2017.

2017, it's been a year! I've been MIA from my blog since my carpal tunnel surgery in November, but my hand is healing nicely now so I'm hoping to get back to some regular scheduled programming ASAP. Politically 2017 was a terrible year, and I'm aghast at the direction our planet seems to be going in, but this blog is going to be about my personal 2017 in an attempt to finish the year with some positivity and reflection.

2017 had it's highs and it's lows. Family members and friends were ill, thankfully these illnesses seem to be under control or on the mend now, and I am more grateful for the NHS than ever. Friendships changed, and I learnt a lot about being able to tell myself that it's OK to give up on people who let you down or hurt you. I had my first carpal tunnel surgery (full blog post on that coming soon), I'm still waiting on the other hand after that operation was cancelled last week. I scarred my face and managed to lose a good chunk of eyebrow in May, which very much affected how I felt about myself, and was a whole journey to accept the changes that I wasn't expecting. Note to self - the kitchen floor is extremely slippery when wet!

In the highs of the year, I had the absolute privilege of seeing three of my nearest and dearest get married this year. My little brother two days before Christmas, my darling cousin Hannah, and my best friend Fal. I was bridesmaid for Fal, and any long time reader will remember my being thrown out of the last wedding I was supposed to be a bridesmaid in, so it was a joy to finally be trusted to be a part of someone's day.

My husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary whilst away on a wonderful holiday with two of our best friends. We also went to a whole bunch of incredible gigs this year, we were lucky enough to see Metallica, Stone Sour, Inglorious, Wayward Sons and Bigfoot. We're hoping to make 2018 even more music focused and already have some gigs planned.

Blog wise, things all went to the wayside from November because of my surgery, but I still hit some personal targets and achieved some things I'm very proud of. I hit 200,000 views, something I had wanted to hit before the end of the year, and I hit yesterday, so I did it with a day to spare! I wrote 37 articles for She Might Be, 3 of which were some of the most successful pieces on the site for the entire year. I did my first ever photoshoot on the other side of the camera, with the truly amazing Shannon Swift, I cannot recommend her enough! If she can make an awkward turtle like me look so glam, she's got skills.

I was published as a blogger in a print magazine for the first time, in the brill Blogosphere Magazine. I can also now very proudly announce that I'm in the magic Bethany Rutter's book Plus+ that is due out 15th February! I've already pre-ordered it and cannot wait to get my mitts on it.

 

I'm hoping that 2018 can bring about more travel, more music, and more good times. I know my blog will have another hiatus when I have my other hand operation, but it's well worth it because hopefully my hands will be greatly improved and I might even be able to pick up my camera again.

Here's to hoping for a kick ass 2018!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Our Trip To Cornwall

For our first wedding anniversary in June Stu and I really debated about where to go on holiday. We aim to go away every year for our anniversary, but this year we had no idea where to go. We were chatting about it with some of our friends in the pub who jokingly suggested that maybe we could go to Cornwall with them as maybe the timing would be right.... and it turned out that they were away for our anniversary and it was exactly within budget, and Ashen our dog could come too! So we turned our holiday into an adventure with some of our dearest which made it even better.

We stayed in an adorable studio log cabin at Leycroft Valley in Perranporth. It's a couple of miles from the beach, but nestled in a forest. Totally not what I expected but so beautiful, such a lush contrast! Every cabin at Leycroft Valley has it's own hot tub on a private decking area, and the decking area is secure so if you take your pooch they can roam free on it. I'd been a bit concerned that it wouldn't have a good gate on it, but it had a gate with a solid latch so Ashen had his freedom and whenever we were in we left the patio doors open.

Ashen loved the cabin. We took his bed and his favourite toy, Clive the alligator, and his blanket with us. He adventured with us every day and then was so worn out he just wanted to snooze all evening. Most nights after trips out we went in the hot tub and he joined us sat out on the decking. He just likes to be in our company. The hot tub for our cabin was designed for 2 people, a sort of triangular shape, you could maybe have gotten 3 people in at a push but it would have been cosy. Our friends had rented a bigger cabin with a separate bedroom and theirs was a more traditional size hot tub that was fine for 4 people.

 

We went to the Healey Cider Farm where they brew Rattler after Stu developed a taste for it. It had all sorts of adorable creatures, including goats that I think are about the cutest thing ever. In a Big Deal for me sort of moment, I not only went near a shire horse, but I stroked it. I'm terrified of horses and this horses towered over me, but I hid behind Stu and went over after much encouragement and was brave enough to stroke it briefly! I mean, it then had a snorting noise and I ran away but it totally counts as extreme bravery.

We didn't have the best weather while we were there. In fact a couple of days were torrential rain and I was very glad I took leggings with me and a couple of pleather jackets because I really did need them. Our actual wedding anniversary was the only day we had truly lovely weather. It was sunshine all day and we went to The Watering Hole on Perranporth beach and had cheesy chips and gin and it was a perfect chilled out evening.

Ashen loved the beach, he always does. One of the days we took him down it was so windy it was unreal. We'd had the genius idea to get ice cream and eat it on the beach. So Ashen ended up eating my very sandy peanut butter ice cream which he thought was the best thing ever. (I specifically ordered an ice cream Ashen could eat so I could share it with him, such a dog lady)

Honestly these photos of Ashen in the wind are now my all time favourite photos of Ashen. He looks hilarious and they make me laugh every time I see them. His little beard blowing in the wind! Cornwall is incredibly dog friendly so it made taking him and our friend's dog Snoop everywhere really easy. Everywhere provided water bowls and seemed to be happy for your pooch to come with you, bar actual restaurants which is fair enough.

We ate out most nights, and ended up finding a real treasure of an Italian/Fish restaurant that we ate in 2 days in a row we loved it so much. If you go to Perranporth all 4 of us highly recommend Del Mar. So many veggie options, so much fresh fish, it was a total delight. It's not the fanciest looking place but wow, some of the best food I have ever eaten. 

Despite the weather, we had an amazing time. I injured myself twice falling over on the wet decking, and fell down the stairs to our cabin, literally days after I had my facial injury when my stitches were still fresh. What I have learned is that I am not designed to walk on wet floor. No one else had any trouble, including our friend who had recently had a major knee operation. I am just the clumsiest human we've all ever met. We'd never done a holiday with friends before barring music festivals, and it was brilliant fun. The only things I'd have changed were that we'd gone for 2 weeks instead of 1, and I wish the bed had been a king size not a double.

Occasional, sand, our pooches, alcohol and good company, what more could you ask for?

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

Colourpop Short and Sweet : Blogosphere Magazine

My 2016

2016 has been an interesting year hasn't it? The world seems to be falling to pieces and I'm genuinely worried about the way politics seem to be going. In a stark contrast, my personal life has been mostly amazing, with a couple of downs to go with my ups, so I'm choosing in this blog to focus on that. 

The years started out relatively quiet, January was unremarkable. and in February my birthday was lovely and quiet. I'm not the biggest fan of my birthday, so anytime I can have a nice meal with my family I'm happy. Sadly in February we also suddenly lost our dear, sweet one eyed Sinbad. It was so unexpected and heartbreaking. I miss him a lot and wish he could have been with us longer.

March and April were filled with wedding preparations and DIY, it kept me so busy and I am forever grateful to my Mum, Fal my best friend, my Nanny and my Auntie Maisie. I couldn't have done it without you! I also got to hang out with Melly Em Clark, Nancy of Sugar, Darling and Dom Clark which was so much fun. Anytime I get to hang out with fellow blogger babes is wonderful and I'm lucky to have them nearby.

Me, Melly Em and Nancy, photo by Dom.

March also saw us welcoming a new arrival into our home, the wild hellion beast that is Lemmy Katmister. We adopted him from Cuddles Cat Rescue and it helped us heal after losing Sinbad, knowing we were giving another rescue a much needed home. He is much younger than our other cats Stitches and Patch, and certainly keeps us on our toes. He is a total Mummy's boy and can usually be found in my face!

May was my hen do! I had such a good time and felt so loved that so many people come to it. Afternoon tea, followed by Anti-Nowhere League in the evening. A bit of a mish mash of events, but I wanted something my Nanny and Grandma would enjoy in the day, and was more me in the evening. I also finally decided I needed fun hair again in the run up to the wedding and went pink, with long grown out roots.

Huge thanks to LovedRobe who kindly dressed me for my hen do <3 Headband by Corn & Glory and sash by Oh Squirrel.

And June... June was the best month of my life. I got to marry Stu! He's the best thing to ever happen to me. He constantly makes me laugh, I have never felt so loved, he shares my politics, is a goober with me, is genuinely caring and would do anything for those he loves, and is so supportive. I'm so damn lucky. Our wedding was truly incredible. I blogged a whole bunch about it, which you can read more of in the wedding tab in the top menu bar. I never thought I would get married, and to be able to call my best friend my husband is everything. Best day of my life.

Photo by ClickClickBang Photography.

A week or so later we then went on our first ever holiday together, our honeymoon to Turkey. Two weeks together in a beautiful country, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. We are hoping we'll be able to go on holiday again next year!

I'd say the rest of the year was a bit more peaceful, but between a 50th birthday, a 70th birthday, an 80th birthday, my brother getting engaged and so much more, I don't feel like we've stopped!

2016 marked a full year of Botox for my chronic headaches, and the first time I can say I had truly pain free days in years. It has been so liberating and life changing. I honestly couldn't have coped with the busy year and the wedding in pain like I was, and it makes me so emotional. I am so grateful for our NHS and how much they have improved my life.

I seem to have travelled more than I have in years this year, with trips to Liverpool for Curve Fashion Festival, and finally taking Stu to Wales to visit my family too. CFF was so much fun, even though I stayed in the worst hotel ever. We also had a weekend away in Sheffield to see Evil Scarecrow! My Mum and Dad moved to Cheltenham so we've been to visit them a few times too, such a lovely town.

Naomi of Diamonds and Pearls and Steph of Nerd About Town.

Both me and Stu got promotions in our jobs which has been so helpful in terms of our finances, and it's given us both new challenges we are enjoying. I love my new role and I'm really proud of myself for it. It's not a position I ever thought I'd be in and is so different from anything I studied. It's the first time either of us remember having disposable income like we have now. We've gone out for dinner a few times as a couple, something I don't think we have ever done before! When Stu needed a new pair of trainers he bought them. To not have to worry so much is such a dream and a privilege. We aren't flush by any means, but to have that little bit of money for us is everything.

Stu raised over £1300 for charity and shaved his beard! Full blog post on this here.

I've been able to work with some brands I love this year, and started writing for She Might Be which is a truly body positive website written entirely by plus size bloggers. I'll share some of my favourite outfits in another blog post I think or I'll be here forever!

My blog was also nominated for a couple of awards from a sadly rather unsavoury company who cancelled their awards last minute and hurt a lot of people. I didn't win, but I was so proud that you guys nominated me at all!

I can only hope that 2017 is brighter for the world, and that I can be lucky enough to continue to be so charmed!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

A Morris-Wood Wedding : Honeymoon Edition

Stu and I got back from our honeymoon a week ago today! I thought I'd share a few different blogs about it with reviews and info on the trips and hotel, but first a more general one about where we went and how we ended up there.

As we've been living together for years and have a house, we didn't want the traditional wedding presents. We have toastie makers, cutlery, pretty much everything you could ever need! But we have never been on holiday together as a couple. We've been away with my family or to visit Stu's family, but we have never had so much as a weekend away together. We decided that we would pop a note on our invites to say that we didn't want any presents, but if anyone did wish to get us something, a donation to our honeymoon fund would be massively appreciated.

And just wow. Thanks to our unbelievably generous family and friends we were able to go away for 2 weeks to stay at Club Blue Dreams in Bodrum, Turkey. We booked through Thomson on the Monday after the wedding, and flew out on the Thursday! It's a 4 star hotel and all inclusive. It was absolutely stunning, we couldn't have dreamed of staying somewhere more beautiful together.

Having never been on holiday together, two weeks alone was definitely going to be a total change. And it was wonderful. I've never felt so relaxed and happy. Spending so much time in each other's company was so much fun. Every morning we woke up smiling and got to be with the person we love the most all day every day. The hotel staff were fantastic, the hotel itself was immaculate, and the view from the infinity pool was something else.

The sunsets over the Aegean Sea are some of the most awe inspiring in the world. Every night we watched them and felt so lucky. The main restaurant was outside so you could truly enjoy a romantic evening together every night. It got obscenely warm towards the end of our holiday, 46 degrees in the middle of the day! If you aren't into the heat, Turkey is not the place to go in June. It is such a lush green country and the sea was so clear.

We were completely blown away by people's generosity. It can feel really cheeky asking for money, but with the right wording people totally understood and wanted to help us go away together. The sweetness of those nearest to us was more than we could ever have imagined. We are so so lucky and loved. The day after the wedding when we were opening the cards people had given us we both basically spent the afternoon crying because we were so overwhelmed at the love people had for us.

I'll be blogging in more detail about the honeymoon shortly, plus the actual wedding, and of course honeymoon outfits!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Groomsmen and Usher Gift Ideas : Bridesmaid Gift Ideas