What I have loved this week! Week 17. #FridayFavourites

This past week has flown over even if I have been mixed up with what day it is for most of it. We had a long weekend with it being Easter and a couple of bank holidays thrown in there, I had a night away with my eldest, a packed weekend then for the rest of the week I've been trying to get back into some sort of a routine. I have had a fantastic week and I am linking up with Erika and Andrea to share my favourites from it.

Wrestlemania!

It was Wrestlemania weekend and I watched a lot of wrestling and wrestling shows, probably about 18 hours worth. Eek! My highlights were Jey Uso winning, Becky Lynch returning, Joe Hendry making a special appearance and lots of Randy Orton! I wasn't happy with John Cena winning, that is something I never thought I would say, he's always been a good guy until recently and it's funny how Wrestlemania flips everything. I went from loving a couple of guys, Rollins and Heyman to now hating them! 

A denim jacket!

Last week I mentioned that I got some plain white trainers and I thought they would go perfectly with this denim jacket which I bought. It is the Rita Ora Fitted Denim Jacket from Primark. It fits in all of the right places and is so comfy. It's great when I want something a little warmer than a cardigan but thinner than a full on coat. I've worn it 3 times this week and I love it!

Whitney - The Candlelight Concert!

I wrote all about it in my blog post yesterday. It was such a fantastic evening with an amazing performer, lots of singing, laughing and a little bit of dancing!

The Handmaids Tale!

I've seen that the newest series of the Handmaids Tale is coming soon so thought I would give myself a refresher and watch it all again. It is such a hard watch but I want to see how the story ends.

My plants are growing!

Not having to get the shopping in!

I ordered the food shop to be delivered on Monday, between 11am and midday and the driver decided to bring it early, just after 10am. Eek! I was still asleep after staying up until 4am to watch the wrestling. I had planned to get up about 10 minutes before the delivery slot but thankfully Stu was downstairs and wide awake and dealt with it. He even came upstairs and switched off my alarm clock to let me sleep a little bit longer. I woke up just before midday in a little bit of a panic, thinking I'd slept in and missed it. 

Easter eggs! 

It was of course Easter over the past weekend and we ate a lot of chocolate. I said I had only got us one egg each but then other people bought us them too so we ended up with more than expected. I'm not complaining, chocolate always tastes better in egg form! I have been putting a handful of mini eggs in the air fryer and melting them a little, they are the best type of Easter treat! 

Exams!

I am not a fan of exams and especially when my girls have to take them but exam season is upon us and my youngest had her first on Wednesday. One of the written one's and she says it went really well. She is not usually one to be overly confident, she is not that type of person. Usually she will say she didn't do well even when the results say different but this time she said she knew the answers and what to write for most of the questions. I am so glad!! My girl tends to do better in practical, hands on exams so this is a great confidence boost for her! 

What have you loved over the past week?

Whitney - The Candlelight Concert at Jubilee Central in Hull!

I do love going to concerts and shows but don't go to them often enough so when Becky, my eldest offered to treat me to a night out as a late Mother's Day gift I jumped at the chance. We had originally planned to go to a Wicked sing-a-long but when we realised it was just the movie with the words on the screen and they were charging £35 we had to find something different as it seemed over priced for what it was.

We soon came across the Xperience Live shows and saw the Whitney Houston one which took our fancy and we went to it on Saturday!

We didn't really know what to expect as walking into the venue, Jubilee Central it looked a bit rough and ready but is in the middle of being modernised. It is run by Jubilee Church Hull, a local charity who are heavily involved in supporting those with the most need in the city. The revenue from Jubilee Central is reinvested back into the local community through the many projects that Jubilee Church are involved with. It smelled old, a nice old smell though with church pew type seats but it really added to the charm of the building and the seats were actually really comfy! We settled down and waited for the show to start.

Prepare for an electrifying night as Xperience Live presents - Whitney The Candlelight Concert bringing you the unforgettable music of Whitney Houston in a tribute like no other! This breath taking show will feature a world-class live band with one of the UKs leading Whitney Houston tribute artists, delivering Whitney’s greatest hits with an amazing passion and energy.

In the glow of hundreds of candles, feel the thrill of Whitney's iconic songs, including "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," "One Moment in Time," "I'm Every Woman," and "I Will Always Love You," performed with the dynamic presence of a live band. From soaring ballads to dance floor anthems, every note will immerse you in the power and emotion of her legendary catalogue of hits.

Wow! What can I say! Marcia Lynnette the singer was amazing! She said she wasn't and impersonator of Whitney Houston, no one could live up to her but she was a tribute and she was good! She hit all the high notes and when you think of Whitney Houston songs there are a lot and was just a nice person on stage.

The band was fantastic too, especially the saxophone player who played almost the whole night through.

I imagined that it was going to be such a sophisticated evening, with everyone sitting in their seats and quietly singing along but by about the 4th song we were told to get up, dance and sing along. It was such a fun! Of course during the slow songs we all sat down and just enjoyed the music but it was nice when a dancey song came on, we weren't expected just to sit!

The outfit changes were impressive, the singer would nip off the stage while still singing and then come back in a whole different outfit. There were about 6 changes and there were a lot of sparkles.

I of course loved Whitney Houston. Her songs were there all the way through my life until she sadly passed away. I know so many of her songs and loved hearing them all. What I didn't expect was Becky to know so many, she knew almost all of the songs which were sung. I guess it's true that Whitney's music really does live on.

We had such a great evening and will be keeping an eye on what other concerts are on at Jubilee Central. If you fancy seeing Whitney - The Candlelight Concert there are future events and performances up and down the country.

Were you a Whitney Houston fan? What is your favourite song?

The Wednesday Hodgepodge! #12

I hope you are all having a good week? It's Wednesday which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. The Hodgepodge lands on National Picnic Day will you celebrate? Do you enjoy picnics? Dining out of doors picnic or otherwise? What are three or four things I'd find in your picnic basket?

I don't think we will be celebrating today as we're all back to normal after our Easter break, although I do love a picnic especially on a nice summers day as long as the insects and critters stay away. I think my favourite picnic foods are mini sausage rolls, mini scotch eggs, ham or egg sandwiches but they have to be cut in triangles instead of squares and something sweet like any sort of Mr Kipling cakes. The French Fancies would be my first pick.

2. A time recently where you felt 'antsy'?

On Sunday after having a night away I was ready to be home but we had to wait for the next bus and we were ready far too early. I started feeling antsy, there was nothing wrong but I just couldn't settle my nerves. I knew there was nothing wrong with me, the bus was running on time and all was well at home. I just had to wait it out.

3. As the saying goes...'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.' Do you like lemonade? When did you recently need to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking?

I do like lemonade and drink it often. I really enjoy it on a warm day with lots of ice.

Once in a while I will get a negative comment left on a blog post, I could let them ruin my day but sometimes I turn those mean or argumentative comments into motivation to write blog posts. On my blog post about candles last month I received a comment saying "They are also the leading cause of house fires." I did some research and found out that isn't true, candles are not the biggest cause of house fires and wrote the blog post How to prevent kitchen fires before they start!. 

4. Recently five 'celebrities' made a brief (ll minute) foray into space aboard Jeff Bezos Blue Origin rocket. Did you hear about this? Your thoughts? If money were no object is this something you'd like to do someday?

I did hear about the celebrities going up into space but didn't know much about it apart from one of them was the singer Katy Perry. My first thought was what a waste of money especially when people are going hungry, without medical care, warm homes or even everyday things that they need. Sending rockets into space willy-nilly can't be good for the environment and our planet either.

No thank you, I like to keep myself on the ground. I won't even go on a plane as it terrifies me so the thought of going in a rocket is the thing of nightmares.

5. Favorite thing about the 'space' you're sitting in right now?

I love my little space in the living room. I have my own comfy armchair so I don't have to share, I have a little table to my right where I have a drink, snacks and most things I need without having to get up. To my left is the TV with the wrestling on at the moment, I have a blanket over me to keep cosy, my feet up on a footstool and my laptop on my knee! What more could I want for a Sunday afternoon! 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

My eldest daughter took me to a bar on Saturday night which she loves but I hated every second. The bar staff were rude, the music was too loud, the smoke machine was pumping out too much smoke, the lights were flashing too much and everyone was half my age. We stopped for one drink and that was enough. I would say I felt too old for nights out but we had been to a different bar before and the atmosphere was totally different. I wished we had stayed there but at least I got to experience something that young adults love.

Confessions of a nosy neighbour: How my security camera made me even nosier!

I never set out to be the nosy neighbour but I do like to know what's going on outside, especially on my street. I've always been a little nosy but during the lockdowns I got even nosier Then things happened and we got a security camera. Now, I am fully invested in the lives of the people on my street and I don’t even know most of their names.

It started innocently enough. I wanted a security camera to keep an eye on my house for safety reasons. What I didn’t expect was that my camera would provide me with the best reality TV show that I didn't even know that I needed!

One of my favourite things to watch is the early morning rush. Parents ushering their little darlings to school. There’s people who are always running late, hurrying their kids into cars, forgetting things like school bags, a lunchboxes. There are little one's running away from their parents, chasing after dogs and whizzing off on their bikes and running riot.

There's a neighbour who sits in his car for about 20 minutes before he leaves for work. I have no idea why he just sits there but I imagine he’s scrolling through his phone, sipping his coffee and contemplating his life choices. lol

If you think your street is boring, get a security camera because trust me, stuff happens and it's so interesting!

There's the neighbourhood cat who does make me chuckle. He comes out every day just after 3pm waiting for the kids coming home from school hoping to be stroked. It is very clever and if he does get stroked he will follow the person for a little bit and then run back to it's spot. I've seen it try to jump in the back of cars or delivery vans and it has an awful habit on sitting under cars that are parked up, I do fear for it's safety sometimes.

One of the more intriguing sights my camera has uncovered is a mystery individual who walks past my house at around the same time every single night. Hood up with a plate of food in his hands, every night!! Where has he been to get the food? Who cooks it for him? What's on the plate?

I always thought to myself that I never see my neighbours getting a food shop either delivered or carrying bags in from their cars but it turns out everyone gets a food shop. hehehe There's the fancy family up the road who get Ocado or Waitrose every week and there's always supermarket delivery vans whizzing about. I love having a nosy and seeing what people bring in with their food shops.

The funniest time to watch my security camera is when the weather is bad. Parents trying to hurry their kids along in the rain, people slip sliding on ice and bin day is extremely entertaining when it is windy out and the bins have blown open and fallen over! There's rubbish everywhere and blowing about.

I have found the camera fantastic for catching people doing things that they shouldn't. I am always spotting delivery people walking over my grass and when I tell them not to they said they didn't! Little liars. The camera is also great for when they say they came at a certain time to say they tried to deliver a parcel but the camera footage shows different. 

I like to pretend that I check the camera footage purely for security purposes but if I’m being brutally honest it has become a guilty pleasure. Watching the daily dramas, the comedy of everyday life and the tiny mundane moments that are all weirdly fascinating.

Do you have a security camera? Have you seen any interesting sights?