31 Dec 2024
December Journal | Christmas & 2024 Reflections
The weekend before Christmas, we had family visiting and there was more than one Christmas dinner, present swapping and soaking up that pre-Christmas buzz. We went out on Christmas Eve which is not something we have ever normally done but taking Alfie out for a birthday meal, going to look at the big Christmas tree in town (and running around it multiple times because three year old) and then coming home for a slice of birthday cake, and putting a mince pie and carrot out, felt like a good balance and a good way to transition from birthday to Christmas.
It was mine and Gary’s first-time hosting Christmas and even though trying to sort everything for Alfie’s birthday on top of the Christmas prep all the while lugging around my beachball of a belly and the house being half-way through a big DIY/room-swap mess was frazzling at times, I still found it a lot of fun. Honestly, Alfie really starting to get Christmas this year was such a joy to be a part of.
On Boxing Day, we drove over to Wimpole to see the Christmas light display which was brilliant. I really loved doing something on Boxing Day, keeping the festivities going just a little bit longer and not getting cabin fever with an active three-year-old are all wins in my book. Also, there were churros and I bloody love churros.
This Twixmas period has been the most relaxed I have been all year. The house is a mess, I’ve tripped over the train set more times than I care to admit and any form of routine has gone to shit. But I don’t care. We’ve enjoyed lie ins and daytime baths and getting into pyjamas at 4pm (after only getting out of them at 11am), lunches bought from the street food market and dinners of cheeseboards, chicken & stuffing sandwiches and Christmas chocolate eaten in front of Gavin & Stacey, Wallace & Gromit and Outnumbered. It’s been great. I know my desire for a refresh will kick in very soon but right now, I’m just embracing piles of presents still sat around, not knowing what day it is, wondering what to spend my book vouchers on and wearing super soft socks (is it even Christmas if your mum doesn’t buy you new socks?!).
We have a table booked at our local sushi restaurant on New Year’s Eve and are also hoping to squeeze in a cheeky mocktail but honestly, if we’re in bed by 9pm, I won’t be mad about it. Hope you’ve had a good one.
2024 reflections
It’s been a weird ol’ year. I always quite enjoy the natural reset of January, setting some intentions for the year ahead, but half-way through this January, we were told we were facing a major restructure at work and all at risk of redundancy and that pretty much set the precedent for the year: feeling like my head was only just above the water at all times. It was four months before I knew the outcome of the restructure and whilst it all worked out okay in the end (a promotion and pay rise), those four months were stressful and the stress at work didn’t really end as we then had to put the new structure together which is an ongoing process. Amongst this, we were trying for a baby which was something we didn’t feel like we could delay but doing so amongst the threat of losing my job felt like a very risky game. In the meantime, I was also planning my sister’s hen do and practicing a vegan wedding cake which were both lovely tasks, but I would have preferred to have done them without all the other shit going on (particularly when my interview fell the same week as the hen do).
I finally found out I was pregnant in July and even though I felt relieved and happy and lucky, I had also had this feeling of trepidation. It’s like I just knew this wasn’t going to be an easy pregnancy. It’s been six months of feeling, well, crap. In the last few weeks, something has shifted; I feel like I have a little more energy again and my word, the difference. I will take any amount of heartburn/aching/swelling/weeing every half an hour for the remainder of the pregnancy if it means my brain doesn’t feel like it’s wading through fog all the damn time.
It is, however, so easy to focus on all the hard bits and when I flick through photos from the year, there has been so much good stuff. The biggest joy, as always, has been watching Alfie grow. Parenting is really hard work but watching him go from two – three has been a privilege and probably my favourite age yet. There was also our holiday in Camber Sands, celebrating five years married at The Pig, my sister’s wedding, our holiday in Devon, glamping in Suffolk, a trip to Edinburgh with my sister, our annual trip to Norwich and all the lovely day-to-day joys that I’ve tried to capture in these monthly journals throughout the year.
Twenty Things I’ve Loved Lately
Alfie having the time of his life on the bouncy castle at a friend’s birthday party.
A Christmas Wreath workshop with my friend; I’ve never done one before and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It was nice to do something different and spend time together away from the kids. Plus, as a first attempt, I didn’t think my wreath was too bad – I was willing to hang it on my door anyway!
Alfie singing Jingle Bells at the top of his voice on a loop, all day, every day.
Two nights off parenting; we had a lovely weekend relaxing in Norwich.
The house being full of various fairy lights or light-up devices. I want my living space to be twinkly AF at Christmas time.
Catching up with old friends at National Trust places.
Alfie’s absolute delight in spotting Christmas trees around town.
A big navy, velvet bow in my hair.
The Christmas tree in Ely cathedral – stunning. Or, to quote Alfie, ‘it’s SO pretty Mummy!’
Our boy turned three years old, something I still can’t quite believe.
The digger birthday cake I made him; sod the wedding cake, this is my best baking achievement of the year.
Setting new Christmas Eve traditions; being out, seeing the town all lit up with lights, Alf’s blowing out the candles on his cake (for a second time), putting out a mince pie and carrot for Santa & Rudolph. Loved it.
Alf’s inspecting the nibbled carrot first thing on Christmas morning, as if to confirm that there had definitely been a reindeer in the house, was just magical.
Alfie pulling presents out of his stocking with a big grin on his face.
However, nothing will beat his face when he opened his very own train track set. I think perhaps my favourite moment of Christmas.
Super easy cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.
Alfie running around in his pyjamas all day on Christmas Day, including when we went for a walk/park trip. There was just something so relaxed and festive about it.
Airfrying the roast potatoes and parsnips – game changer when it comes to making a roast dinner.
The final episode of Gavin & Stacey; just perfect.
Feeling relaxed for the first time in a long while.
Boxing Day Christmas Lights @ Wimpole
23 Dec 2024
Taking A Break: A Christmassy Weekend In Norwich
Going to Norwich seems to be turning into an annual tradition of ours. We love the city, it’s only an hour’s drive away and we’re really learning to appreciate the charm of going back to somewhere we have been before when the intention of the weekend is to have time off.
We drove over on Friday afternoon, listening to the Parenting Hell podcast on our way which is our usual car journey listen of choice. Our Airbnb was lovely, a converted dance studio, tucked away behind some beautiful houses that would fit right into a Richard Curtis Christmas film and very close to the centre.
Norwich had really gone to town on the Christmas decorations; it felt like every street was lit up and there were Christmas trees everywhere. We stumbled across a pub called The Belgian Monk and it felt like old times (aside from the fact I wasn’t drinking alcohol) being sat there sharing crisps and having a proper chat without the interruption of a toddler. We then had dinner at St Andrew’s Brewhouse. We went for drinks there last year and loved the atmosphere and how festive it felt, and we weren’t disappointed this year. We had a very leisurely meal and rather enjoyed people watching the various Christmas parties and trying to figure out other people’s office dynamics.
Pastries at Bread Source was a must on Saturday morning; we love Bread Source. We discovered a different location just three minutes from our Airbnb and it was a lot quieter than our usual – more central – spot and it was lovely and peaceful eating cardamon buns surrounded by piles of baked goods, beautiful handmade garlands and twinkling Christmas trees.
We did a little shopping, finishing off our Christmas presents, browsed Norwich’s abundance of cute, independent shops (can’t possibly comment on whether I bought the bauble-shaped candle…) and had a little look around the cathedral, partly because it’s free and was a good escape from the howling winds, and partly because I knew it would be lovely and Christmassy and I wasn’t disappointed. We had lunch at the cathedral café which turned out to be run by Bread Source as well, so it was our second visit of the day and, quite frankly, we weren’t mad about it.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the Airbnb and I think this was the biggest treat of the weekend. We did venture out briefly to get a hot chocolate from Hotel Chocolat but otherwise lying on the sofa with my book without any interruptions was glorious.
Dinner was at Benoli and I would highly recommend this place. The décor was all deep colours with fairy lights and candles and the food was delicious pasta and Italian-themed starters and puddings. Everything was so tasty.
Rounded off the day by watching Shetland in bed and again, I think this was a bigger treat then going out for dinner just the two of us. Peace and quiet is extremely limited in our lives these days!
We had pastries at Bread Source, of course, the next morning before heading home to our boy who had been treating Granny and Grandad to his loud renditions of Jingle Bells for most of the weekend…
22 Dec 2024
Christmas Lights @ Cambridge Botanical Gardens
11 Dec 2024
November Journal | I'm tired, gimme festive joy
And this is how I managed to persuade my not-before-December-1st husband to put up the Christmas tree in November. You gotta take advantage of these situations you know?!
It feels like most couples have one Christmas Person and one It’s Too Early person; no prizes for guessing which roles Gary and I fall into. Christmas is currently my focus amongst what feels like a lot of chaos; collapsing on the sofa after yet another completely irrational toddler meltdown – I have a Christmas tree twinkling next to me. Looking around at the chaos of boxes and half-constructed furniture and feeling overwhelmed by how much we have to do before baby arrives – focus on plans to go see the Christmas lights at the weekend. Starting the day feeling exhausted – CHOCOLATE FOR BREAKFAST.
‘Fuck it, it’s Christmas’ is pretty much my motto for the next few weeks, please do come join me.
Twenty Things I’ve Loved Lately
Visiting friends in London and having all the kids playing together; so lovely to watch.
Watching fireworks from the window with Alfie.
Doing sparklers for the first time with Alfie and him loving it.
Visiting family in Sheffield and taking Alfie to the museum of emergency vehicles.
The John Lewis Christmas section.
It being the time of year that the Velvetiser gets a lot of use.
A gorgeous weekend in Edinburgh with my sister.
Alfie in his red bobble hat.
A roast dinner at The Old Hall, always such a treat.
Alfie thinking that ‘decorating’ the Christmas tree meant hiding his tractor toys in it.
Putting the Christmas tree up together as a family and Alfie really getting into. I love this time of year for making memories and it’s so lovely to watch Alfie really starting to grasp Christmas.
A cheeky weekday lunch date with an old friend over a delicious bowl of pasta.
Seeing Wicked at a cute independent cinema; it was SO good.
Having the chance to see the Christmas trees in Kings Cross and St Pancras stations.
Gary feeling baby kick for the first time.
The liberating realisation that going into survival mode with parenting and letting some (cough a lot cough) things slide does not make you a bad parent. The kid isn’t any less loved because he’s not had a bath or eaten pasta for the third day in a row. Gotta do what you gotta do.
Going to see the Christmas light display at Cambridge Botanical Gardens, which were lovely.
Holly bushes with red berries.
The whole town being lit up with Christmas lights.
Alfie falling asleep with his head on my bump, seemingly oblivious that his sibling was trying to kick him in the face.
6 Dec 2024
A Cosy Weekend In Edinburgh
It didn’t take long before my sister and I were plotting a cosy autumnal weekend away where we went to a lot of bookshops, sat in a lot of cafes and wandered about somewhere that had a lot of cobbled streets.
“Edinburgh?” we both asked each other simultaneously.
Cue the cutest weekend in a city we both love. We’ve both been more than once and tiredness is really kicking my arse this pregnancy so I think this may be the most chill I have ever been when planning a weekend away. We booked nothing, aside from an early table at Dishoom on Saturday night and mostly spent the weekend wandering and soaking up the atmosphere. We walked up The Royal Mile and saw the castle, visited the steps from One Day where we had a lovely moment revisiting our trauma from watching the Netflix series, and went to Victoria Street where we spent a solid amount of time browsing the cute little shops – including an obligatory visit to the Harry Potter shop – and buying mostly for ourselves, despite claiming we were Christmas shopping. It’s not hard to stumble across a charming independent café in Edinburgh so plenty of time was spent in them as well, cradling hot drinks and putting the world to rights.
Edinburgh had fully embraced Christmas and my sister kept laughing at me because every time I saw a tree or some lights, I would let out a high-pitched squeal. I loved it and came home with the yearly Christmas decoration for Gary, Alfie and myself. It was also the first weekend of the Christmas market and whilst I was less fussed about actually looking at the stalls (although we did complete our mission of finding a red car Christmas decoration for Alfie), I absolutely loved the atmosphere and the night-time views of the lights, the trees and the rides against the backdrop of the Scott Monument and the National Gallery all lit-up.
We both went on a book-buying ban in the weeks building up to the weekend so we wouldn’t feel too limited when doing out joint-favourite activity; getting lost in a bookshop. The Edinburgh Toppings is so higgledy-piggledy and the Waterstones so big that we literally did get lost in a bookshop more than once. Side note – the Waterstones café has a huge, curved window with the most perfect view of the castle. If you can go on a quiet weekday, I would highly recommend trying to get seats there should you be visiting. I was hoping to find the special anniversary edition of One Day because my original copy seems to have gone missing, and it felt like buying it in Edinburgh was fitting. But the only copy I could find was damaged and given the price, I wasn’t willing to spend the money unless it was pristine. And then two days after we got back, my sister sent me a gift-wrapped copy in the post as a surprise (cos she’s ADORABLE) and that makes it far more special.
It's a long way to Edinburgh even on a fast train (although those views through Northumberland are unbeatable) but I just find it such a magical city that it was worth the travel time. It was also such a rare treat to spend a whole weekend with my sister just us, discussing books, films, politics and the future. I know it is potluck as to whether you get along well with your siblings, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am that I drew the lucky straw with mine because she’s the best.
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