September recap // Travels, Catching Up with Friends and Family and Lots of Afternoon Tea!

Its that time of the month again… time for last month’s recap! This month the weather really has turned and it well and truly feels like autumn. We put on the heating for the first time on Friday – I came back from a day at work in Wakefield to a nice and warm house which was so nice! The scarfs and boots are now out but this weather also means I’ve caught a cold 😓 So I’m all wrapped up this evening in cosy pjs watching TV under a blanket on the sofa about to get this recap underway.

 

So September… you were a month of change! I finished up at my last job and wow I hadn’t realised how much it was seriously stressing me out until I handed in my laptop and walked out the door. I’m so glad I managed to have a week off in between jobs to actually switch off and I definitely kept myself busy so I didn’t have time to think about what I might have forgotten to do…
 
We started off the month with a long weekend to Ireland and went on a mini road trip. I’ve done a blog post on this – see here for some gorgeous Irish pics. It was definitely what we needed… Tim and I hadn’t been away together since April when we went to Florida for a week (see here for recap), so time away together was well and truly needed even if it was just for a long weekend. I’d never been around the Ring of Kerry before but will definitely be back… the views were just breathtaking… I mean… who would think this was in Ireland?!
 

 

 
The reason we picked Ireland is because we could stay with family a couple nights and make it a cheaper trip. It’s always nice getting to catch up with family too!
We want to go back and do some more exploring but next time we’re thinking we’ll go and see the Cliffs of Moher, Galway and above.

This month we also finally made it down to Poole to see brother and his girlfriend. My brother moved down to Poole about a year ago and they’ve got a cute little flat which they’ve kitted out lovely. Must be a girl’s touch 😛! We brought them a little aloe vera plant as a house warming gift. Tesco do a great little selection for £5 each which is a bargain and they come in cute little flower pot. We always find its easier to keep cacti and succulents alive rather than a house plant and you don’t get those little flies if you over water them.


So my brother showed us around Poole and we went to Poole Arms for a little lunch. Apparently its the oldest seafood bar on the Poole Quay – it’s definitely a cosy space! We got a couple portions of salt and chilli squid and scallops with black pudding. YUM!


We then got on the road and drove down to Sandbanks. I’d heard about Sandbanks before and it was a nice looking area. Some of the houses looked insane and I can imagine they cost a small fortune. We spent a little time chilling on a bench by the beach just taking in the views and catching up which was lovely.

You wouldn’t think it was September!


For dinner we headed to a Korean restaurant called Kori in Bournemouth which was delish! We all love Korean food so was always going to be a winner. I had some KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) which I polished off – mmm! It was a lovely day and we drove back to Brum with full bellies.

I’ve mentioned it a few times now but I finished up at my old firm a few weeks ago which now means no more timesheets! Woo! I’ve had to do timesheets for the past 7 and a half years so it feels so good to never have to do another again 🙌 As a leaving pressie I got a cute little Cath Kidson bag and matching pencil case (see here where its currently in the mid-season sale). I do love a cross body bag.

I had some leaving drinks at Revs de Cuba which so some great cocktails and 2 for 1 before 7pm. We then popped to Franco Manca for some pizza. Always a no. 6 for me and Tim – chorizo heaven!

That weekend, we headed up to Chester Zoo. We’ve been meaning to go for ages but just keep forgetting to get it booked in. So we finally booked our tickets online (its slightly cheaper to buy online rather than at the door) and drove up early one morning for when it opened at 9:30am. I’ll write up a proper blog post on it but it was a great day. It’s so big and took us all day to go around it so its definitely worth the money. Here’s some of my favs from the day including the tasty meal on our way home at The Thatch

Get in my belly!


Has anyone else been watching the Rugby World Cup? We’ve been watching it at the weekends. Quite a nice way to start the weekend watching rugby whilst being all cosy on the sofa with a hot cup of tea – dreamy! I’m supporting England (as evidenced by my top!) but my family is Irish so got always got a soft spot for Ireland. Whenever Ireland play I’m routing for them and its always a tense game if England and Ireland play! 

So finally onto my week off… it was super busy! I spent couple days down in London with the nannies and then catching up with friends for dinner. I ended up going out for afternoon tea twice with the nannies (M&S and then Cafe Concerto) and then trying out The Cyclist in Balham with some friends. Tbh at the time the food at The Cyclist tasted great – I had fillet of cod with sweetcorn – but then was quite poorly for the rest of the evening which wasn’t ideal! It’s always a pity when food doesn’t agree with you 😓

Dinner at The Cyclist

Me and one of my nannies spent a day out shopping at Westfield in Shepherd’s Bush which was lovely. It wasn’t too busy which was perfect – don’t you hate it when its just absolutely heaving? I haven’t been here in years! My nanny ended up treating me to some delicious smelling Jo Malone hand wash and moisturiser. We ended up going for the English Pear & Freesia scent which smelt divine. The scent lingers for ages after you’ve washed your hands which is lovely. Such an amazing treat I wouldn’t usually get for myself!

Cafe Concerto Afternoon Tea YUM!

I swear the week was literally all about eating out lots and lots and catching up with friends and family. Thursday was another busy day with a trip to the dentist for my crown (not so nice) followed by lunch, tea and cake with an old work friend who’s currently on maternity. It took a little while for the anaesthetic to wear off so I had a wonky smile for an hr or so! The food at Boston Tea Party is always delish! We had Eggs Benedict to start followed by carrot cake and lemon drizzle cake and tea to share. Perfect!
That evening I then caught up with some other old work friends – it was a great evening filled with tasty food and lots of gossip!

And that’s not the end of the busy week! Friday I spent out with mum. We met up in Bicester Village and did a bit of shopping. My new job has a Business Casual dress code so I needed to update my work wardrobe. For the past 3 years my dress code at work was ‘dress to diary’ so if we didn’t have meetings or were out at clients we could wear casual clothes so I generally had a number of different dresses I just wore on repeat. So I got myself a couple new work trousers from Zara (they have a stretchy band at the back which is just perfect!), a wool skirt from Karan Millan, a stretchy skirt from M&S, a knit top with pearly buttons from Zara and a dress from The White Company. So I should have all my bases covered!

The rest of the day we spent at Blenheim Palace. It was pouring down but the views were still loooovely. Afternoon tea was nice minus the egg sandwiches which had definitely gone off! (Save to say they were left) Literally makes me queasy thinking about them 😷 The scones also weren’t the best I’ve had – they were a little soft and didn’t really have a proper structure to them if you know what I mean… For the price you pay, I expected it to all be really good so was a little disappointed. It was still a nice day out with my mum though 😊

 

Saturday was a final day of eating out! We went to the Solihull Food Festival with some friends and had some tasty food! We had chicken pakoras, cheesy toasties, blueberry and white chocolate doughnuts (delish!), churros filled with caramel and beef in a black bean sauce with noodles. We definitely had our fill! My favs had to be the pakoras and the doughnuts! I do love me a food festival! Gotta love the variety and the chance to try some tasty food. We finished off the day with cocktails in Turtle Bay and lots of chat.

 

Deary me! I ate out a looooooot that week! It was so worth it though 👍 Time to get back on track now especially with the new job! I’ve got back on the couch 2 5k (just starting week 4!) and trying to get myself to the gym 4 times a week. At my last job I got myself into such a rut and didn’t make time for myself. Always find that exercise makes me feels less stressed so kicking off the new job making time for the gym even though I don’t feel like it most evenings!

 

Tim got me the cutest surprise the day I started work which I wasn’t expecting at all! A Tiffany heart bracelet with a pink heart – I haven’t taken it off since! I used to have one with a tiffany blue heart but it brought after a long time but the pink heart is something different which I love <3 (see here).

All in all September was a busyyyyy month and flew by! I can’t wait to see what October brings me… Malta for one! CANNOT WAIT!

Until next time,

Cathers xx
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