Boats, Bridges & Blue Sky

 Recently myself and a few of my family members jumped on a boat in Stafford (Norbury Wharf) and slowly made our way down a river for around 8 hours, mowing up when we came across a nice pub, park or picnic space.

I really enjoyed a day away from fast paced and everyday life to just sit back and appreciate my surroundings and reflect on what is actually happening around me. I've always been a live in the moment kind of person where I enjoy what is happening right now and try not to worry what tomorrow will bring or what happened yesterday; but whilst I sat on the boat in the sunshine, with no phone signal and very little modern technology, I enjoyed thinking about what I have coming up and what I have been up to these past few months.

I've finished all of my college exams

Left college for good

Completed a level 2 IAG qualification

Bagged myself a new job

Nearly finished learning to drive

Been on holiday

Experienced a range of new things

Met so many new and amazing people

& had so much fun in the process!!

My day on the boat turned into one of the most relaxing and reflective days off I think I've ever taken, I think I'm slowly changing my 'living for the now' mindset and want to try and slow down every now and then to appreciate the whirl wind I can find myself in occasionally. I think its important to find the healthy balance in not obsessing over the past and future but also not ignoring them until they hit you in the moment.

Do you live for the now or think about tomorrow too much?

I'll leave you with some of my favourite pictures I took from the day.

Until next time, Toni. xo

London Trip.

London is my all time favourite place in the world, over all the expensive, hot and amazing holidays I have been on, London has always been the place I wanted to be.

There is something about the hustle and bustle, the knowing that whatever you need is always available and the idea of blending into a big crowd that makes it appeal to me so much - I have never liked standing out from the crowd but always found myself there anyway but London is the only place I feel happy and truly myself. There are so many styles, people, cultures and everything in London that makes everyone so different nothing is stand out enough to take note. In the capital city surrounded with thousands of other people doing their own thing I found myself, literally discovered something within myself that I never thought I would, contentment, that is why I love being there and that is why my heart belongs to the capital.

 

I take every chance I get to head down to London for a couple of hours, a weekend, a week or just a concert! This time I wanted to document it, I stayed for 2 nights and lived the life of a Londoner, no longer a tourist- I have mastered the tube, seen the sights and am now just enjoying my time- just another person going about their day and I couldn't have been happier with my time spent there.

 

 

 

 The street I stayed in was absolutely beautiful and right next to Hyde Park! On my last day after breakfast I walked through the park and even managed to catch a glimpse at the charitable half marathon.

 

 

 The memorial for all the British soldiers lost at war was phenomenal and I know 'a picture speaks a thousand words' but this picture and no other picture is able to represent the immensity of the display or the emotion expressed through the thousands of ceramic poppies planted in the ground.

 

 

  I of course had to take a walk over the river and take some shots of the London Eye and the London sky line in all its glory.

 

Portobello Road is one of my new favourite places in London! I went purely for the famous market but found myself in awe of the beautiful buildings and scenes around me - I would definitely recommend it for anyone who hasn't experienced it yet!

 

Camden was one of the first places I ever visited on my first trip to London 8 years ago and I have never stopped loving it since! If you ever go look out for the fresh orange juice stand covered in whole oranges and a man shouting about how good his juice is because it is the best.

 

 

 During my time in London was the African Culture Day which I of course had to go and check out (long story short I ended up playing a bongo in front of around 100 people) still one of my favourite days ever spent in the city!

 

 

I had to fit a show into my weekend also and went along to see Made In Dagenham which was one of the funniest and sweetest west end shows I have ever seen! I would definitely recommend it to anyone into rom coms/ chick flicks such as myself as it is the perfect combination of everything in one!

 

Piccadilly Circus
 

 

Until next time,

Toni.

x.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Penguin Lovin'.

I recently went to my local zoo and went by to look into the penguin enclosure and had such a lovely view of a group of penguins up close and personal, literally! I had the opportunity to feed the penguins when they were all in the water and swimming, which was kind of gross (considering the food they eat are tiny dead fish) but also so much fun and definitely something to check off my bucket list. After they had been fed they got onto the rockery and I got some lovely pictures of a couple of penguins sitting with their partners and showing each other some love. It was great to witness this because, although you can see every documentary, cartoon film and picture of penguins cuddling each other and standing close together to keep warm, seeing it right in front of your eyes makes it all the more magical! This is a short post but I wanted to share these sweet pictures I took of my favourites from the enclosure.

River Cruise.

 

 

I recently took a little guided cruise down a river local to me and had such an amazing time! The sights were so beautiful and I learnt so much about the local area that I never knew before. Random buildings that I thought were just 'old' hold so much history to them and once were such iconic places for local people. I got some great pictures and wanted to share them, so here are some of my favourites! I would definitely recommend for you to try it if you have the opportunity, even if you don't like history or you're not into the background of the local area it is so much fun to get out on the water and relax!

I also had a sweet treat on the boat with a double chocolate chip brownie which was a-ma-zing!! That made it all the better for me as I could sit back with a drink, my brownie and listen to the guides on the boat talking about the surrounding area, plus a huge bonus to the day was the sunshine and the cool breeze which was lovely! The boat ride was so much fun and I cant wait to do things like this again! It was such a cute place and such a great experience.

Holidays With Friends.

 

Earlier this year I travelled to Devon, England with one of  my closest friends. We decided to go on holiday together in the time we had off from work and school to have some fun, explore and hopefully try something new; we successfully did all of those things!

 

On one of the days we spent there we walked down to the near by beach where we found beach huts-one of my all time favourite things about the seaside- we also sat on the sea front on the pebble beach and walked along the sand near the water. It wasn't exactly warm which, obviously in the UK wasn't a shock so thankfully we were prepared (coats, hats, gloves, the works!) I found that the beach huts were all different and the way they were decorated all very unique with bright and vibrant colours which made the beach front look beautiful. If ever you're in Devon make sure to look out for them as they are certainly something to look at!

 

 

Another one of my favourite things we did there was go on the big wheel by the yacht docks, my friend however wasn't exactly what you would call 'excited' about the prospect of being in a little box swinging in the breeze, high in the sky, she was petrified and I literally had to drag her onto it. When we were in the air she relaxed slightly but still had to hold my hand the whole way round! That was her 'trying something new' experience; mine doesn't seem so big compared to her conquering her fear, but I tried coffee and I can positively say I definitely won't be drinking it again.  

 

Whilst exploring the Devonshire sea fronts, docks, shops, streets and markets we came across some places that I pretty much fell in love with! One was a café bar in the centre of a dock market made from an old camping van, the whole van was the kitchen and to be served you had to go to the window and ring a bell then sit on the deck chairs along the front of the docks where they would bring you your order, it was so original and retro and gave you the ultimate unique experience.

 

The other was a small handmade crafts shop in a lane behind where all the high street shops were. We actually found this shop when we got lost when trying to find our way back to the car, which proves that something great can come from a not so great situation. The owner of the shop told us that he makes most of the things himself such as the candles, all of the things made of wood and his wife and friends help with everything else such as ornaments, soaps etc. It was such a lovely shop and I made some purchases for things back home in my room and a couple of handmade bath bombs.