With it being International Women’s Day last week, me and the girls decided to get together on Thursday for a ladies night complete with fine wine, good food, plenty of chats and countless giggles.
We went over to our friend’s house who welcomed us with vino and nibbles before a delicious dinner. She served baked salmon fillets in a ginger and garlic marinade alongside greens and veggie dumplings, it was delicious.
I don’t know what I’d do without my girlfriends to guide and support me along the confusing journey we call life. I’m so very lucky to have such strong friendships that go back to childhood, so we really do know each other inside out and can tell each other anything.
This short excerpt on female friendships perfectly sums up the special bond I have with my girlies. Cheers to my ladies and soul sisters for life ❤
And just like that, we find ourselves in 2022! The last year has flown by and I’m so lucky to have had some amazing things happen over the past 12 months including moving into our wonderful new house, buying my Mini Cooper and changing jobs too.
Looking back on my goals for 2021, I’m proud to say I’ve achieved most of these or at least made a big step towards them. I managed to squeeze in my tattoo at the end of the year and we are very excited to be jetting off to Dubai next week. Many of these are still a working progress and so I will take them with me into the new year, especially my goal of finding balance in life and reading more books which I’m really enjoying.
We kept our NYE celebrations fairly low key this year as we are being cautious of catching Covid before travelling next week. My parents hosted a lovely dinner, so we were able to spend some quality time with my Grandad who I hadn’t seen for a few years, and my American cousins who were over for the holidays. My mum put together a fabulous spread of canapés followed by a prawn linguine for dinner. The bubbles were flowing and at midnight we popped the champagne before the guys let off some fireworks. A fantastic evening with my awesome family!
New Years Day me and my boyfriend were fairly hungover so we indulged in an extra long lie in until noon. That evening we decided to get out of the house and go to the picturesque town of Farnham for a cute date night dinner.
We went to one of our favourite restaurants Cote and enjoyed a lovely meal together. I had the Chicken Paillard Salad served with French beans, hazelnuts, endive, lettuce and croutons in a creamy caper dressing, whilst my boyfriend had the Poulet Breton half a chicken served with frites. As always the food was delicious and the service so friendly and attentive, we’re never disappointed at Cote.
Tummies full and satisfied, we went for a walk around the stunning streets of Farnham still twinkling with the festive season lights. Back home I made us a little cheeseboard for desert and we watched the fabulous film classic, The Great Gatsby.
Upon reflection, it’s been another exciting and blessed year in my life which I am so very grateful for. I hope 2022 brings more fun adventures, laughter, happiness and joy as I aim to let life unfold without too much of a plan at this stage… what will be will be. Cheers to the New Year!
Merry Christmas babes! It’s certainly been an unusual one this year as we’ve all had to sacrifice celebrating with loved ones in order to stay safe during such uncertain times. Whilst plans have had to change and our usual festive traditions around this time of year have been scuppered, I decided it was all the more reason to embrace those jolly festive vibes and soak up the magic of Christmas.
Since early December I’ve been making my way through all the Christmas movies in an attempt to escape the reality of this mad world right now! On Christmas day itself I always like to watch The Snowman and Father Christmas to get me fully in the festive spirit and feeling like a kid again before the fun and games begin. Thankfully I am very lucky to be back home this year and blessed with the company of my closest family and boyfriend, who spoilt me rotten.
One of the more unusual traditions in our household at Christmas is my Dad’s pride and joy of barbecuing the turkey. I know, it sounds a little nuts on a cold winters day in England to be firing up the BBQ, but this is a super quick method of cooking the bird and produces the most succulent meat too.
To accompany our turkey dinner we did crispy roast potatoes, honey glazed carrots and parsnips, sweet red cabbage with apple, brussel sprouts sautéed with chestnuts, stuffing balls, lashings of gravy and my favourite for this time of year, bread sauce. It was quite the feast, so I could only manage some chocolates for pudding and of course a few glasses of Baileys later in the evening 😉
We had a wonderful day sharing our prezzies, listening to Christmas music, enjoying our drinks and indulging in all that yummy, naughty food. And I always like to dress up for the occasion, so this year it was a sixties style Topshop mini dress with long socks and my favourite Windsor Smith chelsea boots. Champagne coupe in hand, I was ready for a party at home!
Following a healthy helping of turkey and all the trimmings, soon enough I found myself changing back into PJs for the evening and excited to try on my new Victoria’s Secret set from Santa. Then when it comes to Boxing Day it’s all about stylish comfort, so I wore my new Stradivarius long split cotton skirt with a vest and my super cosy Zara polo knit arm warmer.
So whilst we haven’t been able to celebrate quite in the same way as we’re used to, it has most definitely made me more grateful than ever for my amazing family and friends. We may not be able to see our pals down the pub for a drink this Christmas, but I haven’t let that dampen my spirits and I’m optimistic that we’ll be back smiling in each other’s company before we know it.
Dani Aneka 