Little Moments

Nothing makes me happier than some home décor which is why I loved my walk to school this morning. I live in a little leafy suburb filled with families and a very American vibe. Over the past few days so many Halloween decorations have popped up and made my walk to work so much more enjoyable. I’ve also started making a coffee and drinking it on my walk to work, because why not. That tiny little change really uplevels my morning and I really need to make more of these little changes to just make the little moments of my day more enjoyable. This year I only explored a tiny bit of the decorations in my area, but I’m definitely going to explore next year because there was so much more to see. Here were some of my favourites from this year. And a photo of my all dressed up ready for the Halloween festivities at school. Living in London is quickly making Halloween become one of my most favourite times of year!

  One of my most favourite things about living in London is how Americanised the holidays have become. Living in the USA has always been a dream for this very reason, but I feel like I’ve found a great middle ground in London where I’m living in the UK but still get to go big to celebrate the holidays which fills me with happiness. Over the past week or so I have been saving the many locations of all the fabulous decorations around London and plotted out a route. We started at Belgravia and followed their Pumpkin Trail . I was a little disappointed to see that a lot less businesses had chosen to get involved than last year, but the ones that did had really gone all out. My favourites were by far the displays by Neill Strain florists who always create the most stunning displays for every occasion. The door to the shop was stunning but I also loved the graveyard display they created on Motcomb Street too.  We then walked towards Kensington where the streets became residential, and the

From my time living and working in China, the negatives definitely outweigh the positives for me, but one positive that came from the experience is friendship. Now don’t get me wrong, I certainly wasn’t the most social being in China, which is the reason I often find social situations hard now, but I did make one friend who I’m sure I will be friends with for a very long time. Good friends are hard to come by. You know the kind that you can tell anything to and trust implicitly with your secrets. The kind that is always honest with you, even if they sometimes tell you things that are hard to hear. The kind that always has your back and wants the best for you. The kind that you don’t see on a weekly basis, but when you do the conversation flows like you just saw each other yesterday. That’s what I found in Daniella, the friendship of chance I made with the most unlikely of people. We make time to meet up during the school holiday, and since she is a foodie too, we tick off a new pla

This past half term has been a really hard one. While there have been glimmers of hope, it has mostly just been really hard. I have spent most of it feeling like I was drowning, and life had just gotten away from me. I spent most of the half term in survival mode, just trying to get through and never really feeling on top of anything. Having moved to a new year group and having to set up a new classroom, coupled with a particularly challenging class, I had been working late every night but never getting through what I hoped to each day. Getting home late meant I didn't get the time or have the energy to do anything I needed or wanted to do in my personal life. By the time half term came around I really did feel broken. My house was a mess, my dog was neglected, my diet was terrible, and I felt so disorganised, tired and just generally shit. With my mam arriving in London on the final day of term, I told her I needed to have a ‘sort Nikki’s life out’ day and that’s exactly what

This month you turned three years old, or an adult in doggie years. Usually you don’t love your birthday because it usually involves some sort of hat or unknown entity, and you are definitely a creature of routine and comfort. This year though, I didn’t have my shit together, so all you got was a birthday cookie and some chicken. A disappointing photo opportunity but all you needed to make your day! You are, hands down, the best decision we’ve ever made. When everybody said we were crazy spending an entire house deposit to bring you home from China, I’m so glad we ignored them and brought you home anyway. I never ever thought I would be the girl who was obsessed with her dog, and definitely didn’t think I’d be the girl dedicating a blog post to her pet, but here we are. You are the most loving dog, always snuggling in for a cuddle and kicking me the second I stop stroking you. You are the neediest little pup there ever was and terrified of everything, but it makes you even more lov

Wicked has always been one of my very favourite shows and October is the perfect time to see it; the ultimate show for the spooky season. I wondered whether it would still be as good having seen it a few times, but it absolutely did not disappoint. We got cheap tickets paying only £30 and we were seated to the side in the stalls. The seats turned out to be pretty perfect with an incredible view. The storyline is just perfect! I love how they weave in the story of the Wizard of Oz so well, while also maintaining a separate tale of Wicked. It’s so cleverly done and the soundtrack is amazing too. The cast were great, but Alexia Khadime who played Elphaba was on another level. Her voice was absolutely insane! What a talent! If show can give you goosebumps you know it's a great show, and Wicked definitely gave me goosebumps and made me feel all of the feels throughout the show. I absolutely loved it and will definitely be back to see it again! It’s a 5 star rating from me!

This year my class are undoubtedly hard; they are right up there with some of the hardest classes ever taught. After a horrendous day on Monday I began writing a post about just how hard they were but between paddling to stay afloat and tiredness, I never quite got around to finish it. However, today has been a lovely today. It has been without a doubt my favourite day of the school year so far and the first day that I’ve felt I could actually TEACH my class, rather than simply firefight. It’s the first time I got to spend time with those quieter kids who get overshadowed and the first time I got to sit with groups of children and get through work uninterrupted. It’s the first time I ended the day with a tidy classroom, calm children, and my sanity in one piece. Is it a breakthrough? It’s too early to tell but it’s the first time I have had a good feeling at the end of the day and I know that more days like this will remind me of why I really do love my job.

Happy October! It's officially my favourite time of year. I can't wait to get into the cosiness of autumn, followed by the festivities of Christmas. September wasn't a great month for me. With the start of the new school year, I ended up working long hours and spent way too much time focusing on my job, leaving very little time for anything else. Now that I'm in the swing of things at work, I'm hoping that October can be a real focus on my personal life and goals. So this month I'm hoping to: 1. Celebrate the season – I love the autumn colours and spooky vibes and I want to get out and enjoy it. 2. Organise my life at home and at work – I just feel like life has got a little on top of me and I know organisation would change my world and make life so much easier. 3. Leave work by 5pm (other than meeting days) – Too much of September was lost to work, and I don’t mind because I like my job but I need to draw the line because life is too short to spend it all

Families are tricky and there are always controversial members within them, and Uncle Len was definitely one of them. He was loud, proud and full of life, always the life and soul of the party and willing to give his time to anybody who needed it. You could hear him singing at the top of his voice from the second you walked into the house, and when he wasn't singing he was screaming at the TV while he watched football. He loved a morning walk, a visit to Minchella's and talking about his fireman days and he always brought so much energy.  This is why it was so sad to watch him diminish in his old age, slowly succumbing to what was most likely dementia and anxiety, as well as what we later found out was a damaged lung. In his final years life became hard for himand everybody around him as he became more confused, more anxious, more stressed and more ill. He tried to do what he always had but was no longer able to. He simply needed a lot more help than anybody realised.  None of