I’m sorry for the very poor play on words, but it just had to be done! Over the course of  the week before last, I watched all of the Marvel movies from the very beginning and in chronological order, I had seen all of the most recent ones as they came out in the cinema, but I probably hadn’t seen any of the earlier ones at all. Now I had never been a Marvel fan until number one son dragged me to the cinema to see Black Panther, I remember walking into the cinema thinking ‘I am never going to get this next two hours of my life back, maybe I can have a sleep. Well I came out a true and loyal fan and super excited for the next instalment to be released. Obviously it has been quite a while since Spiderman: Far from home was released, so you’re probably wondering why did it take me so long to decide to watch all of the films back to back, time basically, I just hadn’t had the time for watching such a massive amount of movies in one hit, there are 23 of these blooming films and ther’re not exactly short viewing time either, but clearly time at home is something most of us have in abundance at the moment, so now was the perfect time to fill in all of the gaps to the story leading up to and beyond End Game. And when I saw that they were broken down into three phases, I knew I was going to be suitably entertained for a while!

I’m not going to bore you by going through and reviewing each and every one of these films, that would make for quite possibly my longest post ever, but I thought I’d just list them in order, mention some of the hightlights for me personally, which were my favourite and which I was not so keen on, and I’ll try not to give too many spoilers just in case you’ve not seen them and suddenly wish to watch like 1500 hours of movies! 

I did have to Google this before I started out, but this is the full list of movies in chronological order:

Phase one:        Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012).

Phase two:       Iron man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015).

Phase 3:          Captain America: Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).

It started off great, there isn’t much not to love about Iron Man, but I went into The Incredible Hulk trepidly as I had seen a bad review about it, now it wasn’t the most amazing film but it wasn’t awful, and it helped fill in the gap about how the hulk came to be, my biggest gripe was that Mark Ruffalo wasn’t playing Bruce Banner, I mean there is only one Hulk right?! But this was definitely my least favourite of the series. This was the only negative thing I could come up from all of the films, I mean they’re just action packed, they keep you gripped, and they follow on brilliantly, I really couldn’t fault how the story flowed from one to the next. That said it is very easy for me to pick a firm favourite, hands down it is Black panther, the cast are phenominal, the story line is great and the whole film kept you engaged the whole way through, and one of the biggest perks? Micheal B Jordan! I’ll leave you to decide whether that is down to his acting abilities or just being beautiful.

These films have the perfect combination of action, comedy, sadness, love and union, they really are amazing and all of the characters were cast perfectly (with the exception of the Incredible hulk), I have never really been a Scarlet Johansson fan, but I think she is superb as Black Widow, and these films really changed my opinion of her. And of course, they have a cast full of some of the most beautiful men in the acting world at present, but controversially, and I’ll leave the post here, Hawkeye is definitely my favourite Avenger! Who is yours? 

As always I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much Love. xx                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

So I thought we’d have a bit of fun today, with all of the gloom on the news, we could all do with something to make us smile a little. Over the period of the lockdown so far, we have watched Aladdin quite a few times, what can I say, it’s my favourite! Well this got me to thinking, if I, by some pure magic, was granted three wishes by the awesome genie, what would I wish for! Ooh the possibilities are endless! And we’re not talking world peace or for my family to be happy and healthy, these things are a given and what we all strive for, no I’m talking personal wants, that, whilst may happen, it’s unlikely it will or at least in the close future. Let’s get into this…

Wish one, I think would be to have the ability to travel when and where I wanted. I’ve made no secret of my desire to see as much of the world as possible, but the sad reality is that due to finances, work and other commitments, it is not that easy to just pack up and go at such short notice. Obviously the Disney parks would be first up to hit, but I would very quickly follow it up with non commercial, proper travelling. I would love nothing more than to educate my children through the power of travel too, there is so much for them to learn about different cultures and so many interesting and pretty destinations that they have no idea exist. With a wish, the world really would be our oyster!

Wish two, A day with Walt Disney. Recently I have watched The Imagineering story on Disney+ and Saving Mr Banks, and these gave me a real insight into Walt but I’d love to do a tour of the parks with him, see what his reaction is, know if he is pleased with how his dream is playing out, is everything as he envisaged it, or would he make changes. He was a fascinating man with an outstanding vision, and to be able to talk at length about all things Disney would be an absolute dream. 

And finally, wish three, More time! This is a no brainer. Everyone is in such a rush, we are all constantly on the go, of course not necessarily right now, but currently we’re all stuck in a bit of a nightmare. But this nightmare has certainly given me the chance to take stock of the fact that I have been living life at 150 miles an hour and not taking the time to appreciate what is around me, the things that I have been blessed with. No, wish number three would give me the freedom of time to truly take in everything, time spent with my children (yes even after the current situation is over), to appreciate my mamma and the rest of my family, and not just take for granted that they’ll be there another day. I would enjoy leisurely lunches with my friends, most of which I have been terribly neglectful of for the last year or so. I would like to take the children out on long days to the beach, which we just don’t do often enough, or days out to appreciate the beautiful places that are on our doorstep. Yes time is what I would like more than anything else! 

Well there we have it, my three wishes, what would you wish for if you were given the chance?

As always, I hope that you are all safe and well.

Much love. xx

Well I kind of missed my Blogs birthday, it came and went while I was laid out of action, and then, well we know the current situation! But I can’t believe it ‘s been over a year since I started my little blog, I feel like I should have had some kind of celebration or something, but hey ho. Instead I’ve been looking back at my old posts, and at just how far it has grown since I first started out, it is still teeny tiny in the grand scheme of things and it’s mine. it’s the baby that I have made and nurtured it, and I am super super proud of what I have developed it into. 

If this is the first one of my posts that you’ve come across, then welcome and I hope that you enjoy it. I initially started my blog as a way of doing what I love to do the most, talk about my four (not so small) children, and all of the things that we love to do as a family, the things we enjoy, basically it is, on the whole, a very positive place to come and escape for ten minutes. Over the past fourteen months, I have covered subjects such as travelling, enjoying the different times of the year, books, films, ALL of the Disney things and so much more. I have had difficult times, which I have spoken about too, and I hope that when I’ve spoken of tough subjects, that you’ve thought I’ve always done it sensitively. I’ve done the odd review for products/films etc, although I cannot claim to be the worlds greatest critic. I like to talk about self-care and not only looking after your loved ones, but make sure that you’re showing yourself some love too. And there is always room for some fun posts too. 

At times I’ve found this blogging journey a little frustrating, as it hasn’t always grown as much as I would have like it to, but I always remind myself, it has always been about the quality content and that it remains true to me, and no amount of growth will make me sacrifice the pride I feel in the posts that I do each week. For those of you that have been with me since day one, thank you for your continued support, it means so much that I haven’t bored you to sleep, and to any newer readers, thank you for your support with my latest work. It always blows my mind that people all around the world read the posts of this little single mamma, from a small town in the UK, I only hope that you know just how grateful I am to everyone that takes ten\fifteen minutes out of their day to read the nonsense that I post twice a week, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. So if you have enjoyed what has been, be sure to keep following, there is so much more to come.

As always, I hope that you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx

Actually as April’s go, the weather has been pretty amazing, well with the exception of the last few days. I think the sunshine has really helped keep people’s spirits up in a time when everyone’s mental health is probably taking a bit of a battering, I know that I’ve previously mentioned that I am definitely having up and down days, and the sunshine has really helped on the off days. As April is drawing to a close and May is just next door, I have been looking back at what has been the most bizarre month this country has seen in recent years, and in all honesty, I’m feeling pretty grateful to have come out of it ok. I haven’t achieved a fantastic new skill, my house isn’t gleaming to an inch of its life and I certainly haven’t lost weight and toned my body with daily exercise sessions, quite the opposite actually, note to self though, we will work on that…after this is over!

No, what I have managed to do is to get dressed (most days), maintain some kind of normality for my children, not home schooled, but encouraged them to give their work a try, do what they can, and if they can’t manage it, I certainly haven’t had a battle with them about it as they are struggling enough with the adaptions that they’ve had to make already. I have had movie marathons, most recent being the Marvel films, yes all 23 of them, do yourself a favour, give them a watch, they are awesome. I have baked along with half of the country, I have done a little gardening, decorated, I’ve read, we’ve enjoyed our daily government approved walks. Also I have slobbed out in front of the tv, like all day, enjoyed really really lazy starts in the mornings, I’ve blogged, spent far far too much looking at screens, I can’t even bring myself to look at my screen time. I have also just sat in the peace and quiet, not watching, not reading, just relishing in the quiet. I’ve thought about making better use of my time, and some days I do, but as I have said before, we are just taking each day as it comes, and doing what we think we can on the day.

So as we head into May, what am I planning to do with another month of isolation? Exactly the same as I already have being for the past month already, and if I feel like it, who knows I may attempt something new, but there is no pressure. So how are you all holding up? I hope April has been kind to you.

As always, I hope you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx 

We are seeing more and more nostalgic social media posts about toys, tv shows and scenarios from the 80’s and 90’s, and with the likes of Disney+ and Netflix, we can now watch all of our favourite childhood programmes again, when Disney+ launched here in the UK, I introduced my children to the Gummy bears! You see the reminiscent pictures on Facebook of what life was like in the 80’s, going in the car without seatbelts, family get togethers with ashtrays on the same table as the birthday cake. Honestly the 1980’s & 1990’s just evoke so many wonderful memories. The toys! I know we hear it all of the time, but they just don’t make them like they did back then, I remember wanting an ala cart kitchen more than anything!

With trying to help build memories that my children with look back on in years to come and think of their childhood/teenage years with such love, laughter and fondness, it’s made me look back at my own  childhood memories. Much like my own children, I was raised single-handedly by my beautiful mamma, my brother and I saw divorce as children, but do you know, when I think back to my childhood, I don’t remember a single thing about it. Granted, we were very young, but this is a huge testament to how amazing my mum was and how much of an amazing job she did at creating the most loving home and environment that she possibly could, and this I hope, is what I have somewhat achieved for my children. When I look back, I have only the most fondest of memories, one of my favourite being the holidays that we went on. St Ives in Cornwall is one of my favourite places in the world to visit, and this is down to a holiday we had when we were super little, I remember waking up in the morning to the sound of the seagulls, eating ice cream on the beach front, fish and chips for dinner, building sand castles on the beach, all of it just evokes the most wonderful feelings when I think back on it. Other holidays I cherish as well are the caravan holidays we had, another testament to just how blooming hard my mum worked to make life as special as possible for us. As parents, we all like to take our little ones to the park, and our local park holds some of my dearest memories with family and friends, also the local wildlife park, oh gosh we spent whole days there, seeing all of the fantastic animals, the playground, and my favourite, the gift shop! Who remembers visiting the gift shop at the end of a day out, I just loved finding a keepsake that I actually liked that was within the range of my ‘spending money’!

Whilst I am in no hurry for my children to grow up, well older than they already are, I am excited to look back on the memories that we have built together. They already look back in fondness at the tv programmes that they watched when they were tiddly, and I have enough photos to sink ten ships for them to look back on and say ‘I remember that day’. Either way. I hope more than anything that as adults, they say we had the very happiest of childhoods.

As always, I hope that you are safe and well.

Much love. xx

 

 

There is nothing normal about this Spring, at a time when we should be out basking in the warming sunshine, enjoying the parks and their blooming and colourful flowers, enjoying seeing the baby animals at farms, riverside walks and feeding the ducks and their babies. I don’t think any of us realised just how much we took for granted until this pandemic hit us. Spring time holds a massive place in my heart as I had my first-born in the Spring, I remember so well, walking him everywhere, we couldn’t get enough of that warm spring sunshine, I remember showing him everything ‘new’, not that he knew what any of it was, showing him off to anyone that even glanced at him in his pram, we were so blessed to have some glorious weather that spring and we definitely made the most of it.

Fast forward eighteen years, and wow what a difference, well except that the weather does appear to be exceptional again, and of course nature stops for no one. We are of course, trying to make the most of our beautiful scenery and weather in our alloted one hour of daily exercise. Our little fluffball is slightly baffled as to why all of a sudden, the whole family are attending her walks and it is no longer the quiet experience it has been, in all honesty I think when she sees the kids putting their shoes on, she’s thinking ‘oh for gods sake, do they have to come again’! In all honesty, I think she will be the very most grateful for when normality returns and she can go back to napping in peace when everyone is out at school/college/work. 

So what do I love most about spring? Well all the things above and so much more. I really see Spring as a new start, everything feels fresh and new. It’s the time that I will have a massive sort out of the house, get rid of everything that has crept into the house over the past twelve months that doesn’t get used, doesn’t fit anymore, isn’t ‘sparking joy’. I usually start to decorate and feel inspired to freshen up the house around this time too. I just feel more motivated in the Spring, more than any other time of the year. It’s usually when my bright ideas for the garden start to enter my head too, although I will admit I’m maybe not the most proactive with these ideas, mostly as my ‘visions’ cost money and well, I keep booking these expensive holidays, which kind of puts pay to expensive things in and around my house! That said, it doesn’t stop me filling my garden with pretty flowers and growing fruit and veg, packets of seeds can be bought cheap enough from somewhere like the pound shop, and last year we were very kindly gifted lots of tomato and other plants, which we went onto grow very successfully, so it can and we do manage to keep our garden looking lovely on a budget. I also love walking our pooch in the spring time, its perfect weather for it, and there is just so much beauty around at this time of the year, I’ve always said that walking is good for the soul, but in particular in Spring, there is just a wonderful smell in the air from all of the different blossoms, freshly cut grass, all of the different flowers. I find as well, that everyone on the whole, is generally happier in the spring, after a long winter with dark mornings and evenings, once the longer days start to come in, everyone’s mood just lifts considerably and people are more pleasant. With all of this in mind, I’d love to know what Spring means to you. Do you feel more motivated as the sunshine comes out to play, which are your favourite flowers or plants, that fill you with happiness when you see them. I’d love to know.

As always, I hope you’re all safe and well.

Much love. xx 

 

I hadn’t planned on doing a post like this one, but I’ve seen and heard so much about people struggling, whether that be mentally, physically or just in general and it’s so sad to see. We have seen a multitude of posts on the news and social media about the positives happening around the world, here in the UK we are all out clapping for all of those key workers every Thursday evening, we’ve all seen the tremendous efforts of the phenomenal Captain Tom Moore and all of his fundraising, all of the amazing people who have stepped up and volunteered to help the vulnerable. There have been just so many amazing selfless acts throughout this unthinkable time, and that is exactly how it should be. But this is an unprecedented time, and it’s obviously having an unprecedented effect on all of us.

Everyone I have spoken to has said that they’re having good days and bad days, some mornings they wake up and feel motivated and just get up and tackle the day head on, but then the next day they can wake up feeling like there is nothing worth getting up for, myself included in this. I personally, have found my tactic for the more negative mornings is to remind myself that I have four young members of my household that are watching how I am coping and dealing with all that is happening around us, and I am super aware that how I am of a day, determines how their days and emotions will pan out too. I am very conscious of the fact that it is healthy for them to see that it’s ok to be upset, to feel anxious about the unknown, but that it’s also important for them to see that you cannot let the unknown  stop you living and enjoying your life.

The other emotion that is quite prevalent everywhere is boredom, now as adults we know that boredom is a small price to pay, and I for one am so grateful to all the amazing keyworkers that are putting themselves at risk, that are fighting this virus, and I like millions of others am absolutely happy to be bored at home so as not to put others at risk and burdening the already stretched services even further. However for children and some adults that don’t have the capacity to understand all of this scary stuff in the world, boredom is really effecting them, and they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about that, just as those suffering with mental health shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about struggling. None of us have seen times like this in our lifetime, and we are all having to learn to adapt, and as each of us is different, which ordinarily we would be celebrating, we are all going to be learning to adapt in different ways, and some of us will struggle more than others, and this is not an excuse for belittling people. If you want to have a pop at someone, save it for the disgraceful minority that are still flouting all of the restrictions that the rest of civilisation are adhering too. I’m not going to delve too much on this issue though, just know, if you are one of these people who continue to go about their daily business as if we are not all being taken down one by one, karma is a bitch and you are not resilient to this virus and I sincerely hope that you do not pass it onto anyone vulnerable, things have a way back of coming back on you though, one way or another.

I know it’s much harder for some to be able to keep their spirits up than others and everyone will have different tactics to get through this social distancing period. In our house we take each day as comes, on the good days we bake, we play board games, we create things, and on the less positive days, we have movie marathons, we eat the products of our baking (actually we eat this on the good and bad days!), we slob about, and I tell the kids that it’s completely normal to feel all these waves of emotions, everybody is feeling the same, and that it’s healthy to show all of these rather than bottling everything up. So I am sending the same message to all of you, be kind to yourself, allow yourself the good and bad days, don’t be made to feel guilty about lying in bed until midday, or to feel motivated to get out of the house for your hours exercise a day, do what helps you get through the day, although for the record smothering your significant other for their heavy breathing is still frowned upon!

And lastly I want to say my own personal thank you to NHS workers, carers, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, registrars, shopworkers, delivery drivers, teachers, teaching support staff, and absolutely everyone that is working to keep the country running, you are the backbone of this country at the moment and you are all heroes, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you are doing.

As always I hope you are all safe and well.

Much love. xx

I have seen so many posts from people in recent months about what sparks joy in them, and I think I remember it stemming from a YouTube video or another blogger, but I know people base their whole house/decor and lifestyle on this ethos, and if it doesn’t spark joy in them, then it simply doesn’t stay in their life any longer. And I kind of like this way of thinking, I mean not enough to do a whole load of research or read a book on it or anything, I mean once you understand the basic concept of it, it should be fairly easy to maintain this anyway. This has however, inspired todays blog post, and that is ‘What happiness is to me’ and as it says in the tin, it’s all about the things that make me happy and make me smile, and let’s face it, we could all do with a reason to smile at the moment.

Getting straight into it, obviously my children, family and friends are what brings me the greatest joy, I mean there would be something wrong with me if that wasn’t number one on my list. Whilst I know I’m not the most responsive person to be in a circle with, I am eternally grateful for all of my loved ones, and the memories we have shared and that I now cherish dearly. Another one that is super obvious if you have followed me for a while, Disney, I mean alllllll the Disney things! I mean there is just so much to love, so much that I do love, movies, songs, merchandise, holidays, art work, you name it, Disney have produced it, there is honestly nothing not to love about Disney. Everything about it makes me smile, clearly more recently our family holiday is the thing that produces the most smiles, although Disney+ also produces many, many of my smiles too. On the flip side of this is Harry Potter, again there is nothing not to love about this franchise, well, maybe Voldermort and the deatheaters, but them aside from them, everything is amazing. We took it to a whole new level when we went to Florida too, and actually went into the wizarding world at Universal, I have a love for Butterbeer more than any other beverage, maybe even gives wine a run for its money! Plus I never ever tire of the books and the films, Next up is a little bit of a cheat, sort of, but it fills me with so much joy and isn’t strictly Disney, it’s Winnie the Pooh, oh I just love him so much, that silly old bear, I think I love him as much as my children! 

Any colourful flowers and pretty much guaranteed to make me smile too, they’re so pretty, but specifically Sunflowers, they are just beautiful, I love them in the garden and in a vase in my home, they just brighten up my day whenever I see them. I’ve seen so many stunning bouquets that include this wonderful flower in them, I’m super hopeful that I might receive one as a generous gift, was that a hint for my nearest and dearest, well maybe! This leads very nicely onto my next spark, all things yellow and pink. There is a definite colour theme in my house, nearly all thinks that have the colour pink and yellow ignite something in me, they just cheer my day up no end. If you have a favourite colour, you should definitely try to incorporate it into your decor, I guarantee it will help motivate you in your day. Now the this next one might surprise you when you consider the size of my family, it’s peace, quiet and serenity! I love my children more than life itself, but one of the biggest things that fills me with an overwhelming sense of ease and relaxation, is when my children retire to their bedrooms in the evening and I can enjoy a glass of wine either out in my garden or in just sat on my sofa. The peacefulness of the evenings in my house is sometimes what I live for. By nature I am a very quiet person, and my head space feels the most at ease when I’m just sat in the peace and quiet of a beautiful setting, these times I cherish grately. Following on from beautiful quiet places, is my next spark…travelling. There is no feeling quite like stepping off of a plane into a new country and the adventures that await you, especially if that step off of the plane is into a hot climate! Granted some of my most favourite destinations are not necessarily peaceful and quiet, they 100% fill me with the most joy. I’ve never made a secret of my passion for traveling, and I cannot wait for my next adventure with my family, travelling is definitely up there with my children to give me the widest of smiles! 

This next one is a little bit materialistic so forgive me, but its new technology. I love a new phone or laptop, I get so much satisfaction from getting everything up and running and working out how it all works. There is not much more beautiful than a brand new phone, I genuinely treat new technology like I would a baby! Whilst there are many more things that bring a smile to face, I am just going to add this last one to this post, photographs. Anyone that has been into my house will tell you there are literally photos everywhere, they are my memories for everyone to see! My downstairs toilet quite literally has a whole photo wall, I have photo montages of the children, family, family holidays, I even have one of the dog that sits in pride of place on the stairs. It is my personal opinion that you absolutely cannot ever have too many photographs! 

So there we go, that is the top things that make me smile the absolute mostest! What sparks you guys with joy?

As always, I hope that you are safe and well.

Much love. xx

This post is a bit of a niche one, and I apologise if reading is not your thing, it is a personal thing after all. I personally, absolutely love to read, however I have to be in the mood for it, sometimes it can be a few months before I pick up a book, but when I’m really feeling it, i can get through dozens of them. The children think I’m weird as I do like to keep all of the books have read, if I’ve borrowed one from the library and I’ve enjoyed it, I will order myself a copy of it, but I see books just the same as films, if I have enjoyed it, I like to have the option to read it over and again.

Now obviously everyone has their own favourite genres, and everyone’s will not be to the taste of others, I know most of my most loved stories are quite clichéd, and I am ok with that, after all these are what I love to read. So not to keep you waiting, here are my absolutely most loved books…

The Twilight Saga. Yes, I know these are aimed at teenagers, but just before the fourth film came out, the saga was recommended to me by several people, and I’m afraid that I am one of those people who likes to read the books before I see the film, so I set about working my way through the whole collection, and well, it is fair to say that this collection is very well-loved. I did go on to watch the films, and I did love those too, but I am super glad that I had read the saga first, as the films did miss loads of details.

Next up is another collection, The Harry Potter series. Again just like the Twilight saga, I know this is aimed at children, but these are very loved books in my collection too. Now I will admit to not really being interested in Harry Potter at all until we booked our Florida holiday for last year, and then I thought I would see what all of the fuss was about before we visited the wizarding world ourselves. Needless to say, this is now one of my most favourite franchises ever. Again I read the books before watching the films, and again I’m very glad that I did as whilst the films are amazing, the books are just so detailed, and have earned a place in my collection.

The next one, I think it was all time fav, more than any other, ‘The fault in our Stars’. Again I wanted to read the book before watching the film. It is not very often that both the book and film adaptation can make me cry, but these both did, I sobbed, and I mean sobbed at this, whether that is because I had two teenagers in my house at the time of reading it, or just because it is so hard-hitting, but the children genuinely thought I was in pain when I was reading this story. 

I have a trilogy next,  by an author called Phillipa Ashley. These in comparison, are a very light read, these are the sort of books you can buy in ‘The Works’. But they are set in Cornwall, so they won my heart from the offset, and they are very stereo typical and have a very happy ending. These will most definitely not be for everyone, but it you’re looking for a light escapism, these will absolutely do the trick. 

This is a very different one from the rest, but I loved loved loved this book, and to this day I still have not seen the tv documentary, but the book alone was just fascinating, It is ‘Long Way Round’ by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Reading about their journey through Europe was brilliant, the adventures they had, the people that they met and stayed with too. It was so well written that it felt, at times, like you were travelling with them. 

The last one on my list is by one of my favourite authors, Cecelia Ahern. I have loved nearly all of the books that I have read of hers, and I have read a lot, but this one is a stand out for me. P.s I Love You. Now most of you will have seen the film, and the film is awesome, I mean, hello Gerard Butler! But the book is just so much better and actually quite different from the film, but Cecelia has such a gift for writing and this is just so beautifully written.

So that’s it, I could go on and on, I have so many stories that I have loved over the years, but it wouldn’t make for an interesting read if I didn’t narrow it down. 

Do let me know if you have any recommendations. As always, I hope you’re keeping safe and well.

Much love. xx

This past week I have seen loads of posts on Facebook about how much people know you, you know the sort, 10 favourite movies, 10 things I hate, different achievements you’ve managed. As well as these various informative posts, my daughter and I have spent this afternoon catching up on ‘Disney weddings’ on Disney+ and seeing where various people are travelling from and to, this inspired my post for today. It’s all about travel, in a time where the whole world is pretty much stood still due to this awful virus, I started thinking back on the fond memories from all of my travels over the years and also think about all of the places I still want to visit in the years to come. I personally, have barely scratched the surface when it comes to travelling, I consider myself so incredibly lucky  and fortunate to have visited the wonderful places that I have, but I am also very very aware that we live in a big beautiful world, and I want to see as much of it as I possibly can.

I was first bitten by the travel bug when I was fourteen and I took my first trip overseas to Germany with school. It was only for like three days and I couldn’t even tell you which part of Germany that we went to, but I do know that when the opportunity to go back to Germany on an exchange with school came up, I jumped at the chance, and so off I went to Unterhaching to see Germany again. I loved Germany, and of course as it was a school trip we learned lots about not only the country but the area we were staying in, seeing the fascinating parts of the town, I think I took two films worth of photos, yes way back then we had to still get our photos developed at our local Boots!

It would be another five years until I got to travel overseas again, and this time it was to the very beautiful Ibiza, and contrary to the reputation of this amazing destination, I was not there for the party scene, I had the most fantastic break away with my mum. We travelled all over the island on various excursions, we ate at the local taverns for dinner , relaxed on the stunning beaches, and perused the quirky little shops and markets. Because this holiday  was just me and my beautiful mum, and it was at a difficult time in my life, this holiday will hold a place deep in my heart always.

 

Following this, it was another sixteen years before I managed to see the inside of a plane again. Now being a single mumma to my four awesome babies, I was desperate to help them see the world, and to hopefully give them the travel bug too. And what a destination to start them off with. My children’s first overseas holiday was Crete, and oh my gosh, it was absolutely stunning, and as it was August it was also extremely hot! Sadly because of the temperature, we didn’t get to explore very much of the island, so the children and I agreed that we definitely will be travelling back there at some point, at a cooler time of year, and explore all over the island.

Now if you have followed me for a while, you will know that last year I was extremely blessed to visit Florida with my children and then New York with my mum and two wonderful friends. I have two separate blogs about these two trips, in fact there are several about my family holiday to Florida, so do please go back and have a look, I had so much fun with those blogs, and of course the memories I made, watching my children, mum and friends making amazing new memories in these absolutely phenomenal places, this will stay with me forever.

We are very excited and blessed to be going back to Florida again next year, and the children and I are already planning our future holidays beyond next year too. We all have destinations that we would like to go to, and I know that I only have a few years left before my children start going off on their travels without me, so I will be cherishing the next few holidays, and then beyond will be making memories through my travels with who knows who, but there are plenty of countries on my list to keep me occupied and my memory bank full. 

So tell me, where are your favourite destinations?

As always, I hope you’re keeping safe and well.

Much love. xx