Films of the Month - August

I'm so far behing with blogging! Moving has really taken it out of me! We have been so busy unpacking and sorting things out and the house is looking really lovely and nearly everything has a place, but it means I'm way behind on blogging here and on my book blog. I'll get caught up eventually, but as I write this we're going away on holiday in less than a week, which will obviously mean more blog posts and more books to review! Maybe by Christmas...? 

I only watched six films in August, because of all the moving and everything. I've also started watching Emmerdale again - because Robert Sugden is back - and this has taken up more time than I thought. And I'm behind on that, too! Anyway, here's what I saw:

I heard a load of buzz about K Pop Demon hunters so I thought I would see what the fuss was about, and I ended up really liking it. It's really cute, I would recommend it 

I'm still making my way through Heath Ledger's films, for a zine and to complete something, so I watched Brokeback Mountain. I've seen it before but not in forever, so I really enjoyed it. It's just such an emotional film

I really like the film Identity and have since Lee and I saw it at the cinema way back in 2003 when it came out, but I hadn't seen it in ages and wanted to, so I watched it by myself

Bend It Like Beckham turned up on Netflix so I watched it. I loved it way back when but I'm not sure it's really stood up to the test of time

Lee and I watched Ocean's 13 the day after we moved house, in our new living room, while Lee unpacked all his records which he was happy about. I don't like this as much as the first two but it's okay

Finally Lee and I watched Oliver and Company which I've never seen. We've bee watching some of the older Disney films. I liked this but it's not great

Girls Weekend Day 3

On the Sunday of our trip we didn't do much, as we all had to get home and get to other places. But we had brunch! Sam had booked a table at Space, which wasn't far from where we had being staying. It was fine but the music was so loud it was like being at a rave. A bit annoying!

I went for smashed avocado with tomato and mozzarella and pesto on sour dough toast, with hash browns too. I also had a hot chocolate but unfortunately it wasn't hot enough and I couldn't catch anyone's eye to get it sorted. My food was nice though. 

Once we'd finished we drove Jacqui to the train station where she was going to Cardiff to visit a friend, and then I drove me, Sam and Jodie back to Huddersfield. It was a fine trip back with no traffic so we made it in good time. Back at home Lee helped me unpack and took a photo of me in my What Would Dolly Do t shirt. As I write this she hasn't been well so I'm sending all my love to her. She and I share a birthday, you know - which is why I also share my birthday with Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The food was good but everything else left a bit to be desired

Like my hot chocolate, which wasn't hot

Here I am in my outfit when I got home, though. This is on the top landing of the house... 

Girls Weekend Day 2

On the Saturday of our weekend we had a lot planned! First of all we did a Beatles trip, then we ate delicious vegan food, then we got stuck in a downpour, then we had hot drinks and cake in a cafe. We went back to the Airbnb and relaxed for a few hours, watching an utterly ridiculous film, and then we went out for Thai food. When we got back we drank champagne and watched more Red Dwarf before bed. It was a busy day and so good!

We set off about 11am after I'd failed to have a warm shower in the en suite bathroom and went in the other one instead, and went on Jac's Magical Mystery Tour of a bunch of Beatles locations. I'm not a huge fan but I like them enough (I love Sgt Pepper) and I was glad to see all these places. Jodie is a huge fan so she kept us going with lots of Beatles facts and information which was cute. 

First of all we went to Paul McCartney's childhood home which has a big sign outside. You can go in but we had decided not to. There was a bright yellow taxi with a tour, so we waited until they had done before taking photos. Then we went to George Harrison's childhood home which is on a very unassuming crescent and which just has a blue plaque on it. Next was the graveyard where Eleanor Rigby is buried - Paul says he hadn't seen her grave but who knows what the truth is there. There were two other tours there so we tried to not get in their way. We headed across the road to the community centre where Paul and John first met, which was way cute. I think we then stopped at the Strawberry Fields gates but there were a lot of people about so we didn't stop for long. 

Next was John Lennon's house where there were two more taxi tours - they're expensive though. But the leader of one made sure we had taken all our photos and were happy before he moved in, which was nice of him. We then headed to Penny Lane. At one end there's a sign so we were going to get out and take photos, but in trying to turn round we found a very cute little garden which had a bunch of Beatles related stuff, so we gout out and took tons of photos. There was a zebra crossing so we recreated the Abbey Road cover (I was Ringo). I was glad we found this but there's also a little Beatles museum there but it was sadly closed. 

Last thing was Ringo's house. It is on a very tiny little street and isn't marked at all, but there is a massive mural on a nearby gable end so you do at least know you're in the right place. It was cute to see. We then went to Guac and Roll more in the city centre. Lee has played gigs there a few times and rates the food so I had asked if we could go. It's all vegan so there was an overwhelming choice for me. I eventually went for the Guac and Roll burger which was fake chicken and salad and it was so good. Everyone enjoyed it. It was so nice to visit here! 

It was starting to rain as we were in the cafe and then on the way back to Aigburth it absolutely threw it down. I fancied a hot drink and on Aigburth Road I saw a cafe that also sold flowers so we went in. It had some cute things for sale and while the drinks and cake were a bit limited in choice I enjoyed what I had - a hot chocolate and chocolate chip banana loaf. We tried to avoid the rain but weren't entirely successful so we were all glad to get back into the flat. I got into my pyjamas for a bit but before I did Jodie took a photo of my new Red Dwarf t shirt, I love it. 

As I said, we chilled out and watched a very terrible film and laughed a lot. Then we got dressed again and got a taxi to Thai Me Up which is a tiny Thai restaurant on Aigburth Road. We were still pretty full from lunch so I had Panang curry and we all shared some rice. It was lovely! It was still throwing it down so we got a taxi back to the Airbnb and had some champagne and relaxed for the rest of the night. A lovely day! 

Paul's house, very cute

Eleanor Rigby's grave

George Harrison's house

The plaque on the community centre where John and Paul met

The gates at Strawberry Fields

John's house

All the very cute tribute stuff at Penny Lane

The mural at the end of Ringo's road

My burger in Guac and Roll

Banana chocolate chip loaf

And my lush hot chocolate

Boys from the Dwarf!

The artwork in the Airbnb

Round the table selfies as we were waiting for food

And finally my curry, it was lovely!

Girls Weekend Day 1

In the middle of September I went to Liverpool with Sam, Jac, and Jodie. We had decided to do this to celebrate all their birthdays, we thought it was easier than faffing about with presents. Jac booked an Airbnb and did most of the planning. I wanted to go to Guac n Roll which is an all vegan DIY cafe thing that belongs to some people Lee knows. He's played there a couple of times and recommended the food, so I wanted to go. Then Sam chose a couple of restaurants too. It was a busy couple of nights! 

I picked Sam up from Penistone station and we set off to Liverpool. The drive across Woodhead Pass and then the M60 and M62 was fine and we made it to Crosby beach in good time, except I went the wrong way in Liverpool a couple of times. We made it to meet Jac and Jodie at about 11.30, right on the beach. We wanted to see the Anthony Gormley statues so we walked on the beach. The tide was going out and in the time we were there we saw a few reveal themselves as the water left them, which was cool. There are a few that are probably always visible. It's a nice beach so we enjoyed a little walk and a sit. It wasn't raining which was good as it was forecast.

We then drove around the edge of Liverpool to get to our Airbnb which was in Cressington on Aigburth Road. It was one of the nicer Airbnbs I've been in. It was above a shop and on the first floor there were three bedrooms, one with an ensuite bathroom, one with twin beds, and one with a balcony leading off from it. Jac wanted the balcony one, and Sam and Jodie said they would share, so I lucked out and got the ensuite bedroom to myself! Then on the second floor there was a big living room slash kitchen. The only problem was the water was a bit weird and made a lot of noise. 

Anyway we checked in and then we were hungry and hadn't planned lunch so we went across the road to a Toby Carvery. I had a mac and cheese Yorkshire pudding wrap which was delicious, if very carb-y! We went back over to the Airbnb and had birthday cake (it was Jac's actual birthday) and sat on the balcony outside for a bit enjoying some fresh air. Then we went inside and sat for a bit watching Red Dwarf as we had a bit of a theme going on. Jodie had never seen it before so we were able to introduce her to it and watched a few favourite episodes. 

We got ready and got a taxi about 7 to go to the Light of Bengal which is unsurprisingly an Indian restaurant. It was the brightest Indian restaurant I think I've ever been in in my life and the staff were all really friendly. We were still pretty full so we had poppadums and pickles to start with, and then I had paneer dopiaza with a paratha. I'm really into paratha at the moment, they're so delicious. Sam and Jac and I shared a bottle of prosecco and we got a taxi back. We sat upstairs drinking Hooch, for goodness sake, and watching Red Dwarf again. 

I was wearing an old Scarlett and Jo dress which is lush for an evening out, I'm so happy to have it unpacked again. 

The beach, looking gorgeous

You can just see some of the statues peeking out of the water

Here's one from the back

And one half buried

We trudged through quite a lot of quicksand and water which was fun

Looking up the other way, how pretty

I liked the moody lighting of this one

The Aigburth Arms! Which is where Dave Lister was found under a pool table. Watch the show

Jacqui's birthday cake! It was very cute

Enjoying the party outside in my pyjamas, which I had put on to relax in for a while

Jac brought me these lucky dip Sanrio things from America and I love them both!

And here's my dress just before I got back into my pyjamas!

Weekend with My Aunt

In the middle of September my aunt Caroline came to stay with us for the weekend so she could see the new house. We are getting there so much with it, doing lots of unpacking and sorting things out. We've got a spare room with a bed in, so space for her to stay over. We had plans for Saturday but they fell through but we ended up having a really lovely day anyway! 

Sarah had been over on the Friday morning and then I was very tired so I got into my pyjamas and rested for the rest of the day. I had warned my aunt of this, so she wasn't too shocked when she turned up at about 7.30! We showed her round the house and then we cooked curry for tea for all of us. We then sat in the living room watching TV and doing some quiz questions. 

On Saturday morning I slept quite late - again, still knackered and in need of sleep - and once Lee and I were both up and ready we set out to Barnsley in Caroline's car. Ours was broken but that was a whole other problem that I won't bore you with. Caroline and I had been going to go to Meadowhall with Lolly but she wasn't well, so we decided to go into town instead. We parked and walked through the Glassworks to begin with. I bought myself some bath bombs in the independent shop that sells bath bombs and wax melts. I'm loving having a bath in the new house and so far I've had at least one a week! It's a nice chance to relax. 

We went into the Alhambra which has gone downhill in recent years which is a shame, but Caroline bought a jacket that she liked in the plus size shop in there. We then walked on to the street with all the charity shops on it and went in each of them, but I'm not sure any of us bought anything. As we then went back on to the precinct Lee wanted to go to the record shop and Caroline wanted to pop in somewhere else, so I walked through the market and had a look at the second hand stall. We all met up at Urban Burgers, so decided to eat there. I really have to be in the mood because their veggie burger is more like a veggie hash brown, but I decided it would be nice. We all enjoyed them.

We then went into TK Maxx; Lee and I had vouchers to spend so we wanted to get some things for the kitchen. We ended up getting two new pans, a teal clock, salt and pepper grinders, and new pots for tea, coffee, and sugar. They didn't have any sets for the last three so we ended up just buying three we liked, but they have a similar vintage vibe to them so we were happy. 

After that we walked back to the car and came home. We had walked miles! We came back home and before I put my pyjamas on I got a picture of my dress, which was my Mary Poppins dress. I haven't worn it in forever! This cardigan came from TK Maxx about six years ago and I love the colour and thought it was cute with this dress. 

We relaxed for the rest of the night, we watched a film and other things, and we had some snacks to eat at about 9pm because we weren't hungry before. On the Sunday, Caroline didn't want to be too late before she set off home, so we made fried eggs and smashed avocado on sourdough toast for all of us, which was nice. 

I am loving having so much space in the new house for people to stay! 

Everything we got from TK Maxx, the clock has gone on the wall in the kitchen 

And in my Mary Poppins dress before I got changed