Winter Wonderland.

Winter is often associated with being magical and this year, for me, it was. Not only did my boyfriend and I find the perfect place to celebrate Christmas and New Year, we found somewhere special to celebrate our half a year anniversary together.

Visiting Stockeld Park for a night was an amazing surprise from my boyfriend! (Thankyou!) As I have said in a previous post, I love the mystical and supernatural aspects so an enchanted atmosphere was lovely to experience.

There is of course an enchanted forest which you can either walk through or hire skis for Nordic skiing. We did both. The Nordic skiing was new to me but was definitely fun and was even better to do at night. There was a maze to walk through and it looked so pretty under the moonlight with fairy lights placed well along the hedges - providing an even more 'magical' setting. There is an ice rink too, I love ice skating and holding my boyfriends hand under the amazingly clear starry sky again emphasised the magical qualities of the park. 

Before leaving, we had to get a hot chocolate from the cafe to prepare us for a cosy trip back to the hotel. It was beautiful and I really hope to go again.

Good Night! x

My Birthday in York.

For my nineteenth birthday my boyfriend took me to York which admittedly has been my most wanted place to go to for a while.We both easily loved it and definitely made some amazing memories.

First, we went on a tour of 'York's Chocolate Story' where we were introduced to the history of the origins, founders and ingredients of chocolate and how it is specifically linked to York. We were able to watch how chocolate is made and tried lots of samples! We were even able to make our own chocolate.

Oli then took me to 'The York Dungeons'. It was an amazing walkthrough experience of realistic scenes, special effects and theatrical actors. It was fun, sometimes a little scary yet very educational too. There are similar dungeons throughout the country and I think it would would be really beneficial to visit them all.

I admire York for it's cute shops and cobblestone paths so when my boyfriend offered to take me shopping for a charm for the bracelet he had given me as a birthday gift, I couldn't resist.

It became late and after finding the most beautiful first charm, we came across Bella Italia to sit down and dine in. The candles were lit and the Italian staff were so sweet. It was perfectly romantic.

However, there were so many things to do in York that we did not have the time for, so I hope we can go again soon.

Circus of Horrors.

This year was the first Halloween I shared with my boyfriend and although many people seem to think the occasion is for kids only, I don't think so as there are many adult events that only happen at this time of year. 

I am fascinated by the dark, supernatural and mystical concepts so needless to say I wanted to be creative with this occasion. Unfortunately there was so much we wanted to do that we ended up waiting until the last minute to decide what we would do and book something! Fortunately though, we were able to book tickets for the Circus of Horrors at the theatre on the night before Halloween.

We were greeted by 'Dracula' at the entrance and 'skeletons' made the audience scream and jump by crawling over, around and under us to reach the stage, therefore cleverly interacting with the audience to make us feel very welcome but also a little creeped out. It is difficult to put the experience into words but the horror aspects were perfect with a mix of hard rock, glam and heavy metal music elements to emphasise the themes. We both absolutely loved it and I would recommend others to go this year.

Halloween is also a perfect excuse to convince your friends or boyfriend to carve a pumpkin, bake scary treats or watch lots of horror films.

As a romantic night in, we filled bowls with sweets, grabbed some horror films, turned out the lights, lit the candles, cuddled (and hid behind pillows) - although I think he hid behind me more.

We are already thinking about possibilities for next years Halloween and hoping to make next year an even more unique experience than this year.