Friday Favourites 10th - 23rd June 2017.

Well shit it's been a fucker of a fortnight to write about Favourite's hasn't it? From the fallout from the election to Grenfell to the terror attack in London on Monday to today - a happy one year anniversary of Brexit. 

But as always, here I am to say that whilst the world is falling apart and we're facing some of the toughest things thrown at this little island, there are small every day things to make us smile. Here's mine from the last 2 weeks...

1. Breakfast Out. 

In my last Friday Favs I eluded to the fact I was going for breakfast somewhere and if you followed my Instagram or have read my blog you'll know it was Jamie's Italian in Cardiff. I was invited to review it on a Saturday morning and I took my mumma and we had suuuuch a nice morning. It really set us up for the week ahead and the food was mmmm mmm. Read my review here and visit Jamie's Cardiff between 9 - 11 on weekend for grub! 

2. Early Mornings In Cardiff. 

Following our breakfast me and Mum went for a wander in Cardiff. I literally cannot stand town on a Saturday morning, it gets so manic but we were there so early it was actually really nice. We both needed outfits for an upcoming family wedding which we found, we mooched, we got what we needed and it wasn't heaving. Following that we also went to IKEA and Costco out of town and can we just talk about this wardrobe set up of dreams for a moment? Need. It was a very relaxed morning and nice not to have to worry about anyone else and when we needed to be home, just time for us. 

3. A (not so) Little Brother's Birthday. 

My brother and I are 20 months apart which means for about 4 months of the year we're only a year apart in age. We did everything a year apart, went to school, did our exams, we even ended up as Freshers together after I took a year out. Because of that I've always seen us more as twinnies....until he finished uni, got a job, a fiancé and had a baby. Who is now a toddler. A few weekends ago it was my brother's birthday putting us that magic year apart and we did what all families do; played Monopoly for 3 hours. Nobody fell out but we did play the Walking Dead version which I had bought as his present (after seeing it on Steph's blog way back in like March) and I was a bucket of body parts so that's nice. 

4. Sunny Walks. 

Right when I was running out of Insta grid content the sun came out and I took a neighbours dog on a long old walk in the sunshine in the countryside and got enough content for like the next month. Seriously sometimes I just step out the door (this walk was actually round my Mum's house) and think holy hell this is beautiful. You know when you just forget to appreciate what's around you? I snapped so much, I took my time, I really focused on what I wanted to photograph and I tried to make the most of my phone camera and I really enjoyed myself. I mean I was wearing a full on wooly jumper and I melted but ya know, the photos were great. 

5. Cosmeston Lakes. 

Last week it hit 25 degrees and we thought lord it's nice weather (pah, little were we to know) so me and my Mum took my niece to Cosmeston Lakes country park which is local to us. We didn't walk far, she's only got little legs, in fact we did a bit of 'zooming' and then she said "you must hold my hand, let's just walk now". We just walked past the lake and saw the birds and then went to the play area. She had fun, we had fun, it reminded me just how nice it is down there and definitely have plans to go back soon. 

6. Exercise Hype. 

Yes I'm on another exercise trip. I haven't run in about 8 months but a fortnight ago I was trying on clothes and just felt so bleurgh and bloated and I was like ok I need to do something about this again. It's not a case of loosing weight, it's a case of toning up and trying to cut out the bloat so I've completely cut out fizzy drinks, I've cut down the amount of sugary tea I consume, I'm trying to drink more in general and I've started exercising again. I've been trying to run every other day which I've actually really been enjoying and I've also been trying to plank lots, just for 30 seconds to build up my strength and my core but I can't say I've been enjoying that so much. 

7. Summer Insta Challenge. 

Yessss inspired by my lovely walk in the sunshine I decided to create a summer Instagram bucket list/challenge type thing. Basically it's a print out checklist of all the typically summery things you can find in the UK (and improvise if you're elsewhere) and you can share your images for us all to see on the hashtag #ourtwentysomethingsummer. I think I've done three now maybe but some people (Steph and Kat to name a few) are smashing it! Join in over on Instagram it's actually a load of fun!

8. Paula. 

Omgggggg Paula on BBC. I didn't really plan to watch this, it wasn't massively on my radar and it wasn't something I saw advertised on the TV but iPlayer has changed and now it has a better service for recommending shows you might like. I watch a lot of thrillers and slightly creepy shows like Thirteen and The Missing and stuff like that so my iPlayer app recommended Paula to me. It's a 3 piece drama about a woman who gets mixed up in a killing and a v creepy man but omfg the end, you NEED to watch it. Highly recommend even if you're not sure about it at the start. Watch the full series on BBC iPlayer here!

9. Great Get Together. 

It's been a year since the murder of MP Jo Cox and in her memory her husband and a load of other people have created a charity and last weekend held a few days of events called The Great Get Together. There were garden parties and street parties and lots of food and they're hoping to make it a regular thing in her memory. In her first speech in Parliament Jo Cox said "we are far more united, and have far more in common than that which divides us" and that's the whole idea of the get together. On Channel 4 last week The Last Leg held a 2 hour special full of it bringing politicians together with cameos from a few ex Prime Ministers and Elbow played out with 'One Day Like This' and it was a wonderful wonderful thing. 

10. PIGLETS. 

The piglets have made their Instagram debut. I didn't really advertise when we got the piglets but it was a while ago now - if you didn't know I live on my boyfriend's family cider farm. Lately though the piglets (both called Ronnie, the two Ronnie's, geddit) have been getting a bit more confident and have been escaping their field and coming up to the house. This week alone they've tried to make it run for it when I pulled the car in, they came into the house a few times, tonight they ate the dogs food and they WENT IN THE PADDLING POOL. Look at him. Just look how happy he is. 

11. Heatwave. 

I mean I complained the whole entire time and then yesterday when it dropped 10 degrees I complained it was cold but what can you do. The problem I had with the heat was I have been commuting into Cardiff this week on a non air conditioned train and sat in a non air conditioned room all day. I was bloody melting, it was making me queasy, I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to eat. All round might not sound like the most favourite thing of my week but actually it really really was. There's nothing like hot weather and not having to take a jacket and always wearing sunglasses to make your mood bounce. Now if we could have it again where I could stay outside in the shade with a lolly that'd be great....

12. A Mini Dress Haul. 

Because of the heatwave I finally admitted defeat and bought some dresses. My 27+ degree heat outfit normally consists of a vest top and some floaty trousers but holy hell it hit 31 in Cardiff this week and I just melted into a puddle. On Tuesday evening I made a last minute dash to the only shop selling clothes in a half hour radius to me and found myself in Tesco. I snapped up this sleeveless number and this polka dot one and they were my actual saviours. F&F at Tesco are seriously upping their game, definitely have a nosey when you're picking up your fruit and your toilet rolls. 

And that's it my friends! Another week finished, another weekend to enjoy and let's try not to freak out too much about the fact June ends in a weeks time....