Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

Well folks, at the stroke of midnight tonight, we will all be bidding adieu to 2012 and Guten tag to 2013!  I think I probably say this every year but never one afraid of sounding like a broken record... didn't this year go quickly? I swear as I get older, each year increases in speed, like some secret conspiracy solely aimed at me, with the aim of ageing me and making my life flash by in the blink of an eye!

Thankfully, I am here for the ride, and have grabbed life by the proverbial again this year. So, in similar fashion to last year, I decided to put together a highlights of 2012 post, just some of my favourite moments and adventures.

February half term: A whole day of relaxation at Clarice House Spa with the bestie. Complete bliss.

Valentine's Day February 2012 - The husband and I went to see Singin' in the Rain. The first of many shows seen in 2012!

First wedding anniversary 2012: The husband and I went to the Berkeley in London for pret-a-portea afternoon tea and then to see Jersey Boys. We had a fantastic time.

The husband treated me to a new Mulberry bag for our first wedding anniversary, so I now have Mulberry siblings! Love you S xx

Bank holiday weekend May 2012: A little trip to the Cotswolds.

June 2012: The husband and I took a 4 day trip to Budapest. Pictured is the Hungarian State Opera House, where we saw an opera of Macbeth. We also visited the Szechenyi thermal baths, the stunning New York Cafe, the Buda castle district, Heroes Square and St. Stephen's Basilica amongst others.

Summer holiday 2012: The husband and I flew out to Barbados in August for a couple of weeks of sun, relaxation, and not much else! An amazing holiday in a beautiful location.

October 2012: A 3 day trip to Yorkshire for half term.

Christmas 2012: We spent the day in London, ice-skating at the National History Museum and then watching Viva Forever! 

These are just a few of my highlights but 2012 has been fantastic for so many reasons! I worked like a mo-fo and passed by Advanced Skills Teacher assessment and got promoted at work, I purchased a brand new car, the husband and I celebrated one amazing year of marriage and we have now spent 3 years in our perfect home! I have a good feeling about 2013 and hope that I manage to top the successes of 2012 and continue to tick things off my list! I've already made a start by booking some theatre tickets for the upcoming months as well as flights to Rome for our anniversary trip away.

I guess all that is left to say is happy and healthy new year to all, may 2013 be good to you! : D xxx

Mulberry part deux

Happy Easter weekend Cadbury's mini eggs! I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend, resting and eating lots of chocolate!!

I am having a great weekend, particularly as today is my first wedding Anniversary! We are taking it easy today in readiness for our trip to London tomorrow for afternoon tea and Jersey Boys! So excited!

I need to backtrack though as today's post is about a very exciting purchase hubby made for me yesterday... you may remember that I blogged recently about my Anniversary present from hubby, and how I was trying to decide what I wanted. Well, I eventually decided that I wanted another Mulberry as I love my first one so much, and felt a great need to add to my collection!

So yesterday, hubby drove me to Bicester outlet village where my first Mulberry came from (which was quite a journey with a few detours as we had a blown tyre, traffic avoidance etc etc!). We eventually arrived and went straight to Mulberry! I rapidly dashed round the shop grabbing up any bags that I liked the look of, which hubby then lined up on one arm for me to try on! I had quite a good idea of the type of bag I wanted this time - another classic colour, larger and slouchier than my first Mulberry for a more casual type occasion. I was greatly relieved to find a classic postman's lock hobo bag that I had previously spotted on the Selfridges' website, reduced from £795 to £556 (on account of a tiny 1cm scratch on the base of the bag!). So I decided quite quickly that this was the one, and hubby liked it too, so the deal was done! Best Anniversary pressie ever, v. happy indeed! : )

Ding Dong indeed! The bag alone was hu-uge!

My beautiful new bag! Postman's lock hobo in glossy buffalo deer brown. I love the classic satchel style and understated glamour synonymous with Mulberry!

One of my favourite features of the bag is the gold postman's lock that hangs down so beautifully!

Classic Mulberry front fastening

Inside lining

Mulberry siblings! 

What do you think of it dolls? I simply adore it, the smell of the leather alone is divine! So happy to have another Mulberry to keep the East West company! I need to think now about hubby's gift, he is still making up his mind, more indecisive than I am! : )Well that's about everything for now, more soon angels XOXO

2011 sign off

Happy last-day-of 2011 to all my lovely followers! Today I have been reminiscing a lot on the year, and I cannot believe how quickly it has gone! This time last year I was frenetically planning my Wedding ready for April 7th, now I am rapidly approaching my first anniversary! Nuts!

Thinking back over the year, and the many experiences and achievements of 2011, I decided to put together a photo story of some of my favourite moments, days out and adventures : )

March 2011: My hen weekend in Brighton. I had such an amazing time with some great friends, we shopped, rolled down massive hills in zorbing balls and danced the night away in Brighton's amazing clubs!

April 7th: My Wedding day aka the best day of my life so far! I spent the majority of 2010 planning my dream day,  with no stone left unturned. We married in a gorgeous old church near our home and held our reception at the 17th century Jacobean manor, Boy's Hall. We had exclusive use for three days and could not have been any happier. The sun shone, every little detail was taken care of and everything was just perfect : )

A shot of us in our Wedding finery and our gorgeous cupcake tower. My father sourced all of the Vintage china tea cups, plates, saucers and cake stands for my big day : )

April 2011: For our honeymoon, we took the trip of a lifetime to Thailand for 2 weeks. We stayed in a luxury 5 star resort and spent our time sight seeing, swimming, sun-bathing, trying out as many restaurants as possible and as the shot shows, meeting new friends! We were so excited about our elephant ride, and we were not disappointed.

Beautiful clear sea in Thailand

'Our' pool, right next to our room. One of the many we were able to use.

May 2011: Overnight trip to London to see Legally Blonde. An amazing show!

July 2011: Trip to Hever Castle. We took advantage of the good weather we had this Summer and went on lots of trips to National Trust and English Heritage properties.

Another sunny day enjoyed in July, picture taken at Littlestone beach.

Hubby's birthday weekend in August was spent in Herefordshire at the Big Chill festival. We had a fantastic day and enjoyed so many amazing acts.

Picture of Kanye West performing at the Big Chill festival, our ultimate favourite : )

September 2011: Night out in London with the girls, to say goodbye to Anna (left) and good luck for her work placement in Moscow. Girls nights have remained so important to me this year, for all their support, fun and laughter, I could not be without them XX

October 2011: Purchase of my first Mulberry bag, the East West Bayswater. Gorgeous, classic Mulberry.  A love affair has begun!

November 2011: Christmas begins! I went to the Country Living Christmas fair in London with my best friend and our mums. Perfect for festive spirit and pre-Christmas purchases!

December 2011: 4 day mini-break to Berlin with hubby. A perfect way to celebrate my birthday and finish off the year nicely. We saw so many sights, shopped and had an amazing time.

Just a selection of some of my highlights, 2011 has proved to be a very good year for me for so many reasons! Work has gone from strength to strength for me and hubby, I am officially 'outstanding', we have spent another year in our amazing house, and our baby rabbit Woody is healthy and happy! We have travelled, seen a great deal, married, made some big purchases and stayed blissfully happy and in love! I am so excited about 2012 and all that it may bring, so all I can say is, watch this space!

Here is to a happy and healthy New Year for all my lovely followers, may all your dreams come true in 2012! XOXO

Date Night

Hey dolls how are you all?? Today is Friday and that makes me sooo happy! This week was my first full week back at work and blimey did I hit the ground running!! I had a really enjoyable week and I really like all my new classes, but being back at work is very tiring!

Tonight I went for a drink after work with some work friends which was great fun, catching up on all the gossip (something we used to do a lot more but are always too busy for now!) When I got home, hubby told me that he was taking me out for a meal to celebrate our anniversary which is on Monday. It is not our wedding anniversary, but the anniversary of when we first became a couple. I guess we should only really mark the occasion of our wedding anniversary now we are married, however, we have been a couple for 8 years now and I think that is worth celebrating! We decided to go to our favourite Indian restaurant in Ashford, Zarin; we first discovered this amazing restaurant when we moved to Ashford and it is now our go-to for delicious Indian cuisine. The food is so tasty and flavoursome and the portions and service very good as well. Tonight I had a lovely chicken Dansak with pulao rice, muteer paneer and a naan. Yum : )

Strike a pose!

I wore my Zara sheer blouse, River Island high waist check shorts with a brown belt (also River Island), black tights and black patent pumps with a bow from Topshop (I was planning on wearing heels but I wore very high knee high boots to work today and my feet couldn't take any more!) To accesorise I wore a gold ring and my new gold necklace with a stag's head from Primark.

Hope you all have something fun planned for the weekend, I am looking forward to a nice lay in tomorrow morning!! xoxo