What I Read On Holiday

So, I'm a bit of a bookworm especially when it comes to holidays as allllll I do is read. This year I went away for 10 days and got through 8 books, pretty impressive huh? So the last of my summer posts brings to you my 'what I read on holiday' list. Most of these aren't summery books, and will be as equally enjoyable when you're curled up on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket, sipping on a milky hot chocolate, sounds dreamy doesn't it? 

1. Dream A Little Dream- Giovanna Fletcher
It's no secret that I'm a huuuuuge fan of the Fletcher family. I have been to 3 McFly concerts and obsess over all of their #futuregoals vlogs, so it's only right I work my way through Gi's books. I read You're the One That I Want on my city break to Barcelona, so for this trip I ordered Dream A Little Dream, partly because the front cover screamed summer at me. I loved this book, and was genuinely sad when I finished it. If you're someone that loves a romantic story then this'll be right up your street. It's funny and super relatable, and I have the Christmas novella in my Amazon basket ready to be ordered!

 2 Just One Year- Gayle Forman
This book follows on from Just One Day, and has taught me one thing- always, always, always have the sequel(s) to hand. There is nothing worse then a book ending on a cliffhanger, and you not having the next one on in the series. Unfortunately, this book also finished on a cliff hanger, and I'm yet to purchase the next, but it did answer some unfinished questions. As a classic lost love kinda tale, you get to see things from a different perspective, and you'll find yourself wanting to skip to the end, to find out some answers.   

3. The Rosie Effect- Don Tillman
This book follows on from The Rosie Project, and lived up to my expectations. I struggled to get into the first book as it wasn't my typical romantic narrative that I was used to. It follows the thought process of a guy named Don, who is one of the most socially awkward characters I've ever come across, but also becomes one of the funniest characters I've ever read about. Without giving away any spoilers, The Rosie Effect continues to follow his journey into a milestone you'd never think he'd get to, with an ending that leaves you warm and fuzzy inside. 

4. Me Before You- JoJo Moyes
Beware, you will need tissues. After all the hype surrounding this book, I couldn't not get it and boy oh boy, it didn't disappoint. I was captivated after the first page, and just couldn't put it down. This story isn't your conventional boy meet girl novel, no no. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you angry and it'll make you cry. I was left sobbing by the pool, feeling emotionally lost, now you've gotta be a damn good author to have that effect on your readers. 

5. After You- JoJo Moyes
I'd learnt from my previous mistakes, and also bought the sequel to Me Before You with me, so I could continue reading about the characters I'd dedicated so much time to. If you're as invested in the first book as I was, then this one is a no brainer. This story follow the journey over unexpected bumps, and twisty bends, but you'll be guaranteed some closure. 

6. Beautiful Broken Things- Sara Barnard
I'm not going to lie, part of the reason I bought this book was because of the front cover, it's all gold and shiny. I did read the blurb too though, and was quite intrigued by it not being a romance novel. It tells a story of teenage friendships, which took me back to my teenage days, in a good and bad way. It left me feeling pretty nostalgic, and was a breath of fresh air in comparison to my usual romantic stories. 

7. Watermelon- Marian Keyes
Still to this day, I have no idea why this book was called Watermelon, not a clue, but it was a gooden none the less. This was a, 'I've got one book left for the flight home and one more day in the sun' book that I picked out of our apartment's bookshelf, but it didn't disappoint. It focuses on one of five sisters, each of whom have their own book, and will have you belly-laughing in no time. It's written in first person, which took a little getting used to, but it definitely brought the story to life. I'm now on the hunt for the next sister to read about. 

My amazon basket is filling up pretty damn quickly!

Lagos // Barbosa Bar & Kitchen

So if you read my last post you'll know that I have recently returned from a super sunny holiday in Portugal. It was the dream, and I'm still suffering from the holidays blues (even as I have a Christmas countdown on my phone). Lagos is a great little place, with some gorgeous eateries, which is where we stumbled across the beauty of Barbosa Bar.

Okay, I lied. I actually found this pre-Portugal, after looking through tags on Instagram, but it paints more of an exciting picture if it was an accidental find doesn't it? + we did have to track down the exact location, so there was a small hint of stumbling.

 After a few confusing moments of trying to get in when they weren't officially open, (their windows said 10am, Facebook said 11am & the staff said 12pm) we were finally allowed through the doors, and I headed straight to the courtyard. It was everything I was hoping it would be and more. Tiled walls, pallet benches, big plants- the whole interior was right up my street and oh so Instagram.

Obvs we didn't just come here to stare at the decor {I could have easily done} so we found a comfy spot and ordered some brunch. To drink we both opted for a refreshing lemonade- but these had a twist. I went for the pineapple and basil, and Jay went for the lime and mint, and my goodness I neeeeed to recreate this, it was incredible. For food, I originally opted for the yogurt w/ granola and berries, but the yogurt was yet to be delivered, so instead I went for the croissant with homemade jam, and it was delicious. Jay went for a fancy panini, which came out looking super yummy and was gone in a flash, which was his way of saying it was good.

I could have happily pitched up for the whole day, but that wouldn't have been fair for other like-minded Instagrammers, and I had less than 24 hours to top up my tan, so every second counted. If you're off to Lagos anytime soon, I'd definitely add this spot to your to-do list.

Monthly Round Up: August {2016}

So that thing I said last month about not leaving it till two weeks in before writing my monthly round up, yeah it didn't happen. I'm afraid a super, sunny break away in Portugal kinda got in the way and I'm not even a single bit sorry. {Well, maybe a little, but not by much}. With the return of GBBO (not even going to mention the recent devastating news we've received) & the team GB spirit, August was a pretty damn good month, with very few hiccups!

The Good
The good obviously has to be the fact I celebrated my birthday and went on holiday in the same month- what gets better than that? In the first week I received some wonderful gifts, saw Finding Dory and scoffed my way through more cake than the Bake Off tent produces. In the last week I was spending my days lying in the sun, swimming in the sea and getting through my mountain of books.

The Bad
I ended up having a pre-holiday MOT with a trip to both the dentist and doctors after convincing myself that everything was going wrong with my body. I deemed holiday-worthy though, and was reassured that my teeth, and head, and tummy is all okay and not failing me.

The Ugly
I dropped my phone down the toilet and it spent 48 hours in a bed of rice. Luckily, it survived. However, having no phone and temporary internet down time when your trying to work from home can send you into a panic when you start thinking of all the different scenarios that could happen when you have no contact to the outside world. {I can be a bit of a drama queen if you haven't already realised}

The Weird
I passed my probation at work which means I have now been there for over 7 months. That's over 200 days. Where has the time gone? I remember when back to my first week where I managed to get blisters on both my feet to the point they bled, my salad dressing leaked in my bag and I stepped into the deepest puddle in the world.

The Wonderful
My Mumma and sister came up for a flying visit, which gave me a chance to have some well-needed girly time. They also brought with them presents in the form of Disney DVDs and Jammie Dodger tubs. I also got to play host and provided them with chocolate, haribos and biscuits- Beth's Bread 'n' Breakfast will be starting soon.  

Here's to the start of an organised blogging schedule!

Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival

I never need an excuse to escape to the countryside, but if was to have one then a super, popular scarecrow festival would fit the bill perfectly. On the edges of the Yorkshire Dales lies the rural village of Kettlewell which puts on an almighty display of straw filled figures every summer. When I lived at home we used to head to a nearby town to wander round their Scarecrow festival on an evening so really it was the ideal continuation of tradition. 

In true Beth-Jason fashion we didn't take into consideration that the heavens had opened the day before, so sandals and boat shoes weren't the most sensible of footwear choices. Luckily for me, I had some wellies in the boot but no socks. Even luckier for me, there was a walking shop so I now have some £12-worth woolly grey socks that make my feet feel like they have their own radiator. Unluckily for Jason he had to stick to his boat shoes, but we did pretty well in avoiding the mud. 

With a trail sheet in our hands, we set off on a self-guided tour with 50% of our time spent admiring the scarecrows. The other 50% of our time was spent peering into people's homes, looking up cottages that were for sale and deciding what our scarecrow entry would be. It's safe to say when it comes to villages, Kettlewell is the place of dreams or as some would say #futuregoals.

{I also learnt to skim stones here, so if that isn't a good enough reason, what is?}

Little Things #26

My, oh my, time flies when you're having fun. Or in other words, you're super busy at work because you're going on holiday and you have far too much to do and not enough time. It's been weeeeks since I last gave you a little update on what's going on in my life and keeping me ticking over, so in a bid to avoid packing for my holiday, I thought I'd do just that.

• I passed my 6 month work probation and I'm one step closer to my country manor house. 
• McFly turner 13 so I celebrated with a party-for-one {aka listening to them all day}
• I turned twenty-two and celebrated with a Jammie Dodger cake and a trip to the cinema to aee Finding Dory.
• Many evenings were spent cheering on Team GB
• I'm nearing the end of my work notebook which means I can indulge in one of my favourite things to shop for. 
• I experienced my first 'bring-a-dish' event for a Sunday 'garden-warming' BBQ {I loved it}
• We finally went to Scarborough and the donkey's were wearing hats! 
• My suitcase is 70% books after going a little OTT on Amazon.
• Bake Off returned to our screens and I was loving life.
• It's less than a month until Once Upon A Time returns to our screens!
• My Mumma and sister hopped up on a train for a swift visit and it was wonderful. 
• It also meant I gained two more Disney DVDs and finally got round to watching Zootopia. 
• They also bought my some super cute biscuit tubs to transport Jammie Dodgers to work in- if you haven't already guessed, they're my fav. 
• My new magazine subscription arrived (thanks to my good friend) and the recipes are super dreamy *insert heart-eyed-emoki*
• Miranda wrote the best letter to Team GB #suchfun
• We attended a Scarecrow festival and I learnt to skim stones (& find our future house)
• I ordered some prescription sunglasses and the world was clear once again. 
• I'm going on holiday in exactly 15 hours 

Scarbados

Something University taught me was that spontaneous plans are always the best ones, and when you combine that with exploring new places then they are even better. So, when we woke up to sunshine and scorching temperatures (I've learnt 20 degrees is considered that up North) a few weekends ago we made the impromptu decision to spend the day at Scarborough, the closest thing we could get to Barbados. 

Obviously my touch-and-go stomach decided that it would be a good day to flare up, but after a delayed start we were tooting along. As usual we had a bit of a mare when it came to finding somewhere to park after missing pretty much all of the turns to parking, but after what seemed like forever, we were eventually parked and on our way to the beach (beach, let's go get a wave).  

The last time I went to Scarborough was when I was about thirteen so I can't remember much other than a few penguins at the Sea Life centre, so it was all pretty much new territory to me. I, of course, got way too excited when I saw donkeys on the beach (they had little hats on), and rainbow-coloured beach huts. Once I'd gotten over my excited-ness we found a sunny spot and settled down with some fish 'n' chips- they always taste soooo much better when you're surrounded by the salty sea air. 

In true English style the sun didn't stay shiny for long, so we took a wander over the clifftop and in true Beth style my tummy didn't stay happy for long- this was our cue to leave. Unfortunately this meant we didn't get to relive our Barcelona rowing experience or waste countless 2p's in the arcades, but that just gives us a good reason to go back!

Monthly Round Up: July

 

Let's just pretend that we're only 7 days into the month and not 17 days as that would be more acceptable for this post to be going up. Since I've been counting down the days till I fly to Sunny Portugal (12 to be exact), this month has been flying by. If I'm honest I'm not 100% exactly what happened in July other than the fact that I cut my hair off and started filling my flat with sunflowers, but I'm going to give it a good go.

The Good
July was full of celebrations with some of my favourite people. We kick-started the month with a Christening that included a new favourite Zara jumpsuit, a bouncy castle and fairy cakes. We then rounded up the month with a 4-year anniversary trip to a drive-in cinema, equipped with an sharing individual bar of aero and portable radio. 

The Bad
Me and a few team mates (makes it sound like I'm a sports person) attended an industry event at the start of the month and with that came a pre-networking night. This usually would be fine if I was sipping something bubbly with an alcoholic content, but due to my dodgy stomach I'm currently staying clear of the headache-causing-stuff which just made me realise how socially awkward I can become. (For visual reference: I turn into Chandler.)

The Ugly
Mr Latty started his big boy job as a Physiotherapist but it's never simple in our lives. Obviously there were complications with documents which caused some restless nights and some short tempers- who knew proving where you live could be so difficult. (In case your wondering everything is running smoothly now)

The Weird
I spent the last day in July walking round with a marrow. Yep, a marrow. Turns our the allotments near us have a little bucket of surplus veg and with our current love for Mediterranean veg it would have been rude not to pick it up. Unfortunately, this was about 10 minutes into our walk and we were out for a good couple of hours.

The Wonderful 
We finally saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and it was totally, incredibly awesome. We're yet to read the screenplay but I can honestly saw you can't read that and not book yourself tickets. The acting, the choreography, the score is all just unbelievable. I'll say no more #keepthesecrets

Hopefully, next month's post will be a closer to the actual month than the next!

I'm Feeling Twenty-Twooo

If you didn't sing 'ooo-oooooo' after reading this blog title then you need to seriously consider what you're doing with your life*. Lol, jk, apparently, twenty-two year old me is even more sarcastic than twenty-one year old me, which is something many (many being Jason & my mum) didn't think was possible.

I am officially 6 days into the year of it being socially acceptable to sing Taylor Swift when someone asks 'how are you feeling?' and I'm digging it. I think it's mainly because I don't really feel any older other than the fact that the bill-man still expects you to pay him even if you're celebrating Beth-day. Question- When do you start to feel a day older? Because I'd quite like to prepare for when that moment comes.

A beautiful bouquet from Bloom & Wild from my BFF (& a magazine subscription which I'm uber excited for next month) | A super snazzy stripey top from ASOS | Lovingly created tickets for #FRIENDSFEST until the real ones arrive (brithday is a personal touch) | A fancy flamingo scrapbook that fulfils my inner artistic goddess | Exclusive New Look dollar to keep my wardrobe in tip-top condition| The dreamiest set of tealights you'll ever smell

This year's birthday was my first ever birthday I've spent at work, and away from my family- they weren't even in the same country. {They did manage to wake me up at 6am though after forgetting they were an hour ahead, luckily I was in a good mood}. I did however keep up the tradition of opening my cards and pressies in bed, which 57% made up for the fact I wasn't able to lounge in bed for another couple of hours. The other 43% came from the fact that my work buddies had made my first work birthday a pretty good one by booking for me and Jay to go to #FRIENDSFEST in September, along with presenting me with some gorgeous smelling candles, a pretty little orchid for my desk and a yummy Victoria Sponge- Blue Digital, you da best.

And what does a twenty-two year old do when she gets home you're asking? Shewalks through the door to flowers and fairy lights all over the flat courtesy of her wonderful boyfriend, eats some dinner and heads out to the cinema to watch Finding Dory complete with pick'n'mix, because Beth-day wouldn't be complete without Disney. (It was great in case you were wondering)

*If you don't want to consider what you're doing with your life then you can at least watch this and it all might be a little clearer. 

Happy 6 Months To Me

Today marks 6 months since I first stepped into the offices at Bramley Grange, and I've been on one hell of a ride {a good ride}. My probation period is officially up, and I'm now a fully-fledged member of the digital marketing team, go me! *dances around the room* I still have mountains to climb when it comes to learning, but since starting there I have learnt some fascinating things about me, the industry and working life in general.

1. Don't ask me to make your hot drink if you want it within 2 minutes. {I wouldn't ask me to make coffees either unless you like it really strong or really milky}
2. Tape measures can provide endless hours of entertainment, but can end up annoying colleagues if over-played. 
3. Everyone has normally lost the plot by Friday afternoon.
4. I have limited self-control when it comes to any kind of office treat- I knew this anyway but work has just re affirmed that I can not resist a doughnut or two, or three.  
5. Organisation is the pinnacle to a stress-free day/week/life.
6. Clients don't always want to be on your team, strangely sometimes they'd rather be the opposition. 
7. Re-brands are stressful, especially when it comes to business cards.
8. A recent office shuffle round means I've got one of the best seats in the house- a radiator behind me and a window next to me #ballin.
9. It cab be super hard trying to explain to someone that what I (we) do isn't just try to get them to the top of Google. 
10. Just like school, I hate photo days.
11. The best part about filling a notebook is a trip to Home Sense to source a new one. 
12. Messy draws = messy mind
13. Sometimes clients just don't get it, and you have to be okay with that. 
14. Sleep is for the weak, the digital world doesn't stop.
15. When it comes to networking I either become mute or become the most boring person in the world- I'm working on it.

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!