I Love December

I am a firm lover of Christmas. It is by far my favourite time of year. In fact I wish we could just be on a constant rotation of October through to the end of December. No, I take that back. I do love summer and the sun, but there is just something so special about this time of year that gives me a constant warm fuzzy feeling. I am that person who is excited for Christmas mid September but I feel that now that it is finally December I am allowed to sing and dance about it as much as I want.

So here is a little list of the reasons why I love December so much. If you’re not yet feeling Christmassy, perhaps this will give you a little push in the right direction.

The Best Bread Rolls

When Paul Hollywood’s latest range of Ready to Bake Bread Rolls landed on my doorstep, I decided I wanted to make something REALLY delicious with them. Bread is always very scrummy but when it has been created by one of the UK’s most renowned bakers, you can’t get much better then GBBO now can you, I knew they were going to be special.

The Decanter, Leeds

A few weeks ago I was invited to The Decanter in Leeds for an afternoon of wine tasting. The bar itself was a very sophisticated and intimate affair, complete with dim lighting; dark, mysterious furniture; and stylish exposed brick walls. I was excited to learn more about the art of wine tasting. I enjoy a glass of wine every now and again so it was really useful to learn more about wine and how to detect all the different flavours – I think my Dad would be impressed with my new found knowledge!

Ring in a New Trend

There’s only a little time left before gloves and mittens become mandatory cold weather wear. Instead of subjecting my fingers to frostbite when the temperature dips, I’ve decided I would rather make their last few weeks in the sunlight more beautiful with a few accessories. The question is, however, which ones to choose?

5 Tips for Running Your First Half Marathon

In August I ran my first ever half marathon. It was an incredible personal achievement and one that I will never forget. Although it was gruelling and difficult on the day, it left me buzzing to run more races. However, I made some mistakes and learnt a lot both whilst I was training and on race day itself. I am by no means an expert, very far from it, this is just some of the advice I wish I had had that may be of interest 🙂

Finding the Perfect Pair of Jeans: Denham, Leeds

I’m pretty sure I can confidently say that jeans are a staple in everyone’s wardrobe. They are suitable for so many different occasions and there are so many different styles and designs to choose from. Fashion trends alter and change over time but jeans it seems, are here to stay. Everyone always talks about finding that ‘perfect’ pair. The ones that fit every part of your body like a glove. The pair that are flattering whilst being ridiculously comfy at the same time; wishful thinking right? I always struggled to find this in the usual high street stores that I shop in but last weekend I think I may have found the ones… let me introduce you to the store, Denham.

The power of a live performance

I have always been very interested in the arts and seeing them performed live on stage is one of my favourite things. There is something so incredibly powerful about sitting in the audience and watching a story unfold in front of you, whether that’s done through movement, words, song or music. If a performance is good, you get this amazing connection with the action that is taking place and it can be very intense and emotional – this is what I love.

Event: #CTSummerSundown with Cotton Traders

In my last post I was talking about how summer had come to an end without me realising. With this in mind, last Thursday’s event couldn’t have come at a better time. I was invited by Branded3 to go and celebrate the end of summer at the #CTSummerSundown – an evening organised with Cotton Traders.

Hello Autumn

Everytime that I have gone to check the date recently and seen that it’s September I have had to do a double take before accepting time after time that my phone isn’t lying to me. Summer is officially over. Since starting work in the real world, I have missed out on the usual 3 month summer holiday I was used to. As a result, my brain keeps forgetting to factor in the fact that June, July and August have passed me by and that we are now moving through the Autumn term with bonfire night and Christmas fast approaching…. Can I put the brakes on life and slow everything down a sec please?! Don’t get me wrong, I love love love this time of year but the idea that time can move so quickly without me realising is kind of scary.

Nakd Bars

   

I’m gonna put this out there, I totally love anything chocolate related. So if you can offer me some thing in this category AND tell me it’s actually quite good for me, well you’re on to a winner. When these lovely Nakd bars came through my letter box and I had a little scan of the flavours, you can imagine how happy I was to discover some amazing chocolatey and yummy sounding flavours. 

  

Nakd bars are a great healthy snack option if you’re caught up in the whole ‘gluten free’, ‘dairy free’, ‘raw foods’, ‘vegan’ hype. Not only are they completely guilt free but they are also so tasty. 

One of the great things about them is that they are really good at boosting energy. They will give you that mid morning/pre workout energy boost that you need without all the excess sugar. I found that they were really useful during my half marathon training for this reason. If you’re interested in finding out more about energy food, natural balance food have some great ideas to get you started. 

  

Although I thought I would love the chocolate flavoured bars, it turned out that they were not my faves. Cashew cookie and rhubarb and custard were both delicious. Nakd bars are now a regular item on my shopping list and they are perfect for popping in my handbag whenever I need a little energy pick-me-up.