September {best of)

The Instagrams

September has been all about beautiful skies, golden light through trees, crisp Autumn leaves, adventures and chilled tasty beer.

On Screen

Films :: Pride is by far the best film I've seen this month...actually it's the best film I've seen all year. If you've yet to watch it, get yourself down to the cinema, quick smart!

TV :: I've been a little obsessed by Once Upon A Time (thanks US Netflix), Bake Off and of course Doctor Who this month.

The Music

There have been a few albums that I've had on repeat this September. Mainly: Royal Blood, Twin Atlantic, George Ezra and Ed Sheeran. I didn't want to like the new Ed Sheeran record, but alas, I have succumbed! 

The Food

We had the most amazing curry back home in Glasgow. The naan bread was bigger than my head! A homemade shepherd's pie that was serious comfort food on a cold autumn day. Pancakes with maple syrup and bacon for breakfast at the Baker Street Kitchen in Middlesbrough. The most amazing bacon, mushroom & tomato quiche from Brockbushes farm shop. I'm sure there was much more than that, but it's all I can think of for now...

The Adventures

September's top travels definitely go to Robin Hood's Bay and Housesteads Roman Fort. Click on the links for some seriously gorgeous beach shots and to get knee deep in history. 

The Blog Love

I've discovered a few new blogs this month that have fast become firm favourites. If you're not already reading these, head over and check them out...you won't regret it!

Owl Girl :: I have a serious girl crush on Candy...
Crumbs in the Bed :: Kerri lives in Belgium and has the best hair ever!
Strolling About :: What Malgosia does with gold paint is amazing! Her blog also makes me homesick for Scotland!

How was your September? What were your favourites and highlights? As always, I want to know about all your adventures!

 

Sunday Mornings #7

I'm typing this post alongside the tastiest red wine I've had in the longest time! You've guessed it, I had to type this one up on Saturday evening...bad Lou! Please forgive my scheduling, but I have had/am still having a very busy weekend, so for once, I'm being organised! 

So here we are, almost another week under our belt. Today I've been mostly freezing, but then again, I was out in the wilds (more on that later). So the lovely wine is heating me up, as is my fleecy housecoat! This week I've been a busy little bee, so there have been lots of things that have put a big smile on my face, here's a few that I'd like to share with you...

:: Surprise dinners out with O. I had a bit of a rubbish start to the week and my lovely Mr surprised me with a romantic dinner out. We haven't had much time together recently, so it was lovely to actually sit across from one another and catch up on our day.

:: Meeting up with my friend Kate. It's not often I get to see Kate as she lives down south, but she was up visiting family this week, so I got to see her lovely face on Thursday. We spent the day in Newcastle wandering around and mainly getting lost. But, hey, that's the fun part some times! We had coffees, ate sushi and sunbathed on deck chairs down by the quayside. The sun was seriously shining on us for once!

:: A grand old day out in Middlesbrough. Me and O were without the car on Friday, so we decided to take ourselves out to MIddlesbrough for the day. We had breakfast at the Baker Street Kitchen which was amazing. We had pancakes and bacon, in case you were wondering. We then went to the cinema to see Pride, which is actually the best film I've seen all year. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a must! After Pride, we headed off to the Purple Pig for a quick spot of lunch before going next door to Sticky Fingers. Sticky Fingers is my new favourite place in the the 'Bro. O went upstairs to browse guitars and other musically minded things, whilst I sat downstairs drinking beer with the barman! The service was brilliant, he let me sample 3 beers before deciding which one I wanted and then set up a tab for the Mr to pay once he came back down...perfect, ha! Looking back, I wish I'd managed to spend some more time in the 'Bro before we leave.

:: A late night road trip to Manchester. We chased the golden hour all the way west on Friday night just for the fun of it. I secretly think O had been having car withdrawals all day! We spent some time with the family and the furry babies before having some dinner and hightailing it back east.

:: On Saturday we decided to visit the Housesteads Roman Fort and Hadrian's Wall. I love some good ruins and this fort was HUGE! Once you park, you walk uphill for about half a mile. When you reach the top there's a museum, the fort and the wall. The fort was amazing. I love actually being able to feel history. The fort was built in AD 124 and I find the fact that I can actually touch something that old incredible. So much better than just walking around a museum or some sort of recreation of it. This was also my first time seeing Hadrian's Wall. We didn't have time to walk on this part, but it's definitely something we'll come back to do. I also kinda loved the fact that I was on the wrong side of the wall...no Roman fort can keep my Scottish self out! HA!

:: Oh and how can I forget Brocksbushes Farm Shop! We stopped off here on the way to the fort and picked up some quiche and some amazing cake. If you're in the area, I would seriously recommend it. Both were absolutely delish!

How has your week been? Tell me about your favourite moments and the little things that have brightened up your day :)

RECIPE :: Banana + Choc Chip Muffins

I'm coming at you with a little mid-week pick me up! If like me, you buy about 40 bananas and then only eat 4 of them, you're left with a big banana bounty just crying out to be fashioned into something tasty! Normally I would just bake some banana bread, but I had no greaseproof paper to line my tin with, so off I went in search of a muffin recipe. 

Of course, Mary Berry never fails to provide me with the perfect recipe! Her recipe was for cupcakes though with chocolate icing (which I didn't have), so I decided that mine would be muffins instead. As usual, I adapted the recipe to suit whatever ingredients I had in the cupboard and here's what I did...(click here to see Mary's proper recipe!)

Ingredients:

100g (4oz) butter, softened (I used flora baking marg)

2 eggs

175g (6oz) caster sugar

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp milk

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

50g (2oz) chocolate chips

Method: 

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas mark 4. 

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases .

Again, being a lazy baker, I just slung everything into a blender and then added in the choc chips at the end. Then I spooned the mixture into the muffin cases and baked for about 25 minutes until well risen, golden brown and shrinking away from the cases (Mary's advice). 

As usual, I forgot to take photos whilst I was doing all the prep, so instead, here are some muffin porn photos to make you drool! Enjoy! :)

This recipe is super easy and takes about 45 minutes max all in, including baking time. What have you been baking lately?

Working Abroad // Part 1

I don't think I've ever really spoken about my gap year on here, have I? Well, it wasn't really a proper gap year as I didn't go before university. I finished uni with my psychology degree and then worked for a year to save up all the bucks I needed and then off I went! 

I wanted to move to Canada for years. Half my family immigrated there when I was a little 'un and I pretty much spent every summer there since I was 18. My aunts lived in Kingston, Ontario and my cousin in Ottawa, so I usually divided my time between these two awesome cities. 

I had been perusing the Bunac website for months and one February morning I woke up and just decided to fill in the application form for my visa and see if I got accepted. For those of you who have never heard of Bunac, they do lots of work, volunteer and travel programs like Work Canada Camp America. The application was pretty straight forward, you give them your information (and your monies) and they sort out your visa. If you like they will also sort your flight out so that you are flying with a group of Bunacers heading to the same city. This is what I did, as I though it would be a good way to get to know people before I even landed. 

I originally planned on living in Ottawa so that I would have some family around me, but then that really wouldn't be much of an adventure, would it? So I decided to move to Toronto. A few weeks before I was due to leave, Bunac released all the email addresses of everyone who was on my flight so that we could get to know each other before we left. This was the best thing for me, as before I had even left Scotland I had arranged to share a house with four of my fellow Bunacers! I had arranged to go in the October that year, so I had plenty of time to save up all the money I needed for my adventures. 

I was flying to Toronto from London, so a week before I was due to leave my best bud and I decided to spend the week in London. So I bid farewell to all my family and friends (this was much harder than I imagined) and had an awesome week being a tourist in London. I said London a lot in that sentence, didn't i? When the morning arrived that I was due to fly out I was SOOOOO nervous. My friend dropped me at the airport and I headed off to meet my new house mates. Luckily everyone I met was absolutely lovely and feeling exactly the same! However, I do remember sitting on plane and thinking...I've quit my job, packed up all my belongings and I'm moving across the world to a city I've never been to...on my own!!! What was I thinking?!

Bunac arranged a room in a hostel for our first night's stay in Toronto. So we were all picked up at the airport and dropped off here. After ditching our bags, we headed straight to the pub to plan our adventures for the next year...oh and to find somewhere to live!

...part two coming soon!! 

Sunday Mornings #6

 Good morning my little lovelies! What a week it's been at Casa Lou! Exciting things have been happening, there have been stressful goings on and there have been some epic dinners out! Let's just delve straight in, shall we?

:: We officially have somewhere to live in Scotland! Yes, that we are now proud renters of that little bungalow I mentioned last week. I actually can't wait to move now and to get my hands on that little bungalow charm!

:: Eating out. This week we have been mighty busy. We've been clearing the house out in preparation for packing and had many strangers showing up to view this lovely little spot. I'm not a fan of having people I don't know stomping around in my space (some of them didn't even take their shoes off!), but I know that it's all for the greater good. Anyway, I digress. We've not had much time to sort out food this week, so we've eaten out a few evenings. We went to our favourite pub in the area The Manor House, which is just five minutes away and oh so cosy. It's dimly lit and full of tartan and stag's heads...my kinda place! We can never fault the food and they put on an epic Sunday roast!

:: Autumn cleaning. I decided that I would do a spot of clearing out before we moved. We still have boxes of clothes that haven't been unpacked since we left Essex, so those are getting recycled! I figure the less schnizz we have to move the better!

:: Battenberg cake. Oh how I love this marzipan goodness. It's really the only thing that's been getting me through all the stress and nerves this week. 

:: Scotland. I am a very patriotic Scot and (excluding the Glasgow fights this weekend) I have been very proud of our country and it's people. They stood up, voiced their opinions and they may not have gotten the answer they hoped for, but they've started a whole new future and I look forward to moving back and becoming part of it. <3

:: Once Upon A Time. I know I mentioned this last week, but I am still obsessed with it! When I'm not cleaning or showing people around the house, I can be found glued to my Mac catching up on the happenings of Storybrook. Any other fans out there?

:: Guest posting on Chloe's blog. This was a first for me and I felt very privileged that Chloe asked me to do it! If you haven't read it yet, just click here. 

:: Doctor Who. It seriously stepped up it's game last week! I love Peter Capaldi and it's becoming a little Saturday evening tradition to sit down with our tea on our knees to watch it.

:: Rain! I know this may be controversial, but I LOVE the rain. I think it comes from growing up on the west cost of Scotland. When we lived in Essex both the Mr and I missed the rain so much (he's from rainy Manchester). Living in the North East we get much more rain than the south and I love it. Sitting on the sofa and watching it pouring down through the patio doors...ain't nothing more relaxing!

:: Making lists. It's been a week of list making over in Casa Lou this week. Lists of things we have to sort out before moving, lists of things we need to sort out after moving...you get the idea. It's given me the excuse to actually use some of the stationery stash I've got piled up. I also pilfered a pen from the Mr, a left-handed one at that and it's the nicest writing pen I've had in forever. Thanks, lefties! I know I'm a rightie, but what the heck...

How have your week's been going down, my lovely chums? Are you loving the rain this week? Do you enjoy a good list? Have you eaten out anywhere great lately? As always, I want to hear about the little moments that have made you smile this week :)

I am, I am trying to be, I am not...

Best face I've ever made right there ^^. This post was shamelessly pilfered from the lovely Michelle over at Life Outside London. Go and check out her lovely face, you won't regret it!

I am...

 

:: quick tempered, must be the Scottish in me...

:: getting better in the kitchen

:: pretty funny when I want to be

:: too nice for my own good sometimes

:: a terrible singer

:: excited to be a wifey

I am trying to be...

:: a little more patient (and finding it very hard, sorry O)

:: more creative

:: less of a worrier

:: better at eating healthier

:: a little more horizontal (less stressed, not the dirty kind of horizontal..well ok, that too)

:: more career minded

I am not...

:: that into cats...sorry cat people!

:: rude

:: a door mat

:: as silly as I look

:: good at taking orders

:: adverse to complaining when schnizz ain't right.

OK, your turn! Tell me what you are, what you're trying to be and what you're not... :) 

 

Hotel Living :: The Ups & Downs

I think I mentioned in previous posts that O and I used to live in a hotel. Did I? If not, then yes...we lived in a hotel for a whole year. It's a long story, but basically we were relocating to Kent for work and the Mr's company took forever getting his new contract/salary sorted which meant they had to put us up in a hotel until it was all sorted out. Crazy schnizz, I know! So we waved goodbye to Glasgow and squeezed all our belongings into the car and off we drove to Kent. Little did we know that we would become best buddies with all the staff at the Hilton!

Now for me, I was properly excited at the prospect of living it up in a hotel for a couple of weeks (idiot). O, however, had had the pleasure of hotel living previously so wasn't so enthusiastic! Some people I tell think it must be the best thing ever and others think it would be their worst nightmare. Me? I think it was a bit of both.

:: Ups

* Housekeeping! Oh yes, I didn't have to make my own bed, clean the sheets/towels or take the rubbish out for a WHOLE year! 

* Free dinners in the hotel. The Hilton we stayed at had the choice of a buffet dinner (for when you're feeling like a big greedy pie) or a la carte. Which meant we could either stuff our faces or order a £30 steak.

 * A free drink with our meal. Which meant I could order a coke, a beer, a £13 glass of wine or some champers...entirely free as a bird!

* Breakfast. Again, full buffet breakfast or made to order. They had a WAFFLE IRON!!!

* A super comfy king size bed and as many pillows as we liked! Says it all really.

* Free use of the gym, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and pool.

* Our Hilton points card. We racked up hundreds of points which paid for a week in Brussels, many weekends in London and a few stays in the presidential suite in the Manchester Beaton Tower Hilton :) Sadly, we've used up all our points now, but we still get some Diamond member perks and discounts!

* Two free bottles of wine every week when we checked in.

* Free room service. Ain't nothing better than ordering your dinner and then sitting on the bed scoffing it. Oh and not having to do the dishes afterwards.

* Free Costa coffee. This Hilton had a little Costa inside, so every morning before work they would give me a free one for journey!

* Getting to test the Christmas menu in October. SO MUCH STUFFING!

* Being able to save (spend) all our money because we didn't have any bills!

:: Downs

* Housekeeping. Knocking on the door at 7am on your day off even when you have the do not disturb sign on the door.

* Living in the one room for a whole year. Ergo, no escaping your fiancé when he's pissed you off and you want to punch him in the face. The bathroom or the hotel bar becomes your friend!

* Living out of suitcases. We had to check in and out every single Sunday, which usually meant changing rooms. We became pro's at speed packing.

* Buffet dinners + breakfasts = rapid weight gain!

* Not being able to make some toast or a snack when you come home from work. 

* Having to face a whole hotel worth of people at every meal. No wearing your PJ's to breakies then, Lou!

* Having to eat Christmas dinner every single night in December. Turkey gets very old, very quickly...let me tell ya!

* Getting woken up at silly o'clock with music and revelry from whatever function was going on that evening.

* Not really feeling at home for a whole year. Kinda messes your brain up a little bit.

* Never wanting to stay in a hotel when you go on holiday ever again!

* Stashing your clean underwear in the drawer that always contains the bible! Sorry Jesus.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful for a what was essentially a year of free living. But at times it can be soooo tough not having your own space and not having your own stuff around you. It takes a strong relationship to be able to live literally on top of each other for a year and I think it actually made the Mr and I that little bit stronger. It also allowed us to go on many adventures and holidays that we wouldn't have been able to had we had to pay any monthly bills, so I can't complain really. The staff gave us a lovely last meal and lots of free drinks on our last night before moving into our flat in Essex and we really couldn't fault their service and kindness throughout our stay. They always gave us the nicest rooms and lovely little extras at dinner. We really did feel like part of the Hilton family!

Have any of you lovely people lived in hotels? Or even had to use them for work all the time? Do you think you would love it? Or would it be your worst nightmare?

24 Hours {in Glasgow}

Before we get started, let me just warn you that most of the photos in this post are food based. No surprise there really? Glasgow is my home city and it will always be my favourite. I love it when I get the chance to go home and spend a day (or 5) in the city, visiting my old haunts and catching up with old buddies. Recently, I've not had much time on my hands, but when my bestest bud invited me up to stay for a night, I jumped at the chance! Here is the photographic food porn for you to drool over...

My favourite food and beer joint in Glasgow will always be West Brewery. The Templeton building which houses it is one of the most beautiful in Glasgow (we're thinking of having our wedding reception here). The food is amazing and is pretty much based on German cuisine. Oh the sausages....! The beer is in my top five. The West 4 and the Munich Red are such sweet amber nectar! 

I sadly missed all of the Commonwealth Games, but I managed a wee catch up with Clyde ^^ :)

There are so many new burger places popping up all over the city and usually they are jam packed with queues down the street, but we managed to get into Bread Meats Bread. I had the Smokey burger with homemade pastrami and let me tell you, I think it was the best burger I've ever had. Bold statement, I know! We also ordered a side of poutine, it was good, but alas nowhere near as tasty as the Canadian original. I also got a schooner (2/3 of a pint) of their own draft beer which was amazing. Couldn't recommend this place enough!

Now we were a bit sneaky and went outside of Glasgow to our home town to get some of this ice cream. Can you guess the flavour? Can you see the orange?! Yup, Irn Bru and tablet ice cream!! Oh my days! This was so drool-worthy that I'd eat some for breakfast right now!!

 

While we were in town we also popped into a local coffee shop (Chunky Monkey). Look at those bowls of coffee. Mine had fudge syrup in it FYI. As if I hadn't consumed enough sugar, we also had this massive scone and some carrot cake! 

I couldn't think of a better way to spend 24 hours. If you're heading up to Scotland, do me a favour and skip the tourist haven of Edinburgh (or do both) and head to Glasgow for some of the best food, beer, culture, shopping and nightlife you will ever find. 

 

Sunday Morning #5

Well hello there my little lovelies! Here we find ourselves at another Sunday. How did this happen? Was it not just Monday? It's been a mixed bag of emotions this week over at Casa Duffy. There's been lots going on, some things going too fast and some that can't happen quick enough. Some little stressful, nervous moments and some seriously exciting ones too. We move in just over a month and I feel like I need an extra 20 hours in the day. Is this possible? I wish I could bank time and withdraw it when I need it. This would be a week where I'd be waaaaaaaaay into my time overdraft! Anyway, how has your week been? Has it been flying in too? Are you getting time to relish the little things? Here are some of mine lately...

:: buying a new car!!!! Yes, lots of exclamation marks there! Ooops and another. Ok, I'll stop! ;) We finally traded in our trusty little red Skodie (Skoda in normal speak) for a big monster of a Volvo V50. Don't worry if you don't know what this is, I didn't until O started pointing them out on the roads a few weeks ago! The Mr has a penchant for big estate old man cars and this is what we got! Don't get me wrong, the leather heated seats are my new best friend and the fact that I can control my own air con/heating had me sold right away! We're still trying to think of a name for him. We tried on a few Swedish ones but nothing fits so far. Any ideas?

:: finding a new Scottish home - yup, so this weekend was spent up in Ayrshire in Scotland trying to find us a new little home. We've been finding it pretty tough to move from this humongous house to a flat (not many houses going in the area we want) and we were all set to throw the towel in when we discovered a little bungalow in Ayr. I know what you're thinking, a Volvo and a bungalow? Yes, we're turned 60 overnight! But it's the cutest little thing! Two bedrooms, front and back gardens and a HUGE shed for O. Cross your fingers and toes for us, won't you?

:: seeing my little mutt again! A trip home always means I get to see my little Border Collie Lucy again. Oh and my family too of course! But there's nothing sweeter than the unconditional love of your puppy :)

:: getting ready for Autumn/Winter - I know, don't shout at me! I realised the other day that I didn't have any proper jackets, so I went on a little online shopping spree and now I have three...oops!

:: US Netflix - I finally found out how to get all the juicy US shows! This whole week has been filled up with season one of Once Upon A Time, I'm properly addicted! Does anyone else watch it?

:: visiting a curry house that O had been raving on about for years. We took ourselves out for a treat on Friday evening after a very stressful day of house hunting. Oh lordy. The naan breads were pretty much the full size of the table. Mmm...I'm having peshwari naan flash backs!

:: M&S raspberry lemonade...have you tried it? It's like a little flash of summer in a bottle. 

:: Antipasti - oh I can't understand why I've only just discovered this? It's my most favourite food at the moment. Cured meats, cheese and of course some lovely crusty bread. Yum!

:: Last, but certainly not least...Seche Vite fast dry top coat! Again, a little late to the party with this one, but it has seriously changed my nails. I painted them on Thursday morning (Essie Bahama Mama in case you were wondering) and they are still chip free today. This is a complete miracle for me, as they usually start chipping later that day. I might do a whole post on this at some point, but for now all you need to know is...buy it!

So my bestests, how have your weeks been going down? I want to know all the juicy details! Leave me a little comment below or even tweet me @weezyduffy using the #SundayMornings hashtag :)

 

Some News + Robin Hood's Bay

Hello my lovely people! First of all, apologies for the lack of posts this week. Things have been a little crazy over at Casa Lou lately, which brings me to the main reason for this post. I have some news for you lovelies! After seven awesome months living in the North East, the Mr and I are moving again to pastures new. My very clever Mr has been offered a fancy new job in the west coast of Scotland!! So, next month we shall be packing up our ever growing collection of furniture and moving it up to Scotland for one last time. 

Let me just say that I have ADORED living in the North East. The people I have met, the friends I have made (mainly through this blog) and the scenery have made my heart sing. It is with a very heavy heart and some serious toing and froing that we pack up our things and head for the (my) homeland. We've moved around a lot over the last few years, but this move should see us settle down for a good long while and I am super exciting for some stability in our lives. This weekend we are off up to Scotland to try and find somewhere to live. We're hoping to find somewhere right on the coast, which would the icing on he cake. It has proven a little stressful finding and booking viewings, which you may have seen from my rantings on twitter! But we have a few secured, so wish us luck! I shall report back next week. 

In other news, just to make our lives a litte more crazy, the Mr decided he wanted to buy a new car. So last night, off we went and bought one...if you know Oscar, you'll understand his love for big, old man cars. Needless to say, we bought a big Volvo V50 estate (I think??), which he is very happy with and we pick it up on Saturday evening. I am mostly excited for the heated seats which we will no doubt need living on the west coast of Scotland! 

OK, enough about me for today. Let me tell you about the other reason for this post today. On Sunday the Mr and I went on an adventure. We used to do this all the time, but lately things like work etc have got in the way. He wouldn't tell me where we were off to and after a drive through the gorgeously atmospheric North York Moors, we arrived at our destination...Robin Hood's Bay. Oh my goodness. There's a section of the road about 5 minutes before you get there when you come over the crest of a hill and see the bay rolling out in front of you. Most beautiful sight I've seen in a long time. For any of the outdoorsy types out there you'll probably have heard of this little gem as it's the final stop of the Coast to Coast walk where you get to dip your tired feet in the North Sea and what a way to finish it! 

We parked our car at the top of a very steep hill and then wandered down the windy, narrow streets until we reached the beach at the bottom. There are so many lovely little shops, restaurants and bars in this little fishing town that made me feel like I was on holiday. After some serious photo taking, we descended upon the Bay Hotel looking right on the beach for some well earned fish and chips and a big pint of beer! Don't worry, the walk back up the hill definitely burnt off all those calories! Now I'm going to stop rambling on and let the photos, which were mostly taken by my lovely Mr, do the talking. Just be warned though, there are lots (mainly of the super moon) and I hope this post is not too long!!

Sunday Mornings #4

Can you believe it's September already? It seems like just moments ago that summer was starting to appear. Now, I'm not going to ramble on about my love for Autumn (big love) again, you've heard enough of that lately! But doesn't it feel like the days are getting shorter though? I swear it's getting darker earlier already. I've been switching the lights on earlier for sure this week. My week has been a pretty quiet one, but full of lovely moments none-the-less...

:: morning smoothies - I've been loving these this week. We struggle to eat all our fruit up (naughty), so I've been slinging it all in the blender in the mornings and wizzing up a tasty smoothie.

:: my new Nespresso milk frother - oh how I've missed frothy coffees in this house! When our lovely postie delivered this on Thursday, I was delighted. It's so fast and sooo quiet. It was definitely worth investing in.

:: meeting up with Danni for cake - well, this actually turned into lunch, cake and coffee! We went to the Mockingbird Deli (you can read about this here) in Yarm on Saturday. I love this little nook. The chicken, goat's cheese and mango focaccia I had was dreamy and the carrot cake was so light and fluffy. I love being able to have proper blogging chats with a fellow blogger!

:: Boden - oh Boden! Why do you keep sending me discount codes!? You know I can't resist them! A few weeks ago I bought a lovely breton tee and yesterday I might've treated myself to a rainy day mac. SO naughty. But you know, I'm going to need something to save me in all these rain showers...

:: nothing-ness - this week has just been a seriously stay in your PJ's kinda week. Basically, everyday has been like a Sunday for me! I think I've only been out the house three times in total. Which, usually I would hate, but this week I've been loving it. I've had some lengthy Netflix marathons (have you seen Freedom Writers? I cried!!), vlog catch ups and just generally getting the house in order. 

:: the Body Shop - yet another discount temptation! This week they had 40% off, so needless to say, I placed another order. However, I was sneaky and ordered some stuff for the Mr, so it looks like I did it for him!

:: Bake Off - oh Norman! I was so sad when he got kicked off! He was one of my faves! He was hilarious on the Bake Off extra bits show too. I don't think he even knows that he's being funny either, which is the best part. We ate pies for dinner that night. You're being a very bad influence on me, Bake Off!

How have your weeks been lovelies? What adventures have you been on? Mine has been a slow one, so I'm living vicariously through you! Remember you can tweet me @weezyduffy or leave me your tales in the comments below...

Scandi Roadtrip!!

If you follow me on any social media sites, you won't have been able to escape me rambling on about the road trip that the Mr and I are planning! That's right, in March next year, we're off to Scandinavia! I can't even tell you how excited I am! We've been planning this trip for what seems like forever and I think we've finally got our itinerary nailed down. Here's what it looks like at the moment...

:: Ferry to France and driving straight to Denmark via the Netherlands and Germany to name but a few. 

:: Copenhagen

:: Stockholm

:: Oslo

:: Skagen

:: Aarhus

:: Amsterdam

These are just the main cities that we're visiting, we're going to be in each area for a few days and then visit other areas nearby. We also really want to go to Bergen, but it's a very long drive from Oslo...you never know. It's extremely likely that this route will change completely once we have delved into the guide books, so watch this space! 

We've booked some parts of the journey and at the moment we're right in the middle of stalking the Airbnb website trying to find lovely places to stay. God bless you, Airbnb!! 

Have you been to any the Scandi countries? I'd love to hear your stories and any recommendations you might have. Fill me in with your adventures!! :)

Autumn Spends!

So, I've been feeling a little spendy lately, much to O's delight! I thought I'd give you a little snapshot of what's been floating my boat this lovely Autumn day. 

Tartan scarf :: is a tartan scarf too much Scottish on a Scottish person? I do wonder about this! I've been coveting everything tartan lately and I'm blaming Autumn for sneaking up behind us. This lovely scarf is from Abercrombie & Fitch and it was a complete bargain on eBay. Oh eBay, why are you so addictive?

Boden breton :: you can't beat a classic breton in my eyes. My wardrobe is full of stripes and this lovely is a happy addition. I've been checking out the other colours lately too, this won't be the end of my Boden love affair.

Autumn nails :: I know what you're going to say, more nail polishes Louise? I just can't help myself! Barry M released six different Autumn colours, but I managed to reign myself in and narrowed it down to these three beauties. I absolutely LOVE the names, from right to left: chilli, mustard and cardamom. The only one I haven't tried yet is the mustard, which I think is going to be my favourite. Can't beat a mustard yellow.

Have you been getting spendy? Is Autumn influencing your purchases at the moment? You know I'd love to know what you've been buying, let me know in the comments below or even on Twitter, I'm @weezyduffy.