Best friends forever

This post is one of those posts you end up writing when you know you have something good in your life. Someone really special, someone who you can't believe how lucky you are to know them, for you to be your friend. Yes, thats right, your friend. Many years of my life I was not a person with lots of good friends in her life. It took me to grow up and learn the special people will find you later on in life. This friend I seem to be rambling on about is my good pal Tom. 

I was lucky enough to meet him many years ago through instagram. We followed each other for a while, I have no idea how he found me on instagram back then, but he did. We ended up being in the same place at the same time without even knowing it till we had both left. Of course we found this out via instagram. We both had a super interest in cards and other fun things. At the time Tom was even more mysterious because I did not know his actual name, just his Instagram name; foxesandcats. Friends would always call him via that even when I eventually found out his name, that was how he would be known.

So one crazy rainy-storm-madness day we met in Brighton. I remember walking up to the clock tower and seeing his crazy giant hair (he used to have his insane hair, huge) coming towards me. My mum always thought he looked like he could have been a Doctor from Doctor Who. I just remember spending the most amazing day hanging out with him. And we have been friends ever since. It was started with a hashtag; nicolaandthefoxescardventure. You can go back on Instagram and check the photos out. Oh the filters we used. Eek.

I hopped on a train on a tuesday afternoon, straight from work to Margate. Tom and his amazing girlfriend Marta were visiting for Tom's birthday. I went and spent the most wonderful afternoon with them both. Marta is unbelievable perfect for Tom. She is beautiful, creative, oodles of fun, with a pinch of crazy. The good crazy. Because Tom has always been a little bit out there, I mean all you have to do is ask my mum about his head in the tumbler dryer incident, these two are just meant to be. It makes me so happy to see him happy.

I am very lucky to have found a friend in Tom. He has always been so supportive of my art work, and has always pushing be to be better just like David has. Having both of them is something so special. I still think its so amazing that platforms like Instagram, twitter, blogger and just the internet in general has given me my favourite people, and I will always be grateful for that. Forever.

Christmas drinks

One of my favourite parts of the Christmas season is when the festive drinks start to appear. It really is something I look forward to. My first eggnog of the season is always a favourite event, and I look forward to that first red cup with David. I have managed to have a few wonderful Christmas drinks already. 

What are you favourite christmas drinks?

Autumn-Winter vibes

It's December! Oh my goodness, how did that happen?! This year seems to have gone ever so fast. I just feel like I was getting ready for Christmas not so long ago. Happy 1st December! Anyway! Let's talk about Autumn-Winter vibes. The days are getting colder, I can really feel the difference. Mostly when I get up in the morning as it takes ages to warm up. Lots of extra coffee and porridge helps! 

The leaves have been so beautiful recently. Every time I look up or down I love seeing those beautiful leaves all over the place. Autumn is really here and alive indeed! I have been getting super excited for Christmas. Time seems to be going so fast, so I'm making the most of everything Christmassy. You know how it is when you keep working, and time passes by. I always think I have loads of time for christmas actives, movies, food dates, coffee dates, but work gets in the way, so I am trying to start early so I can get it all squeezed in.

I am pretty proud to say that I have done most of my christmas shopping. I mostly wanted to get it done because when you work in retail, you don't really want to be going out shopping in December. When you come home from long hours in a store, the thought of going out through the shops fills me with dread. So just a tiny little bit left to do! Thank goodness. Other than shopping I have been listening to my favourite christmas albums. These include She and Him, Cameron Mitchell & Aprilemade, oh and listening to this song over and over and over. This song really makes me feel christmassy. It's now one of those traditions for myself and David to watch A Very Murray Christmas every year now.

Visting Dunham Massey

So while in Manchester I had rather a lot of fun. On the second day there Jenny took me to Dunham Massey. Which is a beautiful place, and I was very excited to go and visit. But before we ventured out we went to Moose to get their amazing pancakes for breakfast. While we sat there waiting, both our mouths were salivating at the view of the most yummy looking breakfasts passing us by.

Fuelled up for the day it was time to catch the tram to Dunham Massey. The National Trust's Dunham Massey is a Georgian House, which has beautiful gardens and an amazing deer park. The day before in Manchester had been so rainy, but the day we choose to visit Dunham Massey, the sun came out. It was the perfect Autumn day!

We wandered the grounds and enjoyed the wonderful sunshine. While there we thought it would be the perfect place to take some autumnal photos. We wandered through the trees and did so much walking. I loved seeing all the leaves on the ground. Autumn really was here.

We wandered through the house, and I felt like we had gone back in time. It was so magical. The decor was so beautiful and grand. The tiny details always stand out to me. I love that feeling you get when you wander around a grand house like that, it really does take your breathe away.

I had a pretty amazing time while visiting this beautiful place. The Autumn weather and fresh air made for such a great day. Long walks, soup for lunch, photoshoots among the trees, crunchy leaves, and then a long train journey home. 

Hello Manchester

So the world is a funny old place. I feel very lucky to be able to meet the most amazing people through going to conventions and the brilliant world of twitter. Due to both of these I am now friends with the coolest gal ever! This gal is Jenny. She is one of the coolest people I know. 

On Tuesday I packed my bag and jumped on a train all the way up to Manchester. I have always wanted to visit but never got the chance until recently! Jenny lives near Manchester, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to visit, while having Jenny as a tour guide. As soon as I arrived we went straight for lunch at Sugar Junction. We ordered yummy sandwiches and I had this amazing caramel Northern tea blend, which was so good! Sugar Junction was very beautiful, and I loved the decor inside. Brick walls and mix-match teacups will always been a plus. We chatted while we eat lunch, which was so tasty, and planned our next two days ahead.  

After lunch we went to Fred Aldous. After seeing this store on so many people's instagram accounts I had fallen in love with this store, and I have been dying to visit for years! I was very overwhelmed when I walked in! It was basically heaven on earth. I knew I would like this store purely because the tagline of the store is; Make Anything. This makes me smile, and believe me when you walk through the door you realise you really can make anything due to the amount of art supplies they sell.

Another amazing thing about Fred Aldous is that they have two working vintage photo booths! They have a black and white one and also a colour one. As you all know I am a huge fan of a photo booth, and every time I see one I have to jump in. Myself and Jenny jumped into the booth and took a few snaps. I normally choose black and white, but we went for the colour one. Mostly because this is the only public colour analogue photo booth in the whole of Western Europe. So I thought that was pretty cool and a must!

After we got our photos, looked at them and laughed, I then purchased a few bits and pieces. I think I could of brought quite a lot in the store, but I was restrained. Right outside Fred Aldous there is the amazing David Bowie mural by the graffiti artist Akse. I am a huge fan of this piece and I was so happy I actually got to see the piece in real life. We went to wander more around Manchester! More of which I shall talk about soon.