tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61150808602278847752024-03-04T23:17:55.732-08:00Mini New YorkerI'm a lifestyle blogger-blogging about my passions, photography, interior design and my adventures with some humorous stories thrown in.
I am also very lucky to have received my life saving kidney transplant and I want to live my life to the fullest and to my best ability in honour of my donor. I want to share my journey.Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-20757400690991056982017-06-03T04:41:00.003-07:002017-06-03T07:30:26.383-07:00Lake Como-Italy <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCYehrnkuxQSRWSbjxrpW3qCTnyUhP-DksFEACEjvf4SG09H9GcMNzhxnVPd07P7qHWbKJ250itOMpBe7jfSxgn-0QmOwPCy3nzgHmcXkGUP__jvIwU2ahXFWN2JkiHgOu66U5aIsQtc/s1600/107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCYehrnkuxQSRWSbjxrpW3qCTnyUhP-DksFEACEjvf4SG09H9GcMNzhxnVPd07P7qHWbKJ250itOMpBe7jfSxgn-0QmOwPCy3nzgHmcXkGUP__jvIwU2ahXFWN2JkiHgOu66U5aIsQtc/s640/107.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qlXhgqa4i0tymAbC6rcEpsLnuY3ccnj7tMozM7EuYIDFdFD4QCrXHyn5XRKxE_cZBoIkzdKN6bk_J1-FlvTgctenF9i5-0R8oYY-6W0WNuibuRYoi1pQfe1IoJlm48pbQMssQ2Qrt1g/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qlXhgqa4i0tymAbC6rcEpsLnuY3ccnj7tMozM7EuYIDFdFD4QCrXHyn5XRKxE_cZBoIkzdKN6bk_J1-FlvTgctenF9i5-0R8oYY-6W0WNuibuRYoi1pQfe1IoJlm48pbQMssQ2Qrt1g/s200/002.JPG" width="200" /></a>I have always wanted to go to Italy, let me just say, it didn't disappoint and I can't wait to go back. I haven't been on holiday since 2014 due to my health. This was my first holiday post my kidney transplant and I was feeling a bit nervous. So I'm a naughty traveller - yes I'm that annoying over packer. I'm that person who can't lift their own bag onto the baggage belt (or get it off the belt for that matter either.) Yeeeeeeh, I also have a bit of a confession to make....I also had half of hubby's big bag as well! I know, I know and I didn't even wear half the clothes I took (oops!). I think I will leave some of my art stuff behind as well next time, which I had in my hand luggage. I thought I was going to have time to sit, draw and paint. No such luck, we were soooo busy going back and forth across the lake.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VDl0UmpDiesty0rV4ah_RrGADyu7bRa5bMBj5TtDtDewS8CvfsfdJiwaLho2curPn81viV2vDaVSoB9LHcLXbb-Nv_JVx0eCVsTE08O5JL_ZH_NvrZEyGiIWBx9X8fsDsQsaaq0jM9Y/s1600/113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VDl0UmpDiesty0rV4ah_RrGADyu7bRa5bMBj5TtDtDewS8CvfsfdJiwaLho2curPn81viV2vDaVSoB9LHcLXbb-Nv_JVx0eCVsTE08O5JL_ZH_NvrZEyGiIWBx9X8fsDsQsaaq0jM9Y/s200/113.JPG" width="170" /></a>I was pleasantly surprised when I got to Heathrow Terminal 5 and I found the Harry Potter shop and they had <a href="https://www.harrypotterplatform934.com/products/niffler-plush">Nifflers</a>! I wish I had had more time before the flight and I could have spent more time in the HP shop. I really want one of these - hope I get one for Christmas/transplant anniversary maybe!! I had to be convinced to leave (without the Niffler, crying and wailing - ok that might be a slight exaggeration!).<br />
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I'm a massive Harry Potter fan as many will know but I'm trying to restrain myself (yeh who am I kidding?). I could end up with a whole house full of HP stuff - hubby's not really an HP fan so.....that will be a no then - lol!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKmJXmfNSQEdPd5_G3VsGUitT0BbiAXjmFQCBtM0vW8wirwyI1g-WtDd4lgN5mnFsWvdO_G1V4H5xBLNCGert0KEcoRZKlY0d8EH4VtYvh9QX9mV1rBdHZ0VyTn-ydXGnKfv9M7Vdu3s/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKmJXmfNSQEdPd5_G3VsGUitT0BbiAXjmFQCBtM0vW8wirwyI1g-WtDd4lgN5mnFsWvdO_G1V4H5xBLNCGert0KEcoRZKlY0d8EH4VtYvh9QX9mV1rBdHZ0VyTn-ydXGnKfv9M7Vdu3s/s200/037.JPG" width="200" /></a>Then I was looking out of the window (because I had the window seat obviously,) and I suddenly realised we were flying over the alps. It hadn't occurred to me that we would be going over the alps.The view was amazing and I just loved being back on a plane, even though I felt anxious to start off with. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcsGsqQQGneriRjlYNsU_-rfOTl1gylhbkFG65BvZzBx5GyAAJNZTtP0OcMwlTHs9W40pzVYs1iNmvrltQAyP8Z5R6gCWWnmOR68MCkDzbK0NBkWxIg7UkyGpHFrijdsKpysEppszo3I/s1600/081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcsGsqQQGneriRjlYNsU_-rfOTl1gylhbkFG65BvZzBx5GyAAJNZTtP0OcMwlTHs9W40pzVYs1iNmvrltQAyP8Z5R6gCWWnmOR68MCkDzbK0NBkWxIg7UkyGpHFrijdsKpysEppszo3I/s200/081.JPG" width="200" /></a>I slept a bit on the flight (I really hope I wasn't snoring/talking in my sleep - TMI - bit awkward!!) <br />
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So after collecting our luggage we got our private transfer to Menaggio on Lake Como. It was lovely driving around the lake with some beautiful views of the lakes and little towns dotted along the lake's edge. I snapped a quick pic of this little church, which was very pretty and many similar ones were dotted around the lake. It was slightly hairy in some places when we came face to face with a massive truck once or twice - eeeeeek!<br />
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<img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="1600" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DABBRz3hsvIoUX7luMfhDHaBg792CqSjN9JD629REGAwjv-G3OZG7_1KPsI7GgFZ145uGGtaMHxz5ubOiP0tucXliqTdltK2pJGATZM9xwDUmoKR_qayE3U2p8bn8TDzh49-25BXXB8/s320/108.JPG" width="320" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGeESMCKgC4rD7H3JGvXfWwuqU3sOwx6I6hIib4Uzr1OLi5bSH6dbuRnQKTfAbo2khlH6lkckxx87DkAxmQqYGkkigeprUmxOzcGs7mDaSSVhAPUYcub24x5Pug4KfSHPA9OnBL9OVBZU/s1600/119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="1600" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGeESMCKgC4rD7H3JGvXfWwuqU3sOwx6I6hIib4Uzr1OLi5bSH6dbuRnQKTfAbo2khlH6lkckxx87DkAxmQqYGkkigeprUmxOzcGs7mDaSSVhAPUYcub24x5Pug4KfSHPA9OnBL9OVBZU/s200/119.JPG" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></a></div>
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Menaggio, was so beautiful and a typically Italian little town with beautiful views of the lake. The left pic (above) was the view from the town and the right is from our apartment. I loved staying in a self catered apartment because it gives you more freedom for cooking. I love going to local shopping markets and finding new things, trying them out. I wish, I had bought more pasta back from Italy-literally I could have filled the whole suitcase with pasta after seemingly buying half the shop. Not sure how customs would feel about this.....!! Customs officer: do you have anything to declare miss?Me:....errrrrrrr!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkn8GkIqepS2VSfWUswjSblDFSWPQOksnwy_eJzZPruvvv6mMyIBrYVX1AOEqsPz1B750Pmv8o3loC4XtiinY5FSXZibGqq5c0Lj1ga_KGyS9fKw3xMPD5dld6fgN7UFeNQFnvPEafW9c/s1600/IMG_9016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1391" data-original-width="1600" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkn8GkIqepS2VSfWUswjSblDFSWPQOksnwy_eJzZPruvvv6mMyIBrYVX1AOEqsPz1B750Pmv8o3loC4XtiinY5FSXZibGqq5c0Lj1ga_KGyS9fKw3xMPD5dld6fgN7UFeNQFnvPEafW9c/s200/IMG_9016.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHvc7fjiEbbe2n9ZsER4_2-8UmPx_HsnzUv9BDBiBHVwXHdgH68cdZHsP5xDIrFKRSVhi6TTet9BowCaI6MrkimDibtddqT1Uy5C9W5XKdE_76U0BQ_wC9M0oHhZuhpGy1VvrrmM2jd8/s1600/473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHvc7fjiEbbe2n9ZsER4_2-8UmPx_HsnzUv9BDBiBHVwXHdgH68cdZHsP5xDIrFKRSVhi6TTet9BowCaI6MrkimDibtddqT1Uy5C9W5XKdE_76U0BQ_wC9M0oHhZuhpGy1VvrrmM2jd8/s200/473.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBMOxIDz_JM0-v-7C6mz0lx6z-dWIvF6ZEkAs8dSeQhjUjFR36Lbcyx4HLLq2Im6gXVSaI5SWVcmx6tnW8LssPTp3c5Zb9ch3_txyPQUaU3Jrws18fw1KhyVaZMlh39Avk5KfnzpOlJg/s1600/176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1282" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBMOxIDz_JM0-v-7C6mz0lx6z-dWIvF6ZEkAs8dSeQhjUjFR36Lbcyx4HLLq2Im6gXVSaI5SWVcmx6tnW8LssPTp3c5Zb9ch3_txyPQUaU3Jrws18fw1KhyVaZMlh39Avk5KfnzpOlJg/s200/176.JPG" width="160" /></a></div>
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Pics above from left to right, Menaggio bright red Vespa, Bellaggio painted bottle restaurant, Tremezzo Gelato truck.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGJBYO3LwgjyEHreewxSZx45FcBJqnDgdaDOVeecHmMsY0OlkU98lBMpUiBr4V5UfYfAI-6FkAadqffNhT4gqGeJPZysy8SJ2M_qvh-c7qSAnI5LDuFKzBWI2RHLMdkTJ7QRkrH9pAsM/s1600/196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGJBYO3LwgjyEHreewxSZx45FcBJqnDgdaDOVeecHmMsY0OlkU98lBMpUiBr4V5UfYfAI-6FkAadqffNhT4gqGeJPZysy8SJ2M_qvh-c7qSAnI5LDuFKzBWI2RHLMdkTJ7QRkrH9pAsM/s200/196.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZCKMgMJHd2bBQDttyvwfk1VVZbN3LbBCgIqoXKSv8mWTPrYyGBPuEiNp3XsPo1WpAw2IusEEq7sAObZVmBQWqY_hu8WK3wsyEtcPIhL5xe1w8HF_-rRm0Jj8q84SxG-wf4MYxAet9CA/s1600/1039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZCKMgMJHd2bBQDttyvwfk1VVZbN3LbBCgIqoXKSv8mWTPrYyGBPuEiNp3XsPo1WpAw2IusEEq7sAObZVmBQWqY_hu8WK3wsyEtcPIhL5xe1w8HF_-rRm0Jj8q84SxG-wf4MYxAet9CA/s200/1039.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJSClYoT35iqRNTOYRsA_UzLknmAxBg09JZ8kpjOWZ6LRRqY1fT_NYLD4ILOIkQhiwHjEXZ8DH-xc_-MhEkh7IErFyg1UF5jRREcRBAtVD16RzwJYkuR134s0uOww0zLwRJ-pm2VTOEg/s200/DSCF6849.JPG" width="200" /></div>
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Bellaggio is also beautiful and became one of our favourite places on Lake Como. We visited the Villa Melzi and the gardens.The gardens were lovely with the lily pond surrounded by lovely vibrant Acers. The Moorish Kiosk was so sweet, nestled right on the lakeside (great for picture opportunities - but I did forget our tripod, so I had to prop it up.) We then discovered a little chapel which was very tranquil and peaceful (until I tripped over the end of the bench - why am I so clumsy?). I enjoyed our walk and spent a few hours walking round, taking photos and chatting. I did lose my hat a few times, had to chase it, so I ended up pinning it to my hair so it wouldn't fly off (more clumsy blogger moments!). We went to Bellaggio several times. </div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5IbeTXhn5VzcZLF6IwXCxHPN0EeY4kv_6FimvyEdMX5Wx7_QtxGrH0d4MUT6cwaokGT6Dv2-bVW8SMhL3W80DJsDQUi_xpUl_fYNCVOWSidumAPGUOvtBn5qxjOtAclBI18xrU-VOQ0/s200/IMG_9226.JPG" width="150" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2x58laEvrjNf7YLBqPYtzgEUhevwlLRdwGOFqxDcH0Cdg647wsPdJ3CL6X3mWBO5WW4urkKvBefM_fZ_X99VFl7Bk6WV3JoudZAn3JAeZGHD2jwTOcZlz9sge8HmsdQWdonZ6KHsaOzE/s1600/IMG_9227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2x58laEvrjNf7YLBqPYtzgEUhevwlLRdwGOFqxDcH0Cdg647wsPdJ3CL6X3mWBO5WW4urkKvBefM_fZ_X99VFl7Bk6WV3JoudZAn3JAeZGHD2jwTOcZlz9sge8HmsdQWdonZ6KHsaOzE/s200/IMG_9227.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiX9Dl7BFohMT1npRNJmtujSopAqi2Awxtuh8lOpjqd4I-pSwF4Yhsk9Pm7gMva_yprXp3bRTaRu4ru7bWc3sCUZGCDkYs7LiwFmp6Rc7D0OEeEQKCzGFIQPe7Zr3YnYGryNJhbIHUJvs/s1600/IMG_9225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiX9Dl7BFohMT1npRNJmtujSopAqi2Awxtuh8lOpjqd4I-pSwF4Yhsk9Pm7gMva_yprXp3bRTaRu4ru7bWc3sCUZGCDkYs7LiwFmp6Rc7D0OEeEQKCzGFIQPe7Zr3YnYGryNJhbIHUJvs/s200/IMG_9225.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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(below) Taking photos with my late Dad's film camera</div>
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We went over the border to Switzerland for a few hours to have lunch and wander around - as you do! Unfortunately it was rubbish weather as you can tell by my really sexy drowned rat look that I'm going for in these pics - it's so annoying as I had a nice outfit that I had picked out for the day trip! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0leyEWvfOaBCzJq9M6c104NjqGK-rGMEZ4fa2Wf0WUMQDsyZbnLc43m5GpECpUERHFwBsEqItNozV3td91W60gFyhaPAhWum_03NAfk0a3mvcTjfkF-n_P0tlQOzHvSjioqRmDorhcE/s1600/322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0leyEWvfOaBCzJq9M6c104NjqGK-rGMEZ4fa2Wf0WUMQDsyZbnLc43m5GpECpUERHFwBsEqItNozV3td91W60gFyhaPAhWum_03NAfk0a3mvcTjfkF-n_P0tlQOzHvSjioqRmDorhcE/s200/322.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2D19eUYyvYPIxjPt9Y2F2yW1WX1Ivt2DWqqae7fSu_jB4uzbZgHa_Z8qfFDQ-GAu7oMY1dI1bomK68THD7XQFpAoGr8qldp2ZCRJN4CG_BX_S8L7isAVK7lNMtRpkeW4dJYndrrMuic/s1600/453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2D19eUYyvYPIxjPt9Y2F2yW1WX1Ivt2DWqqae7fSu_jB4uzbZgHa_Z8qfFDQ-GAu7oMY1dI1bomK68THD7XQFpAoGr8qldp2ZCRJN4CG_BX_S8L7isAVK7lNMtRpkeW4dJYndrrMuic/s200/453.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-Xwg1d-46HKGDj0n-cRo_njTzClkcx2-7fmhxJmccRhWb6Dv-gWNDIxDB1lfca1MckXwE4AwHG42r1x_a7H5KQ0OqRzBjXqVU0qr095nu9lQSJhD7tSQkAHgTFNJEk3gjmPhyphenhyphen6vOJD8/s1600/DSCF6994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-Xwg1d-46HKGDj0n-cRo_njTzClkcx2-7fmhxJmccRhWb6Dv-gWNDIxDB1lfca1MckXwE4AwHG42r1x_a7H5KQ0OqRzBjXqVU0qr095nu9lQSJhD7tSQkAHgTFNJEk3gjmPhyphenhyphen6vOJD8/s200/DSCF6994.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtEkphDvAWkzvgS_4rD1pN7YUwDswtbYmCSxR5j050TQfb6u2NijnM4eMJiiBciJbRg7zINjsJj2hgWcXVlUwmzJFPf3qY_8gsvGutrh8JXXtxiDnkEvc1DvTFOSO87Y4fY3jPCX2A5M/s1600/DSCF6829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtEkphDvAWkzvgS_4rD1pN7YUwDswtbYmCSxR5j050TQfb6u2NijnM4eMJiiBciJbRg7zINjsJj2hgWcXVlUwmzJFPf3qY_8gsvGutrh8JXXtxiDnkEvc1DvTFOSO87Y4fY3jPCX2A5M/s200/DSCF6829.JPG" width="200" /></a>We went back to Bellaggio, I was walking along the lakeside and then I saw this beautiful property and thought oooooh I could totally do this up and have it as our holiday home - if only we had a few million floating about! We could have been neighbours with George, but actually he lives closer to someone I know these days in Berkshire. Oh well, maybe one day!! I'm so in love with Italy I wouldn't say never to owning a property out there one day (obviously not as big as this but a cute little apartment for when we have a family - would be pure heaven!). I was looking for him on the lake too when the really beautiful boats went past.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECY65Z575d-Z0EOILZ9LlwX2htTFrMqkaGBddmByhnA9dJ3C-fcnvDQJppg2Hdde-8sgBX_UaLSgY7GNuuVCAOg2eWEiMtsWPiCOVKsfCwi5O6jhkstzxF7m_b0h3md26XDisbhtaUPM/s1600/632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="1600" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECY65Z575d-Z0EOILZ9LlwX2htTFrMqkaGBddmByhnA9dJ3C-fcnvDQJppg2Hdde-8sgBX_UaLSgY7GNuuVCAOg2eWEiMtsWPiCOVKsfCwi5O6jhkstzxF7m_b0h3md26XDisbhtaUPM/s320/632.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5EdRhe84pblvgkThRh-4C13BOumvJQuaw_r4xFjj4T0Y3adIilvgfS33ST2r6K0cDQp-7T_AMIatgg56qihagl4UYnn2IBVhnZgNdixQypprZoaG1SW_-LNQH4n0xOOYiCeynOgz-6E/s1600/534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5EdRhe84pblvgkThRh-4C13BOumvJQuaw_r4xFjj4T0Y3adIilvgfS33ST2r6K0cDQp-7T_AMIatgg56qihagl4UYnn2IBVhnZgNdixQypprZoaG1SW_-LNQH4n0xOOYiCeynOgz-6E/s200/534.JPG" width="200" /></a>So after a busy day in Bellaggio, I decided to sit by the lake and do some sketching while hubby read his newspaper. I decided to do watercolours but just as I had settled down (with a cup of tea and all my art stuff) to do a lovely drawing, my view literally disappeared behind the clouds and then I heard massive claps of thunder (I swear the only epic fail that didn't happen to me was falling off the boat or dropping my camera in the lake). Then there was a massive thunderstorm and there was a lot of rain and lightning. It was pretty spectacular, we sat and watched it late into the evening.<br />
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My mum did say she wanted Villa Carlotta as her new house! Don't think it's for sale!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWTiWfoT_xmzFcOXEmUGYP1l0kRCw_16rKjZHZpiKnVx8mR14PtqGjlGqndJRSn6ik5IpojIGoSLDXyFMKYHeEwy1XfDt4A7xmhJoSNvf2O7XrcZycOk1T4N5ikJyY1M0LYg75iOsDBQ/s1600/DSCF7048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWTiWfoT_xmzFcOXEmUGYP1l0kRCw_16rKjZHZpiKnVx8mR14PtqGjlGqndJRSn6ik5IpojIGoSLDXyFMKYHeEwy1XfDt4A7xmhJoSNvf2O7XrcZycOk1T4N5ikJyY1M0LYg75iOsDBQ/s320/DSCF7048.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vkSkCtEpinX7BW8TNZWBjaEnjExXguMDqq_Qs2CGKtIgJe6kPKnJS-hqz7JSqNsdQbVYFbBkU5KLj5uH0bOZ-KqvZ30tFHZLqMXKuoUWivR_kjZgF2WYcvr_YtXviVqYTE8x6HA-mls/s1600/DSCF7055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vkSkCtEpinX7BW8TNZWBjaEnjExXguMDqq_Qs2CGKtIgJe6kPKnJS-hqz7JSqNsdQbVYFbBkU5KLj5uH0bOZ-KqvZ30tFHZLqMXKuoUWivR_kjZgF2WYcvr_YtXviVqYTE8x6HA-mls/s200/DSCF7055.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg654_KakZ6iQB-ofUCivWbOuC7wZpQqP0ULiLABnZ-nTLDSLUf30I8RBsUsSdplBFgUpF06PQ7Ns5Clfyq5sUH5xQTF3bBpIRkhKXmuwRjJWV6JwbDlJiFoU1LjBNI-A5Nd-MN0_9gN1I/s1600/825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg654_KakZ6iQB-ofUCivWbOuC7wZpQqP0ULiLABnZ-nTLDSLUf30I8RBsUsSdplBFgUpF06PQ7Ns5Clfyq5sUH5xQTF3bBpIRkhKXmuwRjJWV6JwbDlJiFoU1LjBNI-A5Nd-MN0_9gN1I/s200/825.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFg5goQZ_DScLtigA3ACXtW2L_75egdXEf1e8dcKGreAqLfvimii-tSPGDn1KE0gLljbGZvXmxS2iu65WU_7Gey9wmTsn2qUi5RiwfatZPXExlPZISh7Ia_483ZRTG5QNDenzYRo2eMPE/s1600/824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFg5goQZ_DScLtigA3ACXtW2L_75egdXEf1e8dcKGreAqLfvimii-tSPGDn1KE0gLljbGZvXmxS2iu65WU_7Gey9wmTsn2qUi5RiwfatZPXExlPZISh7Ia_483ZRTG5QNDenzYRo2eMPE/s200/824.JPG" width="150" /></a>Luckily the next day it had cleared up and the sun came, which was lucky because it was our last day, so we went off to Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo and it was stunning. Beautiful flowers including Bird of Paradise, I spotted while we walked in the gardens which are massive but we only saw a tiny bit. I then saw these lovely Rhododendrons which were in lovely shades of pinks and whites. I think, I literally took about 1,000 pictures of this place on various devices. Instead of being a crazy bag lady, I looked like a weird camera lady with millions of cameras and lenses and tripods and selfie sticks. Maybe I should get a T-shirt that says "yes, I take millions of selfies and photos.....I'm a blogger don't you know!" or something slightly shorter like "I 💖 Selfies...I'm a Blogger!!" Oh I should have patented that!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYn5LV4Iqo8uY4QzSlnNyXhGMe_4cfRI72-XB9PQ8iRGDr4m_0e1nZR3wtnaGWMhv39cX2JnEIuTd0mpMpali8L4jSowcVRKbgtujArJnfUPjszckDbfYc46NLx_LvB_CL5Ja_59DSmXM/s1600/686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYn5LV4Iqo8uY4QzSlnNyXhGMe_4cfRI72-XB9PQ8iRGDr4m_0e1nZR3wtnaGWMhv39cX2JnEIuTd0mpMpali8L4jSowcVRKbgtujArJnfUPjszckDbfYc46NLx_LvB_CL5Ja_59DSmXM/s200/686.JPG" width="150" /></a>I was sad to say goodbye to Italy, I fell in love as I knew I would and can't wait to go back. I would love to visit Positano, Sorrento, Capri or Sicily (desperate for more cannolis).<br />
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ToodlesXX..........Ciao<br />
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PS I love you Italy, miss you already!<br />
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<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-3904132022577994312017-05-21T15:13:00.003-07:002017-06-18T10:27:11.618-07:00What I ate - Italy Edition <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpdUn6zn5YkIVy-2FmZWSrbFaMNRuKBMjrP0EpYlLYTVNUrAbqzgwYSdvZs-eart-QvzE0qOFFpX0E2z4QWICditVnHQplSk5De4PkqJ0ZbNvimU0SGlVlarJfwolsG7lY3CHNn7XnJ4/s1600/1046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpdUn6zn5YkIVy-2FmZWSrbFaMNRuKBMjrP0EpYlLYTVNUrAbqzgwYSdvZs-eart-QvzE0qOFFpX0E2z4QWICditVnHQplSk5De4PkqJ0ZbNvimU0SGlVlarJfwolsG7lY3CHNn7XnJ4/s640/1046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Tuesday</u></b><br />
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So where do I start? No seriously! There was so much food and it's hard to know what to try first. We arrived about lunchtime and we were absolutely starving, we headed to the square where there were cute cafes. We found one called Cafe Central (which is part of the Hotel Du Lac and La Dependence restaurant group) which we thought would be perfect for a light lunch. We had a panini, think mine was tomato and ham and hubby's was a different one (can't remember - rubbishy food blogger!). I had mine with a coffee (one of about a million!). The cafe was nice.<br />
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In the evening we walked along the banks of the lake, which was very relaxing, to the restaurant at the other end of Menaggio. We decided to go to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/grollamenaggio/?hl=en">La Grolla Menaggio Restaurant</a> so we booked a table. I really wanted to try Spaghetti Vongale, so the first night I saw it on the menu and I had to try it and I have to say it was delicious! Hubby had a lovely pizza with ham, peppers and artichoke, which he enjoyed.<br />
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<b><u>Wednesday</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1VqlMwrtpxhg64k5LiaVTvlZq31HLrHt_o9iPwkV0PdJGMzJVJ7Skuc1iNqPlmwyzBwvNmgewDsTxafOPrtvGHa15HDwC-uW5XWfoYOc9XU8netK1j1szPJ9Bd4FjFp96EcNimlIrcE/s1600/268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1VqlMwrtpxhg64k5LiaVTvlZq31HLrHt_o9iPwkV0PdJGMzJVJ7Skuc1iNqPlmwyzBwvNmgewDsTxafOPrtvGHa15HDwC-uW5XWfoYOc9XU8netK1j1szPJ9Bd4FjFp96EcNimlIrcE/s200/268.JPG" width="150" /></a>We decided to head over to Bellagio on the other side of the lake, for lunch and a bit of a touristy mooch. We decided to have lunch at the <a href="http://www.hotelflorencebellagio.it/?lang=en">Hotel Florence</a> where we had a lovely lunch, right on the lakeside. I had lasagna which had pesto drizzled over it (which made it even better I think) and hubby had a spaghetti ragu, they were both delicious. While we waited for the boat for the journey back we decided to try gellato from <a href="http://www.hsplendide.com/it/hotel-3-stelle-bellagio-lago-como/gelateria">Gelateria Splendide</a> because it would be very rude not too (when in Rome.....well you know what I mean). Mine was coconut and pistachio and hubby's was double chocolate with hazelnut.<br />
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In the evening we went back to the apartment after being out for most of the day, so we decided to cook rather than go out. We decided that my mushroom risotto would be easy.......errrrr finding fresh mushrooms was a challenge. I kind of felt that I had some sort of truffle hunt on or something - they were that elusive. We were both a little tired because we had done quite a lot so we had a chilled evening in.<br />
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<b><u>Thursday</u></b><br />
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So, we decided to pop over the border to Switzerland and have lunch. It was quite a fun experience, we had to take our passports just in case. We decided to have pizzas from <a href="http://www.spaghettigastrogroup.com/home/spaghetti-store">Spaghetti Store</a> as you do get such a great variety, plus it was a bit cheaper than a pasta dish. My pizza was a 4 topping combo I actually picked from a list of toppings. I had cooked ham, anchovies, mushrooms and rocket (I was a bit obsessed with it actually - had it on most of my pizzas!). OK my combo was a bit weird but it was good. Hubby had a pizza with the 4 combo but he went for salami, artichokes, mushrooms and sweet peppers (he also seemed to have artichokes on most of his pizzas). Then we walked back in the drizzle, stopping off to get a few coffees and then we saw some yummy macrons. I had a strawberry one and hubby had a chocolate one of course.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54_m4mLSy57CJCq-jXT8y6ySk5tW2hdaLHsc2Rl8BoKV-14SGG6IIKpQZ0wS14SWlk8thuT92xgkknqZR5LTKIr98zlpBW-qUitMrL7GJPDB2VYTYRPDiWjSOqYYL-YuTzofaSPmqn3s/s1600/464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54_m4mLSy57CJCq-jXT8y6ySk5tW2hdaLHsc2Rl8BoKV-14SGG6IIKpQZ0wS14SWlk8thuT92xgkknqZR5LTKIr98zlpBW-qUitMrL7GJPDB2VYTYRPDiWjSOqYYL-YuTzofaSPmqn3s/s200/464.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-F_vqBk1VRXST2WKMZDn2KqDrNrv1EqoWx6xyLRg_4TgQ1xEMHI-Ydy0kQy7kD6XBnav-oCDgNXv36LWd2_FqbuFKVmg7iNgmTQMzs_t4M13dAuDctJxNrA2MNsWH1g4AneJZ3ZL1AkE/s1600/465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-F_vqBk1VRXST2WKMZDn2KqDrNrv1EqoWx6xyLRg_4TgQ1xEMHI-Ydy0kQy7kD6XBnav-oCDgNXv36LWd2_FqbuFKVmg7iNgmTQMzs_t4M13dAuDctJxNrA2MNsWH1g4AneJZ3ZL1AkE/s200/465.JPG" width="200" /></a>In the evening we went to Il Ristorante di Paolo which was in the square, it was Cordon Bleu but it didn't live up to expectations. It was very disappointing and the service was awful. The food was so undercooked, it was raw, and we had to send it back. Compared to the other meal that we had around the lake, where the portion sizes were generous, these portions were so small that you would need a magnifying glass. I really dislike this type of food where you pay ridiculous amounts for hardly anything. I am from the school of thought of 'fill your boots' type of food. Hubby and I enjoy our food and we don't like tiny portions. So this is definitely not one I would recommend. I nearly forgot to say what we had because it made me so cross. So mine was the risotto with beetroot and scallops (yes only 3 scallops) - it looks bigger than it was! Hubby's was lamb that was so pink he had to send it back, they then got in a bit of a strop with us for complaining. His dinner didn't come with any sides or anything. We felt so underwhelmed by our experience we thought we might make a snack when we got back. You live and learn, we will take TripAdvisor recommendations with a pinch of salt next time.<br />
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<b><u>Friday</u></b><br />
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We went over to Bellagio again, we really enjoyed our time there and we wanted to try some of the cute cafes/restaurants.We had some peach Bellini's (mine was a mocktail) at <a href="http://www.bellagiohoteldulac.com/en/home-1/">Hotel Du Lac Bellagio</a>. They were lovely.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiJpn0_Qadxlv_ly09qWfIqyiJGDyeMfgHRN0-dtGh8ELWfub_Tw4UG8ug0rnHGjtsZv_6yQw5jP88OF138lGANuSShDwezqTsXjzMqCCLrHW5T8RHyN_q9aCJoevho3WYMSBtmMn1-c/s1600/180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiJpn0_Qadxlv_ly09qWfIqyiJGDyeMfgHRN0-dtGh8ELWfub_Tw4UG8ug0rnHGjtsZv_6yQw5jP88OF138lGANuSShDwezqTsXjzMqCCLrHW5T8RHyN_q9aCJoevho3WYMSBtmMn1-c/s200/180.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
We found a lovely little pizza place. It had a wood fired oven for pizzas which made them delicious. I had a lovely pizza, with shrimp, courgette and rocket. I think it was probably my favourite pizza of the whole trip. Hubby had a pizza with sausage meat on it which he enjoyed.<br />
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We then went and had a coffee before we went back to Menaggio. It was a Mocha Macchiato and I have to say it was amazing and I will try to find one when I'm back in England. It was soooooooo delicious, I think I could try and recreate it when we get a new <br />
Nespresso machine (on our Christmas wishlist).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgft3p8rEQWUNLQcP91MwOQKFaJorzn-VHhRrTvRAe2kcTTzshY1E38PsBUXJPgy2yayI2jNvUlUmIjZvBp_Y7tAWhQy3jXdvXjI8EBE_SbnxwWhVjR3eEB2GbhRdglXyaivMsqqd1KbrI/s1600/DSCF6950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgft3p8rEQWUNLQcP91MwOQKFaJorzn-VHhRrTvRAe2kcTTzshY1E38PsBUXJPgy2yayI2jNvUlUmIjZvBp_Y7tAWhQy3jXdvXjI8EBE_SbnxwWhVjR3eEB2GbhRdglXyaivMsqqd1KbrI/s200/DSCF6950.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
We also found some cannoli's in a cute Pasticceria Castelli and an amazing deli, which we nicknamed the singing deli, a funny group of Italian men started singing as soon as they realised we were English.<br />
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We then had another chilled evening in as we had done a fair amount in the day. We decided to have traditional Italian ragu for dinner, which we cooked together. It was lovely but very different from our British Bolognese which we are more used to. It was just lovely to eat all the traditional Italian dishes and it made me think about doing an Italian cooking class.<br />
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<b><u>Saturday</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdbtNiS4wFB9IS9rj-9jPjCHaEntn5vQDth921_maB1IUfQ3LXRtS9jMrhO75PFtZOfk81tmLi6TyAOYhyKNVfsDrJUdaQpJP6ezKbNwiMxaM87fY7hpVyp5OB-AJu9d_9XvF8DTtQm4/s1600/678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdbtNiS4wFB9IS9rj-9jPjCHaEntn5vQDth921_maB1IUfQ3LXRtS9jMrhO75PFtZOfk81tmLi6TyAOYhyKNVfsDrJUdaQpJP6ezKbNwiMxaM87fY7hpVyp5OB-AJu9d_9XvF8DTtQm4/s200/678.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SoZh-VUe0-BIgCPMbRdx77iigsvou6ROFL1pUhrVtVlf6DZ3MjxgQhW5dv8SU0PEQH2QmMJFEYVl9jFYjpV9L6xZ-gMpCtgnuUPqzTkhxOOMJRCjAG4oMOpU9-_12FNM4D6n2ur9RSs/s1600/868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SoZh-VUe0-BIgCPMbRdx77iigsvou6ROFL1pUhrVtVlf6DZ3MjxgQhW5dv8SU0PEQH2QmMJFEYVl9jFYjpV9L6xZ-gMpCtgnuUPqzTkhxOOMJRCjAG4oMOpU9-_12FNM4D6n2ur9RSs/s200/868.JPG" width="200" /></a>Breakfast was great because we bought extra cannoli's to have, they were delicious. We had a lovely coffee before heading to Tremezzo for a lovely walk around a villa and the gardens. We worked up quite an appetite so we then wandered along the bank of the lake to find a nice spot for lunch.<br />
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We had pizzas, mine had cooked ham and rocket and hubby had 4 toppings on his, which I think were olives, ham, mushrooms and artichoke.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwedFiQ3kpB68qF85sQIswt0R_zh2SYMFvWIwSiVEAPlVYcsUs7-VYj3wWXati-a3_PDdgOM1d8OVnLzJqDHOFo9MWiJz8gneNdnCV3qmoHHj0IaH8nH7g4h5FQf06U2bV49PONJYrxk/s1600/898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwedFiQ3kpB68qF85sQIswt0R_zh2SYMFvWIwSiVEAPlVYcsUs7-VYj3wWXati-a3_PDdgOM1d8OVnLzJqDHOFo9MWiJz8gneNdnCV3qmoHHj0IaH8nH7g4h5FQf06U2bV49PONJYrxk/s200/898.JPG" width="150" /></a>We then had a quick drink where I got given a mocktail before we <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fuLz8F4FyRsMErk87O8hW4op1KM0U-eZCsSAP_tjq8TD2oAw6ZiwVQ_go23wH104G-GCyOTaaR53skgBCC1Mo1LgKGuJ-TS1mU3s7d9-KFSfTC9cvIRLX-cWZmzFN7AwvEcWTLJIiHg/s1600/901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fuLz8F4FyRsMErk87O8hW4op1KM0U-eZCsSAP_tjq8TD2oAw6ZiwVQ_go23wH104G-GCyOTaaR53skgBCC1Mo1LgKGuJ-TS1mU3s7d9-KFSfTC9cvIRLX-cWZmzFN7AwvEcWTLJIiHg/s200/901.JPG" width="200" /></a>had our last dinner where we had our first dinner (so we went back to the start). We both had mussels spaghetti but when they came they had more seafood than just mussels, but I enjoyed it all the same. We were celebrating my 8 months post transplant. That langoustine however was a bloody nightmare to get anything out of. We then shared a tiramisu (no raw eggs in that one).<br />
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We saw some amazing pastas in the deli and at the airport which I thought I would include. I was in awe of all the amazing coloured pasta (which I was furiously googling because I wish I had bought more home - annoyed with myself).<br />
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ToodlesXXMini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-67600913356880447112017-05-17T15:20:00.003-07:002017-06-18T14:22:15.654-07:00Look Book-Italy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJoSjQo42ZYuNnZk7NQxGrhrKgTdGEJTAoGarnptXmKNdIaYAKtXDJVj4EZwqBB6kVdv7vtuTiLV7H9_mMtmX31Ozi0eouSUFMVBpDoJ_JhiyFfvSwJyQ4kHHSgo2Nt8lYhQlH8bRFcE/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJoSjQo42ZYuNnZk7NQxGrhrKgTdGEJTAoGarnptXmKNdIaYAKtXDJVj4EZwqBB6kVdv7vtuTiLV7H9_mMtmX31Ozi0eouSUFMVBpDoJ_JhiyFfvSwJyQ4kHHSgo2Nt8lYhQlH8bRFcE/s640/Untitled.png" width="604" /></a></div>
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My <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Look Book</span></i></b> may not be as glamorous as some of these other bloggers and vloggers but I tried to look as glam as I could (and I did try my best on my little budget and with my figure at this time - it's hard when my face is as round as the moon and you have as many epic fails as I do on a weekly basis!). As usual, I overpacked, so many more clothes than I needed, I really didn't know what to expect weather wise. I was so glad that I packed loads of trousers and didn't opt for shorts or shorter skirts (didn't really fancy getting my pasty legs out anyway!).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVk92oIAY6x9R2ZTsT5ctykzT6sQQ0O0IJ-DdjInWIT2ntW2IaJlSTs7Y60yK3MU11lu5UIijGeWaix8maFfTwUAVUNfCDC-_0Nmw9TIoPilf_G48lisQyiYGxbRX1BrSp0eYMSS_TeA/s1600/164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVk92oIAY6x9R2ZTsT5ctykzT6sQQ0O0IJ-DdjInWIT2ntW2IaJlSTs7Y60yK3MU11lu5UIijGeWaix8maFfTwUAVUNfCDC-_0Nmw9TIoPilf_G48lisQyiYGxbRX1BrSp0eYMSS_TeA/s200/164.JPG" width="150" /></a>So I've included some day looks too because they were cute but casual. I think my favourite day look was my <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.2 look</span></i></b>, which was the first time we went to Bellagio, when we went for a walk through these lovely gardens at Villa Melzi. I loved these trousers, they kind of remind me of a water colour painting (these were bought for a cruise I didn't get to go on.) They are very Milan I thought (fashion capital of Italy). I paired the trousers with a sheer white shirt that had bobbled detail on, a long cream cardigan with striped detail on it and a blue little scarf that I matched to the trousers and my little blue spotty plimsolls (no idea where they are from - they're old).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqPK9skk1HAuiloedkZ-BnybRZkLaGCtG5lOiMTU_adUL7vdznCJAF1v46YJ0SSSA7iTe4pxp-4F4RpjOl5dkejz50nyn1-zA_VZ90DNJPi0D4AoKIjesRgyQLSGRTpq1j0cMRvzVUEw/s1600/back+pack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqPK9skk1HAuiloedkZ-BnybRZkLaGCtG5lOiMTU_adUL7vdznCJAF1v46YJ0SSSA7iTe4pxp-4F4RpjOl5dkejz50nyn1-zA_VZ90DNJPi0D4AoKIjesRgyQLSGRTpq1j0cMRvzVUEw/s200/back+pack.png" width="200" /></a><br />
I also had my velvet backpack from <a href="https://www.primark.com/en/homepage">Primark</a> to carry all my cameras in and my big sun hat that had sun, sea, sand on the rim and my Italian style sunglasses. I had to take my hat off while taking pics though because it kept getting in the way but I did wear it while I was walking around Bellagio. The whole outfit was from <a href="https://www.primark.com/en/homepage">Primark</a> apart from my Sun Sea Sand wide brimmed hat which was from <a href="https://www.matalan.co.uk/">Matalan</a>. I added my little silk scarf to give it a bit of colour. I love it so much, I felt so glamorous and chic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjOh71_LGXuKD7a0cF7qYmJXw8By3RpKwWUaI-wI-KIxnLN4uhBCYJl27BGid3hsVcFnQcFDm7ck8sEfAl9eol648xE-Ss9eZ0KoX-3bOF4s3BrlU_A0IescwUt7Lu1EDn3SRzcbULvM/s1600/133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjOh71_LGXuKD7a0cF7qYmJXw8By3RpKwWUaI-wI-KIxnLN4uhBCYJl27BGid3hsVcFnQcFDm7ck8sEfAl9eol648xE-Ss9eZ0KoX-3bOF4s3BrlU_A0IescwUt7Lu1EDn3SRzcbULvM/s200/133.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFR_11D47HQoyhRUJsFV089ZI8qE9n8dlO9TQMn3rJ-fpvhaEprDHEig-NuXXaJTcMiY51AQ-5ZcV3p-nol7GtECDmK9W_U78u6ZZ52xdtmDapH1JNyxD3oKpNBDYi4erMKEFsHpeB84/s1600/1757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFR_11D47HQoyhRUJsFV089ZI8qE9n8dlO9TQMn3rJ-fpvhaEprDHEig-NuXXaJTcMiY51AQ-5ZcV3p-nol7GtECDmK9W_U78u6ZZ52xdtmDapH1JNyxD3oKpNBDYi4erMKEFsHpeB84/s200/1757.JPG" width="200" /></a>However I did have a bit of a #FashionFail which was rather embarrassing and a bit unfortunate (my 1st of two embarrassing fashion fails/epic fails.) Errr well where do I start? I was walking along in the beautiful garden, thinking I had done well with my look until I noticed that my trousers had split a little bit in a very awkward place at the front. So we decided to swiftly leave and head back. I then continued to wrap my cardigan around me so it wasn't noticeable.<br />
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I also liked <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.4</span></i></b> <span style="color: magenta;"><b><i>l</i></b></span><i style="color: magenta; font-weight: bold;">ook </i>for the day, I wore a beautiful mint waterfall dress, I absolutely love the colour. It's very striking and great for summer parties, picnics and general glamorous social activities or just a Thursday, all the while being so effortless - lazy fashion, my kinda fashion! I paired this with my long white cardigan and my pompom sandals (which I'm obsessed with). Believe it or not that whole outfit is <a href="https://www.primark.com/en/homepage">Primark</a> apart from the hat (which is <a href="https://www.matalan.co.uk/">Matalan</a>.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFgJeHP2N1heD6_qmb4aKIQ-OCDApFytzxotE2grzAa5UKbuKu1qI4EQvhJ7jB5sTg7GLFChcUDcAkJENVmVBF-maU7vfinQuvOfFD6e-bW7pnJSoXsu17KzRPe38hrTmfmLTfzaJ8rI/s1600/078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFgJeHP2N1heD6_qmb4aKIQ-OCDApFytzxotE2grzAa5UKbuKu1qI4EQvhJ7jB5sTg7GLFChcUDcAkJENVmVBF-maU7vfinQuvOfFD6e-bW7pnJSoXsu17KzRPe38hrTmfmLTfzaJ8rI/s200/078.JPG" width="200" /></a>I also travelled in these <a href="http://www.peacocks.co.uk/145324.html">Peacock</a> palm leaf and tropical flower jersey trousers and they are literally <i>the</i> most comfortable pair of trousers I think I have ever owned (apart from a very fluffy and soft pair of grey trousers from <a href="http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/ladies.html">H&M</a> when I was at school). I changed into the palm leaf trousers in the morning to have my breakfast because they are so soft (<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.3</span></i></b> I know I'm wearing them, totally clashing with stripes but I was enjoying my cannoli too much to care #sorrynotsorry).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PQHjJEOCgFbaz8B7nYJzjFx8Hqd0EpRLqOHYn4aJGTBVhKlES2yZ2qjnaOR6RAuTsfB0u7zRrSUv86J5L-zjBXmzUUu2c0K7Pru5ouiJvXUGKvVQeCVgF0uEgAw0KNyo81AdCdCdUfw/s1600/1758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PQHjJEOCgFbaz8B7nYJzjFx8Hqd0EpRLqOHYn4aJGTBVhKlES2yZ2qjnaOR6RAuTsfB0u7zRrSUv86J5L-zjBXmzUUu2c0K7Pru5ouiJvXUGKvVQeCVgF0uEgAw0KNyo81AdCdCdUfw/s200/1758.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.1</span></i></b> and <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.8</span></i></b> are my evening dress looks, they are so beautiful and they are definitely my go-to dresses for looking very glamorous. Both of these dresses are from <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/">Amazon</a>. Unfortunately my other #FashionFail was while wearing <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.1</span></i></b> look (on our last evening), my beautiful red silk dress with a silk rose on the shoulder. Again I was walking along admiring the view (in my lovely new cream lace ballet pumps from <a href="https://www.primark.com/en/homepage">Primark</a>) and I sighed contently after a delicious meal and a lovely evening but as I did so my zip split rather spectacularly. Luckily my long cardigan came to the rescue again to cover it up, so I had to walk home rather quickly. I then tried to get out of the dress with quite a lot of difficulty before calling in reinforcements to assist and try and get the dress off (no rude jokes please) without damaging it further. I finally got the dress off before I had a panic attack. All in all it was an interesting end to the holiday. The little blue envelope clutch bag was from <a href="http://www.tkmaxx.com/">TK Maxx</a> which you can see in both my evening looks, it felt very sophisticated. I really like it because it had plenty of room for all my phone camera lenses and various things I wanted to have with me.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.6</span></i></b> and <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.7</span></i></b> were the same look but you can't tell because I'm wearing a raincoat, so I included a more detailed view of my outfit choice for Switzerland. The day we jumped on a bus and just crossed over the border for lunch, which was great fun but it was so rainy and cold we didn't do much exploring. We did have some nice pizzas and coffees though. I wore my mint green summer jumper which was lightweight, my light pink jacket and a little scarf to bring the colours together. I then had to wear my lightweight raincoat over my outfit which was annoying but it kept me dry. I wore my white jeggings from <a href="https://www.primark.com/en/homepage">Primark</a> which I kept clear of any spillages and then paired the whole outfit with my flowery plimsolls which I think were from <a href="https://www.shoezone.com/">Shoe Zone</a>.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQl7GgMt9Ilw8S0TRNO8vn2hAXDuyNdZFAENIMUnfgkyGn_4JEB8jQiWhTXSHiKPAFqof0DKr05RDjD12HwoH58-kB673DP3HmAhOYhKvgnAIlG9Cb8s7vIRO2Y3eSkYZPNwpUPzFZF-s/s1600/1764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQl7GgMt9Ilw8S0TRNO8vn2hAXDuyNdZFAENIMUnfgkyGn_4JEB8jQiWhTXSHiKPAFqof0DKr05RDjD12HwoH58-kB673DP3HmAhOYhKvgnAIlG9Cb8s7vIRO2Y3eSkYZPNwpUPzFZF-s/s200/1764.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMf0yWcYZDGj3mHXRWg5nQwIuh1hG6sIT9soR7UtlTwfFH0n0tbJVsXAN4RnCeTjK4p-c-vw34vAN1JwjPNGaiIAuUJEQbGecxtnnDy33h_qzLPXst0fNP8ccWlfm7tcPf3LubC-9QtY/s1600/1761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMf0yWcYZDGj3mHXRWg5nQwIuh1hG6sIT9soR7UtlTwfFH0n0tbJVsXAN4RnCeTjK4p-c-vw34vAN1JwjPNGaiIAuUJEQbGecxtnnDy33h_qzLPXst0fNP8ccWlfm7tcPf3LubC-9QtY/s200/1761.JPG" width="200" /></a>My last look is <b><i><span style="color: magenta;">No.5</span></i></b> which was I thought cute for a day of exploring, it was my tulle black floral skirt and my silk scarf with pink jacket, all from <a href="https://www.primark.com/en/homepage">Primark</a>, and I recently bought an off the shoulder white summer top which was from <a href="http://www.tkmaxx.com/">TK Maxx</a> (not pictured). I loved the scarf because it looked quite Italian. I wore this on another visit to Bellagio.<br />
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I think I had a few other looks but these were my favourite ones. I wanted to do another Look Book because I did really think about my outfits and shopped for specific items to take to Italy. I didn't want to look like the chubby British girl alongside the slim and elegant Italian ladies.<br />
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Anyway got lots more blogs to do for Italy so best get on,<br />
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ToodlesXX<br />
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Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-2781020664390440372017-05-07T16:08:00.001-07:002017-05-07T16:08:15.566-07:00Cooking with me-Chilli, tomato prawns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I'm sure you may have gathered I love to cook and I have some favourite dishes I like to cook. One of my favourite dishes to cook is from my Easy Pasta cookbook, chilli and tomato prawn spaghetti. We always cook a massive portion so we can have it over two days because we love it so much. I would recommend it to everyone but the recipe does call for 5/6 cloves of garlic so if you're not a fan of garlic you can definitely reduce or leave out the garlic. We love it though so we put it all in (so don't stand downwind of me because all you will smell is garlic-eeeek!).<br />
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In the pic above I have used our new pepper mill which is in the shape of a baseball bat (which is actually quite cool - I think!). Hence the pose of me holding it like a baseball bat.....just in case you thought all that garlic had sent me loopy!! I also used my lovely wooden cookbook stand which is just perfect because we do use a lot of cookbooks, not just recipes on the iPad (I seem to collect cookbooks - slightly obsessed!).<br />
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I also love chopping my herbs with my double handled knife/blade - it just seems to cut fine with an easier rocking chopping motion. I also like to serve it in my blue, square dish which I got one Christmas and I love it!! It would feel weird now to serve the dish in anything else - lol!!<br />
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Right so the recipe is pretty simple.<br />
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You need:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Prawns (a lot of them for a family of four or if you have a 6ft 2in husband!!)</li>
<li>Can of chopped tomatoes (don't use passata - you need the texture of the tomatoes at the end)</li>
<li>Garlic cloves, up to 6 (depending on if you like garlic and you don't work in close proximity to people - I put in 5/6)</li>
<li>Chilli (red - deseeded if you still want to feel your tongue after but it's up to you! You may need a pint of milk with it though!) </li>
<li>Oil - to fry the garlic and release all of its flavours.</li>
<li>Pasta - spaghetti/tagliatelle (anything, but long pasta works well I think personally) </li>
<li>Oooh and fresh parsley (nearly forgot that - sometimes I have - ooops!!)</li>
</ol>
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<li>Put the oil in the pan and add the garlic - fry for 2-3 minutes to release its flavour </li>
<li>Then add the tomatoes and simmer to reduce the sauce.</li>
<li>Add the chilli to the sauce and let it simmer, stirring regularly</li>
<li>Once the sauce has reduced add the prawns right at the last minute (put the pasta on while sauce is simmering!!)</li>
<li>Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley into the prawns (remember to save some to sprinkle on top to serve to look pretty)</li>
<li>Serve and then sprinkle parsley on top to make it look pretty, then just grab a plate, fill plate and then stuff face accordingly (haha - it's hard not to with this dish!!)</li>
<li>Enjoy!!</li>
</ol>
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That's a bit of a rough guide but as I say I feel it's pretty simple!!</div>
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I am going to start this as a regular thing - cooking with me! I really enjoy cooking and I love sharing my ideas and recipes I enjoy!!</div>
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Right Toodles XX</div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-459370162524497812017-04-17T10:15:00.003-07:002017-04-17T10:17:38.506-07:00Belated double birthday in Bath and at the Footy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We were celebration a double Birthday weekend away in Bath and combined it with a football match in Aston Villa. It was a great weekend, we both got our choice of activity for our birthday's. Bath was my choice and the footy was my hubbies choice. We walked round Bath exploring a bit, it was nice to be back after going to the Christmas Markets there. We had a lovely lunch at The Kingsmead Kitchen in the a little square. We had a delicious club sandwich, which is always a good option for us and then we had a lovely flat white coffee, it was quite strong but very nice. </div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4XLN8uW65o38pfuge2pH4sceX4fy9F5t-6Z5PpSUYBaUCWeh8o3B-FOxzQgth21nStzR2c_UhPxHAavWwShgLRPZtcsAc5RDVYULHspdcFD-oueEqhYY_cT9rCsr0lDDJFhCPpe_SLE/s320/2017+661.JPG" width="320" /><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yYnHRp_dvOW5vgifrsNLYnLiYkgv7WURScMTIVNA93HcHVv2lockSPJleBCT7yDUxal_-kA684RsRoBwthOQustw6DosH6bf1qZZJt59csHr2rfg4n8G9vG70IQ0JO_IxxPDZCnZ034/s320/2017+598.JPG" width="305" /></div>
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Some black and white photos of us drinking coffee.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADNCaA4ypGaPBjfgxc7eME9BfTEqZBq6MjV57eb03xfcC-2za5VK7_e5XVnXPrR-8v82v_tugioKrgo2IbK5X8-CXBySThK15H1_oesZb8eEQirDSnGnXUfspAMIOwSxdAKFvlxZnWhs/s1600/2017+663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADNCaA4ypGaPBjfgxc7eME9BfTEqZBq6MjV57eb03xfcC-2za5VK7_e5XVnXPrR-8v82v_tugioKrgo2IbK5X8-CXBySThK15H1_oesZb8eEQirDSnGnXUfspAMIOwSxdAKFvlxZnWhs/s200/2017+663.JPG" width="200" /></a>We then walked round Bath and went to the abbey to get some pics but there was so many tourist buses so we didn't get loads of it. We then stumbled across the Christmas shop which was great and I was like a kid in a candy store. I love going into a Christmas shop in the middle of the year. I am obsessed with Christmas and the whole season. Last Christmas I did Blogmas and I think going to festive places just is my happy place. I would love to one day own my own Christmas land and Christmas tree farm would be a dream.</div>
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I picked to wear my floral swing dress, my pink jacket and my peal necklace.I wanted to look nice for our double birthday celebration. </div>
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We went to the footy first and actually it was good, I haven't been to a game since I've had my transplant. We won 3-1 and the atmosphere was great.<br />
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We then went into Bath in for dinner and we had Thai at Salathai, my choice because in Dorset we don't have many Thai restaurants. We had mix starters, green Thai beef curry, crispy duck, cashew nuts chicken and banana fritters (which I discovered that I think I may have an intolerance to bananas now!!!) </div>
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Then we got home and had our Easter egg.</div>
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ToodlesXX<br />
<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-57316010243672252202017-04-17T06:07:00.002-07:002017-06-16T14:09:08.637-07:00Side,TurkeySo Turkey was our second holiday together, we went to a place called Side. We got to our hotel and we were a little disappointed with the front and the welcome we got. We had driven past some pretty spectacular hotels and we kept hoping it was our hotel, then we got ours and we both were thinking 'please don't be ours' but it was. We got shown to our room and I think we just went to bed, hoping it would be better in the morning. Well actually did get better, we had a lovely holiday (which was only spoilt by having one of the members of male staff declaring his undying love for me-another story!!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCePhdDzJ5qUKPRkgHxu5-aPMRYmqt6K7rO8bCSDZAGw4YT6QM9Rlxx5oZCSr6zsIUo3NWEzuLGYKKEyvaq_yOQbwftY_xAyimt8k-YcYYQLH3GAOX_QkIMR2RwKEroNmsz_QAdBmGtg/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCePhdDzJ5qUKPRkgHxu5-aPMRYmqt6K7rO8bCSDZAGw4YT6QM9Rlxx5oZCSr6zsIUo3NWEzuLGYKKEyvaq_yOQbwftY_xAyimt8k-YcYYQLH3GAOX_QkIMR2RwKEroNmsz_QAdBmGtg/s200/026.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMwBPkowzPu9x3xKcq2t-YH6YBMiqTsshuP8hkVOnMsSH3ONQ1xBWOjfcJP3EdvepaQ9bVy7pnEE9f3YKRodSZUHRFIuIg582bzo7qRNRuW7rHzYUNoNR6EmgXQZz-m7iKj8USHlswOE/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMwBPkowzPu9x3xKcq2t-YH6YBMiqTsshuP8hkVOnMsSH3ONQ1xBWOjfcJP3EdvepaQ9bVy7pnEE9f3YKRodSZUHRFIuIg582bzo7qRNRuW7rHzYUNoNR6EmgXQZz-m7iKj8USHlswOE/s200/022.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCDRjC8rswdVixT2yEKcQbQRqFjObtj_938pNzg2eJcahhrVy7eblZLEJoIh9gCsXvG859TzA4T7vT-f9m83CDNQ0XjPT1O71nF8lHGnRSL6QZuJnwsH3S4bTWrXptm2tw4SFSRM-IH4/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCDRjC8rswdVixT2yEKcQbQRqFjObtj_938pNzg2eJcahhrVy7eblZLEJoIh9gCsXvG859TzA4T7vT-f9m83CDNQ0XjPT1O71nF8lHGnRSL6QZuJnwsH3S4bTWrXptm2tw4SFSRM-IH4/s200/024.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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I tried to look as glamorous as I could on a small budget, so most of the outfits I'm wearing are from Primark. I think that I managed to dress them up a bit. We had a lot of fun and have some great memories from the holiday.<br />
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So I looked up the hotel and lets just say it's totally different now, it looks more like a kids club hotel. It wasn't like that when we went and it was very close to a club, so guess that has gone but I wouldn't go back to the hotel now. We want a more couples hotels, quieter and romantic while we have no children. </div>
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These is some of the ruins taken from the beach, near to the bar we walked down to on a few night and this is where we had CRAZY COCKTAILS (mine were mocktails.) They seemed to set a lot of mine on fire with many sparklers. In the pic of me holding the mocktail, I was slightly scared about holding it (as it was on fire) but it's great pic. It also reminds me that I was slimmer and less self conscious of my figure back then. I will get back to that-eventually!!<br />
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<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibK5RZZbCkWGppZJ8fJApLVYx0x4ADDPeceLjJ-VEkYwO-rnW1iQ46SNMnNb1MB_YQxvg8PkOZPrMH0sY2ZSz3Yrg9md31Wdy-j-yPrmkLotnTvc5TnEAznhY0JPmtlDBClF_3wXddeY4/s200/056.JPG" width="150" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia3q3KuloW5sEREMwwigjY6IIZ-hd3IUj0LVKIYguusQtcv87g1TOzdF7xcLKPS2Oo_U17hkbNBmnvr1Dqa9JDDIPnbR24jCRTQMlbAfTA6fOX51O0Na86LpaufAMEA5UjMsJOcKGa-e4/s200/058.JPG" width="150" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-qwCihGhKfjHZ2KpuisN6F_J3JwrkByydQU00kRuT6lw3dNbzGngy_c9s4Qwhq2y3k7u199TJgxfwMM6fgwT-TKpyEpYbADjoMCtczLl14ijxqQSn2PJKSHotSkbbihcCZyu2tVIkMM/s200/093.JPG" width="150" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_f0bqmVWQzjhJlUaowZ9X06NrBk5uTJ-TQqH8CiY1v5C2TEiGsemoFRX-S9mwmdLSAZQCMzMjeH6GAfFaDMMUvbytigBiGE5gYaiIUrY_h3GsbHNsV2Lpqt961C-Fzx5NSAQiiHhMcF8/s1600/099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_f0bqmVWQzjhJlUaowZ9X06NrBk5uTJ-TQqH8CiY1v5C2TEiGsemoFRX-S9mwmdLSAZQCMzMjeH6GAfFaDMMUvbytigBiGE5gYaiIUrY_h3GsbHNsV2Lpqt961C-Fzx5NSAQiiHhMcF8/s200/099.JPG" width="200" /></a>One of my drinks, I think they literally put every possible stirring device in it-probably named the kitchen sink lol!! I really enjoyed the Turkish food too and they actually did better mocktails thank most UK bars. I think having crazy drinks and unusual foods makes it memorably. The bar we went to became one of favourite place to have a drink at while we stayed there.<br />
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The below pic was one of dinners at one of the local restaurants and the waiter gave Hubby a rose to give to me. It was a cute gesture and it's one of my favourite pics.<br />
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I can't remember what meal we had (in pic below) but there was a few meals that I remembered from the holiday, one was just bizarre. These pictures, I love and I used to them a lot as profile pictures. I remember, I did have to squeeze into that dress though and it just covered my bum-slightly embarrassing. Not something I would pick now in my 30's-I'm going for sophisticated (well trying and sometimes having a typical chaotic moment-I'm notorious for especially when I was younger) !!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVd3CVthQzXZXDY5A0JxlyJeYGMu9NObkLsfaQHpI6CmMvAiPoP8-8aOD1JkgnsvEEv1-lgEZSeTyMWQ-DjuF9j4fF1gMozMx2CjoXo4WtGblkD8G97UhDQVRGg92uQkGfGBmxDD2E_Lk/s1600/055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVd3CVthQzXZXDY5A0JxlyJeYGMu9NObkLsfaQHpI6CmMvAiPoP8-8aOD1JkgnsvEEv1-lgEZSeTyMWQ-DjuF9j4fF1gMozMx2CjoXo4WtGblkD8G97UhDQVRGg92uQkGfGBmxDD2E_Lk/s200/055.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFMj8aA5zPZgNRRF_LCi7auzULKL4nXzbKGTyXGGK7T9u4gmsiKgEf9eyQUWG9pl5e3A2BEHcOlVnlAU9psq3sLm5ikLM9o7BnCoEVKy-CpuqDk7CdIlGALqs6MZwqFmx1CETfCketIg/s200/053.JPG" width="200" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsSpgRdGZFAuwFs6FoSi2ZX4XpD7XnjZm4keHwHCtRDiesfVa35XSw2YA1OPOs869fH47y47lW2C4R6HqcP5XdSGZ0p-JAiO9xlZKrJBoWFu8rrU_Y3kLHox-1iKsMqvJLGcbtEnE1h0/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsSpgRdGZFAuwFs6FoSi2ZX4XpD7XnjZm4keHwHCtRDiesfVa35XSw2YA1OPOs869fH47y47lW2C4R6HqcP5XdSGZ0p-JAiO9xlZKrJBoWFu8rrU_Y3kLHox-1iKsMqvJLGcbtEnE1h0/s200/050.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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After most of our dinners we would walk along the beach and watch some amazing sunsets. We had some lovely evening strolls along the promenade and it made me feel very calm and at peace. This was one of the loveliest sunsets we saw, it was just beautiful.<br />
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In the pic below that dress was the only dress not from Primark-shock horror, I know! It was from a boutique in the town I was brought up in, when I was a bit of a shopaholic and thought I had loads of money to spend-oops!! I still have it though but I now wear a strappy top under it as its a bit errrrr.....revealing!!!<br />
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Si2gJ61i90AUz0u5aJHv3-Vjn1LxhiRETO9Wq_4nw7BmUjnokZ3Jp-hiHxZhXDoQnodGB-ALMIE8fb87Nr-crR7TmFQoVceoQchlaKMqBE9mrz7IdYa9sZGkJ2CvZnhXUWAMVZWPsi4/s320/101.JPG" width="320" /> <img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iEnO1Ajs_6knYpL-bmxEUtx9mrg1EOyuca_28tydoW47ehG0D4y-DABFXFsvrW3xbmu3iuQBynyYjNr9T0LOp1XXcyoiqBcYH5L8EOw1zijmGCO4XIyF2G6ilNHjzVEfkkUBfMSHi-o/s320/104.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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This pic below was one of our dinners, I think this was where all the cats where hanging around. It was a whole bake fish and several sides. I really enjoyed that dinner, it was sooooo good but that wasn't the crazy dinner that was yet to come.</div>
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<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu77cZkVHOEHYbBu9l1oO4o1sB6qyDrkFU3zdYnNTkAgKbxtQxF7Td5nS7_8KtzXB7vvOeO7LWqk3Pqm15b9FU5K9zMFpk0IKFEsCXc5tFqUugF0hyV6mOsxvYt7QQKSXBcKuvfrxoRcc/s200/turkey+pic.png" width="150" /> <img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitecVesIe2VALmk_E3xryPb_gsEIA5Up3cdyDNFLw-uRuaT6sAS_9cAbkICpMMc4e5rlxWewKDhwdIhCHSQlxIbSbIY7WTwFPF4uo7qyanRagBlzGjedW6FuzhE0M45sEnZKipTA8AHx8/s200/206.JPG" width="200" /></div>
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So the next meal was the crazy meal, once we ordered our choice which I remember not really knowing what to expect and what it was. Any way the waiter came over and gave us this hammer and another contraption. We thought we had order lobster or crab by accident, while we were still pondering what on earth we had ordered our meal arrive. It was on fire and then the waiter the proceeded to smash the clay pot. We were gobsmacked really, however it was very good but I remember it had a bit of an odd name come to think of it. It was called Testi Kebab and it was sealed with a bread. We still laugh about the whole meal now!!</div>
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<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mp6exxp8YXuLNeJJLW8FguduriJtCRc6KM5cSt274sCjRgWByQRKQP7lHQzk2bj3hEYu8LdTfl90-YEzurnlWCVKkyYZkIUaPE_cu2NzyXwTlskGQBxMemxPFi0AWf9GOhoKoBM4e00/s200/119.JPG" width="150" /> <img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Wy6vRfKnSOY-2_uR6_c08BO84Swla7TlsGKo_p3daEAPd_3D0Bx4bufTswDcfmQk8crkViVtvy9UkwFFJhpujamEmoXQ4fTkOv5eQJ-rElFP_x7oAFSgLRt3UQI75nSZ3ZRIBBd1fZw/s200/121.JPG" width="200" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOJii39zlzfka6zexsN2pp6s9qO0g9P8GfXPbZoiJZPh-q2zNlBC2gq-M2hYoTpz8g09NHrRvmWsPsU0A2NLmt54BfWRZlbW_WikM7eAw64_WA_MpDkC9-oKBug85wztSIkbM_befO5k/s200/178.JPG" width="150" /></div>
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So we also did a lovely river cruise where we docked at the beach where we had a nice BBQ and swim. We also went on a boat trip to the Manavgat Waterfalls. The waterfalls were so blue, it looked like I've edited the pictures-I haven't.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBftXd1UxwQihgaLPxy2VfaiXORzvW6ri7W7fDfgEgu40jodg1KTFs47DMWTErUQ8vOWT0-4-CoTAbnDlJv4RZP71IoIObbBRwP2H1LnXs7laIASuTAlLW-MhNHkNQ7Afg7epP10PKDJg/s1600/321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBftXd1UxwQihgaLPxy2VfaiXORzvW6ri7W7fDfgEgu40jodg1KTFs47DMWTErUQ8vOWT0-4-CoTAbnDlJv4RZP71IoIObbBRwP2H1LnXs7laIASuTAlLW-MhNHkNQ7Afg7epP10PKDJg/s200/321.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtMt-ovXYMI0otBSTkVRqb87C4Rhca1itffAlkVSzPzlRHgXiSp_kuI3_3FC6Lt3X2yoEGhol3PGjm2U4Ie7qEjvCIhwFsgTpMqJGZdOecwa8kjVOYvqLXPZTUvMG8MIXeWzpOYFFdDA/s1600/277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtMt-ovXYMI0otBSTkVRqb87C4Rhca1itffAlkVSzPzlRHgXiSp_kuI3_3FC6Lt3X2yoEGhol3PGjm2U4Ie7qEjvCIhwFsgTpMqJGZdOecwa8kjVOYvqLXPZTUvMG8MIXeWzpOYFFdDA/s200/277.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDlvJZpQJbg-BG4ta96nGDkOH9nXxfTmEhrtw4rdBEsi0eW8X1Prm_dSPpz09IEMxBweR1nedXET3-0bxUea_qWiM8U_jDLoOa2qbsjEpPgkt6kS60G-pK12OW1Zcu5zuIPvY9nxVLZA/s200/326.JPG" width="150" /></div>
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This one of my favourite pictures from this holiday. </div>
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I have it printed out and framed as a special memory.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSHvZUDOlDDUDDafHblmPSNaD9yE-UGalkr7bijsNZD4Nm-BhwOqpPjdIgInmAFSjomAdadlOKXsv5vVmqDz9jANZOlDESd5A7MBWbQq-sahamzmF76eiyc3jmyX7mTs2iJSFH9ezTZg/s1600/328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSHvZUDOlDDUDDafHblmPSNaD9yE-UGalkr7bijsNZD4Nm-BhwOqpPjdIgInmAFSjomAdadlOKXsv5vVmqDz9jANZOlDESd5A7MBWbQq-sahamzmF76eiyc3jmyX7mTs2iJSFH9ezTZg/s640/328.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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We also went to the ruins near Side, it was quite interesting walking around and seeing the ancient ruins and how they were destroyed by a tsunami. There was a man who was trying to lead us some where we didn't want to go, we thought he might have tried to rob us or demand money (like in egypt by the Pyramids) but luckily there was a police office who started talking to him so we made our escape. It was very hot walking around the ruins so we went into Side to have an ice cream.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WismDnF4OZvQeudOLunwIdvCuQTcAv3xr83oTxWayMsAdlOZGilRF7mM__fmZFsIBrQiJgCZH4U_WMlFJ_m1QqUwmYBUacetPPk-zM9zkhUisVCKmfo9dSN516MzC9A90EQLpupZjlo/s1600/381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WismDnF4OZvQeudOLunwIdvCuQTcAv3xr83oTxWayMsAdlOZGilRF7mM__fmZFsIBrQiJgCZH4U_WMlFJ_m1QqUwmYBUacetPPk-zM9zkhUisVCKmfo9dSN516MzC9A90EQLpupZjlo/s200/381.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAUD9tBQYP4SwLVKeI8__nDNnp5mwLrDZlkqViOV-W2f9IgZWoBYmHditHtQR_qL45o5dPxy3nvtuwlHkkI-6jzZpofXHyAEGTwAEjxIQqLWEfVrNDVhmLcShtk-dXH_c0PL5z0UNfO0/s1600/355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAUD9tBQYP4SwLVKeI8__nDNnp5mwLrDZlkqViOV-W2f9IgZWoBYmHditHtQR_qL45o5dPxy3nvtuwlHkkI-6jzZpofXHyAEGTwAEjxIQqLWEfVrNDVhmLcShtk-dXH_c0PL5z0UNfO0/s200/355.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OeqBU095RKuJeVOpywHad9TEY01OeHgAq5D8gnL_vKBrpjWKtlBvKBmIGqKZkYZD-dA8gzufczIngT0cVYWt9qUiC1iw34aFJaCZ54thwYxfUpBpXXIAZ1NsBUfgnxQK9mFHQ2c21cc/s1600/379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OeqBU095RKuJeVOpywHad9TEY01OeHgAq5D8gnL_vKBrpjWKtlBvKBmIGqKZkYZD-dA8gzufczIngT0cVYWt9qUiC1iw34aFJaCZ54thwYxfUpBpXXIAZ1NsBUfgnxQK9mFHQ2c21cc/s200/379.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzkJ13XEZpspeb05zV5dX9J1x6gqqt6_N_1B9STftCuXg4zZQF118wsFPvrz3TiM2_C_DbBlQaRYuk1aH1-cmkuQN9pp-j63V-0GYNkQdY1U3APNZSQGVkN8GWD6lxXOdaKqXkoxVtQU/s1600/395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzkJ13XEZpspeb05zV5dX9J1x6gqqt6_N_1B9STftCuXg4zZQF118wsFPvrz3TiM2_C_DbBlQaRYuk1aH1-cmkuQN9pp-j63V-0GYNkQdY1U3APNZSQGVkN8GWD6lxXOdaKqXkoxVtQU/s200/395.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div>
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We saw all of this Turkish delight in this little store. We bought some back to give as gifts but when I went to take out of our cupboard ready to give to some one there was something moving in the box. I screamed and immediately through it in the bin outside and then nearly threw up-most will know I hate bugs especially maggots-errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!<br />
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So that was our holiday in a nutshell</div>
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ToodleXX </div>
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Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-79172707062252847052017-03-24T04:39:00.001-07:002017-06-19T11:29:43.590-07:00Birthday's, Balloons,Ballet & Beauty and the Beast!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3SRcQq7YwHvjoZHmPtRwRX6EYmTdTjnj8tk5deyinlr51GHhjWtddSeezNcFDA4vhyphenhyphenTjOkpAwT6Z8gGM8a-mFLLUcV2uN8WZrjV_xaIJn1OCsKQ4Y57dYE0l7KmLHQw32pULmKz__y4/s1600/Picture+4648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3SRcQq7YwHvjoZHmPtRwRX6EYmTdTjnj8tk5deyinlr51GHhjWtddSeezNcFDA4vhyphenhyphenTjOkpAwT6Z8gGM8a-mFLLUcV2uN8WZrjV_xaIJn1OCsKQ4Y57dYE0l7KmLHQw32pULmKz__y4/s640/Picture+4648.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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Disclaimer:Not bragging, showing off or anything else.</div>
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Birthday Flowers from my Mum.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqeCHVMMatHgM6YjtfQoDPa29mDSlFMLbYKDfFsl_qi-ib6O9JUZ0yw8365fwwJN7zrULec0aJXxQz49dj8pKjMtSiRxiSFrEHUZkdfWgp01ODu6mqexaMbg1Y9eDNx9nK1vYrkQjuTQ/s1600/Picture+4584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqeCHVMMatHgM6YjtfQoDPa29mDSlFMLbYKDfFsl_qi-ib6O9JUZ0yw8365fwwJN7zrULec0aJXxQz49dj8pKjMtSiRxiSFrEHUZkdfWgp01ODu6mqexaMbg1Y9eDNx9nK1vYrkQjuTQ/s200/Picture+4584.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAHYE92lhMPPPECy3JxolflrLz-giJkYkQR3enZytM8S-veXBSeHDgTTMoeT0vL3H74LzJFHY4W0ToUvJjH8C1LcXXiFvH2Q3d9GOoGVHHoV0UqxWnliM1o0vYEF0WVfY79YmOVDGFWU/s200/Picture+4547.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfEjEPSvRhdPc9DRtQ9yMfj4JU74gWfAduOzV0w_0ieYPIFZ99T9txgPePWod1nGzTGbdnhtbgnvY5bdftMd1p3F0BWEVA2EdAuBcpT9zD6kFVIdMkbBdK50QiJJetz5_wR0VuupvnHI/s1600/Picture+4595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfEjEPSvRhdPc9DRtQ9yMfj4JU74gWfAduOzV0w_0ieYPIFZ99T9txgPePWod1nGzTGbdnhtbgnvY5bdftMd1p3F0BWEVA2EdAuBcpT9zD6kFVIdMkbBdK50QiJJetz5_wR0VuupvnHI/s200/Picture+4595.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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So it's been a few weeks of birthday celebrations, cakes, balloons and some fun activities. First it was my hubby's birthday, so instead of birthday presents because we wanted to save money for the holiday and mini trips. So we decided to cook each other a special meal of the their choice for their birthday meal. I cooked hubby my mushroom risotto, which is one of his favorite meals I cook and I particularly liked to make it. I got hubby a chocolate cake and candles and balloons. We enjoy doing little things like this for each other to create our mini adventures and memories. We wanted to do a few special things in Italy as it was in between our birthday's and our 6th wedding anniversary as well so it will be a few months of little celebrations dotted here, there and every where. Our main birthday celebration is going to be in Bath and Bristol and a football match at Aston Villa in the Easter holidays. I can't wait to go. I love Bath, it's so pretty and great for photo opportunities, lovely vintage shops, boutiques and lovely places to eat. Keep a look out for the blog!<br />
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<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFqDtN0YDbrIpA2qcJMJ_Iq0_U1fBXLbOYPei6yvfgClqJCs_FqAuCJUjlY8_tSqs8Ihd-HlcaTRyhuFwCoI_5D7vIWAkCZNGqLz1mWv-vgBnV6ORC2EYtlillmmMyHvffhAFD7oWuBg/s200/Picture+4679.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFqDtN0YDbrIpA2qcJMJ_Iq0_U1fBXLbOYPei6yvfgClqJCs_FqAuCJUjlY8_tSqs8Ihd-HlcaTRyhuFwCoI_5D7vIWAkCZNGqLz1mWv-vgBnV6ORC2EYtlillmmMyHvffhAFD7oWuBg/s1600/Picture+4679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFqDtN0YDbrIpA2qcJMJ_Iq0_U1fBXLbOYPei6yvfgClqJCs_FqAuCJUjlY8_tSqs8Ihd-HlcaTRyhuFwCoI_5D7vIWAkCZNGqLz1mWv-vgBnV6ORC2EYtlillmmMyHvffhAFD7oWuBg/s1600/Picture+4679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReXZZqLowi19AML0nmf5umvVsgDnX3_qB76R5mhXyLZlGNUjskNDM4kJLTR__1ryX_xDjRPAGEOhLPHhIiT2UPRr1nnWP7zQFSIEdAlu6etlD1dqBRzjqOpHjvY8L0YELvd7f4XXtSFU/s200/Picture+4654.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavb0HC7OSTYjoTvt52Ov2E3cN1xTWCTJhPoTjl08BFFfrkZdY-wDwlMqyI_4kJcj4VIHNdMnfBmpLR41GmCu4T7Hup9acc3d6gynh3sNjM3a3xBEpdSuvvnHtBP6rc4PLoeBqZqy72_k/s1600/Picture+4666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavb0HC7OSTYjoTvt52Ov2E3cN1xTWCTJhPoTjl08BFFfrkZdY-wDwlMqyI_4kJcj4VIHNdMnfBmpLR41GmCu4T7Hup9acc3d6gynh3sNjM3a3xBEpdSuvvnHtBP6rc4PLoeBqZqy72_k/s200/Picture+4666.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52lb3480DULQhaFvJz6ksf7TWKIzTfQccl4LtxLFtspkpgfKsLIyBl-ksktVHKag8uXeVbnDDCOtq22TIpz-EM669BbkLdZND2S5SwZ6LmKQ62tQczkRM8gdoCgCImeW4yDdPY0Yv9LU/s1600/Picture+4609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52lb3480DULQhaFvJz6ksf7TWKIzTfQccl4LtxLFtspkpgfKsLIyBl-ksktVHKag8uXeVbnDDCOtq22TIpz-EM669BbkLdZND2S5SwZ6LmKQ62tQczkRM8gdoCgCImeW4yDdPY0Yv9LU/s200/Picture+4609.jpg" width="200" /></a>On Monday (the day before my birthday) we decided to go a watch the new film Beauty and the Beast. I have to say it was even better than the 1st one. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to get the sound track and the DVD. It really was an amazing film and all the actors including Dan Stevens, was amazing as the Beast. I think Hubby and I will be going as Beauty and the Beast for our New Years Eve Party. I had been looking forward to this film for about 8 months when I found that it was being released. It was worth the wait for sure. Hubby also cooked me a homemade meal. When I was on dialysis my favorite hospital dinner was sausages, mash and onion gravy. Since I now no longer need dialysis I don't get a chance to eat it. So I wanted it as my birthday meal, Hubby went out and got special sausages which had some unusual flavours, I picked maple syrup and apples (sticky toffee apple) New York Deli (Chorizo) and a Cheddar and Leeks (Cheddar Gorgeous). Hubby also pumped up loads of cute pink balloons so I buried myself in them-lol!! It was lovely very relaxed and cute dinner with hubby and me (just the two of us)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyY3CT1tQrzNR1VyyMc-WW0rGtUN4taLd4HRrzmlMhkUeWgNqoaFEmPWhxbNhnh8s9I94TlDBsfTeGY5NJ0a1jM5cRQdvVnPihHpMcKa-emXepz57XRsaivURmy7lF4g1W0AhCWuqaKZs/s1600/Picture+4547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyY3CT1tQrzNR1VyyMc-WW0rGtUN4taLd4HRrzmlMhkUeWgNqoaFEmPWhxbNhnh8s9I94TlDBsfTeGY5NJ0a1jM5cRQdvVnPihHpMcKa-emXepz57XRsaivURmy7lF4g1W0AhCWuqaKZs/s200/Picture+4547.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdesW0q4BZoWPhB5xVNoN0rEYvvXH16MJZTeJSM4wBsc-oQ8IOAw2UO_f4ZqMaZPOIETKGPwmsCZvEOR6-1lnX2nAS2g15KXJjYdCBTjUJ7ndyhjyDjv7kjoClfgv0c-heczuG8A46IdU/s1600/Picture+4611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdesW0q4BZoWPhB5xVNoN0rEYvvXH16MJZTeJSM4wBsc-oQ8IOAw2UO_f4ZqMaZPOIETKGPwmsCZvEOR6-1lnX2nAS2g15KXJjYdCBTjUJ7ndyhjyDjv7kjoClfgv0c-heczuG8A46IdU/s200/Picture+4611.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DpwSRq7T47rTHpkCaHR6OllYefJ7ctmSbfO7PpHkn86H615mVbJs1ZzLRLaptLyw8MpHEg9kh3oIj0Fsll5q1U_gMjLLba7TGhAAd515faxEwwXkeD8OKgQFI7Z7TTEA5e-Oww7o854/s200/Picture+4601.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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My actual birthday, I was at work and I had the opportunity to go to the Ballet with work. I enjoyed the Ballet and I want to go again to another show at the theatre in my town. It was the a Ballet of Goldie Locks and the 3 bears (works choice) however it was good and a nice relaxing day. We then went to have a nice cake and cup of tea. </div>
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<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FOak29cen6jv5AllOT8B5Dtqj3Q0pfuH44aKfAE1MZL_O5MtJfpejsE7kcnC_fGnXD_V3CPsXXsUf-FlsxILBeA0wtdTpS-juNTiaKLlsnkYxYqFvWBQFpuIYFfXg2oIakmwJqUWl40/s200/Picture+4598.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nioiR6Jcfq1VWYg7ZaST1QCce-ZhmMMhfU-SLLD_c-YwIoy6rEwl9YRjIbNKhjgJ-o6OXKTstkYzzwvfjDrXQ9tB1X6It7SHEVozboBCIxFoEaA-jBMWb_2xoR4iQkYfuUjdbMsKyNk/s1600/Picture+4599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nioiR6Jcfq1VWYg7ZaST1QCce-ZhmMMhfU-SLLD_c-YwIoy6rEwl9YRjIbNKhjgJ-o6OXKTstkYzzwvfjDrXQ9tB1X6It7SHEVozboBCIxFoEaA-jBMWb_2xoR4iQkYfuUjdbMsKyNk/s320/Picture+4599.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Over all it was a lovely time and I am looking forward to doing more fun things in the next few weeks.I was a bit naughty with my diet this week but back on healthy eating next week. </div>
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Another year older and feeling great, I'm in a good place and planning for the future. Thank you to all the lovely people who gave me a card or present and for being great people in my life.</div>
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ToodlesXX</div>
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<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-11848682765340013432017-03-12T12:44:00.002-07:002017-03-12T12:44:06.071-07:00Bye bye to my first car<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkS6Qt-9ODDkDVzOOQSbZYRODcs0H27Nw_Kohx8BH2at_go1sucButH3nl93UiJ_MjZ8KpHBqSwtafNLYAjCmuGrxtquvoLlFpNxs-7O8iB4_Z5tYaMHYUjEcAohN9dE38-XkYb-7U-I/s1600/1777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkS6Qt-9ODDkDVzOOQSbZYRODcs0H27Nw_Kohx8BH2at_go1sucButH3nl93UiJ_MjZ8KpHBqSwtafNLYAjCmuGrxtquvoLlFpNxs-7O8iB4_Z5tYaMHYUjEcAohN9dE38-XkYb-7U-I/s320/1777.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxcQTBh_mIrFyFnfp2xHAkRww2x1Z1yhFZONCurJL-u7lH_hy0ifR6HcIxDfneWxgiQS-EmsCJVCWKS5MFLFJY16ujoUfj1xDDRySA8HTw4Jv_18BuRa-qchwQIaGivlONSKglex-zxw/s1600/1772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxcQTBh_mIrFyFnfp2xHAkRww2x1Z1yhFZONCurJL-u7lH_hy0ifR6HcIxDfneWxgiQS-EmsCJVCWKS5MFLFJY16ujoUfj1xDDRySA8HTw4Jv_18BuRa-qchwQIaGivlONSKglex-zxw/s320/1772.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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So it's been a bit of an emotional few weeks, I had to say goodbye to my first car which I picked out with my (late) father. As you can see it was also my favourite colour as well. I had some amazing trips and I think I will remember all the fun road trips we did but she was starting to cost more than she was worth. We also couldn't go through the monkey enclosure with it at Longleat Safari Park-otherwise it would have been on bricks before you could have said baboon!!<br />
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I found some old pics of my car in the different seasons. It was fun to drive around the Isle of Wight and along our coast with a picnic in the back and a few picnic chairs and blanket. I have very fond memories and I will treasure those. I took some wing mirror shots while we were on our adventures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb-a6exrAsCqnUixJTgRqRxq9gYUCZXACOLk3T8voy4FPNUDUCXNsIwyhbxaKrMZCTurJkzBW8uYqPw_9GBI23JrBSq1wSKSUgELbO0chpHLjDgrwOO_jG5y0e3ILZUiheh3SFFwfWJI/s1600/1182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb-a6exrAsCqnUixJTgRqRxq9gYUCZXACOLk3T8voy4FPNUDUCXNsIwyhbxaKrMZCTurJkzBW8uYqPw_9GBI23JrBSq1wSKSUgELbO0chpHLjDgrwOO_jG5y0e3ILZUiheh3SFFwfWJI/s400/1182.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Some summer and winter pictures. </div>
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<img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKhQIG2pOvU2tVBmAt-9lVnzIZ74ZQfTLwBhFY3D4BBI-HH7t4zTEm-_ZLB5oroS1SxVY_4hIN8jTVUAnK0I4nm5Ii691HNiQMfOMRpGHRAe7qCOBpj8_n_ibRdEDIQ7t5gaVeDBqngc/s200/075.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggb4zhJlriE85MHRdoJHRK0w1ZchXTkE69ka08g-rKdhhrbYedTe3HGUTE_ETXHwSuHpX801ID4VQE5WPh9pRU8FOJNWVu94rl_wKjlBWPVA8rhmJPxbiB3tmCXtWoOWtjSUs0oFJOivM/s1600/188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggb4zhJlriE85MHRdoJHRK0w1ZchXTkE69ka08g-rKdhhrbYedTe3HGUTE_ETXHwSuHpX801ID4VQE5WPh9pRU8FOJNWVu94rl_wKjlBWPVA8rhmJPxbiB3tmCXtWoOWtjSUs0oFJOivM/s200/188.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKAWC_AbT3fA5iJMs1hS0IGhWv1mqah9s6Cv8Yn8mkgCJXzB_8RWck5hrhSMrus-Oj0iqtzTZyPurI44DoE6m3Hf3c8jgV-wcQAyyUy5FGROuUYoVmny22a3acITXHRSR7tAuP2uo4jQ/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKAWC_AbT3fA5iJMs1hS0IGhWv1mqah9s6Cv8Yn8mkgCJXzB_8RWck5hrhSMrus-Oj0iqtzTZyPurI44DoE6m3Hf3c8jgV-wcQAyyUy5FGROuUYoVmny22a3acITXHRSR7tAuP2uo4jQ/s200/004.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Now it's time to enjoy the new car, we have a sound system in it, so we can sing along to some great tunes on our adventures. She is now being driven for banger racing. Which sounds a bit extreme but bizarrely it was my (late) father's favourite pastime which he went and watched in Wimbledon with my mum. So I feel less guilty about getting rid of it because it was a joy of my dad's.</div>
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On to our next adventure.</div>
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ToodlesXX</div>
<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-90994291252442116462017-03-12T10:59:00.000-07:002017-03-12T11:05:03.820-07:00My Donor Family Letter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So this was the hardest letter I have ever had to write. It was something that I had tried to do so many times but I never felt I had got the right words to explain how I felt and how grateful I am. How do you write a letter that there are no words that can really sum up how thankful because words wouldn't truly be enough.</div>
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I found it hard to find the right writing paper because I didn't want it to be too over the top, too girly or too bubbly. I just hated every option I had found. Then I looked on Paperchase and I knew I would find something that was the right balance of special enough but not over the top. I then sat down once again after starting the letter for at least the 10th times. I just started typing and this time I really felt like I could get my words out properly, it was very emotional and I cried through out writing it. </div>
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I am very proud to have written it and I hope that my letter bring's them some comfort as my Donor was the most amazing selfless human being, a hero and my guardian angel. I want to live my life to the fullest in honour of my donor and in their memory. The love I have for my Donor's family is immense and maybe one day I might know how they feel with a return letter but for now to know that I have given them a little comfort (I hope) is all I want. </div>
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In loving memory of my Donor and to my Donors Family who made a very brave and difficult decision in the midst of grief is the most incredible and selfless act any one could ever do.</div>
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<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-76210164574886528412017-03-11T13:51:00.001-08:002017-03-11T13:51:43.193-08:00Mini Holiday Primark Haul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSJidETgHCpQqSF1t5LHkBQZMEpIWD3GveW08qk7xGblyT_1IPqAJ0Sevl4J6kqkgDhMDjJLS_wwcEosPZ8KfQTmCtRCALVb2dswsjwZ3fMI-X6g4J-Mqkiqz6kX4Ht1nV3eIj2PcB1I/s1600/DWDW1645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSJidETgHCpQqSF1t5LHkBQZMEpIWD3GveW08qk7xGblyT_1IPqAJ0Sevl4J6kqkgDhMDjJLS_wwcEosPZ8KfQTmCtRCALVb2dswsjwZ3fMI-X6g4J-Mqkiqz6kX4Ht1nV3eIj2PcB1I/s640/DWDW1645.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">So as many of you will know by now.....I’M
GOING TO ITALY IN MAY!! Ok sorry about the yelling but I’m slightly excited-if
you hadn’t already guessed that!!! Anyway, believe it or not going to Primark
is a bit of a treat for me, sounds a bit sad but to be honest I try not to spend
money because I was a bit naughty with shopping when I was younger. Let’s just
say it wasn’t quite the credit card in the ice block like Rebecca Bloomwood but
it wasn’t far off. The other reason is living in Dorset I have to drive about
40 minutes to get to a Primark (which is tiny but still better than nothing) so
it’s a bit of a mission to go if you need one thing so we order a lot online
but it’s not the same. Anyway I got to a Primark and spent a small fortune but
they are key pieces which I can use as different outfits. I had loads and loads
of stuff which always happens with me but nowadays I can put stuff back. So
there were a few things I thought would be great for the holiday but I had a budget
and I stuck to it (or thereabouts-eeek!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I decided
to go sophisticated apart from one item which I will wear here. Which is the
sparkly high tops which I couldn’t resist buying. They are quite comfy as well.
I thought they could jazz up a boring outfit. Think they have had mixed reactions but I love them so I’m going to wear them. Sometimes it’s good to
be a bit silly!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Then I
focused on my Italy style and what I could wear to make me look as glamorous as
all those beautiful and elegant Italian ladies. So I thought key pieces that
would work with other clothes I have. So I thought the white shirt with the
little bobbles or dots on would go with everything (I just need to buy a white
strappy top to go under it.) I can put the shirt with my white jeans, my yellow
and blue trousers and most of my skirts including the one in the picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The skirt
is tulle material which I love and the detail of the flowers is very pretty and
the colour makes it sophisticated and it can be an evening or day depending on how
I accessorise it and what I pair it with. In the day I can put it with a little
t-shirt or a vest top but maybe the skirt is a cute option. I have black
sandals that I would probably wear with that skirt rather than the other
sandals which are a bit more playful with the teeny tiny pom poms-which are too
cute to handle-lol! The other shoes I bought were for evenings out, I bought
flat shoes because with cobbles and hills I don’t want to struggle to walk
around. I think on holidays it’s sensible to wear flatter shoes in places like
Italy. They will go with skirts and long dresses too. I did forget to
photograph my long evening cardigan that is cream which will go with all of my
evening outfits or if it’s more chilly in the day. Oh and I also forgot to
photograph the jumper I am wearing now which actually is a mint colour, it’s a
summer jumper (lightweight) so I can wear it in Italy with my white jeans or a
skirt. I bought some new sunglasses and a silk scarf that I thought looked
quite chic for Italy. The sunglasses are the style I used to have when I
thought I was young and hip! The silk scarf I could wear with a skirt or a a
more simple top that I could then pair it with to make it a feature. I was happy with what I got and I can combine
it with other clothes that I already have so only need a few cheaper bits like
vest tops. Can’t wait to go and I’m sure maybe another mini haul before I
go-hehe!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">ToodlesXX</span></div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-81668242397858223562017-02-19T10:29:00.003-08:002017-02-19T10:32:24.049-08:00Valentines Day in the Isle of Wight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAH0yRNBEoL8C44S-44ez8935YSbd8typJ_FHV4QxLvxTXCX3wNWMPtMtFlwRXABrUt-DS2jWzlErv_iW72ST3RYgVrUKdKLsI3nbsiuotGKhCEdDyWxQdRHyE4izSb47Jg6pmosdJgQ/s1600/Picture+032.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAH0yRNBEoL8C44S-44ez8935YSbd8typJ_FHV4QxLvxTXCX3wNWMPtMtFlwRXABrUt-DS2jWzlErv_iW72ST3RYgVrUKdKLsI3nbsiuotGKhCEdDyWxQdRHyE4izSb47Jg6pmosdJgQ/s320/Picture+032.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe5fnd0loVwLdmeDfjNac9sB1Lpy6gQW1uHioW8s7dKtHONfMAAA355hZWtSd0_T0LQ4L3IozWk18axmWL4LRSx0dEOxh29QLJrMhEqEGfE0lLRFbey0SMnbN9FfxasmhnJw-A4O9xc0/s320/Picture+039.jpg" width="320" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdBKj-3QLI5W5TmFDw7WZi5pivXmBlkODY-nhDxGdZ7JP0oBQvFyYLyRcZodIkwImCUn5yrZZlw4AGw4nwdhJEaXqFdhJIdNPWeEs52wS_w2wOWpyDtJi4N6-6pOph2eC7kFoQhiSX3k/s1600/Picture+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdBKj-3QLI5W5TmFDw7WZi5pivXmBlkODY-nhDxGdZ7JP0oBQvFyYLyRcZodIkwImCUn5yrZZlw4AGw4nwdhJEaXqFdhJIdNPWeEs52wS_w2wOWpyDtJi4N6-6pOph2eC7kFoQhiSX3k/s320/Picture+034.jpg" width="296" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdRjc9bAL-6C-73V0x5aMB6ZxjL1D3ZIpdG5HJlFRZp6BwF1sP_uoFjAT692V4lJKoW6HMkjo3ZSCT3fpteSjy_q4nOKnX-v7H1i9Sw-Gv4GZ9gDZgwXiI04Qbbb1NOVSZ4oGEE7fpTw/s1600/Picture+038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdRjc9bAL-6C-73V0x5aMB6ZxjL1D3ZIpdG5HJlFRZp6BwF1sP_uoFjAT692V4lJKoW6HMkjo3ZSCT3fpteSjy_q4nOKnX-v7H1i9Sw-Gv4GZ9gDZgwXiI04Qbbb1NOVSZ4oGEE7fpTw/s200/Picture+038.jpg" width="200" /></a>Valentine's Day was my 5 months post transplant anniversary, so we were celebrating both. We went out for a Valentine's Day lunch at Prezzo. I had a lovely dish, it was lobster and crab ravioli and hubby had a pappardelle gorgonzola which he enjoyed immensely. It was a rare treat as we hadn't really been out for Valentine's Day for years because we do prefer to have more of a private dinner at home, where we can choose the menu and decor. But I have to say I really enjoyed having a meal out like that. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnUNN8TKC0ioH4DGF99E_K6SiwNQ7CCDuudLWIjYDwgZ-EE6kBSF60Ew9glsNmKtDmpki_8I0f2hln16eZ8PQLaAeXyGGkoqgHDjIqFWDDp8IMWUL4ebp7HccANAly0yx4hEWSwLU1qM/s1600/Picture+023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnUNN8TKC0ioH4DGF99E_K6SiwNQ7CCDuudLWIjYDwgZ-EE6kBSF60Ew9glsNmKtDmpki_8I0f2hln16eZ8PQLaAeXyGGkoqgHDjIqFWDDp8IMWUL4ebp7HccANAly0yx4hEWSwLU1qM/s200/Picture+023.jpg" width="200" /></a>As part of our tradition of having a meal at home though, I decided to get some heart balloons to decorate our holiday home. I also got some tiny heart confetti and heart bunting to set the mood but I ended up decorating my in-laws' sun room as we were eating together that night. It looked so cute and it created a nice atmosphere for the rest of the evening. I got all my decorations from Poundland and Tiger, which may sound a bit stingy but as my budget was small this year having only just gone back to work and a list as long as my arm of things to buy and pay for in the next few months, I was trying to be sensible and save the pennies. I was pleasantly surprised by the balloons from Poundland, which were £1 and then another £1 for the helium. These would have been twice as much if I had bought them from anywhere else, I know in Asda the balloons would have cost £5 each, so instead of £8 I would have spent £20+helium. I can save the bits I bought this year and add to them next year. I will definitely do more Pinterest ideas next year. I just ran out of budget and time. I am excited about having more surprises next year but I might do some bits for our 6th wedding anniversary.</div>
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Happy Valentine's Day everyone, thanks for the love and support over the last few years. </div>
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ToodlesXX</div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-75939978145752808092017-02-19T06:46:00.003-08:002017-02-19T06:46:59.897-08:00THEY ARE REBUILDING THE TITANIC <br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/11/68/47/116847c1661f1509d2739b238b65f174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/11/68/47/116847c1661f1509d2739b238b65f174.jpg" /></a></div>
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"Read all about it, they are rebuilding the Titanic (2)"</div>
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So ever since I was a little girl when I first saw the Titanic film, I wondered what it would have been like to have been on the Titanic (obviously before it sank.) I think I was about 12 when I saw it in the cinema and it was to me the most beautiful and sad film I had ever seen. I then got it on video and I was given the book which accompanied the movie that Christmas.<br />
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As many of you know I love interior design, doesn't matter where it is, I'm fascinated by it. Especially if it is from the 1900's onward because I am in LOVE with that era. You know, actually I think my love for that era was actually from watching the Titanic film. I loved all the fashion and all the beautiful tea cups and furniture.<br />
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So I was on Twitter and I saw that someone had said they are rebuilding the Titanic and calling it the Titanic 2 and I was like "You what?". I clicked on the link and sure enough my childhood dreams are coming true. I was so excited when I read this and you will be able to buy tickets to go on it. It will be stopping at Southampton so going all the way to China won't be necessary-haha!! So even if I don't get to go on the Titanic 2 I might see her sailing by.<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/33/90/2b/33902bca2e365e36f0b5056891bcc0f3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/33/90/2b/33902bca2e365e36f0b5056891bcc0f3.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/39/ec/b2/39ecb2c9ccc5f1197051e3ebd7c17880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="153" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/39/ec/b2/39ecb2c9ccc5f1197051e3ebd7c17880.jpg" width="200" /></a>The billionaire whose idea it is to build her is also including costumes for passengers to wear for the formal dining. This is just the most amazing thing I have heard, I remember I wanted all of Rose's outfits. She looked so glamorous and I dreamed that I could wear clothes like that, basically live my life as if I was in a period drama like Downton. It's funny actually because Samantha Bond, who plays Rose's mother actually appears in Downton too as an aunt many years later which is quite bizarre and in one of the first scenes of Downton Abbey they are talking about the sinking of the Titanic. It is at the same time as Downton was set so the fashion is very similar which is why I love both. My favourite outfit from the film was the first one she appeared in, the white and purple pinstriped skirt and jacket. <br />
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The interior of the new Titanic 2 will have replicas of the original ship's interior. So the staircase and the glass dome will be recreated to look as similar as possible.<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f4/5d/cd/f45dcdd8f8f9a4139db16894c9179452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="150" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f4/5d/cd/f45dcdd8f8f9a4139db16894c9179452.jpg" width="200" /></a>The Palm Court Cafe is being recreated to look exactly like the original and the set one too. If I was designing the ship (dream job-as I want to be an interior designer) I would use the research and photographs from the set of the Titanic from the film and the costumes and food from Downton Abbey as well. Huge amounts of research went into the production of both of these. The photos are great to get the exact details from and the book: A Year of a Life At Downton Abbey would give recipes for both the upper decks and lower decks. It's absolutely fascinating and makes me want to re-read both of my books (that I'm currently using for my blog.)<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/4f/f2/56/4ff25643a76b7ca40541b4538c36b9d0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/4f/f2/56/4ff25643a76b7ca40541b4538c36b9d0.jpg" width="150" /></a>The owner has hired chefs to do research into the food they may have eaten but luckily some of the food menus have been saved/found. From the film research we know that they had 7-10 courses in first class. I have to say I am partial to a brandy snap cigar with cream -yum yum (pic from my Titanic book, I did try to get my mum to buy these at Christmas!). I will buy them one day soon and I will enjoy them....!!<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/7f/04/1b/7f041b6cbfcfa6dc1745ccb8ec0c2313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/7f/04/1b/7f041b6cbfcfa6dc1745ccb8ec0c2313.jpg" width="112" /></a>There are some slightly weirder foods on the third class menu cards. Not sure about the gruel or the rice soup but I did laugh at the second class menu for luncheon, Yarmouth bloater which is some sort of fish.<br />
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I did like the look of the afternoon tea for the first class passengers. I am partial to an afternoon tea although I'm surprised it wasn't high tea at 5pm. It would be something if we still had high tea every day (now I know why the portions are small - because they had so much food).<br />
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I think when the tickets become available I will seriously consider going on the Titanic 2. I was meant to go on a cruise a few years ago but unfortunately I was hospitalized for an infection. So I actually never got to go on that cruise, so this could be a good one to go on instead.<br />
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I will keep a weather eye out on the horizon.<br />
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ToodlesXX<br />
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<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-61833788502924725082017-02-19T05:21:00.001-08:002017-03-12T11:11:16.214-07:00Becoming an Advocate for Organ Donation <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKLJOcRymOEPlnCpESTZ27XMspYvIOWI6RJPlrdCIrjTUgwychC-1h9nvvtkKrg7XoTX5-lqqEy456EaaCoPfsLcwcCMi1Pkx3c37Z2NRZaxrljdc5UTqXfUlmC_R3pmlMaX3bPxqZlg/s640/blogger-image-317133554.jpg" /><br />
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I am so excited and proud to tell everyone that I have become Advocate for Live Life Give Life Charity which is an amazing charity that raises awareness and encouraging Organ Donation by getting people signing the Donor Register. For me it is an honor to be part of this amazing charity which literally saves lives by raising the importance of Organ Donation and with out it I wouldn't be here or be able to lead a normal life. I took a few pictures in my Orgamites t-shirt, with some of Snapchat filters- which I think makes my pics look cute.<br />
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I can't wait to start organizing some events to fund-raise for Live Life Give Life. I have so many ideas for fundraising events which will be fun and unique. This summer would be great to hold an event in my local area. So I need to start planning and see what I can physically do in the time.<br />
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I'm 5 months post kidney transplant now, on Valentines Day as a bit of a stroke of luck. So a double celebration which is lovely. I can't believe it's been that long already, it's flown by and soon it will be half a year. I'm so grateful for my Donor and I want to spread awareness for the selfless act he did so others like me could live. He has made it possible for my husband and I to have children which was a dream of mine to be a mum.<br />
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By raising awareness for organ donors, those waiting might not wait have to wait as long or unfortunately they never get their call because theirs not enough donors. So now all the hard work start of raising more awareness and fundraising.<br />
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So here goes, keep a weather eye out on the horizon, the next few months will hopefully have some exciting news and events!!<br />
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ToodlesXX<br />
<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-67970954098137050282017-01-29T14:15:00.001-08:002017-06-30T10:03:13.401-07:00My late Dad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I lost my Dad in 2009 when I was 23 years old after 4 years of bravely battling cancer, multiple myeloma which caused kidney failure. He was diagnosed in 2005, I remember being picked up by Mum and my brother was in the front and neither said anything. I asked them if everything was ok and my mum replying "no it f**king isn't OK, your father has got cancer." I just remember tears streaming down my face and being silent for the rest of the journey, just in total shock. I remember we got a phone call when we got back home and my dad was crying, his voice cracked as he said goodbye to us. He had been told that he needed to go to the hospital to start the treatment straight away. I still remember his face now and how frightened he looked as walked out of the door not knowing if he would ever see us again. It still makes me cry even today 12 years after he was diagnosed and 8 years after he passed away. It was a tough time and not knowing from one day to the next day if that would be the last day with him. He had his chemotherapy and he then started peritoneal dialysis because his kidneys had failed due to the cancer. I remember sitting with Dadz and him looking so thin and so frail, it broke my heart to see him like that. </div>
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To me he was always the strong one and the practical joker who was always laughing and playing jokes on us, well mostly me I think (I fell for most of them if not all of them!) It was hard to see him change in front of me and there was nothing we could do but be there for him. I used to sit with him while he did his dialysis in the spare room and we would chat about our days and just stuff, I'm grateful for those times we shared together. I can still picture us sat there with his dialysis bag hanging from the skylight. Little did I know, that seeing him go through this would give me my inner strength to go through it too with my kidneys failing. My family tried to stay strong and keep going for his sake but behind closed doors and away from others I cried and cried and cried till I cried my self to sleep. </div>
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In 2007 I did a trek for my Dad who had help from Macmillian to raise money to help families and patients like my Dad to get the support they needed. I was happy to do my bit to help Dadz and other families like ours going through it too. In 2006 we nearly lost him, he was in intensive care and we nearly lost him and I remember going into intensive care and just being so scared that that would be the last time I would see him. We got told to prepare ourselves for the worst. I was devastated and beside myself, I wasn't ready to say goodbye. Luckily he pulled through and we were able to have a few more years with him. He was in and out of hospital, then in 2008 he was taken back into hospital. I had to go and pick my brother up from school and take him to the hospital to see Dadz. We were once again scared that this was close to the end but again we had some more time with Dadz. </div>
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In 2009 my parents took my brother to look round uni in the Lake District and further north. It was there that my dad passed away. I got a phone call from my mum that my dad had been taken ill and was going to hospital, so my auntie drove me up to the Lake District and I just talked the whole way about rubbish because I was trying to distract myself about what I might be met with. I got the call from my mum and by the time I got to the Lake District he had passed away. I was just devastated, but I was glad to have said everything that I had wanted to a few days before to my Dad and he had given me his blessing to marry my hubby (ready for when he proposed to me.)</div>
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I have so many lovely memories of my Dad and all the adventures we have been on together. I remember his great sense of humour and his mischievous side, that often resulted in practical jokes. He was great at surprises, sometimes he would just pull the car over on the way to somewhere and open up the boot of the car and he would produce the most amazing picnics or he would take us on these crazy adventures out of the blue. I loved his way of making things exciting even if it was an ordinary thing.</div>
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I remember driving along a Spanish road onto these windy roads and he was singing a song so loudly we were all falling about laughing or shouting "Banditos" whenever we saw a sign. He would also play very funny practical jokes on us, mostly on me. He pointed to the top of the garden and said that there was a hedgehog up there, so he said let's go and have a look. So I crept up to the top of the garden and as I got closer I realised it was a bloody melon (not the yellow ones but the other little brownish ones.) I still can't believe I fell for it. </div>
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Another practical joke he did was on my birthday and I thought I was getting an art easel but when I opened the box it was kindling wood. He had taken the easel out and said it was a do it yourself kit lol!! </div>
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His best one is the picture at the top, it was Christmas and I thought I was getting my first mobile phone. I got given my main present and it was a tube and I thought oh god what have I got...? So I opened it and there was a slipper at one end so I pulled it out and something went flying, I realised it was my phone. and in the other end was the battery. It was the best practical joke he pulled on me and the picture is us having a little moment together where we were having a little chuckle. </div>
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My parents had surprised us that instead of going to Spain we were actually going to Florida and Mexico. When we were at Disneyland and we were going on a ride, he had told some American tourists that he knew the Queen or Lizzy as he called her (and they believed him - it was very amusing) then shortly after this he announced rather loudly while we were in the line that he shouldn't have eaten that burger and chips because he felt quite sick. You could see people backing away from us - it was the most hilarious thing he has ever done and I was in stitches. It shows his real jokey side and his great sense of humour which I miss. </div>
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I miss sitting down with him and chatting to him about my day. But I have so many fond memories which I treasure so much. I love looking back at our family pictures and remember little family stories. He was a great Dad and I miss him terribly but I use his zest for life and his bravery going through his illness which gave me my strength. <span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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Us playing in the garden.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeMHq31MszS2eXS2RWCeuEkvzmx71Ke0sK8TqumBaIp1vsGQ7dxM0_oe22HJlE886fm6R78mTUOaoamACi62U38FqYBs614tghLUEaAZP-kRbWGJBAK2tq055Y21FUbY0a7H04ZIzBu0/s1600/me+dads+and+peeves+in+the+swimming+pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlqXCfYqTojKOeo4ULjENES_4QAgi-xfXB3LBKYvM80J_D52UOm9G1QsOvco-VKdwqRkFye_VUyJwNaICXXQgxCi03Ecu63jM4eC2BrsDvWJdJ05dwxFv0Sn6U5QQ5jQWLSInWxOH-ss/s1600/me+dads+and+peeves+in+the+swimming+pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwBpAwcqx0BX_UFpwQeryUn3agxUur702wUSD6mV1vTmKn2UMsaR_scKbyLalm5J8P2gCSwjWPL6X3t6ajStmiP6UG5MI5Fxp0uwbIUKCJ9N-tVnO1s8XyMPdNNNj5k9l4SE-l7u-I0I/s1600/me+and+dads+picking+the+grass+me+laughing+hilariously.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwBpAwcqx0BX_UFpwQeryUn3agxUur702wUSD6mV1vTmKn2UMsaR_scKbyLalm5J8P2gCSwjWPL6X3t6ajStmiP6UG5MI5Fxp0uwbIUKCJ9N-tVnO1s8XyMPdNNNj5k9l4SE-l7u-I0I/s320/me+and+dads+picking+the+grass+me+laughing+hilariously.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Me when I was 8 years old with my Dad. Then all of us in the garden.</div>
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My Dad when he was younger.</div>
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He used to have a motorbike and this is him on it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyRZ0WJLmr-TrjbOHyJXUtTOwAKLr18ouOtVDBEPeMSRuLDnpZ6RvFZt6fvqPmgvuD1TfYhBFhZT0l-7fpORUa5VHae7cNSXli0pImGXkmlFASRX9SYyv5VoB89vhYhQlLKE1aW65ffo/s1600/dads+on+his+motorbike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyRZ0WJLmr-TrjbOHyJXUtTOwAKLr18ouOtVDBEPeMSRuLDnpZ6RvFZt6fvqPmgvuD1TfYhBFhZT0l-7fpORUa5VHae7cNSXli0pImGXkmlFASRX9SYyv5VoB89vhYhQlLKE1aW65ffo/s320/dads+on+his+motorbike.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In Loving Memory Of My Dad.</div>
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Toodles XX</div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-82166022221570216062017-01-20T11:35:00.003-08:002017-01-20T11:35:41.166-08:00My favourite YouTubers<u><b><span style="color: purple;">Zoella</span></b></u><br />
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So I'm not sure when I got into YouTube or when I started to watch videos. Anyway I think I must have been looking up some craft videos and found Zoella. I immediately thought wow this girl is so similar to me in what she likes and her personality. She's very into fashion and beauty which I have got back into again, after having my kidney transplant. I think if she does a project she goes full hog which is kinda what I do, my mum says "you don't do things by half"or "Katrina less is more!" I suppose that's because I do go a bit overboard. I just get excited about things I am doing, like Zoella! She's also obsessed with Christmas and will listen to Christmas music throughout the year, I do that too!! She also will regularly watch Harry Potter, yeh I do that too!! She also loves interior design and I do too, both slightly obsessed with it really! She lives on the coast and so do I, she loves photography and so do I! We seemed to have quite a few similar interests so I think that's why I like watching her videos. She can sing....I however cannot unfortunately!! I think if I had her budget I would probably have very similar houses too!! I like her fashion sense because she always looks really well put together and a little bit quirky which is definitely a good thing. A kindred spirit!<br />
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<img alt=" : " border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/63/ab/91/63ab910ca14a06dc32f2f062bcb0dc45.jpg" width="150" /><img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/bf/b4/92/bfb492c17d333d12e0ec199c5c6ec7ef.jpg" width="150" /><img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/55/8b/d6/558bd6daf8023168b7c8b4d1133efd46.jpg" width="150" /><img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/da/f4/41/daf441729ccbf6c20a7a4d551df1b625.jpg" width="150" /><br />
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<b><u><span style="color: purple;">Alfie Deyes</span></u></b><br />
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I like Alfie Deyes because he Vlogs a lot of their lives and he does interesting activities. He also has a lot of knowledge on cameras and gadgets. Which I find interesting and quite useful. I also find his DIY videos very funny.<br />
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<b><u><span style="color: purple;">Poppy and Sean</span></u></b><br />
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Poppy is Alfie's sister and although she doesn't have a YouTube Channel she appears on Alfie's, Sean's and Zoella's channels regularly. I do follow Poppy's blog and I really enjoy reading it. I enjoy watching vlogs and reading her blog and looking at her photos, it inspires me to do more with my blog and create great content. I enjoy watching Poppy, Sean, Zoella in Alfie's vlogs when they are all together. I find their trips away and outings together great to watch.<br />
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<u><span style="color: purple;">Tanya Burr</span></u><br />
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I like Tanya Burr's style and her beauty tips. I feel that she has more of a realistic style that I could create. I also like that she's a wife so I feel that I can relate to her as a married woman. She's very funny as well with some of the things she comes out with.<br />
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<img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c7/27/9f/c7279fdf2f81ea5a8829f929c7b7220a.jpg" width="150" /><img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/ac/77/95/ac7795b582f1eccfd06e9c7bdc056de5.jpg" width="150" /><img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/95/d9/6e/95d96ed40bf5739e4cedeff4e6a187d1.jpg" width="150" /><img alt=" : " height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/20/89/43/2089438011a601f443fcbf37864d4341.jpg" width="150" /><br />
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<b><u><span style="color: purple;">Saccone-Joly</span></u></b><br />
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I love watching the Saccone-Jolys because they are a family going about their lives. My dream is to have a family of my own fairly soon and I love that Anna and Jonathan bring up their children with such love and care. I think it's interesting to pick up on little tips and tricks for family life. I enjoy hearing about their family life and what they get up to and the different places they go as a family. I think because I have wanted to be a mum (forever) but have actually become ready to be a mum since we got married, it has given a little ray of hope that this is what my life could be like soon. I loved watching them while I was on dialysis to keep my spirits up. I also think Anna dresses Eduardo and Emilia how I would dress my children. I'm so excited to also go to Sorrento at some point soon and I was inspired by the Saccone-Jolys.<br />
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<b><u><span style="color: purple;">Phil and Alex</span></u></b><br />
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I recently found these lovely people on YouTube and they were going through adopting children and because of my health problems, I may only be able to carry one child because of my kidney transplant so I am interested in the journey they took. I would consider adopting a child as well. They are a lovely family and I think I will follow their journey as it progresses.<br />
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(These are screenshots from their Instagram as I couldn't find any other pics on Pinterest.)<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: purple;"><b>My full list of YouTuber People (A-Z).</b></span><br />
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<ol>
<li>Amelia Liana-More luxury travel and products.</li>
<li>Anna Saccone-Family Vlogging</li>
<li>Conor Maynard-Great musician</li>
<li>Dave Erasmus-Echo Friendly living, interesting concept.</li>
<li>Fun for Louis- I love Louis travel Vlogs and they inspire me to travel more.</li>
<li>It's a Buzz World-Family with multiples.</li>
<li>Jamie Oliver-Love his recipes.</li>
<li>Jim Chapman-Vlogs what he and Tanya Burr get up to.</li>
<li>Jonathan Joly-Family vlogging</li>
<li>Kristen Sarah-Travel vlogger</li>
<li>Mark Ferris-Collabs with Zoella are good.</li>
<li>Matt Tebbutt-Chef and food program presenter.</li>
<li>More Zoella-Zoella's second vlogging channel with all her fun adventures.</li>
<li>Niomi Smart-Healthy eating and exercise.</li>
<li>Phil and Alex-Adopting, family vlogging.</li>
<li>Pointless Blog-Funny challenges</li>
<li>Pointless Blog Vlogs-Second channel vlogging adventures.</li>
<li>Raya was here-Travel vlogger</li>
<li>Saccone-Jolys-Family vlogging</li>
<li>Shaytards-Family vlogging, American</li>
<li>Slyfox Family-family vlogging, American</li>
<li>Sprinkle of Chatter-Collabs with Zoella, topic videos</li>
<li>Sprinkle of Glitter-Family vlogging,</li>
<li>Tanya Burr-Beauty vlogger</li>
<li>Tom Daley-Olympian </li>
<li>Yoga with Adriene- Yoga vlogger </li>
<li>Zoella-Vlogging topic videos.</li>
</ol>
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I follow a real mix of different types of vloggers and I have been inspired by all of them. I think I will continue to follow their journeys.<br />
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ToodlesXX<br />
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<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-82128658034793772072017-01-16T14:17:00.001-08:002017-01-19T10:12:07.492-08:00Trekking in Cambodia<br />
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In 2007 I decided to do a sponsored trek for Macmillan, because they had helped our family after my dad was diagnosed. I had seen an advert for a trek in Cambodia (at the time I didn't even know where it was!!) </div>
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It sounded so exotic and far flung, I had never been anywhere like it and I thought it was a cool place to go. I had to raise £3000 plus travel expenses, buy trekking boots, a backpack and all my trekking clothes. I was also meant to train for the trek but I didn't have a huge amount of time although I had been cycling 9 miles a day for my previous job, so I was fairly fit at that time. </div>
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Day 1 </div>
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We flew to Siem Reap on Malaysian Airways and we stopped over in Kuala Lumpur for a few hours. It was nice to stretch our legs and move about. It was a long flight, the longest I had been on. We met everyone at the airport and then we hung out with a few people and started getting to know them. There were loads of people from all walks of life which made it interesting to hear their stories and why they decided to do the trek. </div>
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Day 2</div>
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We landed in Siem Reap and then all got in our minibuses that were waiting. We got in one with hats so we all put them on, only after would we realise they were all covered in bugs - gross and not the last encounter with bugs in Cambodia....errrrrrrr!!! We then arrived at our hotel where we stayed at the beginning of the trek and at the end. We then went down for a meeting about what we were going to do and what to expect. I was nervous but excited. We then got into tuk-tuks (a kind of bike with extra seats) to go into Siem Reap. The local market was amazing and I think when I go back I would take a whole suitcase just for souvenirs.</div>
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It was certainly a bit of an adventure in the tuk-tuks, we thought at one point we were being taken to the wrong place on the way back and started panicking. I have to say as well, the tuk-tuk drivers don't slow down when going round corners, I nearly slid out of the side of it on one occasion. </div>
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Day 3 </div>
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So we were up early and ready to start trekking, we were taken to our starting point. We trekked through miles of rice-paddies and tiny villages with huts dotted along our route. As we walked through the small village, the locals waved and came out to see us as we walked through. We walked north for about 6 hours to the Pagoda, where we were going to stay that night. We also saw monks who were in bright orange robes which were so vibrant against the green grass of the rice-paddies. We had to be careful about taking their picture and asking permission first and we were told that they were not meant to look at women directly. We then set up camp which was interesting and quite an experience, putting up our tents. We then had our dinner cooked for us and we sat and ate it on the little sofa cushions we had set up. </div>
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Day 4</div>
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We were woken up pretty early, I think it was about 5.00am, we were woken by the bells and the monks chanting as well as a cockerel crowing rather loudly. The reality of going back to basics and going off the grid for a while wasn't actually as fun or as picture perfect as I thought.We walked through different landscapes and we walked for about 9 hours to Wat Preash Bat Bun Tham. We saw many temples and pagodas and a few animals.</div>
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Day 5</div>
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So we trekked from the Wat Preash Bat Bun Tham towards Kulen Mountain, we trekked across the rice paddies. We could see the Phnom Kulem in the distance and we trekked to Beoung Maealeo where we saw ruins and temples, we explored the ruins (which I believe were used in Tomb Raider). I think this was the temple where I saw the bullet holes with the sun streaming through. It was so atmospheric and it made me tear up. We got to our campsite at Svoy Leu Pagoda, we trekked for about 8 hours. I think it might have been on this day where we stayed near a little bar in the middle of nowhere but we heard them playing 'Who Let the Dogs Out' but I actually think they were singing 'who let the frogs out' - very random! I think some of us went to have a dance but I was tired so I went to bed earlier that night.</div>
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Day 6 </div>
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We finally reached the Kulen Mountain and we trekked to the top which was 487km. We had amazing views across the forest and fields, dotted with temples in the distance once we got to the top. We had lunch at Anlong Thom where we looked at another temple. We saw the Big Buddha at the top of the mountain (which was Cambodia's sacred mountain). We then trekked to our campsite next to the most beautiful waterfall, we swam in the River of 1000 Lingas (we changed it to 1000 mingers because we were all pretty much covered in mud). I think this was the day I had a blister and had to sit on the ox cart, our guide told me that the locals were worried about my legs because they thought that they were covered in blood but it was just red mud. We all had a good giggle once they realised I was ok!! It was probably the best bit of the day, swimming in the waterfall (although I was a bit worried about leeches but luckily there weren't any!) We had trekked for about 8 hours so we enjoyed the opportunity to enjoy some relaxing/downtime. </div>
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Day 7</div>
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We trekked back down the mountain through a jungly trail, I think this was when I tried to go to the toilet just off the path but unaware that I had stepped in a nest of fire ants and then just as I had built up courage to go for a wee there was a noise just to the side of my head, as I turned I saw this green snake. Needless to say I think I flashed the other trekkers that were waiting for me because I bolted out of there while trying to pull up my shorts. Not really helping with my fear of snakes!! We trekked through more villages and we stopped at a few schools. Most of us gave most of our clothes away to the children, so there are probably a lot of children wandering around with Macmillan t-shirts on. It was interesting that a lot of the classes were open air. I think this was the day we had a lunch from the La Residence D'Ankor which was a very special packed lunch (wish I could have kept the box but I wasn't allowed!) We trekked for about 7 hours before we reached our campsite. I think this was the night there was a massive thunder and lightning storm, so we stayed up and watched it for a few hours before we went to bed and the storm rolled off into the distance. </div>
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Day 8</div>
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The final day of trekking, we headed for Ankor Wat which was our finish line. I felt excited and nervous as well as sad because we knew that the trek was nearly over. I think I could have continued to trek for many more weeks. Ankor Wat was so amazing and as we got closer we saw some amazing views of it. I got so close to the finish line I had a mini celebration and I was so happy. I couldn't believe that I had actually completed the trek. It made me realise I was capable of doing anything I set out to achieve. I think this was the best thing I took away from my trek. I finally reached the finish line and we celebrated with everyone. We were all very happy that we completed our trek. I hugged everyone I think. The middle pic at the top is the girls who I trekked with and who I made friends with while I was there. We had our lunch at Ankor Wat and we had the prettiest meal. Cambodian food was so delicious and I can't wait to go back and try more and explore more places too. The last pics were taken by Macmillan and I really love these pics.</div>
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So after all the hard work, we then went back to our hotel and got as dressed up as we could with no makeup and limited pretty/dressy clothes (I bought a traditional Cambodian top to wear.) We then headed out to have a meal and talk about the treks and experiences we had as a group. We laughed, cried and cheered when people made their speeches. We had a lovely evening and a delicious meal for our last night in Cambodia. We could have stayed longer but that was all the time off I could get as I had just joined the police.</div>
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Cambodia was an amazing place to visit and I can't wait to go back! </div>
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ToodlesXX</div>
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Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-75037645707843077842017-01-14T14:52:00.001-08:002017-01-14T14:53:18.524-08:00Winter walk and a gym session<img alt=" : " height="640" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/7b/f3/a6/7bf3a65abdc40b117331c4c2aa6ffbe1.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/94/9a/ee/949aeefe3d3bb1ae27b8d34235fe5411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/94/9a/ee/949aeefe3d3bb1ae27b8d34235fe5411.jpg" width="112" /></a>Today we decided to go to Lulworth Cove for a walk. We had been before but I didn't walk up the hill because I was very anaemic so I only walked a little way on to the beach the last time. I had wanted to walk to the top when I had got my transplant. Well today is 4 months post transplant, so I wanted to see how far I would get. As you can see from the photos I reached the top and I was so proud of myself for getting to the top and not giving up. I had to stop a couple of times to get my breath back and stop because my muscles in my legs were really sore because they have shortened over the last few years. We had a lovely walk and I hope we will do another walk next weekend and go a bit further. I did 3,611 steps today and I walked 2.1 km today. I really want to reverse my diabetes and I hope by doing the weekend walks and the gym, I will be able to. We had a quick cup of tea at the Lulworth Cove Inn before heading home.<br />
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Yesterday I went to the gym with my hubby. I walked there and then I did about 40 minutes on the treadmill and then I did another 10 minutes on the cross trainer. I did about 3.10 km walking and I burnt about 150 calories and then about 100 calories on the cross trainer. I then walked back home. I have been increasing my steps the last days, I think getting back to work has helped me be more active. I will continue to share my progress and my journey with beating diabetes and getting fit. I think I will also start blogging what I eat or, do with a <i>What I ate Wednesday</i> tag.<br />
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ToodlesXXMini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-77022707953034125492017-01-14T14:01:00.000-08:002017-01-14T14:01:02.437-08:00Draw My Life<div style="text-align: center;">
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So I have seen soooooo many YouTubers do this on their Vlogs, so I thought I could do it in a blog post. So armed with my white board and pens I started drawing out my life. Just to let you all know, it's not really been that plain sailing, I had quite a rough start but I am a very open person about what I've been through and I am proud I've come out the other end normal.......well almost normal lol!!! Just ignore my quirkiness!!!</div>
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PS sorry for the wonky photos I was trying to avoid my lights reflecting on the board !! (no I'm not a professional photographer!!) </div>
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Right here goes!!</div>
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So when I was 3 years old I was taken away by the police from my biological family. I had to empty all my clothes into a black sack before being put in the back of the police car. My biological brothers were also taken away. We were all put in emergency foster care. I don't remember much apart from the first place had red velvet curtains and a tortoise. I still remember this very vividly!!</div>
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From the age of 3 to 8 years old I moved 6 times, me and my biological brothers were split up, 1x failed adoption and my last foster parents thought about it but thought I was too much to handle. I didn't really like any of the foster homes I lived in, foster kids got left to their own devices most of the time. I certainly looked like one, hair a mess, scruffy uniform and not able to read or write at the age of 8 because no one had bothered with me!! Sad story but true (but look at me now haha writing blogs-who would have thought?)</div>
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My 6th house was my permanent home, my forever home and I moved there when I was 8 years old. I was adopted at 10 years old because it took 2 years for the court case to go through because my biological mother wouldn't sign the papers.</div>
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When you get put up for adoption, you get asked what your wish list is (if you're older like I was.) I asked for a little brother, a cat, a dog, a trampoline, a mummy and daddy that loved me. I got all those things. I lived in a village in the middle of nowhere and we would ride our bikes to the cricket ground or through the deer park or go blackberry picking (most of them were eaten while we picked them!) We also had great fun having water fights with Super-Soakers and water bombs!! I enjoyed living in the countryside and it kept me out of mischief. </div>
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So at school I had a nice group of friends, that I had met when I was in year 4 and we then went on to secondary school together. I loved hanging out with them and we used to go into town, then we would go into the bigger town nearby with better shops and then when we were a bit older we would go to London. I have to say I was not the best at timekeeping so I was always late getting the train and the trains didn't really go that frequently. I often got told off being late-oops (not much has changed!!)</div>
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At secondary school I loved art and hanging out with my friends. I played the clarinet but I didn't really practice-not sure I could really read the music. I didn't like maths and I was very shy in front of people if I had to talk to a large group. So I didn't do that great in drama-I did get a half colour (a thing our school did when you took part in something I guess!) I got one in hockey too but I was always distracted hanging out with my friends so I never got a full one. I used to carry loads of art folders, clarinet, hockey stick, gym kit around school. I was quite often late for a lesson and I sometimes turned up in the wrong lesson or classroom (still struggle with timetables-think it's my dyslexia-does anyone else have this issue?) I did quite a few clubs, Air Cadets, kayaking, hockey, orchestra, synchronised swimming and a few others I can't even remember. The best bit about school was the prom at the end of year 11. I had an amazing time and we went in a Rolls Royce and I went with the guy I had fancied for a while lol!! </div>
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I lost a friend from the Air Cadets who passed away in a car crash which I could have been in if I hadn't chosen to get in the other car (first time losing someone was hard.)</div>
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I went on to college, I did photography (yes it was film, people before all the fancy digital cameras came in-old school, I know!!) I loved it and really enjoyed capturing unique photos but I was a bit rubbish at the written work. I also loved my art lessons but I struggled to produce work that I thought was perfect so I would rip work out of my sketchbooks and throw it in the bin, much to my art teacher's dismay who would fish it back out. I liked to work backwards from a final piece to work out my development but apparently they didn't like this approach!! </div>
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I got an unconditional offer for Falmouth Uni, we were all tested for dyslexia when we arrived and they said I was quite dyslexic. So I had struggled throughout school and college and I finally understood why I struggled more than others. I struggled with a few personal things going on (including my kidneys failing, but being told it was food allergies, but being ill in bed, not able to get up!) So I needed to repeat my first year, but when I went back to repeat my first year my dad had got cancer. I struggled dealing with that as well, so I came home to support my family and help be there for my dad. </div>
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I got a job working in a travel agent's but I soon realised that this wasn't what I wanted to do. I applied to join the police and to my complete surprise and most people around me I got in. Within my first week I had saved someone from seriously hurting themselves and I really enjoyed my work with the youths at the local youth centre. I enjoyed the mix of jobs I worked on and I got a letter of commendation from our Superintendent for a job I had done well on. </div>
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While I was in the police I did a sponsored trek for Macmillan in Cambodia (another blog to follow on that!). I saw it advertised in a paper and I just turned to my mum and said I was going to do that trek. I had to raise £3,000 and my own costs of getting there etc. I did a pub quiz and I contacted the local football team to get a signed copy of a brochure. I also decided to do a half marathon the week before my trek (both I had done no training for-I do not recommend this!!) I also called my local paper to try and get an article featured on me and my trek-guess who answered the phone? Yep my now husband, he was the local reporter at the time (that's how we met!) I trekked for about 15 days and saw some amazing views. I had an amazing experience and I am proud to say I did it. I hope to do another sponsored trek (for Kidney Research once I am fit enough.)</div>
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Me and my Hubby started dating in 2008 and I think we had moved in together by the 3rd month. I think we knew it was serious and at the same time I was considering joining the RAF. We then had to move up north for jobs.</div>
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We moved to Bedfordshire and we lived there for 5 years. I did many sales jobs, I didn't really enjoy those jobs. Lots of great things happened while we lived there (we started our married life there.) Some sad things happened as well, I lost my dad in 2009 after his 4 year battle with his cancer. He had kidney disease and cancer. I found it very hard and I struggled with our loss a lot. </div>
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After 3 years of being together we got engaged at Christmas in 2010, hubby put my engagement ring in the bottom of my stocking-so magical. We got married 6 months' later. We had a lovely wedding with all our friends and family around us, my brother walked me down the aisle and we did a tribute to my dad too. It was the perfect day and then we went on our honeymoon in Barbados at our own private villa. We went snorkelling and swam with turtles as well as feeding wild monkeys in the rain forest. We had the most amazing time and we found it hard to leave. We decided while on honeymoon that we wanted to move back to my home area.</div>
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A year after we got married I was rushed into A&E and ended up in hospital with my kidneys having failed. I was put on dialysis and I was in over the summer of 2012. It was a major shock and I was told back then that I would need a kidney transplant. I then overhauled my diet and I managed after some time to gain some kidney function, I became stable at stage 3 and we were able to go on a few holidays in this 2 year period. </div>
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We then moved down to Dorset in 2014 and within a few months of moving my kidneys had failed again and I was in over Christmas. I was back on dialysis and I had 7 blood transfusions and 7 plasma exchanges this time as well. I went onto peritoneal dialysis but unfortunately a day before our cruise I ended up in hospital again. I then got a massive clot in my right arm from my elbow to my collar bone due to my line being moved to that side. I missed my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's wedding. We did buy our first house in 2016 though and we are so excited to decorate this year.</div>
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I had gone back to work after the summer holidays and the second day back I got the call from my transplant hospital. I was in shock and it was all so out of the blue. I enjoyed my first Christmas post transplant and my kidney function is great but my medication has give me diabetes, so now I am working on reversing it. I'm happy with my progress and I hope to become fitter in the next few months.</div>
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Thanks for reading my post and I hope it inspires you to draw your life....!!</div>
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ToodlesXX</div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-79020044152347860742017-01-12T11:23:00.001-08:002017-01-12T11:23:36.843-08:00Transplant and diabetes....So I had my check up today, nearly 4 months post transplant and I got some news that really shocked me. It started so well, my creatine was 72 and my transplanted kidney function is 87 % which is amazing. Then just as I thought I had escaped any bad news, my Doc told me that I have Diabetes. He said it had been caused by medications that I was on for my kidney transplant which happens in quite a few transplanted patients. <div>
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I now have to be really careful about my sugar levels, eat even more healthily and increase my level of exercise. I have joined my works gym (swapped to be able to use it after work) where I can walk there and back which will increase the amount of exercise I do to. I'm also going to register for the Park Run in my local area every Saturday and go swimming as well as do a bit of yoga to tone up. So no more excuses, my hands have recovered from when I fell over. So my aim for now is to reverse the Diabetes, lose weight and then focus on the games for 2018 once I have got this under control. </div>
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So tomorrow is Friday and I will be going to the gym and then I will either go for a walk or go swimming. I am not going to let this beat me, not after everything else I have been through!!</div>
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So from now on, no cakes, mocha's, chocolate, biscuits, all the bad sugars. So if you see any pics of me eating cakes or chocolate-yell at me (use caps- you have my permission!)</div>
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Watch this space, let's hope it doesn't snow tomorrow to ruin my plans!!</div>
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Wish me luck, let's do this!!</div>
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ToodlesXX </div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-2977634645613026062017-01-08T14:49:00.000-08:002017-01-08T16:10:06.340-08:00Adventure with the Pharaohs (Egypt)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUbjb06kwNnN-MqiiGYcQ8yiCmDOwdboWCl_6UWiXMp_OR_gNsmzxtHviX5W0Fxdj8U2H8CqWhRyuSY-lLy0ozV2ltT_c1KnY5GTy8wdWg_nNU-hh9Wp1qaXoKL0vr4TjE5YThbl2UBc/s1600/sam+and+me+on+a+camel+in+egypt+in+front+of+the+pyramids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUbjb06kwNnN-MqiiGYcQ8yiCmDOwdboWCl_6UWiXMp_OR_gNsmzxtHviX5W0Fxdj8U2H8CqWhRyuSY-lLy0ozV2ltT_c1KnY5GTy8wdWg_nNU-hh9Wp1qaXoKL0vr4TjE5YThbl2UBc/s200/sam+and+me+on+a+camel+in+egypt+in+front+of+the+pyramids.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ33te0GyDRLVw-HzdzwoAFtLWsJjcJ8eWOyrP6iqGo7I043UA8LTQnQ_OwzR6VEKPjIXKjZT8COy0WpPSqBdpZBZ45Yq6e6FLzsNoVzZImmGTKmJHU4Ak3xze220sdzB6nAa4ihILlg/s1600/egyptian+engraving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ33te0GyDRLVw-HzdzwoAFtLWsJjcJ8eWOyrP6iqGo7I043UA8LTQnQ_OwzR6VEKPjIXKjZT8COy0WpPSqBdpZBZ45Yq6e6FLzsNoVzZImmGTKmJHU4Ak3xze220sdzB6nAa4ihILlg/s200/egyptian+engraving.jpg" width="130" /></a>This was our first holiday we went on together back in 2009 (before I was diagnosed.) I have always been fascinated by Pharaohs and Ancient Egypt. So it was a bit of a dream really, as I had wanted to be an archaeologist when I was younger too, so to see the Amazing Pyramids and the Columns of Luxor was just awesome. A childhood dream came true and combined with a slightly newer obsession - Downton Abbey (will explain!!)<br />
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I am actually standing next to one of the Pillars in the pic to the right. I remember it being blisteringly hot and I felt horrendous on the coach journey, a combination of travel sickness and Egyptian tummy I think.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;">I packed quite a lot of flowing things to wear but I just felt so hot, especially in </span><span style="text-align: center;">Cairo.... I swear I could have burst into flames, it was that hot!!! </span></span></div>
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We visited the Temple Luxor, the Pillars were amazing and it felt like we had gone on to a film set or something, they were huge, I took pictures of some of the markings which I found interesting. I would love to make them into a piece of art in our house, get it blow up on to a canvas and hang it up (might do that!!)<br />
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The pic below is the Colossi Memnon (there are two of them next to each other) they mark where the vanished Temple of Amenophis was (which is now covered in fields). The statue is meant to be the mythical Ethiopian King Memnon who was killed by Achilles in the Trojan war-apparently!! You learn something new every day, I picked that up from my travel guide by Globetrotter (worth getting a guide for whatever country you visit.)<br />
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We also visited Valley of the Kings, I think - I can't seem to find our pics from this excursion but I do remember being told no photography inside the tombs. After doing some research I think we went into Pillared Chamber F of Tomb KV 15, 2003 (this is remembering what I had seen and what I recognised.)<br />
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I was so fascinated but I didn't know a lot about who found what when I visited but I have since learned something rather remarkable, that the family, well Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon who lived at Highclere Castle (the set of Downton Abbey) actually found Tutankhamun's Tomb. I visited Highclere Castle and I was so fascinated by its history, what a weird coincidence that two of my passions are connected (pics below are pages from the Highclere Castle guide book, showing the dig site and some of the artefacts). I also recently watched a program of the story of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon and how they found the tomb - very interesting to see what it would have been like. I'm so glad we visited Egypt when we did and saw all the treasures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFuKSVSBqcK6TynXAQWAdAgm2dmjStJYwP6uOCBrDU7IuGVVU1W9nqfFIl6J7MmnQLE3ogsIuRgYrHgHyu-BLTU_aSbVuLbEKFBm50Q0ZjOTXPvy_BDHgTjcKdT9W6XGzzErPrZ-qNJQ/s1600/goat+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFuKSVSBqcK6TynXAQWAdAgm2dmjStJYwP6uOCBrDU7IuGVVU1W9nqfFIl6J7MmnQLE3ogsIuRgYrHgHyu-BLTU_aSbVuLbEKFBm50Q0ZjOTXPvy_BDHgTjcKdT9W6XGzzErPrZ-qNJQ/s200/goat+pic.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
So we travelled quite far to see these tombs and the journey on the way back was very odd, we had stopped for a quick break and this random women just handed my hubby (then boyfriend) a goat so I took a picture because it was just a very odd situation - no I'm not kidding lol!! I was trying not to throw up everywhere or faint at that point though (what they say about the Egyptian tummy is true- the struggle is real!!)<br />
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We had been staying in Hurghada at Lilly Land Beach Club for most of the holiday and we did some scuba diving which was very cool and I had never done before. I think we did a dive about 15-20 metres, I enjoyed it until my mask started to leak but because I had missed the talk about the scuba dive signs because I was throwing up in the toilet, I didn't know how to ask to resurface. I think I had a slight panic attack when I got into the water as well (think my mask came off). I was OK in the end and it was a great experience (once I realised there weren't any sharks nearby too.) Gosh I was so much slimmer back then, oh well!! I remember actually being held up by my hubby and the instructor while they put the scuba gear on me because I nearly fell backwards-slightly embarrassing but that gear was so heavy and the tank was basically the size of me!! We saw some great fish that I had never seen before though.<br />
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<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IkmEIaaxUmPvKmchtvOvqEL5tUW2W0jEZMAbzxWTcl-WAsIDOWvPmdCIsdKwH-Ws8f3NjH1_ppYd575mchnyzCjDICrYjWaKscaXKZeTL_jdr079MktX4e2eSXsf1_t_MXOwPj39SRs/s200/sam+on+the+boat.jpg" width="139" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQv9JOV0ZGAUXkPvvpNTxNINpjcgM2v8a0tHvEnEHMRD9HMYFXPyFiJC4iOa6qMhpKc463xw9y_YEVmaS536WVL42AMh33qJgjxgjiYTWbcLj-4ExKVIvYSRLhoRppnjRI6V9cHKDfxM/s1600/egypt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQv9JOV0ZGAUXkPvvpNTxNINpjcgM2v8a0tHvEnEHMRD9HMYFXPyFiJC4iOa6qMhpKc463xw9y_YEVmaS536WVL42AMh33qJgjxgjiYTWbcLj-4ExKVIvYSRLhoRppnjRI6V9cHKDfxM/s200/egypt+3.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhet2x62qdIk0wWWpKRdkJEZvN46__TdyjSn90qIA0yYKxiFQb1CZANg61tlBJNhcEuCfGI_H6UoOuUSkaEPARhwgPD7zLdLQFnCTRcqZsp_KSpQxyYPXFLuLDE8QnjNmOcPns80hzN-V0/s1600/255643_10150618954455462_502495461_18708409_5881408_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhet2x62qdIk0wWWpKRdkJEZvN46__TdyjSn90qIA0yYKxiFQb1CZANg61tlBJNhcEuCfGI_H6UoOuUSkaEPARhwgPD7zLdLQFnCTRcqZsp_KSpQxyYPXFLuLDE8QnjNmOcPns80hzN-V0/s200/255643_10150618954455462_502495461_18708409_5881408_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDm1jy8UHriU8tW5HGoQcb6i5TEK86h1uIJvqQWfv29_6oX4O9VYjgfgzzCpa7XUVF9DG-cqBh6hTdRX0DggQSaOX3XXDg01A7uzU9Oa7S4kKI90wzwLiSG65V3sVZgR7uNnrNQA-kvmI/s1600/me+diving+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDm1jy8UHriU8tW5HGoQcb6i5TEK86h1uIJvqQWfv29_6oX4O9VYjgfgzzCpa7XUVF9DG-cqBh6hTdRX0DggQSaOX3XXDg01A7uzU9Oa7S4kKI90wzwLiSG65V3sVZgR7uNnrNQA-kvmI/s200/me+diving+4.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhcPqzqwCE-lPXziJHQ-cpDErfQ3pKmT4H0n9mlJyIgU0-OoKKLRf65uv47RfIYCAO0e8kfqWAptIe839Jw3GHx02Ru_0E42xwJ7wc7qMF7zEN-ZKAsvzrCb7oRLcuvBbtNtI9QQTZw4/s1600/fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhcPqzqwCE-lPXziJHQ-cpDErfQ3pKmT4H0n9mlJyIgU0-OoKKLRf65uv47RfIYCAO0e8kfqWAptIe839Jw3GHx02Ru_0E42xwJ7wc7qMF7zEN-ZKAsvzrCb7oRLcuvBbtNtI9QQTZw4/s200/fish.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWALLuCTJW9Vre_PWgxyJvWAUKsmxYJSux2mCp2_akXsvSHSmAK2ztJJJz7EfR9XECswR4CYjHhcDGfYj506EWxH_ms_ZyGfwlpf07ZUcWANWqeKw5Jpgav4FYlDHfDFaHTU6JuHKDBOg/s1600/sam+diving+on+his+own+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWALLuCTJW9Vre_PWgxyJvWAUKsmxYJSux2mCp2_akXsvSHSmAK2ztJJJz7EfR9XECswR4CYjHhcDGfYj506EWxH_ms_ZyGfwlpf07ZUcWANWqeKw5Jpgav4FYlDHfDFaHTU6JuHKDBOg/s200/sam+diving+on+his+own+2.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hSdFRLdlY4nIsOzeDQ7YWZ0qyRJ7wfKXx0j0nJ4KRIw6jmq41Xxl2k3nM36nk65j77LPhOgu8uti8fsGuW34bv565r4LJBZ5c0UoiLbEt66jKidYzKbykgd0FfkmZB__i9UST2OychY/s200/me+diving+from+above.jpg" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRJBd8nEhR1990s-jUpbDPsIhqJjW-p7AusIjevWVTrnMWeaSvAMGiYRtC8ZPLIGNq0VKVAKqJlQ9_tE99T7bobcjIJ2yxojWT5oTQ5QnaarnEZXdPr8-QcJ1aOX-a4dYr9MzwKpigWE/s1600/sam+diving+on+his+own.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRJBd8nEhR1990s-jUpbDPsIhqJjW-p7AusIjevWVTrnMWeaSvAMGiYRtC8ZPLIGNq0VKVAKqJlQ9_tE99T7bobcjIJ2yxojWT5oTQ5QnaarnEZXdPr8-QcJ1aOX-a4dYr9MzwKpigWE/s200/sam+diving+on+his+own.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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On our last night we had a lovely meal down by the beach/lagoon which was part of the hotel and it was so romantic. We had red snapper, I think from my hubby's plate. We had a lovely evening and it was a perfect end to the first part of our holiday.</div>
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We then flew to Cairo and went to the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx. We did the typical touristy thing and rode a camel round the Pyramids (we did the short walk because the other one was way more expensive!) So then the guide tried to take us on a longer walk and I knew we didn't have enough cash on us so I did what any British tourist would have to resort to doing- having a massive tantrum on the top of the camel and in my best British accent I told the guide under no circumstances would we be doing this! Not the most glamorous or sophisticated moment of my life but it worked. While on the camel I also nearly lost my shoes which kept slipping off (note to self, don't wear flipflops/sandals in a desert and on top of a camel- #Fashion Fail). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusYxup9rXhNbTn_oZfEQGzno8RvtAaa2YOORbHznM2fZ0eJH-80oxgHpgTfzxOTi59zfHQRHnv78JDb2iiivPhf66I1Qh3-DlboDaCoEjuyesf2fBao70WLHsM_RVVd9P34HD7GEjuIA/s1600/me+in+fron+of+the+pyramids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusYxup9rXhNbTn_oZfEQGzno8RvtAaa2YOORbHznM2fZ0eJH-80oxgHpgTfzxOTi59zfHQRHnv78JDb2iiivPhf66I1Qh3-DlboDaCoEjuyesf2fBao70WLHsM_RVVd9P34HD7GEjuIA/s200/me+in+fron+of+the+pyramids.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQ3TdxeUvegeEHh1bZEgkfV4iy8FECvGgNus_pUyvsV8E2tEkicUgxi8MdKF0VuD77Tvvv1FRPVZuiwM0rH6wMDqokDXwRvO_FVvLmxCqmEl8Dyo5NUntS4QKUZGrIo7WswIGjulf6xA/s1600/me+and+sam+touching+the+pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQ3TdxeUvegeEHh1bZEgkfV4iy8FECvGgNus_pUyvsV8E2tEkicUgxi8MdKF0VuD77Tvvv1FRPVZuiwM0rH6wMDqokDXwRvO_FVvLmxCqmEl8Dyo5NUntS4QKUZGrIo7WswIGjulf6xA/s200/me+and+sam+touching+the+pyramid.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHqc1HQa2ZpfwnM8pKW_Lih1esKrIHymf7Z8UX07N8UmglEhjiNzPDz7jmMpBWPWrWXIRh4tieZZnqP_CWOF8dLeRuYVU9xyOgD_1-jRs-JEaBGZl2rrNOoQXg3HJ0OhVyIkovvsmrL4/s200/egypt+5.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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So while we were in Cairo, we were there for 2 days, we also visited the Cairo Museum and we saw some amazing artefacts from a lot of the tombs. We weren't allowed to take photos so now all we have are our memories as I hear a lot of the Museum artefacts have been looted and sold on the black market which is devastating. We saw so many wonderful things though so I can't complain. We then decided that we would also do a sunset cruise on the Nile. Something else I had wanted to do for a long time. It was lovely, we had a lovely dinner, a belly dancer for entertainment (which I noticed when she danced.....errrrr......nothing moved - if you catch my drift) and we also met one of the other guests from our hotel who we ended up sitting with which was nice. He was also with us at the Pyramids too. I have to say it was such a lovely holiday and there were other mini trips we did like going to see how papyrus paper was made and how Egyptian perfume is made which I still have, because it has no alcohol it lasts a long time and smells amazing. We also saw some churches which was interesting. Overall it was an amazing trip, I wish I could have done more. </div>
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<img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcjPNuuNOoP_t6H37r0N29yTmg6RQeX3COPDMmrTr-6RoT05O4xWFhoVRUYTNxeV2e5f1F78QwN0M18zjJnng_ZP_Ek8hFTNAo4FE6jcPlFt8V6Kam_LZDlANg7tPyMkxMADWuxsYUxU/s200/me+and+sam+on+the+nile+river+cruise.jpg" width="200" /> <img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy5TIO8JZNj6Ukwb1mezIQ23Gjb3z-99mLTiV9JDW0ekRMdE_uPMNu4w6QbZ7Z60oMEZgMaewS6NEN2dHG1pt6MlzZ8sncZoS6ciai-nvxzj67grswSodVOy6y4Jeq_tl1PknUBGytPI/s200/us+and+ed+on+the+nile+trip.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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So that was my throwback adventure with the Pharaohs.<br />
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ToodlesXX<br />
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Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-91202082012918484472017-01-07T09:28:00.000-08:002017-01-08T09:50:23.801-08:00Making my little piece of the Caribbean in Dorset....... and DIY!!!So it's a New Year and one of my main resolutions for 2017 is to sort the house out. We moved in in February last year.....so nearly a year, Yay! So with everything going on in our lives we haven't really had the chance, energy or money really to actually start decorating. I've got plenty of ideas, it's just getting it all done but we said it is a work in progress, Rome wasn't built in a day. So today was the first time we have set aside a weekend to get all the stuff we needed and the specialist paint to sort the issue out.<br />
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Yesterday we took all the Christmas decorations down and got some plastic boxes to store them properly...(we are taking this getting organised thing seriously too.) So they are now safely tucked up in their boxes for the next Christmas. We also put our lights away properly so when we get them out next time I won't have to spend an hour de-tangling them, I honestly wanted to cry when we got them out for this Christmas!! Right it was time to get on with the work on the house.</div>
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<b><u>Day 1</u></b><br />
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So the decorations were away and the tree has gone(-rip) and everything was vacuumed and cleaned ready to go. We were ready to blitz the problem, armed with a strong spray to get rid of the marks we went to town. We scrubbed and scrubbed till our arms were sore. We gave the gym a miss as we were both cracked.<br />
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<b><u>Day 2</u></b><br />
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We decided to do the painting today so we got a roller, a paint bucket and a paint brush to paint over the marks. We mainly focused on the bedroom ceiling because it was driving us nuts. We rollered the majority of the ceiling then just painting the edges and in the corners to seal it completely. It has taken most of the morning and a bit of the afternoon. We also did a few little problem areas around our flat that we had some issues with too.<br />
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/29/7a/1c/297a1c56621f801728f0e899804c3290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="200" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/29/7a/1c/297a1c56621f801728f0e899804c3290.jpg" width="150" /></a>Now then next bit is the fun bit because it's the bit I'm really good at, interior design. Then option is what colours to pick!! For Christmas I got a lovely book from my mum about coastal decor and ideas which is perfect because I am going for a coastal theme.<br />
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Right, well I think for the bedroom it's going to be yellow and turquoise like the Village houses in Barbados which was where we had our Honeymoon. I loved the colour palette of the houses and thought how lovely with would be to recreate it back here once we had bought our own place. Also who would suspect a little flat in Dorset would be a little slice of the Caribbean!!! You step into the hall and you are in your own little Caribbean haven.<br />
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OK, so coastal theme is a great place to start but that's very generic, I have broken it down into different types of coastal like my new book, so what am I going for?<br />
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Here are the options:<br />
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<u><b>British Coastal</b></u>- <b>Beach hut colour palette</b>, White washed colour palette , Fishing Village Colour palette, Vintage seaside town colour palette, <b>Country Coastal colour palette</b>. Coastal walk colour palette.<br />
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<b><u>Mediterranean Coastal</u></b>-Traditional Villa, Greece colour palette-just bright blue and white,<br />
<b><u>Caribbean Coastal</u></b>-Bright coloured huts, St Nicholas Abbey colour palette (copper,large rum bottles, Barbados Village House colour palette (mostly yellow and turquoise.)<br />
<b><u>Tropical Coastal/Botanical</u></b>-Bright flowers colour palette. Palm colour palette, Turquoise sea colour palette, Kew Palm House-inspired.<br />
<img alt=" : " height="400" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/79/16/f7/7916f74ad8418de335b7a242bb3837a3.jpg" width="300" /><img alt=" : " height="400" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e1/4e/5d/e14e5da727eee5888b50037dd789445f.jpg" width="300" /><br />
<b><u>Hamptons Coastal</u></b>-Relaxed/light colour palette, Boating colour palette.<br />
<b><u>Rustic Coastal</u></b>-White wash worn look colour palette, Traditional Ceramic colour palette.<br />
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If you hadn't guessed by Blogmas or any of my other blogs I love bright colours and making a statement so why would our house be any different? For me, I think out of all the places I have been Barbados has a special place in my heart so if I can capture some of that in our home it will always feel like we're not that far away from being there. I like the Beach hut palette because there are pastel shades and vibrant colours that reflect my fondness for bright colours.<br />
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So for the hall I think Tropical Coastal/Botanical theme would be great a wow statement as you enter our flat and it was what I was already thinking for this part of the house. I want to set the tone of what to expect as they move through to each part of the house. This snippet of my Botanical board shows ideas for the hall, we have a high ceiling and a long feature wall we would use to create a statement. I also want to look into terrariums for the hall but also around the house. I had an idea inspired by a Childhood present from my uncle and our trip to St Nicholas Abbey in Barbados. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51S7P6exUwSeclXZOm-AdlbUfbgxhgo6n0V5AfiIfCIBbJej3aHXpg-03E_A8u2gOvrSGt_dcaIztyFcSsPTxr2SzhUNjQN8LgV8Ge2hRHDCK5bbPcGnPPYG6FXWqeGyL26ZoDRFubSs/s1600/wedding+18th+junes+2011+420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51S7P6exUwSeclXZOm-AdlbUfbgxhgo6n0V5AfiIfCIBbJej3aHXpg-03E_A8u2gOvrSGt_dcaIztyFcSsPTxr2SzhUNjQN8LgV8Ge2hRHDCK5bbPcGnPPYG6FXWqeGyL26ZoDRFubSs/s200/wedding+18th+junes+2011+420.JPG" width="150" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP498A6lWv35ziemQqlNlJk95fD1PB2Fi7AWZu_TL_2tQKrlXSXIOTr7cb5n0VflvBbqi3-GIh-X080F07eGlv9f7eyoBE79NBRSeJ5-obiBLjX26XkJbOoVX74FsjeGBzD6X7Nmq1Mhk/s320/wedding+18th+junes+2011+426.JPG" width="320" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpRIe4UxdIAtG8WrtIDWCBo9tOMvHX8hzI0s2tcr5CNSaswGBe5jiUxu3TkOQGEbVXZ_zGbMjNxI1874uS7tFz38vKDHe17Um_-WN9MGZkUdyNpFkIFZu5FtKik421MQmQr43reYAnbM/s1600/wedding+18th+junes+2011+425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpRIe4UxdIAtG8WrtIDWCBo9tOMvHX8hzI0s2tcr5CNSaswGBe5jiUxu3TkOQGEbVXZ_zGbMjNxI1874uS7tFz38vKDHe17Um_-WN9MGZkUdyNpFkIFZu5FtKik421MQmQr43reYAnbM/s200/wedding+18th+junes+2011+425.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7yerJbyp4GAnqf-hxz-Cv3ConEVFedAimqMd8GFieFI7bAWjiwLAHdDkdtwLXob5p2dzTCR0CzokIe_TuLwvEmbyjWkHqbr5yaWtbQNyG2gnee_KiKbYpx7oYBT35qVCVotg5sVdouw/s1600/wedding+18th+junes+2011+449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7yerJbyp4GAnqf-hxz-Cv3ConEVFedAimqMd8GFieFI7bAWjiwLAHdDkdtwLXob5p2dzTCR0CzokIe_TuLwvEmbyjWkHqbr5yaWtbQNyG2gnee_KiKbYpx7oYBT35qVCVotg5sVdouw/s320/wedding+18th+junes+2011+449.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
The rum bottles were the exact shape of my terrarium I had when I was younger and I thought that was a brilliant way to tie both Botanical and St Nicholas Abbey theme I had thought for the Living room. I think the style of St Nicholas is Caribbean Downton Abbey.....!! I knew I could get Downton Abbey in our house some how!!! Haha!! I like the big copper old distilling pots which are now used for mini ponds!! I thought I could tie in the copper into our house in accessories. You might not be able to tell but one of the rooms who could look round has turquoise walls which is perfect for our theme.<br />
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Right off to create my little bit of Caribbean haven.<br />
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Toodles XXMini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-19758444987936049842017-01-05T15:31:00.002-08:002017-01-05T15:52:46.846-08:00New to Bloglovin' I am new to Bloglovin' and managed to set it up but now I just can't seem to add any more blogs which is slightly frustrating but I hoping this one works!<br />
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Toodles XXMini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-8128472014498283672017-01-05T11:45:00.001-08:002017-01-05T12:45:16.460-08:00Bloglovin'<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/18417243/?claim=9wu48yekzj3">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-3821828802360782762017-01-03T08:34:00.002-08:002017-07-10T15:32:34.024-07:00Beating the January Blues and 50 things that make me happy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8b/88/19/8b88196d97e89657bb8de86edbe26db1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" : " border="0" height="150" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8b/88/19/8b88196d97e89657bb8de86edbe26db1.jpg" width="200" /></a>So January is probably the worse month for most people, with big credit card debt and that hangover from New Year's Eve not making it any easier to stomach the start of the New Year. Some may be regretting having that extra helping of Christmas dinner or slightly embarrassed by all the pictures on New Year's Eve, which don't really show your more glamorous/sophisticated side unfortunately.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCB_0OjDp8DtpsdlGEfL441JUwyhqU2zdA4LE9m_SErTE4xqtVBiXolm4QIsX_XTPTo_p9hwYMf4ZlG1vhMG7fQLc897HGlD0Du4H59FZrqxW_WG7HmkaTrrgUI51BQflkMhdpSGRBBlA/s1600/611e820eda713426296f22c984070a8c+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCB_0OjDp8DtpsdlGEfL441JUwyhqU2zdA4LE9m_SErTE4xqtVBiXolm4QIsX_XTPTo_p9hwYMf4ZlG1vhMG7fQLc897HGlD0Du4H59FZrqxW_WG7HmkaTrrgUI51BQflkMhdpSGRBBlA/s200/611e820eda713426296f22c984070a8c+%25282%2529.jpg" width="197" /></a><br />
Oh well let's put all of that behind us and start anew! I found making a list of all my goals that I would like to achieve in 2017 quite helpful. I find if I have goals to work to, it is easier to feel better about January. I think this month is the perfect time to get all those things you've been putting off or decisions you have been putting off making- just go and make them-time to change, no time like the present!! I would also suggest making a happy list (see below.)<br />
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For me, however I am excited about it being a New Year and all the fun things we will do and places we will visit this year. I feel my life has restarted and I just feel like I will burst with excitement. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop and I just can't make my mind up because there is too much choice.<br />
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So here it is:<br />
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<u><b>My 50 things that make me happy</b></u><br />
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No particular order after the first 3 points.<br />
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<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-S2-npW-mnwWpLPqwibUnf3i6XpGk3DbU4ki3UQ-9Hn8l0b_P1Rd56kC7JxWhDsjqrz4xG16tF2L9DSMljD7RlGNAjDbLynNp0L1Ox87q-t2hfqIhy6pYBbCmNPUZeQUn-UKRXVigVZ0/s1600/1195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgt5w4dqFtG-oObXmKjKKSDsKG_Euwj1FeAlUaMqPN6QSnsuikd-QHdUUGcSEyz5tfg2Fac4cI9DuOlgrW4gBTgy_6C5UJsJNvNkpPqvti3ydfKJ6UucdW3KkjZyzOOZsmkobyKDbLGY/s1600/me+and+dadz+making+my+first+christmas+present+ever+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXgw-mCit8RNIs3L-EOmxFxtuH99lr9fVcv_nwBuU00ww91OtjLtqjYkkxQv4Ri9eQGxGxyr2Y-49go4k1dI6ENhzFJOAq1yUiCidoHBncKarDbnvc_wG27SfLh1OhoTJc7VRU35GLtw/s1600/20150830_161510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>
<li>Hubby and all the cute and sweet things he does and for being my rock.</li>
<li>Family, the love and support they give.</li>
<li>Friends and all the joy they bring me.</li>
<li>The first cup of tea in the morning, piping hot so you can see the steam.......mmmmm!!!</li>
<li>Bright blue sky with no clouds to be seen.</li>
<li>Summer warm breeze.</li>
<li>Walking along a sandy beach that stretches as far as the eyes can see.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBO-rdp7MbFmGdq9ANuO28pV4uv9cC0zFbJY22zqKEYR-QL5jpWKJWW9nXwpGjaSttSRreIoplIMSwFLbP8yE1qrzOkQriQu8qwNsZoMwq6ExWsE8_R1w3IHVKgcbM5nFkl7IFz4Pp9Q/s1600/2302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRBO-rdp7MbFmGdq9ANuO28pV4uv9cC0zFbJY22zqKEYR-QL5jpWKJWW9nXwpGjaSttSRreIoplIMSwFLbP8yE1qrzOkQriQu8qwNsZoMwq6ExWsE8_R1w3IHVKgcbM5nFkl7IFz4Pp9Q/s320/2302.JPG" width="320" /></a></li>
<li>Fresh cut summer grass, the smell is just heavenly.</li>
<li>Picnics by the sea</li>
<li>BBQ in the garden in summer.</li>
<li>Painting and drawing animals and landscapes-can't offend a monkey!!!<img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-S2-npW-mnwWpLPqwibUnf3i6XpGk3DbU4ki3UQ-9Hn8l0b_P1Rd56kC7JxWhDsjqrz4xG16tF2L9DSMljD7RlGNAjDbLynNp0L1Ox87q-t2hfqIhy6pYBbCmNPUZeQUn-UKRXVigVZ0/s200/1195.JPG" width="200" /></li>
<li>Taking photos of everything</li>
<li>Doing craft projects.</li>
<li>Writing my blog.</li>
<li>Reading my interior design magazines.</li>
<li>Lazy Sundays.</li>
<li>Sunday roasts.</li>
<li>A very big cheese board.</li>
<li>Shopping-enough said!!</li>
<li>Cooking with Hubby. </li>
<li>Watching cooking shows and borrowing ideas.</li>
<li>Watching some of my favourite shows, Castle, Murdoch Mysteries, Bones, River Cottage, Saturday Kitchen, Cake Boss, The Little Couple and many more.</li>
<li>Making surprises for people.</li>
<li>Walks in the countryside.</li>
<li>Crunchy Autumn leaves.</li>
<li>Listening to music in the car and singing along.</li>
<li>Christmas-all of it!! <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgt5w4dqFtG-oObXmKjKKSDsKG_Euwj1FeAlUaMqPN6QSnsuikd-QHdUUGcSEyz5tfg2Fac4cI9DuOlgrW4gBTgy_6C5UJsJNvNkpPqvti3ydfKJ6UucdW3KkjZyzOOZsmkobyKDbLGY/s200/me+and+dadz+making+my+first+christmas+present+ever+%25282%2529.jpg" width="190" /></li>
<li>Dancing around my living room to my favourite music.</li>
<li>Holidays and visiting new places.</li>
<li>Fashion!!</li>
<li>Kirsty Allsopp is just my idol.</li>
<li>Driving to different places.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li>Isle of Wight.</li>
<li>Stationary, lots and lots shiny</li>
<li>new stationary-YAY!!</li>
<li>Dorset-I love living here!!</li>
<li>Going to the Zoo</li>
<li>Italian food-just yum!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li>Thai food-also yum!</li>
<li>Harry Potter-yep anything related!!</li>
<li>Downton Abbey-yep anything related!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img border="0" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXgw-mCit8RNIs3L-EOmxFxtuH99lr9fVcv_nwBuU00ww91OtjLtqjYkkxQv4Ri9eQGxGxyr2Y-49go4k1dI6ENhzFJOAq1yUiCidoHBncKarDbnvc_wG27SfLh1OhoTJc7VRU35GLtw/s400/20150830_161510.jpg" width="400" /></li>
<li>Fantastic Beasts-yep again anything related!!</li>
<li>Reading a really good book.</li>
<li>Meeting for a coffee.</li>
<li>Quotes that make me laugh.</li>
<li>Tea- to drink, tea cups, tea pots, tea etiquette.</li>
<li>Dinner parties, hosting them</li>
<li>Birthdays, surprising hubby!!!</li>
<li>Pinterest-the most amazing idea ever-I'm addicted!!</li>
<li>Instagram and it's amazing filters.</li>
<li>Make up-any make-more is more!!!</li>
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I hope this makes you smile too and maybe inspire you to make a happy list. I think it's really up lifting and put me in an even better mood, making me think of all the things I love. I could have continued but I would have been here for hours. </div>
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Beat the January Blues with your own Happy list!</div>
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Toodles XX</div>
<br />Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115080860227884775.post-72809597808914484742017-01-01T08:41:00.001-08:002017-01-02T02:11:37.725-08:00BLOGMAS....Day 24 Front Page<br />
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Both of my front pages </div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LffGuXCrFsk0voHdNbGW8ZxiTBqCly-PinhQtuW5yzMn8yYgppO42wtbX7wtfR0Jx2CNK7UXae5DZLsfzKuDs2QW4gPLGvWFyKEqdrSV4qxn25Hx5CpRJWCRMWGCok5NPtf40CSqfrI/s320/front+page+christmas+2016+%25282%2529.jpg" width="315" /><img alt=" : " height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/08/5c/bd/085cbde2e9cf108067b18422aa643e71.jpg" width="315" /></div>
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So this is quite cool, we were on the front page on Christmas Eve. I can't believe how much has changed in a year. You look at back at some years and think wow that was a great year and then other you look back and can't believe so many difficult things happened. This year for me has been a crazy year of really high, high's and a few very low, lows. </div>
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This made me cry because I still have to pinch my self that it really happened. I said to the reporter that I wouldn't need any presents this Christmas because I got the greatest gift of all. I am so grateful to my donor and I will be living my life to the fullest in honour of his memory and I have a lot of plans for the future and I will be doing everything I had wanted to since I was ill. My list is as long as my arm and I have called it my Second Innings. I feel like I'm restarting life with a new found respect for it and I just want to squeeze every last drop out of my day. I want to make the most of every day, because I am lucky to have them and blessed to be here!!! </div>
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Right here's my list of my Second Innings</div>
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<ol>
<li>Have adventures......many, many, many adventures with my hubby.</li>
<li>Take millions of pictures of Adventures to remember them all.</li>
<li>Get a Round the World Ticket and visit some the places on my list.</li>
<li>Go to Bali, Australia, New Zealand and see my lovely friend.</li>
<li>Go to New York......do all the touristy things!!</li>
<li>Go to South Africa......go on a Safari-YES can't wait to be able to do this and then paint and draw what I have seen when I get back.</li>
<li>Go to Italy....I hope this will be fulfilled in 2017 or a least one visit-oooooooooh so excited!!!</li>
<li>See the Northern Lights-want to go to Iceland for this. </li>
<li>Go skiing again......been to long even a long weekend would great.</li>
<li>Win Gold at the Transplant Games....aim high!</li>
<li>Work with Charities to raise awareness for the Games and Organ Donation.</li>
<li>Go to another Festival/ Glamping......just done a blog about this-how funny!</li>
<li>Write my Children's books I had been wanting to write and illustrate-Jan project!!</li>
<li>Sort the house out and make it beautiful.</li>
<li>Go to a Tree House for a weekend.</li>
<li>Do more fun activities, picnics, bbq's, day trips-mini adventures like Harry Potter Tour.</li>
<li>Learn SUP or another skill or craft.</li>
<li>Have a big Banquet/Feast-Kinda did this for Christmas.</li>
<li>Go back to the Caribbean</li>
<li>Go to South America-Brazil, Peru.</li>
<li>Go to Asia, China, Vietnam.</li>
<li>Go back to Cambodia-Amazing place (10 years ago in September 2017!!)</li>
<li>Go to Scotland......Edinburgh and the highlands-See reindeer and Harry Potter places.</li>
<li>Christmas German Market.....I love Christmas what more do I need to say.</li>
<li>Disney World....Harry Potter World.....because I am obsessed!!</li>
<li>Move to the Countryside......the dream house!!</li>
<li>And Finally after a few of these have kids!!</li>
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This was my list before I received my kidney and I think most of it is the same. I think you look at the world with a new found excitement that you can really do these things and not I will never be able to visit these places. I'm just filled with excitement to experience all that life and the world has to offer. </div>
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So watch this space, lets see how many I can tick off.</div>
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Toodles XX</div>
Mini New Yorkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05744022461184591565noreply@blogger.com0