Durham Lumiere Festival of Light

On Sunday, my parents and I decided to visit my sister and while we were in the area, we thought we'd take a trip to the annual Durham Lumiere Festival of Light. 

Luckily it wasn't as cold as it has been these past couple of days (anyone else wake up to pure solid ice on their windscreen this morning? Phwoar it's sure getting cold), and there was only a sprinkling of rain so it wasn't too unbearable being out in the cold for so long. 

The main show area opened up at around 7.30pm and I have to say the organisation of the event was fantastic. We followed hundreds of people on the path round and up to the Cathedral with minimal waiting, where we were met by some gorgeous lights being projected onto the beautiful cathedral. 

Apologies for the rubbish-y images; my camera doesn't seem to like the dark

We then continued through the Cathedral to the smaller but equally as pretty attractions, my personal favourite being a phone box filled with tropical fish, which sadly I couldn't seem to get a good photo of. Stupid camera.

We also grabbed hot chocolate and a homemade cookie each from a cute little stall along the way for just £1 (which was yummy!) to warm up a bit before continuing to a couple more sights further on. 

Dresses made of tiny lights

As we were all working the next day and had a beastly drive home that night, we left at around 8:30pm having seen less than half of the lights on show, which was a huge shame. But it really was worth the journey; there was a lovely atmosphere and we all really enjoyed spending time together as a family.

Who would have thought plastic bags would make such a pretty Christmas tree?!

Unfortunately, Sunday was the last day of this years show so if you do want to take a peek, you will have to wait another year for the next show! It is completely free so a great little event if you're struggling to occupy the kids or just want to fill an evening. 

I just wish I could have told you about it sooner! 

Love, 

Jo xx

Guess Who's Back...Back Again

Oh my word have I misbehaved this past month or so.

Since starting my new job as a Radiographer (oo, how grown up and sophisticated am I?), life has been pretty much non-stop! Trying to adjust from having more time on my hands than I could imagine to barely having time to brush my teeth has been strange, but now that I have begun to settle into work properly I feel like I can (hopefully) get back onto the blogging bandwagon. Granted, my posts won't be as frequent as they used to be, and I will have to somehow fit blogging around my shifts but all I can do is my best, eh?

I'm on late shifts this week anyway so hopefully I can schedule some posts during the day for the next couple of weeks. 

Anyway, how are you all doing? I've missed you! Give me updates!

I haven't been doing much exciting outside of work to be honest. My sister visited home from Newcastle a couple of weekends ago and we went bowling with her boyfriend and my dad for the first time in so many years. I lost (expected), but we had such a laugh and had some fun on the arcade games after.

We also had a bonfire gathering at our house with a few family friends, food, fireworks and lots of alcohol which was lovely. It's a nice yearly tradition that we have which will hopefully be continuing for many years to come.

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Did you have a nice Halloween/Bonfire night? 

I also started my Christmas shopping on Monday (sorry to those who are still not allowing any mention of the 'C' word, but I am far too excited this year!). My best friends and I are doing a Secret Santa this year so I already have that one in the bag. For once I have actually managed to be organised. *fistpump*

For some reason I've found this post really hard to write up! I think I just need to get back into the swing of things and hopefully things will start to spill out onto the page again soon enough.

Anyways, I've probably really bored you here but I will get some posts scheduled and hopefully get back to normal(ish). Hope you'll forgive me for my absence just this once! 

Lots of love, 

Jo xx

What I Wore | 22.06.13

Hope you're all well! I've had quite a hectic week myself, there hasn't been a day with nothing going on! On top of job hunting I've been busy catching up with amazing friends I haven't seen in months, my mum's birthday was yesterday and I have also been with the family celebrating both me and my sister graduating with a first in about a months time! WHAT?!

Not once during my course have I even considered that I might get a first, so when I found out at my friends house on Tuesday, I literally must have been leaping around the kitchen for ten minutes straight.

 

Definitely my greatest achievement to date and I am so proud of what my sister and I have achieved, let's just hope we both get jobs soon enough, eh!

 

Anyway, onto the post! I thought I would show you what I wore to a family meal out to celebrate my sister's first (she found out about a week before me, so of course another meal out is essential to celebrate mine).

 

 

Vest top: Be Beau at Matalan | Trousers: George at ASDA (via Charity Shop) | Blazer: Primark | Necklace: Primark | Shoes: Primark | Bag: Boohoo

 

 

I didn't actually realise how much of a bargain this outfit was!

I have been doing a lot of charity shop shopping recently and I think these trousers are probably my favourite purchase. They are only from George at ASDA originally, but they remind me a little of the trousers I have been eyeing up in H&M recently so I thought for £3.50 I'd brave my first ever pair of patterned trousers. They are a seriously light, soft material that fall really nicely; it just feels like you're wearing pyjamas so they're perfect for a heavy meal out.

I didn't think I'd wear them all that much but I think I've already proved myself wrong!

 

I teamed them with a Primark blazer which I must have had for at least 3 years now, and some lightly studded nude Primark pumps. The blazer is well loved and getting a bit old and battered bless it, so I'm planning on buying a couple more replacement ones soon.

 

Are you a fan of statement trousers?

 

Love,

Jo xx

A Healthier Me

First off, I hope you're all having an amazing bank holiday weekend; the weather here in the UK has been gorgeous so I hope you've been making the most of it, as I don't think it will be around for much longer !

 

It is actually the effects of this stunning weather that has inspired this blog post. For someone who doesn't burn easily in the sun, I did pretty darn well for myself yesterday. Having spent the day pottering around the garden and doing jobs outside, I obviously hadn't realised how strong the sun was until I got in in the evening.

 

My nose, shoulders, chest, arms and legs are now bright red. And I mean bright red. I look like Rudolf gone wrong.

Now, I actually felt really bad once I realised how much I had actually burnt, and this got me thinking about how little I actually do to take care of my body.

 

So I set about compiling a list of simple changes that I will be making from now on in an attempt to keep my body healthy.

 

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1. Look after my skin

 

After that little introduction, let's start with the obvious; protection from the sun. I'm pretty annoyed at myself for not applying sun cream as it's such a ridiculously bad habit to get into, so from now on I vow to wear sun cream whenever I spend time outside in warm weather.

 

Although I religiously follow a facial cleansing and moisturising regime, my body gets extremely neglected. I am way too lax when it comes to moisturising my body, and so starting tonight I am also going to be moisturising my body every night before bed.

 

2. Drink more water

 

I've always drank far too little and when I do drink, more often than not it is tea (or vodka... nah just kidding. Kinda). I am going to start carrying a bottle of water around in my bag and have a glass with me as much as is possible when I'm at home.

 

3. Snack healthily

 

I eat very healthy and well balanced meals, but these are seriously let down by my very unhealthy snacking habits. Crisps are my absolute weakness, and up until a couple of weeks ago all I would snack on was crisps, chocolate and sweets; nothing else.

 Two weeks ago, I cut out the bad snacks and started to munch on fruit instead. Already I have noticed a huge difference in my energy levels and in particular on my skin, which is so much clearer and less dull.

I now have an unhealthy obsession with tangerines. Why did I not snack on these before?!

 

4. Start running

 

Now I'm afraid to say I absolutely despise running. I personally find it very tedious and because I get tired out so quickly, I give up with it. However, I have downloaded the NHS Couch to 5k app and intend to try and get into running properly.

I even bought some pretty pink trainers to motivate myself.

 

Trainers | Windsor's | £16

 

So these are my 'get healthy' aims this summer. I'm not aiming to lose weight, but I would like to tone up a little and feel physically fitter.

I'm keeping my aims simple, not too far fetched and easy to achieve, and hopefully I will see some results!

 

Do you have any tips for a healthier body?

Are you on a health kick this summer?

 

Jo xx

 



My Little Jar of Happiness!

Now I know this post is slightly behind the times but due to my problem with Blogger picture uploader, I have been (and still am) having problems trying to get any pictures onto my posts.
Hence only just getting this post up now. Apologies!

Anyway, coming up to the New Year I saw this idea crop up everywhere, I thought it was such a lovely thought that I wanted to have a go at it myself.

So today I am going to introduce you to my 2013 happy jar!

The idea is to jot down every little thing (whether it be a passing comment from a stranger, or a huge personal achievement) that makes you happy throughout 2013 on a piece of paper and pop the memory into the jar.

Then, on 31st December 2013, you dig out your jar and read through all your happy memories of the year over a few glasses of wine! (Okay, the wine was my idea...).
I thought it was a really sweet idea after personally coming to the end of 2012 and thinking...what the 'eck happened!?

What do you think of my happy jar?

Will you be giving this idea a go?

Jo xx

Rest in Peace Little Dennis

So I'm afraid today is a little bit of a sad post as I have finally gotten round to letting you all know that sadly my gorgeous little cat Dennis passed away a few months back with bronchitis.

We first acquired Dennis around 4 years ago when my mum's friend was getting divorced and moving to a new flat where she couldn't keep pets.

He got off to a flying start; on the day we were supposed to pick him up he went missing and was later found trapped in the back of the removal van! It soon became apparent that he would dash through any open door, so we had to watch out for cars stopping outside the house!
He soon settled in, promptly letting Louis (my dog) know who was boss by giving him the odd swipe with his paw each time he walked past.

He was around 14 when he had to be put to sleep but he was an absolute bundle of energy, spending half of his life dashing round the house like a nutter, whilst the rest of the time he would meow until somebody gave him cuddles.
Any face close enough to his (including the dogs: they did get along most of the time!) was lucky enough to be drowned in kitty kisses, he was just the biggest softie ever!
I have literally never come across such a noisy, lively and loving cat, so as you can imagine the house is very quiet without him.

Sadly he had been fighting bronchitis on and off for a few months, and in the end he was struggling to breathe so much that it became distressing to watch and it would have been cruel to keep him alive.

So anyway, here's to my little bundle of joy!

Jo xx

Go Ape!

So at the start of this week one of my best friends moved to Italy for a year abroad as part of her uni course (you can read her blog on her journey here).

Unfortunately this means very little contact with her as she currently has no internet and texts/calls cost a bomb, so we will be relying on good old fashioned letters to keep in touch!

 

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago as a little present for her before she left, a few friends and I organised a day out at Go Ape.

 

Three words: It. Was. Hilarious.

Go Ape describes itself as a way to 'get in touch with your inner Tarzan'. Pretty accurate description I'd say!

It is basically an adventure park with zip wires, Tarzan swings (the scariest thing ever!), and numerous other tree top crossings such as tunnels, ropes and bridges.



http://goape.rusic.com/go-ape-share-your-adventure/ideas/1059

We went to the one at Grizedale in the Lake District (there are 28 different sites dotted around the UK), which is a massive 18 metres up...

...now that may not sound that high, but come back when you've stood on that tiny platform and attached yourself to a mahoosive tree with a measley little rope and tell me that is not high!

It is such an adrenaline rush. The longest zip wire was a massive 200 metres long!

http://goape.rusic.com/go-ape-share-your-adventure/ideas/3047
 

The zip wires were definitely the highlight of the course...I would definitely recommend going first at this point. Standing at the bottom watching my seriously uncoordinated friends land with pure elegance and grace like a sack of spuds (i.e. horizontally and face first in a pile of wet mud) without a doubt made my whole day...I literally cried with laughter.


(I didn't dare risk take my camera or phone all the way up there with me so unfortunately I have no pictures of the day; all the pictures in this post are from the Go Ape website)

http://goape.rusic.com/go-ape-share-your-adventure/ideas/3018

Now prices may seem a little steep at first glance:

10-17 year olds - £20
18 years +   - £30

But the course takes roughly 2-3 hours to complete altogether, so it doesn't actually work out too badly price wise!

Plus if you're a student, just use the code STU654 at the checkout for 20% off!
Just don't forget to take your student card on the day!

You can book your Go Ape session here.

I would seriously recommend this to anyone who is a bit more on the adventurous side and loves that  bit of an adrenaline rush, it really is a fab day out.


Thanks for reading,
Jo xo