Christmas wishes

December is a busy time of year, not just for me but for everyone. So I will be taking a break from blogging until the new year so I can spend time with family enjoying this magical time. I arrived in Wolverhampton yesterday and will be visiting Ryan's family in Chelmsford from Boxing Day and we are taking a trip to London too... Plenty of future blog content! But for now I am happily snuggled in my pyjamas at my parents house, stealing all their orange creams :P

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Image from the December issue of The Simple Things

Five Things: December Edition.

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It's December! The Marmite of all the months, but I most certainly love it. It still feels like Autumn here in Cornwall as I haven't seen a drop of snow anywhere and it's been firmly above freezing point. Despite the mild weather, December has been as magical as ever so far...

One: Decorating the Christmas Tree. 

 This year I got to have my first ever real tree. We went for a potted tree so that we can bring it in every year and watch it grow and grow. We picked a little tree from the nice-smelling varieties at Bodmin Nursery. It fits just perfectly in our little living room in the cottage.

I didn't want any tinsel or sparkly stuff on our tree because it's not really my style. Instead we went for a shabby-chic/nature look and opted for a mismatched effect, buying ornaments from different places. I got a couple of Gisela Graham ornaments from a cute shop in St Austell and the Gingerbread men were from The Clementine in Fowey. I really liked the variety in Wilko and bought the floral baubles and leaves from there. The Christmas bunting was an ebay find and we topped the tree with a willow star from the Eden Project Shop.

Two: In fact, all things Christmasy!

Ryan's Mum has been here in Cornwall all week so we have been doing the touristy rounds with her which has been really fun. Everywhere has pulled out their Christmas programmes so there has been plenty of new things to see and do. The Lost Gardens of Heligan had a reindeer trail and a postbox where you could write letters to Santa. As well as Christmas crafts, Heligan are also offering free entry on certain evenings to see their Christmas lights. As an Eden employee I can get people in for free (one of the many perks) so we obviously had to check out the Enchanted Rainforest! Eden always has one event or another happening so I like to wander round and see whats happening now and again. It was awesome to see the reindeer and witness the bizarre sight of snow in the rainforest.

Three: Winter Drinks.
I am a massive fan of hot drinks and can't get though the day without a cup of tea. Now is the time to put down the Pumpkin Spice Latte and opt for a Gingerbread or Toffee-nut flavour instead. I've already had myself some mulled wine and spiced apple this year and I'm sure there will be plenty more! You can try and make your own mulled apple juice using this recipe from BBC GoodFood. Innocent drinks also have a recipe in their Hungry book for a warm spiced milk that is perfect for bedtime.

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Four: Winter Walks.

 I love going for walks any time of the year because there is always something beautiful to behold. It has been gorgeous round here with plenty of Winter sun! We have been making the most of the lack of rain/snow and getting out and about to plenty of different places. As most families do, I usually go for a Boxing Day or New Years day walk. I love wrapping up warm and feeling the cold bite on the end of my nose.

Five: My Birthday
Yes, I am one of those irritating people that have a birthday really close to Christmas. Though it's not quite as bad as my Uncle who was born on Christmas day! It's a bit of a tradition to go to the cinema for my birthday because there is usually something awesome out.. this year it's the final part of the Hobbit!! As my birthday falls on a Monday this year, I've asked Ryan if we can have a day out in Totnes, checking out the markets and unique shops, the weekend before. Usually I come up with a list of things I'd like for Christmas and I have money for my birthday that can be spent throughout the year so I might spot something I like in Totnes. Most of my birthday money has already gone on this gorgeous Seasalt waterproof coat. It's hanging up outside my bedroom door and I just can't wait to wear it!

Five Things: The Potter Edition

It is no secret that I love Harry Potter, anyone who knows me would be able to tell you that. Ever since I picked up Philosopher's Stone from Tettenhall library I have been hooked and I probably always will be. After the release of new material on Pottermore I have been re-reading the books and feeling particularly magical, so I decided to blog five things I love about Harry Potter. This list could have been endless but I managed to whittle it down!

One: I love the amount of female role models in the story - Hermione, McGonagall, Luna and Ginny just to name a few. As the geek of the class growing up I obviously identified with Hermione. Top marks in class was what I lived for and reading was most certainly my thing. Even as a teenager (and an adult) I would rather be a brainy weirdo like Luna than a Pansy Parkinson. 

Two: It is a window to a whole magical world where you can escape to for a few hours. From chapter one I was sucked into the alternate universe where spells were real and post came by owl. The books are so descriptive that the films were exactlly as I imagined they would be. Even now the magic goes on, if I am feeling down I will stick my nose in a book and revisit the familiar adventures.

Three: I learned so much from reading the books. Honestly, Harry Potter can teach you important life lessons. I'd rather live in the Burrow than Malfoy Manor, I wanted to join S.P.E.W and the D.A, and I wouldn't dream of calling someone a mudblood. I am still pinning Dumbledore quotes on Pinterest because he gives the best advice.

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

Four: I have grown up with it. It all began with a borrowed library book that I must have raved about a lot because my Mum soon got the box-set of the first four books. I remember being Hermione for book day in year five, reading Goblet of Fire in Consett at my Grandad's and going to see the first film at cineworld when I was nine. It doesn't stop there, my teenage years bought anticipation for the new books, discussions about Snape's loyalty during GCSE science lessons and getting early access to Pottermore. My love continued through university with fancy dress, riding the Hogwarts express, visiting the studio tour and watching the final film with tears in my eyes. I'm pretty sure I will never grow out of it :)

Five: Because JK Rowling is a genius! The books are so well written and thought out. After reading them over and over I still find new connections. Grindlewald features in Philosopher's Stone on a chocolate frog card but doesn't come into play until Deathly Hallows. Same with Gregorovitch but Ollivander drops his name into conversation with Krum during the wand weighing in Goblet of Fire. 

Harry Potter will never cease to amaze me.

Lone Adventures

This week I am at home all on my own as Ryan has travelled back up to Yorkshire for 10 whole days! Really I should be okay with this because when I was at university I managed a long distance relationship and I spent a lot of weekends on my own too. Lots of my friends went home at the weekend or had to go to work or their boyfriends were visiting so I used to see the weekends as 'me time' where I could relax and do what I wanted. I think that's originally how my Sunday Blog was created! So, now I have this whole week ahead of me and I do live somewhere with plenty to do. However I am soooo rubbish at being bored, I like having things to do. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day here in St Austell so I just couldn't stay inside!

Firstly I went to check out Cornish Market World as we have been driving past it and laughing at the cheesy name for over a month now. It was actually a really good indoor market with areas specific to crafts and antiques. I was impressed with the range of stuff you could buy from there but only walked away with a small bag of honey and cinnamon cashews for a treat. Next stop was The Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is another project by Tim Smit who created the Eden Project so I can go for free, yippee! I like this staff benefit the best because the gardens at Heligan are beautiful and there's so much to see and do there. We visited in the Summer so it was nice to see how it has changed with the season.

Usually on days out I like to take a few photos, some for my blog and maybe I will Instagram some of my favourites. I normally take it in turns with Ryan to do a silly pose and the self timer only comes out for pictures of both of us - we aren't the best selfie takers! As I was on my own and it was so quiet at Heligan, I had chance to play around with my self timer and get some photos of me. I quite like the challenge of precariously balancing my phone on a log or my bag to get the right angle. Thankfully I didn't drop it through the rope bridge to the jungle swamp below!

My Kindle even came along for the ride because I knew I'd find a quiet, secluded spot where I could sit and read. There was even a little robin that came and sat next to me for a while but he was camera shy and soon flew away when I tried to sneak a picture. I've been re-reading Harry Potter since the new material was released on Pottermore at Halloween. I am so excited for the new films to come out, I even signed Ryan up to Pottermore so I could find out what house he was in (my boyfriend is a Hufflepuff for those who want to know). I'm sure that I will have plenty more time to spend being geeky this week as I am left to my own devices. Today I am going to do some yoga at home and then pop into town to do some Christmas Shopping. See you next week if I'very not gone crazy from boredom! 

Snapshot

Enjoyable and relaxed are two words that best describe this weekend. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I want to share a selection of Ryan's awesome photographs from our weekend :) We had some Autumnal fun at Lanhydrock on Saturday and walked around Mevagissey harbour, taking in the sea views, on Sunday.

You can find Ryan's blog here and he is also on twitter.

 

 

 

Happy Weekend!

xxx

This too shall pass.

Confession time. I am a massive Nervous Nellie. You might think I seem confident and that I've got it all together but I certainly don't! I worry about all sorts of things, from calling someone about council tax to a workshop observation in a few days time. I would say that I'm quite chilled out and I can actually deal with last minute situations really well BUT if I know if something is coming up I can't help feeling nervous and anxious about it, no matter how silly. I need to call HMRC about the emergency tax I paid in October. It's now two weeks into November and I've not done it because I'm worried that I won't have all the information they need or I'll mumble all my words together! Ryan will tell you that I often ask him to do things like this just so I don't have to worry about it.

Last year when I was teaching I spent an awful lot of the time feeling nervous - not because I can't handle teaching, but I was worried that I wasn't doing what was expected from the school I was in. In my new job I am so much more relaxed and I can sleep through the night without dreaming about staff meetings. However this week and last week, when I had observations coming up, I felt the familiar anxious feeling coming back. When my nerves are at their worst I struggle to sleep because I can't get my mind to stop and when I do fall asleep, I just wake up at ridiculous o'clock in the morning because I want it over and done with. I can never eat anything either because I feel so anxious and I often get sweaty palms and blush a lot too!

Image from Pinterest.

It feels so silly that I manage to work myself up over things that I can't change and 99% of the time it all works out well! I'm already doing things differently by choosing things that make me happy and spending more time chilling out. I still want to work on ways that I can be more relaxed and less worrisome! There have been a couple of blog posts I've enjoyed reading this week as they've shown me that I'm not the only one who needs to focus less on the future on more on now...

• Rosie's sacred self care
• love blog update from my yoga teacher.

Living in the NOW

Things I already do:
Reading: Getting lost in a good book is my favourite way to take my mind off any worries I do have.

Image from Pinterest.

Go to bed early: I am an early bird anyway but it's so important to get a good night's sleep so you wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

Spend time outside: I am so lucky that I get to do this all the time at work as well as walking to and from work most days. It's true what they say about happy workers walking or cycling to work. Ryan often wants to get out and about on our days off too which is always a bonus.

Do things I enjoy: I now make more time for all the stuff I like doing.. even if that is watching hours of Buffy on netflix with Ryan. Sometimes I draw pictures, play scrabble or bake cakes.. whatever I feel like doing! I am also really loving my new yoga class- it's enjoyable, I learn lots and I get some extra relaxation practice too :)

 

Things I should do more of:
Switch off: I am as guilty as anyone for spending too much time on social media, reading rubbish articles, testing different photo filters and generally comparing myself and my life to everyone else. If I spent less time doing all that, I'd probably care less about what others were up to and actually focus on the good things I have all around me.

Image from Pinterest.

Drink more herbal tea: I love a good cup of tea! Any caffeine after 5pm however is a big NO because my mind just won't sleep. I recently bought some chamomile tea to try in the evenings so we'll see what happens.

Meditate: I find this soooo difficult. On my ipad there are numerous apps that claim to help me become more mindful but I can barely sit there for two minutes without thinking about what is for dinner.

Image from Pinterest.

Believing in myself: I am a massive geek at heart and I hate it when I can't do things well or if others might think I'm stupid. I know what I'm good at, I just have to believe that I can and stop being so critical of myself.

 

Images from Pinterest.

October round up

It's a week into November already? Well October passed me by in a happy blur of pumpkins, leaves, rain and facepaint! It was a big month for me and Ryan as we moved in together (as well as relocating to Cornwall) and I started a new job that wasn't in a standard classroom! I've not blogged for a fortnight as this is the first time I've had time to sit and reflect on what I've been doing... plus my laptop is broken but that's a story for another time :)

October's five happy things 

One: Since we moved we've had a few visitors and spent time with our families. Ryan's Dad and Julia visited this weekend and left this morning after a very busy Saturday and plenty of my homemade beetroot brownies. My Mum and Dad helped us move in last month and definitely took advantage of having a long weekend break in Cornwall. We had tea and cake in St Ives and there was even time left for some seal spotting at Godrevy. During half term my Nan and Grandad were holidaying in Looe with my Aunty, Uncle and cousins, so I spent a day with them perusing the many shops in Looe and catching up over a pub lunch. It's always nice to have visitors so I'm looking forward to some friends maybe visiting next.

Two: Ryan thinks I'm silly for saying that we only just moved in together because we have technically been living with each other since May. However, I am still really excited that we live together as a couple now! It's been really cute coming home from work to a cooked dinner and then snuggling up in our armchairs like Carl and Ellie from UP. The little things like cooking together, watching our favourite TV programmes and lazy mornings together have made me smile. 

Three: Going to Yoga class! I've had two classes now at Mind, Body & Soul Yoga and I've really enjoyed them. At Uni I had loads of time to focus on my home practice (and instagram it!) but since teaching last year I let work take over and my pratice stopped. Going to a class is more expensive but it makes me give time to something I really love doing and I've learned a lot about the flow between asanas and the benefits for my body. The teachers are great and each class is personalised to the seasons and focused on different elements in your body. We also do a deep relaxation complete with lavender eye-pillow and a hot stone on our chakra for energy. I am loving the zen feeling!

 Images from Pinterest

Four: My job is going really well and I've enjoyed every minute. I've been on the education team just over a month now and I've learned a few workshops. I had my first observation this week so I could get signed off on my first workshop. I did feel rather anxious about it because I really wanted to impress. I thought school observations were bad, imagine having a two hour observation with a class you just met, yikes! I also wrote the lesson plan for the November newsletter which will be available soon - teacher friends, sign up! As well as learning workshops and teaching I also did another team a favour and worked Halloweden. It was an incredibly busy week but also a lot of fun! I'm guessing a lot of you saw my facepaint selfies on instagram!

Five: Autumn days. They are my favourite! I love days out with Ryan and I love walking to and from work and just taking in the beautiful landscape. I'm sure there are many more to come in November but for now, goodbye October!