2018 is here and I have loved reading other people’s 2017 round up posts so I thought I’d put together a little one of my own.
If you read this post, you’ll know that 2017 didn’t start in a great way for me. It was actually downright shit, and it’s been a tough year dealing with it. And with a few other low points in the year in other areas of my life, I would definitely say overall as a year 2017 was not one of my favourites. But looking back, there have been some wonderful moments that will stay with me forever and have made me extremely happy, and today I’d like to share a few of those with you.
But this time, I want to share the photos that wouldn’t normally make the cut for my blog, my iPhone photos. My phone is with me pretty much all day everyday and I capture all of those life moments on it that you wouldn’t necessarily pick up a regular camera to document, so I thought it would be the perfect way to reflect on 2017 and show a few things you may not have already seen on my blog, YouTube or Instagram.
The contents of my camera roll in January consisted of a few selfies and that’s about it, so we’re skipping right on through to February as our first port of call.
February
We spent our first Valentines Day in our new home, which felt like a very fancy affair at our very own dining table with a Waitrose meal deal. Living the dream we were! (Side note – eagle eyed readers will notice thats a bottle of Prosecco and those are wine glasses, this is back before I convinced Luke we needed two champagne flutes that have been used precisely once since we bought them. 2017 was a year of convincing Luke we desperately needed things for our house that I thought were cute or would make us good hosts ha!)
Crisp dog walks in the woods with our new iPhones to take the Portrait Mode for a whirl. Safe to say it’s been one of my favourite new gimmicks of 2017.
April
At the start of April we headed up to London to see the city from the sky with a trip up the Shard. I’m not great with heights and it did take a bit of coaxing to get me to stand near the edge. Which was fine for a while until the police helicopter started circling us. That most definitely did not set me at ease when 800ft up in the air.
Afterwards we dined at the Marco Pierre White London Steakhouse Co. I’ve never eaten a steak in a restaurant before but despite my lack of steak experience I can honestly say this was one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten. The meat was perfectly cooked, the mash was the most velvety smooth mash I could dream of and the green beans were a revelation. 10/10 would recommend.
Of course I also baked Luke a birthday cake. The red dripping icing didn’t quite go to plan but it’s the thought that counts eh?
April brought our amazing trip to the Riviera Maya, Mexico where we stayed in a gourmet all inclusive resort with the most picturesque white sand beach and the best holiday food I’ve ever eaten. And to top it off, a trip to see a Wonder of the World, Chichen Itza!
May
May heralded the start of the so-called British summer. Working full-time, I don’t feel as though I really had a summer this year with all of the good weather happening in May and June during the week, but we did manage to squeeze in a trip or two to the beach with a nice helping of fish and chips. This is definitely something I’d like to do more often this summer.
June
With June my birthday arrived. 26 years young (or so I’m trying to tell myself) and a visit to Hever Castle was my day-out of choice. I forgot how lovely the grounds are and I would love to visit again this year on a super sunny day.
As with birthdays, parties were also a feature in June. We hosted two on the same weekend, a friends BBQ on the Saturday following my birthday and a family one on the Sunday. Both were a great success and allowed us to use our new decking which Luke built for us over the Easter weekend.
The parties were also an opportunity to take my new bar cart for a spin. My labour of love that took what felt like a lifetime to make. I’m so excited to use it again this year and host many more BBQs in our little home.
July
Handy Andy came out to play again in July as Luke laid artificial grass for us which I am so pleased with and ultra happy we decided to just do it. Becoming a homeowner really has made Luke very handy to have around and I’m so proud of all the new DIY skills he’s taught himself in 2017.
Me and my mum headed to Liverpool for our annual Clothes Show trip in its new location. The visit consisted of many cocktails on the Albert Dock. Same again this year and I cannot wait!
And we couldn’t take a trip to Liverpool without popping over the Mersey to see the motherland. I’m not technically from Birkenhead but it is most definitely my spiritual home with most of my family being born and brought up there. Naturally we stopped off at a few of my favourite haunts like Birkenhead Park. These rocks used to be one of my favourite places when I was a kid.
No trip would be complete without a quick drive by at Park Gate. Nicholls Ice Cream is the absolute one.
July also brought sleepy dogs on Portrait Mode. I told you it was my favourite techy gimmick of 2017.
At the end of July my favourite travel compadre and I jumped on a plane to a very sunny (and sticky) Barcelona for a few days of fun in the sun. More long weekend city breaks in 2018 please!
August
With August arrived one of my best friend’s hen dos. We had a sleepover, followed by Go Ape and afternoon tea, the perfect way to celebrate one of my lifelong friend’s final few weeks as a Miss!
I baked another cake (more successful than my last) and borrowed champagne flutes from my mum (I only had two!)
In honour of my wonderful Nan, we took a trip through the Kent countryside on an old steam train whilst dining on fish and chips. Trains and fish and chips were two of her favourite things so it seemed quite apt to book ourselves a few seats on this quirky evening out as little Aud most definitely would have jumped at the chance.
My mum treated us to massages and afternoon tea at the beautiful Eastwell Manor on the most glorious sunny day. If only every day in the English summer could be like this.
At the close of August we set off on our epic cross-Europe road trip to my best friend’s wedding in Austria. First stopping off in the charming city of Cologne. Now firmly on our hit-list for a Christmas market re-visit.
Before fulfilling one of my childhood dreams by visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle. One thing on my bucket list ticked off!
September
In September we arrived in Zell Am See, Austria to see my best friend get married. I still can’t get over how much I loved this day and how special it was to be there.
We arrived home from the wedding to this little prize win by Luke. We need to book a beach holiday this year so we can whip out our Giraffamingo. Naturally we blew it up in the living room first to test it out, little rooms and big inflatables don’t really mix unfortunately, otherwise this could have been a firm fixture for seating.
September also saw the wedding of two more of our friends (a little closer to home this time). Another wonderful day and night of celebrating with friends and toasting to all of the happiness.
October
On the 1st October I treated my mum (trying out her best blogger pose) to a visit to Blenheim Palace and afternoon tea at The Orangery. We also became annual pass holders so I must make sure I visit again this year, I’ve been eyeing up one of the car events which look amazing!
Another highlight in October was more home decorating with our gallery wall in the office finally coming to fruition. I love it so much as it just represents ‘us’ and who we are together.
To close out the month for Halloween me and my work wife dressed as the iconic Ab Fab. Thinking this should be my aesthetic for 2018?
November
In the penultimate month of the year I saw John Bishop live at the 02 with the most perfect seats.
And was delighted to be asked by my work wife to be a bridesmaid at her 2019 wedding. Cyprus here we come!
December
The final month of 2017 opened with decorating our little home for our second Christmas together. The festive period really is one of our favourites, getting our tree out and festooning every nook and cranny with decorations makes me so happy.
December also gave us the most magical visit to New York. I vlogged the whole thing if you want to see/know more but in short, it was fantastic. 11/10 would recommend.
I mean, snow, in Central Park, at Christmas. Could you really ask for more?
Next year’s Christmas lights goals courtesy of Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.
Ice skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park for free. Jammy or what.
When we arrived home I had the excitement of buying my first ever real Christmas tree. Because what house doesn’t need an upstairs tree as well as a downstairs tree?
Managed to squeeze in one last use of the ol’ passport with a few hours in Bruges mid-December.
And we finished off 2017 by hosting our first ever Christmas dinner. It was a bit late but no one died from food poisoning so I’d call that a success!
2017 you were shit, and you were great. Here’s to 2018 and another year of memories to last a lifetime.
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