Thursday 29 September 2016

St James - American War Memorial

This was somewhere I had planned to visit and I was excited to see, I love learning about the wars, it's always intrigued me and I believe that the wars that have been fought and the men that fought in them should be remembered whether on the ground, in the skies or on our seas they should be remembered for what they did.

So I knew this was somewhere I wanted to see and I know I would like to visit others around France.

Walking through the gates I got this sense of extreme calm and peace, fitting really. It was immaculate, it was really nice to see it kept neat a perfect place of rest. Walking along the path we came upon a memorial chapel. I could start to see the white crosses glow under the sun and my hairs started to raise, goosebumps appeared on my arms.


























Walking along the path through the crosses bearing the names of the fallen I felt very privileged to have been there, to have known them if only by name, I knew them for a split second and even though I couldn't imagine what they've seen and I couldn't imagine how they would have felt I knew one thing, these men and the thousands of others did something for their countries deserved of this resting place to be remembered.







































Carved in the granite base were the words, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept my faith.'


Our French Adventure (Part 2)

St Hilarie - Market Day

On the Wednesday Nick and I went to St Hilarie market that is there every week between 10-12. It was fun, I'd wished I'd taken more pictures of the market but I was just taking it all in, the colours, the language the smells of the fresh food, we stopped and had a Galette-Saucisse which was O.M.Goodness amazing, I would've happily ate five. It was a good job really we didn't bring Mia because at the market they also sold chickens, geese, cockerels and rabbits and if we'd brought her along we would have been bringing home a bunny for sure.

St Sever

On the last Thursday I saw nature at it's finest but first I want to talk about this lake, we went to St Sever which was a beautiful lake that we walked around, the reflection of the woods surrounding the lake sat on the water perfectly, I could've taken a thousand photos. We had our lunch in the camper just watching the lake, seeing carp jump from the water. You could sit here and imagine what it will all look like in Autumn colours, the reds, yellows and browns and the reflection they'd make on the water. Perfection.



























After our walk around the lake I decided to go off by myself uphill into some woods to get some photos and do some sketches which I did then that act of nature occurred like the rising moon literally. A chap from a group that also stopped for lunch here was getting up bare bottomed from doing his business, I bolted back round and moved back up this hill so fast hoping he never saw me. Luckily I did get some nice pictures and sketches.

As I walked down I knew this would never have happened to anyone else. 



























On the Friday we went to St James to the American War Memorial but I want to give that a post of it's own so lastly I finish with out trip to St Malo.

Firstly I must state I discovered that my map reading skills are poop, after around 5 minutes of having to turn around and get on the correct road I got better and only better not good, just better. I'm rubbish at it, it's hilarious really well not when I'm getting us lost.

St Malo

So St Malo, Nick told me it was a huge castle and I was to see this huge castle when we got there, we were driving alongside of it when Nick tells me we're here but I'm not seeing this gigantic castle I was promised until it clicked and I'm looking at this castle wall in front of us, a castle wall that was holding inside a little town. Nick, Mia, Robyn and I walked around the side of the castle wall looking out to the sea where we saw what could only be described as a super yacht, it had a hole in the back for a smaller boat to dock, like what?!?!

Walking through the town to shade from the sun I grabbed a few postcards as you do and we stopped for lunch, where we had a kebab with chips and let me tell you it's like no kebab in the world unless you've eaten this one. It wasn't greasy, it didn't make you feel gross after eating it, it was the best kebab we'd ever eaten.



























Whilst out there we all built and cooked a BBQ, I believe my fire was bigger than everyone else. The heat stung my eyes.


























To finish, our holiday away abroad as a family for the first time was great, the food was amazing, the wine was bloody 'ansome (there's the cornish seeping into my essex ways), the places we visited were beautiful and the time spent together much enjoyed and loved.



Mia and her partner in crime Millie.




































We had a great time in France and I can't wait to do it again.

Our French Adventure

The vision I had of France before travelling there was very different to how it is but in no way was it disappointing. I envisioned driving through old fashioned villages with cobbled roads, some still are but you can see the modern seeping in. The history there is very interesting and you feel a sense of gratitude to walk the same roads as royals, to stand where soldiers stood and to see views that have been enjoyed for years.

My idea of France is one from books, films and Pinterest who I lay a lot of the blame for my expectation of it all. So the France I imagined wasn't what it really is but like I said it did not disappoint, it's so peaceful and quiet, the roads were quiet no-ones rushing to get to the same place as everyone else and the food O.M.Goodness is amazing.

The baguettes are delicious we basically had one everyday for lunch, I could have had a whole one but I was nice and I shared with Nick and Mia, also everyone seems to have one a day as well. I didn't think I would but I actually saw a chap on a bicycle with a baguette sticking out of the back of his backpack, I could not believe what I was seeing and I was so happy to see it and the cheese is good enough just to jump back on the ferry and buy a trailer full and come right back.



We crossed on the ferry on the 12th and I had been so excited to go on it, I had been raving about going on this I'd never been on a big boat, I have been on a small boat that takes you from Marazion to St Michaels Mount when the tides in too far you can't walk across. So I was excited, I was ready then what happens I started to turn a shade of green literally, I get seasickness the kind that in the kitchen next day on dry land you felt like the kitchen was swaying.

On our way to where we were staying we noticed there was maize in every field, maize everywhere and it was actually really nice to see and Julie (M-I-L) told me it was the year of the corn, which I believed until the moment I asked to confirm this fact. Let's just say she had my leg and she well and truly pulled it. Haha.

Le-Mont-Saint-Michel

This was our first proper outing we had originally planned to go to St Malo but we changed our minds and it was beautiful and huge, compared to St Michaels Mount, the size of it far away is how St Michaels Mount is standing next to it. It was heaving with people but the atmosphere was great. We walked up through the main street between the many gift shops and restaurants that lined the street where I had to pick up some postcards. Mia and I walked around St Peters Church which had these lovely stain glassed windows, one depicting the slaying of the dragon by archangel Michael, she then went straight for the lit candles. From then we made our way up to the Abbey when a very kind French couple warned us about the many steps leading up to it, the warning was much appreciated as we had the big buggy, so Robyn and I walked up to the Abbey entrance. They were not wrong there was a lot of steps.


I did manage to stack it walking into a shop where I gained and sported a nice bruise on my knee cap for a while. We also while driving around were surprised to find French radio stations that play music played on our stations so we enjoyed the likes of Bieber, Charlie Puth and the Chainsmokers while out driving around. I got extreme flashbacks when Avril Lavignes - I'm With You came on the radio.

We had a mishap that was our Mia falling out of bed luckily she never got hurt but it shocked her into wide awakeness at 3 o'clock in the morning which led to Julie and I having to spend 3 hours watching Zootopia and Finding Nemo (fun times), Julie lit a fire and I did manage to dose off but not for long and as we started to fall of our feet asleep Mia casually curls up on the couch and falls back to sleep. RUDE!

Bagnoles via St Genevieve

On our way to Bagnoles we stopped here at St Genevieve for lunch, we sat in Johns (F-I-L) campervan and ate then walked around this little chapel where around it sat benches and tables among the trees totally made out of stone, it was a beautiful peaceful little place to sit eat and enjoy the view.



From St Genevieve we went into Bagnoles where we parked on the side of this lake with beautiful flowers around it, ducks and swans swam on the lake and the swans even came to where we were standing. We crossed this bridge that was covered in flowers, on the other side of this bridge was paddle boats that were tempting but I could not convince Nick. Many of the shops were shut for lunch so it was quiet and as we admired the items in the window it dawned on me that I would never own any item. They were incredibly expensive. The clothes, jewellery and chocolate.



This chocolate shop had chocolate handbags, macarons, chocolate bark and even Karma Sutra chocolates which to be honest I wouldn't feel comfortable eating, they were a tad detailed.


Julie and I walked up to the church in the town that was very art deco, The Church of the Sacred Heart. It was lovely. I love stain glassed windows and this church had amazing ones, we must have walked up 30 odd steps and back down. Bagnoles is definitely one beautiful town.




Our journey to St Hilarie Market, St Sever, St Malo will be all in Part 2

Sunday 11 September 2016

We're Going to France.

"I'm leaving, on a jet plane, not really it's a boat."



As I write this I am in the process of ironing and packing our clothes for our holiday so if I make any grammar mistakes the ironing did it and if I forget to pack my mans socks it's your fault.

Growing up we had holidays every year but in this country and it was always so exciting as a kid. You never had the stress of packing, your mum did that for you all you had to do was be dressed and ready to jump in the car, I remember that sick excited feeling you'd get that made you think you needed a pee but you didn't go even when your mum told you go before we leave, then half way there you wished you had gone. As you got older going on holiday in the same country it doesn't get that much exciting, your bigger so your car gets smaller, you now actually have to pack your own clothes it's not until you get to your destination does your holiday begin but going abroad for the first time in the 24 years you've been alive it's like all those feeling you felt as a child come back, the only difference is I have a better handle on my bladder than I did when I was 8. It's a new experience and I know Nicks been abroad before but I wish our girls were older to experience this feeling as well. I don't mind having to wait a few more years for that I'll know it will be worth it.

I think we booked the tickets 14 weeks ago and we were saying how quick that time was going to go, then all of a sudden Mia had her birthday and I'm here packing our suitcases. I've never been abroad before I don't like planes and I don't really like boats either (I did see Titanic) but out of the two I feel safer on a boat also I can swim. I don't have wings. Anyways slightly going off topic we are ready to go and as I write this with less than 24 hours to go we just want to be there already.

I will be away for two weeks so my presence on social media will be next to nothing but thanks to post scheduling I have made 6 blog posts that are really 'list posts' that are just a little bit fun. They will be posted both Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. I know you're most probably thinking you're on holiday take a break but you see I've just started blogging again and if by chance there is someone who reads my post I don't want to make them think I've fell off the face of the earth because I will be social media free for two whole weeks and that is strangely exciting me, it's going to be so refreshing to have no internet. So yes I may miss two episodes of the Great British Bake Off but the way I see it I get to binge on two hours of GBBO when I get back.

I have a travel journal empty and ready to be filled with so much I will have tonnes to blog about when I get back. So I'll leave it now and say goodnight, posts will be up Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for anyone who would like to read them while I'm away. I really do appreciate every view I get.

See you all in two weeks. *SO EXCITED*

Saturday 10 September 2016

Yes I have a problem. No I don't need it fixed. My notebook collection is growing. Oh my little big obsession.

It started at a young age and it started with spiral bound reporter pads and refill pads then something magical happens I got older and the notebooks ranged from different sizes other than A4. Pocket ones, thick ones, moleskine ones. Notebook heaven basically.

The covers were striped, metallic, floral and some with phrases and inspiring words. It was a world I couldn't afford but boy was I going to enjoy looking at it. When I am out and about and I find one available for purchase, I can guarantee it will be coming home with me. I love them you can never have enough. I carry one with me all the time and if I can't write in it I use the voice recorder no my phone and pretend I'm on the phone to someone. Notebooks are essential for me to stay create also you never know when inspiration will strike and you need to write it down because you will never remember it so with a notebook and pen in your bag you'll never forget anything again.

When I'm writing anything for my book I like to stick to the spiral bound reporter pads, there's just something about them that I don't mind scribbling on but when it comes to actually notebooks the ones that are so pretty you want to cry and never write in in case you ruin it and you can never tear a page out. So what do I put in them, yes I still have notebooks that have nothing in them at all but I'm a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing I want everything to be perfect. If I mess up on the first page of a really nice notebook I might as well just throw the thing in the bin. Anyone else?

I have to think really hard in what to fill them with and I'm going to show you the ones I'm currently using and what I'm using or planning to use them for.





















I found this one in Lidl whilst food shopping and shamelessly I slipped it in the trolley without Nick realising and he didn't notice until the till went 'BEEP' through the till and it became officially mine. I'm a bit of a collector, I keep everything like cinema tickets, amusements tokens, show tickets, train tickets, I like to have them to remember I did that. As this notebook is quite thick I thought it would be perfect to sort out all my tickets and tokens instead of the envelope that was falling apart I had them in.





















I love this one, it was a Christmas present and it's homemade. I love it. My mother-in-law is a crafter and she made this. I love all things nautical so this is perfect and it has become perfect for all my favourite quotes and phrases which it is full off.





















Now this one is empty and I think it will be for a long time. I got given this by a friend who I worked for when I was volunteering in a gallery whilst pregnant with Mia. I told her I was a writer and she just gave me this and I can not ruin it. It is so beautiful that when I decide what to put in it it will be something worthy of this notebook. 

This next notebook is one I'm excited to fill, I bought it specifically for my holiday to France next week, this will be my travel journal and I'm so ready to fill, I'm so excited. I got it off Amazon which was a job and a half because it took me half a day to go through all notebooks to pick the best one.





















Notebooks for me have become essential, I need to carry one everywhere I go and I fill they are just the perfect item to get anything off your mind, whether you use them for private/personal use or as an productive way of life they are just perfect and there are so many to choose from. I want them all. 

Like Pokemon are like to Pokemon trainers, I got to catch them all. 

Oh nearly forgot I slipped off the don't buy anymore notebooks wagon yesterday and bought two notebooks that I just couldn't not buy.



The pages are neon PINK!













Do you have a growing collection of notebooks like me? Are you drawers and shelves filled with too many they're overflowing?

These are my favourite notebooks and why I love them? What about you?

Thursday 8 September 2016

My Top 5 Disney/Pixar Moments that make me sad enough I might cry.

We all have come across that one moment in a movie that takes it too far and surprises us as a sad moment and it catches you out, a lump is formed in your throat and there are some chances of tears.

Now with two children I watch more than I normally would, that's a lie now I just have a worthy excuse to watch as many as I want and when those sad moments strike I find myself being ridiculed by my two year old on Saturday who doesn't understand yet so for now I'm the crazy one.

So here are my top 5 Disney/Pixar moments that get me grabbing the Klennex and a reality check.

Toy Story 3

Now I hope we all know the moment I'm talking about, the fire, the holding hands to face death by furnace they sit there united. Oh my goodness it was too much when I first watched this I actually believed that was how it would end I saw no claw in sight it is one of those moments that are shocking and upsetting to the point if they had melted in that furnace Pixar would have received a very angry worded letter by me. In that scene the one bit I liked about it is how the camera pans to only fit the original toys from the first movie. Woody, Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Mr & Mrs P and Slinky I liked that a lot.

Zootopia

This moment gets me upset just by thinking about it I believe it's something maybe everyone has felt sometime in their life. The scene is Judy and Nick in the sky tram and Nick is telling Judy how he learnt how to not let it show that others have got to him. There's a little flashback that shows baby Nick finally getting into Junior Ranger Scouts at his initiation he is ridiculed and attacked by the other animals and you see him muzzled by them. Now if this seen was silent, black and white and didn't happen I most likely wouldn't have cried but the moment he starts to cry and ask 'Why? What did I do?' Give me strength I just couldn't handle that. I hate bullies and that moment upset me more than it should have.

Pocahontas

When John Smith leaves, I like the ending of this one because it's the first Disney film I believe to not have ended in them living happily ever after but still that moment he sails off and she starts running to see him one last time. That gets me, it gives me goosebumps it's a beautiful moment.

Frozen

I'm not a big fan of this film, I'm only really ever there for Olaf but that moment where Ana right on the edge of becoming an ice cube she sacrifices herself to save her sister Elsa, when I first watched it I think I actually gasped and muttered a little 'no' but then again I was pregnant and with all those hormones I had no control of my emotions. It shocked me that scene and having a sister I felt something and I was sad because I realised I didn't love my sister enough, Hahaha I joke I loves her.

This last one was hard for me to chose as I had at least another 5 I could have added so after a lot of consideration my no. 1 saddest moment is.

Up

We all know what moment this is. The montage of Ellie and Carls that depicts their life together I think is one of the most beautiful scene ever crafted in animation. It's wordless but full of emotion, it makes you feel things. It's a powerful scene full of happiness, love, death and sadness something Pixar does very well but this moment is for me the one without fail that gets that lump in my throat growing.

It will be interesting to know what moments reduce you to feel things, are any of them on my list or do you have your own?

Wednesday 7 September 2016

Writers Block. How I break down that wall.

I can write for hours on end creating both good and bad material the words literally flow like a continuous river but then sometimes a wall it erected in front of me blocking all words known to man. I can't see them, I can't even think about what they are because they're invisible to me and when nothing is there I can't write. Not one word and it's frustrating as hell but I've learned a few ways that help me break down that wall and get back to writing so I'm not wasting my time staring at my keyboard.


Pinterest 

I live on this site but I can easily go off course, I can be searching for blog post ideas and 10 minutes later I'm looking at DIY Christmas decorations, I couldn't tell you how it happens it just does. Pinterest has so much there to aid you out of a slump. Links to copious amounts of bloggers sharing their own tips on how they stay motivated and out of writers block.



Pinterest is really good for anything really from planning tonight's dinner, creating an epic children party to pinning together you dream wedding, there's some funny stuff on there to, tonnes of pins to distract, inspire, motivate and get you back on track. Pinterest is the best.

Music

Right now I have Avenged Sevenfold blaring through my head phones, music clears my mind of everything. I can close my eyes and the music I'm listening to takes me away, I've escaped from the frustration of not being able to write so I get to start a fresh and it works. 9 times out of 10 I do end up listening for 5 hours and forget what I was doing before hand or I just fall asleep either way it helps me make a fresh start when I go to write again.

Read. Read. Read.

Whether it's a book I've already read or a piece of writing I wrote once upon a time, reading does this magical thing that causes your brain to want to write.

I've always loved to read, my mum had books in the house all the time so I was never short on reading material. My 1st book I ever read was The Adventures Huckleberry Finn when I was 10. And I like to read fast, the last great book I read was Dan Browns Inferno. I borrowed it from my mother-in-law who hadn't started it yet, she told me to take my time, I borrowed it on the Sunday I returned it on the Wednesday she was nothing less than shocked. It's a phenomenon I've only seen in one other, My mother. 

If all else fails.

If Pinterest, Music or Reading doesn't get the words flowing for you I have one last tip.....GET OUT! Literally just get out! Get out of the house, get out of your bedroom, go in your garden, go walk to the shops, to the park, beach or down a lane it doesn't matter, take a walk around Tesco just get out from in front of that computer screen. Get some air in your lungs, let those red blood cells clean out the dust up in your mind and look, look around you, at other people (not in a creepy way), watch cars, lay and watch the sky just fill yourself with the outside.



It works forget about the words, just stop looking for them when they're not there and trust me they'll find you. 

Monday 5 September 2016

Serendipity. Serendipitous. Oh what a glorious sound.

I love this word and what it means because I do believe in Serendipity, I believe in fate and destiny and how everything happens for a reason. Once or twice finding myself making connections that are not there at a first glance. Mainly because I'm weird but mainly because I want to believe that it's all been predetermined for us to stumble upon and we're not just floating around in this monster of a universe for a no reason at all. I want it to be a series of coincidences that have been linked together to create moments that are only supposed to happen, moments that we only see in movies and the books we read.

I believe the people we meet are people we were destined to meet in our lives, I believe every action we make, every word we say all what we do on a daily basis is adding to the path in front of us. Unknown to us right now but when the time comes we'll get what we've put in.

'If you smile at the world, the world smiles back.'

I read a book once that said if you give off positivity into the spaces and people around us, positivity is given back. If you are a negative person don't be mad if bad things keep happening to you. It works both ways and I like to believe this. 

Serendipity -
            (n.) finding something beautiful without looking for it. A fortunate accident.

As we grow up we believe in 'the one' we read stories where characters find the love of their lives whilst overcoming great obstacles that just don't happen outside of your paperback. Then as you get older you realise to some point that moments like that do happen, they don't happen in the middle of a battle field or anything out of the ordinary but they happen and they take time to happen, instead of the beginning of Chapter 3.

I believe in Serendipity because I have my own story. When I was in school I was not the girl guys liked at all, I was always the friend. All my friends that were girls had boyfriends, had crushes that like them back but me it just didn't happen. I was constantly looking for it and I was constantly being let down and I was getting hurt. It took me until I was 20 to finally tell myself 'STOP!' Stop looking for something that just clearly isn't written in the stars for me. So I focused on me then something happened I came to Cornwall for my 21st birthday and it found me whilst I wasn't even looking.

So if you ask if I believe in Serendipity and fate then my answer will be a big fat YES!

I wonder what would have happened if I carried on the way I was, I may have never have met Nick, I wouldn't be living in the place I've always wanted to call my home. I believe making that change, changed my path leading to the great things that have happened so far.



'The universe is always speaking to us, sending us little messages, causing coincidences and serendipities, reminding us to stop, to look around, to believe in something, something more.'  Nancy Thayer.

Saturday 3 September 2016

7 Reasons I love swimming and you should to.


  1. You will never feel lighter.
  2. Your only opponent is you.
  3. If you're a scardy cat like me and the walk from the locker to the pool are the worst 10 secs of your life ever, get over it. No-ones looking.
  4. Once you're in the pool all that worry and fear is washed away.
  5. It works literally every muscle you have, if you don't feel it when you step out the pool you will in the morning. My abs don't like me very much right now.
  6. No matter how many people are in the pool, it's just you in your lane with the water.
  7. I feel physically and mentally good after.
Where I'm originally from isn't surrounded my water like my home now is but as a child I was always able to swim it was encouraged which I'm incredibly thankful for. We had the leisure centre which was also where we swam in school and where you would get a pot noodle from after your swim. 

In the summer on lovely warm days our mum always had us at the beach, so I had developed a love for the water from a young age. I do love swimming in the sea and as a kid it was everything now I'm older it's just cold.


























Exercise wise I feel more confident doing laps in a pool full of people than running with no-one around. 

'I can't fly, but swimming is the next best thing....the water is my sky.' - Unknown

Thursday 1 September 2016

Twitter & Facebook








Go follow the links, Like and Follow!

Much Love. X

Into September We Go!

'I only drink hot chocolate in months with an R in them.' - Dr. Sheldon Cooper

September the start of days becoming shorter, days get darker earlier, the jumpers and sweaters get pulled out of last years winter wardrobe and snuggling becomes appropriate and doesn't end in the two of you peeling yourselves off each other due to the heat.

The 'ber' months are finally upon us, Halloween, Fireworks, Christmas and New Years all occasions you never get too old for. Yes it will get cold and there might be a chance of snow but it's the months leading up to fresh starts and new beginnings, it's a season I'm always excited for and now I'm a mum I'm excited to see our girls get excited in years to come.

Back to September, our Mia will be 2 on the 10th it feels so strange to say we have a two year old when it feels like yesterday she was being placed on my chest by the midwife. She is just a blessing who struts around the flat like she owns it. On the 7th Robyn will be 4 months old and it's the same where is the time going, she's laughing sitting up and talking back to us in her little language no-one understands. 

Then on the 12th we are going on our first family holiday abroad for two weeks, I'm so excited as it's my first holiday out of the country. When we get back September will be nearly over and we'd be entering another.

There'll be acorns and golden leafs fallen at your feet, earlier sunsets our days becoming shorter, jumpers, gloves and scarfs at the ready...get set...September.

Are these months your favourite if so what do you look forward to?