This is the year that I turn 30. As the countdown to the New Year and new decade began in the pub Chris and I packed ourselves into at 11.30pm on December 31, I didn’t feel sad or upset...
This is the year that I turn 30. As the countdown to the New Year and new decade began in the pub Chris and I packed ourselves into at 11.30pm on December 31, I didn’t feel sad or upset at the number. I felt excited, like this coming year will begin a new chapter in my life. My twenties have been a rollercoaster, like everyone else’s I guess, but right now it doesn’t feel like I’m in mourning, more like a fond farewell. I’m going to be thirty, flirty and thriving (well done if you get that reference).
So for the last year of my twenties, as is tradition on this blog, I decided to look back at the past 12 months and remind myself of the excellent adventures I enjoyed.
January felt like a big month for me as I booked last minute flights to Tampa to see my aunt and uncle. It was the first time I had travelled long haul by myself and took full advantage by booking myself into a fancy lounge at Gatwick airport. I enjoyed flutes of champagne whilst eating macarons and it remains one of the bougie-est things I’ve ever done. I was then lucky enough to have three seats to myself on my flights to Florida there and back, so I managed a few snoozes in between watching movies and eating plenty of snacks. In Tampa I shopped, made new friends, ate delicious meals and visited the Magic Kingdom with my uncle. One of the best parts about that day was stopping in for lunch at the one restaurant that serves booze and getting stuck into the white wine at around 11.30am before going on some crazy rollercoasters. It was a great start to the year and also kickstarted my resolution to travel more.
In February, Chris attempted to embarrass me by sending flowers to the office on Valentine’s Day, but what instead ensued was the search for the woman whose card I received by accident. We tracked down Lydia to make sure she hadn’t lamped her husband for not receiving a card and luckily she hadn’t. We then had a great stay at Hotel Indigo in Dundee with my family for a little celebration and had some fantastic food.
I met my friend’s new baby boy in March and enjoyed a lovely day out with my Mam at Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens. We celebrated Mother’s Day in St Andrews and I discovered the joy of Bloom Flowers, which are now my go-to when sending someone a gift. I also made this enormous Milk Bar-inspired cake which was devoured by my best friend and her family. Sadly this was where my blogging came to an end last year, but I am determined to rectify that in 2020. Stay tuned for a list of goals for the coming year.
In April we celebrated our friends Davy and Jen’s wedding in Pitlochry which was a beautiful day. I also had a great time at the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh enjoying afternoon tea with my mam and little sister before an impromptu trip home to Fife for a few more glasses of wine. We said goodbye (in theory) to our trusty car after it spectacularly failed its MOT, but we still haven’t gotten around the scrapping it yet. That’s going on my to-do list.
I decided I wanted to work on my fitness in 2019 and started working with a personal trainer, but sadly my gym closed down and we had our last few sessions at a tiny place quite far from my flat. So I joined a new gym in May and gained new gym buddies (or bunnies) as a result. As we hauled weights and cried over spin classes, we also became close friends and I’ll always be thankful to 2019 for bringing me my two wonderful pocket rockets Rachel and Polly.
As May melted into June, we enjoyed just as many nights out as we did working off our hangovers the next day in spin class. I celebrated Father’s Day with my Dad and Granda in Glasgow wandering around the Transport Museum and enjoying a few drinks in my flat, attempting to be the hostess with the mostess.
July was probably my favourite month of the year, starting with an excellent dinner in Perth for my Dad’s birthday. Chris and I then went on holiday together in Paris four years after our first visit and enjoyed a gorgeous stay in the Hoxton hotel. We ate what may be the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life at Bien Eleve, travelled round the city on scooters, wandered museums and enjoyed delicious eclairs from L’Eclair de Genie. My girlfriends and I then went on our first girls holiday together in Frigiliana in Spain and enjoyed four days of blisteringly hot sunshine and the cheapest, most delicious cava. We enjoyed it so much, we’ve already planned a return trip in 2020.
After turning 29 and enjoying another fabulous celebratory meal at Six by Nico, it was back to wedding mode in August as I went to the first of two hen parties in 2019. We drank Pornstar martinis and there may have been a butler in the buff who I could not look in the eye let alone anywhere else. Chris and I celebrated our five year anniversary in Edinburgh, devouring a Civerinos pizza, fries and arancini before taking in a few shows at the Fringe. I rounded off the month by meeting Lewis Capaldi at his first ever show at the Glasgow Hydro, with my friend Polly interviewing and myself behind the camera.
After proving ourselves to be an utter dream team, Polly and I drove up to Inverness in September to go Nessie hunting and created a fun and lighthearted piece which we were delighted with. I then went to Ellie and James’ wedding with my best friend Georgia which was another day full of love with an epic singalong to Oasis at the end. I went to two live podcast shows with my fellow spooky bitch Victoria and her boyfriend Matt, where I ended up having a few drinks with the hosts of Redhanded in Oran Mor which was hilarious. We rounded off the month with a family trip to Center Parcs where we did yoga classes, played an intense few games of pool and enjoyed going down the flumes in the swimming pool like we were kids again.
October was probably the busiest month of the year, with two weddings and a hen party to celebrate. First up was my colleague Dan’s wedding in Glasgow, which was such a laidback affair and great fun. Then I helped to host my friend Nicola’s hen do just outside of Glasgow in a huge old house alongside the three other bridesmaids. We ate pizza and drank prosecco in the hot tub, enjoyed a lazy morning in the sauna then got glammed up for party games, karaoke, flower crown making and even more prosecco. Two weeks later we travelled up to Inverness to walk Nicola down the aisle towards her love David. It was such a gorgeous ceremony, lovely dinner, with amazing dancing and a fantastic pizza van which showed up in the evening. One of my favourite memories of the day was sitting drinking champagne getting our make-up on, nervously chatting about the day ahead. It was truly magical.
In November I was lucky enough to be invited to the Master Chefs of Great Britain lunch at Turnberry with my dad and a few of his colleagues. We ate the most stunning meal while raising money for SAMH, a very worthwhile cause. We celebrated my little sister’s birthday with a lunch out at Bills then cocktails at Corinthian Club then I saw My Favourite Murder, my third live podcast show of the year with Victoria.
And so to December, which kicked off with my first work trip to London to film the world premiere of 1917 with Polly. We interviewed stars such as Andrew Scott, Sam Mendes and Dean-Charles Chapman on the red carpet, which was a fantastic experience. Chris and I put up the tree and added a couple of new decorations, namely a felted dog wearing a party hat and a little glittery fox. I then found out I had been accepted for a new job at work and was so delighted I burst into tears and received lovely flowers and well wishes from friends and family. A few festive parties later and it was time to celebrate Christmas with my wonderful family back in Fife, which was as usual an excellent party.
As we clinked our glasses in the pub on January 1, it felt like the perfect way to send off the old year and welcome in the new. I can’t wait to see what adventures life had in store over the next 12 months.