A lot has happened...

Firstly I should apologise for my sudden 'disappearance' from the blogsphere, sadly I have been just too busy to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard as I should say.

Since I last blogged on September 13 a few things have happened....

1. My mum finally married my step-dad in a lovely service, albeit a slightly rude vicar, at the local church where I grew up.

The wedding party photo!

As I'm sure all you girlie's are wondering the dress was a white, halter neck, backless affair with a medium length train; and was quite honestly stunning. The bride, aka 'mummy' looked absolutely gorgeous.

2. I have started my third and final (thank-god) year of uni and as always, am already behind. Dissertations, advanced projects, eughh - sick of lectures #wannabeintherealworld 

3. I'd also like to announce that the boyfriend and I celebrated our one year anniversary in true style, by getting ENGAGED! 

THE RING! Isn't it gorgeous? 

In case you were wondering we're not planning an engagement party just yet, and although we can't wait to get married we have agreed to wait a few years before doing so, as lets be honest weddings don't come cheap and we're totally skint! 

On the upside my newly engaged status does allow me to browse the bridal mags, after all weddings can take years to plan...no harm in starting early. 

Cheltenham's Top Lunch time Eateries - YO!Sushi

Fancy something a bit different this lunchtime? Then why not spend your lunch break filling your face at YO! Sushi - Cheltenham's hottest new lunchtime hang-out. Serving a selection of 80 Japanese inspired dishes including rice, noodles, sashimi, tempura, hand rolls, desserts, and of course my new fishy favourite, deep-fried Hairy Prawns - this Autumn YO!Sushi is definitely the place to be. 

Cheltenham's hottest new lunchtime hang-out.

Until yesterday, I had in fact never set foot inside a YO!Sushi or any other sushi restaurant for that matter. You see, I didn't find the idea of eating raw fish all that appealing. However, the fiancé, who happens to be a major food lover, managed to temp me into trying some sushi in a Chinese restaurant a few weeks ago, since then the idea of YO!Sushi became increasingly appealing; the delicious sticky rice, the salty soy sauce and of course, the perfectly prepared fish - the cravings were starting to get too much. So, yesterday when the fiancés sister came to see our new house and suggested we head to YO! for a spot of lunch, who was I to say no.

Yo!'s delicious Hairy Prawns.

Fun Fact of the Day: contrary to popular belief, YO!Sushi does in fact serve a selection of cooked fish, meat and vegetable dishes, so if you suffer from eating-raw-fish-phobia fear not, you are still at liberty to enjoy the succulent tastes of YO!'s finest food.

Money trouble? Get furniture for free!

I don't know about you, but these days I find myself constantly counting the pennies; I'm so skint that a couple of weeks ago I had no choice but to order a tap water whilst at a 'coffee' meeting in Starbucks with a colleague - it's okay, I blamed wanting just water on the warm weather.

Constantly counting the pennies?

My money trouble began when this year, for the first time ever, I struggled to get a summer job, meaning that for the past couple of months I have had to all but beg, borrow and steal my rent money, scraping it together from odd jobs, a tax rebate and even a deposit reimbursement from my old Landlord. I'll admit it's been tough, the worst part being that for the previous three months I have not set foot inside a coffee or clothes shop, my wardrobe is seriously out of fashion and my Starbucks cravings are at an all time high.

Obviously having just moved into our first flat, having a cash flow problem meant that the boyfriend and I struggled with furnishing it, however thanks to our parents, the Cheltenham Freecycle and the new British Heart Foundation shop on the high street, we managed to furnish it without breaking the bank.

Since the recession hit Britain a few years ago, the majority of Brits felt the pinch, and with government budget cuts only adding to the problem, people like myself with little spare cash in the bank had no choice but to cut back on luxuries.

But with furniture restoration schemes and re-cycling projects at an all time high, there is no need to go without. Furniture re-cycling has become so fashionable that Channel four's property guru Kirstie Allsopp recently aired a new home improvement show dedicated to furniture re-cycling - Kirstie Allsopp's Fill Your House For Free, complete with it's own shop selling, or I should say 'giving away' re-cycled furniture for FREE!

Learn how to fill your house for free with Kirstie Allsopp

Kirstie's shop may be in Scotland, a little far from Chelts, but believe it or not within our little racing town we have our own hidden gems: Emmaus charity shop, selling old furniture for budget prices, the British Heart Foundation furniture shop, selling not just re-cycled furniture but also fridges, cookers and all manner of other electrical items, complete with a year-long guarantee. Or if low priced furniture is still above your budget then the Cheltenham Freecycle is one of the best resources for for free furniture and other unwanted household items.

Believe it or not our sofa, DVD player and vintage style cream bin all came from the Cheltenham Freecycle, and all in great condition.

The thing to remember with re-cycled furniture is that despite appearances, with a creative eye and a lick of paint there really is no limit to what you can do with any piece of unwanted furniture. It really is all about seeing past how it looks and imagining how it could be. Old furniture is ideal for creating that pretty vintage look, a lick of paint, some wire wool and hey-presto you've got yourself some vintage style furniture.

Cheltenham's Top Lunch time Eateries - Paparrito's Mexican Cantina

For a delicious, authentic taste of Mexico, why not spend your lunch time enjoying a Paparrito's. Serving a selection of burritos, tacos and mexican-style salads complete with a choice of meats: free-range chicken, Hereford Beef, special cut braised beef and special cut braised pork, all served with a choice of white or brown rice, pinto or black beans and a range of salsas and additional extras; the food at Paparrito's rarely disapoints.

Paparrito's crispy tacos

Since opening around eight months ago, my boyfriend and I have become regular guests at Paparrito's - for my boyfriend, a major foodie, it was love at first site. I myself took a little more convincing, you see I've never been a lover of spice and my first thought when mexican was mentioned was that it would be too spicy; I'm the kind of girl who always orders a korma or uses Greek yogurt to dilute anything with even a hint of spice. However, fortunatley for me each meat is only lightly marinaided in gentle spices, with the real kick added with choice of salsa - mild, medium or hot. Being a spice-wuss I religiouly request mild, and of course a cheeky extra ladle of sour cream.

The boyfriend enjoying a pre-car journey Paparrito's



Shopping in Chelts

Shopping in Cheltenham is about to get a lot more interesting with H&M's new flagship store opening in just over a week on Cheltenham High Street.

H&M is well and truely on the way!

With high street shopping centre Regent Arcade's 20 million pound renovation, including the extension of TK Maxx and River Island's new much larger store, located next door to the new H&M, shopping in Cheltenham is changing - for the better.

Now coming complete with a Topshop, Newlook, Accessorize, Jack Wills, River Island and as of September 19th, a H&M, shopping in Cheltenham has never been better. Plus with student loans coming in in a couple of weeks and not to mention my 21st birthday heading this way at the end of the month, I would say it is definitly time for a serious shopping spree.

A little bit about moi...

I grew up in a little house in 'sunny' south Devon, complete with the customary country-side field of cows just beyond the back garden, and the beach just a few minutes walk away.

Devon really is a beautiful place...

With this idylic sounding lifestyle you're probably wondering why on earth I left, but in all honesty and despite the outstanding beauty of the South West and the wonderful ability to arrive at the beach in a matter of minutes, once you finish school and start to grow up the 'nothingness' of the countryside tends to lose its charm, especially when you reach that age of wanting to go out, hit the shops on an almost daily basis and order take-away at four in the morning - living in the middle of nowhere, it just isn't a possability.

So nearly three years ago, in Septmeber 2011 I left the comfort of my family home and moved to Cheltenham to begin life as a university student.

Life as a university Fresher

I spent my first two years in Cheltenham living in a student house in Marle Hill Parade, near St Pauls, aka the dodgy end, but have more recently upgraded to a small one-bedroom flat in the town centre complete with a selection of vintage furniture, four cats and a live-in boyfriend - it's all pretty ideal. Sure we don't have much money, especially with me being a student and all, and I'll admit the carpets are a little grundgy but having our own place is great, plus it's pretty much next door to Taylor's pub and a two minute walk to both Kukui and MooMoos - perfect for a night on the town.

(Just in case you were wondering about the four cats, let me just clarify that I am not in fact a 'crazy cat woman' the four cats happened pretty much by accident - it's a long and boring story.)

Apologies!

I apologise for my absence over the previous few weeks a lot has been happening - from a crazy family camping trip to the spur of the moment purchase of two insanly gorgeous kittens! .... Meet Alfie and Binky!

Alfie (left) & Binky (right)