Solo Trip Day 1

So one of the tihngs on my list of forty things to do before I turn forty next January was to go away by myself for a couple of nights. I have rarely been away by myself as I've been with Lee forever and if I don't go away with him I go away with friends. When I had been by myself it's been to go to a gig or a conference or something, so I wanted a couple of nights with nothing to do except please myself. I booked two nights in Denshaw, which is one of the villages in Saddleworth, just over the border in Lancashire. I was booked into an annexe to someone's house which looked very cute and cosy. It was basically a studio with a living area, kitchen and dining area, a bed hidden behind some Ikea Kallaxes, and a separate bathroom. I didn't spend very much as I didn't want to, and I also didn't book too far from home as I didn't want to drive too far. 

I am rarely by myself these days as Lee works from home 24/7. I'm sometimes alone if he goes out to brand practice, and briefly alone when he goes to the supermarket, but otherwise, I'm only alone when I drive myself places. I miss being at home by myself but as Lee's company is based in Bratislava he works remotely all the time. So I wanted to be by myself for a bit too. It was an interesting experiment and one I was looking forward to!

A couple of days before I set off I started looking on Tripadvisor for places nearby with decent vegetarian options. I found about three pubs that had at least something I wanted to eat (no thank you to vegetarian moussaka) and I found a place for brunch on the Friday, but that's in the next post. I also looked at 'things to do' on Tripadvisor and discovered that Saddleworth Museum would be open, and also that a theatre in Shaw turned out to be showing Meet Me in St Louis on the Thursday afternoon! I love that film and I didn't watch it last Christmas like I usually do, so I thought I might go. The tickets were five pounds! Five quid! What a bargain! That meant I had to leave home at about 11.30 on the Thursday, so I did.

I got to Shaw about 12.30 and went into Asda to buy some lunch, which I inhaled before going across to the theatre. There was a screen pulled down above the stage and the film was projected on to that. Halfway through there was an interval, and the volunteers of the theatre had cake and coffee to eat. This is absolutely adorable and I wish I lived closer to the theatre because I would go and see these films more! The film finished at about 3.15 and I then drove to Denshaw. 

I couldn't find the Airbnb so had to ring the owner but she was really lovely - one of the nicest Airbnb owners I have met! She had set the woodburner going for me so I got settled and cosy and sat watching TV for a few hours. 

About 7pm I headed out to the Junction Inn and got a table and a glass of wine. I had feta and spinach rolls to start with and then a vegan burger which was only okay, but it was fine. I had my tablet with me so I could read, and I had a nice time. I was enjoying my experiment so far! I went back to the cottage and watched a film and did some writing before bed. 

I slept really well! I'm often a bit scared of the dark and it was very dark, but it wasn't too bad and I slept fine. Here's photos from my first day:

In the theatre waiting for the film to start. The stage was set up for The Good Life, haha

Just as it started

Outside afterwards

Do visit if you're in the area

I was staying really close to this beautiful view

The bed area, with patio doors

I loved this artwork on the wall!

The seating area

The kitchen and dining area - the woodburner was to the left of this. I tried my hardest to keep it going but failed - I'm not used to actual fires - so it was quite cold when I went to bed as this was the only source of heat. I slept with a few layers on which helped

Gorgeous lavendar on the table

Cheers!

And finally my food!

Weekend in Sheffield with Friends

In the middle of April I had a weekend planned in Sheffield with Sam, Jac, Sarah, Lucinda and Von. We hadn't all been together at once since January 2020 so we thought it was well overdue. I had booked a lovely apartment on Abbeydale Road but that got cancelled, so I had to book something else quickly so we ended up in Upperthorpe I guess, between the city centre and Hillsborough. The apartment wasn't great but we weren't there very long so it was basically fine! 

Lee took Sam and I there on Friday afternoon and we got checked in. Jacqui arrived at about 5pm so the three of us made tea and did some chilling out with some wine. It is always nice to talk shit with those two so I enjoyed it. Lucinda and Von were coming from London so they arrived about 11.15, we said hi and then headed to bed.

I woke up early on Saturday and eventually got into the shower and got ready. Sarah arrived about 10am - she would have stayed over but didn't want to leave her little girl, which was of course fine - I'm glad she joined us during the day though! We swapped some presents and stuff and got made up glam, and then we set off about midday down to the tram stop. I was really anxious about it because I didn't know if I could walk so far, but we took it gently as we weren't in any particular rush, and I made it! It was downhill which is clearly better than uphill, but still, Sheffield hills are steep! We got on the tram and got off at City Hall and walked across to Leopold Square. I've been there before as it's where Pho is, so I knew it wasn't far from the tram. Sarah had booked us a table at Cubana which does tapas so we headed in there.

I've never been in but I would thoroughly recommend it, the tapas was so good. I have cheese croquettes, garlic mushrooms, tomato and mozzarella salad, and patatas mansas. I had a strawberry cocktail and we shared some sangria too. We then headed next door to The Botanist and had some drinks in there - mine was strawberry and elderflower I think. Next we headed to Turtle Bay where we sat outside - it wasn't that warm but we were fine, and at least it wasn't raining. We had a few drinks there. Jac left about 4pm as she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home. But it was nice to see her! 

We got a taxi back to the flat about 5.15pm and chilled out for the rest of the night. We had some snacks for tea and then Sarah left at about 8pm. The rest of us watched rubbish TV before heading to bed at 11pm. It was such a nice day out! I had been wearing my star print Judi Love dress - it's so easy to wear but looks really special. My lipstick is from Revlon and I love the bright pink colour. 

Von suggested that we went out for brunch before she and Lucinda set off south, so when Lee picked us up we headed to Loung 418 on Ecclesall Road. It was so nice - really funky inside and the food was brilliant. I had the full veggie breakfast which as you can see was big and lovely! We said goodbye after brunch and Lee and I headed home.

I was in such a lot of pain because I walked what was for me a really long way. I'm proud of myself and I knew the pain would pass, but jeez living with chronic pain and then adding extra on is no fun. I will take it easy for a few days now!

My nails were an Illamasqua black polish with some glitter as accent nails

Cupcakes I ordered for us

Weren't they so cute?

Me on Saturday morning ready to go out

We each had temporary tattoos because we're grown ups

Cute though!

Me and Jac in Cubana

Me and Von

Sam and Lucinda

Sarah and Lucinda

Jac and Sarah

Von and Sam and Lucinda

All of us! Thank you to the kind waiter who took this

Sarah was very happy with her mojito

Strawberry cocktail

My food which was all gorgeous - there were a lot of veggie and vegan options which pleased me and Lucinda

Sarah and I looking very glam in the toilets

This mad light fitting was in The Botanist

This was one of my drinks in Turtle Bay

And and Sarah and Lucinda as we waited for Sam and Von before getting a taxi

Showing off my dress back in the flat

Sunday morning in Lounge 418

And finally my gorgeous brunch

Lunch with Michelle and Tea with Paul and Lianne

I had a busy day on the 12th of April because I had arranged to meet my friend Michelle for lunch and then mine and Lee's friends Paul and Lianne said they were coming down so could we meet up. I didn't want to cancel seeing Michelle because I haven't seen her since before Christmas, so we decided Lee would finish work a couple of hours early and we would meet Paul and Lianne for tea. We also then decided to go to my mum's for a bit so she and my stepdad could see Paul and Lianne as they always like that. 

I left the house about 11am and drove to Jct 27, where the Ikea is. I went for a coffee at Starbucks first as I was reading a book that was annoying me and I wanted to get a bit further with it. I then went over to Chiquito for about midday and Michelle arrived soon after.

I quite like Chiquito because even though it's a chain the food is always decent and I know they have lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Michelle and I both went for nachos which were lovely, I really enjoyed mine. We chatted about all kinds of things including birth and death! No trite conversations for us! I got home about 3.15 and Lee and I set straight out to my mum's. 

Paul and Lianne arrived not too long after. They had been at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and were staying overnight. We stayed at my mum's until after 6pm just chatting. Then I headed into Wakefield with Lianne so I could show her the way to the restaurant, and Paul went with Lee so they could chat and Lee could get some petrol on the way. Lianne is a really nice person - I don't know her super well but it's always nice to chat with her!

We had decided to go to Syhiba, which is an Indian restaurant in Wakefield where Lee and my mum and stepdad and I went on my dad's birthday in January, which I blogged about. I had remembered they had tons of vegetarian and vegan options (Paul and Lianne are both vegan) and they have an early bird special which is cheap. I had paneer pakora and then potato and cauliflower curry, both of which were so delicious. I would really recommend the place!

We said goodbye around 9pm, so when Lee and I got home we just got into bed and watched TV in bed. I finished my annoying book! It was Orlando by Virginia Woolf and I did enjoy it but I don't read many classics and I found the language too flowery by far! 

I was wearing my Libertines t shirt, my flamingo skirt, and my leopard print cardigan, which is such a ridiculous piece of clothing but it always gets loads of comments! 

My nachos. I didn't get photos of my tea but believe me when I say it was nice

Me and Michelle

Me and Lee and Paul and Lianne. The restaurant was really quite busy for a random Wednesday night, I'm glad they could fit us in!

And finally my outfit

Easter Monday in Barnsley

We spent Easter Monday out on the lash in Barnsley with my mum and stepdad. It was a lovely day! I'll start with Easter Sunday though - it was the fifteenth anniversary of my dad's death which I was obviously sad about. I had invited my friend Philippa over for Sunday lunch though. Lee makes a great Sunday dinner and cracking Yorkshire puddings and I thought Philippa would enjoy that. And she did! We had sticky toffee pudding for afters and Philippa stayed a few hours, chatting to me and Lee. It was really nice and really took my mind off my dad. 

On the Monday, which is also my dad's anniversary due to the nature of his death, we had planned to go out with my mum and stepdad. Barnsley town centre have regenerated the town centre, putting up a new library and redoing the market with the market kitchen and some other restaurants. I've been into the Lounge a few times as you've seen. Recently I noticed that a Botanist has opened up! I love their food so we decided to go there for lunch first. I booked which was just as well because Barnsley were playing at home so it was quite busy. We picked my mum and stepdad up so they could both have a drink. We ordered some drinks and raised a toast to my dad. 

I went for onion petals to start with and a halloumi hanging kebab. Both were really delicious to eat. We had another cocktail each and then I ended up drinking my stepdad's whiskey one cos he didn't like it. We then headed over to the market kitchen, where the Cucina Sky Lounge was open. We got cocktails there and then I introduced my stepdad to a Baby Guinness shot - I haven't had one in years and really enjoyed it! 

We went into the Lounge next, where we had yet more drinks and Lee had a dessert. Lee doesn't drink anyway, so he never minds driving. Lastly we headed into The Salt House, which is also new and which I hadn't been in. We had to have a high table but it was actually fine, I would go and try their food one of these days too! We had Tequila Sunrises in there, which used to be on cocktail menus everywhere but seems to have been usurped by the Pornstar Martini. 

By this time it was 6pm so we headed back to my mum's. She had got a new laptop and Lee had set it up for her but needed to do some more stuff so we were there for ages. We did not have anything else to drink as I had quite overdone myself - I don't drink much anymore so I really felt it!

I was wearing this mint and black bardot dress from Yours which I've had ages. Then I had on my final new pair of Snag tights, which have this gorgeous silver glitter shooting star pattern on. My shoes are patent and leather brogues from Clarks in a gorgeous green colour. I don't wear them often because they hurt me after a while, but I do love them so much!

We finally got home about 10pm and went straight to bed!

Here I am as we set off, wearing a little bit of make up

Mine was jasmine and elderflower or something, my mum had a pornstar martini

Out out! 

Onion petals for a starter. I didn't get a picture of my main course but believe me it was nice

Strawberry and something, I can't remember what but it was gorgeous

The walls in the Botanist

So pretty!

Me and Lee

New tights and shoes

These were the cocktails we had in Cucina - mine was a Long Island Iced Tea

Baby Guinness!

My mum's tongue had gone blue with her Blue Lagoon

Pornstar martini in the Lounge

Tequila Sunrises for both of us in The Salt House

Still out out!

My dress when we got home