Saturday, 3 May 2014

My moment with the Queen & my five fave posts //#BEDM

Hello lovely people, I hit publish on this post yesterday evening but obviously didn't! It could be as I was on the train with not much signal or because I may or may not have had a cheeky couple of cosmos!

Anyway, I was very much looking forward to this Bank Holiday weekend. As much as I love my darling girl, she is away for two nights and we both are in need of a little break. The last few weeks have been tough as she has been unwell and her anxiety levels have been high. We only ever have a night away from each other but I'm looking forward to some fun this weekend in order to relax, have some me time knowing that she is being well looked after. I'm sure that I'll be in a better frame of mind come Sunday and as it's bank holiday I still get two days with her before the week starts again on Tuesday.

I hope you've all had a good week. Randomly on Wednesday I got held up by the Queen on my way to work! I kid you not, the Queen and I had a 'moment' as we looked at each other at the same time as she drove passed me on her visit to South Wales. I didn't know what to do. Do you look away when the Queens eyes meet yours, or do you smile and nod your head as her Rolls Royce moves on? I opted to smile, even though her entourage (including six James Bond style bodyguards!) we're going to make me slightly late for work. I decided however, that it surely counts as a royal pardon, right? I couldn't seriously be in trouble when the Head of State on official engagements held up traffic! Anyway, that was my bizarre moment of the week and I think that the Queen (88) and the Duke of Edinburgh (in his 90s) are quite simply amazing for the amount of work they still do at their age. Can you believe they had five engagements in one day! That would wear me out.

So, I. Now rambling (we'll blame the cocktails) and I'm missing the point of today's #BEDM which is to show you my favourite five posts from my blog! So here goes....

The first post here is from November last year. During October I took Megan to stay with my friend Henri in Paris. Paris has to be one of my favourite places in the world and I try to get there as often as possible. I studied French history in university and I'm doing a comparative modern French / British history PhD. this post shows me conquering my fear of 'La Grand Dame' and the view of Montmatre from the top.


The second post here is from our trip to Vilamoura, Portugal in August last year. I didn't like the touristy areas of Portugal but I loved Vilamoura. I also love this dress and was perfect for coping with the immense heat (even the locals said it shouldn't be that hot!), and relaxing at the marina bars.


So, I think we've established that I love history! The museum that I work for always puts on an event for the annual Museums at Night. Last year we held a Big Band Night, which was so much fun. We all dressed up, had our hair done and danced the night away! You can view all the pictures here. This year our event will be on May 16th at The Cardiff Story Museum entitled 'Bad Copy - Cardiff by Parris. It has been created by artist Janette Parris and is unlike anything we've ever held before. It's free so if you're in the area please come and join us! 


Summer 2012 was obviously a huge year for sport in the UK with the Olympics being held in London. We also held some of the events in Cardiff and it was a great atmosphere. I captured our summer in this post. It was one of the best summers with lots going on and I'm glad that I wrote a post to remember it all.


My final post that I am featuring is about Cardiff Bay, possibly my favourite part of the city. Here you will find my favourite building, the Pierhead which is the first sight of Cardiff the ships would have seen in the 1800s - 1900s after months of sea. It is beautiful in the sun so I snapped a few shots.


I hope you enjoy taking a look through. Some of the posts aren't that good in quality picture wise as I'd only just started blogging and was posting on the go! Have a great weekend.

Amy-Louise
xx

Linking up with #BEDM, Lauren Elizabeth

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Welcome May - #BEDM


I was hoping to avoid the cliche "there goes another month", but seriously! So welcome May and my second attempt at Blog Every Day in May with Rosalilium. I really enjoyed the challenge last year and even though I didn't make it all the way through, it was a very good attempt and a lot of fun. So, if you are new around here then welcome to my little web space and I hope you'll stick around!

 Here's a little spiel about me....
...I'm 32 (eeek!!) a mum of one, freelance writer / exhibition researcher / heritage education project manager! 
...I love clothes, accessories, history (obvs!) travelling, all things Parisian, Motorsport, clean eating and fitness.
...At the moment most likely to find me stressing over project funding applications, driving and museum cut backs!
... I'm also putting myself on a spending ban this month. I tried in January and let's just say I didn't make it the whole month, but this month I have to. Things have changed jo wise and I don't have much of an income at the moment and I have spent so much recently. Wish me luck!! 

My blog represents my life and my interests. Up until now I've not blogged much about my work, but as I'm working more for myself this may change. I also want to improve my photography and as I'm at home more now I may get chance to figure out how to use my new camera. You can expect to find posts about days out, fashion, beauty, interiors (as I'm decorating my house), healthy living and anything else in between. I'd love you to join me on my #BEDM journey. I'm looking forward to meeting some new people and getting to know everyone better. Here's to a good month!

Amy-Louise
xx



Linking up with #BEDM

Tuesday, 29 April 2014

Sun Salutations

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At this precise moment I'm wishing that the weather would stop teasing us with the beautiful warm sun, then cruelly sending a rain shower to bring us back to reality that it is in fact only April. I'm hoping that with May just around the corner, the sun will warm up just a bit more so that I can practise Pilates or yoga out in the garden without the risk of getting a chill or a soaking. 

Although I'm dreaming of creating a corner in my garden for such purposes, mine isn't actually that private so I'm more than likely going to use my parents, who have a beautifully enclosed and private garden, which also happens to be a sun trap.

It would seem that I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest 'researching' my perfect garden lately and these are my favourite three...

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I could see me losing hours in the sun practising and although I won't be getting a space like any of these for a long while, I just need the sun to come out so I can pretend! 

Amy-Louise
xx 

Linking up with IBOT, Random Wednesday

Monday, 28 April 2014

Starting Afresh


By the time you read this, I will probably be struggling to get an over anxious child to school, on what will be her first day back after nearly four weeks off due to illness and Easter holidays.  I am dreading it as Monday mornings are usually stressful enough without the extended absence but at the same time I am more than ready to get some normality and routine back in our lives. 

Today will also see the first day of my new 'normal' week. Due to drastic council budget cuts, my job has been cut to just two mornings per week meaning that I will be mostly at home during the week whilst Megan is at school. I am unsettled and nervous about the financial situation I now see myself in, but on another hand I am relishing the opportunity of having the time to work on other areas of my life that I have been unable to do recently. I have had a few projects in mind for a little while now and I guess this is the perfect opportunity to realise these dreams or to at least see if they are viable. I can't take forever in the planning as realistically I need to get things moving as soon as possible, I have a roof to keep over my head and a daughter to provide for. I am excited at the challenge but I won't lie, I have spent many a restless, sleepless night worrying about everything. I can't say too much more at the moment, but I have a lot of work to do this week to get things off the ground. As the saying goes... today is the first day of the rest of my life! 

I hope you have had a lovely weekend and here's to a productive week ahead!
Amy-Louise
xx

Linking up with Monday Morning Gossip, IBOT, Random Wednesday