September Roundup

September seems to have been and gone in a flash and as a result I don’t feel like I’ve done much but never the less. Here is my September roundup!

Firstly in September I won a competition! I’ve never won anything before in my life so I was pretty amazed when I won this gorgeous palette on a giveaway over at Sophie’s Blog

One evening after work we decided to go to JoJo Gelato in Fareham. I had this scrummy Nutella and Cookie supreme crepe. It was so good, especially after a hard day at work.

We also visited the Waitrose Farm Shop. Here is the post about our visit.

In Lee-on-the-Solent there was a super low tide on 18th September. I’m still discovering new things about living by the sea and this was one of them. The photo doesn’t do it justice but the sea really was a lot further out than usual.

At the end of September we went to Wales for 4 nights. I’ve never visited Wales before so it was nice to explore somewhere new. There’s a more detailed post to follow.

In September I did 8 blog posts which I think might be a record for me! If you missed any, they’re linked below:

Smart ForFour

August Roundup

Learning to drive with AA Driving School

I Am Team GB

The Waitrose Farm – Leckford Estate

Fantastic Mr Fox

Disney X Cath Kidston – Winnie The Pooh

Gelish by Nail Harmony Review

Now we’re in to October which is my favourite time of year!

Smart ForFour

On 5th August I went and picked up my Smart ForFour that I have affectionately named Winnie. Just in case you’re wondering why, she’s named Winnie as she is black on the outside and black on the inside, just like Winnie The Witch’s house.

Anyway I hadn’t actually passed my test when we went to pick her up but I had a go at driving her home from the Smart dealer in Poole and then my Husband drove us the rest of the way.

The car was certainly worth the wait. Initially we were told we’d had the car on 23rd July but that it was likely to change to earlier, however it changed to later instead, but like I said, she was worth the wait.

We decided to go to Poole instead of Southampton as we had really good customer service there for my husband’s Mercedes. We went to Southampton but unfortunately nobody seemed interested in serving us or offering any help and the same happened again when we went to look at the Smart Cars. We were told everyone in the Smart dealership had the day off and we’d have to come back another time to look at them. We decided to go to Poole instead where we were met by Neil who took care of us from the second we walked in till the second we drove out of the showroom. He was a great help and also gave us a great price. Very happy customer! The Poole Mercedes and Smart dealership have got customer service just right! We also got to do the grand unveil which I wasn’t expecting. I know my husband got to do this with his Mercedes but to be fair the Mercedes cost a lot more than my little Smart so I was really impressed I got the same treatment!

My car is under there!

Here’s some pictures of Winnie. She’s a Smart ForFour with the Prime Premium Plus package. I’m not going to put down all the technical details and specifications here as, well I don’t understand half of it and it’s just not that type of blog but a couple of my favourite key features for me are:

• Sat Nav – A necessity since we’ve only lived in the South for a year
• DAB digital radio – Means I can listen to my favourite station Kisstory
• Heated leather seats – A little bit of luxury and a toastie butt in winter

And a couple of pictures. Behold shiny Winnie!

And 10 days later I passed my driving test! So now I can zip along in my little Smart car whenever I like!

Let’s Have Coffee…

I’ve seen a few bloggers do a coffee update, where I simply chat, like we would over coffee, so thought I’d give it a go.

Health

The past two weeks have really made me appreciate the NHS. Two weeks ago I woke up at 4am with the most excruciating ear pain. At 5am I felt something weird occur in my ear. I can only liken it to wet paper ripping. Turns out it was my ear drum and was followed by a lot of fluid. I phoned 111 and had an appointment at the hospital for just a couple of hours later. I was prescribed antibiotics and ear drops but neither worked. I went to my GP who confirmed they’d not worked and took a swab but unfortunately wouldn’t give me anymore antibiotics until the results were back. The results came back 9 days after the original infection took hold and I was told it was all clear so more antibiotics weren’t needed. However by the end of the week I was back on the phone to 111 and being given another appointment as the excruciating pain returned with a vengeance. I guess the results can’t have been clear after all. I’m now on more antibiotics and thankfully feeling a whole lot better.

Birthday

At the weekend it was my husband’s 40th Birthday. He’s not one for a lot of fuss so we simply ate out. I bought him a flying  lesson from Virgin Experience Days. He was pretty pleased with it and will be taking the lesson at Bournemouth Airport. I’m looking forward to watching.

We went out to eat at Casa Brasil which is a Brazilian Rodizo restaurant at Port Solent. They  bring various meats round on large skewers and it’s all you can eat. It was fabulous. On the Saturday we went to Relentless HQ, again at  Port Solent which sells Seafood, Burgers and Steaks. I had the Crostini starter which was beautiful. For main course I had the The Ultimate Surf and Turf which was a 12oz fillet steak and a whole lobster. It was divine to say the least! We were seated right beside the pudding counter and they all looked so good but unfortunately because it’s Summer and they had the doors wide open there were numerous flys buzzing around and on them!

Cars

I’m now the proud owner of a car. I went and picked up my Smart ForFour last week. There’s a blog post to come on this. Just need to pass my driving test now!

Summer

Summer always means saying goodbye to the children at work as they venture out to join the world of school. It’s such a sad time saying goodbye and hoping they’ll settle well in to school. I received a lovely gift from one parent and her daughter. Personalised gifts are the best.

Losing friends

Sadly I’ve also lost my work bestie this week. She’s going to start a job in a school in September. We get along so well, I’m sad to see her go but excited that she has this new opportunity. We went to Hot Rock for her leaving do which is a Steak House with a twist. You cook the steak yourself on a hot volcanic rock. It was so much fun and really made for an experience as well as dining out. I had scallops for my starter and then the rib eye steak. It was divine and I cooked it exactly how I like it so it tasted wonderful.