As promised in my last post, here is my bucket list for January. January is always a busy month in our house with friends birthdays, lovely hubby's birthday and family parties. There never seems to be enough hours in the day!

Here are my goals for the month:

Dry January
Well, here we are once more celebrating the start of a new year. It always takes me a few weeks to remember that we're not still in the previous year. I'll be writing 2016 for a while to come. Is that just me!

My first goal for this month is to complete Dry January. I was really pleased with myself last year as I completed the whole month. It was a struggle at times; especially on Steve's birthday when it would have been nice to have clinked a glass. The nice waiter who served us at Steve's birthday meal, made us a rather yummy mocktail which was a good substitute but this year we've decided to have a glass of bubbles to celebrate. So in a way, I'll be cheating but only for one evening. Surely, that's okay!

Make gin
One of the Christmas gifts we unwrapped from one of my daughters was a fabulous gin making kit. She knows us well. Before you think the temptation will be too much for me lol, I'll be making it towards the end of the month and giving it time to mature. The kit has everything in it you need apart from a bottle of vodka which we already had.
I have made damson gin in the past which was delicious so I'm looking forward to trying this.

Weekend trip
We always try to have a little getaway around Steve's birthday, it's become a tradition even though it's a chilly month.  With thermals, long johns and woollens we'll be fine. Normally, we head into beautiful Yorkshire to Saltaire which has our heart. It's a lovely place all year round to visit. But this year we are having a change and heading to Runswick Bay which is on the Yorkshire coast above Whitby. A brisk walk on the beach to blow the cobwebs off will be perfect. Note to self; waterproofs and walking boots needed. I can't envisage using an umbrella on a wet, windy beach somehow if the weather isn't great.

We have been known to sit on a beach in gale force wind with a picnic, wrapped in a blanket which amused a lot of people walking their dogs. But we were determined to stick it out as we'd travelled two hours to get there. How stoical were we!

See a movie at the cinema
This is something I'm really excited about! I've been counting the days down until 'La La Land' comes to town. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love Ryan Gosling. My daughter bought me a fab Christmas gift of a Ryan Gosling colouring book which I adore. I'm so looking forward to hours of colouring his cute face in! In fact, my daughters said they nearly got me a life size cardboard cut out of him but changed their minds. I said I would love it for a Christmas present this year.

Read a new book 
I'm trying to get back into a habit of reading a chapter a night of a book, as it helps me relax and I'm sure it helps me nod off to sleep. (It's the waking back up I have a problem with). I usually read something light hearted; either true stories of people that have upped sticks to live in another country or good old romantic chick lit.

I fancy a bit of a change but as much as I like sci fi and fantasy films, I'm not a big reader of them. I love watching all the Harry Potter films but I've never got to the end of one of the books. Should I say that out loud? Have you read any good books lately? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Have a great week ahead lovelies.

Hi there lovelies and Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all have a wonderful start to this new year.

Gosh, it seems a long time since I last posted; February to be exact! I remember promising a new start with the blog but unfortunately illness and two operations got in the way. I was poorly through March and then an ongoing knee problem got much worse, resulting in me not being able to walk and at times I felt like I would never be able to walk properly again. I spent months on crutches but finally with the wonderful support from the doctors and physios and sheer determination from me; I'm finally getting there.

It's not been an easy time; in fact I got rather down at times but I could always rely on my family to rally round and make me laugh. I'm slowly getting back into posting pictures on Instagram and really want to start blogging again. But I think right now, it's about small steps and achievable goals and I'm not going to say I will post on a regular basis as I feel I will be putting pressure on myself and I want blogging to be fun and happy; something that is positive and completely separate from my day job.

I'd like to get back to posting monthly bucket lists and lifestyle posts. Maybe including travel, outfit posts, food, beauty and my journey into mindfulness. I'm writing a bucket list post for January at the moment which I will post very soon.

Have you chosen any New Year resolutions this year? I've decided to carry on building up on the goals I gave myself in October when I became more mobile. A healthy eating plan, drinking more water, more quality time with my family, getting my knee stronger at the gym so I can build up my walking time and being in the present.

I can honestly say I'm not sad to see the back of 2016! Here's to a fresh new start! I've got a really good feeling this year is going to be special.

Wishing you all much joy and happiness!

Much love,

1. Muddle the sugar and the mint leaves with a pestle and mortar.
2. Put a handful of crushed ice into two glasses. 
3. In a separate jug, mix the lime juice and mint mix together.
4. Pour into the glasses, then top up with soda water.

It's been a long time since I last wrote a small sighs post, too long in fact. I've missed noting all the things I've enjoyed through the week. For now, until I get back into the swing of things, I will post a small sighs every two weeks and share with you what I've been up to.

Here are some of the things I've enjoyed recently: