Hannah Elizabeth

I've decided to take a couple of weeks off to enjoy some much needed annual leave and to hopefully finally get the utility room and cloakroom finished. I will be back after my return from Jamaica! 

I spent time with family and friends, finally had some significant progress with the utility room and got excited with choosing decor bits!  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  The week started with my staying covid positive. It didn't go negative until day 7, in the evening, which meant I couldn't go back to work until day 9. I did however, finally stop ordering takeaway and get a grocery delivery which made my fridge nice and full.  There was a little progress with the utility room as I finally got the plastering done, started painting and the tiles got half way laid. I couldn't get a painter to come in time so I ended up doing it myself. I did the ceiling first and then painted the walls. Walls look good enough given the shocking plastering which I will share more about later, but the ceiling looks crap. I ended up organising for a painter to come and finish the job.  Of course, as if my week couldn't get any worse, before my 3 night shifts, I noticed a huge

This year's series is going to be my Bloom & Wild bouquet deliveries. This month had no problems with the delivery and it was so simple to edit my order. As I got an extra bouquet last month, I editted the date to be slightly easier which was so easy do and instead of getting a surprise, I selected the specific bouquet of choice February's floral arrangement was called "The Kirsty". This contained 20 stems including roses, carnations, stocks, limonium, rosemary and alstroemeria. It's such a delicate and beautiful arrangement and I thought it was perfect for Valentines. Described as "whisper-soft shades, fragrant stocks and zesty rosemary [to] completely soothe [the] senses". I cannot recommend this service enough and it's the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. I am so glad I asked for this! If you are interested in getting your own letterbox flower delivery, you can get a  discount  here. 

It's been a while since I wrote a post for my "Your Guide to a Day Trip to" series. I feel like I need to go back and write one for Rotterdam and Amsterdam too because I never wrote one for either of them last year! Having just been to Krakow in Poland, I thought this was a perfect time to write one for the ever increasingly popular city.  Krakow is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River, the old capital, has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, economic, cultural and artistic life. Often named in Europe's most beautiful cities, its Old Town and castle have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whilst most people go for a few days, if you only have a short 24 hours there, here is what I would recommend you do:  Explore Wawel Castle and the grounds. I ever went in the pouring rain and it was still stunning to see. It reminds me of York with the wall you can walk around, but it's s

I've been desperate for a true summer holiday for what feels like years now. For me, a true holiday is sitting in the sun, reading a book and dipping in and out of the pool. Growing up, I always went to all inclusive hotels and I absolutely loved every second. I had the time of my life meeting new people, having all the food and drink, getting involved in the activities and watching a show every night. It really was a dream life looking back.  I do like city breaks and exploring a new country with everything the culture brings, but it's not something I would class as a relaxing holiday and usually I come back more exhausted than before. I haven't been to an all inclusive for years. Since Covid-19, I've been on a couple of city breaks (Poland and the Netherlands ), and then Portugal (a very different party holiday). In the few years before Covid-19 hit, because I was a student and trying to save money a little, I instead went to Croatia (my first Airbnb experience), plus

I had a semi-relaxing day, my dad came over to build a wall and then I got Covid-19.  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  Thursday was my first day not having workmen in the house and it was nice to have a lie in. I had a very lazy morning, before getting ready to head out. I went to the bank and the post office, before calling at my cousins. We were suppose to be going out for the afternoon, but instead I just headed over for some snuggles for an hour as baby D wasn't feeling very well.  In the evening, I did my 23 and Me test which I'll talk more about when the results come in, but I also had Hilary's blinds come over to do some quotes on shutters for the bay window in the lounge. I was shocked by the cost and I think it's currently way out of budget but maybe one day. I have two other independent companies coming over in the next two weeks, so we will see how much they quote.  On Friday, my dad came around to build the stud wall. Due to different phone calls

Following on from last month's post, that was actually written at the very start of the year, I spent the first week or so of the year designing and creating my online bullet journal with Canva. There were a lot of pre-existing templates and drafts that could be used, some of which were free and some of which were paid for. I really wanted to completely personalise mine, using some ideas as inspiration. I knew I wanted a simple introduction and the first page needed to be people's birthdays. I wanted to keep my trackers quite simple. I spent hours and hours designing my own table and graph, then finally found one that was pre-made and was already made, so ended up using that and editing it slightly. I know some people have different designs and ideas for mood trackers, weathers and for hobbies. I personally love the year overview and colour co-ordination style so I decided to keep it simple and keep them all the same. I have created a tracker for mood, weather, social life and

Last month I headed to Krakow, Poland on a last minute trip that I literally booked 3 days before I departed. I had planned for it to be a cheap little escape, but of course, not wanting to miss anything, I wanted to make sure to visit all the places and explore the important aspects. I thought I would do a little rundown of the holiday and the cost involved.  So when I originally booked, I was going Monday to Friday and I booked a package which included the hotel , flights and airport transfers. My cousin then last minute decided to do a naming ceremony on Friday and whilst at first I wasn't going to go, I decided to change my flights but of course I couldn't get a refund on the existing package. The original package was £222 and then the additional flights were £32 and £47. I did get a refund on airport parking as my mum offered to pick me up and drop me off. I then got Ubers as transfers which were £8 each.  I booked 2 day trips before I arrived. One was to Auschwitz-Birkena

Deep breath. Where to start.  I think it's safe to say, since breaking up with the person I planned to spend the rest of my life with June last year, I've struggled. I finally thought I'd turned a corner in September/October when I felt I could move on and started getting back into the dating world, not that I was ever really in that world before. Whether it was that I wasn't really ready in the first place, or simply that I started to fall for someone else which didn't work out which triggered everything all over again I'm not sure.  I really tried to hide it and distract myself from the sadness I was feeling. I went out of my way to help him and support him, doing what I only wish someone would do for him. But there's only so much of yourself you can give, before it starts to eat away at yourself and becomes a weight too difficult to bare. It also doesn't help when the people you think or thought would love and support you, cancel plans constantly, mak

My sister came to visit for the weekend and we had some lovely meals out, plus my utility renovations finally started for real!   Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  For my Christmas present from my oldest sister, she wanted to take me out for cocktails or brunch. She was meant to come for the weekend, but after her hair appointment, she didn't end up arriving until gone 7pm and then she left at about 5pm the next day. We still had fun though and when she arrived, we headed straight out to The Alchemist. We had a table booked and I'd seen online that they had a DJ from 10pm, so when I walked in to loud clubbing music, I was a little shocked. It was so loud in the restaurant and defintely not a place I would normally go to but the food was delicious. I loved how everything was presented, it was just a shame we were so rushed and got kicked off the table before even getting cocktails. We did go to the bar to finish off, and the cocktails were so sweet and tart that I coul