Here's what happened in November that didn't make the blog.
A Thoughtful Gift
My lovely friend Lisa couldn't make our wedding as she was on holiday in the US. Little did I know that on my wedding day she was hunting round New York to find me a special present. On her return she gave me this gorgeous Henri Bendel makeup bag with my new initials on. It was so thoughtful of her and one of the nicest presents I've ever been given. I was so touched.
Pumpkin Pie
A few months ago I wrote an Autmm Bucket List which included an ode to pumpkins and how much I wanted to try pumpkin pie. It's a treat that I've realised isn't too easy to find. So I was buzzing when we stopped off at Daniel Farm after an Autumnal walk at Gibside and I discoverd a menu full of pumpkin treats. I had already ordered spiced pumpkin soup for lunch before I realised that there was a pumpkin pie displayed on the counter. So a double pumpkin lunch for me! The pie was worth the wait and I loved it!
Autumn Fashion
I love fashion at this time of year but have had to try pretty hard to keep myself out of the shops this season as I just don't have the spare cash to be splashing out on new clothes. Unfortunately the weekly food shop means that Tesco is somewhere that I can't avoid and they have some amazing Autumn fashion in store. This bomber jacket was something that I just couldn't resist and before I knew it it was in the trolley.
Lunch Dates
None of my best friends work in the city centre which can make week day lunches a little lonely so I was over the moon when my friend Sam popped into Toon for a Friday lunch date this month. We headed to Las Iguanas on the Quayside and had a great hour of gossip and eating (probably our favourite activities). We've vowed to make this a more regular occurrence in the new year and something tells me that's a New Years Resolution I'll actually be able to keep!
Holmeside
The best way to explore somewhere is to find a local to be your tour guide. My friend Sarah recently took me on a little jaunt round Sunderland. It was a pretty miserable day so we spent quite a while hiding in Holmeside, a great little independent coffee shop with bags of personality. Needing to warm up we both went for a hot chocolate and wow was it dreamy! A definite Winter must next time you're in Sunderland.
Our Wedding Film
We received our full length wedding film from Top Table Films this month and it was even better than we imagined. I am so thankful that my sisters convinced me to get a videographer for the day as we now have a really wonderful everlasting memory of our wedding. As well as the full ceremony and speeches we also have loads of brilliant clips of family and friends set to some of our favourite music. We've noticed so many things that we never saw on the day - my absolute highlight is our friends messing about on the dance floor whilst we're doing our first dance, we were completely oblivious on the day. I've watched the film a ridiculous amount of times already and I'm so excited to show it to family and friends over Christmas.
Marshmallow Fireside
Any candle lover knows that Bath and Body Works in the US do the best candles for Autumn/Winter but with most of us unable to get our hands on them this dupe is pretty much the perfect alternative. The two wick Essence candles at B&M are only £2.99 each and are amazing! I was so excited to find this Marshmallow Fireside scent at the Metrocentre store and you would not believe how long it's lasting us and how great the smell is. It really does makes our whole house smell of toasting marshmallows. I've since become obsessed with hunting out new scents to try, with no online shop available half of the fun is stalking round stores trying to find new candles to try.
Winter at the Biscuit Factory
I love the new exhibition launches at the Biscuit Factory and the Winter Event this month was my favourite so far. With Fizz and Roast Chestnuts welcoming guests it wasn't long before I was feeling very festive. It was great to see all of the new exhibitions and a special appearance by local choir, Voice of the Town gave me goosebumps and made me seriously wish I could sing cos wow I wanted to join! I also had a good nose round the shop which had some great gift ideas for Christmas, especially in their beautiful little shed of books.
A Winter Wedding at Alnwick Garden
I've been wanting to go to a North East wedding for the longest time and this month my dreams finally came true when Simon's friend Rich invited us to his wedding at the picture perfect Alnwick Garden. I wore my showstopper skirt from the new Coast Store at the Metrocentre which was perfect for a Winter wedding. The ceremony was beautiful with plenty of tears and laughter -and the usual speeches were replaced by a really fun quiz that really got the party started. Such a perfect day!
For more adventures from New Girl in Toon make sure you follow me on Instagram - I post a new photo every day.
