Lovely Things || August 2017
Hello! Unlike last month where I ended up pretty ridiculously behind, this month has been better! Look at me, getting this done on the 1st September. In fact, 1st September 2017 was the exact date as mentioned in the chapter “19 Years Later” – one for you HP fans out there. So a momentous day we should be celebrating ehh?
Today it’s sunny, I’ve still got Dad’s convertible Mercedes as my car has had it’s MOT in Cornwall this week, and this weekend we have NO plans (I mean, we did have plans, but after the busiest weekend known to man last week, we’ve rearranged them, sorry Soph!)
Anyway, onto the last month of loveliness, and another busy old one (including our first week off of the year – HOORAY!)
Alex and Dom’s Engagement Party
Two of Adam’s friends from uni got engaged at Easter, and we were invited to their engagement party in Bristol at the beginning of the month. A BBQ at their house, right next to the big yellow castle you can see from the M40, a night out reminiscent of university days, and another night sleeping in the van (Adam was more prepared this time compared to what happened in July and remembered his PJs!)! We also treated ourselves to a delicious breakie at Boston Tea Party (one of the few I hadn’t been to yet!). Big celebrations all round really!
A Huge IKEA Haul
Anyone from the proper south west will know that any trip to Bristol isn’t complete without heading off to IKEA (though not for long, hooray for Exeter’s new store in 2018!!). Feeling a bit grot after the night before, we welcomed the distraction that can only come with filling those big yellow bags, consuming as many meatballs as you can shovel in, and buying 245% extra items than you had intended! Oops!
However, it was so worth it, I’d made a good list before I went, and I was loving how colour coordinated most of our bits and bobs were – most of which went on to decorate my home office – keep your eyes peeled for a tour soon!!
A Week Off!
That weekend was the start of a week off! We’d originally booked it to go on a family holiday with my family, but dates ended up not matching, and we decided to spend the week at home, mostly smashing up the house. Mum came to stay and helped out, we got a whole host of the garden and the office completed, and it was so satisfying getting to the end of the week knowing how much renovation work we’d managed to achieve!
Plymouth Firework Championships
One of the highlights of our week off in August was the National Firework Championships which are held in Plymouth every year.
I LOVE fireworks. I’m like a child, seriously.
They’re split over two nights, and the first we went on our own, enjoying a delicious king prawn dinner I’d cooked up ready to take with us in loaf tins (lol) and then the following night two of my colleagues joined, coming for dinner of nachos, followed by some homemade caramel slices and prosecco as we ooh’d and ahh’d appropriately.
They are seriously the best fireworks you’ll ever see in your life – hence being the national champs I guess! Well worth a trip if you’re close enough!
Haircuts
Both of us had our hair cut in August (worth a note for me as I usually have a chop only once a year….I know….). This time, it was with Adam’s lovely cousin Lucy, who’s training. This was literally one of the best haircuts I’ve ever had! She put so much attention and love into my hair, I had a fantastic blow dry, and felt so good afterwards! Thank you Luce!
New lambs, a cuddle with a baby donkey and 5 week old puppies!
One lovely thing that happened in August was we picked up some new lawnmowers for our paddock – baby lambs! Even better was that their breeders had a baby donkey AND 5 week old puppies! Absolute heaven!
Blogger Brunch
The monthly #PlymBlogBrunch was supposed to be a picnic on the Hoe this month, but it turned into a last minute BTP trip (our second during August!) due to the rain. Luckily Adam was happy to come too so it was lovely to hang out together with a great bunch of my favourite Plymouth bloggers!
Tropical Party
My best friend’s birthday is during August and her party this year was tropical themed. Not only did I write her a stupid and funny poem to celebrate, I also made a pretty epic cake and we had a great time drinking cocktails in her decorated garden. It’s always lovely to spend time with the people you love the most, and it was also really great to meet some of her other groups of friends from other portions of life too.
Geographers Reunion
The second half of the bank holiday was spent madly rushing around getting ready for our annual geography reunion with my old uni course mates. As per, Adam and I were a little delayed, and so that morning I’d spent frantically whipping up a whole host of different salads and dips, and decorating the house with paper pom poms and bunting that I’d been making during my lunch breaks.
Once everyone had arrived, we were so lucky with the weather, relaxing in the sunshine, eating a cracking Adam Husband BBQ and then into the evening sitting around our new fire pit toasting marshmallows and finishing off the pimms!
Though next time I’ll try and cram less into the August Bank Holiday for all of our sakes, it was so good to catch up with everyone and have a chilled afternoon and evening seeing each other.
The Monday convoy to go for a swim at the beach, however, failed epicly when we got stuck multiple times in both accidents and then on tiny winding lanes. Lesson learnt – DO NOT leave the house on a bank holiday!!
Bake Off is Back On
The last lovely thing I of course have to mention is one of my favourite things to happen in August…the Bake Off is BACK! Controversial I know, being on channel 4 now and the lack of Mary, Mel and Sue, but I truly love the baking, and I’m so excited for the bake along to start again! Tune in every week to see what I get up to. (If you hate baking recipes, it may be best to unfollow and come back in November…!!)
So there you have it, my list of lovely things in August 2017. There were some tough bits I didn’t mention – like the 6.5 hour journey from J27 on the M5 to Plymouth on Friday night due to the motorway being closed, but hey, I didn’t wet myself and I eventually made it home, even if it was at midnight! However, to lighten the mood, I’ve also included some photos of my boss’ daughter’s fluffball bunnies, and my beautiful deerhound Lark acting all posh and whatnot!
I love September, and I’m fully embracing it with open arms again this year, so I hope your August’s were amazing, and let’s see what the next month brings!!
