Aberdeen Christmas Village 2015

In previous years, Aberdeen had limited Christmas events. Sure, there was the Christmas parades and the lights being switched on in city centre but if we ever wanted to feel truly Christmassy, we had to venture down to Edinburgh and experience their amazing Christmas markets.

This year, Aberdeen has its own Christmas Village! How exciting! It's located just off Union Street and the council has closed off the entirety of Union Terrace for this event. Me and the boy took a trip into the city to see what the fuss was about. We specifically chose a weekday when we both had the day off work to have a wander around so it was a little quieter.

When you enter from the main city centre arch, you're already greeted with cute little shacks selling adorable Christmas gifts, food and little nick nacks. There are also vendors selling mulled wine and beer so you can have a little tipple whilst browsing the stalls.

There are also a few fun fair rides for the daring but also a cute little ice rink for those not wanting to be flung in the air at top speeds. The ice rink is adorned with twinkling Christmas lights which made it really festive. We took part in some warm Belgian waffles and fresh churros after our walk through the market and happily chowed down on it.

For Aberdeen's first Christmas Village, I think they've done quite well. The size of the ice rink was slightly disappointing as me and the boy love ice skating but it was a little bit too compact for our liking. It was still nice however to watch the ice skaters going round the rink. I really hope they do something like this again next year.

The Christmas Village is on until 3rd January 2016 so you have plenty of time to visit the festive market. There is also live entertainment and comedy performances on the weekends so check out the website for the timetable so you don't miss out.

Do you have a Christmas Market/Village in your town or city? What's your favourite part about it?

Vanessa

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Living On Your Own

A lot of people say that once they move out of their parent's home and had a taste of freedom, they wouldn't move back in. Here's a secret....I would.

You may or may not know but I recently bought my own flat. It's been an aim of mine since I was around 17 and since then I had been scrimping and saving to be able to afford a space of my own. I was so happy when I found a great place within 10 minutes walking distance to my work (and 2 minutes driving). I've been in my new place around 4 months now and I've really enjoyed making the place my own.

Sure it's been lonely sometimes when I'm pottering about on my own but for the best part I am enjoying the freedom of being able to go to the gym whenever I want, cook the meals I want to eat and to make the place comfortable to live in.

Living in a flat/apartment block has its downside. I can hear music playing quite loudly into the evenings and for about a month, I could hear my neighbour snoring. I dubbed him 'the grizzly bear upstairs'.To me, I've gotten used to it but I can understand how others would not and it's difficult holding them back when they want to storm upstairs.

I'm still learning how to do things on my own but I've survived so far. There are still boxes hidden away in the corner and half my things are still at my previous home but I'm looking forward to this journey and discovering more about myself.

Have you got any tips on living on your own?

Vanessa

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Making Prints

I had been wanting a hobby of my own for quite some time. There is of course me going to the gym or watching Netflix but can I really call that a hobby? Last year I was looking at short courses that were available at one of the universities in the city and some that caught my eye were based in the Art School. I loved art at secondary school and was keen to ignite my artistic side again. There were courses in painting and photography amongst other mediums. At that point, I didn't think any more of it until the beginning of this summer when I took the plunge and booked myself into a foundation printmaking course.

Granted, it was a little pricey and you had to buy some of your own materials but I thought more of the artistic merit I would gain. The course runs for two semesters; October to December and then restarts again in the new year until March where there is an exhibition for all the work from the short courses. So, how am I getting on?

I'm loving it.

I was really nervous for my first class to the point where my anxiety was beginning to rear its ugly head in the hours leading up to it but it's been brilliant. I'm learning lots of different ways to print art and it's letting me be a bit more creative in my life. The printmaking studio at the university is a little shabby but that's what I love about it. I feel inspired by my classmates who are amazingly talented and I like getting to know them better by laughing with them when a print goes wrong, sharing ideas of what colour would work best or even helping them open a tin of ink.

First semester is almost over and we'll be moving onto our personal project next semester which I'm really looking forward to. If you're considering enrolling onto a short course at university or college; go for it. Do something that you loved and lost because somehow life got in the way.

Have you re-discovered a hobby you used to have?

Vanessa

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Return of the Orchid

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*Cleans cobwebs* Why, hello there. Is any one actually still there? Wouldn't blame you if you weren't. I can't believe my last post was in 2013. 2013?! Where on earth has the time gone? My last post was a life update detailing my new job that I had gotten. What's happened since then?

Well, I have since changed jobs again, got myself a handsome boyfriend and bought a new flat. Nothing much...y'know. I've been meaning to get back into blogging for quite some time. I really enjoyed it when I was fully immersed in it; interacting with all my readers, writing about anything and everything and of course, reading other people's blogs and celebrating in their successes or reading about a small portion of their life that they have chosen to share with us.

I stopped blogging because life got in the way. I was working a 9-5 job at a desk and I was no longer doing things that would capture the attention of my readers. Why write if I had nothing to say right? Since then, I've grown so much as a person, discovered so much about myself and I have the pleasure of sharing all of this with someone who has become one of the most important people in my life - the boy.

You're probably wondering why I have so much to say now when I've been MIA for the past two years? Well, why not? I know the blogging market is so saturated with everyone fighting to have a voice in this community but I'll be here. With new posts, new thoughts and maybe some cool content that I think you'd like.

So what do you say? Stay a while with me?

Vanessa

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life update \\ a new job

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Most of you (or possibly none of you) would probably have gathered that I HAVE A NEW JOB! It's been a hectic month tying up the loose ends from my old job and making the transition to a new office environment and starting afresh. It was a difficult decision to make and it took me 3 whole days to make an informed decision as to whether I wanted to take it. I gritted my teeth and jumped at the chance of a new adventure. 

Week one is now over and I made a little public service announcement on Twitter that I'm taking a mini blog sabbatical so posts will be sporadic and sometimes random whilst I settle into the new environment and a change in working patterns (no more nightshifts over here!) I thought I would do a little update and also note a few things that I've noticed about the change...

Having to choose something new to wear everyday is difficult. I definitely took my regulation uniform for granted a little.

Getting to personalise my desk and not having to shove all my bits and pieces in a locker at the end of the day.

I miss having three computer screens to navigate between. The one looks so lonely.

The working day is looooooooooong. Get tired so easily and having to do it all again the next day.

Getting that Friday feeling.

I used to drink A LOT of tea at my desk. The new team doesn't drink as much tea as me.

It's been interesting, confusing and exhausting all at once but I'm looking forward to learning more and settling in. I did struggle a lot in the first few days but after a pep talk from my closest friends, I grabbed the other days by the horns and tackled it with gusto!

Do you have any tips on settling in into a new job or what you did to make the transition go as smoothly as possible?

Vanessa

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amsterdam adventure \\ day three & four

Carrying on from where we left off...

Preparing ourselves for some epic Stroopwafels from a famous market, we bought some shop-bought stroopwafels to line our stomachs. The secret is to the leave the caramel waffel on top of a hot beverage for a while and then eat it when the caramel between the layers has gone all gooey. You're welcome. 

In the morning, we went to see the famous 'Amsterdam' sign which is located behind the Rijksmuseum. We got some obligatory touristy photos but my favourite letter was the 'd'. Made for perfect sitting. Afterwards we went to the famous Albert Cuyp Market and there our food journey began. We kind of did everything backwards but we started with baby dutch pancakes which was lain on top a huge chunk of butter. A little after, we found the Stroopwafel man and one king size Stroopwafel later, I was ready for a food sleep. A two minute walk later we found ourselves grasping at a cone of chips and experimenting with a mystery fried food substance that was like stovies in texture mixed with some random meats, deep fried in breadcrumbs and served in a softie. To this day, we still don't know what that was. But it was tasty.

We took the tram to see Anne Frank's house. The queue wasn't that long and we made our way around the museum in just over an hour. After walking 2 miles in the wrong direction, we turned back and found The Pancake Bakery. Having our regular YOLO moments, we went in and ate more food. Standard.

The one thing we hadn't done yet was the infamous red light district. We somehow managed to merge in with a Chinese tour group and walked round in a huge circle but we finally made it to the sketchiest neighbourhood ever. There's nothing much to say about the district. I'm sure you all get the jist of it.

It was late in the evening and we made our way back to the accommodation for the last time and finished up our packing. It was a bittersweet and fleeting visit but I enjoyed my mini break away from the 'real world' for a little while.

Vanessa

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lifestyle \\ my coping mechanism

I recently went through a rocky patch where I found myself making important life decisions and starting new friendships and altogether it made me question how strong I was to cope with all this. As a result, I found myself seeking solace in only a few close friends and my family whilst putting up my walls and being distant to everyone else.

I didn't realise I did this until my friend confronted me about it and thought she had done something wrong during a recent meet as I was trying to make amends. Yes, I knew I was distancing myself from certain people because I'm a firm believer that too much advice from lots of different sources can hinder rather than help. At the end of the meet, I found myself apologising for my behaviour.

Everyone has different ways of coping with stress, life decisions, grievances etc. And I have discovered that mine is just distance. Space and time does wonders to me and being alone with my thoughts is the only way that I can decipher the things going on in my brain. It may seem unconventional everyone copes in different ways. I sometimes even rally some friends together and go out for a few drinks by ranting about how badly a date went or about something insane that happened at work. 

The true friends would be there for me no matter what. They understand that letting me do my thing is the best course and that they'd just be on the other end of the phone if it all goes bellies up. 

At the end of the day, sometimes all it takes is a good cup of tea to see things more clearly.

Vanessa

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amsterdam adventures \\ day one & two

Feels like yesterday that I was soaking in some Dutch culture in the amazing city of Amsterdam. I have condensed my posts into two as the other two days were spent travelling and really didn't need a post of its own. So, here we go...

After I finished my last ever nightshift at my job, I rushed home to change and picked up my suitcase to head for the train station. We were flying from Glasgow and managed to cut down the price by about half! I was obviously very sleepy but very excited for my mini break away. After an eventful travelling day i.e. delayed flight and navigating the confusing train and metro lines we made it to our accommodation. We stayed with a host who rents out rooms in her apartment to travellers. She was a freelance graphic designer and was so lovely! Would definitely recommend her if you're ever planning a visit to Amsterdam.

After a well earned rest, we made plans to do some exploring in the city. We didn't make any plans as to what we wanted to see or do on our first day, just to explore and have a walk around the city. Let me tell you now, there are bikes EVERYWHERE! You would literally need two pairs of eyes to cross the road. So dangerous!

We sampled some of the local cuisine, chips. Or more specifically, street side chips which are a popular snack for the locals. They were pretty tasty actually and quite inexpensive. After a walk around the city, we headed back to the accommodation for some tea and a rest before going out for dinner. We went to this place called The Butcher which was voted Amsterdam's Number 1 burger. Oh my. It was good. Me and my friend ate in complete silence as we devoured our burgers. 

We then hung out in a beer garden type thing and sampled some Amstel Bier. I slowly introduced my friend to the wonders of beer and she surprisingly liked it. Absolutely shattered, we went back to our accommodation to rest for the next day's exploring.

Day three and four will be coming your way in due course!

Vanessa

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