Half Term Folly

I am currently sat in bed with some deliciously warm pulled pork, chilli and chipotle soup from Marks and Spencers because I've managed to get a cold while it's half term; rubbish! Despite the coughs and sniffles I have had an awesome half term so far. I should probably knuckle down and get some planning and organising done for school but there is still plenty of chances for adventures.

Last weekend was an exciting one because some of my Uni friends were having a house-warming party in Hitchin (just outside London). Of course this was the perfect excuse to catch up with friends that I haven't seen since May :) AND visit the Harry Potter studio tour which is only an hour away from their house!! Sam came down to Harrogate on Friday night ready for us to embark on our cross country road trip early on Saturday morning. However on Saturday we ended up driving via Wetherby to meet Sam's dad because she had forgotten the tickets... DOH!

Totally unflattering picture on our roadtrip

Our journey was lovely; no traffic, the sun  was shining and there were lots of laughs. On Saturday night it was fantastic to catch up with all the uni girlies, even if we did talk teacher for hours on end! We organised another meet up at mine in Harrogate for February half term; hopefully it will be just as fun :) and it's not to far for the Northerners (Sam and Paige, no excuses!)Sunday morning we packed up my little car again ready to drive to our hotel. 

Sam checked her email for our hotel reservation.

No email.

..... "Jenny, do you remember what our hotel is called?"

Soooooo we ended up calling two hotels in Leavesden thinking we had booked one near the studio tour. I was sat looking at pictures saying it was DEFINITELY that one. Nope, no reservations in that name. Sa, decided to call Superbreak and check what we'd actually booked.... a hotel in St Albans, fantastic organisation! We spent a small chunk of time driving around, most definitely not knowing what we were doing. When we finally found the hotel it was cute and cosy :) although it was a bit of a maze to find our room. 

The Harry Potter studio tour was just as amazing as I remember it, but this time it had some Halloween treats! We started in the gift shop as we had quite a late starting tour. We both decided to buy a deathly hallows t-shirt and wear it around the tour; this amused quite a few members of staff. Last time I went, the tour had only been open a month so it was REALLY busy. This time it was much quieter so we had chance to properly look at all the props and sets. I even made friends with a death eater ;)

 As well as our London adventure, I've had plenty of free time to spend perusing the shops and their christmas stock, spend some time with Ryan and actually get a haircut! Hello fringe :) Even though Christmas is coming up I couldn't help but treat myself to this cosy purple beanie from Blacks and this tartan dress I've seen all over the blogosphere. Especially as it is only £15 from Primark. I did spot these cute and warm looking pyjama bottoms in Fat Face, that my budget won't quite stretch to, so they have been Christmas-listed.

As it's half term, which is technically a holiday right?! I have treated myself to some of my seasonal favourites. I was waiting until November to eat my first mince pie but it's so very difficult when Gregg's have started selling them in packs of six. Gregg's mince pies are my ultimate favourites!! Last week I told you about the salted caramel hot chocolate I tried in Starbucks but I'm afraid Costa has hit the spot as my favourite seasonal drink. They are currently selling a Hot spiced Apple which is GORGEOUS. It is apple juice with cinnamon and star anise; it warms you up without being too sickly or heavy.

If it's not mince pies or hot drinks, it's definitely cute couple-type things that have got me feeling all warm and gooey inside. I found out on twitter at the start of the week that one of my favourite bloggers A Rosie Outlook is now engaged! You can read all about her beautiful proposal with candles in a yurt on her blog. If that news wasn't cute enough, the ultimate cutest of all cute couples have posted this....

I don't often feel soppy or broody but I definitely am this week. I think it's just my love of all things Autumn that has got me feeling this way so no need to worry Ryan... or Mum and Dad!

Awesome Autumn.

Autumn is my favourite of all the seasons and it is finally here and in full swing already!! It's only one week until half term, which is when I can fully enjoy all the goodness that Autumn has to offer. I thought I'd dedicate this week's blog post to all my favourite things about Autumn. Shhhh, no, of course I didn't do that last year ;)

Cold weather drinks

Coffee shops and cafes are one of my favourite places to stop at all year round; they sell cake, duh! However, Starbucks are one of my favourite because they have such amazing seasonal drinks such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I had my very first salted caramel hot chocolate last Sunday and I definitely want to tuck into one again (even if it does take up my entire dairy allowance for the day!)

Leaves

Big crunchy, colourful ones! Whether you are four years old, twenty four or even eighty four, you are still going to love stepping on crunchy leaves. This is coming from a girl who still plays 'don't step on a crack' on a regular day BUT you know I'm right :)

Outdoorsy Fun

The sweltering heat of the Summer has passed but the weather is still mild enough for plenty of explorations and adventures. Put your biggest coat on and maybe even your wellies and go outside to play :) have a look at visitwoods.org.uk to find some interesting woodlands near you.

I got outdoorsy today and helped Ryan transport all his plants to the York St John Uni allotments. He needed to get rid of them as he is moving in with me in a few weeks time, eek! So he decided to make a lovely herb garden to accompany all the salad they are growing at the moment.

Autumn Clothes!

I am most definitely a cosy clothes kind of girl. I love woolly socks, thick jumpers and scarfs. No doubt I'll end up with numerous pairs of new socks and maybe some knitwear in the next few weeks! I've been looking everywhere for a new beanie but I'm set on having a purple one which nobody seems to sell :(

Halloween

After transporting fifteen pumpkins to YSJSU today (as well as the entirety of Ryan's herb garden) I have been really excited for Halloween! I hate it when shops start putting out all of the Christmas things in October because they are missing a vital holiday!!! I'm a lover of scary films, dressing up and all things spooky so I don't like to miss Halloween. I've even been on the look out for spooky crafts to do with my class.

Bonfire Night

My FAVOURITE holiday. Yes, even slightly more than Christmas. I love wrapping up warm, drinking hot drinks, warming my face by the bonfire and sharing the fireworks with people I love. Last year we went to the show in York and had a few glasses of delicious mulled wine. This year I'm thinking of joining everyone on the Stray in Harrogate.

It is almost time for Christmas Lists

I do still LOOOOOVE Christmas, even if bonfire night is my absolute fave. Who can resist all the merriment?!?! Scrooges :P Even though I'm on a lovely teacher's salary now, I'm still keeping the purse strings tight. Which means I've been adding everything to a never-ending Christmas list. Here are two items that I am trying so hard not to buy RIGHT NOW.

Fat Face - £65

Blowfish - £70

AND MINCE PIES!!!!!!!

I feel as if they were handcrafted by God! I'm also pretty sure that if they were available all year round I would be obese. I know I could make my own at any time but that would just be fatal. I'm seriously just TOO EXCITED about eating one of these in a daily after school ritual with a cup of tea.

Warming up mind, body and soul.

Brrrrrr it's October! My boots and coats are now part of my daily attire, hot chocolate and porridge are dietary staples and I have huddled by my classroom radiator a few times while nobody was looking. This past week has been a really tough one, and not just because it's harder to get out of bed when it's cold. It finally hit me this week that being a teacher is HARD. I always knew it was but I'd been doing so well keeping on top of my work that I was starting to think NQT year might actually be a doddle. WRONG! On Monday I got hit in the face (not literally) with more demands, more work and improvements I can make. I have worked so hard this week I have a proper eye bag situation going on! Thorough marking has been my main target since September, so I am now trying my best!

Anyone who watched Educating Yorkshire this week will agree that it was quite a fitting theme for how I was feeling on Monday. It was a difficult watch for any teacher that knows the passion and dedication that we put into our work for every pupil in our class. Thankfully I've not had a situation quite a grim as Mr Steer's and hopefully I never will!!

When you have such a demanding job, it is so important to make sure that you look after yourself too. It's for your own sanity! Last weekend I escaped teacher life and had a little adventure to North Wales. I went camping with Ryan near Betws-y-coed where we spent the weekend walking in the mountains and Ryan taught me some things about outdoor rock climbing. I climbed up the rock in the picture, eek! Ryan said I was pretty good but I think he was just being nice. In hindsight, running away for the weekend definitely didn't decrease my workload this week, but I was so glad to switch off and get plenty of exercise in the fresh air.

I've not had much time this week for myself. I've worked late at school and still ended up bringing things home to do even though I try so hard not to. Carrying 30+ books up the 3 flights of stairs to our flat is exhausting in itself haha :) On Friday night we finally had a bit of chill out time in our flat; we drank wine, had people over and then Tom played a bit of GTA while I relaxed with a magazine. Ironically enough Zest Magazine had a feature about doubling your energy and keeping a work-life balance, pfft! An app advertised in the magazine did catch my eye though. The HeadSpace App is based around meditation techniques and challenges you to take 10 minutes off every day. I thought this would be interesting to try as I am ALWAYS thinking about what I need to do for work. I will let you know thoughts after my first 10 day stretch!

This morning Ryan helped me de-clutter the flat. I have never enjoyed the smell of bleach so much! I'm off to do a bit of work for school before my parents arrive for Sunday Dinner :) I hope you all had a good weekend.