4 January 2015

A New Book

Hello lovelies!

How I've missed you all! Sorry it's been so long.

I'm warning you now, this post involves a lot of rambling (I know- can you believe it?!) so I'd suggest you settle yourself down with a cup of tea and a bowl of leftover festive snacks.

The last two months of 2014 were somewhat life-changing, and left me feeling like a snow globe; turned upside down, shaken around a bit, and full of liquid (mulled ones, mostly). So, for once, I'm not going to over-share; because there are some things which are too personal even for the internet. In summary; Tom and I broke up.

I'm choosing to think positively about turning over a whole book's worth of new leaves, starting a new chapter, and probably some other literary metaphors too, but wanted to let y'all know so there are no awkward questions/comments later this year... 

Since then, I've focused on drinking oceans of tea with some of my favourite people, which made my festive season much cheerier than the alternative option of dark rum and Bonnie Tyler. In fact, I even found myself smiling on occasion. Especially after discovering this gem:

Thank you, Tesco's Try Tips, for saving Christmas.

Surprisingly, that store-cupboard tip was usurped by one from my friends' Christmas party, for times when one has run out of holly:

Bay leaf bunting. Brilliant, no?

I spent Christmas at my grandparents' house/in a Dickens novel, eating porridge by the open fire, stargazing in their back garden, and going for woodland walks with my Granddad.

Yes, that's a stile the middle of nowhere. 
New flavour combinations sampled over the festive season included a veggie lasagne made with roast dinner vegetables (thanks Nanna!), and this genius burger from Burgers and Cocktails:



I've finally realised what it was that all previously devoured burgers were missing: Gravy.

On 31 December, I added the final items to my 2014 Happy Things List, reaching a grand total of 2,302(!!) My final entry was from NYE: "Got ID'd buying wine in Waitrose." Three cheers for still looking youthful! 

Finally, and most importantly, one simply cannot feel sad when one is privileged enough to visit a toilet block that's won this many awards:


The Meryl Streep of toilet blocks.

They're on Hastings seafront, if you fancy visiting them yourself.

That's more than enough about me for today. How are you? And what have I missed?

Katie xxx


P.S. I'm linking up to beautiful Hannah's TWTWC




24 comments:

  1. Wow, those loo's must sparkle!
    Sorry to hear about you and Tom, perhaps a New Year and new beginnings are just what you need

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    1. They were rather shiny- like a bathroom made of diamonds :p xxx

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  2. Ah babe, sorry about you & Tom, I hope you're okay. I must say I spent a year living in Hastings & the seaside toilets certainly weren't winning awards back then!

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    1. Thanks Charis :) I think Hastings has seriously pulled its socks up in the last few years! xxx

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  3. I'm sorry to hear about your break-up, but the rest of this post made me giggle! <3

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comment - and welcome to my bit of the internet! Please excuse the dust bunnies- it's not always this neglected xxx

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  4. Mwa ha ha, toilet blocks!!! We are honoured (have to speak in first person plural in this case!) to view such toilets.
    Yes, er, well Tescos, what can one say. I'd have loved it if it had said, "Why not try making your friends squirm and wretch by adding to hot chocolate"
    COOP have started doing some yummy frozen veggie and goats cheese plaits, so I am looking forward to trying those. x

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    1. That would be rather brilliant. Or "Put down your friend's back; it acts like itching powder".
      Those plaits sound delicious; please report back once you've sampled them xxx

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  5. It's nice to hear from you, I noticed you had 'disappeared' and wondered what you were up to. I'm really sorry to hear that you and Tom have split up... I hope you are ok with it. Does this mean you've had to move house too?! Here's to the next chapter... hope you'll still be blogging.

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    1. Thanks Louise- that's very sweet. It does indeed mean I'll be moving, and I'm definitely still going to be blogging! I'm hoping to have lots of lovely new things to share with you all soon :) xxx

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  6. *waves* Just found discovered for your blog for the first time.

    Firstly, I'm sorry to hear about your break-up but I think it's amazing that you've decided to stay positive where others would probably wallow in pity. Life's too short, right?

    Secondly, your photos and writing really made me giggle. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. :)

    #TWTWC

    Jenna at Tinyfootsteps xx

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    1. Hello! Welcome aboard :) Thank you very much for leaving such a lovely comment; I'm very glad I made you smile!
      Life is definitely too short; I might add "Start a campaign to make life longer" onto my To Do List for this year :p xxx

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  7. You there, I've missed you.
    And I've recalled Pete and strapped two more muffins and a hunk of Bakewell to him and sent him out again. He's also a bloody brilliant spooner if you want to keep him a while.

    Sending you an entirely appropriate amount of love for someone you've only met through the interwebs and not one iota less.

    M x

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    1. I've missed YOU. Is it possible to do slow motion running-and-hugging over the internet? If so, let's do that.
      Pete still hasn't arrived. Although I did wake up this morning to a pile of dog hair and bakewell crumbs by the front door. Not that I blame him; I'd've done the same. xxx

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  8. That burger sounds amazing! And I'm in awe of your happy list, I think I need one! :)

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    1. It was SO good! More burger gravy all round, I say. You should definitely start a happy list; they really are the cheeriest things! xxx

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  9. I was thinking of you a lot over Chrimbo and New years. I hope you're okay and looking forwards to new beginings.
    Your Christmas sounds idyllic. The picture of your Grandpa is precious. My Christmas was spent sat on the sofa, killing zombies and saving bears. It was a revelation. I have joined the modern world!
    Happy New Year Katie. Wishing you all the best. xxx

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    1. Thanks lovely :) I'm doing well, thank you. Sounds like you had an awesome Christmas; I hope your 2015 is equally magical. xxx

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  10. Happy new year! Your happy things list is fantastic! And I love that photo of your Granddad. I hope 2015 is an amazing year for you and I'm excited to hear all about it <3 xoxo

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    1. Thank you hun! I'll absolutely be telling you all about it. I think I'm going to get back into baking, so will be sending you lots of recipe requests :) xxx

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  11. I hope you're doing OK and feeling happy - I am sure 205 will be filled with lots of good things for you :) These are some lovely photos, especially the one with your Grandfather. Happy New Year to you! - Tasha

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    1. Thanks Tasha :) Happy New Year to you too (when is it no longer appropriate to say that?!) xxx

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  12. Yay for new leaves and positivity :-) but oh no about you and Tom :-( I hope you're bearing up okay and have lots of dinosaurs and unicorns to keep you smiling. Make sure you're eating lots of cake! :-) xxx (ps. the pepper - makes you wonder what other people have been doing with it!)

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    1. I have SO many unicorns in my life right now. I'm actually wearing a unicorn print top as I type this, and have a belly full of cake :) xxx

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