Everything That's Making Me Happy Right Now
After what felt like the longest January on record I feel like I need to put something positive out into the online world as things feel far cheerier now we’ve entered February. Despite having two severe storms that have battered and flooded the UK the fact that it’s getting lighter earlier and getting darker later is something that is bringing me so much joy even though it's still ice cold. Obligatory weather chat done here is everything else in between that is making me pretty happy at the moment.
A SNOWY WALK IN THE PEAKS
Last week we headed up to one of our favourite spots in the Peak District, Ladyclough Forest. It’s where we got engaged and it’s undoubtedly one of the most picturesque spots in Derbyshire so if you’re in the area it’s well worth a walk through. The reason we headed out there for the day is that our youngest dog Edie turned two and we always like to make sure we go somewhere both dogs love when it’s their birthday and they absolutely love these woods, probably more than we do. We’d had a little snow flurry last week but nothing stuck around but it appeared to snow a lot more in the Peak District which is twenty-ish miles away from us and as we approached in the car the woods looked incredible. Edie’s never seen snow before and one of the greatest joys in life is watching your dog run around in snow for the first time, even though she definitely needed a second coat to keep her warm she looked so happy. Not only were the dogs happy to see sprint around in the snow but I was so excited to be able to photograph one of my favourite places with a sprinkling of snow. I’ve been feeling less than enthused about taking pictures lately because the weathers been so foul so the snow sprinkled evergreens were a welcome sight.
MAKING TIME FOR THE GYM
I was pretty lax with my workout routine over the festive period and I’ve been very slowly getting back into it over the last few weeks and my mind has very much appreciated it. My mentality towards fitness has changed so much over the past few years, it was something I used to heavily rely on whilst I was still living with my dad as it was often the only time that I’d leave the house as working from home gives you a pretty sedentary lifestyle but now I have Josie and Edie that’s all changed. Ideally, I get to the gym 3 times a week and that suits me fine, I’m still on my quest to run 5k which I’m slowly working on once again and it feels so good. Whilst I’m not putting any pressure on myself to change my body in a drastic way before I get married ( a topic that I have a lot of thoughts on) I would like to be a little more toned and firm than I am right now so I need to incorporate more weights into my routine as that’s an area of fitness I tend to struggle with quite a bit.
BINGEWORTHY SERIES ON NETFLIX
January and February are obviously pretty miserable months when it comes to the weather but they're always some of the best when it comes to new releases on Netflix. I watch way more in these months than I do the rest of the year and there have been some great series that I’ve watched recently. The latest being The Stranger which I saw all over my Instagram feed and it’s not my typical type of show but I raced through it and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, it had a few flaws and I didn’t love how quickly it was all explained but it was a really good show none the less and something I recommend giving a watch if you like crime dramas. In the same vein as The Stranger, I’ve just started watching Safe too which is pretty good but I’m only a few episodes in so I’ll have to report back on that one. I never thought crime dramas were my thing (so please send any recommendations my way) but they’re all I’m enjoying at the moment apart from rewatching the US Office.
finding my wedding dress & completing wedding plans
Last week I went to go and try on wedding dresses with my best friend and my sister in tow (they’re both my maid of honours) and I found my dress! Something that I wasn’t expecting to do at all, infact I had my mind pretty set on a style that I thought I was going to get but once I tried it on I hated it. The dress that I’ve gone for is the complete opposite of what I thought that I was going to get but as soon as I tried it on I felt incredible. Even after trying a few more dresses on after the first time I tried my dress on I instantly wanted to put it back on and I guess that’s the feeling that you need about your wedding dress? I worried a couple of days after if I’d been too hasty getting my dress after only going to one shop but I just knew that was the dress that I wanted to get married in, I felt so special in it and I cannot wait until August till mine arrives. Everyone told me that you end up going for a dress that you wouldn’t have picked initially but I honestly thought I knew what I wanted and it wasn’t until I had it on my body did I realise it wasn’t what I wanted and it didn't look amazing on either. As well as finding my dress a few days later we went to look at suits for my boyfriend and we found his and finalised what tie and pocket square him and my dad are going to be having. With those two big jobs ticked off the list, we’re almost done with our planning our wedding. We’ve got a good eight months till we get married but we’d rather try and get everything planned well in advance just in case anything goes wrong. As we’re getting married in the week out of peak wedding season it means that suppliers have a lot more availability which is perfect for us as it means we’re not having to shop around a huge amount.
little things to appreciate
Drinking coffee in the morning again, it’s something that I’ve started doing again and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Being able to twist my hair up in a bun now it’s long enough again.
My 80’s Spotify playlist which has been a work in progress for 8 years.
Waking up to daylight most days.
This Instagram account, I adore old Landrover Defenders and dogs, of course.
Introducing retinol into my skincare routine.
