I've Been Thinking... - 5 Things To Do In The Lull Between Christmas and the New Year.

Hi!!!

I know some of you will be rolling your eyes at the title of this post because we haven't even had Christmas yet but today is Blogmas Day Twenty Three, we're very close to Christmas and I thought it might be nice to be able to have this list handy whenever you might want some inspiration. Also, I am sorry to anyone who won't be enjoying the lull between Christmas and New Year because of work or any other reason - you got this.

Read a book.

I'm sure a lot of us are in the 'I wish I had the time to read more books' club - now's your chance! Whether it's the new book that somebody bought you for Christmas or one of the books on your existing 'to be read' pile, taking the time to sit with a cup of tea and actually enjoy a book and switch off is always worthwhile.

Play a board game.

I love a good board game and the space between Christmas and New Year is the perfect time to play them because you'll have plenty of time and you can actually sit down and play a full game start to finish. My favourites are Cludeo and Best of British (I'm also very interested in playing the Logo Board Game, especially since it's made by the same people who created Best of British). If you really want to make something of it, then you could invite some of your favourite people round and finish all the Quality Street chocolates you have left before everyone gets busy or goes back to their own corners of the country again.

Go to the cinema.

While lounging about on the sofa at home is lovely, you also might want to get out of the house for a few hours between now and New Year's Eve. I went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi a few days ago with some of my family and I would highly recommend going to see it (I'm hoping to do a separate post on it soon, but if I don't get round to it, just know that I love it, I finally had my 'Star Wars Moment' that made the franchise something I really love rather than something I just enjoy and, while it's busy, every scene and character has agency). Aside from how great the film was, it was also lovely to spend some time with my family, to eat burgers and discuss film trailers and laugh at a spilled Tango Ice Blast - if you didn't already know, I can be very clumsy - together.

Do some exercise.

I know it's maybe not the most fun thing on the list, but I can't be the only one who gets to the twenty ninth and starts to wonder whether all of the cheese I've eaten over Christmas is going to catch up with me suddenly and if my internal organs will hate me for it? I'm not sure how much half an hour of yoga will help my internal organs post-Christmas, but I think it's something I'll feel better for. Oh, and obviously if you prefer running or swimming or paragliding, then you can do that.

Have a pamper evening.

Similarly to reading books, I feel like taking time for ourselves through things like pamper evenings often fall by the wayside when we get busy. If you've been given any bath and body care products over Christmas, this would be the perfect time to use them and you'll actually have enough time to let your nail polish dry properly so it won't smudge. If you want to know more about my routine or the products I like, then check out my Blogmas Day Nineteen post here.

Thanks for reading today's Blogmas post.

What are your plans for the rest of 2017? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment to let me know.

I'll be back tomorrow - which can I just remind you is Christmas Eve, how exciting! - with another Blogmas post.

I hope you have a truly fabulous day!

GingerSnaps xxx

So, To Sum It All Up - December in Photographs

Hi!!!

How are you guys today? I hope you're all doing well. I spent December doing lots of fun things and I took a lot of photos and I thought I would share those things with you today - I figured that sharing some Christmassy snaps with you in January would be fine so long as I'm still in the Twelve Days of Christmas right now. I hope you like it.

Obviously I started my month by opening the first window on my advent calender - this one is the Cadbury one.

 I also opened a tub of Celebrations because Christmas. 

I went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with Elf Girl and one of our friends.

Elf Girl and I spent the afternoon in Costa - I had a Black Forest Hot Chocolate (one of many many more festive Costa drinks) - and taking photobooth photos until our friend could meet us.

We went for a meal at Chimichanga which I would highly recommend, for both food and decor (I had sea bass in case you were wondering). I enjoyed the film - I thought it was funny and charming.

I spent quite a lot of time Christmas shopping last month and went to several shopping centres on my mission.

The Bull in Birmingham was dressed up like a Christmas pudding which brought me far too much joy, and Coventry had some super snazzy decorations, shown below.

The beautiful ceiling lights were in Hemel Hempstead - I went shopping there while staying with my Auntie the weekend before Christmas.

December was filled with delightfully wintery weather, as showcased in these shots. I was running late one morning and cut through an alley way, but then got distracted by the pretty mist and fog and took photos - I made it with about ten minutes to spare so it all worked out fine. I just thought it looked really cool.

Later on in the month, while staying with my Auntie, it was really foggy again - it took us about one hundred years to complete the drive down.

Then of course there have been frosty mornings which I love having a walk around in.

There have also been some occasions to break out the sunglasses - I love those days when it's sunny but freezing cold.

I went for a meal with my friends before we all began our Christmas breaks. We went to a local Pizza Express and swapped gifts, ate pizza, pulled crackers and posed for photos, which was great.

We also had a walk around a local Christmas market and some shops (with plenty of time spent in Waterstones) before a final stop at Costa and heading home. I did all of these things wearing the paper hat from my cracker because those little hats make me so happy, I don't even really know why.

As I've mentioned, we had a pre-Christmas meal with one side of my family the weekend before Christmas.

We had a full turkey dinner with an array of puddings available to us which was lovely.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon exchanging gifts - watching my little cousins open presents makes me so happy! - catching up and eating enough olives to sink a ship (that last one might just have been me, haha).

I made my nails look all festive too - you might remember this from here.

I saw these Shetland ponies while we were there.

They were so sweet, I just had to show you.

My parents and I went into London while staying at my Auntie's. We went to see Hamlet and also to have a walk around. We went for a stroll along Bond Street to admire the window displays. We also went to Selfridges (which was a bit overwhelming on that particular day, I'm not going to lie - really crowded, really loud music...) and to Liberty where we bought Christmas crackers and I swooned over the pretty clothes.

We saw all of the Christmas lights on display. My favourites were these gorgeous angels on Regent Street and Jermyn Street.

Later in the month I went to Stratford upon Avon where I saw these lovely lights.

I ate this snowman cupcake.

I went to see a pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome with my Mom, Elf Girl, my Uncle B and Auntie A and had such an amazing time.

I love pantomime and the Hippodrome outdid themselves this year. It was so fun, so well performed and visually fantastic.

Oh and I had my first Starbucks since 2015.

It was a Fudge Hot Chocolate. It was really nice.

Not shown in photos:

Two of my friends celebrated their birthdays in December and I had so much fun at both.

I received some wonderful and thoughtful Christmas presents from my family and friends which I am super grateful for.

A relaxed, and very enjoyable, New Year's Eve.

And that was what December looked like for me.
What did you get up to last month? Do you have any other comments or maybe some suggestions for posts you like to see? Let me know in the comments.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading!

I hope your day is marvellous!

GingerSnaps xxx

5, 4, 3, 2, 1! - Happy New Year 2016!

Hi!!!

How are we all? I know we are a few days into the New Year now, and that I do normally put this kind of post up on New Years Eve, but hopefully you won't mind too much. Anyway, I'm going to stop dithering and get on with this post.

2015 was honestly one of the absolute best years ever. I've did so much and I enjoyed every second of it.

I went on holidays with people I love, I've gone to the theatre and to gigs, I've spent time with friends (once stuck in a boat on the River Avon, other times dancing, providing running living room commentary on TV shows and films, celebrating birthdays, playing old school video games, colouring in in Cardiff, dancing in pretty dresses), I've spent time with family (at outdoor Shakespeare festivals, enjoying the sun in Brighton, dancing at the Clean Bandit gig, exploring on the family holiday at Easter, going for meals out, going to see Star Wars, going to the Strictly live tour), I celebrated a 'milestone' birthday, I had one of the best Christmases ever, I've been to exhibitions.

I basically made some of the most amazing memories and I couldn't be more grateful to everyone I love for being part of that. Looking back on the last year, I feel very happy.

I hope 2015 was a good year for you and if not, I hope 2016 is better.

I truly hope that 2015 was a marvellous year for all of you. I hope that 2016 is a completely wonderful year filled with all of the best things. I hope you find all of the things you need and are searching for. I hope you have lots of fun and experience lots of wonderful things. I hope that you find true happiness this year.

As always, thank you ever such a lot for the support you have given my blog this past year. It means the absolute world to me to have such lovely readers, followers and commenters. Hopefully, you'll stay for all of the post 2016 will bring and that you enjoy all of the content that will be produced in the New Year.

Happy New Year to you and all of your friends and families.

Here's to 2015, for being a great year. Here's to 2016, I hope it's a brilliant one. And here's to you, Happy New Year! xxx

I'm going to try and get some interesting posts up for you this month to start the New Year off as I mean to go on.

What are your goals or resolutions for this year? What was your 2015 like? What are you up to this week? Any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for joining me today, I'll see you later.

 

Have the most amazing!

GingerSnaps xxx

 

 

So, To Sum It All Up - January Summary.

Hi!!!

How are we all, you lovely little people? I hope that we are all doing good. So, today, I shall be doing a January Summary. January seemed to go by in about a week - I do not know how this happened but we are in February already! What?!? Anywho, the Summary...

So what happened in January?

Starting the New Year...

I love when a New Year rolls around and you have all this time and space in front of you that hasn't been used yet and the start of this New Year was no exception.

We already have a few plans waiting within the next few months (like a holiday - so excited!) which is nice because there are already some things to look forward to.

I decided not to make new F5 Refreshes this year because I thought continuing on with the ones I made last year would be better.

I did a post about my F5 accomplishments from last year and my thoughts about this year and you can see it (HERE)

Going on Days Out...

I have been on all sorts of winters walks in this past month and they have been lovely. Wrapping up in long sleeved tops, my fabulous cable stitch crew neck (hand knitted by someone I know) and jeans or Super Cosy Tights from Primark and shorts or a skirt and walking around the local parks or lakes is so lovely.
It's nice to go out and do something simple and enjoyable like this, and it reminds me of the beauty of the places around me. Stopping for curly fries before heading home is great, too!

Going on a Night Out to Strictly Come Dancing...

My wonderful Auntie S got some tickets to go to the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour earlier this month for Christmas. She invited me to go along with her and so all dolled up in the dress I got for Christmas and off we went.

 

The show was really good, Simon Webbe won the night we were there (rightly so, he's awesome) and I had such a brilliant night!

 

Highlights included: Dancing to Shake It Off, eating cupcakes, singing "Under the Sea" in the most on point manner, singing songs from Beauty and the Beast in the taxi home, "It's a Tommy Ten" (S will find that hilarious, you probably won't... sorry) and of course the amazing show itself - Simon Webbe's Tango anyone? How about Caroline Flack's Charleston? Craig Revel Horwood's sass? The singers? The sparkle? What an awesome time!

To read more about my Auntie S see (HERE) - also Happy Birthday for Tuesday!

For the Strictly website, click (HERE).

Also, huuuuuggge mega thanks to O for letting me have his ticket and go and spend a great evening with my lovely Auntie S, I really appreciate it!

Commemorating and Remembering on Holocaust Memorial Day...

The 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz was earlier this month and I think that it is very important that we all remember the things that happened there and all of the people whose lives were affected by the horrific things that happened there.

Remember, respect and know that there is nobody out there and nothing about you or your choices that can take away your value, your importance or your rights. Diversity makes us who we are, do not be afraid of what makes you different.

To see the post that I did about the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz click (HERE)

My Favourite Blog Posts of January

 

Anyone interested in some posts from my four favourite blogs? Here you go...

 

"I'd Swipe Right For You" on Charlotte's Web, (HERE)

Charlotte really shows off her funny, charming side in this post which is one of the reasons I love her blog.
 With lines like " “I love gammon!”  Don’t we all mate." appearing in this post, I dare you not to smile.

"We Liked: The Simple Things" on Little Winter, (HERE)

I am a major lover of the simple things so this post was right up my street.
I now want to print all my photographs and have a big collage somewhere in my house like Katy has on her fridge as well as some Mini Eggs.
Also, I own those PJ bottoms, just saying...

"A Much Needed Break" on Made Up of Little Things, (HERE)

I enjoyed this post.
It looked like Rachael had an awesome time and I felt like this post let me experience some of that fun, quirky but relaxing experience, too.

"A poem and a picture {02}"on A Rosie Outlook, (HERE).

Poetry is a great love of mine and I think that it was brave of Rosie to share this, as poetry is so personal to its writer.
A unique post and boy can Rosie put together a nice little poem.


A Favourite Songs in January

There were lots but this beaut made the shortlist...

Keep Your Head Up by Ben Howard, (HERE)

I have loved this song since it first came out. It is one of my all time favourites and you just need to listen.

 

Thank you for reading you beautiful little people.

What did you get up to in January? What do you think of what I did? Do you like the blog posts? How about the song? Any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below.

So, see you tomorrow...

 

Have a wonderful day today!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

 

I've Been Thinking... - Is It Time To Hit F5?

Hi!!!

How are we all? Good, I hope. Now, if you were here last year or you have read back through the archive since arriving (I do that...), you might remember (THIS) little post. I really enjoyed writing the post and am excited to be writing another one, although this is probably later than ideal.

For those of you who don't remember the post from last year, allow me to explain...

I am not one for making New Years Resolutions. I don't particularly buy the whole term. If there is one thing people struggle to stick to, it is a "resolution". The term inspires people, but also puts pressure on them, leaving many people feeling as though they have let themselves down if they just cannot keep their resolutions. That being said, I do believe that a new year, that has very few moments in it yet, good or bad, leaves you a lot of useful space to better yourself and your life.

So, last year, I  came up with a new way of going about this type of thing as my way of bettering myself without intimidating myself.

And, I must say, it worked pretty blooming well...

I said last year that I wanted to:

Make better use of my time and do more.

I did a lot of wonderful things in 2014.

 I spent lots of time with family and friends, spent time working on moving house, travelled a lot, visited lots of places (well done to us for getting a new National Trust pass at last!). I spent lots of time relaxing, with numerous lazy days and pamper evenings as well as valuing the experiences I had everywhere. I went to interviews, gigs, family meals. I baked, I cooked, I watched a million and one films. I went to photography (the David Bailey Stardust) exhibitions. I went to shows, the theatre, wore pretty clothes. I saw people I haven't seen in years. I met new people. I went to all sorts of celebrations and wore jelly shoes. I laughed, cried, wore ridiculously bright lippy. I took opportunities. I sang and I danced and I fuelled long days with Ribena and Fruit Shoots. I built forts, drank milkshakes and strived to make everyday count for something.  I think I achieved my goal to Make better use of my time and do more as I could list a million things that I did last year and made the best memories.

Keep on top of my fitness.

So, fitness DVDs, daily routines and fitness focuses were all a big thing in 2014 and will be in 2015. I am glad I finally got over myself and started to really do myself a favour by keeping on top of my fitness and it makes me prouder and happier everyday.

Put more energy into this blog.

 

I tried very hard last year to do this and while it wasn't always possible to post as much as I wanted to, due to life, a problematic laptop and a lack of time, I truly did try. Despite maybe not posting very often, I believe my content was good. I always strive to make my content good and I am very pleased when I read back over the things I put up here in 2014. I hope you enjoyed the posts in 2014 and that we can continue to make progress here. So, I am happy to say that I Put more energy into this blog, and I am very proud of that.

 

So, go me! I am so proud that I kept all of these things up and really achieved some wonderful things in 2014. And that is why I figure that I should just hit F5 on the page that I am on rather than opening a new tab. And that is why there is no new F5 Refresh List this year. I want to stay on this page, maybe refresh the way I view things but overall, I am happy with where I am. I am going to stick to this.

So, to summarise, there is no all new F5/Refresh list for 2015.

I'm sticking to my three bullet points from 2014.

 I want to continue down the same road that I am on.

I want more lazy days, milkshakes, dancing and travel (and all those other things, too!), I want to experience awesome new things, I want to keep making myself proud of my fitness achievements and I want to make even more effort than ever before to make this blog the best it can be.

That is what I want.  

 

So, that is all for today. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and that you've had a really good week so far.

Do you make resolutions? Do you take a similar approach to the F5 instead? Have you made any plans, resolutions or refreshes for this year? Do you have any new goals you hope to achieve? How about comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below.

Alrighty then, I will speak to all of you lovely people soon.

 

I hope you have the most brilliant day!

GingerSnaps xxx



5, 4, 3, 2, 1! - Happy New Year! - 2015

Hi!!!

How are all of you gorgeous people doing on this New Years Eve? Good, I hope. I do like New Years Eve and I wanted to have a bit of a chat with you about it because, hey, why not?

Very, very soon, 2014 will be done and dusted.
All twelve months are nearly filled, all 365 days are nearly done but, not to worry because a whole new set of twelve months and 365 days lie ahead of us in the form of 2015.
 I find the idea of a whole new, untouched year to be a bit exciting. It is something truly special to look directly ahead and see time just waiting for you to fill it and spend it.

 

I was saying on Christmas Day at the dinner table that I feel as though 2014 has been a "really cracking year".
I won't say there haven't been some moments that made me cry, feel angry or feel a bit drained but that can't be helped and you need to dust yourself off and crack on.
I hope that 2014 wasn't full of many moments like this for you all and that, rather, it was good.
But, onto the good stuff because if you're always looking down, you're never looking up and there have been sooooooo many ups this year.
The ups of 2014 have truly stood out far beyond anything else.
Its been ace.

 

2014 has provided me with some incredibly amazing times. I have done so many amazing things.

For starters, I have travelled to some pretty cool places.

I went to Normandy, as you might remember, in October with some of the most awesome people and I had such an amazing, unforgettable time.

I also conquered my fear of flying and took a trip back to my favourite place/"home" (read: Northern Ireland) and had such a brilliant time as I hadn't been there in years. I saw family friends while there, revisited my favourite places and recreated lots of childhood memories.

I spent lots of time with my family who live near London which was lovely and also meant that we went into London a lot this year, too.

Then of course there are all of the wonderful days out, weekends spent, all of the time I have spent in the company of family and the company of friends. 

There are all of the lazy days and nights as well as all of the time spent singing loudly, dancing.

 The time spent in PJs, the time spent in dresses and the times in jeans.

The times eating lovely food and the time talking to the amazing people I know. The time spent listening to them.

 The time spent working, the time spent learning.

The time spent moving home, the time spent in the car.

The time spent celebrating things, spent wallpapering/falling off ladders. The time in the theatre, at gigs, at stand up shows.

The time pampering, blogging, watching countless episodes of TV shows (shout out to Modern Family, Big Bang Theory and HIMYM) and movies.

The time in National Trust properties and strolling round gardens. The time cooking, baking, at exhibitions.

 The time exercising or taking selfies or jumping round the garden like a five year old.

The time with family, the time having photos taken and taking photos.

 The time spent meeting new people, helping with important events (like doing a family friends Prom makeup/countless trials for it).

The time wearing crazily bright/colourful lipsticks, the time in Nandos.

The times doing lots of festive things.

The time drinking cups of tea at Elf Girl's house after failing at bike rides or shopping or just any other day.

The time doing daft things that make me smile like colouring competitions between myself and friends, sitting on the edge of a half filled/cold hot tub and singing Green Day with Elf Girl, discussing hedgehogs with Lauren in a car park.

The time lolling around on the sofas with family just talking.

 The times that brought me closer to the people I love.

I sincerely hope that 2014 was good to all of you lovely lot and that 2014 is a brilliant year for you. I hope you find all of the things you need and are searching for. I hope you have lots of fun and experience lots of wonderful things. I hope that you find happiness this year.

Thanks for your support for this blog throughout this year. Your support as readers, followers and commenters really does mean so, so much. I hope that you stick around for 2015 and watch the archives on the right fill up. I hope you enjoy the new content and enjoy this slice of internet.

Happy New Year to you and all of your families and friends.

Here's to you, 2014, thanks for being good.

And, here's to you 2015, I hope you're a good'un. xxx

 

 

Thank you for reading, I hope that you have enjoyed this post. I will see you all again in the new year!

What are your New Years Eve Plans? What was 2014 like for you? Do you have any stories from 2014 you'd like to share? Any comments or suggestions for posts in the New Year? Let me know in the comments.

Happy New Year, lovely people!

 

Have a great, very happy day and New Year!

 

GingerSnaps xxx 

 

 

I've Been Thinking... - Time To Hit F5?

Hi!!!

So, New Year and all that jazz. A whole fresh start, and a time to weigh things up. I like the prospect of this. Would anyone like a chat about it?

I don't make "resolutions", because hardly anybody can stick to a resolution, can they? In previous years, I have said that I have made a resolution, but it has been a silly one, like "To eat more cake," - I'm proud of that one, I can't lie. I mostly just did it out of tradition.

 

This year, I didn't bother making a resolution, or even really saying the word.

 

Something else that I'm not particularly keen on is the phrase "New Year, New Me".

 People that say this phrase don't tend to want to create a completely "New" them, but it just seems to me that it's like trying to be something you aren't or can't (poet and, yep, I know) be. 

 

I have had some ideas which I believe will help me "refresh", so I can be the "best version" of me. I'm not making promises I can't keep, and I'm not trying to become somebody else.

 I am who I am, as cliché as that is, but there is always a way that you can push what you are doing, strive for more, and benefit the person you are.

 

I've constructed a bullet pointed list - what did you expect, you guys know I love a bullet pointed list! - to show you the kind of "refreshes" that I'm going to see through and give you a better idea of what I'm trying to say.

 

My F5/Refresh List.

 

• Make better use of my time and do more. I did a bunch of really great things in 2013, and did lots in all the other years of my life.  2014 has 12 untouched months - give or take the first few days of January - to add some exciting adventures, days out, days in, trips, weekends away. I want to make sure that I use the time I have wisely, and have more adventures, because I enjoy them.

• Keep on top of my fitness. Throughout my life, I've always had an OK level of fitness, but I have noticed in recent years that its been deteriorating. My refresh here is to make sure that I do something to ensure that my body is fitter and healthier so that I can live better and do more.

• Put more energy into this blog. I love my blog. I check my account everyday, I think about my posts, I try and make sure my posts are of a standard I can be proud of and I constantly photograph things "for the blog", even though I tend to have a lot of issues with uploading pictures, which is why you don't always get to see the pictures I specifically take for you lot to see. I would like to post some more, I would like to expand this blog, and help it grow.

See, only a few little things, really, which are "refreshed" versions of what I already do.

You know when you hit that F5 button? You hit it because the page has been sitting there for a while and you want to check if anything has changed. You hit it because the page isn't quite how you'd like it to be. 

My "F5/Refresh" plan is my way of refreshing the pages of me. To see if anything is different. To help make things a bit more like I'd like them to be.

 

I hope that you enjoyed this post, and that it has maybe inspired you to make an "F5/Refresh" list. I hope that the New Year is being kind to you so far.

 

Have a lovely day, you lovely human.

 

GingerSnaps xxx

5, 4, 3, 2, 1! - Happy New Year! - 2014...

Hi!!!

In exactly 5 minutes, it won't be 2013 any more. It will be 2014. A fresh start, a new year. 12 whole new months are ahead. 12 whole new months to fill with life, and time and adventures. 

2013 has been a good year. I started reading blogs, I started my blog. I went on so many cool days out, with family and with friends. I tried new things, and while I have up on some, I have also found some things that I love, and hope to continue. I have learned things, I have enjoyed myself, and discovered things. There's been up's and down's as there are every year, but when I look back, the up's stand out the most.

 

I hope 2013 was good to you all and that 2014 is a great year, that you find everything you search for, need. I hope that you find happiness this year.

Happy New Year to you and all of your families and friends.

 

So, lets see how the 2014 archive fills up on this here blog, and thank you for supporting and reading throughout the year. I'll speak to you all next year then...

 

Happy New Year, have fun!

 

GingerSnaps xxx