MAY ROUNDUP

Here we are again, ANOTHER month has just flown by before my very eyes. I can't believe I'm sat here and its currently the beginning of June. June always reminds me of 3 things - Summer, my oldest friend's birthday, and feeling good. June is usually when things seem to turn themselves around from hoping and wishing for good weather, to actually getting good weather (pfft, alright Madi), holidays start to crop up, you hear stories from everyone about new adventures they've taken, and everyone just seems to have a little more spring in their step. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if this months seen any sunshine. If anything, we've had a serious case of weather bipolar!

I'm pretty sure this month kicked off with me being ill. (wow, what a surprise). In general I've been completely and utterly exhausted this month - with everything! Mind, body and soul. Even putting my trousers on in the morning has been a struggle for me. I couldn't really tell you why though, I'm not sure if its because my general health and auto immune condition has really fucked me over this month, or my mood is just generally a struggle to pick up. Alas, I have done some nice things - of course including Budapest! (See previous post for photogs and recommendations!)

WOODS, FRIENDS, & PUPS:

Look, if you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know by now that my life pretty much revolves around dog walks. Luckily for me, my friends live pretty close by, and when the weathers good, its pretty easy for us to just drop a message into the Whatsapp group to see if anyones down for walking the dogs in our local woods - Snuff Mills/Vassels Park. I think this was a Saturday, always a day guaranteed to be filled with all sorts of dogs/puppys - what could be better, really?

FAMILY ROAST:

Best. Meal. Ever. One of my favourite things ever is when me and my little friendling family get together to cook meals. For some unknown reason, I'm always left with the simple jobs out of our little group, like - the cheese grater, or the carrot chopper... its as if they just KNOW I'll probably kill myself when it comes to boiling water or hot ovens.. cute. Just looking at these photos, I wish I could demolish it all over again. 

TRAIN RIDES & MORE FOOD:

I spent a substantial amount of time on trains this month, going to and from Cardiff to visit a guy I was dating. Something I've never done before - 1. Just casually dated someone without prospect of a relationship and 2. Dated someone in a different country. Both of which, intrigued me and confused me. Alas, a good experience! It was cool being able to jump on the train/in my car and escape life in Bristol. It was like my uni days all over again! HOW CUTE, is this puppy on the train though?! I purposely followed this man from the platform right to his seat so I could sit opposite. This day my mum came to meet me in Cardiff for the day to have a mooch around the shops - how funny that we turned up in the exact same jumper. 

More meals! This night was a Mexican with Esther and Austin. One of the cute things about going to my friend Esther's, is that I can take Theo with me to 'play' with her dog, Dylan. I say 'play', because most of the time, Theo either spends his time annoying the shit out of Dylan, to the point he'll just go and hide himself away in another room, OR, just just tries to hump him. Sorry Dyl. We did however, get them to have a mini photoshoot together, with the bribery of 'chewy's' (see photo of said 'chewy' above Esther's iPhone - worked a 'treat' wheyy ;)). 

WESTONBIRT:

Would a monthly round up of mine really be a monthly roundup, if I didn't include photos from Westonbirt Arboretum? Don't think so! Every time I visit this place I'm instantly googling new camera equipment as soon as I get home, (before realising I can't actually afford it right now). This day we bumped into a pure Toy Poodle (Theo is a cross between a Miniature and a Toy), she was SO CUTE and SO SMALL I couldn't quite believe my eyes. Literally the split of Theo except even smaller - and I thought Theo was small! (Heres me forcing Theo for a photo with me in the hand made wigwam esque creation we found in the middle of the woods). 

FUDS:

Heres photographic evidence of me really trying my best to make healthier choices. I am OBSESSED with making pancakes recently. I seem to have a recipe NAILED and I enjoy it every time without fail, (remember when I said I'd do a blog post about said recipe? yeah.. I'll get there.) I also had a catch up with Elly this month, we've seemed to make it a little fortnightly thing - seeing as our rota's seem to match up quite nicely in that way! We devoured a Nando's, followed by looking round all the baby shops we had within walking distance. For the first time in my life I GENUINELY felt broody, I can't get over how cute some of the clothes/shoes/prams/accessories etc are, for tiny humans these days. I mean, of course that feeling left my very soul as soon as I left Mothercare, BUT, I guess it was a warm and fuzzy little feeling while it lasted.  

MOL'S (ANI-MOLS)

Something very essential to my de-stress and unwind process in life, is spending time surrounding by my mol's. I don't even need to be touching them, or that close to them. As long as I can see their little faces/furry bodies, I'm pretty content with that. I've been super duper sick with my skin/immune system playing me up lately, and every morning without fail, Theo will come and greet me with a kiss, shortly followed by him nestling himself into me and falling back to sleep. I'm just so thankful for their little souls. <3 

May's been weird for me! A pure mixture of ups and downs. I feel as though I need a change maybe? but my body says 'um...no?' to literally anything right now. My current state of health is not even being able to get dressed so, yeah, thats fun. It's been pretty hectic, but at the same time not a huge amount has happened, asides from Budapest, life's been pretty standard I guess! 

Hows your month of May been?

Thanks for reading! 

Madi x

HAPPINESS LEVEL, 100%

How did I not realise that it was International Day of Happiness, until the very end of the day? Seeing the odd post on Twitter is what spurred me on to write this post this evening. 

I love thinking about what makes me happy. It almost makes me want to experience it all at once and relish in the feeling. My nan always speaks to me about happiness, and that ultimate moment where you feel and think to yourself, 'this must be it, this is happiness'. Feelings I get when singing (shouting) with Christina, lyrics of our favourite song in the car, when Theo actually snuggles himself into me and presses his nose against mine, or when I'm surrounded by my nearest and dearest, tucking into a glass of Prosecco. 

Heres a little list of things that make me the most happy:

I. Waking up to sunshine. 

Who doesn't love that? my favourite days are when I've had an exhausting week at work, the weather has been dull and miserable and I've spent the best part of the week dashing too and from my car - Sloshing my travel cup of Earl Grey absolutely everywhere, trying to put my hood up and trying to fish for the pound for my locker in my pocket, all at the same time. 6.50am multitasking at its very finest. Waking up to sunshine beaming through my window, makes me not bothered to get out of bed early, it makes me inspired, creative, excited for the day. Please stay forever Mr Sun :( 

II. Good Breakfasts.

I have to admit, I am one of those people that actually wakes up dreaming about breakfast. Especially if I've bought something new to try/have a current favourite. At the moment I'm loving Coconut and Cocoa Nib porridge from Sainsbury's. Add in a little extra oats, (come on, who are those small packets actually big enough for), toss in some Blueberries or Pomegranate seeds, add some Chia seeds & honey, and you've got yourself not only an Instagram worthy treat, but something healthy and wholesome to kickstart the day.

III. That fresh shave feel.

Come on ladies, you know what I'm talking about here. N O T H I N G (ok maybe some things..), feels better than freshly shaved, freshly moisturised leggums. Slipping into some soft cotton PJ's, or roaming free/starfishing/one leg in, one leg out, in my Egyptian cotton bed sheets - UH. HUH. HONEY. 

IV. My friends.

I don't have a lot of friends, I never really have! Unless you count Myspace in 2008... However, the friends I do have, I really do adore. I have friends from when I was 4, 14, 17 and 21. Each and every one, special in their own unique way, have helped me without even knowing it, and made me feel good when I've felt my worst. LOVE YA GUYS AND GALS <3 

V. Buying new shoes, that are actually comfortable.

Best. Thing. Ever. I have the WORST feet when it comes to fitting shoes. They're narrow, slim, small, and all kinds of AWKWARD. Can I wear cute slip on shoes? no. Can I wear saucy stiletto heels? no. 

My best buys are heels that I can wear all night, or trainers I can wear with no jip. Shout out Vans Mono ISO 1.5. You da bestest.

VI. Having good skin days.

Those who know me, will know my change in mood/goals/aspiration/life, when I have good skin. When I went to Rome last year, the sun cleared my eczema up entirely. Its a kind of bliss I can't even describe when my skin is good. Don't get me wrong its pretty good majority of the time, now I'm on my medication, but being completely clear, able to wear a spot of fake tan,  frolic freely in any item of clothing I want to wear, showing any part of my body I want - is just awesome. 

VI. My pooch, Theo.

If you follow me on any form of Social Media, you'll know I am completely besotted with my pup, Theo. I got Theo when I was in a really bad place, and he seemed to turn everything around for me. I love watching him run around on walks, receiving his gentle puppy kisses, and letting me carry him around the house like a baby. 

VII. Perfectly constructed roast dinners.

You know the ones. Perfect fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside roasters. The perfect ratio of solids to gravy. A good array of vegetables, and of course a decent amount of sauce options. 

(My personal favourites are Racks, The Badminton Arms, Fox and Hounds, and a couple of my ex's mums. BANTER.)

VIII. Travelling.

Ah, that feeling of stepping off an aeroplane and into a different place to where you started. When people say pretentious things like 'travelling feeds the soul', or 'travelling has changed me' etc. I have to agree. The best way to get over life's stresses, or if you're feeling at a stand still. Opening your eyes to new culture, experiencing new foods, people, and adventures. An addiction I wish I had more funding for!

IX. Good quality clothes.

100% organic cotton? perfect cut? snug in all the right places? lose in all the right places? flattering? expensive look and feel? Soft to the touch? SOLD.

X. Youtube.

Youtube is my escape. Every single night without fail I watch some of my Youtube favourites. I'm a sucker for daily vloggers, travel vloggers, beauty guru's and style documenters. 

XI. Driving through the country.

This has to be a new found love. What with my snazzy new car, being able to put my foot down and it actually MOVE. Driving through the winding roads of the countryside is so freeing, especially when the appropriate music is playing and the weather is the perfect mixture of blue skies and flashes of bright sunlight through the trees. 

What makes you happy? 

Its humbling to know I could actually make an even longer list than this - but if you made it even this far - well done. I'm not the biggest fan of a big rambly post with minimal photographs. (PS The photo for this post was taken last Summer in the Longleat House flower garden!)

Thanks for reading, stay happy!

Madi x