Day Out near Derby

As I said, we were in a hotel between Derby and Nottingham for the night. We paid extra to have breakfast in the hotel which was nice, it's been ages since we did that. We checked out about eleven and went into Derby to go shopping. We had been in the shopping centre last November when we went to Derby to meet Elly Griffiths so we knew where it was and where to park. We went into a few shops, including Tiger, where I bought some stroopwaffel, and The Works, where I bought some paper and a copy of Brett Anderson's memoir (who even knew he had one?). However I was pretty tired and in pain from the day before so we decided to not stay in the shopping centre.

We set off towards a reservoir, thinking we could have a little look round and maybe a drink, but on the way we saw the sign for Mercia Marina and decided to stop off there instead. There's lots of narrowboats in the marina which I like looking at, and quite a few shops and restaurants which are all quite posh. We walked round some of the shops but then it started to rain so we went into the Boardwalk bar for a drink. I had a really yummy cocktail and we shared a vegetarian platter which was nice. It was a nice couple of hours just chilling out and chatting.

After that we set off home, it was getting quite late. It was a really lovely weekend and I'm so glad we took the time to do it. We have talked about doing it again soon!

These cute pieces of art were in the hotel. We stayed in this Holiday Inn and I would utterly recommend it because it was a bit fancy and very peaceful even though it was really busy

The marina. I love narrowboats, I really want to go on a holiday on one!

More boats

Me after I got caught in the rain

Pornstar martini which is one of my favourite cocktails ever

Lovely Lee. He had hot chocolate

I had a bubblegum cocktail which was only okay, I preferred the other one

Here's what I got in the shops!

What I Wore May 25th

As we weren't sure where we were going to eat when we were away in the hotel, I wasn't sure what to pack to wear. I decided on this dress because it looks really cute but is quite casual too. I've only worn it once before (on holiday in August last year) so thought I really should wear it again.

It's from Simply Be and it's made of quite a thick crepey material. I love the stripes and I like the bardot top, which I think suits me and my body shape. I like the colours and I think it's a good length. It's a bit shorter than I would normally wear but it looked nice with leggings. I'll try to wear it sooner again!

Day Out in Nottingham

At the end of May Lee and I went to a hotel in between Derby and Nottingham for the night. We had talked about going camping, but I wasn't well enough, so we managed to get a hotel for the night for £50 just off the M1. It had a pool, so we planned in time to go swimming too. We decided we would go to Nottingham first, and I had seen a post about a new vegan cafe there so I said we should go for breakfast.

It was really nice! It's called the Prickly Pear and it's really small, and the menu is quite small too, but everything is freshly made and delicious. I had scrambled tofu and Lee had potato rosti and a bacon and sausage cob. I would love to go back for lunch - I'd like to try their mac and cheese!

After breakfast we went to the National Justice Museum which is in Nottingham's old courthouse and gaol. It's £12 each but I would say it's worth it. We went right down to the bottom to start off with and looked at the cells and dungeons and stuff. We made our way up through the museum - it has lifts to each floor. There's also plenty of staff around to tell you interesting stories, which I appreciated.

We got back to the main floor at around 1.30, when there was a mock trial going on in the courtroom so we went in to watch that. Lee had to join in and be a witness who had aided the highwaywoman! It was pretty funny. We then decided we'd go into the cafe for a drink and a piece of cake. The red velvet cake was delicious!

Lastly we looked at the main floor of the museum which is about justice issues currently. There's stuff about protests and protest songs, and stuff about campaigns against violence against women. I liked this more modern stuff, I thought it was really good and sensitively done.

We then made our way to the hotel and checked in. It was a busy hotel but had been refurbished to a high standard. Our room was really cute and comfortable. We made our way downstairs to the leisure club and went swimming. The pool was really warm and the jacuzzi was gorgeous. We stayed a LONG time!

We got showered and then went to the restaurant for something to eat. We'd decided to do that because it meant we didn't have to find something else and didn't have to go out again. The restaurant didn't have tons of vegetarian options but enough, so I was okay. Lee had mushroom soup to start with then fish and chips which he said were lovely. I had hummus and pitta bread and then a halloumi burger which was delicious. I had a couple of drinks and then afterwards we played some of the board games that were in the bar. We played a word game that was a bit weird and then Battleships which I like.

We went back up to the room and ended up watching Die Hard With a Vengeance before bed! It had been a really lovely day :)

New type of pop in the Prickly Pear

These were coasters!

Scrambled tofu - I will have to make some of this myself!

Lee's potato rosti which came with chorizo sausages which neither of us really like

And his sausage and bacon cob

Opposite the justice museum 

Inside the old courtroom

Lee being a judge

I was really pleased to see these books - which I love, read my reviews here - in all their colourful splendour in a room in the museum

Cappucino

The toilets had this very fancy fireplace inside!

There was a whole bit about votes for women and about what you would protest for. I said trans rights

After swimming I showered and then while Lee was in the shower I did a face mask and had a drink

Lee in the restaurant wearing his Star Wars vow renewal t-shirt

Me in the restaurant

Hummus

Mushroom soup

Halloumi burger

The weird word game

I had recently rediscovered these gorgeous earrings and have been wearing them loads

And finally battleships!

Jamaican Food in Manchester

Towards the end of May I went to Manchester to see my friend Amy and her new baby. I had met baby Daisy at the vow renewal, but didn't have much of a chance to cuddle her and see how Amy was doing. I offered to go over and Amy (who is vegan) gave me a whole range of restaurants to choose from. I said that the Caribbean place sounded right up my street so we set off in Amy's car. It is called The Drop and it's on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton.

It was a sunny day so we could have sat outside but we chose to go inside. We were the only ones inside! I loved the decor, it was so colourful and pretty.

The menu has a bunch of lovely choices, including lots of veggie and a few vegan options. I was tempted by quite a few things, but Amy had mentioned the jerk halloumi so I went for that in a "lunch box" which meant it came with rice, coleslaw and a dumpling. Amy had dumplings and coleslaw and something else which I forget. It was really delicious food and really filling! Oh, and cheap too!

On the way back to Amy's we popped into the Tea Hive to buy cake. I couldn't stay much longer because I had to get home for 5pm, but I enjoyed my brownie later. It was a nice trip out!

The colourful wall

Fizzy pineapple juice - I wrote a whole zine about fizzy pop, I love this stuff especially

Amy's dumplings and fries

My jerk halloumi on a bed of rice with mango salsa, coleslaw, and a dumpling

Here's what I wore - I wore the skirt that I made by chopping the top off a Scarlett & Jo dress, and my new mustard coloured top with it

And my very yummy vegan brownie later!

Films of the Month - May

I didn't watch many films in May. I was quite busy as I'm sure you can see! Lee and I usually watch a few films on holiday but we ended up watching Whitechapel on Netflix (which I'd only seen a couple of episodes of and Lee had never seen at all). Here's what I did see, though.

We watched Solo and X Men Days of Future Past on holiday, both of which are films that I already really love and which I liked seeing again

I thought from the trailer that Widows was going to be more of a caper, a bit funnier? I liked it, but thought it was quite dark

I love Saturday Night Fever with every fibre of my being and I hadn't seen it in ages so I rectified that

I saw this advertised on Netflix and thought I'd watch it. I liked it! It's funny and cute, I'd recommend it if you like Amy Poehler

Lee and I watched Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure one Friday evening. I actually prefer the other one but this is still cute

Someone on Twitter mentioned The Boat That Rocked was on Netflix so I watched it. I thought I'd already seen it but I don't think I can have. I liked it! It needed more women, but I liked the music

I was feeling quite miserable so wanted to watch something comforting, so I thought I'd watch Mary Poppins Returns again. It isn't bad, but it is too long for sure

Lee and I were away in a hotel and happened to catch Die Hard 3 on TV. I love it, I love the riddles! 

People had been raving about this film, starring  Zac Efron as Ted Bundy, too. I really liked it, I didn't know too much about him and thought Zac was really good

I rewatched Bohemian Rhapsody to see what I thought of it six months after seeing it the first time. It looks really good, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it

This documentary about Lady Gaga is so good! I really liked looking at her life and work, and was surprised how open she was about her chronic illness and how ill she is. I love her!

What I Wore at Sheffield Zine Fest

I forgot to share my outfit from Sheffield Zine Fest so I'll just slot a quick post in here!

I forgot about the existence of this skirt. It's got lips and hearts on it and says "love", I think? My mum saw the material ages ago and made the skirt as a surprise for me a couple of years ago. I think I've only worn the skirt once before, though. I paired it with a plain black top from Simply Be. I got a few compliments on the skirt! It's comfy to wear to sit behind a stall though, because it has a really nice drape to it and is soft. That kind of thing is important to me!

I wore my vow renewal trainers too, you can just see them peeping through at the bottom of the photo!

A Barbecue at Home

A few weeks ago I invited my mum and stepdad over for tea. We hadn't seen them since the vow renewal and wanted to show them the photos and the holiday photos so I invited them over after work one Tuesday. I had already said that I wanted to make some halloumi kebabs, and then the weather was so nice that I said we should have a barbecue. I've said before that I love barbecues and genuinely think we should have one whenever we want, especially if the weather is nice because you never know when it'll turn and be too wet. 

So we put together some halloumi kebabs, and Lee made some chicken kebabs too cos he and my mum don't like halloumi. We made a coriander dip for the kebabs, and picked up some salads and breadsticks and hummus. We also roasted some new potatoes which we've never done before but which were SO yummy! Really simple food but good enough for the four of us!

When my mum and stepdad arrived Lee was in the garden getting the barbecue going, so we all sat out there eating crisps and drinking wine. On a school night too! The kebabs were done in no time, and we sat inside to eat. After tea we looked at the photos before they went home. It was a simple meal and a really easy evening - my favourite kind!

Drinking prosecco out of my fancy glasses that I got in a charity shop for 39p each!

Halloumi kebabs with peppers and mushrooms

Some kind of superfoods salad

Roasted new potatoes

And finally Ivy later on having cuddles!