A day trip to Oxford

Image from Pixabay

Last weekend was full on; cinema trips, shopping, eating out, celebrations, road-tripping and cake making! On Sunday, we decided to head to Oxford. We visited the University city in 2015 and you can see my post here but this time, we had a different agenda.

First we headed to the Ashmolean Museum, where we discovered arts of the Renaissance, incredible Greek sculptures and a marble staircase of dreams. I love exploring museums and learning more about different countries and cultures, especially when those countries are places that I dream of visiting. I think it's good to immerse yourself in the culture of countries you're interested in, it can really make you appreciate another place.

After exploring the Ashmolean, we headed to Jamie's Italian for a pasta fuelled lunch, complete with a gorgeous praline bomb and a few cocktails. Shopping in Oxford is really good but I only came away with a couple of items; I think online shopping is so much easier, stress free and actually allows you to look at the items you're buying.

We spent our last hour visiting the University colleges, parks and buildings. They're absolutely breath-taking; you really don't feel like you're in a city with the culture and architecture that surrounds you. Oxford is one of my favourite cities and heading there just for the day made my bank holiday weekend so much more exciting. 

If you love Oxford, are thinking of travelling there this year or have some great recommendations for the city, feel free to leave me a comment or tweet me @amie_journalist 

For now, here's just some of the pictures I took on my trip:

Gift Guide: Mother's Day

Image from Pixabay

Mother's Day is just around the corner! With so many shops offering great Mother's Day deals and new products, there's no reason to leave your gift buying to the last minute. From cards to handbags, perfume to mugs, there's no excuse for showing your Mum how much she means to you with a small gift. 

Here's my Mother's Day gift guide suitable for any budget:

The Bag

If you're looking to spend more on your Mum this year, this Radley Multiway Bag from House of Fraser is the perfect buy. A beautiful blue handbag will see your Mum perfectly dressed for Spring and with an additional 20% off at the moment, what's not to love? 

Radley Bag - £135.20

The Personalised Gift

A personalised gift will always add that extra special touch. This keyring from The Laser Boutique is perfect for Mum's with younger children, with names embossed onto delicate hearts. It also comes in a presentation box, essential for those who hate the hassle!

Keyring - £9.99

The Cute Buy

When buying presents, I always end up buying for myself or buying a gift because I love it. This umbrella from ASOS is so pretty and definitely one I would be borrowing off my Mum! The classic duck head handle and beautiful shade of pink stand out and add a colour pop to any outfit.

Duckhead Pastel Pink Umbrella - £22

The Essential

It wouldn't be a gift guide without a stereotypical gift and this time, this mug has won me over. It's very minimal and delicate and in typical Not On The High Street style, has it's message written in a pretty, ditsy font. Perfect if your Mum loves her tea or coffee.

Mug from Owl & Otter - £13.50

The Luxury Item

This gorgeous fragrance is the perfect Mother's Day buy. A gentle, sweet scent enclosed in a bold, powerful bottle with a message that would put a smile on your Mum's face. Net-A-Porter have a large range of fragrances by the renowned perfumer Azzi Glasser but this is the perfect pick.

Bella Freud Parfum - £95

The Obvious

What would Mother's Day be without a candle? Yes it's an obvious choice but this beauty from The White Company couldn't be ignored. It's fresh, light and sweet aroma oozes Spring scents and is the perfect candle to pick up as the weather gets warmer.

Spring Candle - £20

The Unusual

Prosecco and strawberries are the perfect Mother's Day treat and these offer something a bit different, they're made of chocolate! What could be better? Choc On Choc are my favourite chocolate company and their take on everyday items and foods make for a brilliant, unique gift.

Chocolate Prosecco and Strawberries - £18

The Funny Gift

Enid Blyton's books will always be the best reminder from your childhood and this Mother's Day book is a funny alternative for any Mum. Waterstones currently have it on offer so grab it quick if your Mum loves a fun read.

Five Forget Mother's Day - £5.99

The 'I still don't know what to buy' Gift

It's always difficult choosing a gift and if you're still unsure on the perfect buy, let your Mum choose herself. Tesco currently have 20% off selected gift cards including ASK Italian, Pizza Express, Gap and Monsoon. Treat your Mum to a meal out or their choice of summer pieces.

Various Gift Cards - 20% off

Autumn days

It's begun. The cold, dark nights are officially upon us and the winter coats are coming back out! 

I know that the winter isn't for everyone and it never really appealed to me, the bitter-cold winds and having cold toes in bed is not particularly enticing to anyone, until I thought a little bit more about it.

The autumn is probably one of the best times of the year. However cold and dark it may be, it's cosy. Blankets out and fires lit, all wrapped up on a Sunday night, it really does make everything a lot better. 

It reminds us of our childhood. The assemblies, harvest festival and playing in the snow.

Not even to mention what autumn eventually brings. The laughter of Halloween, the awe of bonfire night and finally, Christmas. The best time of year.

All the events over the autumn and winter months makes it go so quickly, which I love.

I've not been up to much since my last post. Trying to find some decent running trainers is my main struggle at the moment - never mind the constant pile of uni work and finding some time to be remotely sociable, even for just a couple of hours.

Izzy came down from Manchester to see myself and Soph and we went out for the afternoon. It was lovely having a catch up and talking about everything that we've been up to and even better that we could all see each other before Christmas!

Bellbroughton lunching

My day off work yesterday meant only one thing, catching up with Nan and Grandad after their holiday. I hadn't seen them in ages!

We went for lunch at The Bell in Bellbroughton and I can't wait to go back already - the food was amazing. I had a chicken dish with a lemon, honey and chilli jus and roquito peppers and pea shoots. It was delicious.

For pudding, I decided on the damson, plum and apple shortbread crumble. Mmmmm. I usually go for something chocolatey, but, I fancied something a bit different and this was definitely a good choice. Maybe next time I'll opt of the salted caramel chocolate pot. 

The presentation of the food was very good, and made it even more enjoyable. The pub was quiet and the choice of wine/ciders and cocktails was endless - it's a good job I was driving later, I would have definitely struggled to choose.

Unfortunately, the lighting above me did not do the food justice!!!

After consuming all of those calories, we decided to head to a local country park to go on a walk. Well, that's what we had in mind anyway. It started off well and we followed all of the signs, leading us over the top of a hill and down the other side. 

Grandad, however, decided that we seemed too close to the motorway and picked our route for the way back. After getting stranded in a field full of cows, we started the climb up another hill. It wasn't until we got to the top we realised there were no gates or stiles, and had to climb over barbed wire fences ourselves, in what we thought was the direction of the start.

After nearly an hour of climbing over fences and in my case, getting my foot cut and bitten by insects, we made it back. Just an hour later than planned!

It was a lovely day out and I will definitely be returning to The Bell for another lunch out soon. Maybe I'll just miss the field walking next time...

Worcester lunch date

I finally had a day off work yesterday and planned to go out with my Nan. We had a lovely day in Worcester and bought a lot more than we should have - it definitely didn't help that there were sales everywhere!

She treated me to lunch at Zizzi's. I'd only been there once but she absolutely loves it and practically knows the menu off by heart! I opted for the Pepperoni Campagna pizza and Nan had the skinny Primavera pizza. The choice on the lunch menu was great and even though we were both stuffed, we definitely wish we'd have had 2 courses.

It was a great day for celebration too - Nan's going on holiday on Friday and I've just had a pay rise (maybe a bit of shopping was necessary after all...)!!