Holiday Snaps...

I thought I would share with you a few of my favourite snaps from my holiday to Norfolk this summer. I hope you enjoy them as much as me! Norfolk is such a beautiful place. 

Evening walk at the beach in Cromer...

So cute. 

Dad having fun skimming stones.. 

Such a beautiful part of the world

So many pictures of boats..

Trying to be artsy!

The beach at Weybourne is amazing, best place for skimming stones

Northern and proud!

In love with the windmill at Cley

We ventured to Suffolk to visit Southwold

Obsessed with beach huts. 

Love this one!

My little brother skimming stones

More beach huts!

and again...

Isn't Norfolk stunning...

I hope you can see from these pictures why I love Norfolk..

Emmie x

Freshaaasss...

So this week has been freshers' week at my uni and although I'm not in first year I still moved up north for it. However, It was not for the partying and drinking but this year I am part of my Christian union committee and we organised lots of events and fun things for the freshers,Christian and none Christian, to do.

This year we thought we would get some hoodies to show who we are on campus and we have already had a good few people come up and chat to us because they have read the back of the hoodie. Plus, they are really comfy and cosy! Win win! 

Tuesday night (Wednesday 2am!!) we decided to try something new and we headed out to campus at 2am loaded with pizza to share with the people who were coming in from a night out. It was such a good opportunity to show God's love to people we wouldn't usually be able to chat to. We had some great and hilarious conversations! One of them being about if Jesus was a vegetarian! It wasn't our intention to go and preach and convert people but just to show them God's love and that we do have good banter! I think we succeeded in that!! It was a brilliant night and refreshing to have tried something new! 

On Thursday night we had a pudding party and the turn out was amazing, far beyond what I had expected. It was great to see so many people chatting, laughing and enjoying some flipping good pudding!! There was waffleberry pie, blondies, Eton mess, fifteens, cupcakes and sooo much more. Such a good night. 

                                  Only picture I have of the night! Tis an amusing one! 

We have more events planned for next week so hopefully they will leave us with even bigger smiles than this week! 

Emmie x

Mixed emotions...

'So tomorrow is the day I drive up to Edinburgh to start my second year of university. My granny and grandpa are coming round for tea so I can see them before I go away. We did the same last year and it is scary how quickly the year has disappeared! The meal last year feels like yesterday. I also have a new card game to teach them (five crowns), it is my new obsession. It is such a good group card game. 

I am excited about moving back, this year I have a proper flat, not just halls which will be fabulous. I'm living with 3 friends (mentioned in the lasses on tour post) who I love and they make me giggle. Bodes well. I'm also excited to live in Edinburgh rather than on campus in Musselburgh. I loved halls but this is going to be so much better! 

However, I am also feeling rather nervous! I've been back at home with my family for 18weeks and I don't want to move away from them again. I've gotten used to them just being there and to cuddles from my little brother!'

So I actually intended to post this last week... I have now been living in Edinburgh for a week and I'm feeling settled and like this is where I should be. It has been amazing to catch up with people I haven't seen for months. This week has been a lot of fun. However, I still do feel the same about home. It makes me sad that next time I'm there is only for 3 days. I am excited though because my mum and brother are both coming up to stay for weekends in November!! Ben and I are going to a rugby match and mum and I are going to see wicked. Can't wait. 

I hope I'm not the only home bird who has flown the nest and still secretly prefers home!! 

Emmie x 

Holiday blues...

Summer gets so busy, I haven't managed to write a post in so long! So much to share with you though, lots of fun, laughter and memories. During these summer months I spent two weeks on holiday with my family in Norfolk. Norfolk is such a beautiful part of the county. It has a stunning coastline, pretty villages and towns and lots more to see and do. As a family we love the place and have been on holiday there lots! I personally love walking along the beach taking photos and watching the boys skim stones. I also love exploring little villages and towns and discovering cute little shops. I ended up buying myself quite a few treats and presents during the two weeks! 

 I won't share everything we did with you but I will give you a run through my top five things to do In Norfolk. (Narrowing it down to five was tough!) 

1. When in Norfolk you HAVE to visit the broads. They are so beautiful. I would recommend Horning as top stop for a wander or maybe a picnic by the water. Horning is right on the banks of the broads and is full of pretty houses and thatched cottages but if that isn't for you there is a pub where you can still out by the water and soak in the atmosphere of the place. Also... (Sorry, rambling already) if you can I would recommend hiring a boat for a day or a few hours to explore more of the broads. So much to see and enjoy. 

2. Sherringham. I love sherringham! I probably love it because of the amazing shops. The high street is full of cute shops with pretty things, I could spend hours wandering around them but there is so much more to it. Beautiful beach, steam train trips, traditional sweet shop.. The list goes on!! When in (north) Norfolk pay sherringham a visit. 

3. Get fish and chips in Cromer. The No1 fish and chip shop in Cromer is the best fish and chip shop I've every been to. The food tastes AMAZING. The chips are the perfect combination of fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The only downside to the place is the huges queues, we ended up waiting outside for 50 minutes. Ignoring the queue! Best fish and chip shop. Then you can sit on the beach or on the pier and enjoy the beautiful views. 

4. Norwich. Norwich is a lovely historic city with so so so much to see and do. We just visited for an afternoon and that wasn't enough time! The one must in Norwich I would say is you need to visit macarons and more. It is an independent macaron shop opened by an ex master chef runner up. I had a passion fruit and milk chocolate macaron and it was incredible. 

5. Stay in a cottage in the country, I'm probably biased about this but we always stay in a cute cottage in the middle of nowhere on holiday and I love it. Signal maybe dodgey and wifi is poor but the views are incredible. Driving back to the cottage at sunset was just beautiful. As a city girl through and through I couldn't cope living in the country all the time but I can appreciate it for two weeks! 

I hope if you ever visit Norfolk this will be helpful! There was so much more I could have written. 

Emmie x 

Lifepath...

Just a quick post.. I wanted to share with you about an awesome week I had back in June... 

I helped at a Scripture Union Schools event called Lifepath. It is so much fun, both for the kids (I hope!) and for the team! Lifepath is run at Brinkburn Priory in Northumberland, the English Heritage kindly allow use to use the buildings and grounds.

 (Brinkburn Priory) 

As the week was based upon the kids learning about St Hilda and set in a priory we as a team all dressed as monks for the week! 

Me and Lucy looking amazing in our habits! 

I was a Pilgrim guide which meant I was looking after a group of about 15 kids for the day and I  had to get them from one activity to the next. There were all sorts of activities ranging from the Jesus Journey (lots of stories about Jesus' life told in cool ways by a story teller called Chris.) to making mosaic and clay tiles! There were so many fun things for the kids to do. 

This is a selfie of my group of friends who were there! 

Sarah was missing when the picture was taken... 

If you want to know more about lifepath or other Scripture Union events and camps check out this website... http://wwwhttp://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/CountMeIn/Wheretogo/Lifepath/LifepathBrinkburn/142063.id.

Emmie x

Lasses on tour...

Long time no post! Life has been busy recently, so many exciting things going on! I thought I would just share with you about the week where my flat mates for next year came to stay! It was so much fun, so much laughter! First I will introduce you to my gorgeous friends.. 

Me (Emma), Jenny, Hannah and Lucy

I love that photo so much! It makes me smile every time I see it. 

Lucy and I both live very near each other in Newcastle so Jenny and Hannah braved the journey across the border from Scotland to come and spend a few days with us. 

On our first afternoon after collecting everyone from the station we had a wander in Jesmond dene, I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful place on my doorstep. Then after our wander we obviously had to go for cake at my favourite local cafe D&D's! 

Us enjoying the views in the dene! 

On Tuesday we made the most of the incredibly blue skies and sun and took a trip to the beach. We had a wander round the pretty shops, I found a beautiful dress in a really cute little boutique shop. After the shops we walked to Tynemouth priory and had a picnic lunch and shared some chips. 

We then walked along the beach and went paddling in the freezing cold north sea! 

We then wandered further round the coast to a different bay and had ice cream from a really cute ice cream parlour! 

It was so lovely and sunny so we went and sat on the beach and sunbathed for the rest of the afternoon! We successfully managed to all fit on the same rug!

On our last full day together we got the train to Durham to spend the day exploring and shopping! We had a lovely lunch sat down by the river. 

We spent the rest of the time in Durham wandering, eating cake and taking selfies. 

We found a pretty little cupcake shop! 

We then made our way back to Newcastle and had a lovely Italian meal out together. 

On our last morning before Hannah and Jenny had to catch their trains we had breakfast together at my house. I cooked scrambled egg for everyone and we enjoyed our last little bit of time together before we all live together in September! 

Emmie x

Escape to Rockcliffe...

Last week I had a mini holiday with my mum, brother, boyfriend, granny and grandpa! A random combination of people but it was fabulous! My grandparents booked a 6 bed cottage in Dumfries and Galloway and invited us along to fill the extra beds! The cottage was a five minute walk from the beach in the pretty seaside town of Rockcliffe. It was lovely. The best bit of the cottage was the upstairs living room, showing off the gorgeous views of the sea. 

 We arrived on the Wednesday evening so Thursday was our first full day, we made the most of it and

walked from neighbouring Kippford back to Rockcliffe.

The path goes through a wooded area and then ended with beautiful sea views. Both towns are coastal with cute stone houses and boats. I was in my element!! Then after lunch we headed to Kirkcudbright to wander and explore. Again, Kirkcudbright has water, views, shops, cute houses and it also has art galleries. It is a lovely place. It was such a treat to sit by the water and enjoy healthy holiday food like ice cream and chips!!

This is a really cute alley in Kirkcudbright! So pretty! I love just wandering around places like Kirkcudbright. So many hidden gems like this..

So many of the houses were painted in pretty pastel colours. Love it! 

Friday was also a fabulous day, the weather forecast told us that it was going to be cloudy and then rainy.. So we thought we would make the most of the morning and we headed to a beach. Mossyard bay. It was picture perfect! We ended up having the whole beach to ourselves and staying for a good few hours! The beach was beautiful and as the tide came in and out again it changed and brought more surprises. The sand by the sea was covered in the most beautiful shells. All different shaped and sizes, my favourites were the swirly cone shaped ones!

Love this photo... Granny and Grandpa paddling! Grandpa in up to his knees! Love them.

After the beach we headed to an ice cream farm and enjoyed some very tasty ice cream!! Mine was delicious, chocolate orange flavour. The farm had loads of different activities including, slides, a 3D maze and huge viewing tower. Our favourite thing was however, 'go boing!' a series of nets suspended from trees which created a massive trampoline with tunnels and different areas. It was so much fun but also very scary!! The boys were more daring than me! I screamed less than my mum though, she did not enjoy it at all!! 

We then finished Friday with a birthday meal out for granny's 85th (very tasty!) then cake and silly games back at the cottage! 

 Saturday morning was spent packing up and leaving but Dumfries didn't get rid of us that easily, we headed back to Kippford for a bit and then spent the afternoon at Caelaverock castle before heading back home! All in all it was a fabulous few days spent laughing and having fun with family! 

Emmie x 

Sun, sea and ice cream...

I LOVE the North East of England! I am a city girl at heart but I adore days out in the countryside. This week my family took a trip into Northumberland. The plan was to walk from Craster to Dunstanburgh but due to the crazy business of a bank holiday Monday we carried on driving to Embleton. Embleton is a little Northumberland village with just a few houses, a pub, golf course and beach. Such a gem. 

There is a pretty walk down from the village to the beach. The sun made the walk even more enjoyable. 

After a picnic lunch on the beach we wandered across to Dunstanburgh through the sand dunes. Such a lovely walk with the most incredible views! 

This was the view as we walked from the beach towards Dunstanburgh castle... 

The weather got nicer and nicer as the day went on, I ended up getting very sunburnt!!

If you are ever in the North East you NEED to visit Northumberland. So beautiful.

You should check out this website... http://www.suefenlonart.co.uk/, she is my favourite artist and she paints the most amazing pictures and many of them feature Northumberland. 

Emmie x