1 year on...

It's been a whole year since I last posted on this blog. 365 days of life have flown by and I haven't been recording them here. That's okay, but I find writing therapeutic so I'm back to explain where I've been.

We moved (again) and now live on a tiny island in the English Channel. Thankfully, we moved in the summer so I took 4 months off work and spent plenty of time on the beach like the one in the photo above. The water here is so clear it's beautiful, though plenty rocky so you've got to watch where you tread unless you want a scraped leg or stubbed toe!

Eventually, I found a job and went back to work in the Autumn. This was completely planned, I found a job pretty easily once I started to look for one. We had so many visitors coming to enjoy the beach see us that I was busy hosting most of the summer which was so great. I love having people to stay.

To get off the island you have to either go by boat (which takes a while...like 8 hours) or by tiny plane. So this is a view I've seen a bit of whilst waiting to leave:

The island is really pretty and has plenty of cycle routes and walking paths to explore. Over the summer one of my favourite places to take friends and family was to the West Coast to watch the sun set over the sea. Fish and chips whilst sitting on the beach made this sight really enjoyable:

There are other (even smaller) islands to explore too, with crazily small populations and more fun beaches to relax on:

We've made some great friends here which we're both looking forward to growing. The Church is fantastic and we feel at home already. It's a strange feeling to go away for a week and come back to hugs from people who are happy to see us again, we didn't have that before.

There are definite downsides to living here though. Sometimes I feel like I'm Truman in the Truman Show and have reached the edge of my bubble when I can drive Coast to Coast in 20 minutes...and that's even with driving at 25mph. When the bad weather sets in the port and airport close and you can feel a little trapped.

Brussels to Bruges part 1

Last week husband and I took off on the Eurostar to Brussels. It was ace. Have you tried the Eurostar? That's a post in itself really, so exciting for this English girl to get on a train in London and get off in another country, must be the island living. I digress...

Brussels

Such a small city bursting with an array of architectural styles, different nationalities, languages and vibrant cultures. We had 3 days in Brussels so naturally one of those was spent enjoying our hotel and catching up on much needed rest. Party goers we are. When we weren't sleeping we visited the Grand Place, climbed up the Atomium, wandered around national parks, ate waffles and chocolate, drank Belgian beer and visited the European parliament.

The skies were grey, it rained some of the time and it was so very very cold. However, it was exciting to explore with my adventuring husband and it's another city ticked off my travel list. My favourite part? I'd love to say it was the culture but it was the food (history graduate truth right there).

Top tips for travelling to Brussels:

1. As with most of Europe now, carry a 50c "wee coin" to pay for public toilets
2. Research travel cards for the transport system as you can save a lot with passes instead of pay and go travel cards
3. If a hotel says it has a star rating take 1 star off to meet your "at home" expectations. We stayed here
4. You can walk to most places in the city, buy a map and see the sights as you walk
5. Lunch/breakfast snacks are cheaper and just as nice at a local Carrefour supermarket rather than using cafes all the time
6. On from 5, Brussels doesn't have many cafes, buy snacks when you can
7. Eating out in the evening is expensive, Brussels is expensive
8. Most museums run at a 15euro entry price for an adult...choose a couple you really want to visit
9. Brush up on your French, it'll be really useful for travelling around the city/reading signs
10. If you're travelling from London, Eurostar and Easyjet are cheap options to get there (we paid £30 p.p. return on Eurostar)

They love this little weeing statue

So. Much. Chocolate.

Fresh waffles 

A gold gilted building in the Grand Place

Grand Place

Atomium (you climb stairs inside the tubes to get to the spheres)

Spot the military security

I have no clue what this represents

2015 in review

What a year! It was rung in on the banks of the Thames in London, gazing up at the incredible firework display and wondering what adventures 2015 would bring. It brought quite a lot...

New Year's Eve in London 2014

Exploring the Jurassic Coast, England

Wedding prep galore! Hair trial

Engagement photoshoot at Netley Abbey

Hen Do! Spa day and afternoon tea at a hotel

With my maid of honour and sis-in-law (headpiece + sash compulsory)

Wedding Day! 

My love

Quick business trip to the Channel Islands 

Honeymooning at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai

Atlantis The Palm, Dubai at night (view from the private beach *eeek!*

We also went to lots of friends' weddings

Day dating at The Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

Taking photos for a website we developed together 

My niece's first trip to the beach, first paddle in the sea and telling the sea to "sushhhh!"

Sailing, lots of sailing and power boating

May your 2016 be filled with love, hope and joy. I'm so excited to see what it brings for my family and friends! 

Family & Friends

After the family had all feasted on their six course meal we rolled ourselves outside to have photos taken before starting the dancing. We'd arranged for hog roast buffet to be served for the evening guests and i'm told it was very very good but personally, I couldn't eat another morsel after the formal dinner! The sun was causing some problems for our photographer but every time a cloud came over we all smiled and got the photos taken. These are a mixture of family and friend shots...

Our reception pt.1 (the feasting part!)

The country club we held our reception at was so beautiful and the staff were brilliant. The maitre d' organised his staff and our guests in such a low-key professional way that we didn't really notice anything going wrong. We kept the first part of the reception for just family and friends joined for the second part. The dining room was gorgeous and the food was so great I think I ate a little too much for a corseted bride!