First and foremost- HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is now 2017 and I'm rather sad that I now have to wait until Halloween to get excited about the holiday season again. But despite how miserable 2016 has been for most of us around the world, for me personally I have had a great year! I moved in with my boyfriend, found a job I enjoy and made strides in my self-confidence and moving forward in my personal work.
So I thought since it is the start of a new year I would write briefly about looking back at all the main fun things of the last year. This is a little bit of a long post so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
York
January last year myself, my mam and my sister visited York for a day out. If you have never been to York I very much recommend it, it is a beautiful place!
We didn't have any plans for this day out other than have a wander through 'The Shambles' and stuff our faces. Naturally we visited the cathedral, you cant really have a day out there and not do that. York is somewhere you can easily stay in York without any plans in mind and still have an amazing time just looking at the Victorian buildings, snooping through the market and discovering weird new places.
My family don't get too many days out together now I don't live at home anymore, we all work and my sister will be leaving for University soon, so days like this are always a lot of fun. Maybe need to bring dad along with us next time...
Wedding
Back in February it was my boyfriends Auntie Charlotte's wedding. This meant I had an excuse to wear a puffy tea dress, as if I belonged in Wonderland for a day!Despite it being in the freezing cold of February it was such a beautiful day. I met some new lovely people and felt very privileged to be invited to witness such a wonderful event. The bride and groom wore matching, red converse with the date on the side. Far more adorable than the heels that were trying to murder my feet!
Saying Goodbye to Elmo
Me and my family had a very sad time last Spring when one of our cats, Elmo, was hit by a car and needed to be euthanised. He did come home for a few days to recover but he wasn't showing any kind of improvement. After some older injuries were discovered, it was decided his quality of life was just not going to be very good if he did ever recover.
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| My poor little bean |
Losing a family member (human or not) is always extremely hard and upsetting, but when it's quick and unexpected it's all the more devastating. I miss him so much and the house felt so much emptier without him plodding around, taking up all the bed, howling in the garden with a frog wedged in his gob... He was definitely a unique animal and as much as I do miss him, I am very happy he is no longer in the pain he was in.
Birthday at Mog On The Tyne
If you live in or around Newcastle, you should be very aware of the glorious cat cafe Mog On The Tyne. If not, why not? What's wrong with you?! Of course you might not be a cat person, but if so I still ask what's wrong with you?! I love this cafe and so I chose to celebrate my birthday by visiting for a hot chocolate and a cake.
Stan is my favourite of the cats. He was once hit by a car which left him with a derpy little face and his tongue sticking out constantly. This only adds to his fluffy little charms. The cafe is stunningly decorated and full of amusing toys and boxes to play with.
If you would like to visit you can book via their website, this is £5 for an hour or get a second hour half price. It isn't an expensive trip as all the drinks and snacks are very reasonably priced.
P.S. Keep any whipped cream away from Tyrian. She will try to distract you and steal it.
Moved in With My Fave
In August came the massive effort of packing up all my stuff and moving into my boyfriends flat. From all the packing and the several trips in the van, it's hard to imagine that I only occupied one room in the house! Thanks to all the poor people who helped me, I'm well aware I have a slight hoarding issue and if you ever meet my dad you'll definitely see where I get that from...
Hearing others stories and opinions about moving in together makes people a little fearful about moving in with your partner and whether it will work. What if you argue? What if they have habits that are just a complete no-go to you? What if you just get sick of the sight of them? I wondered
It's awesome living together and having him to come home to every night (usually to him making tea, because he really is the best).
Illuminations
Every year in October/November, Sunderland put on a gorgeous light display in Roker Park. Myself and Chris have visited for the last 3 years we've been together and it's always so much fun to walk around. The previous years had an Alice In Wonderland theme, with bright tea cups and dancing cards everywhere. This year was a pirate theme with huge ships and sailors sword fighting, then a fairy trail down by the stream.
Leading up to the event seemed a lot more popular than before, it required a ticket for entry and had several large food stalls that weren't there previously. This meant I just HAD to buy myself a massive Nutella and whipped cream crepe and slop it all over myself.
Prague
I have always had the distant dream of travelling the world and experiencing other cultures. I've never travelled much outside the UK so our holiday to Prague for Halloween was an amazing trip!First of all I haven't been on a plane for over 10 years, so that was a strange experience. I'm really not too fond of the take off! Or the long wait around in another airport to catch a connecting flight.
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| You have no idea how long it took to get this photo |
We had a list of so many things we wanted to see and I'm so happy we did get through almost all of them. The astronomical clock was stunning! I tried to climb the tower above it to see the view but I got to the top and remembered that heights aren't my friend. There is also an art museum opposite with works of Dali, Warhol and Mucha which we visited. You had to pay for each exhibition but I was only really interested in seeing the works of Mucha as I've always adored his style and Art Nouveau look.
Of course we obviously had to visit the Sex Toy Museum and sit on the back of a giant wooden penis. That's just a given. We were also privileged enough to watch the first ever porn film to feature a threesome and it was gross.
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| Wow. Just wow. |
Touring around and seeing this city is something that I will never forget. It was my first proper trip away doing what I love with the one I love. Now I have had a taste of travel I have so many more plans for places to see. If I had never ending funds I'd pack up tomorrow and never been seen in the UK again.
Our first Christmas
Our Christmas this year held a lot of 'firsts'. The first year we bought our own tree and our own decorations, which we had so much fun actually putting up. And in previous years me and Chris haven't spent any time together on Christmas day. We always spend Christmas Eve with his mams side of the the family, then I spend that night and Christmas at home with my family and he with his dads family. So this was the first year that we both came back to our flat on Christmas night and spent time opening our presents for each other under our own tree.
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| Yes that is Dumbledore |
Happy new year, from mine to yours! I hope you make 2017 great!
Thanks for reading
Chloe x
Oh I love these pictures, you look so happy. It's hard to believe we are almost into the 4th month of this year already now! You have a lovely blog here, well done on all your hard work pretty lady! x
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