Monday 29 October 2012

Autumnal Bliss

Autumn is easily my favourite time of year!

I love the crisp air, the colour of the leaves. Crunching the leaves under my feet was one of my favourite things to do as a kid, and still is. I have some of my best memories as a child during autumn. To me everywhere seems much more beautiful this time of year. Plus Halloween is an added bonus – I love Halloween too!

I love spending every Sunday getting into my walking boots and wrapping up in cosy woolly jumpers to take the dogs for a big walk soaking up the cool autumn air and come home for a lovely cinnamon latte (courtesy of the fancy-pants coffee machine) and maybe some cake too and then sitting with a Sunday movie or two and maybe a nap for good measure after all the fresh air.

Of course autumn walkies is the best at our favourite walkies spot at Elvaston Castle


Can't beat the excitement of finding conkers

You can’t beat a slow cooker full of gravy, chunky veg and meaty goodness to make you all cosy on the inside too. Though, sometimes we have a cheeky take away as a last of the weekend treat with a movie or a great box set. I blumin love sundays!
Sundays are now my favourite time of the week, I spend each week looking forward to them. Something even the Mr has admitted. I think I’m also converting him and he his love for autumn is growing! Yey!


Its also the time for Pumpkin spice lattes!!

and Chai lattes

and more lattes with cinamon cake!!!

Double Trouble!!

About a month ago we had a new addition to the family. We already have two crazy kitties and an adorable beagle, Bella, who’ve I’ve wanted ever since I was a young girl.

Bella love

Not too long after we welcomed Bella into our lives last October we knew that we would be adding another beagle when the time came. We always thought of getting another young pup to raise from scratch again but after spending a year training and showing across the country it turned out Bella’s brother, Jasper, needed a new home.


Initially we were still set on getting a puppy, but the more we thought about it and considered our options and in the end decided to bring Jasper home. Being Bella’s true brother from the same litter we figured he’d be perfect for Bella who, by now wanted a companion.

He’s been with us for a month now and at first it was very difficult, not at all what we imagined. For some reason he seemed to forget everything he knew when it came to listening to us. He is such a sweetheart, though at first through the difficult stages we were filled with 'uh oh, did we make the right decision’ moments, but I knew we just needed to get over the hill on his training.

With lots of hard work and going back to the basics with his training he’s almost as good as Bella at his tricks and commands and I know it won’t be long until he catches her up. And now we’ve done that I couldn’t ask for a better brother for Bella.

Super sibling snuggle cuteness

He is such a sweet boy and a cheeky chappy who loves his cuddles and licking my face clean of make up the minute I walk in from work. I’m so glad he’s settled in with us all.

We’ve still got a bit more training to go, but for now he’s a perfect part of a beagle duo I love terribly.



Jasper and Bella love walkies!

...and we love their post walkies naps, espcially when Jasper prefers to sleep on his back!

Tuesday 2 October 2012

They'll be there for you!!

It has to be said I’ve treated my blog awfully, filled with promises I’d fill it with regular ramblings…and well that’s pretty much all I left it with. Not very fulfilling!!

I guess I’ve been so busy and that can be anyone’s excuse but I’ve really been just concentrating on being just that, that I haven’t given myself much time to stop until now.

I figured I’d catch up over the past year which has seen a lot of new things happen to me – I’ll hopefully get most of it on here…

I wanted to start with something I’ve wanted to share for a while and that I find the most important.

So…as my husband was sent away for 7 months serving Queen and country whilst I stayed home I decided it best to take a bit of a break from performing as the first couple for months were tough and I could barely stay away to make something to eat after I got home from work. Keeping up a full time job, looking after a puppy and adjusting to the new routine and life on my own was exhausting. I know there’s people who are left behind with kids in tow, I’m not trying to stay I was any worse, just that I felt the effects and strain too.

As exhausting as she was my fur baby beagle, Bella was truly a blessing whilst he was away. I’m never wanting kids so I am one of those people who treat their dogs like their kids. She kept me company and was fantastic at cuddling my blues away on cold empty evenings alone. It meant that someone was eager to see me when I got home, gave me lots of joy and laughs and meant the house was never quiet. That for me is that hardest, having a quiet house is the loudest alone sound!

Me and my girl Bella in matching BooBoo Kitty Couture

Enough of the woe is me malarkey, iwasn’t all bad Mr Desire being away. We learnt to stay strong through more than hugetime and distance away.

soon realised I was also in the great opportunity of rekindling my social calendar, which had taken a bit of a back seat whilst I was doing all the crazy grown up stuff kinda ahead of scheduleI guess for my age, buying a house, getting married and keeping a busy full time job as well as then doing all the married stuff, I forgot how much fun being out and about with just the girls could be.

Cocktails
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t tie myself to the stove or quit seeing anyone ever. I still did occasionally go out, however most of the time I did it as a couple as we’ve been together for so long and met through friends so both have the same social circles and whenever anything was happening it was a joint invite/occasion/appearance.

At first I wanted to keep busy and planning dates with the girls gave me things to look forward to each week and with each passing week things go easier and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my friends as well as the few nights in with a good G&T, beagle cuddles and a catch up on my sky+ box.

I would go out or even stay in a with girlfriends 2-3+ times a week. And I truely acknowledge without the girls (Bella included) I really wouldn’t have been able to survive the 7months, hard and enduring as they were, they all really made it so much easier. Looking forward to having fun with people you love really takes you away from any hard and unpleasant times in anyone’s life. And so I am eternally grateful for them being there for me, listening to me and letting me have the oddmoan, supporting me and just plain being themselves for me to enjoy great times with.

BooBoo Kitty and I enjoying cocktails

 
Whats this...more cocktails!??
Ok so we drank cocktails...a lot!
  
Ok quite a soppy and heartfelt start to the post but its something that’s been on my mind since February, when the Mr left, I really do love and appreciate my girlfriends.
I thought I was going to miss out on so much this year, but if anything I’ve been given so much more! I know the Mr is also grateful for my girlfriends support and looking after me whilst he was away.

Now he’s back we’ve been catching up on the best part of the year that we’ve missed out on together and I’ve missed seeing the girls as much as did and I know I wont be able to keep up the social calendar as much as I used to, but I’m looking forward to planning more girlie adventures!


Ms Booboo kitty, Lucille Needles and I met the wonderful Anna Fur Laxis
I now also have more confidence in people and have re-establish my faith in people in many ways, it has also made me realise that cliché ‘you know who your true friends are’, buts its true, it has. Not that this is a bitchy comment at all its made me truley appriciate the ones I can go to for anything and know they'll be there, what I really mean is Thank you! I’ll never forget the love and support I received from all of them. I’ll always be there for them in no uncertain terms at the drop of a hat, but for now I’m looking forward to more dinner dates, going out for cocktails, hair styling-pizza nights in, dog walks and general great times with the ladies I love.

Rose x