Highlights of 2019: When a Film Crew Came for Coffee!

2019 has been a funny old year. PackThePJs has ticked along nicely; it hasn’t yet taken the world by storm, but steady wins the race etc. We have exciting plans for 2020 and hope you’ll enjoy reading about our adventures.

So what exciting things did we do in 2019?

January to April 2019

Well the February half term saw us campervanning around the Highlands of Scotland, the four of us with the dogs too. It was definitely an experience … lovely because the roads were empty and it was peaceful, yet slightly stressful as all the campsites were closed for the winter (with most car parks displaying ‘no overnight stay’ signs). Our campervan was slightly too small for us too – but it made it fun; and Scotland is incredibly beautiful.

Overnight stop on the Black Isle

In March, Huw was invited to the launch of the new MSC Bellissima cruise ship. I was sad to miss this opportunity, as they really went to town with the celebrity-rich celebrations. The cruise ship was, naturally, beautiful too with it’s world famous Swarovski staircases.

Atrium staircases

During a weekend, we headed into the capital to visit SeaLife London. This is always a favourite with the children, but it was very busy and difficult to see the tanks at times (I recommend week-day visits if possible!)

Toby and TJ hoping the Gentoo penguins will come to say hello

Easter found us heading towards Holyhead on Anglesey for an early morning ferry across to Dublin – again with the dogs. We spent a week touring Northern Ireland and the Dublin area of the Republic of Ireland. Airbnb was our ‘go to’ accommodation choice, and we saw so much during our visit. We particularly enjoyed Northern Ireland, as the people were so friendly and the northern coastline – and the Giant’s Causeway – was amazing.

Outside the Titanic Museum, Belfast

April to July 2019

Whitsun found us driving (again with the dogs!) to a Eurocamp in the Ardeche region of France. What a beautiful part of the world, with the famous Pont D’arc and gorges. The museum devoted to prehistoric cave paintings found in the area was a highlight for the children. The campsite had a substantial pool complex too, so for once we actually spent some of our time relaxing and not exploring!

Pont D’Arc

A Bank Holiday weekend in June saw us, without the dogs this time, heading back to France. This time we were guests of the Parc Asterix theme park, just outside Paris. We stayed in their La Cite Suspendue themed hotel, and the children LOVED the fast rides (and there were lots of them!)

A character ‘meet and greet’

A detour on the route home saw us head to the French coast for a night, so that history-mad Toby could visit the WWII museums and beaches in Normandy. There is still a lot to see in this area, so will return in 2020.

We spent a day at Tankfest at the Tank Museum in Dorset. If you like militaria and everything tank – this is the place to go!

Diggerland was a highlight one weekend early in July, with both children having a lot of fun driving and operating diggers!

August to October 2019

When it came to our ‘main’ summer holiday, a life-long dream was finally ticked off my travel bucket list. We spent 10 days exploring north-west Costa Rica. It was incredible. The birdlife at our first hotel was amazing. We saw a sloth in the tree above the hotel car park. We saw volcanos, rainforests, deserted beaches. Tours taught us all about harvesting both cocoa beans and turning them into chocolate … growing coffee plants and drying, roasting, enjoying the world-famous Costa Rican coffee beans. The country has so much to offer, and we only saw a tiny part of it … so yes, we definitely want to go back!

The October half term was a quiet one. We planned to head somewhere, but decided that time at home was needed. Our kitchen was mid-renovation, and for reasons I’ll explain shortly, it needed to be finished. But even with all the DIY, we still managed some excellent days out and catch-ups with friends.

November and December 2019

During the autumn the children had a beginners skateboarding lesson in Hyde Park in London. What a beautiful day we picked for it too!

A weekend in Ramsgate saw us visiting two WWII museums and Howlett’s Zoo. The Royal Harbour Hotel, their Empire Rooms restaurant and Small Ships Cafe were incredibly good hosts, and we really enjoyed our stay.

Ramsgate Harbour

I thoroughly enjoyed a meal at the Pearson’s Arms in Whitstable, Kent, and then a further one at The Ambrette in Canterbury, with my good friend Dawn. Both were lovely opportunities to sample top-rate food while catching up with each other.

Pearson’s Arms, Whitstable, Kent: Main Course

The Ambrette, Canterbury, Kent: Main Course

Georgena and I were flown out to Germany to join the brand new Norwegian Encore cruise ship, and sail back to Southampton on her. Our two day adventure started with a wonderful hosted pre-flight night at the Crowne Plaza hotel. Norwegian Encore really did deliver – amazing food, incredible cocktails, awesome stage shows … and let’s not forget the VR room and 2-deck racing track!

Kinky Boots, on board Norwegian Encore

During November, the Jump In! trampoline park in Slough, Berkshire hosted a birthday party for both my children, and both of Georgena’s too! After all the fun of jumping, Millie-Mae and Toby were sound asleep for the entire journey home!

Jump In! Trampoline Park, Slough. Berkshire

To get us in a festive mood, one Friday evening in December we drove down to Alexandra Palace in north London. Here the children went to check in with Santa, and to reinforce their gift wishlist with him, and then we all watched Pinocchio on Ice, performed at their famous Victorian skating rink.

Pinocchio on Ice at Alexandra Palace

Our last trip in 2019 saw us heading north to Northumberland, a county we are very fond of. Escaping the pre-Christmas Day ‘fuss’ we took in Bamburgh Castle as well as the Winter Lights Trail at Alnwick Gardens. It was a lovely break that recharged our batteries in preparation for the busy week ahead!

Bamburgh Castle

Alnwick Gardens’ Winter Light Trail

So, in a nutshell, that sums up our 2019 travels.

Kitchen renovation 

But now let me refer you back to the title of this post, and the mention of a film crew visiting … the team (Zoe and Lizzie) were from Your Home magazine, and they came to interview me, and photograph our newly renovated kitchen. It was an amazing experience, quite unlike anything I’ve ever done before!

Before the renovation

When we moved into our home – a brand new ‘new build’ – back in 2011, I had to pick our kitchen from a selection offered by the developer. I found it impossible to choose, so opted for the same as in the show home, as I could at least see it. However, it turned out to be the wrong choice. FAR too much beige, where we like colour.

Here’s a (rather distorted) photo I found of it.

Panoramic of ‘old’ kitchen

After 8 years it was looking shabby, and we hated everything about it. Well, everything except the polished stone worktops. We had no budget to rip out and replace, so we opted for a DIY renovation.

Our newly renovated kitchen

Cupboard doors and drawers, kickboards and edgings were all replaced and we bought a new sink and fancy tap. The walls were painted a ‘brave’ yellow, because it complemented the grey cupboards (and worked well in a kitchen layout I saw in Wickes). We replaced a larder cupboard to make space for an American style fridge freezer, and I bought a chunky industrial-looking island from Ikea.

And here’s a photograph of the finished kitchen:

Newly renovated kitchen

For over a year I purchased new small kitchen appliances in sales – a kettle, toaster, microwave, chopping boards, dinner sets and cutlery etc. Even new tea towels (I’m quite fussy about my tea towels!) A highlight for us was our bean to cup Sage coffee maker from ao.com. We absolutely love this machine – genuinely, we can’t live without it. It’s really intuitive, totally programmable to your own tastes, and makes the most amazing flat white (and it looks pretty too!)

Our Sage Bean-to-Cup Coffee machine

Our kitchen is more of a sociable space, as the actual kitchen opens out in to a family room, where we have our dining table, along with a sofa and TV. Wanting to get away from the beige, we picked a modern, yet retro, wallpaper and paired it with a dark grey paint. Chunky furniture was the way to go, following an industrial theme, with a new table, benches and chairs purchased in the Next sale, a nearly new leather sofa from ebay, and a sideboard from facebook marketplace, that we added baskets to (Ikea) for shoes. The heavy lights came from a Next sale too … everything was done on a budget.

Your Home magazine

We love it, and spend most of our time in that room. However, when I sent my friend some photos of it, I had no clue she was planning on forwarding them to her Your Home editor. When she messaged to say they wanted to include the kitchen in their magazine, I jumped out my skin! I’m no model, and at that time the kitchen was far from being finished! But I said yes – it’s not every day your DIY skills get national recognition! My friend Zoe, and her photographer Lizzie, spent a morning at our home early in November.  Many photos were snapped on the day, and here’s a couple of sneaky behind the camera pics I took …

Behind the Your Home cameras

Showing off my new tea towel!

There were so many features I really wanted them to focus on, and mention in the magazine. My beautiful flowers from Prestige Flowers …

New sink and tap, with my favourite flowers!

Our favourite piece of personalised wall art – an amazing family mandala designed by Helen at Olifantjie takes pride of place on a wall …

Personalised mandala

… but alas not all photographs were chosen for inclusion. I too had to pose for photos during the shoot. I didn’t like this one little bit … I’m SO MUCH HAPPIER behind the camera, hiding. But hey, I did it! It was actually, overall, a really fun morning. I was told to expect the piece to be published around the end of January, early February 2020.

Aarrggh …

So it came as a bit of a shock when I received my January 2020 issue through the post. This one:

Your Home magazine, Front Cover, Jan 2020

I’m on pages 52 and 53! Want to see them? Here you go …

Your Home, Jan 2020, kitchen feature

What a way to round up 2019!

I have no real plans for 2020 and the new decade in front of us. More travel, more new experiences, more memory-making events with my family and friends. A new focus on general and personal wellbeing – health, being mindful and considerate – is key to our days and weeks ahead. Above all else, being happy and enjoying every possible moment.

… But I really would like to (finally) see the Northern Lights, if someone could arrange that!

HAPPY NEW DECADE from all of us at PackThePJs. Thank you for being our friends x