March and April In Review

Some snapshots from my week in Ireland!

Gallivanting around Edinburgh with my little brother

Silhouette of the Edinburgh skyline from the Crags

Exploring Stoneywell on Easter weekend

Birthday selfie with James

I decided to sum up March and April in the same post because by the time I got round to reviewing March it was already half way through April! I did the same last year so this is obviously a busy time of year for me…

As usual I’ve spent a lot of my time travelling. I’ve had 3 weekends in London, 2 trips home to Leicestershire and spent a week in Ireland as well as a day exploring Scotland. Phew, I feel tired just thinking about it! I also had a lovely weekend with my brother in Edinburgh and James has been able to spend a lot of time here too. As time goes on I get more and more impatient with the distance – with him in London and me in Edinburgh – so I’m really psyched for him to move in for a couple of months in summer. That he’s able to do this makes the distance a lot more bearable. Last year I spent July and August working myself to death on my dissertation, so the promise of a summer of free evenings and long weekends is endlessly exciting. I should be able to make the most of James’ stay much more than I could last year! I have a tendency to fill up my weekends with trips and plans (#firstworldproblems) so I cherish time at home with nothing much to do. This weekend has been a little like that. I’ve slept in, wandered around the park, gone grocery shopping – what more could you want from your time off?

For Easter weekend, some of my South African family came over to stay and it was amazing to catch up. With family that far away it’s really difficult to keep in touch so I made sure to be home in Leicestershire to see them. We had a big family Easter with a roast dinner, chocolate eggs and even a visit from the Easter bunny. There were so many people staying it felt a bit like Christmas, even though we never usually have so many people stay, even in December.

At the start of the month I had a week long holiday in Ireland with my friends. We squeezed 5 of us into my little silver car and bobbed over on the ferry. It was honestly some of the most fun I’ve ever had and I’m sure I’ll never forget it. We tried to fit a lot into our short stay, which consisted of wild swimming, eating, drinking, countryside exploring and running around Dublin. I’ll save the details for a separate blog post but that was really the highlight of the last couple of months. The week I returned to work was a bit of a shock to my system after such an adventurous holiday, especially because I was exhausted from all the driving.

Most importantly, I celebrated my birthday on Friday! I love birthdays and I’ve managed to plan a lot of fun activities using my birthday as an excuse. A week ago I spent a couple of nights with my parents and perused a new antiques shop in Leicester as well as my favourite vintage shop. We ended the day with a meal at a Chinese restaurant. It was perfectly chilled and I find there’s nothing more relaxing than being at home, surrounded by all the familiar comforts of my childhood. My wonderful friends threw me a surprise dinner party on Tuesday and I spent Friday road tripping around Scotland with James. I have more celebrations coming up too – next week I’ll be in York for the weekend for a delayed birthday trip!  Birthday? More like birthmonth. Have a wonderful May!