life lately

Life lately has been hectic and full of work work work but you know what, I wouldn't have it any other way because it makes you appreciate your time/money/food/bed/alone time etc that little bit more. This time last year we were in completely different places and now we're both in full time work, we can survive better and actually be grateful that we struggled because as cheesy as it is, it's pretty much made us who we are today. Go us aha

This summer has too of been the most enjoyable one since school. its fair to say me and hot weather haven't always gotten on but I also have to say that I've had a huge lifestyle change over the past year which has fortunately changed me for the better, so I've appreciated the hot weather like any other Brit would - moany one minute and happy the next (its only right eh?) 

so as the summer abruptly comes to an end, we say goodbye to warm nights, blue skies and barely any clothes and a iyaaaa to september, the wonderful month full of dull weather, gorgeous new coats and a chilly breeze. A/W is definitely my favourite time of year so I welcome it with a humongous hug and a "what took you so long?" whisper. Bring. It. On. 

and on that note I'm off to buy my first jumper of the year and look at sharks, enjoy your week everyone.

a family affair

get togethers are somewhat precious now I live in up north so every chance we get to go see my family we grab and this time was no exception with the past few weeks being hectic at work we booked a whole week off and planned on being as lazy as we could possibly be, while obviously spending some good'ol quality time with the family. obviously.

as the week off grew closer more plans were made and our lazy plans were wiped under the carpet and the to-do-list began. the morning after we arrived - breakfast with our dad was first on our agenda, he lives in bridgnorth a tiny town which is divided into two, a high town and low town and it's a little slice of heaven - if i do say so myself! full of antiques and plenty of beautiful town houses to admire, me and my sister, Kelly were in our element and couldn't help but take photos of all the brightly painted doors and flower-potted window ledges. once we gobbled our breakfast down off we went on our adventures around high town, rummaging through charity shops and searching high and low in the antiques shops: here's where i purchased my first tiny vintage crate and bunch of skeleton keys. watch out antiques roadshow.. wink.

town houses and cottages aren't the only thing im found of here. their stunning buildings could quite happily keep me wandering around all day and the architecture here gets my heart happy every time with the old-english timber framed buildings and original casement windows, i think its fair to say when i see something i find beautiful or interesting i get like a little kid in a sweet shop aha. 

i just had to share this photo of these floral deck chairs, as soon as my sister said our nan and grandad had possibly owned identical ones when we were younger i just couldnt resist, now the more i see this photo while im scrolling through my phone the more it brings back lovely memories of them and i like that alot. i love how a smell or something as silly as these decks chairs can do that!

i am well and truly kicking myself for not whipping up these beauties aka old wooden shoe forms, whether the owner purposely positioned them like book ends i will never know but since living with my boyfriend our book collection has got pretty out of hand so something unconventional like this would of been perfect!

photo via 2shrop.net

my dads lived here for around 11 years now and of all of visits to the town ive always wondered but stupidly never asked what the 'tudoresque' building in the middle of town was so this time around was like all my christmas' had come at once, i was peering in shop windows when my dad said it used to be an assize court and you can tour it! obviously all i heard was 'old court room and tour it'. while dad, kindly watched the pushchair we all giddily went upstairs and before we knew it, we were playing out our own mock trial, sentencing my own brother to execution..aside from the hanging i was in complete awe and fascination of it all.

we were in our element and its definitely fair to say some (middle photo) got carried away and maybe took his role way too seriously but it was a day to remember, you could even say one for the scrapbook.. hey, who am i kidding? it so going in the scrapbook ha.

after being complete geeks all afternoon and dad being very parched, it was back to his for lots of tea, sandwiches and ice-cream. good times

This too will pass

image via source

I haven't been able to keep up with my blog lately, I want too but something's been holding me back and I'm unsure what that is right now. I'm a big believer in 'let things happen naturally' so that's what I'm doing. With crazy work hours and generally, just pure tiredness, now I'm 3 months into my new job and so much has changed, it's hard too keep up sometimes but Ive got 4 days off and I feel like I'm ready to get back into the swing of things! 

With summer finally arriving, gorgeous summery nights and lots of cocktails is what I'm dreaming of.. I think it's time to make them happen.. Enjoy! 

A little something

An original photo booth from 1968 made my Saturday complete.

The Wait Is Over

Monday was our only day of rest so we went to Salford Museum and Art Gallery, it was our first visit and I felt it was SO time to go see their Victorian Street and peer through all the shop windows at the original 19th century wares. My personal fav had to be the antique wooden printer trays and stamps. The whole street gives you that black market kinda feel, it's amazing when you actually remember thats how people used to live, you don't get that opportunity often.. Yes, if you weren't aware I'm a massive NERD.

This week has been non stop. I've finally started my new job and with studying, I don't even reach 10pm anymore (who would of thought it eh?) I've abandoned pretty much everything else in my life since I started so this weekend I plan to do very little and get organised i.e. rest my achey muscles I never knew I had; get crafty; drink tea; eat cake and write a few blog posts for next week so watch this space. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! 

Always Explore

I was feeling the need to do a bit of sightseeing around the wonderful city that I now call my home - Salford. I love a heritage site and Ordsall Hall is just that, last year it reopened after a huge two year restoration and the chance of possible ghost action was obviously fate.

On arrival a photo in front of the manor house was an absolute must (he was meant to save his scared face for later). The detail in this building is incredible and I wish they still built like this nowa days.

This was meant to be 'do a scared look' but instead it turned out to be do an upside down smile. I might frame it...

I'm sorry but these swans are adorable.

We actually walked around the gardens twice as believe it or not we couldn't work out which door was the entrance (there was hundreds at least 20..) Considering the building is over 750 years old, every single roof tile is an original *insert geek face* - little fact for y'all as I'm kind like that.

"The Great Hall is one of the earliest and most impressive timber-framed halls built in the region."

"The Gothic style chandelier is from the 1800-1900's when it was part of the Clergy Training School and was only restored when the restoration took place in 2009."

Moving onto The Star Chamber which takes its name from the lead stars on its ceiling, in this room it gave you an option to play dress up so obviously I endured the boy into putting on a chain mail which he CLEARLY loved (look at that face) 

"The oriel window has 2 pieces of stained glass in it that both date back to the 1550's. Fully restored in 2010, one shows the Shield of Robert Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwilliam, and the other depicts the Shield of Thomas Stanley, second Earl of Derby."

"This Well was the source of water for the people at Ordsall Hall. Water would have had to be lifted up by buckets on ropes."

"The sides of the Well have been lined with stone and the Well was originally 4 metres deep, the Well is now used as a 'Wishing Well' and all donations go to friends of Salford Museum."

We made donations and wished our little hearts away...

The time had come 'scared facial expressions' were now needed as we were working our way up to the attic where a lot of ghostly goings on are meant to happen.. so of course we were pretty scared terrified. The attic is quite closed off to the rest of the building so we were the only people in there, it was definitely the scariest part of the whole tour.

We ended the tour tucking into afternoon tea, cake, toast and sandwiches. Clearly needed after all that heart racing stuff.

Ordsall Hall is stunning inside and out with free admission, you're welcomed by guides dressed in Elizabethan clothing and the smell of the warm toast and tea from the cafe. I absolutely love old buildings and the history inside them so the boy did well! A visit once it warms up for picnics in the orchard is a complete must!

"Round up, round up..."

1) I've only been cooking (properly) now for around 2 years so when ever I can I love to try out a new recipe and this one is super simple (my favourite kind of way) - Basil pesto pasta with tuna, it takes a whole 12 minutes to cook and you just season to your personal preference - mines ground black pepper.

2) After not celebrating my good news when I originally got it 4 weeks ago the boy decided to take me out for drinks to finally celebrate my new job! It took an whole hour to drink that one pint - I am clearly not as hardcore as I used too be.

3) Saturday night we had a night in and rented some movies, ate more calories and obviously regretted them the next morning. We decided to rent Skyfall and Ted: Skyfall was incredible, I love a film full of action and I'd definitely recommend it! But on the other hand Ted wasn't so incredible, I laughed once and although I used to have a soft spot for Family Guy this film just didn't do it for me.

4) This day was my favourite as we decided to spend Sunday afternoon wandering around the stunning Grade 1 listed Ordsall Hall! My next post has all the details so I won't say much apart from if you love old buildings, history and tea and cake a visit is clearly needed!

5) Out with the old in with the new. I pretty much fell for these cushions when I saw them, I was pretty obsessed with check over the Christmas period so it felt like fate (or an excuse whichever one you chose, I'm happy with) We picked these up from the sale in Matalan for £4 each!

6) Tonight I endured the boy with another one of my newly found recipes I wanted to try out - Creamy bacon and spinach pasta. It's actually a Sainsbury's recipe so here's the link Creamy Bacon & Spinach Pasta Recipe | Sainsbury's