Happy weekend...

Casual Saturday

Happy weekend folks! It's been a long week at work so I've been very much looking forward to a lie in, stocking up our cupboards with some delicious food and catching up on lots of TV I've missed over the past few months. I'm also doing something I've never done before this weekend - learning calligraphy. I'm so excited. I've always been envious of people with beautiful handwriting, so decided to do something to improve mine.

I'm taking a beginner's class with Quill London, and will be sure to blog about it next week. Keep an eye out on Instagram (@s11ona) for my initial efforts, unless I'm completely hopeless, then I won't bother.

I'll also be planning for our weekend away next week. We're heading to Lulworth for a belated valentine's treat, so am on the look out for places to see and visit and good dining options. If you have any, please let me know.

Hope you all have a wonderfully relaxing weekend...

Shones
xoxo

Travel Tuesday - Bridlington...

Last weekend was my first weekend at home for a few weeks, since my Mum's illness. That's meant catching up with cleaning, tidying and washing and ironing. How boring. We did manage to get to the allotment for a few hours and I managed to plant half my onions, so that's something...

It was valentine's day the other weekend and we weren't able to do what we'd originally planned (a trip to London) as we were up in Hull. So, we decided on a day out by the seaside instead. London can wait for another time. 

It's been a long, long time since I've visited Bridlington so I was keen to see what had changed, and thought it would be nice for Fraser to see a proper northern seaside town, and sample proper fish 'n' chips. It wasn't a particularly sunny day but at least it wasn't raining. We had a wander round the town, browsed a few independent shops and then decided it was time for a coffee. We visited a little coffee shop called Coffee Coast. Lovely coffee served with a wee chocolate on the side. Perfect!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Coffee Coast latte

We visited the sea front and beach and on the way passed by Bridlington Spa, where I'd spent many a weekend playing table tennis in national tournaments. Who said youth is wasted on the young?

I've always loved the beach at Bridlington; it's huge, it has lovely sand and is so pretty when the sun is shining. Today is wasn't, but the beach is great in all weather. It was lovely to see that investment had been made in improving the 'look' of the beach front - beach huts in particular.

Bridlington South Beach

We took a long stroll on the beach, fooled around a little, admired some of the beach front houses (and checked Rightmove for affordability) and worked up an appetite for the long awaited fish n chips. I'd checked Trip Advisor and set my heart on Gabby's Chippy - rave reviews, so off we went. Bizarrely, Google Maps didn't quite point us in the right direction - instead of sending us to Bridlington's Old Town, it sent us off to Bempton. Although we were just as confused as Google Maps, we rolled with it. We never located Gabby's Chippy near Bempton but did discover RSPB Bempton Cliffs. Yep, lots of cliffs and lots of birds. It was actually beautiful and the sun came out too. Definitely worth a visit, just so long as you enjoy walking!

Bempton cliffs

The OH

We were so close to Flamborough that we decided to head there before going back to Bridlington to get our well earned chippy. I was probably a school girl the last time I'd visited Flamborough. As we arrived the sun was beginning to set, and the view was fantastic (even if it was still slightly hazy). The lighthouse is a sight to behold - it's so grand!

Flamborough lighthouse

Sun set at Flamborough

By this point we were ravenous, so went on the hunt for Gabby's Chippy (again). We found it this time although the next challenge was to decide what to have. Fraser opted for classic fish & chips, whereas I opted for Yorkshire Pudding filled with chips and a Yorkshire curry sauce (something a bit different, I thought). The portions were HUGE! It had Fraser beat and he can pack it away...

Yorkshire Pudding, chips and Yorkshire curry sauce

Overall, we had a fantastic day out and loved spending time outdoors, by the sea, and most importantly, with each other! <3

S&F 14.02.15

Shones

xoxox

Mum's recovery...

Since the post about my Mum's brain tumour diagnosis, a lot has happened. The past two weeks have felt more like two months, which always seems to be the case in these sort of situations. 

I write with positive news about my Mum. Thankfully. Today we had confirmation that her tumour was benign. This is the best news possible. She still has a few tests to undergo to identify the cause (sporadic or genetic related) but that's less important right now. I want to embrace the positive news and never let it go.

My Mum has made quite an astonishing recovery; both psychologically and physically. After many hours on life support after surgery, she regained consciousness, sat up, started on some banter with the nurses and wolfed down a massive portion of lasagne. In the words of mother "well, I haven't eaten in months" (which was not too far from the truth). It was all a little baffling to be honest, but we embraced mother's fighting spirit and ignorance towards what she had just endured. She was back with us and that was all that mattered right there and then. 

She was quickly moved out of ICU and transitioned through a high observation ward and back into the original ward she was admitted into. Each and every day there was some improvement either to her walking ability, memory, or concentration. Four days post surgery was when I recognised the mum I have always known and loved - she was back!

I feel like we are one of the very lucky families. Everything has worked out for the best. What are the odds of that? It's testament to the Neurosurgery team in Hull Royal Infirmary - they were truly fantastic; from the surgeons to the tea ladies. I think my mum secretly enjoyed her stay in hospital but she would never admit that... Who would?

My mum is now home and continuing well with her recovery. I feel a little sad that I won't see my mum every day, but I just have to accept that. I know she's only a phone call away and that will be enough to alleviate any pangs of worry I may experience. 

Many people have asked how we all coped during that time and it's something I'm still working out. Initial thoughts center around resilience, focusing only on the present (and not what might happen), being positive, retaining a sense of humour and drinking wine! As a psychologist I recognise it's much more complex than that and plan to look into this in more detail (that's the geek in me).

For now I leave you with the only physical reminder of mum's surgery. Look away if you're at all squeamish... Apologies in advance!

S

xoxo

20 staples (and a bit of bruising)

A life changing week...

The last week has been the toughest week of my life. On Friday 30th January my mum went into hospital for a CT scan as she's been very unwell since Christmas. My mum has since not left hospital.

Maw in law (left) and my mum (right)

Most of last year my mum had complained of a constant headache, which seemed to get worse as the year progressed. She began to get dizzy which got progressively worse too. She'd had vertigo four years ago and the doctors and specialists thought it was a recurrence of the vertigo; us included. Her ability to balance and walk declined quite rapidly after my wedding and she began to be sick on NYE, which had never happened before. She was given a plethora of drugs, diagnosed with vestibular migraine and discharged.

In the following week an appointment letter arrived for the CT scan, which we were pleased about as my mum's symptoms did not seem to be improving. I live down south and my parents live up north, so I decided to attend the CT scan appointment and I'm so glad I did.

After her CT scan we were asked to wait as the Consultant wanted to see her. Yeah, that was the moment I knew something wasn't right. The Consultant confirmed that the scan showed something abnormal and that they would need to keep her in. My mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Surreal!

In the last seven days my Mum has been diagnosed, had the tumour removed, been on life support in intensive care, regained consciousness and got back on her feet and pleased all the consultants, nurses and physios no end. She's a tough ole' northern bird!

That said, it's not to be underestimated the potential challenges ahead on her road to recovery. Having a brain tumour can be a life changing event and we are yet to know her prognosis - more torturous waiting ahead. Here's hoping she progresses as well as she has done the past three days.

I'm still trying to process what exactly has happened during the past seven days, so plan to blog more on this, particularly how it affects immediate family, how to cope with such news and how to support one another, and I'm really keen to blog about her road to recovery too. Watch this space...

The Family

I hope you all have a great week ahead and one that is filled with family, love, fun and laughter.
Shones
xoxo

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S&F Wedding - The venue

Gate Street Barn

After the proposal we were focused on setting the date and finding our dream venue. We both wanted to get married down south, near Guildford, rather than Scotland (where Fraser is from) or Hull (where I'm from) as we knew it would be difficult to select suppliers and organise everything from afar. We also loved the idea of getting married in the area we now call home and having all our friends and family see what a beautiful part of the country we live in. 

Before Fraser even proposed I'd done a few secret searches of wedding venues in and around Guildford (who doesn't?) and stumbled across Gate Street Barn (GSB). Just from the images on their website I got a feeling that this venue was a major contender. I've never told him about my secret searches; I just made it look like I found it when I was looking, legitimately, at venues. No doubt, I'm busted now!

It turned out though that Fraser also loved the look of the venue and was up for visiting it sooner rather than later. So we booked a viewing with the lovely ladies at Gate Street.

I should say, at this point, there were so many positives about GSB including:

• The beautiful setting; 
• It's licensed to hold civil ceremonies, which meant the whole day in one place; 
• A beautiful interior which could be decorated to our liking/theme; 
• No corkage charge; 
• A huge supplier list; 
• A bridal suite to get ready in in the morning; 
• A 15 minute drive from our house; 
• Endless positive reviews and comments from couples and guests alike

Photo: VLA Photography

What wasn't to love? We donned our best poker faces and greeted Jane, the owner, at the office, who was beyond lovely. Positive sign no. 1. Beautiful bridal suite. Positive sign no. 2. Amazing, amazing barn with beautiful high beams, beautiful chairs, beautiful floor, twinkling fairy lights, sensational chandeliers... ❤️ Positive sign no.3. A separate area called The Pheasantry housing the bar and where guests gather when they're turning the barn area around, filled with hanging hops - perfect for all our beer loving friends. Positive sign no.4. The grounds and the huge fire pit, which would be great for our autumn wedding. Positive sign no.5.

By this point, I was doing pretty well with my poker face. Fraser, on the other hand, was squealing with excitement... we were sold! What I particularly liked was that Jane was not pushy at all - she clearly stated their booking policy and left it at that. The team don't really need to give it the hard sell as it's such a beautiful venue - it does all the talking itself.

Still beautiful in the rain

 

23.11.14

We didn't visit any other venues. Our hearts were set on GSB. A few days later we confirmed our booking and ticked 'venue' firmly off our list. 23.11.14. The countdown had begun...  

Some words of advice when choosing your wedding venue:

• When you visit your venue imagine it's your big day there and then. It really does help you think about how the day might run and what you and your guests will experience.
• Ask lots of questions! Go with a list. Main things at this point are terms and conditions, cancellation policies, payment terms, understanding if there's any hidden extras and what is/is not permitted.
• Search the Internet for wedding photographs at your venue - I did this a lot and got a really good feel for how people had decorated the venue, good locations for photographs, different suppliers and what they could offer. Search wedding blogs too to get a good idea of others' personal experiences of getting married at the venue.
• Know your budget - that way, if you fall in love with a venue that is outside of your budget, you should be prepared to make sacrifices elsewhere. The venue is a deal breaker, I think.
• Be prepared to negotiate (not for everyone; but if you don't ask, you don't get). I left that to my husband as he's pretty good at that sort of thing... 
• Go with your heart - you'll know what's right for you both. Any niggling doubts are a sign - deal with them. Don't settle for less than you're worth. It's YOUR big day!

 

S&F Wedding - The engagement...

So, I should probably start from the beginning for my Wedding Wednesday series. The engagement. Let's go back to August 2013...

At that point Fraser and I had been together nearly five years and we knew we wanted to get married at some point but we had no firm thoughts on when. I'd begun to tease him a little about proposing, mainly due to the fact that everyone was getting married around us. We were attending three or four weddings a year at that point so marriage was not too far from our radar. My sister had been teasing Fraser quite a lot; in fact, one Christmas she'd written a gift tag pretending to be from Fraser saying "Will you marry me?" Bless him, he nearly had a heart attack!

I think like most men, Fraser didn't want to be pressurised into proposing and wanted to do it when the time was right for him and in his own way. Cue 9th August 2013.

He'd asked me to book the Friday off work and said that he wanted to take me on a surprise day out. His reasoning for this was that he'd been away with work quite a bit and planned to be away over the coming months. Fair enough. Did it cross my mind that he was going to propose? Initially yes, but his reason was so valid that I couldn't decide for certain. I did bombard him with lots of questions, number one being:
S - "Are you going to propose?" 
F - "NO!" Of course he had a full response prepared to throw me off the scent, and he did just that. Good man.
S - "Do I need a passport?"
F - "NO!" 
I think I was more disappointed that I wasn't going abroad than the fact I wasn't being proposed to. After many more questions, all I managed to get out of him was that I needed to pack an overnight bag, pack swimwear and some smart evening wear. My mind immediately went to 'spa day', to which I reassured myself further that Fraser was definitely not going to propose. That just wasn't his style, right?
9th August arrived and off we went in the car; still with no idea where we were heading. A3, M25, signs for Staines - Staines? - what the hell is in Staines? 

Luckily we weren't heading for Staines, we were heading for the gorgeous Runnymede hotel, set on the banks of the River Thames, near Windsor. As soon as we drove up I knew Fraser was definitely not going to propose. It was all just so cliche and, dare I say it, predictable (pah, how wrong was I?). We checked in, went up to the room, dumped our bags and checked out what the hotel had to offer. Fraser did confess that he thought we were long overdue some quality 'Shaz' (Shona+Fraz) time, and he'd heard good things about the hotel, so took the plunge. Yes, the hotel had a spa, and it even had an outdoor swimming pool (amazing). The weather was beautiful that day too, so we headed straight outdoors and grabbed our sun loungers. 

After we'd sunbathed, visited the sauna and steam room, we went back to the room and got ready for dinner. Still no proposal.
Dinner was absolutely delicious. I have no recollection of what we had; I just remember Fraser tipping the pepper pot over his main and the lid coming off - a mound of pepper landing on top of his dinner. I found that quite hilarious, the server was mortified but the chef did an excellent job of preparing a new dish within minutes. Now, I do remember dessert, because I LOVE trifle. Still no proposal though.

After dinner, we retired to the bar and had quite a number of drinks. Still no proposal. We both started to feel a little tipsy, so retired to the room. I went to the bathroom and unbeknown to me, this is when Fraser did his 'prep' (he put out the proposal card on the dresser). By the time I'd faffed around in the bathroom I was pretty tired. I laid on the bed feeling a little tipsy and tired, not noticing the card for at least 40 mins. On reflection, I do recall Fraser acting rather strangely during those 40 minutes - up and down like a yo-yo, waving his arms around whilst stood in front of the dresser. Nope, I didn't have a clue. FINALLY, I noticed...
S - "Is that a card? For me?"
F - "Yes, why don't you open it"
<opens card>
<sees message>

THE proposal! It caught me completely off guard. 
S - "Are you serious?"
F - "Yeah, so how about it?"
S - "YES, YES, YES!"
<wipes tears from eyes>
What I loved about the proposal was that Fraser never actually said those four little words - will you marry me? - instead, he left it to that one image to do all the talking. He also combined two of my favourite things into his proposal - photography and a (greetings) card (I love cards more than presents). It was perfect! Truly perfect. I love the fact I have a physical memory and keepsake from the proposal, and not just a ring - although Fraser didn't have a ring for the proposal as I'd told him not to buy one. I'm not a big fan of jewellery and am rather fussy when I do wear it, so I wanted to personally try rings on and thought choosing it together would be much more fun than Fraser hoping he'd made a right choice alone.
Of course, we went ring shopping the next day and I made my choice quite quickly (see photo at top of page). I knew instantly it was right for me: simple, understated, practical yet different to some of the more traditional engagement rings out there.

After calling family and friends to announce the news, I knew what I had to do next...

Let the planning commence!

Shones
xoxo

Happy New Year! Happy New Blog!

Hello there...

Firstly, welcome to my blog. This is all very new for me, although it's something that I've wanted to do for a while now after stumbling across some fantastic blogs, which have inspired me. So, here goes.

Secondly, I realise that readers will no doubt want to know a little about me before investing time in reading my ramblings. I'll keep it short for now, as I hope you'll get to know me better in time through my writing. So, let me introduce myself.  My name is Shona. I currently have two surnames, as I'm recently married. I'm stuck in that limbo land of not quite deciding which name to stick with. Watson (maiden name) or Bruce (married name). Personally, I'm going with Bruce. Professionally, I'm sticking with Watson. So, that shouldn't be too confusing.

I got married to my wonderfully, crazy husband on 23rd November 2014 at the beautiful Gate Street Barn in Surrey. A truly wonderful and magical day, which will undoubtedly feature heavily on my blog in the very near future.

By trade, I am an Organisational Psychologist which involves working with a range of organisations helping them improve - among other things - human performance, safety performance, working relationships, competence, leadership, processes and systems. It's a VERY interesting job and it has been fascinating seeing very different organisations struggle with the same problems and issues - people!

Psychology is therefore a big part of my life, and in my time pondering about what might make my blog interesting, and a little bit different, the answer was there all along. Psychology. I'm not saying that all my ramblings will be about theories of psychology and statistical significance of experimental results (there's a place and time for that and it's not here!). I'm saying that I am keen to bring elements of psychological thinking to everyday writing. Curious? I am...

I don't have a particular structure to how I'll write or present my blog, as my brain doesn't really work in that way. Normally, I'm pretty spontaneous, however I was thinking that {Wedding Wednesdays} could work. Apart from that, let's see what crosses my path, inspires me, engages my curiosity or annoys the hell out of me!

I promise to get started with wedding related posts in the next week or so. Let's start with something exciting! And please bear with me while I find my way through the bloggers landscape...

Shones
x