Lifestyle

Hello there.

Well, in the eight years that I have been blogging this has been the one and only disappearance I have made. My extended break has been a mix of moving house, well mainly moving house to be honest, and doing it right before Christmas where life just goes a bit mad for a few weeks.

January, before it actually came around, seemed like a great moment to start writing again. Except in practice that just wasn’t the case, because in a world that loves to neatly put everything into boxes, food is of course no exception. I certainly don’t need to remind you of this having just survived January, emerging from a frankly horrible month where food becomes compartmentalised more than ever into New Year fads.

As if we’ve been married one year! It has absolutely flown. I maintain that the second a time machine is invented I’m going back to Myres Castle 2017 and reliving that spectacular day.

For our first wedding anniversary Q won best husband ever award by surprising me with a trip away for the weekend… despite us agreeing we weren’t going to do anything given everything else we have on at the moment! I packed an overnight bag and was driven in the direction of Bristol…

Growing and foraging food I find so very satisfying. I don’t have a garden (yet) but I have always dreamt of having a vegetable patch for that very reason; I want the enjoyment of creating my food and getting it from somewhere that isn’t a clinical supermarket.

If you’re a regular reader then you’ll know that I’m an Autumn girl at heart. And yes I admit it, I have started to get excited about the conkers growing on the trees.

But good Lord if it isn’t absolutely criminal not to enjoy every drop of this glorious sunshine that we have been blessed with this year! Truth be told I’m never usually that into Summer because I don’t know where I stand with the weather, and I find myself standing in front of my wardrobe with painful indecision about what to wear. But not this year: every day is guaranteed heat; no umming and aahing about layers. I hear the last time we had a Summer like this was 1976, so chances are I won’t see another until I’m old and grey. Basically, carpe diem the hell out of that Sun you guys.

There are girls who unpack their luggage a soon as they get back from holiday and get the washing on right away. And then there’s me.

There are girls who plan their birthday out with military precision to get bookings where they desperately want to go. And then there’s me.

There are girls who print their wedding photos the moment they are received. And you can see where I’m going with this can’t you?

My dad is Irish. My mum is Welsh. I live in England. But you’d be forgiven for thinking that I had some Scottish blood for all that I go on about it, how much I love it and over the past two years, how much I have visited.

Thing is it’s got all the things that I love the most: hearty food, dramatic landscapes, ancient architecture and a sense of adventure. I also have family who live not too far from Trossachs National Park so Bank Holidays are a great excuse to drive up and visit them. From Milton Keynes it takes 6 hours in the car: sure it’s a long drive but manageable. We spent three wonderful days this time.

Well. Despite being one where I’ve had to lie a little lower in the name of wedding preparations it’s still turned out to be a fantastic year of restaurants, recipes and discoveries. ‘Best nine’ becomes increasingly popular year on year, but for me it’s not about how many likes I got but which experiences were the most memorable. So, here’s my personal 2017 best nine!

I have always said that there are one of three materialistic categories that people dream of: the dream car, the dream wardrobe or the dream house. For me it has always been the dream house. Ever since I was a small child I have dreamt of living in a beautiful home with warm surroundings, a crackling fire and a kitted-out kitchen. It is with bitter sweetness that I attend events like this one at Fisher & Paykel; drooling over gorgeous kitchen wares with nowhere (yet!) to put them!

Here’s what I’ve been getting up to over the last few weeks!

I don’t care how old I get, I will always have an advent calendar. What’s all this nonsense about having to stop with the fun stuff when you become a grown up? No thanks. Christmas is not just for kids, it’s for everyone. And I want an advent calendar.