Sunday catch up!

It's been a while since I have blogged hasn't it? I have just had a real lack of inspiration to blog this week, I have been busy at work and just tired and feeling unmotivated! On Monday I had a little operation on my toe (unfortunately I was blessed with big feet and big toes!) where they removed an ingrown toenail. It was pretty uncomfortable and I found it hard to walk for a few days so I didn't go back to work until Wednesday! 

Yesterday Michael and I had one of our famous date days-we try and make sure we spend a whole day together every few weeks just us. Even though we have lived together for such a long time (over 5 years) we never get bored of eachothers company! We are not only partners but best friends too. We didn't want to spend too much so we headed to Frankie and Benny's where Michael had his favourite calzone and I went for their steak. I love steak well done and it was pink inside! So not impressed with F&B's right now! Still it was lovely to spend time together and then we did a little shopping, came home and snuggled up in bed to watch a film (funny one called Open Season).

Today I went to the 'London Vintage Wedding Fair' in Chiswick, West London with my Mum! I just went for some inspiration really, not to buy or book anything as we have a lot going on at the moment :) But it really was lots of fun! Me and my Mum had some lovely lunch in their tea rooms. 

I browsed hundreds of beautiful dresses. I was so tempted by many of them but saw a wonderful original 50's lace wedding dress. It looked pretty old and dusty but the design was so original which is exactly what I want.

I saw some fantastic ideas for artifical lace flowers, vintage tea parties as well as this lovely idea to have a vintage ice cream van! 

 

I would definitely want something like that. I picked up tons of leaflets and going to add them to my wedding planner tonight.    

  I have been up to much this week other than resting my foot, buying Christmas presents online and working! 6 weeks until we break up for Christmas holidays and I really can't wait!

xoxo 

How to get a cheap holiday!

One of the things I get asked often is 'How did you book that holiday for so little money?' It is true that with a lot of hard research and time, I have saved Michael and I A LOT of wonga on trips abroad. We have been to Morocco for a week for just over £200 each, Rome for under £400 and Barcelona for about £250 each for example. Over the past 5 years I have seen flight and hotel prices steadily increase but I always manage to get us a good deal and save a significant amount. So how do I do it? Here are some of my tips for spending as little as possible on holidays...

Be prepared to research

Such a simple tip but be prepared to do lots of internet research, you need a lot of patience and willingness to trawl through websites for the best prices. I do recommend using comparison websites but more often than not they don't show me the deals I really want. Google is your best friend-you may need to spend a few hours properly searching but you will get there.

 

Don't go for the first price you see

It's tempting just to book the first deal/holiday package you see because you think it's pretty good value. DON'T DO IT. I have always found the cheapest flights/hotels after a couple of searches. 

 

Be willing to book FAR in advance 

Yes you can get some amazing holidays deals 'last minute' but if you are like me and like to have things planned out in advance then it's always important to be willing to start early. For our summer holidays, I usually book in Jan/Feb time and watch over the coming months how flight and hotel prices start to increase. If you are willing to commit to a date early on, there are lots of holiday savings to be had.

If you book far in advance, always check first

By this I mean, check the date is right for you. For example, you need to make sure you are not working (obvious), that the attractions you want to visit will be open and you have no other important events on. It's really tricky to re-book flights although easier with hotels if you book on websites such as Venere or Booking.com

 

Don't be afraid to use cheaper airlines

All the good deals I have got on flights have been from airlines such as EasyJet-they have been a fantastic, low budget option for us and I can't recommend them highly enough especially now you can select your own seats in advance (the scrum to get the best seats on the plane was always a bit annoying) and if you can book a few months in advance, there are some bargains. Saying that, British Airways also have some good prices depending on where you go. Often you need to compare and check where they fly from-how much will you spend getting to and from the airport? It's worth mentioning however that EasyJet charge extra for their luggage (currently about £22 per item) so add that onto the price you see. As far as I know with BA, the price you see is the price you pay.

 

Consider booking now, paying later

This has its benefits and its drawbacks but it's an option I always chose when booking hotels. On websites such as Venere and Booking.com, you can reserve your hotel in advance and pay when you check out. This can be great because you can save up money between when you book and when you go however if the currency you are buying in changes in value, you may end up spending slightly more. However I am lucky this hasn't happened to us yet!

Don't go for a 'package holiday'

I may be in the minority but I really don't think package holidays are good value and 90% of the time I spend less by doing a bit of research and booking the flights/hotel seperately. Also with package holidays you are not normally given much choice with hotels and flight times are always tricky and you end up having to pay more to get the better times.

xoxo 

As I get older...

I made this the other night at like 1am when I couldn't sleep but just wanted something to do! Please excuse my poor cropping/editing skills btw. I have been in a very reflective frame of mind the past few days, thinking about how I have changed throughout my 20's. When I was 19, just before I met Michael I wasn't really in a good place. I used fake confidence and was perhaps slightly egotistical to cover the fact that I was just so insecure in myself. I certainly never thought I could maintain a proper relationship with a man, something I had yearned for, for so many years. The only man in my life up until the age of 18 was my Grandad and I always carried a heavy load of dis-trust towards the opposite sex. I am so glad that I allowed myself to just be 'me' with a man . That is something that is so hard to do but also something you inevitably HAVE to do if you are in it for the 'long haul' with someone. You can't carry that baggage forever and it's a true test in a relationship when you are able to reveal everything about yourself and still be accepted and loved.

My depression and anxiety hit me really hard between the ages of 20-23. I regretted chosing journalism as my degree because I knew that I only picked it because I love to write. I really never wanted to be the 'grabbing the headlines no matter what it takes' type of person. I always felt like I was far too shy and inward to be a journalist. I am glad I kept going though and despite my heart not being in it, I still worked hard. I spent months and months writing my dissertation on celebrity fan culture (something I have a lot of experience with!) and was over the moon when I got a 1st. That was the piece of recognition I needed that my 3 years at university were really worth it.

Between 24-25 after graduating from university, I really was in a state of uncertainty regarding my career. I made some wrong choices but I really feel that now at 26, I have begun making the right ones and I am really happy in my career. Will I do this forever? I don't know but I am still learning every day and I never get bored so that must be a good thing right?

I am never one for 'resolutions' towards the end of the year but recently I have been starting to think about what I would like to have achieved by this time next year, when I am 27 and getting even closer to 30! I would love to be able to say I won't get depressed but that is unrealistic. Anyway, here are some of my goals for next year:

Continue to study at home and learn something new
 
Don't let me anxiety take over me and keep moving forward
 
Keep the right people in my life and move on from the wrong ones
 
Learn from any mistakes I make at work

Keep trying to learn how to cook/bake

Try to keep healthy, take vitamins, eat new foods

Accept I will have sad days and look forward to the happy ones

I have said it before but I really feel like 26 will be my best year yet :) I have a lot to look forward to over the coming months and I am loving life more than ever before. Just because you suffer from depression doesn't mean you can't still live a great life full of hopes and dreams :)

xoxo

Chocolates and shopping!

Well Michael has been away at his friend's for a few days (he is back tomorrow) so I have been busy doing a bit of girlie shopping with my Mum and also mastering how to make my own chocolates!

In Forever 21 I bought this cute Aladdin jumper-reduced to £12.50! It was in a size small but I thought I would give it a go and try it on and it fits perfectly! I loved Aladdin when I was little (and still do now to be fair) and it's perfect for the cold winter days that are approaching.

I also picked up this little bargain from Primark today-it is a black and white dress covered in duck prints-how cute! They only had one left on the rail which was my size and it fits perfectly! It was only £5 and whilst it may be too thin for winter, I plan to layer a jumper over it or a cardigan.

Halloween was a quiet affair at the Cherbear household-it always is to be honest! I just stayed in, watch films and ate tons of giant marshmallows! We had lots of chocolate left and I decided to use my new mould and make cute little heart shaped choccies! I mixed in lots of sprinkles, put them in the fridge to set for 30 mins and they taste so good. I am going to make some for Christmas presents, wrap them up in a cute bag with a bow and voila...instant personalised gift for very little money! Here is how I did it...

I also got a lovely wedding pack from Arundel Town Hall this morning! I am currently trying to sort out a proper tour/visit with Michael in the next few months as we both really love this place and it would be perfect to get married in. 

xoxo

 

Wedding venues update!

Well unfortunately today didn't exactly go to plan! We had organised a trip to Arundel to look at wedding venues and I was so excited! We had pre-booked some cheap train tickets and were ready to go but sadly we missed our train (thanks to the rubbish bus service where we live!) and as it was booked in advance we couldn't use it on any other train :( so rather than pay out lots on a new ticket we have decided to go back around Christmas time, stay over and have a proper look at what Arundel has to offer for weddings! I am going to properly book a tour and sort it all out this time. We are not in a rush to book anything as we have a lot going on right now but I still would like to get an idea of what we want. We are hoping to go in the next holiday break we have... so something else to be excited about! :)

Despite the earlier failure, me and Michael decided to still go out and we had a lovely day trip to Guildford which is about an hour away for us (and where I graduated in 2010!). 

There isn't much there other than lots of shops, a small castle and cathedral but we had a lovely 3 course lunch at Prezzo with our Tastecard, we did some shopping, went to the castle and also found an amazing American food store! We bought some super large marshmallows and I stocked up on some Nerds (slight addiction there!).

 It was a lovely day although some way or another due to certain conversations and me being less than secretive (I CANNOT DO SURPRISES!) Michael found out that for his 30th birthday I have booked us a 4 day holiday to Berlin! He was so over the moon which was wonderful to see and even though he knows we are going, I am still going to make his birthday extra special! We are going from the 17th-20th Feb during our half term holiday and I AM SO EXCITED. So for some selfish reasons, this is kinda a gift to myself too! We have both always wanted to go to Berlin and back in June I managed to get some great deals on flights and a lovely apartment so the whole trip has cost me about £320 for the both of us for 4 days which is pretty awesome. At least I can talk about it on here now too!

YAY!

xoxo

My week off!

I am now officially on my week off work whoo! The benefits of working in a school is that I get lots of lovely time off :) My next 2 week break starts 21st December! So I have lots of plans for what to do with my time off but mostly I just want some me time, time to relax as it's been a very hectic half term with starting a new job, getting to know people, surviving Ofsted! I am proud of myself and what I have achieved though. 

I went for a lovely Autumn walk today and took some pictures of all the pretty coloured leaves. This honestly is one of my favourite times of the year. The air is so cold and crisp and I love wearing my Winter coat and feeling snuggly. I love being at home in the warm when it's raining outside (although not maybe when I'm outside and my boots get soggy!) I don't live in the nicest of area of London but I am lucky to have a beautiful park on my doorstep and lots of lovely open green areas!

I am now just planning to stay in today and take it easy, I feel very tired and achey at the moment so it's definitely needed. However I made this chocolate cake today (I did cheat a bit with the fudge icing, love you Betty Crocker) and it looks super tasty! I can't wait to get stuck into it with a cup of tea!

Today I have also been burning some lovely 'Yankee Candles', my favourite scent is black cherry but I can't wait to get some of their Christmas scents like 'Christmas Cookie' and 'Christmas Eve'.

Tomorrow me and Michael are going for a nice lunch and to see Skyfall at the Imax, Tuesday we are going to Arundel, Wednesday I am going to do some Oxford Street shopping with my Mum, Thursday I have to go to the podiatrist about my toes as I am having major issues, Friday I am going to Brighton and the weekend I am catching up with friends etc. So not much relaxation there but I love to keep busy! I haven't bought many clothes recently as I am trying to save and I have been buying lots of Christmas presents for other people! I am going to buy some bits from Forever 21 next week though so I may do a post about that! Have a lovely Sunday everyone, looking forward to the X Factor results and Downton Abbey tonight! I am a massive James Arthur fan, such a star.

xoxo

My Dream Wedding

My dream wedding...

Would be here...

 

Arriving in this car... 

 

Wearing this dress....

Wearing these shoes... 

With these rings...

Carrying these flowers...

Eating this food...

With this type of hairstyle...

With this cake...

With this type of decoration...

Going on this honeymoon...

 

All with this wonderful man...

xoxo  

All photos from pinterest.com