Weekend in Durham

As is customary, we went up to Durham the weekend before Christmas to see Lee's family. We usually see our friends Paul and Lianne too but they couldn't make it, but we had plans to see them in January anyway. We got to Lee's mam's house about midday I think, and stayed there for a bit before going to the pub where one of Lee's brothers works for lunch. Our table was booked for 2pm, and it was ages before we got food properly, which was a bit annoying, but I did have two cocktails which were a fiver each and pretty decent to drink! I had cauliflower bites to start with and then a vegetarian hunter's chicken kind of thing, which was okay. I got this picture of Bev and her four sons - Lee's sister wasn't there but everyone else was. 

We went back to Lee's mam's house for a bit, and opened our presents from Andrew and Libby. They bought me the second Janice Hallett book which I'm excited to get to. Lee got this t-shirt which is excellent. We played a game which was ridiculously hard, it was stupid. Haha. We left about 7.30pm I think, maybe a bit later. We went to Lee's dad's new house which is a bit further away than his old one, but they're nearer to one of Lee's stepmam's kids which is good obviously. We had sandwiches for tea there, and stayed up chatting for ages! 

On Sunday morning I had a shower and got dressed and we chatted a bit more before going to an Indian near their new house for lunch. The food was lovely but the atmosphere was a bit lacking and we felt like we were rushed out at the end. It was also the first of FOUR Indian meals I had the week before Christmas! It was fine because I like Indian food and I had different things each time, but still! I had onion bhajis and then aloo gobi for main, it was lovely.

After we left Lee's dad's we went to Lee's sister's back in the village where Lee grew up. Our twin niece and nephew were there and our elder niece arrived for a few minutes so it was nice to see her too. Lee's mam and stepdad arrived not long after us and we stayed there for a couple of hours before setting off home. It was a nice weekend as usual!

I bought some of the Snag Tights mystery bags in the sale and one pair I got was this pair of cobweb tights which I like. I wore them on the Sunday for lunch. Unfortunately I didn't get photos of my outfits!

Peach bellini, it was £5 and very nice!

Bev and her sons - Andrew, Daniel, Lee, and Chris

Prosecco and chambord, this was also nice

Cauliflower bites

My main course

Lee's new t shirt

And my new cobweb tights!

This elephant was outside the Indian we went to on the Sunday

Onion bhajis

And finally aloo gobi!

Lunch with Pippa

On the 16th of December I went to Sheffield to see my friend Pippa for lunch. She had chosen for us to go to Northtown Kitchen on Abbeydale Road, as she had heard of it through her work and thought it would be nice. It was slightly fancier than places we usually go to, but we decided that since it was Christmas it would be lovely! I actually picked Pippa up because it had snowed in Sheffield and then frozen, and it hadn't melted on Pippa's street and was pretty treacherous. It was obvious where the sun hadn't melted the ice! It was terrible.

Northtown Kitchen is tiny inside, with only a few tables, but we had booked so it was fine. The menu isn't huge, but there were a few vegetarian options which was good for me, and Pippa often chooses veggie options even though she does eat meat. I went for bread with rosemary oil and a sundried tomato pesto to begin with - it was so delicious! 

We both went for pasta alla Norma for mains, it was so simple but so well done and so delicious. I love it when Italian food is done really well and Northtown Kitchen is really authentic and lovely. I could eat that pasta again right now! Pippa enjoyed hers too. 

For dessert I had cannoli which had pistachio ice cream inside, it was nice enough but I would probably choose something else next time. But no mind!

I took Pippa home then went home and relaxed for a bit, where Jasmine decided to come and sit on me. She's not often a lap cat, so whenever she sits on me, I feel really blessed! She's so cute (and of course so is Poppy). 

Fresh bread with rosemary oil and sundried tomato pesto

Pasta alla Norma (who was Norma? Why does aubergine pasta belong to her??)

Cannoli

And my gorgeous Jasmine! That duvet cover is older than I am, my mum gave me it last year for the duvet I keep on the sofa

Weekend with Sam and Jac in York

As usual (pandemics notwithstanding) Sam and Jac and I met up before Christmas to hang out and stuff. We decided on the 10th and 11th of December. We had all been busy on the Friday evening, so we met in Harrogate early on Saturday morning. We drove to Harlow Carr, where we went to Betty's cafe at just past 11am. I was thinking there might be a queue, hence getting there so early, but fortunately there wasn't! It did get busy later though. 

I had potato rosti with mushrooms and a hot chocolate, then a tiny vanilla fondant fancy for dessert. I think I had a decaf coffee too. It was lush! I bought my mum and stepdad some Betty's vouchers for Christmas while I was there, which I hope they will get to use in 2023. We went into the gift shop at Harlow Carr where I bought a book and some gifts for my teenage nieces, but we didn't go into the gardens. Instead we set off back to Jac's house in York, calling at Morrison's on the way, and then relaxed for the rest of the day. We played daft games, we watched Christmas TV and other stuff, and we just had a really good time together. We had some champagne which was lovely!

On the Sunday, we set off early into the centre of York as I wanted to be sure we could get a parking space. I was glad I was in my tiny Kia because Clifford's Tower car park is not big and it meant I could park it easily. That did mean we were a little bit early for lunch, but no matter.

We went to Source, which is an all vegan restaurant that hasn't been there very long. I had a burger, it was really lovely and came with coleslaw and chips. I then had a chocolate pot for pudding which was also nice. 

After lunch we went in a couple of shops before saying goodbye. Sam went off to the train station and I took Jac home before setting off home myself. I was wearing this red Scarlett & Jo dress which I've had ages but have only worn a couple of times before - it's lovely though so I'll definitely wear it more. I also wore my celestial Snag Tights and my new patent boots - a really nice winter outfit! It was lovely to hang out and to try a new vegan place. 

Hot chocolate in Betty's

Rosti with mushrooms

The cutest fondant fancy ever

Champagne in the evening

Vegan burger and slaw in Source

And a delicious chocolate pot

Tights and boots when I got home

And finally this gorgeous red floral dress, I got it secondhand off eBay I think!

What I Wore December 9th

On December the 9th we invited my mum and stepdad over for tea. It turned out that the sale of my grandma's house had gone through on that day so we had something to celebrate. My grandma went into a care home in January 2022 and so my mum has had to sort out everything in it and everything to do with that, so we're all glad it's gone then no one has to stress about it anymore! We had some champagne to celebrate. My mum and stepdad had been out for lunch so they didn't want much for tea so we got some bits from the supermarket so everyone could have what they wanted. Lee cooked some party food but there was tons left over so I actually took it to York the next day with me when I was seeing Sam and Jac. We chatted and did some quizzes and it was a fun evening. 

I was wearing this dress from Yours which is more of a summer dress but with tights and a cardigan I was fine. The cardigan is from Yours too, it's a summer one really but perfectly fine for sitting in the house! 

Can you see Jasmine under the tree? She and Poppy have actually been really good with it and have barely played with it

Here she is sitting on Lee's knee, too cute!

And me in one of my favourite dresses!

Tea out with Katie and What I Wore December 5th

I went out for tea with my friend Katie on the 5th of December. She said for me to choose where we went, so I looked around and decided on Ego at the Bull's Head in Horbury. It had some nice veggie options and I thought it would be nice for just before Christmas. We met at 7 and Katie had bought me the cutest necklace shaped like a jammy dodger! Amazing!

I had actually been to craft club earlier in the day and had worn a new t-shirt that says 'Merry Kissmas' on it, I bought it in the sales in early 2022. I wore it with my pleated silky skirt from New Look forever ago, and a red cardigan that came from George at Asda originally. It was a cute outfit to wear to craft club.

Back to Katie! I had garlic mushrooms to start with then a halloumi kebab, then I ordered chocolate tart and Katie ordered lemon tart and we shared them - they were both nice. I didn't love the halloumi kebab but it was fine. The garlic mushrooms were good though! It was nice to catch up with Katie.

I wore this houndstooth dress that I got from Hell Bunny forever ago. I don't wear it often as it's quite thick. It's such a winter dress! I do like it, and Katie complimented it too. The collar is velvet which adds to how warm it is. 

Outfit I went to craft club in 

Garlic mushrooms

Halloumi kebab

Chocolate salted caramel tart

And my houndstooth dress!

Weekend at My Aunt and Uncle's

Right at the beginning of December Lee and I went to stay with my aunt and uncle in Surrey for the weekend. We set off on Friday morning and got to theirs about 3pm. My aunt made a veggie curry which was lovely, and then a chocolate pudding made from tofu! It was vegan and really delicious. 

On Friday evening Caroline and I went to a craft evening at a local church. It was £3 to get in and then you just paid for which crafts you did. There were about 12 different ones to choose from and we did five. We made angel keyrings, we decorated stones, we made mulled wine, we made reed diffusers, and we made lavender bath milk! They varied in price but all of those cost me £12 which was a bargain, Plus it was so much fun! I really enjoyed myself.

On Saturday morning Caroline and Lee and I went to the school where she works so she could show us around. It's a prestigious school with some beautiful buildings. She's the archivist there and it's got some really interesting archives too. It was really nice to see! We got back and had cheese toasties for lunch, before heading out again around 2.45 to meet my friends Anne-Lise and Mike. 

Anne-Lise was a plus size blogger like me back in the day and I've met her at events. She lives in Guildford so pretty close to my aunt, so I messaged her and asked if she'd like to meet up. She happily agreed, which was lovely. We ended up at Cafe Beirut in Ripley. They had lovely coffee and although they didn't have any cake, they did have delicious biscuits and baklava type stuff. It was so nice to catch up with Anne-Lise.

In the evening we had pizza and salad for tea which was lovely. On Sunday morning my uncle cooked Sunday lunch for all of us and my cousin Peter and his wife Beth who came up from Southampton to see us, which was lovely. We played a game a bit after lunch then left about 3pm. We made good time home and the cats were very happy to see us! It was a nice weekend and made me feel so festive. 

Veggie and chickpea curry Caroline made

Chocolate tofu pudding

Max is a very friendly cat and immediately claimed Lee as his own

Craft evening in full swing

The lavender bath milk I made, it smells so good!

And the mulled wine sachet I made

When we got back Max decided he would be my friend too 

And on Saturday morning he came in to lie on Lee

Delicious biscuits in Cafe Beirut

Me and Anne-Lise!

This is my uncle's mug. I do not love spreadsheets but I do appreciate them

And this pretty tree is in the back garden

Christmas Shopping in Leeds with My Mum

My mum and I went Christmas shopping on the first of December to Leeds. We've been a few different places over the past decade or so, but decided on Leeds this year. It meant we could both get the train and have some alcohol too. We met at the train station in Leeds at just after 10am and then got a taxi up to the Merrion Centre so that we could start from there and work our way back to the station. 

I wanted to go to the LGBTQ+ bookshop in the Merrion Centre, so we started there. I got two books for presents. Then we went into St John's Centre, where we had a coffee and went into a few shops including HMV and Yours. Then we walked through a couple of the posh arcades, looking at things we couldn't afford and spelling all the Jo Malone scents. We went through Harvey Nichols and then when we came out on Briggate we noticed that there was a Thor's Tipi there. It had fires going in the middle and a bar, so I had a mulled wine and my mum had a glass of prosecco and we sat by the fire for a while, it was lovely.

Then we walked into Trinity and went into a couple of shops there, before going to Trinity Kitchen for some lunch. There's about 8 different places to eat, so my mum chose a burrito and I went for Japanese gyoza on sesame rice. It was perfectly nice but nothing special - sometimes when we go Christmas shopping we have a fancy meal, but this was fine instead. We went in a few more shops and then decided to have a cocktail in the Alchemist. 

I can't remember exactly what mine was but it came with a shot of jelly too, and it was really nice. We sat at the bar as it was quite busy. We then decided to go for a train only about fifteen minutes later, so we rushed out of Trinity and across to the station to walk all the way across to Platform 17 for the Kirkgate train. We go back to my mum's at about 4.30 and waited for Lee to come and pick me up. Then it turned out we were all hungry so we decided to order a takeaway - I had a mushroom pizza which was nice. We didn't get home until much later but it had been a really nice day. I had walked many thousands of steps and was exhausted, but I always enjoy my shopping trip with my mum!

I was wearing my navy Scarlett & Jo dress, it was nice and warm to walk around in and I love it. I was also wearing leggings as they were warmer than tights, and because I had had a new tattoo done just two days earlier and thought tights might rub it. It's Hello Kitty as a mermaid, I love it! 

I think this is Thornton's Arcade, with a famous clock at the end behind me

This is Victoria Arcade, it's very posh

My mum and I thought this tree and reindeer decoration was cute though

Pictures of both of us

In Thor's Tipi 

Drinks! I do love mulled wine

The fire itself

Lunch - like I say there was nothing wrong with it, just not that exciting

My cocktail in the Alchemist, I do like it in there

I had been asking my mum if I could have a copy of Rumours by Fleetwood Mac - I think both she and my dad had a copy so decided I could have one. She also gave me Tusk while we were about it

And here's my outfit, much later!