Hello! It's Been A While...

 Hello!

I actually can't quite remember when I last sat down and worked on this blog! I last shared a post in December 2021 which was a reading roundup, something I wish I could say I've continued with but I really haven't. Those are the only real posts that were giving me much joy writing towards the end of last year but I've barely read anything in 2022 compared to other years. As it's been so long since I last updated you all, I thought now was the perfect time for a little catch up before I probably disappear for another few months!

I hope you're all doing okay in this mad heatwave we're experiencing at the moment. Since we bought our house I've enjoyed Summer far more than I ever used to and I love love love getting out in the garden as much as possible but the evenings in this weather are insane! I am not doing great at night 😂

Everything is pretty much the same with me but there's been a few changes. As you might have read before on my blog, in October 2020 I set up my own baking business, selling a range of delicious homemade brownies and blondies. We're still going and growing which I'm so proud of and I love it more and more every week. We've recently re-branded and we're now known as Tiff & Bear's Bakery. It was the right time for a change and as I have so many other bakes I want to introduce to the shop over the years, something less specific to just brownies made sense. If you haven't checked out our Etsy yet, I'd absolutely love it if you did! We have over 16 bakes to choose from now and I love each and every one of them. I'm so excited to keep putting so much work into this little business and who knows where we'll end up.

Moving on from the business, let's talk about Bear! He's now 3 which just seems crazy to me. It feels like time is going really fast at the moment and I'm not sure how it's been so long since he was a tiny pup that could fit in my hand. He's so funny and cheeky and seriously knows how to test us but I'm not sure what we'd do without him. He's just the best. We've been on some of the loveliest days out with him recently and we even went on a little family holiday to a lodge which was the best. The most relaxing few days and he absolutely loved it.

Speaking of trips, George and I have just come back from a trip to Bath for our 11th anniversary. It was the first time we'd been so didn't really know what to expect but it was gorgeous. The most beautiful city with so much to do and see and the weather we had while we were there was lovely. It was a long journey for us from Sheffield so I doubt we'll go back for a good while but I think it was the perfect place for us to spend an anniversary. The hotel was beautiful and we had so much delicious food. A few highlights were Joya, an Italian Steak restaurant and also Bandook, an Indian restaurant that I would recommend over and over again.

Aside from all of that, 2022 has been a year of change with the house. We've got so much done over the last 6 months or so! We've redecorated the bedroom, I absolutely love it now and could spend so much time in there. We've got new carpets throughout the house and new blinds which have made such a difference. My office is finally a bit more organised even if it is a long way off being complete. And I've added a few more touches to the kitchen and the bathroom so everything just feels a bit more ours now. We've somehow already been in this house for over a year which is insane when I think about how long it took to complete and get the keys in the first place. Even though in a way it's felt like ours since we first viewed it, it's been really nice to put our own stamp on each room a bit more and now I genuinely can't imagine living anywhere else.

So I think you're pretty much caught up on everything now. Life is just pretty normal now and while there's always things here and there to stress over, this is probably the most content I've felt in a long time. Something about this house has just settled me and I think we're in a really good place as a family and I'm in a really good place with the business. We're off to London in a few weeks so I may come back and document that trip but they'll definitely be more over on my Insta if you'd like to keep up!

I hope you're all doing well and 2022 has been good to you so far!

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What I Read In September, October, November & December

 I have been so behind with blogging recently so this post is literally months later than I planned! I still wanted to share it before I talk my favourite books of the year and set myself a new Goodreads challenge. Luckily there aren't loads of books to talk about since my last reading roundup so it won't take too long to get through! Here are the books I read in September, October, November and December.

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis - ⭐⭐⭐

It was in 2020 I think that I first read a book by Lia Louis, that being Dear Emmie Blue and I really did enjoy it. I was so excited for her new release Eight Perfect Hours so I grabbed it as soon as I saw it was on one of the kindle deals recently. On a snowy evening in March, Noelle finds herself stranded after a blizzard closes off the roads. All seems lost until she sees Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger who is also stuck on the road with no-one for company. They find themselves stuck for eight perfect hours and at the end of that, neither of them want to say goodbye. Eventually parting, they both face facts, they'll never see each other again but maybe fate has other plans.... I'm glad I've got to read another book by Lia Louis as I find her writing style just flows really well and it always hooks me in but I can't say I loved this. It was sweet but I wouldn't be in a rush to read it again.

Baby It's Cold Outside by Emily Bell - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was such a lovely book and exactly the sort of thing that I needed. I read it all in about a day which in the past when I was reading all the time was a regular thing but not this year so that shows how much I enjoyed it. Baby It's Cold Outside follows Norah who faces Christmas alone contemplating the mad idea of trying to reconnect with someone she met ten years ago. All those years ago on a trip to Italy, she met & fell for Andrew but since then life has got in the way and they've not seen each other since. They planned that if they were both single on Christmas Eve 2019, they would meet in Dublin. Norah has nothing to lose but will Andrew be there? And even if he is, has she actually been missing out on someone a little closer to home? This was very predictable at times but I didn't even care, I just found it a really easy read and it made me feel all festive!

Worst Idea Ever by Jane Fallon - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I find books by Jane Fallon so easy to read and I always tend to really enjoy them for that reason. When I've been in a slump with reading or just can't decide what to go for next, a book like Worst Idea Ever usually really gets me stuck in again. This is one of Jane's latest books and probably my favourite one from her so far. Worst Idea Ever is about best friends Georgia and Lydia. Best friends tell each other everything don't they? When Lydia's online business starts to struggle, Georgia wants to help her. Setting up a fake Twitter account do so, she hopes moral support from a potential new customer may give Lydia a boost. But then Lydia starts telling her new internet friend things about Georgia and Georgia realises maybe she's got herself in too deep. Can their friendship come back from this? This is definitely one of those books that you know from the beginning the characters have created an absolute mess and it's almost hard to read at times because of it but there's a lot of humour too and I really liked Georgia and her husband as characters.

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This had been on my to read list for a long time so when the trailer for the TV adaptation was released, I knew it was finally time. When I can I like to read the book before seeing the show or movie if one has been made and I'm glad I did that with this. The Girl Before follows Emma and Jane. Two women in different years but in the same house. The first tenant Emma needs a new start. A house she can feel safe in after a break-in. One Folgate Street seems perfect. But there are rules. The landlord won't allow books, photos, clutter or personal effects. The house is intended to transform the occupant and that's exactly what it does to Emma. Years later Jane is the newest tenant. All seems too good to be true and she soon learns it is. She discovers how much she looks like the previous tenant and how similar they were but will she have the same tragic fate? This was such a good psychological thriller and I couldn't put it down. Loved the short, snappy chapters and it was so easy to flick from one persons perspective to another. I thought the TV adaptation was brilliant too. 

So that's finally a roundup of my final few books of the year! Not as many as I hoped but I think I know now not to aim so high with my reading challenge in 2022.

I'd love to know if you've read any of these books?

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Can Some Food and Drinks Wrinkle Your Skin Permanently?

 *This is a collaborative post

Can the food that we eat and the drinks we consume contribute to wrinkled skin? Unfortunately, the answer is yes, poor dietary habits and wrinkles are linked in several direct and indirect ways. Wrinkles, fine lines and other signs of premature aging are often brought on by conditions such as obesity, malnutrition, poor hydration and mineral imbalances, among others. Although an unhealthy diet is not the only reason why people suffer from conditions that lead to premature aging, it is certainly one of the primary contributors. Scientists have identified various food and drinks directly linked to premature aging and we are about to warn you against some of the most harmful ones next.

Alcohol: A Leading Cause of Premature Aging
Most of us know how we look in the morning after a night of heavy drinking, so this one is quite self-explanatory! Although we tend to believe that those effects will always be temporary like they are now, that is not true. Frequent (weekly/biweekly) binge drinking sessions and excessive consumption of alcohol on a regular bases are both related to permanent wrinkles and other signs of premature aging. The negative effects of alcohol are brought on via constant but mild dehydration and skin inflammation. While some of the skin damage if irreversible without medical aesthetics treatment procedures, detoxed alcoholics can regain at least a portion of their original glamour with a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Refined Sugar: Sweetened Beverages & Food
When consumed regularly and in excess for a long time, refined sugar can become a cause for serious health concerns, addiction and of course, symptoms of premature aging. To get a better understanding of how excess sugar consumption is often responsible for wrinkles, fine lines and other dermatological health issues, just go through the following:

- Excess sugar availability creates glycotoxins, aka Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs)

- Glycotoxins break down collagen via oxidation, creating gaps between the fibres

- These gaps show up on the skin surface as wrinkles and lines

- Broken fibres leave the skin more prone to sun damage, which leads to a depending of existing wrinkles, as well as the formation of new ones

- AGEs are also linked to diabetes, a disease that damages the entire body from the inside

Are Your Wrinkles Reversible?
Thanks to technological advancements made in the field of medical aesthetics, PICO Clinics assures us that not only is it possible to reverse untimely wrinkles, but even natural, age-induced wrinkles can be reversed at their clinic. The clinic in London also specialises in treating lines (face, neck, forehead, etc) with the same technology. Since every human's skin is different, book an appointment with them first to know more.

Avoid adding sugar to your coffee/tea and reduce your consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (soda, refined fruit juice, cold coffee, etc). To avoid glycotoxins in particular, you will need to reduce your consumption of heat-processed sugar, dairy and meat products. As far as alcohol is concerned, it's better to practise the rule of portion control. Irrespective of the frequency, always keep your number of drinks per session low (1-3).

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London September 2021 - River Cruise, & Juliet, Pretty Woman & More

 Hi, it's been a long time again hasn't it?! I was very unsure whether to even write this post actually as blogging just isn't at the forefront of my mind anymore but I still love looking back on old posts, especially more personal ones like this so even though it's taken a little while, I still wanted to write this. About 18 months later than planned, George and I finally got to go on the London trip we had planned and it was so worth the wait. When we first went in lockdown we all naively believed it really might just be 3 weeks and part of me really clung onto the hope that our April 2020 city break would still go ahead but clearly it didn't and it kept getting pushed back and pushed back. Luckily after re-arranging about a million times, September 2021 was the lucky month.We ended up going for 3 nights which was perfect as by the end of it my feet were absolutely dead and I don't think could have walked any further but it also meant we got to see so much and really take our time. There wasn't really any time to do anything on the first evening due to when we arrived but we gained an extra morning so the next day we got out early and headed to Borough Market. This is one of our fave places in London and we always end up making a visit. To be honest it was a little disappointing this time though. Maybe it's just the after effects of Covid still? There were far less stalls than usual, a lot of the ones that were there were quite samey and it just didn't have the same atmosphere it normally does. That being said we did try some amazing food, the main thing being a Moong Dal Dosa from Horn OK Please. This is honestly one of the best things I've ever eaten and I would happily go back again just for that.That afternoon we had booked to go on the London Eye River Cruise. This ended up being absolutely brilliant and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It's only about 40 minutes long which I think is perfect really as you see so much but it doesn't drag. It starts at the London Eye and takes you along the River Thames showing some of London's most famous landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe, Tower Bridge and lots more. The tour guide really knew her stuff and was funny too and we both left having really enjoyed ourselves. The weather wasn't amazing that day but luckily the rain held off for the boat trip and London is beautiful regardless so it was nice to just sit and take it all in. Tickets are about £13pp and I couldn't recommend it enough.That evening after a stop at Whole Foods and Creme Cookies, we finally got to see our first theatre show in almost 2 years. I was lucky enough to be invited to see & Juliet when it was first showing in Manchester in 2019 (you can find my blog post on it here) and it was obviously one of the shows we were supposed to see last year as it had transferred to the West End. It was completely worth the wait. I think it's possibly my new favourite musical as I'd go back and see it again and again. The cast are just insanely talented, the music is incredible, the set, just everything about it. The atmosphere was on another level and it just felt really special being back in a theatre. The next day started by venturing out to Notting Hill which is one of my fave places in London. Maybe because I've watched Paddington and Nothing Hill so much. It's just such a calm place, or at least it has been whenever we've been and there always seems to be something new. We had to pop into the actual Notting Hill Bookshop while we were there and I loved the idea of their 'Blind Date With A Book'. We both picked one up and I can't wait to read mine, it's an author I've not heard of before so it's such a fab way to discover books you might never have picked up before!We then went to Old Spitalfields Market for the first time and I can see this becoming a new regular spot of ours when in London. The most incredible food, we were absolutely spoilt for choice. 

That evening after a wander around Covent Garden, one of the most beautiful places in London, we went to see Pretty Woman the musical. Pretty Woman is my all time favourite film so I was super excited to see this. Again, it was just lovely to be sat in a theatre, there really is no feeling like it. It was so nice to hear all of the famous lines from the film and the cast again were amazing. Bob Harms who we actually saw in Come From Away a few years ago, steals the show but Aimie Atkinson, Danny Mac and Rachael Wooding aswell as the whole ensemble are just brilliant. The more I think about it, the more I just want to go back and see it again.I think both & Juliet and Pretty Woman were the perfect shows as our first ones back after Covid and lockdowns etc. I think everyone just appreciates everything so much more than before so the atmosphere is only even better, you could even tell the casts in both shows are just happy to be back doing their job! 

Like with any trip, it went too fast and I already miss it but luckily we'll be back in December so it's not too long to wait. I love London all year round but when the Christmas markets are on and everywhere is just so festive, it's only even better so I'm so excited. 

Where's your favourite place in London?

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