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

Source

*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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