Wandering Curiosities • Page 3 of 9 • A Yorkshire Based Lifestyle Blog

January 24, 2018

A Heart Shaped Valentine’s Neon

When Gingersnap offered to send me a heart shaped neon light to review how could I say no? I mean I love neon, I make Kevin pull over when we’re driving so I can take pictures of neon. The neon love runs deep. And it’s almost Valentines Day, a heart shaped neon seemed like the perfect fit. How many times can I say neon in the first paragraph? A lot obviously.

I think everyone knows that I love Records too, if you didn’t where have you been? My soul is lost in a bygone era. One where all advertising was done in neon and hand painted signs. There is a certain romance about it, one where the warm glow of light touches my skin and a vinyl softly clicks on the record player. Gingersnap’s Pink Heart Balloon fits perfectly just above my record cabinet.

I was super impressed with delivery from Gingersnap, the neon was well packaged and arrived quickly. I opened the box very carefully in anticipation because this was the first neon I’ve ever owned and it was as perfect as I hoped. Clean crisp and very pink, a hint of the 1960s and a time long lost. One that calls me from within. The neon mounts on the wall and comes with easy to follow instructions. I got Kevin to drill a hole through our wall into the adjoining garage and feed the power from there. The plug that comes with the neon is black, it stuck out trailed down our white walls so hiding it was our best option.

Since Valentines Day is just a few weeks away why not treat yourself or your loved one to a neon sign? They even do a super cute table top neon heart in red that I totally adore too and may have to purchase for Kevin* because a girl can’t have too much neon can she? *our bedroom.

You can find Gingersnap on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

*I received this light in exchange for a review but all thoughts and neon love are my own*

January 8, 2018

Birthday Lunch at The Ivy York

I’ve always wanted to go The Ivy, you know the Iconic London Restaurant. Maybe it was the allure of celebrity spotting or the promise of just great food? And now that they’re expanding the empire to the North, I thought it was the perfect pre birthday treat for me and my Mum. York is home to one of the newest members of The Ivy Collection. The Ivy York. A table was booked for Saturday and off we trotted all glammed up for a day of shopping, delicious food and mother/daughter fun.

Are you ready for some food pictures that will make you hungry? Well I hope you are, because well this was one of the best lunches I have had in a long time. Not only was the food excellent the service was fantastic too. Attentive wait staff, who we didn’t need to do that weird eye contact thing to get them to take our orders, they just seemed to know when we were ready.

We started off with cocktails, because what is a birthday luncheon without cocktails?! The Ivy Royal – Hibiscus gin, sloe infusion, rose water, Cremant, garnished with a little flower. Basically we would have been happy to people watch and drink cocktails all afternoon but we were there for the food too. Oh and a Selfie.

See I told you we went all fancy. I even put on a dress and did my make up. Our cocktails were lovely and we sipped them while looking over the menu. I always stand by the I will order something that I wouldn’t cook or make at home mindset. I didn’t change for The Ivy York, I will also let slip that I spent the evening before looking at the menu.

I had line caught Swordfish, which was so tasty and delicious. I had chosen this when I looked at the menu in advance but was almost swayed by the Dukka spiced sweet potato. Mum ordered the Roast salmon fillet and she said it was really good, to be honest salmon isn’t my first choice because it can be a bit fishy tasting sometimes. The bit that I tried (stole of Mums plate) was tasty and the texture of the salmon and crunchy smoked almonds really worked well together. We also got a side of broccoli and parmesan and truffle chips. This is the only part of the meal that i could fault. The chips were good and the parmesan and truffle topping was tasty, but it was just on the top few chips in a cone meaning the majority of the chips didn’t get any of the topping.

Now we get to pudding. Oh hello you beauty. Apple Tart Fine, lemon sorbet and fire. I’m sold on a bit of table theatre, especially when it adds a bit extra something. With a warming brandy and apple you can’t go wrong. Mum ordered Crème Brûlée and it was also very good and a portion so big it was barely finishable. But we managed. There is something about simple food done well.

The Ivy York – Would I go back?

Yes, I think I would. It wasn’t the cheapest lunch option but for a treat or a celebratory meal I would recommend it. The service was spot on and the food was really good. It was also nice that on a Saturday lunch we did not feel rushed. Sometimes you go for a meal and the waiters are hanging around ready for you to ask for the bill after you’ve finished your last mouthful of dessert. We spent almost 2 hours in The Ivy and didn’t feel like we had to finish our meals and rush off. As my Mum mentioned it was my birthday when she booked I also got a little treat, which I won’t spoil for you but it was very sweet of them to adapt to the fact that I was driving later on.

Location

The Ivy York
2 St. Helen’s Square
York
YO1 8QP

January 7, 2018

Your late 20’s Are Nowhere Near As Scary You Think And This Is Why

I’m about to turn 28 and by some sort of miracle I’m not having of melt down. Currently 30 doesn’t seem that daunting.

Your late 20’s Are Nowhere Near As Scary You Think And This Is Why

1. You learn to say no, even though that is something I’m to improve on. No, to the after work party I don’t want to really attend. No, to the friends who well aren’t really friends and No, to your lazy/rude/boring attitude that saying no can invoke.

2. You can kinda cook. Don’t get me wrong there are still kitchen disasters where we get a takeout but 9/10 I can make something a bit more exciting than fish fingers and chips. (I do bloody love fish fingers and chips though)

3. Learning to listen to your body. This ones taken time, but now I’m 99% dairy and caffeine free and feeling much better. I’m also happy in my own space. Taking myself out for a coffee and giving my brain a rest from too much human interaction is also a godsend.

4. The self-doubt is easing. The imposter syndrome is slowly fading. Confidence is starting to win out.

5. The world keeps turning and learning that you can’t control everything can be difficult. Just go with the flow. It’ll all be kinda ok in the end. 2017 taught me that.

Did I have quarter life crisis?

At 24, I hated the thought of turning 25. It terrified me. I was a grump weeks before and a good week or 2 after my birthday. It filled me with dread. A quarter of a century old. It felt like such a big mile stone. Maybe it was because I wasn’t a 100% happy in the job I was in, maybe it was just a pre conceived notion that by 25 we should have everything planned out and hitting them elusive goals. And I kinda did have it all planned out. I knew where I wanted to be, I was just struggling to quiet reach that goal.

The quarter life crisis as I like to call it came and went. It lasted a couple of months where I was doubting my identity as an adult. I did however realise that not a lot changes once the clock strikes midnight on the day of your 25th birthday. No magical grey hairs start to sprout. I didn’t suddenly gain any extra wrinkles. And not a single person said I should have my shit together. Life as a newly 25 year old just carried on as it did at 22, 23 and 24.

Back to 27 and 363.5 days old.

There’s no oh shit moment. Just a quiet confidence that I’m going to boss 28.

I guess 28 is officially late 20’s. Even though 27 is almost too. I’ve not felt old as such this last year, apart from that time when all the fresh faced junior doctors started at work and I realised I was a good few years older than most of them. Oh and I suddenly became aware that I wasn’t down with the kids when listening to the Radio, I didn’t know 4 songs back to back. I switched officially from Radio 1 to Radio 2 in the car. I’m happier for that.

Embracing 28, is exciting. I want to see what I can accomplish this year. I set some goals for 2018 that you can read here but I also have some other plans that I am working on. They’re not ground breaking or anything but they are hopefully going to make 2018 pretty awesome.

So there you have it. A quick post to say that your late 20’s ain’t that bad.

December 28, 2017

5 Goals for 2018

I’m not one for making new year resolutions are such. They tend to be generic and almost set you up for failure. With this in mind and the fact that I don’t want to make some pretend rules; that I will inadvertently feel guilty about breaking.I have made a list of 5 goals that I want to try and live by in 2018.

5 goals for 2018

1. I want to try and and live more ethically. From using less plastic, trying not to impulse buy items and to think about where we buy our meat from. There’ll be no grand changes but I’m hoping a few small ones will help me to live a little more sustainably.

2. Learn to say no. To be honest, I’ve made leaps and bounds this year in saying ‘no’ or ‘no thank you’ but there is always room for improvement. Damn that British – must say yes to everything attitude as not to upset the person asking.

3. Travel. 2017 saw us travel significantly less than we have done in the past. I do have itchy feet, to go exploring again.

4. To fall in love with taking photos again. Simply put, when you take photos everyday for your job. It gets a little tiresome. But 2018, I want to pick up my camera more.

5. See more of the UK, for Christmas I got a National Trust Membership this will allow us to explore stately homes and national trust properties all over the United Kingdom.

So there you go. 5 little points that I want to try and achieve. Nothing too daunting, just will be good to aim for throughout the year.

Whats your plans for 2018?

December 22, 2017

A year in Review 2017

best of nine 2017

Here we are hurtling towards 2018. I am excited to review 2017. Are you ready? Right lets go.

January – I started off the new year building a fort in the living room, eating crap food and drinking wine it was the best. There was a day trip to London to see Steph. I treat myself to first class tickets. We ate Lebanese food and went to what we call the fancy Starbucks. AKA Starbucks Reserve.

February – The little brother was in a car accident, I spent an evening in Sheffield Northern visiting him in hospital (he escaped lightly considering it could of been a lot worse). We took our only international trip to Houston for a week to see Matt and Nicole. I ate the most amazing BBQ food at Rudy’s. I’m still thinking about that brisket.

March – We put our house up for sale. Holy cow. That seems so long ago now. But our home for 8 years went on the market. It was super scary but also very exciting. I went back to London to see Steph but this time with Amy, we had an amazing girly weekend and it inspired this post about Friendship in Your Late 20s.

April – Road Trip month. The Beetle, me and Kevin drove over 600miles on the Foss Way. I made my first ever Vlog. You should go and watch it here. I ticked off Stonehenge my bucket list too.

May – This month was a biggy. On Tuesday 9th May I had major Surgery. Good bye 20% of my Liver. Good bye Focal Nodual Hyperplasia. Hello 6 plus months of recovery. Hello New Scars. We also sold our house. eeek.

June – I spent the majority of June recovering from surgery, including having to inject myself daily with blood thinners. All the fun times. The rest of the month was sent on the sofa been looked after by Kevin.

July – More recovery this month, this time with a couple of more days out into leeds to improve my mental health and get rid of the cabin fever that set in over the last 8 weeks.

August – I went back to work part time on a phased return after what worked out at 3 months off. Steph bullied me into Open Water Swimming and I surprisingly loved it. August was also the month we sold and moved out of our home that we sold in May. We moved into Kevin’s mums spare room and put all our junk in a 20ft storage container. Throw in a PCOS diagnosis for good measure too.

September – More open water swimming on my own this time, Steph was home in London. I cant believe it’s something that I enjoy, I’m not normally an exercise kinda gal. Never mind exercise outside kinda gal. ie. I joined a gym for a year and only went 3 times. So there is that. We spent a day in Morecambe at a vintage festival, the 2nd mini road trip for Winnie. Oh and back to work full time. September was a bit busy right?

October – October is my favourite month. Halloween, pumpkin spice everything and wrapping up warm. I took Mum to the Opera and I leant that Opera really wasn’t our thing. Matt and Nicole came and we hosted them for a whistle stop tour of the North. It included, Leeds, York, Whitby and one monster hangover.

November – HAPPY NEW HOME. We finally got the keys to our new house. We did what can only be described as an epic Ikea haul. I went very blonde and started to unpack what felt like all the boxes in the world.

December – Cooking Christmas dinner for 6 after last years 5 person dinner will hopefully be a success! I have also agreed to go for a quick swim on boA bloggers day out organised by Gina including a bottomless brunch and the ballet was so much fun and a testament to the wonderful bloggers community in Leeds.

2017 was a challenging year. Having surgery certainly threw the year and myself into chaos, my physical health certainly took a battering along with my mental health. Somehow I made it through, even if I’ve added an another diagnosis to the list, a recurring appointment with a dietician and still struggle with daily pain but we’re getting there slowly but surely.

Travel took a back seat over the last 12 months. We only went on 2 trips and one of them was in the UK. This felt like a bit of a kicker a few months back but now I can see it was for the best, time to recuperate but also the fact we bought a new house!

Now buying a new build house is filled with lots of little challenges and my god did we come across some. From struggling to reserve the plot we wanted, to endless build delays. It’s almost all a memory now as we are all settled in and 80% unboxed.

What’s in store for 2018?

This is a very good question I hear you ask. Well you should read this post to find out!

December 14, 2017

The Hepworth Cafe Wakefield

How often do you get to go to an art gallery and eat amazing food? I’m gonna let you into a little secret The Hepworth Cafe. I was invited to the Press Launch and since then I’ve already been back twice.

The Hepworth is the Art Fund Museum of the year 2017. Thats kinda a big deal in the art world. Never mind a big deal for Wakefield. Add the collaboration between House of KoKo (which I love and frequent before work for a coffee) and Masterchef finalist Chris Hale you have a combination that is bloody amazing.

The Hepworth is a funny looking building designed by David Chipperfield Architects and overlooks the River Calder. It houses not only the The Hepworth Cafe but also some great artwork. I’d recommend going down for a couple of hours, spend a little time becoming cultured and stop off for a bite to eat and a coffee. I can often drag Kevin with me on the promise of a breakfast and a good coffee. He’s not really that into art.

Fresh seasonal food is on the menu and there is an amazing selection for vegans as well as non-vegans (carnivores?). The menu also features what I guess I call Kevin friendly food. Pie, bacon sandwiches, and even beer. So basically everyone will be happy to eat here.

Another surprise in The Hepworth Cafe is the wonderful Geo Fleur has a plant shop. And we all know that crazy plant lady is my middle name recently. All the plants in the cafe are for sale so if you spot the perfect cacti or fern you can snap it up and take it home with you. This is very dangerous because well along with wanting to try everything on the menu I also want to take all the plants home.

December 11, 2017

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Mulled Wine edition

I write this as the first snow of the season is falling. It seems kind of poetic. I love winter, crisp days and fresh snow. Sadly I think the whole of England is covered in a blanket of thick snow expect this little corner of West Yorkshire. But it’s actually beginning to feel a little Christmassy.

Today I have put the Christmas Tree up and drank some home made mulled Rose wine. Which is most definitely the way to go. Ate a donut for breakfast and another one as a snack later. Christmas is the bestest. This one was an egg nog donut from Temple Coffee and Donuts and I think it may have been the best donut ever. Or it was the 3 mugs of mulled wine I drank while decorating the tree.

This year the tree is a little later up than normal. I’m a 1st December kinda gal. This year it fell into the depth of the 10th December. Moving house and fighting the battle of endless boxes, the last thing I wanted to do was unbox the Christmas tree and decorations. However my first free Sunday in a while and the promise of snow I finally felt a little festive. Time to make Rose Mulled wine and eat another donut.

Rose Mulled Wine

Open a bottle of cheap Rose Wine and add to a pan

Add 4 tablespoons of brown sugar to the pan and stir

Next add around 300ml of water and stir again

Chuck in 2 Schwartz Mulled Wine Sachets and stir again (these are absolutely genius)

Warm through for 10 mins but don’t boil as you’ll burn off all the alcohol

Take out the sachets

Now the final step add a glug of Creme De Cassis around 4 tablespoons

Pour into your favourite Christmas mug and enjoy.

December 8, 2017

Lates: An Adult Only Museum Evening – Bradford

An adult only museum experience, yes please.

I like museums but what I kinda hate is that often they’re full of small children interrupting my viewing experience. Sorry. I said it.

This is where Lates comes in to play. They’re an 18+ evening at a museum. That way you only have to contend with adults. Who are on the whole a lot less excitable then small children and you don’t trip over them quiet as much.

The Science and Media Museum in Bradford runs 4 Lates evenings a year and I went to one with Kevin. We went for a kinda date night. And because we are slightly space obsessed.

What we really went to see was the Soyuz descent module that Tim Peak returned to earth in after spending 7 months on the international space station. And it did not disappoint, look at this rusty, scorched lump of metal that safely carried 3 Astronauts back to Earth.

There’s something magical about space that captivates me. Maybe it’s the exploration? Maybe the longing for a past time when Man went to the moon? There were lots of activities held on the evening, one of these was to watch the Apollo 11 Moon landing on TVs of the era. A group of 12 of us sat huddled around a tiny TV waiting for the Apollo capsule to set down and for Neil Armstrong to step out on to the moon’s surface while uttering them famous words; “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” It gave me goosebumps and then the room erupted into applause.

May favourite moment may have been reliving 1969, Kevin’s was 100% situated in the 21st century. His choice of event for the evening was the Virtual Reality Experience. You popped on a headset and it immersed you into the world of Tim Peake and his descent from the international space station to earth. This was the only paid experience of the evening, but at £5 it wasn’t expensive at all. Kevin enjoyed it but said it wasn’t quiet as good as some of the VR things he has tried before at theme parks like Disney and Universal. VR tends to make me a little motion sick, so I saved my £5 for the gift shop!

We had a really good night at Lates and I think if they’re held on a subject that I’m interested in, then a trip back to the Science and Media Museum in Bradford will be worth it. There was a couple of events that I didn’t try, making rockets was one. Even though this was an 18+ event this activity felt a little juvenile. I was really looking forward to the stargazing with the Hubble Telescope but the company pulled out at the last minute.

Location

The National Science and Media Museum
Bradford BD1 1NQ

December 1, 2017

Christmas Crafting With Viking

I can officially get my Christmas on. It’s the 1st December and let’s get the mulled wine out and say cheers. And this is exactly what I did at the Viking Arty Party Christmas event.

Now my love for Christmas begins on the 25th November and not normally a moment before that. But when I was invited Arty Party, a Christmas craft afternoon held on an unseasonably warm October Day. I made an exception. I put on my Star Wars Christmas T-shirt and got into the Christmas spirit.

Tucked away in Lambert’s Yard was a Christmas wonderland, festive music, mulled wine and of course a tree stacked high with presents. I was ready to get my craft on.

Christmas Craft Afternoon with Viking – Block Printing

First up was block printing with Tea and Crafting, the last time I did block printing was maybe in art college 10 years ago. This time I went for a simple festive design. A Christmas tree design made from a triangle printed twice, something that could be easily replicated and made into a cute pattern. Who knew playing with paint could be so much fun? I’ll be storing all my Christmas cards in this file.

Christmas Craft Afternoon with Viking – Advent Calendar

Our next craft session was making an advent calendar; out of the most gorgeous glittery paper that a girl has ever seen. I mean it was bloody lovely. You know that glittery paper that your teacher at school wouldn’t let you have? Yeah that one. The good paper. The plan was to make 24 crackers and stuff them with little surprises to make a super cute advent calendar. I have slightly adapted this and made just enough for everyone for Christmas day, including crap cracker jokes.

Christmas Craft Afternoon with Viking – Calligraphy

Now this is the only picture I took, why because calligraphy is chuffing difficult. It took all my concentration to be able to write my own name never mind think about taking photos. Joyce from Artsynibs however did a wonderful job of teaching us, she made it look so easy and fluid. This is the craft that I have since tried again at home. I’m still no master but I am getting better.

Now then, a big thank you goes to Viking for inviting me to the #vikingartyparty. I had such a good afternoon getting my Christmas craft on.

Is there any Christmas crafts that you want to try this festive season?

November 23, 2017

Lets Talk About Surgical Scars

Scars …

Im not really talking about the emotional ones that we may carry, but instead I’m talking about the physical ones. In particular surgical scars. I saw Paige talking about surgical scars on her Instagram stories and how she was finally feeling confident with her body and her scars. I thought I’d join in the discussion, chat about my scars and how I feel about them.

*Pictures of my main scar included right at the end, not too gruesome but they show the progression from 2 weeks to 6 months. (I wont be offended if you click away now)*

If you’ve been around these parts long enough you will know that earlier this year I had surgery and not a little one at that. I had a Left Lobe Liver Resection.

I now have 3 scars on my abdomen, one just under either side of my ribs around 2cm long and the other is slightly larger and goes from inside my belly button down and is around 2-3 inch long.

These scars are part of me.

They tell a story.

One of strength.

When you google liver resection it brings up all sorts of scary facts, figures and images. The majority of these throw the word cancer in there, you know just for shits and giggles.

I didn’t have cancer, I had a Focal Nodule Hyperplayisa – FNH for short. A benign tumour on the left lobe of my liver.

I was lucky, my liver resection surgery went very well and they managed to complete it keyhole or Laparoscopically for those that want the technical term. Before I went into surgery though I was warned that I they may have to convert to open surgery which would have left me with a 8-10 inch scar.

Now not knowing what you’ll wake up with is a scary prospect but one that I was prepared for, it was always 50/50 to which set of scars I’d be left with.

You never know how you are going to feel about your scars until they’re there. Just looking at you back in the mirror. The scars will never quiet look like normal skin. They will change over time. They may start off raised and pink, fading to a paler colour. They may heal leaving bumps and ridges in your skin. Or they may heal beautifully smooth and in a few years may almost disappear.

They are as unique as you are.

I’m lucky as I never really had any issues with my scars, from the day I saw them I was happy. I am not sure if it’s because I was expecting the worst but they’re ok.

I am ok.

The scars don’t leave me hiding behind a full swim suit, I’ll happily put on a bikini, I am body confident when it comes to the scarring.

*It is also very difficult to take a picture of your own belly button upside down

This scar ranges from almost 6 month old on the left to around 2 weeks fresh on the right. The swelling and bruising went down pretty quickly and it has become flatter and smoother as time has gone by. I’ll more than likely do another update in a few more months to show how things are healing.

What I am trying to say here is that you shouldn’t hid behind your scars, or let them control you. Embrace them. They are you.