My August Days

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This blog post was written before my month ended in the worst way possible, but as it was already scheduled to go - here it is!  My August Days.

Can you believe that Summer is over? Whilst the arrival of Autumn may not be official yet, I tend to start dreaming about Pumpkin Spiced Lattes and wearing boots as soon as September arrives and I may have already put in a few sneaky orders to update my wardrobe for Fall. But before I get completely carried away here's what happened in August that didn't make the blog!

Changing Tides 

It's not too often I'm spontaneous so when we jumped into the car one Saturday and drove down to Whitley Bay we were thrilled at the idea of finally seeing the seals. It feels like everyone has been seal spotting on the rocks surrounding St Mary's Lighthouse and I can't believe we never have. Unfortunately we still haven't actually seen them as we arrived at the causeway about 10 minutes before the hide tide which meant we had to cross back to the mainland before we'd even made to the lighthouse.  This is why I usually plan everything with military precision!

On The Elmer Trail

Not just for the kids, the big kids love it too! The Great North Elmer trail has started and we have bought the app and started the hunt. There are over 70 elephants scattered across Tyne & Wear and we are loving the opportunity to explore more of our local area. The app costs 99p with all proceeds going to the brilliant St Oswalds and gives you access to a handy map and the opportunity to unlock all the elephants using the codes that you'll find on each one. Elephish at Spanish City in Whitley Bay was our first and we can't wait to find more. The trail is on until 1 November .. go go go!

Pizza at Di Meos

Shamefully we visited the ice-cream counter at Di Meos three times over the Bank Holiday Weekend, on our last visit I was pretty tempted to go in disguise to avoid my embarrassment. Our second visit was an extra special trip as we finally went behind the counter to discover their lovely little restaurant and sample the pizzas that people have been telling us to try for so long.  Oh wow! My Ham, Mushroom and Mozzarella was out of this world - proper authentic Italian pizza with the most incredbile crust and swimming in toppings. If you are yet to go you must make a plan!

Ghetto Golf

Most Sunday mornings you will find us enjoying a leisurely breakfast, perhaps doing some housework ... you know the normal boring grownup stuff. So when we found ourselves downing cocktails at 11:00 am whilst navigating our way round some crazy obstacles and bonkers experiences with a golf club in hand it was more than a little surreal. Ghetto Golf, Newcastle's brand new over 18s crazy golf course is now open at Hoults Yard and it's a hell of a ride! Dodge the giant arcade claw machine, avoid a Jeremy Kyle style TV brawl and whatever you do don't tell anyone what you saw at the Peep Show! It costs £10.00 per person to play and believe me the experience is like no other - think loud music, bright lights and an amazing immersive game ... you need to see it to believe it!

We were treated to a complimentary round of Golf with no obligation to share

Breakfast at Moose Coffee

Every time I got to Manchester I try and get a table at Moose Coffee and every time the long queues make us go elsewhere for our breakfast fix. So I was very happy to finally get myself a table this month, can you believe that despite arriving at 9:00 am on a Sunday morning we still only just managed to get a table? It seems people in Manchester are very early risers. Settling down for brunch I can see why this place is so popular, the menu is huge with every kind of breakfast dish you could ever imagine. I went for the Moose Berry Compote and Mascarpone Pancake Stack (£8.50) and it was really good and so huge I couldn't finish it!

Bank Holiday on Druridge Bay

How incredible was the Bank Holiday weather? It was the long weekend we've all been dreaming about for years and wow did it give us everything and more. I have never seen the North East's beaches look so busy! We decided to spend a day on the Northumberland Coast where you usually get the sand to yourself but even Druridge Bay was packed full of eager people catching rays and splashing about in the sea. I spent most of my day running into the water to cool off and racing up and down the sand playing football with my five year old nephew, it seemed a good idea at the time but I could barely walk the next day. More Bank Holidays like this please!

Central Perk 

Can you believe that Central Perk has opened in Primark! The replica coffee shop has arrived in the Manchester store with much excitement - I've never seen so many people wearing Friends slogan jumpers in one place before. The New York inspired menu is full of small lite bites and cakes at very reasonable prices and enjoying a latte by the window did make me feel like I'd jumped into my TV screen. It's well worth a look if you're heading to Manchester any time soon.

Summer Time 

It's not too often that you'll catch me with this much skin on show but the Bank Holiday heatwave made me SO glad that I had purchased this beautiful co-ord from Primark - whilst Simon was grumbling his way around Whitley Bay on Bank Holiday Monday complaining how hot it was, I was as cool as a cucumber in my Summery outfit.  Pretty sure this was the first and last wear this outfit will get this year, I am more than ready to revisit my Autumn wardrobe and see what forgotten items I have for the cooler months.

In Memory ...

In loving memory of my Dad, he always knew about all of our adventures before I could tell him because he was my blog's biggest fan.