Winter Wonderland

First of all, my apologies for the delay in a new post *slap on the wrist for me!*. Due to my rubbish immune system, I have seemingly picked up every bug going so I have been lying low for a while trying to build up my strength again. 

Back at the beginning of December a group of my close friends invited me to go up to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park in London. I had often read about it in celebrity magazines, and none of us had been before so it seemed like a fun day out. 

 We wanted to book some things in advance but it appeared everyone else did too so we were unable to book the Ice Kingdom as it was sold out for the day we were going. We did however book the Ferris Wheel, and as we were going with two small children we decided to pay a little extra and have our own private pod. 

We took the train up as an easier alternative to driving, and thankfully as we got on at one of the first train stops we were able to get seats together. I wanted to rest as much as possible because I knew it would be busy when we reached London, especially on a Saturday too. 

From Victoria Station it was a short stroll along to Hyde Park. Thankfully the sun was shining so it was nice to stroll along looking at the sights on the way. 

When we reached Winter Wonderland we could tell it was going to be busy. There were no queues to get in, but the alpine market area, full of wooden stalls selling gifts and all different types of delicious smelling food, was packed. It was difficult to stop and look at the stalls, more of a "Just keep going" kind of mission! 

I was very excited to see the rides - there were some pretty intense looking rides that I think I will look at doing if we go again next year. It was quite overwhelming for our first visit - so much to take in!




















My friend Gemma bought some tokens to take one of her little girls on the carousel. I think my friend enjoyed it more than her little girl :)

Food at Winter Wonderland can be a bit pricey, and some of the portions seemed quite small for the cost, but then again it could be London prices. 

We made a pit stop for some chips. I had some delicious Skinny Fries which went down a treat, especially as it turned chilly, despite the sunshine. 

We then headed over to the Ferris Wheel and as we had booked in advance for our own pod, it didn't take us long to queue. It was hard to decide when to go up - daytime to see the views across London or night time to see everywhere lit up. We decided on the daytime and we weren't disappointed. The views were spectacular! 

After our trip on the Wheel we wandered along drinking hot chocolate (which was yummy and very warming) and then two of my friends and I decided to go on one of the rollercoasters called the "Wild Maus". The queue itself was a lot of fun - moving floor, rollers to climb through, stepping stones. The ride was brilliant too. Similar to the mouse rollercoaster on Brighton pier, it was quick and quite jerky and twisty. I think I crushed my friend a few times - sorry Jason! 

As night had fallen and we were all feeling quite tired we decided to call it a day and head back to the station for our train home. As we walked out there was a massive queue to get in that trailed for miles. 

It was a wonderful day, great laughs with fantastic friends. My poor body didn't like me much afterwards though and it triggered the start of my poorliness. Would I do it again though? Of course! 

Halloween

I am a massive fan of Halloween. It never really was a big thing when I was little, so I have really enjoyed seeing it grow in recent years. I love going past people's houses and seeing their pumpkin carvings and decorations. One year I want to go to America to see Halloween - American Halloween displays look incredible!

 

In previous years I have decorated my house, but as I sold my house recently and moved back home I couldn't really go overboard on the decorations. However I did put some of my pumpkin collection out in my room and switched them on at night. 

My friend wanted to go Trick or Treating this year with her little girls. They are only little and it would have been their first experience of Halloween, and she didn't want to take them to stranger's houses, so we arranged for her to pop over to mine for some treats. I put a few decorations and pumpkins out and put together a quick cat costume to greet her. Walking into my room, I saw my cats who instantly puffed up their tails and arched their backs. I think they were a bit frightened of my cat outfit! 

I was kindly invited to a friend's Halloween party, so I headed to my friend's before hand to get ready and do makeup. I already had the Skeleton Dress from a couple of years ago, so I decided to wear that and tailor my makeup around it. 

We all had such a good night and everyone looked fantastic in their costumes. How did you celebrate Halloween? 

Birthday Month

So October was a busy month...so busy I am still recovering from it! However, it was a wonderful month, so I thought I'd share what I had been up to.

October was a busy month because not only was I turning the big 3-0, but two of my closest friends were too. Months ago we decided to do something together to celebrate, and the result was a trip to Brighton's Grand Hotel for Afternoon Tea. It was a wonderful day out - fantastic food and awesome company. I even got a badge to wear! Despite not living near all my closest friends, when we get together it is like we have never been apart - we revert back to our 15 year old selves!  

Fancy Dress Party 

After our birthday tea, the following weekend was the first of the 30th birthdays - my friend Gemma started the ball rolling with a Fancy Dress party. I love fancy dress, but know that not everyone does so working out what to wear was tricky. I wasn't sure whether to go all out costume wise (especially if no one else dressed up!) or to go for a low key costume. October was also quite an expensive month, so my friend Sarah and I decided to save money and go for a simple costume - Pink Ladies from Grease! We already had the basics for the outfit, all we both needed to buy was the jacket and my friend found them for less than £10 on the internet. A bit of hair crimping and red lipstick and I was ready to strut my stuff as a Pink Lady :) It was such a fun night although I think I over did it on the dance floor as my legs (already suffering an ME flare) were painful for days after. 

Theme Park 

After resting the whole of the week after Gemma's party, I was determined to go ahead with my Saturday plans - a trip to Chessington World of Adventures. I am a huge rollercoaster junkie - the higher, faster and scarier the better. Chessington is pretty tame in comparison to other theme parks I have been to, such as Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, USA, but I have always enjoyed going to Chessington since I was a child. This visit was even more special as my friend and her son were coming too, and it was her son's first visit. My friend doesn't really like rollercoasters so I was more than happy to step in and go on the rides with him that she didn't want to go on. However she was very brave as a non rollercoaster fan and went on Dragon's Fury and Rattlesnake. Strangely enough, I am terrified of water rides, and so my friend bought me a medal for doing the Bubbleworks ride (one of the tamest rides ever!).

As we went during the Half Term holidays, Chessington's Halloween celebrations were well underway. I had never been to a theme park for Halloween so I was really excited to see what they would do. I wanted to take the pumpkins homes!

I paced myself during the day and took rest breaks (we had delicious burgers in the Vampire Burger Kitchen restaurant!) as I knew I had to be "with it" for the drive home. There was so much to see at Chessington that unfortunately we didn't get to do it all, but it is a good excuse to go again another day. Most importantly, my friend's son thoroughly enjoyed his first visit. :)

My Birthday

After a busy few weeks it was nice to have a fairly chilled out day for my actual birthday. I went for a family meal to Frankie & Benny's - the food was delicious!

 SeaLife Centre

The day after my birthday I headed to Brighton to meet one of my uni friends and her little girl for lunch and a trip to the SeaLife Centre. It was so lovely to see my friend and her little girl and we had sunshine which was an added bonus! 

Blackberry Farm

I went with my friend Gemma and her two little girls to a nearby farm for a little visit. It was the girls' first real experience of Halloween so we didn't want to go somewhere too spooky so the farm was the ideal place. Gemma even went pumpkin picking with her girls and selected a little pumpkin to take home for carving.   

So that was my October in a nutshell. I had such a lovely month catching up with friends and making memories, I felt quite sad when it was all over.  Farewell October, you were awesome!