Things I have Liked and Loved in July 2018

July has been one of the hottest months in the UK that I think I have ever experienced, as expected though the weather seemed to wane the moment that the summer holidays actually arrived.

July has also been an incredibly busy month for my family and I. I feel as if we’ve barely had the time to stop for a second. Thankfully the summer holidays have now arrived and we can finally catch up on the mound of jobs which have been left waiting for far too long.

To celebrate the summer and to highlight the ‘positive points’ from the past month I have once again listed all the things which I have #LikedandLoved over this past month.

Camping With The Crew

It is always a delight to spend time with friends. However, this past month we have found ourselves squeezing in as much time as humanly possible with our good friends Lisa, Paddy, Vicky and Mike as Lisa and Paddy are about to fly home to the other side of the Earth.

We’ve had two camping trips with ‘the crew’, both of which were based in the woods and both of which we thoroughly enjoyed. We’ve made a heap of memories with these guys over the past year and I am heartbroken at the idea that things will no longer be quite the same.

My Terrific Twosome & Presentations Day

I remember once upon a time when I would have to palm our daughter off with the in-laws in order to attend a presentations ceremony or Christmas concert. These days though, both of our children are at school and I am incredibly lucky to be able to watch all of their ceremonies, services and such like. It was an absolute pleasure to watch our children stand on stage earlier month, they were each handed their end of year certificates and I couldn’t be a prouder parent if I tried. These two stunning little super stars have made such an incredible amount of progress over this past year and they continue to knock my socks off each and every day.

Schools Out For Summer

As you will be well aware, school is now officially out for the summer. The kids and I have been off for a week now and already we have enjoyed days out having picnics, playing at the park, battling with board games, baking, painting, crafting and all kinds of fun together as a family.

Sky Q & Multiroom

Paul and I have had a television in our room for almost five years now and although it was said to be ‘Freeview compatible’ and we hooked it up to an aerial it was never really much use. We tried our best to make use of the smart features included but that relied upon a steady internet connection which we certainly do not have.

Earlier this month we were given a rather tempting offer from Sky which we snapped up and as a result, we now have a brand new sky dish on the side of the house, a much faster and robust router, a Sky Q box in the living room and a Sky Q mini box in our bedroom which we are finally able to enjoy watching television upon.

It may have cost us slightly more than we wished but after years and years of trying alternative options we eventually gave in and went with the easiest solution.

Fiddling With Furniture

Following the tragic loss of our beautiful basset hound Molly earlier this month, I have since spent time gutting and rearranging the house in order to make things feel a little fresher. Despite our heartbreak, it has been some what of a relief to come downstairs each morning to find a clean kitchen.

I’ve moved the dining table, shifted around and sorted the cupboard contents, I have also replaced the ridiculous rickety curtains which were forever being pulled down by the pup. It has been quite cathartic to clean and organise our living, dining and kitchen area. Here’s hoping that in a few years we can rip the entire thing out and give our entire downstairs a whole new look.

The Greatest Showman

Our children are currently both mad about a movie which seems to have enticed most children in the uK.  ‘The Greatest Showman‘ has been on our screens at least once a day, almost every day of this past month. Whilst I don’t mind a bit of Hugh Jackman, there are only so many times I can sing along to ‘This Is Me’ although my children on the other hand, seem to have no problem whatsoever with singing these same songs each and every day.

It’s quite funny really as whilst E is all singing, all dancing and mad about Music, J hasn’t ever really been into Music all that much and yet he’s spent the past week jumping around, dancing about and hollering along to Hugh Jackman like there’s no tomorrow.

Parasols & Paddling Pools

As I said at the start of this post, this has been one of the hottest months I can remember in the UK. The children have made the very best of the sunshine by spending the majority of their time jumping in and out of paddling pools, one of which our puppy burst and we had to replace with a larger pool. Both J & E have spent hours running around the garden in next to nothing being sprayed with sprinklers, having buckets of water thrown their way and splashing about in the sunshine.

Being pasty pale, I have spent most of that time hiding under a parasol whilst sweating and sipping upon cold drinks. I don’t mind the sunshine and the heat was enjoyable but also exhausting.

Finalising Holiday Plans & Payments

We booked a holiday back in January which we’ve been paying towards ever since. This month we finally paid our final balance of our holiday and I cannot wait to get away. Whilst we’ve had almost two months of endless sunshine and I didn’t fare well with the heat, the sunshine abroad is entirely different as you are able to strip down to a swim suit and hop into the pool to cool off, that and the air is far less humid.

I can’t wait to pull out the suitcases and to get packing, I’ve got a few things yet to buy before we go but other than a spare pair of swim shorts for J, we’re almost ready to rock and roll.

Pampering with Massage and Nails

I’m a total princess when it comes to pampering, I’ve spent the past month switching between a range of colours on my nails and am currently sporting perfectly pretty rose gold nails. Earlier this month I also enjoyed a swedish full body massage with my good friend Amber and cannot wait to try her new ‘hot stones’ treatment!

Orange Is The New Black Season Six

Paul and I first began watching ‘OITNB’ in late April following subscribing for a free month with Netflix. We have since watched the entirety of season one, two, three, four and five which then left us waiting for the release of season six. Season six of Orange Is The New Black was launched last week and although we first thought that we would have to wait a week between each episode, we have since found that we are able to binge watch the entire season as all episodes are available to view. We are now half-way through season six and I’m utterly hooked.

Thanks again for reading my blog and I hope that you enjoyed reading what I #LikedAndLoved in July.

If you fancy sharing some of your own #LikedAndLoved points from the month then why not join in either through your own blog post or by leaving a comment below, I would love to hear what you #LikedAndLoved this month!