HELLO OCTOBER 2023

 


 

FABULOUS THINGS THAT HAPPENED LAST MONTH

1. Isabelle settled in well & Uni

2. A few lovely visits to see her in Leeds

3. ‘Strictly’ has started – I love it

4. Max got lots more work experience helping backstage at the theatre

5. Tony got accepted to run the London Marathon again – nutter

 

LIFESTYLE, LEISURE, PLACES & HOME

Taking your first child to Uni!

So last week was a very emotional one to say the least! The pride we feel in Isabelle on being accepted at Uni to study Law is beyond belief, but saying goodbye to our gorgeous girl & not having her at home has been hard.


I’m so so excited for her, she’s had a blast during freshers week, met loads of new friends, can’t wait for her course to start and has the world at her feet. Leeds is a fantastic city with so many opportunities & is also quite near home should she need us for anything.

As a mum though it’s a strange feeling. A few of my friends are in the same position and all say the same. I’ve had a churning feeling in my stomach since she left & I just feel flat! It’s a huge milestone when your firstborn leaves home. I’m certainly not an empty nester like many of my friends as I’ve still got a few more years with my beautiful boy at home but it’s definitely the first huge step to my children growing up & leading their own fabulous lives. Our job as a parent is to send them out into the world with the skills & confidence they need and I know Isabelle is well on her way. She’s kind, funny, organised, mature, focused, driven & can turn her hand to most things. She is very sociable and makes friends easily so I don’t worry about this side of things for her. Uni must be so so hard for students who struggle in social situations & I really feel for them.

I did get all of us to download the 360 app however, not to spy on her but just to check she was home safely after the late nights of freshers week. I really didn’t sleep well last week I wont lie. But it’s something I have to now get used to & I’m so excited to see what this next chapter of her life brings & all I know she’ll achieve. I really couldn’t be prouder of you Belle & I couldn’t love you more.

 

BEAUTY, HEALTH & STYLE

Going sugar free (most of the time)

Before the summer I wanted to firstly lose a few pounds but also feel a bit healthier. After feeling sluggish quite often after eating sugar I looked into going as sugar free as possible with my diet. I put it like this as, to go completely sugar free takes a lot of research and big lifestyle changes due to sugar being added to many things we don’t always realise. But, I decided to cut as much processed sugar out of my diet as possible such as deserts, grabbing a chocolate bar etc.

I don’t add sugar to my hot drinks anyway & we only really have deserts on rare occasions, so this part was easy. I do like the odd chocolate bar, but I really didn’t find this a problem to cut out at all. My main culprit is wine in my diet but I tried to cut this down a bit & go for gin & slimline tonics. As I said, it isn’t a completely sugar free diet but cut down substantially and I didn’t find it a problem at all. By my holiday I had lost quite a few pounds and felt so much more energised. I didn’t miss it at all over summer really, even to the point of not wanting deserts on the cruise ship we were on which astonished me.

I’ve let it slip a little as the weather has got wetter & cooler plus I must admit I’ve been comfort eating just a little this week with Belle going to University. But I am getting straight back on it this week as I really don’t find I’m craving sugar at all any more.  

 

RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH

Bills Leeds

One of the great things about Isabelle going to Uni in Leeds is regular visits to this fantastic city. It’s not too far from where we live so it’s easy to get there & I’m looking forward to meeting her for lunch every few weeks once she’s settled in.

On the day we took her we went for lunch at ‘Bills’. I’ve been to a few ‘Bills’ restaurants in London & Surrey but I’d not visited this one before.

I will say I was slightly disappointed to be honest. The menu wasn’t vast & both my 15 year old son Max & myself, neither whom are fussy eaters,  struggled to find much we fancied. Max & Belle eventually settled on a burger & I had a the duck salad.

For the price, the quality & quantity was not great, just ‘ok’ and we finished our meals not really feeling full or satisfied. The restaurant was quite dark and the prices were very high.

There are some wonderful restaurants in Leeds so this won’t be one we’ll bother visiting again. Not terrible but not great.

www.bills-website.co.uk

 

COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH

Sloe Gin Fizz


Ingredients

50ml sloe gin

25ml lemon juice

2 tsp sugar syrup

Ice

Tonic water

Fresh or frozen blackberries

Lemon slice to garnish

 

Method

Pour the sloe gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker and fill with ice.

Shake well until the outside of the cocktail shaker feels cold then strain into a tall glass with more ice.

Top up with tonic water and stir gently

Garnish with a lemon slice & blackberry

 

FILM/TV SHOW OF THE MONTH

The Long Shadow


A wonderful cast and a very emotional subject, I waited in anticipation for this series to start. I watched the first episode on its debut & what a gripping drama it was. It deals extremely sensitively from the victims’ stories rather than focusing on the monster Peter Sutcliffe himself which is brilliantly done. By all accounts, family members of the victims gave their input & blessing to the project resulting in a gripping piece. So far I’ve only seen the first episode and Katherine Kelly, Toby Jones & Daniel Mays were all superb. I wanted to watch the entire series immediately but it’s not available for streaming in advance which really, I’m pleased about as it adds to the anticipation. My only criticism was the sound quality which I noticed a few people have mentioned. However, I put the subtitles on & it didn’t spoil it for me.

 

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Behind the Sequins – Shirley Ballas


I love Strictly & I love Shirley as a judge, so I was looking forward to reading her autobiography. I couldn’t put it down from start to finish. You can hear Shirley’s voice throughout & what a life she’s lead. Some happy times & some extremely tragic times in her life, Shirley doesn’t hold back in this deeply personal memoir. I can highly recommend this for any Strictly & Shirley fans.

 

THIS MONTH I'M LOVING

Hearing everything about Uni from my beautiful Belle

 

THIS MONTH I'M NOT LOVING

Belle not being at home – I just miss her!

 

THIS MONTHS FAVOURITES

1. Elemis superfood day cream

2. Marmite

3. The Great British Bake Off

4. Satin pillowcases

5. Nioxin hair products

 

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH



 

 

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