Guys the end of January is almost in sight. If it hasn’t already happened for you payday is within reach. How are your resolutions going – ditched them yet? I thought amongst all the travel posts I’ve got going on this month I’d do a bit of a mini life update, it’s been a while and also mainly because I want to share some of the things I’m currently loving.

Also I had a bit of a purge in new followers and messages from people who discovered my blog over Christmas so hi there, lovely to have you. As well as some general waffling on, there’s actually a really important section on the end, so if you don’t have much time then please just skip past all my rambling to point number 7. That’s the one worth grabbing a cuppa for to give it your full attention.

So I’ll keep it brief, currently loving…

1 My first ever Jo Malone.

Im not one of those people who has a collection of perfumes to rival Boots, I tend to find one I like in duty free and stick with it. For Christmas I got my first Jo Malone and it is DELICIOUS. I’m always a bit scared of how many different scents they have and can never be arsed to go through smelling them all. Before Christmas I was in Leeds and after one too many glasses of wine at lunch I went into the shop in the Victoria Quarter and basically just said to the girl – this is the sort of thing I like what have you got.

Bless her, I was definitely drunk and she was so nice helping me but I have this awful habit of mimicking accents when I’ve had a few and I don’t mean it offensively but she was so posh and I ended up talking like Princess Anne to her. She must have thought I was taking the piss but she was lovely and suggested four different ones to try, but the one I loved was Wood Sage and Sea Salt. I would never have tried it by the name but I’m glad I did because I love it!

2 Sunday dinners

When you aren’t really going out in January and it’s cold and dull there is nothing better than a really good Sunday dinner when you’re fresh. I’ve had a fair few recently ranging from the Town Wall in Newcastle, and the Broad Chare obviously, to up at The Granby in Northumberland, and more local down at the Red House Pub in Whitley Bay.

I asked for recommendations on Facebook for places that aren’t in the city centre and have so many places I want to try. I’ve also been told that Peace & Loaf do a lovely one so I’m hoping to go there soon too. I’d definitely recommend the Granby though, it’s very cute and the food was excellent.

3 Not so dry Jan

I tell you what, a G&T has never tasted so good as it did on the Friday night after the first week back at work. I’m not intentionally doing dry January, I’ve had the odd drink here and there and thoroughly enjoyed them when I have.

I had a very nice G&T cocktail at Dobson & Parnell the other night and you can’t beat one on a Friday night at the end of the week. Why deprive yourself of that tiny joy?

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4 Booking trips

I have a lot of travel with work over the next few weeks, it’s going to be a total whirlwind and I doubt I’m going to see much of the places I’m going to.

But I have booked a few personal trips too. At the end of February I’m going to Amsterdam with my lovely friend Danielle, the way my work travel has fallen I’ve ended up ‘stranded’ in Paris for a weekend too…oh well.

We have a family trip to Rome in April for my parents 60ths, and last week we finalised my cousins hen do to a festival in the summer.

Can anyone remember my first attempt at a festival? Here’s all my fails, so hopefully I’ve learned a thing or two ahead of this one. It’s camping too which I’m so excited to try it’s going to be a hoot.

5 TV

Im thoroughly enjoying winter TV, especially Silent Witness and Vera for a good forensic murder mystery. Big Cats on a Thursday night is no Attenborough but it’s still pretty good, and I loved The Coronation documentary on Queenie. She’s hilarious, and I think people forget how much history our tiny country has. It’s worth a watch.

6 The snow

i know it’s a massive inconvenience but snow does make everything look so pretty doesn’t it?

7 Gabriels Gift

I came across Louise on Instagram at the start of January and her story broke my heart. She was due to give birth to her baby the week before Christmas but sadly he was born asleep.

Louise is incredible, a lovely person and when I contacted her asking if she would mind me sharing this she said that she hopes her story helps others and in time hopefully she can raise awareness and give her support to others who have suffered the same loss.

Louise has such a talent for doodles that she has turned the milestone cards she designed for Gabriel while she was pregnant into a calendar. I love her designs, and for every donation to Tommy’s Charity for premature and still born births through her Just Giving page, she will send a pdf of the calendar to you in memory of her son. Gabriel’s Gift. You can find her full touching story here.

Instagram gets so much flack, but I love it for finding genuinely creative, real people with a story to tell, a talent to share or just building human connections. While little square photos never tell a full story, or fully show what’s going on behind the scenes, sometimes they can do some good in a small way. Take a look at Louise’s ‘Doodle-pop’ page too for her other beautiful creations.

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