I can't believe it's been a month since I last put together a blog post. Next month this site will be seven years old and in all that time I've never gone so long without writing a little something to share with you. When I signed off last month I couldn't imagine being able to bring you a monthly update in April. How on earth would I find anything inspiring to write about or have new photographs to share?
I was wrong!
This past four weeks I have learnt so much. Things I thought I knew about myself were proved to be completely untrue , I've discovered that I quite like spending time at home and that it's possible to be blissfully happy living the simple life. I was furloughed from my job on 1 April and having a lot of time to myself has lead me down a path of self discovery, allowed me to appreciate my home and local area and my house has never looked so clean.
Here's what we've been up to in the weirdest month of our lives so far.
Love Where We Live!
As someone who lives life at full speed I've always kept my diary full - heading out on adventures and cramming as much as we can into our weekends. So being forced to stay at home has truly made us take a step back and appreciate where we live We head out for a walk around our housing estate every day and have discovered so much in our local area. From the heron who visits every day to the pretty country lanes and open fields. I hope this has taught me to enjoy what I have and stop wanting to always be somewhere else.
Afternoon Tea at Home with Cafe 1901
I'd love to claim that I have spent this time baking up loads of goodies but other than the two Banana Breads that I managed to just about pull off I have been relying on Cafe 1901 to satisfy my afternoon tea craving. As soon as I discovered that one of my favourite coffee shops in Jesmond were rustling up afternoon teas delivered to home I organised one to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon. Banishing my husband upstairs I set it all out on our kitchen table, put on some lovely classical music and surprised him with an afternoon tea to remember. We couldn't believe how many treats were included in our tea - huge doorstep sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and so many cakes we were still eating them the following day.
If you fancy ordering your own afternoon tea you'll find all the details here (they are also doing breakfasts, Sunday lunches and even have essential groceries)
Pastries from Pink Lane Bakery
We've not ventured into many shops during lockdown but my morning trip to Pink Lane Bakery in Gosforth will definitely be one to remember - it was the furthest I have ever walked for croissants but it was worth every step. It was my first visit to the new store and certainly wont be the last. With a counter full of croissants, danish pastries, bread and sausage rolls I returned home with paper bags full of treats and we breakfasted like royalty.
Pink Lane Bakery offer a really great social distancing shopping experience or you can order their bakery box here.
Cake Stories on our Sofa
The highlight of our lockdown so far? Discovering that Cake Stories are offering cake delivery - allowing me the luxury of sitting about in my PJs whilst cake arrives at my door. It's good to look for the silver lining in this crazy situation and having some of my favourite treats in Newcastle available for doorstep delivery is something I never thought would happen - living quite a way out of the city centre we've never been able to get much delivered out to us before so this has been really lovely. We enjoyed very generous chunks of Caramel Chocolate Smash to start our Easter weekend off the right way.
Discover how to enjoy doorstep delivery from Cake Stories here
Love Will Get Us Through
My inability to draw has meant no beautiful handcrafted rainbows displayed at our windows, instead we have proudly put up this stunner from Love of The North who are selling an inspiring collection of "Love Will Get Us Through" prints that are perfect for your window. 25% of all sales go to Northumbria NHS Trust's Bright Charity. We are so happy with our Whitley Bay picture I'm now tempted to complete the set.
Take a look at the collection and order yours here
We Are Cookie Freaks!
Lockdown has turned me into a Cookie Freaks fanatic! Having talked ourselves out of trying their cookies so many times at Tynemouth Market (we're usually already full from scranning our way along the North Tyneside coast) we are now fully fledged members of the Cookie Freaks fan club having introduced their treats into our lockdown diet. The Cookie Pies are incredible served warm with a big scoop of ice-cream. A quick look at my Instagram reveals that we are already on our second cookie delivery of the month!
Want to become a Cookie Freak? Find out how to order some here
Pin Perfection
I have spent a large amount of my furlough so far cleaning my house but when I've found myself wanting a change of scene I've really enjoyed dedicating time to things I've been wanting to do for ages but never seem to have time. The loveliest of those jobs was definitely finding a home for my Pin Club pins which have been sitting in a bedroom drawer for a while now. With a worrying denim jacket obsession (I have far more than I care to admit it) I can now justify my full collection by customising each with my northern inspired pins. I had a lovely afternoon pinning and really love how they look on my jackets.
Buy yourself some Pin Club Pins here
Loungewear Life
Anyone else living in loungewear? Having never really understood tracksuits before I am now finding myself in them most days and am wondering how I'll ever return to normal life. Will it be acceptable for me to go back to work in a tracksuit? I climbed out of one to try on this beautiful new Summer dress from H&M but then was back in my glorious elasticated waistband and baggy hoodie within minutes. I don't want to wear regular clothes ever again.
Backyard Burgers Delivered with Grab
A quick scroll through my Instagram would probably lead you to believe that all I've been doing in lockdown is eating (I think you'd probably be right). I've been justifying it by telling myself how much I want to support local business and this is the perfect excuse to fill our days with local treats. A weekend takeaway from Backyard Burgers was on the cards as soon as I saw them on the Grab app. Grab is a new lockdown service offered by Blueline Taxis who are whizzing their way across the city delivering everything from takeaways and groceries to alcohol and skincare. It's such a brilliant idea and meant that we could get delicious burgers delivered to our door. I went for "The Jesmond" a fully loaded burger with Feta, Avo, Apple Chutney and Lettuce.
Fancy grabbing a takeaway? Check out Grab North East here.
Fashun!
I thought I'd finish today's monthly round up with a bit of a giggle at my own expense. Thank you so much to my husband for taking this sneaky photo of me playing Animal Crossing whilst catching some rays in the back garden - allowing the world to see that I have become so lazy with my dressing that I have started wearing socks with sandals because I can't be bothered to put sunblock on my feet. Thanks for that Simon!
Although I'm pretty quiet across social media and on my blog at the moment I am doing daily stories on my Instagram offering some inspiration of how to structure your day if you're a furloughed worker as well as sharing a new photo every day on my grid. You can find me here.
I was wrong!
This past four weeks I have learnt so much. Things I thought I knew about myself were proved to be completely untrue , I've discovered that I quite like spending time at home and that it's possible to be blissfully happy living the simple life. I was furloughed from my job on 1 April and having a lot of time to myself has lead me down a path of self discovery, allowed me to appreciate my home and local area and my house has never looked so clean.
Here's what we've been up to in the weirdest month of our lives so far.
Love Where We Live!
As someone who lives life at full speed I've always kept my diary full - heading out on adventures and cramming as much as we can into our weekends. So being forced to stay at home has truly made us take a step back and appreciate where we live We head out for a walk around our housing estate every day and have discovered so much in our local area. From the heron who visits every day to the pretty country lanes and open fields. I hope this has taught me to enjoy what I have and stop wanting to always be somewhere else.
Afternoon Tea at Home with Cafe 1901
I'd love to claim that I have spent this time baking up loads of goodies but other than the two Banana Breads that I managed to just about pull off I have been relying on Cafe 1901 to satisfy my afternoon tea craving. As soon as I discovered that one of my favourite coffee shops in Jesmond were rustling up afternoon teas delivered to home I organised one to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon. Banishing my husband upstairs I set it all out on our kitchen table, put on some lovely classical music and surprised him with an afternoon tea to remember. We couldn't believe how many treats were included in our tea - huge doorstep sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and so many cakes we were still eating them the following day.
If you fancy ordering your own afternoon tea you'll find all the details here (they are also doing breakfasts, Sunday lunches and even have essential groceries)
Pastries from Pink Lane Bakery
We've not ventured into many shops during lockdown but my morning trip to Pink Lane Bakery in Gosforth will definitely be one to remember - it was the furthest I have ever walked for croissants but it was worth every step. It was my first visit to the new store and certainly wont be the last. With a counter full of croissants, danish pastries, bread and sausage rolls I returned home with paper bags full of treats and we breakfasted like royalty.
Pink Lane Bakery offer a really great social distancing shopping experience or you can order their bakery box here.
Cake Stories on our Sofa
The highlight of our lockdown so far? Discovering that Cake Stories are offering cake delivery - allowing me the luxury of sitting about in my PJs whilst cake arrives at my door. It's good to look for the silver lining in this crazy situation and having some of my favourite treats in Newcastle available for doorstep delivery is something I never thought would happen - living quite a way out of the city centre we've never been able to get much delivered out to us before so this has been really lovely. We enjoyed very generous chunks of Caramel Chocolate Smash to start our Easter weekend off the right way.
Discover how to enjoy doorstep delivery from Cake Stories here
Love Will Get Us Through
My inability to draw has meant no beautiful handcrafted rainbows displayed at our windows, instead we have proudly put up this stunner from Love of The North who are selling an inspiring collection of "Love Will Get Us Through" prints that are perfect for your window. 25% of all sales go to Northumbria NHS Trust's Bright Charity. We are so happy with our Whitley Bay picture I'm now tempted to complete the set.
Take a look at the collection and order yours here
We Are Cookie Freaks!
Lockdown has turned me into a Cookie Freaks fanatic! Having talked ourselves out of trying their cookies so many times at Tynemouth Market (we're usually already full from scranning our way along the North Tyneside coast) we are now fully fledged members of the Cookie Freaks fan club having introduced their treats into our lockdown diet. The Cookie Pies are incredible served warm with a big scoop of ice-cream. A quick look at my Instagram reveals that we are already on our second cookie delivery of the month!
Want to become a Cookie Freak? Find out how to order some here
Pin Perfection
I have spent a large amount of my furlough so far cleaning my house but when I've found myself wanting a change of scene I've really enjoyed dedicating time to things I've been wanting to do for ages but never seem to have time. The loveliest of those jobs was definitely finding a home for my Pin Club pins which have been sitting in a bedroom drawer for a while now. With a worrying denim jacket obsession (I have far more than I care to admit it) I can now justify my full collection by customising each with my northern inspired pins. I had a lovely afternoon pinning and really love how they look on my jackets.
Buy yourself some Pin Club Pins here
Loungewear Life
Anyone else living in loungewear? Having never really understood tracksuits before I am now finding myself in them most days and am wondering how I'll ever return to normal life. Will it be acceptable for me to go back to work in a tracksuit? I climbed out of one to try on this beautiful new Summer dress from H&M but then was back in my glorious elasticated waistband and baggy hoodie within minutes. I don't want to wear regular clothes ever again.
Backyard Burgers Delivered with Grab
A quick scroll through my Instagram would probably lead you to believe that all I've been doing in lockdown is eating (I think you'd probably be right). I've been justifying it by telling myself how much I want to support local business and this is the perfect excuse to fill our days with local treats. A weekend takeaway from Backyard Burgers was on the cards as soon as I saw them on the Grab app. Grab is a new lockdown service offered by Blueline Taxis who are whizzing their way across the city delivering everything from takeaways and groceries to alcohol and skincare. It's such a brilliant idea and meant that we could get delicious burgers delivered to our door. I went for "The Jesmond" a fully loaded burger with Feta, Avo, Apple Chutney and Lettuce.
Fancy grabbing a takeaway? Check out Grab North East here.
Fashun!
I thought I'd finish today's monthly round up with a bit of a giggle at my own expense. Thank you so much to my husband for taking this sneaky photo of me playing Animal Crossing whilst catching some rays in the back garden - allowing the world to see that I have become so lazy with my dressing that I have started wearing socks with sandals because I can't be bothered to put sunblock on my feet. Thanks for that Simon!
Although I'm pretty quiet across social media and on my blog at the moment I am doing daily stories on my Instagram offering some inspiration of how to structure your day if you're a furloughed worker as well as sharing a new photo every day on my grid. You can find me here.
