First Wedding Anniversary

Darren and I celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary on Saturday and after much stressing about not being able to find a lodge with a hot tub (got to be done!), we ended up booking a glamping pod in Aberfeldy.  The word 'glamping' is far too similar to 'camping' for my liking, so I was a bit apprehensive...a girl needs her straighteners and I wasn't keen on traipsing off to a communal toilet block in the middle of the night for a wee!

Alas, I needn't have worried, because our super little pod had plug sockets aplenty and it's own real, full-size, actual flushing toilet and shower inside!  

We set off after work on Friday, and after the most beautiful scenic drive through the hills, we made our way up the dirt track towards our home for the weekend perched up on the hillside.  Our first task was to get the fire pit lit and get our burgers cooking - we were both starving!  We sat and ate outside with the sky gradually growing dark and the only sounds being the crackling of the logs on the fire and the odd sheep making it's presence known.  The rest of the evening was spent sipping on Prosecco before retiring to the pod where we cranked up the stereo system and sang and danced at the top of our voices until the wee small hours!

The next morning we woke up and got the fire going again for breakfast of buttermilk pancakes and lovely crispy bacon.  I was sure the pancakes cooked on the fire would be disastrous but they were actually really lovely!  We opened all of our anniversary cards and teared up over all the kind words and sat reminiscing about our wedding day last year.  Then we leisurely got ourselves ready and headed out towards Loch Tay for the day.  I was keen to rent a little motor boat and explore the Loch but Darren chose that particular moment to tell me he was afraid of deep water and, seeing the fear in his eyes, that idea was quickly scrapped.  Instead we just walked around the pretty little village of Kenmore which sits right on the banks of Loch Tay.  

We had our anniversary meal at The Three Lemons in Aberfeldy and would highly recommend it - especially for their wood-fired pizzas..to die for!  Then it was back to our pod for s'mores on the fire and yet more Prosecco.  It was such a peaceful, chilled out night round the fire.

The next day rolled around and it was time for us to get packed up and head home.  We were pretty sad to be leaving behind this idyllic little place, but I guess only experiencing nice things like this once in a while makes them all the sweeter?  

My Favourite Memories of 2014

I thought if start the new year by taking a look back at 2014 and some of my favourite memories.  These were captured on my trusty old iphone camera which is never far from my side.

In March Darren and I were lucky enough to spend a weekend in Stranraer at the amazing Corswall Lighthouse.  It was in this totally remote setting with no phone signal or wifi (eeek!).  It was so lovely just to spend some couple time together and enjoy exploring the beautiful surroundings.  We even hopped on the ferry across to Belfast for the day where it poured down with rain the whole day!  I even tried my hand at vlogging - check it out here 

In April we moved out of our little one-bedroom apartment.  This picture makes me laugh - we were trying to carry as much stuff as we could because we had 5 flights of stairs to walk up and down!  We moved into a slightly bigger place with a spare bedroom...and only one flight of stairs!

Not long after we moved, Darren's parents came up from Gloustershire for a visit.  We took them to see The Kelpies, two massive sculptures of horses built beside the Forth and Clyde Canal.  It was such a beautiful evening and they looked stunning in the fading light.

In May I picked up my wedding dress and this was me trying it on for the first time!  I fell in love with the dress when I initially tried it on in a size 12, but wasn't quite expecting the extra amount of fabric on the skirt once it was sized up to my correct size.  Regardless of this, I still loved it and it really started to feel like I was getting married!

In June, I volunteered as a Steward for the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay as it made it's way towards Glasgow.  It was such a great day - everyone was buzzing!  

In July it was time for my Hen Do!  My bridesmaids excelled themselves organising it.  We stayed in a beautiful apartment in the Duchally Estate in Gleneagles with it's own balcony.  As you may be able to tell from the picture, one evening we had a Country theme and everyone got right in the spirit!  It was a brilliant night which ended with a show and tell where everyone brought something and shared a story about me and them, it was amazing!  During the day we chilled out at the spa, played rounders, ate brilliant food and at night we all got glammed up and headed to Gleneagles Hotel for a meal - perfect weekend which I will treasure.

In August I got married!  I struggle to put into words exactly what the day meant to me.  Our ceremony was outside in my aunts garden and the sun shone as we said our vows.  Darren looked so handsome in his kilt, even though he isn't Scottish is was a lovely guesture for him to wear it for my benefit.  Later on everyone filled the dance floor and I literally danced the night away.  It was our perfect day.

In October, we jetted off on our honeymoon!  Our was a bit non-traditional as instead of two weeks by the beach we headed off for a road trip of Southern USA!  We started in Atlanta, Georgia before heading to Talladega in Alabama to watch the NASCAR.  Then we went to Memphis, where we explored Graceland, Sun Studios and drank way too many cocktails on Beale Street!  We then headed to Nashville.  Now if you ever have the opportunity to visit, do it! It is an amazing place.  We even took in an NFL game at LP Field which, although I don't understand the game, was a great experience.  We stayed at an Airbnb in East Nashville which was an annex to a bigger house.  It was super cosy and our hosts baked us fresh cookies every morning.  Our next stop on the road trip was Pigeon Forge which is famous for being the birthplace of Dolly Parton!  She has her theme park there, appropriately named Dollywood.  It was such a pretty setting, up in the mountains with all the autumn leaves.  On our way back, we had 24 hours to spend in New York City. We had agreed on the places we wanted to fit in - The 9/11 Memorial, Times Square and Empire State Building.  We also saw Taylor Swift perform at Times Square!  We were both completely knackered when we got back home, but we have so many happy memories and experiences to look back on it was totally worth it!

So there we have it.  2014.  I'm kinda sad to see the back of this year so it was bittersweet wishing my husband a Happy New Year as the clock struck midnight.  I can't wait to see what adventures 2015 will bring!