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

WESTONBIRT ARBORETUM

Today I woke up really confused, in the most awkward position ever, feeling pretty groggy and expected to open my curtains to yet another dismal day, however - sunshine! It's actually crazy how that little glimpse of sunlight and blue sky can instantly lift your mood. This week I actually turned up to work to be told I'd booked the week as holiday.. I was that person, d'oh!
Anyway, although the last minute surprise has been slightly annoying (due to me not being able to make plans etc), Its pretty nice to just wake up when you want and wonder where the day will take you.
Today me and mum decided to put Theo in the back of the car, and take a last minute trip to The Westonbirt Arboretum, in Tetbury. I talk about the Arboretum to my friends and family ALL the time, I love it - especially in Spring when all the trees are in bloom and in Autumn when all the leaves are in the midst of changing colour & dropping. They run photography courses and nature watches there because some of the scenery really is breathtaking, (with over 15,000 specimens from all over the globe, don't cha' know).

The Arboretum offers a small cafe just before you begin your route. There are a few different routes including ones that are dog permitted, and others that have more of a challenging hike, more history or routes that are more children friendly with activities along the way. Most of the seating is allocated outside - with a huge canapé, so its functional for you and your pooches all year round! Today's weather had a pretty icy wind attached to it so I opted for a soya hot chocolate. 

(I call this my, 'I really need a hair cut but haven't drawn my eyebrows on so my overgrown fringe will have to be forgiven', look.)

Theo is insanely nosey when it comes to anyone, anything, and any dog. It doesn't matter what size, temperament or breed it is, he'll give anyone a sniff! One of the best things about the Arboretum is that you come across so. many. dogs. Today alone we saw a 4 month old dachshund and a small pack of terroir puppies, each dressed in high-vis jackets (!!)

They also have a really cutsie shop here. It is filled with amazing books, cute decorations and nifty trinkets. (They also have a pretty impressive sweet section).

Due to having Theo with us, we had to take the dog walking route. Due to the time of year/previous weather, it was quite hard to capture the beauty of the place - this route is adapted for dogs to be allowed off their leads to explore, therefore there are no manmade paths and it represents more of a typical forest as apposed to a carefully planted Arboretum, (there are much more unusual specimens to see on the other routes, however this one doesn't fall short of quirky shaped tree's and interesting photo opportunities!) 

Last year the 'Treetop walkway' was completed, which means you can now walk 13 metres above the ground and really feel like you're within the trees. I would love to spend more time exploring this part of the Arboretum, but due to it being so very windy this particular day, I didn't feel comfortable climbing the 'crow's nest viewing point'! 

The end of our trip became extremely windy indeed, to the point Theo's little ears were blowing back in the gale, bless him. 

I can't wait to spend more time at the Arboretum this year, me and my mum have had a membership for the past couple of years, which allows you free access all year round. For a one off visit, its £7 for adults, £5 for students, £3 for 5-18 and children under 5 go free. I would highly recommend the Arboretum for any nature lover, dog walker, or photographer. Its also perfect for a family day out, as there are picnic benches dotted around, as well as activities that run all year round. Bring on Spring I say! (Find out a tonne of information on Westonbirt Arboretum here)

Thanks for reading, Madi x