My plans for November!

There is a lot to love about most months but November is my favourite month of the year by far!! There’s something about November that feels like a big warm hug to me. The evenings are darker but that just means more excuses for comfort food, early pyjamas and binge watching tv shows! It is also my birthday month, my blogs birthday and it's time where I get excited about Christmas without feeling the stress of it, it's still over a month away after all!

This month is shaping up to be a busy one and I’ve got loads to look forward to. Here’s what I’ve got planned:

Hopefully a visit to York Christmas Market! I’m planning to take the girls for a proper festive day out. Stu and I went last year and loved it. The food stalls, twinkly lights and cosiness had me grinning like a kid. It got me right in the Christmas spirit and I can’t wait to go back.

The 2nd Wicked movie is being released on my actual birthday and Ellie and I are debating whether to go to the double feature of Wicked and Wicked: For Good. It depends if there’s a break in-between though. I’ll need to stretch my legs, refill my popcorn and get another drink.

I’m hoping for a cosy birthday weekend rather than anything big but there will be a meal out. I am thinking the pubs and restaurants will be serving the Christmas meals by the middle of the month so that's a treat. Of course there will be a cheeky cocktail and cake!

Now is when I start buying food and drinks for Christmas. A few extras in the weekly shop here and there: tubs of chocolate, fizzy wine, sweet treats and bits for the freezer. It’s the easiest way to make December a little less chaotic and spread the cost.

I am going to try and stay well! Every year without fail I catch a cold in November so this year I’m determined to avoid it. I’m taking vitamins, washing my hands like I’m preparing for surgery, getting more fresh air and steering clear of anyone who coughs in a 10 mile radius.

Christmas lunch with friends! Every year a group of friends and I get together for a Christmas lunch and I’m so excited for it. Delicious food, plenty of cocktails, lots of laughter and that warm festive buzz you can only get when you’re with your favourite people. It’s one of those days that really makes November feel extra special.

Stranger Things Season 5! The fifth season is coming at the end of the month, well the first half the rest are out on Christmas Day then the big finale at the end of the year. I am ridiculously excited. I’ve been rewatching from the beginning just to refresh my memory. 

Our decorating weekend! The Christmas tree and decorations will be going up during the last weekend of the month. It’s always a family event, everyone helps with the decorations while I take over the tree. I need it to be just right. It’s one of my favourite traditions and it officially kicks off Christmas in our house.

My goal is to have all the Christmas presents bought by the end of this month. I’ve actually got a decent idea of what I’m getting everyone this year so it feels more doable. If I’m feeling really motivated, I might even start wrapping.

What do you have planned for November?

Our weekly meal plan! 3rd - 9th November! #MealPlanningMonday

Last week’s meal plan was a bit of a wing it and see what happens kind of week and it actually worked out fine! We didn’t have much of a plan but we still ate well which is always a good thing. There were a few easy teas like chicken nuggets and chips, sausages with mashed potato, veg and Yorkshire puddings and some chicken wraps thrown in for good measure. We even had a couple of meals out, last week felt like a real break from cooking. During the week we were meant to go to the all you can eat place in Hull but the day came and it was grey, damp and miserable. The thought of leaving the house had me reaching for my blanket. We scrapped the plan and stayed home which was perfect.

This week feels like things are finally back to normal. Everyone’s back to work and college, the washing pile is threatening to take over the house again and it’s that time of year where we start the slow march toward Christmas. I can’t quite believe it’s November already but it makes me happy with the Christmas music and movies playing.

We’ve got Bonfire Night this week but I am not a fireworks fan. I never have been, I remember being taken to an organised display when I was a kid and I cried so much my parents had to take me back to the car. The bangs, the crowds, the cold, it is not my thing. I know some people love the atmosphere but I just don’t see the appeal especially when it’s so expensive!! One of the local displays near us is £15 for a car full of people, which is bad enough but we don’t even have a car so it’d be £8 each (which I don't think is fair) just to stand in a muddy field for an hour. No thank you, I’ll be watching from the window.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Jacket potatoes with whatever toppings we fancy. Probably baked beans and cheese.

Tuesday - Baked sausage breakfast hash. It looks like the perfect breakfast for dinner kind of meal.

Wednesday - Cottage pie! We haven't had this in so long!

Thursday - Chinese style pork rib steaks with egg fried rice and spring rolls.

Friday - Fish, chips and mushy peas.

Saturday - Pizza. Easy, fun, and no one ever complains.

Sunday - A roast dinner of some sort.

So that’s our plan for the week! What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 26th Oct - 1st Nov! Week 44 of #Project365

We have had quite a lovely week with us all at home, Stu and Becky have been off work and Ellie home from college on her half term break. It has felt like a little staycation without the packing or the travel stress from a holiday. We didn’t really do anything fancy but that’s what made it so nice. Just pottering around the house, eating nice food, watching TV together and staying cosy while the weather did it's usual autumn thing outside. Grey skies and drizzle.

The weekend has been nice and quiet for Stu and me. The girls had a big night out in town with their friends last night. All the bars had Halloween themed things on Saturday night as well as Friday so that was a treat for them and came home very late and I will no doubt hear all about it today.

Now for a photo every day!

299/365 - 26th October

I took a picture of some Galaxy chocolate for a blog post but didn't end up using it. I always have a big bar hidden somewhere around the house. hehehe

300/365 - 27th October

We went out for tea at the pub and it was so good! I had a prawn cocktail to start then a proper hearty steak and ale pie with mashed potato, roast parsnips, carrots and peas. It was the kind of meal that makes you want to curl up and nap afterwards.

301/365 - 28th October

Hair dye day for Ellie and I. She went dark red, I went bright red and the bathroom looked like a murder scene. Oops! It was all fine after a bit of scrubbing. Eek!

302/365 - 29th October

Becky has loved her week off work. She’s basically lived in comfy clothes and done a lot of nothing. Most of her time has been spent on TikTok, I must have I’ve heard the same sound clip about fifty times now. I don’t blame her though, we all need a week like that sometimes

303/365 - 30th October

We went out to play mini adventure golf which was so much fun! I haven’t played for years and it turns out I’m still absolutely terrible at it. Stu was so smug after a hole in one but I’ll get my revenge next time. The place had two courses so we’ve already decided we’ll go back to tackle the second one soon.

304/365 - 31st October

We stopped in TKMaxx for a mooch around and I of course headed straight for the candles. They have some amazing one's, this one was so cute and some very strange one's too. A Turkey Feast scented one which did indeed smell like turkey with all of the trimmings. It made me chuckle but I couldn't imagine burning it in my house.

305/365 - 1st November

Ellie and I used to get a supermarket meal deal every Saturday with a sandwich, drink and snack but it's been a while so when I knew we were all home I ordered us all one to come with the weekly food shop. Yes we could have made sandwiches at home but it would have cost more to buy the salmon and cream cheese for one, chicken and bacon for another, prawns for the third and the tuna for mine.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Home!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is: 

We have had a lovely week. We have all been home! Stu and Becky off work and Ellie off college, we did have plans but they were cancelled so we decided to make the best of it and just enjoy some down time. It has been really nice to have nowhere to be and nothing really to do apart from be together, catch up on some jobs around the house, stay up later than usual and we did sneak in a night away which was very last minute but it worked out well.

I didn't get a food shop delivered this week as I had budgeted to eat out. If we were having a staycation we were going to do it properly with some treats along the way. Ellie and I nipped into town to run a few errands, sort her bank account out and buy a birthday present. We had tea out at the pub and it was delicious as always. We got back home, cosied up and then Stu and I didn't leave the house again until Thursday. lol We sent the kids out for things like bread and milk. hehehe

We had a week of doing homey things like catching up on the washing, having a good declutter, putting everything away that has been hanging around not in it's home and probably spending far too much time on out computers and Ellie and I spent almost a full afternoon dying our hair. It's the first time Stu has been home when we've done it and he had no idea how long it takes. Lighten mine, rinse it and leave it to dry for a bit when I then put Ellie's dye on. When hers is doing it's thing I put the bright dye on mine then rinse Ellie's then mine! It took about three and a half hours in total. It certainly is a long process.

By mid-week I regretted not getting some shopping delivered, we were running out of lunch things and we were going through everything else like bread and milk so quickly with everyone home so we decided to say stuff it, we'll have a night away and then we won't be thinking about eating at home. lol We left here lunchtime on Thursday and went to Hull. We had planned to go to play the mini adventure golf but we hadn't planned to stay the night. We had McDonalds for lunch, checked into the hotel. We stayed in the Holiday Inn right in the centre of the city and I had booked 2 rooms, one for Stu and I and one for the girls. We were treated to adjoining rooms. I didn't even know they had them with the joining door. I will be sure to ask for them again.

We then went and played the mini golf which was fantastic fun. It was £11 each for 18 holes and it was just the right amount of time, it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be and we spent about 2 hours in there. We went back to the hotel and got changed for a night out. We of course went to Wetherspoons for something to eat and then Stu and I took the girls to our favourite bar. They loved it, there is nothing but cheesy music played, lots of one hit wonders and 90's pop! The girls then took us to our favourite bar which was playing a lot more up to date music. I am not a fan but there were still songs which I knew. The girls kept saying how do you know this. hehehe We slept until gone 9am on Friday morning and then headed home.

Well, almost. We did stop in to see my dad and fill him in on our little adventure. He was busy working on his old, vintage car and last time I saw it he had stripped it and it was just a shell. Now it's really coming together. It has new seats, it has been painted and it's looking a lot better than it was. We were glad to get home finally. I was really responsible and unpacked my bag straight away and then got into my pj's, plonked myself into my armchair and switched my laptop on. It's nice to have a night away but there's no place like home!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good week. I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky.