A Sunny January Day

It was Michael's last day off work after Christmas when we woke up to this beautiful blue sky.

We couldn't not make the most of it! 

So I decided to pitch the idea of driving to Woodstock to have a walk around the gardens of Blenheim Palace.

This is the view as you first drive through the gates and down the driveway. I couldn't help but wonder how magical this place would have been for someone to live a few hundred years ago.

We walked around the lake, do not be fooled, despite the sun- it was FREEZING! 

We then grabbed some lunch and a hot chocolate in the cafe before taking a walk up to the Pleasure Gardens which is perfect for children! 

There are giant out door games such as chess, and a maze which we eventually managed to find our way out of! As well as an adventure playground. 

Blenheim Palace would definitely be a perfect summer holiday day out! 

The butterfly garden was closed (not that I would have gone in anyway as that kind of thing scares me lol) but I'm sure if you're into that kind of thing it would be lovely! 

It cost us £10 each to get into the park and gardens for the day with student discount which we felt was definitely worth it. (This was also on a bank holiday Monday which online it says concessions don't count but definitely worth a try!) 

The gardens were stunning, and as you can see it was edging towards 4pm at this point and the sun was setting. 

It was the perfect time for a lakeside walk! 

There was still an exhibition on which meant there was all sorts of different lighting displays and things all around the grounds which was really beautiful.

We also noticed that they had turned the boathouse over the lake into a lovely little Santa's Grotto, which might be something to think about for next year! 

As you can sort of see in this photo, there were hot chocolate, mulled wine and roasted chestnut stalls all around the grounds too which gave such a nice atmosphere. 

And the waterfall was just lovely!

We definitely made the most of this lovely day, I would definitely recommend visiting Blenheim Palace if you get the chance or fancy a spur of the moment day out! 

This definitely blew away any January blues we had.

'til next time,

Hannah xo

A Festive Food Market

One of my favourite things about living in Sheffield is that there always seems to be something going on. 

Today I popped into town to run some errands and stumbled across a huge food market which ran the full stretch of the high street. 

There were stalls selling foods from countries all over Europe.

I spoke to a few of the people running some of the stalls to find out what was going on. 

This event is know as Marketplace. Traders from all over Europe can pay to have their stall as part of the market that tours all over the country. 

We couldn't believe the vast range of food these stalls offered and the amazing quality of all of the food that was available. 

This event has been in Sheffield for the last few days and tomorrow is their last day. 

Their next stop is Glasgow, before moving on to Norwich, Newcastle and Exeter before continuing their journey. 

Of course we got a crepe! It would've been rude not to, and they were delicious!! 

This stall was by Bedazzled Cupcakes, I spoke to the man running this stall who told me what it was all about!
(Thank you nice man) 

Today is a freezing cold day up north and seeing this in town created such a festive atmosphere. 

I will link the Marketplace website so you can check out whether they're coming to a place near you this festive season! 

Marketplace Europe

I hope you enjoyed this post, I'm so pleased I stumbled across this today and I strongly recommend you check it out if you get the chance! 

'til next time,

Hannah xo

First Month, Fresher's Flu and Homesickness

After a month at uni I've come to the conclusion that I think I'm going to enjoy it here. 

However, that doesn't mean that being here is at all easy. 

Aside from the cooking, money management, cleaning, laundry and doing a degree, just being in a new place has been hard enough recently. 

I've not experienced homesickness when away from home ever before. If I'm honest I didn't expect myself to struggle at all.

For the first few weeks it was pretty easy, but the last week or so I've hit a wall. 

I had a cold when I arrived at uni and it hasn't yet released me from it's grasp. I don't know if the relentless illness has played a role in my homesick feelings in the last week but I have a feeling it's been a contributing factor. 

Having Emetophobia is one of the things that made me most scared about living on my own. For anyone else who has it you'll know how scary it is to be away from your parents in this situation. So far I've managed to cope pretty well. 

Luckily, I've been surrounded by my lovely flatmates and friends from my course to help me through it and help me stay positive. 

I told myself before I moved to Sheffield that I would try and stay up here for the first term to get properly settled. I've managed to stick to that and I'm so proud of myself. 

There have been (very few) some days when I've wanted nothing more than to go back to my house, my room, my family and my 'normal'. 

But as each day goes by, this is becoming my normal. 

I've found keeping busy to be the best way to get over how I've been feeling and I am definitely feeling a lot more positive this week. 

I know it isn't meant to be easy and weeks 4-6 are renowned for being the hardest weeks for Freshers. 

We've also decided that we're just going to have to accept this new lower level of health as we're just not sure whether this ever lingering Fresher's flu is ever going to get better. 

Now I'm feeling more positive I feel as though it is definitely time to start getting more involved in more of the things uni life offers and I'm so excited!

But also in saying that, I'm also super excited to go home for Christmas.

There's no place like home. 

'til next time

Hannah xo

For those of you who don't know- My Emetophobia Post