Monday 1 May 2017

April Life



Does anyone else feel like April has been a whirlwind of a month which has come and gone in a bat of an eyelid!?? I can't quite believe we are already in May and 2017 is nearly half way over! April is always one of my favourite months and I really enjoy the brighter days, warmer weather and that little bit of time before Summer kicks in when it still feels ok to snuggle up under a blanket without sweating!  

HOW I'VE BEEN FEELING



I've actually been feeling (mostly) really good this month. Sorry if I sound surprised but the start of this year was a bit glum and it's taken me a while to find my balance, but I think i'm finally there. We finally found the house we want to buy which has put a spring in my step and it feels like new beginnings are on the horizon. We also sold our house really quickly which was a relief! I love the idea of a fresh start somewhere new and all the decluttering and furniture selling has felt really productive. It feels like we're finally moving in the right direction and plans are in motion! There's a slight bit of anxiety with worrying that it could all fall through at any moment but for the most part we're just excited and looking forward to getting into the new house.  

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING



At the start of April we enjoyed a really great evening out to see Russell Brand's new stand up show Re-Birth in Cambridge. He is one of my favourite people in the world and whenever he tours we tend to go to see him. The last time was in 2014 in Cambridge and the Corn Exchange is a really great venue for live shows as it feels quite intimate. This time our seats were just a few rows from the front which was amazing! He put on such a great show and it's so good to see him back doing stand up comedy again. 



Quite a lot of this month has been spent enjoying the sunshine and the outdoors. It's been so nice to go out for walks without having to bring a coat along! One of my favourite walks this month was to Arger Fen in Suffolk where we got to see their famous bluebell woods. It was so beautiful!  


There was one Sunday, you can probably remember the one I am talking about, where it was so hot! I think it reached about 24 degrees in Essex and so we decided to make the most of it by enjoying a spot of sunbathing at the outdoor pool at our health club. It felt so amazing to be catching some rays so early on in the year and to be doing so in such perfect surroundings. This alone makes the David Lloyd membership worthwhile! 



Another weekend we went to our favourite Essex beach in Frinton on Sea with the dogs and enjoyed a really long walk all the way up to Walton on the Naze. The dogs absolutely love playing and running on this sandy beach! They always have so much fun which really makes us happy. 


Our dog walks have been made even more picturesque by all the blossom petals which adorn the ground at the moment. Blossom makes everything so pretty and I was so happy to see that there is a blossom tree in the garden of the new house! 


I've been so good with my gym schedule this month and i've really made the most of it. With no breaks away and being at home quite a lot it's been the perfect time to get stuck into a solid routine. And i've felt so good for it! It often feels like a struggle getting myself there but the saying 'you never regret a workout' is so true. I've seen real improvements in my strength and fitness and this confidence boost led me to try out some new classes too. It's definitely helped with my mental health too and on days where I have had a low mood it's really perked me up.  

WHAT I'VE BEEN EATING



I must confess that I have been really addicted to hot cross buns this month! Most supermarket own brand bakery ones tend to be vegan friendly and my favourite are the Waitrose Essential ones. My husband also found these cute vegan friendly bunny gingerbread biscuits at Co-Op which were perfect for Easter weekend! 


As I am attempting to watch what I eat we didn't go too crazy with chocolate over Easter but we did enjoy a few treats, one of my favourites being this vegan creme egg which came inside The Vegan Kind box. It was so yummy! 


On our night out to Cambridge we decided to head to Zizzi's for dinner as we hadn't been there for so long and I was really craving one of their vegan pizzas. My favourite pizza toppings to have there are mushrooms, spinach, pine nuts and balsamic caramelised onions which are divine! 


An amazing food discovery this month were the vegan ready meals by All Plants. I got to try a couple of their meals out for a blog review and I was so impressed by them! They're really perfect for anyone who can't or doesn't have time to cook. We also found them really useful to have in the freezer as quick meals post workout or when we were feeling lazy. I really can't recommend these enough and i'm looking forward to trying out more of their meals soon! 


On the third Saturday of every month there's a vegan street food market in Hackney and this month we were fortunate enough to be free on the date it fell on so we decided to make the most of it and head into East London for the day. The street food market was so good and I even bumped into one of my favourite fellow vegan blogger friends Nadia from the Not So Quiet Grrl blog. We really enjoyed these super tasty and heavily loaded burgers and I also picked up a couple of pretty cupcakes from the Heart of Cake stall.    


Whilst in East London we decided to stop by at Palm Vaults cafe which has been on my hit list for a while now. Although not a solely vegan cafe they have a good selection of vegan options including gorgeous cake and avo on toast. This small cafe is so popular due to it's gorgeous interior which is an Instagrammers dream come true! If you're keen to check this place out i'd recommend booking in advance as the queues are no joke.   


On Easter Sunday we found ourselves with no plans and no food in the house (not ideal!) so we headed out in search of a decent roast and was lucky to come across one at The Mill hotel in Sudbury. Considering that they didn't have an option for a veggie / vegan roast on the menu they really did come up trumps for us with this one. In essence it was just a load of veg on a plate but it really did taste amazing and it was exactly what we wanted! 


The big news in the vegan food world this month was the release of vegan donuts delivered to your door by The Vegan Kind. I was lucky enough to be sent a few of these to try out and oh my god they are so good! They taste exactly like, if not better than, Krispy Kremes and it's just amazing that you can get these delivered to you. They've been selling out pretty quick so be sure to set a reminder on your phone if you want to be in with a chance of enjoying one of these!  


My final great discovery of the month was this chefs special vegan wrap in Pret which, if memory serves me correct, was a mix of crunchy veg and hummus. It sounds a lot blander than it was and it was actually really tasty! It was exactly what I needed to fuel myself on a shopping trip to Chelmsford. 


WHAT I'VE BEEN BUYING




There's not many times i'll be able to write this in this section of the regular monthly life posts, but this month we bought a house! After months and months of searching we finally found the house that ticked a lot of our boxes and it's really true when you hear people say that when you find the right house you just feel it. The photo above isn't the house, it's a pub garden drink we enjoyed after having our offer accepted in a pub a stones throw from the house! I won't be giving too much away about the house until we're actually moved in but we are staying in Essex, albeit closer to London, and my hope for more land to offer a home to rescue chickens will soon be a reality. I can't wait! 

I'm also not going to lie, as I have been selling and de-cluttering I have also been making some new furniture purchases which, despite my new minimalistic ways, has been pretty enjoyable. The new house is a total new style to our current one and we will be going for a much more modern and minimal look. I've also had at the forefront of my mind when making purchases that I want them to be really good quality items which bring me joy, rather than just buying something functional. I want to fill my new home with less things but things that I really love.    


I lasted a good month or so without buying any new clothing until now. I just couldn't resist this Brunch Club tee by Joanie Clothing which I have been getting a lot of wear out of this month.  


I also needed a new lightweight jacket and after much consideration I decided on this black denim one from River Island. I want to make more mindful purchases when it comes to new clothing and I want things that will last me a long time and not go in and out of fashion. Denim jackets have been around for centuries so I know this will last me and i've been wearing it so much i'm now considering getting a blue denim one too. When and if I buy anything new I am trying to then remove something from my wardrobe that I don't wear so I don't find myself back to square one with an overfilled closet! 


I also spotted these cacti pj's in Sainsbury's and it was like love at first sight. I bought them for my upcoming Summer holiday but have actually decided to start wearing them sooner because they're just too nice to be packed away until June! They're really lightweight and perfect for the warmer months.


WHAT I'VE BEEN BLOGGING



WHAT I'VE BEEN VLOGGING


INSTA HIGHLIGHTS




WHAT I'M EXCITED FOR NEXT MONTH


I'm really excited for May for so many reasons! Firstly we have a week away planned where we will be visiting my Mum for a few days and spending a couple of nights in Brighton for our wedding anniversary. We also have tickets to see Ricky Gervais in Brighton on our actual anniversary so we're really looking forward to that. After all the upheaval of the house stuff here it will be nice to get away from it all for a while and just do some normal things. Hopefully in May things will have progressed with the legal side of our house move and we may get a date for moving but I don't think we'll be actually going anywhere until June sometime. 

How was April for you?

What are you excited for in May? 

Have a great month!   
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5 comments

  1. I basically took a social media break during April so I missed all of your posts and pics! I totally cannot deal with the picture of your adorable dogs running on the beach - it's just too damn cute! Huge congrats on buying a house, that's so exciting and I can't wait to see pic's once you're all moved in a decorated. I bet it'll look gorgeous. Your food pic's from the month are pretty delicious looking, I'm very jealous of your hot cross buns. I ate as many as I could before I left for China but I definitely missed out on some prime hot cross bun time. Those microwave meals look interesting too, I almost want to try them just because the packaging is so nice but I'm going to pop on over and read your review now!

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    Replies
    1. I'm still eating hot cross buns now and ever since someone told me that they still sell them even after Easter which I had never realised! haha! The micro meals were so good, you've just reminded me I need to order some more actually. Defo give them a try when you're back in the UK! Hope you're enjoying your travels! When will you be back? xx

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  2. Oh my goodness, your dogs are just the cutest things <3 x

    www.hello-cat.blogspot.com

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  3. My flight back to the UK is booked for February 2018 but we'll see what happens!

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