Meeting Christina Perri

On Saturday 22nd November, I was lucky enough to attend a meet and greet to meet Christina Perri before her gig at the Ritz in Manchester.

I was so excited to meet her. I love her music, and even walked down the aisle to her song 'A Thousand Years'!

I got to the venue for about quarter to 5. We got early entry so that we could meet her and then head to the front of the gig, which was nice. We all queued up in a big room, and as we were waiting for her to arrive we could hear her doing sound check. She sounded so good, so that got me very excited for the actual gig!

She came in to the room and we all got a couple of minutes with her. We were limited to one photo each as there was a lot of people there to meet her.

She gave me the biggest hug as I walked up to her. She was so nice. Asked me my name, how I was, what I do etc. I of course told her about walking down the aisle to her song, and she was so chuffed, which was lovely. I had a picture with her, which she looks absolutely stunning in! (she makes me look.. blah. haha) She signed my ticket and the little reel of photos we got of her. We also got a little candle which says "till our lives are burning gold" on the front, which is a quote from one of her songs.

She was absolutely brilliant, her voice is amazing live. If you ever get the chance to see her, definitely go!

I vlogged the meet and greet and bits of the gig... so if you want to see what the meet and greet was like, or get an idea for what she is like live, head over to my YouTube channel. Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/wQxe-1r2DD8?list=UUtkHPCprLW67wcze0b_7kvw
I have done a couple of other videos so please check them out too, and subscribe if you like! I really enjoy making them and it takes a decent amount of time to film, edit and upload, so I hope people enjoy watching them and that I can build up a bit of a YouTube friend base :)

I am planning to do a November favourites video and blog soon. Hoping to get that filmed and written next weekend!

Sarah x

Manchester, Cocktails and a Catch Up

One of the best things about working in the city centre is most definitely the night life. I'm not one for going clubbing all night long. I would much rather find a nice bar to have drinks and actually be able to talk to my friends in. I am aware that makes me sound old... but what's the point in a catch up if you can't hear them!?

Last night I met one of my best friends, Emma. We both work all week long and don't get to see each other that often now, so when we do meet up it's always a lovely catch up!

We met after work and headed to the Deaf Institute for food and a couple of cocktails. Deaf Institute is one of the many gig venues in Manchester. It's one of the small ones, a cute intimate one. I have seen Gabrielle Aplin play there before which was fantastic. There is a bar downstairs that does food, and it's pretty decent! I love the décor in the bar too.

After we finished our BBQ pulled pork burgers (so good!) we headed to Revolution, which is a bar. We had a few cocktails there and they had a duo performing on an acoustic guitar covering a lot of oldies but goodies which was a lovely backing to our catch up and gossip!

I had such a lovely evening. I highly recommend both of these bars if you ever find yourself in Manchester, UK. But you can't really go wrong whatever your scene, whether that is nice bars, or if you prefer to go clubbing. There are lots and lots of brilliant places to go.

I would say Revolution is one of my favourites, because the cocktails there are really good. Another one of my favourites is called Dog Bowl. It is a bar/restaurant and also has 5 ten-pin bowling lanes, which is really fun when having a few drinks with friends!

Sarah x

Date Night

It sounds like the most obvious thing in the world, really. But making sure you actually spend time with your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife is SO important.

It is very easy to get into the habit of just being in the same house or doing the things you always do when in each other's company, and not really making the effort to talk to your partner. Away from all the distractions in the house like phones, computers, TV etc.

Relationships, from what I have seen and on a few occasions experienced, don't just keep going without actually working hard at them. We all change as we get older and move through different stages in our lives. To help a relationship keep working, I think it is very important to keep dating (the person you are with of course!!).

I have been with Bob for five years now, we have been married for two years and four months, and we still take a night out of each month to go out for a meal and have a really good catch up and talk about anything and everything.

I am going through changes at work as I am being promoted and it's getting a heck of a lot busier, and Bob is director of a company so he is always crazy busy too, so it's really nice for us to sit down and let each other know where we're up to. I think it helps us grow together as a couple.

I really enjoy date nights. They are very special.

I hope everyone else does the same and takes the time to keep getting to know their loved one. Its so, so important :)

Sarah x

Accentuate The Positive. Eliminate The Negative.

This is my new favourite saying. Definitely something to try and live by.

Life deals out some real shit sometimes. And you can either let it get you down, or you can take a moment to process it, and then move forward... try to eliminate the negative.

I want to spread some positive today. So there you go. Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.

When you are hit with a negative, remember you can overcome anything. And there are people around you to help pick you back up when you are feeling down.


In other news...

I started a vlog! Which is slightly terrifying! My friend Katey uploaded her first vlog, and it really gave me the little push I needed to really want to just get on with it :)
Please go and check out my first vlog. It's just a little introduction. I filmed it on my iPhone, and did it in one take so I didn't have to tackle editing just yet... so I hope the quality isn't too bad! I plan on making nice happy videos. I just hope that people will enjoy watching me and subscribe to me. We'll see ey. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkHPCprLW67wcze0b_7kvw

I have downloaded an editing programme, so hopefully the next one will be a little more professional!

Sarah x

Scream Park UK - Event City, Manchester

Last night I went to the Scream Park at Event City in Manchester.

We went in quite a big group as it was an outing for Bob's work. I had never been to one of these scare parks before. It was very well put together and was a really fun night.

I know it isn't really supposed to be 'fun', but at the end of the day they are people and there is no way you would ever actually get hurt. Although the pitch black parts of the mazes were pretty scary just because a sudden scream made me jump a mile as I didn't expect it! Haha.

All the people working there looked really cool, the makeup was really effective. I bet it's really fun to work at those types of events. Several people in our group were having a good look at all of the costumes and makeup to get ideas for next Halloween :)

I took some pictures but the quality isn't great because it was really dark in the room, sorry!

It was such a good night. I was thinking about filming it and maybe starting a vlogging channel. But I don't think I'm quite ready to try that yet!

Sarah x

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween.

I have no idea why really. I never used to go trick-or-treating or have parties when I was younger.

I have a little tradition every year, that on Halloween, I snuggle up and watch Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas. I love Tim Burton, and Nightmare Before Christmas is definitely my favourite! Followed closely by Corpse Bride, which I also watch every Halloween.

For the past three years our friends have hired out a room at a cricket club in Bolton. They decorate the whole room which always looks absolutely brilliant. After the first year (when we didn't really make a huge amount of effort on our costumes, having never really done Halloween parties) we realised we had to up our game. So the second year we went, we really did up our game. There is a theme emerging here if you hadn't noticed...

Jack and Sally! I loved dressing as Sally :) Will be keeping that one safe for another year! My sister dressed as The Crow, her makeup looked really cool. And she helped us with ours too.

Last year I went as a corpse bride, but for some reason we don't have any pictures!

There was no party this year, as our friends who usually organise it all have just had a baby. So we just had a chilled one this time, and hopefully the party will be back next year!

This year just consisted of a little decoration and the films mentioned above.

One of our clients from work invited us to join in with their pumpkin carving competition. No one was really bothered, but we figured we had to at least show willing. So I said I would have a go, even though I had never carved a pumpkin before. I was really pleased with how it turned out, especially with it being the first one I'd ever done.

Again, definite theme..

When asked to do a pumpkin for Halloween, there was only ever going to be one character I was going to do now, wasn't there? And Jack won a prize. Woo! There were a few different categories they were judging for. He won the 'loveliest pumpkin'. Now, he definitely wasn't supposed to look lovely... But I'm not complaining. Glad they liked him, and the hour and a half it took to carve him didn't go to waste! We have won a kilo of Thornton's chocolate, which I will be sharing with the office on Monday.

I look forward to next Halloween, and hopefully some new cool costumes to show you!

Happy Halloween (better a day late than never!).

Sarah x

A Quick Update, Twin Atlantic and Friends

Hello!

It has been far too long since I last blogged. Shame on me!! I will do a little update instead of having to post several posts in one day. So, to keep it short and sweet..

Our lovely friends from Torquay came to stay with us for a week at the very end of September / the very start of October. We had such a lovely time with them. Stayed in Manchester for most of the week and went to The Lakes for a few days too! It's not often you meet a couple you both really get on with and that are on the complete same wavelength as us, so it was really nice being able to spend the week with them. I wish they didn't live so far away!

My birthday was on Wednesday 22nd October, woo! I am a very boring 24 now. How the heck did that happen.. Where does time go?! Had a nice day, even though I was in work. And had a lovely meal out in the evening. I also went to Chester Zoo on the Saturday with my Dad and my little brother Thomas, who is 1. It was so cute to see him studying every single animal with a very serious look on his face, and then suddenly laughing and smiling away at them. SO CUTE!

I've been promoted at work!! Yaaay! Moving on from my facilitator role and progressing on to being a secretary, which is very exciting. Glad they trust in me enough to help me move onwards and upwards. Very happy!

And now to the present:

I have just got home from an amazing night spent at the Manchester Academy seeing Twin Atlantic. They were sooooo good.. As always. I love them so much. I have been listening to them for a fair few years now and I don't think I'll ever get tired of listening to them. They are so good live. If you ever get the chance to see them.. Go! They are definitely in my top 3 favourite bands. Love love love.

Had an awesome night. I went with a life long friend, Lucy, who I haven't seen in a while and don't see half as much as I would like to. So it was really nice to have a good catch up with her, enjoy a few drinks and have a good boogie and sing along with the lovely Twin Atlantic boys. I love checking out what merch bands have on sale, and I treated myself to a snuggly jumper, and a mug too!

I will be better at blogging from now on, I promise! :)

 

Sarah x

To Write Love On Her Arms

Today I received the stuff I ordered from TWLOHA. And I love them so I thought I would do a quick post about them.

I have supported To Write Love On Her Arms for many years now, and I have bought several shirts. I think the reason I support them continuously is because I hate the thought that people out there think that they don't matter. Or think that they can't ask for help, whether that be because they are struggling with anxiety, depression, drugs, self harm or anything else for that matter. It's just awful thinking that a lot of people might not have anyone there to help them and give them hope that everything will be ok and that they can get better. TWLOHA reach out to those people, and that's just amazing.

TWLOHA help spread hope and love. They help people overcome some really dark, hard times. And even get as involved as helping people with treatment. And I think that's unbelievable. If only everyone in this world could show the same kindness they do, the world would be a much more beautiful place.

Every single person matters. Your story matters. No one can play your part.

So! Every now and then, as a way of donating money to this wonderful cause, I buy a tshirt, or jumper, or something along those lines.

This month I went for the collaboration with Christina Perri tank top in white. The lyrics on the front are from her song Believe, which is on her new album Head Or Heart. (It's a lovely, brilliant album. Go get it!) Believe was written with TWLOHA in mind, so it's very fitting. This will be nice to wear with jeans or leggings, with a cardigan probably, now it's getting colder and colder!

I think I'll probably be wearing this when I meet her in November. Exciting! I have a meet and greet ticket for her Manchester show in the UK. Yay!

I also went with something a bit different. They have made a couple of their tshirt designs in to prints, or posters. I bought this one because when I read this blog (on their website, it's called 'there is still some time), which was written by their founder Jamie Tworkowski, it really got to me (in a very good, wow kind of way) it's a real pick-me-up piece. And so I have bought it, and I'm going to frame it and put up in what will be our study, we are currently in the process of swapping some rooms round in our house to make room for a study!

Check out the blog here: http://twloha.com/blog/there-still-some-time

The print is available here: http://store.twloha.com/collections/accessories/products/there-is-still-some-time-print

The tank top is here: http://store.twloha.com/collections/girls/products/christina-perri-sleeveless-shirt

I love these items. Go check To Write Love On Her Arms out if you've never heard of them. They're amazing.

Sarah x

Dubrovnik, Croatia

On Sunday 24th August 2014, Bob and I went on holiday to Dubrovnik with his Mum and Dad, his brother and his brother's girlfriend. Bob's Mum and Dad booked this trip for us all, and I don't think we would have even thought of going to Dubrovnik if it wasn't for them making the decision, so I am very grateful they did! I cannot recommend visiting Dubrovnik enough.

We stayed in Lapad, which was about a 5 minute bus ride away from the old town. I think this was a brilliant idea as it was away from the hustle and bustle of the busy old town, but close enough that we could go visit the old town as much as we wanted throughout the week. The hotel was lovely (we stayed in the Grand Hotel Park), the room was half board, so we got breakfast and our evening meal in with the room price, and surprisingly the food was really nice! I tend to find that buffet style hotel meals are a bit of a let down, but this one was really good. We ate in there every morning, and all but one evening.
The hotel had an outdoor and indoor pool and a gym. We went for a swim every morning before breakfast, and I would have loved to use the gym but I forgot my trainers, doh!
There was a strip of bars and restaurants just around the corner from the hotel which was very handy. And it was only a short walk down to the sea. Note: Dubrovnik does not have sandy beaches (at least not in the area we visited), just rocks. This didn't bother me at all, as I'm not one for lying on a beach all day getting sand absolutely everywhere, but just in case you were wondering. It's not too bad, as places provided sun loungers. The one time I did a bit of sunbathing I just lay on my towel on the big rocks and it was fine.

We visited the old town many times. The architecture was absolutely incredible. The old town is surrounded by a huge wall with two big gated entrances. The whole place is just stunning. The weather was amazing too. Sunshine and clear skies all week - I actually got a tan for the first time in years! Woo!

During our time there we did a couple of trips. One was to an island across from the old town called Lokrum. We caught a boat from the old town harbour which took about 10-15 minutes. The island was gorgeous. It had the ruins of the old monastery on it, other than that it just had a little cafe. It was such a beautiful island to walk around. It was a very popular spot to relax. This is where we spent a very chilled out day sunbathing and swimming. Also on this island, hundreds of peacocks! The monks brought some over for the gardens and because there are no predators there they just multiplied! There were loads, and the little babies were all wandering around too, so cute! (pictures below)

A few weeks before we went I found out that Dubrovnik old town is in fact the location used to film Kings Landing in the television series Game Of Thrones! I am a huge fan of GoTs, so this was incredibly exciting to find out. I booked a walking tour of the filming locations through Viator. It was a little on the expensive side for the two of us, but I would say it was SO worth it. Our tour guide Maria was so nice, and she really knew her stuff. Not just about GoTs, but all of the Dubrovnik history too. It was a very interesting tour, and we got to see a lot of filming sites and learned how it was all done etc. We even saw the location where the purple wedding was filmed!! If you are a Game of Thrones fan and you ever find yourself in Dubrovnik, I highly recommend the tour. It was fantastic.

Everyone we met were so lovely and very helpful. I loved our time in Dubrovnik so much, we had decided after one day that we would definitely be going back there in future. To be honest, I would have been extremely happy to just stay there forever. If it wasn't for George waiting for us to come home I would have been very tempted! Haha. It was the first time we had left George for a week, so we really couldn't wait to get home and see him. He stayed at our friend's house for the week, and he was a very well behaved boy *proud mummy* (:

Here are some pictures I took:

 The view from our hotel room

 

 Stradun

(the main street in the old town)

 

 Looking out from the old town harbour

 

Fort Lovrijenac 

Inside Fort Lovrijenac

Dubrovnik old town 

View from the wall 

View of the Stradun from the wall 

 Old town

 

 Arboretum Trsteo

(where the palace gardens are filmed

in Game of Thrones)

 

 Game of Thrones tour

 

Lokrum 

 Inside the Cave Bar, Lapad

 

 The last night we ate in a restaurant next to the

huge old university building

 

 Stradun at night

 

Sunset from our balcony

 

 

Aah, take me back!

 

Sarah x