previous point), we took a stroll round the corner to what was my favourite little gift shop, only to discover it has shut down. (insert heartbreak emoji x 100) I'm still in shock'/ feel as devastated as I did when I first walked round the corner.

The Ugly
Booking a holiday the same month that your car insurance is due probably wasn't the wisest of moves. Especially when you're other half no longer get's his student loans and doesn't start his job till the end of July. Here's to winning the lottery sometime soon!

The Weird

This month I purchased some shoes with pom poms on. Personally, I think they're great (obvs otherwise I wouldn't have bought them). However, the looks I've received after showing/explaining my new additions has said otherwise- AKA. Why on earth would you want shoes with pom poms on you weirdo. 

The Wonderful

I received a £25 Zara voucher for completing my social media course a few months back and it couldn't have come at a better time. Zara + summer sales = heaven, although my bank balance doesn't always agree. But with £25 to spend, it just gives me an excuse to spend more, doesn't it?