So, back before I took a big o’ blog hiatus, I used to love catching up with 5 Happy Things every month (well before I became super overwhelmed, had a major op which meant I couldn’t use my right hand for a while, then covid happened, and I scrambled to catch up on them… but we digress!). Point being, I liked this little corner of the internet to be a place where I shared things I’d been up to, and I could share happy memories and things I enjoyed. And since there’s no way I am going to fill that post backlog and satisfy the completionist in me, I thought I’d drop a little catch-up with 2024, and then we can crack on with some of the more recent updates. (Especially as I’m now with someone who wants to encourage me to write more, imagine that!)
So, let’s all about 2024, eh? Let me just say, it was a mixed bag of a year…
January
After one weekend of peace and quiet after the festive period, January kicked off with DragCon UK. Held at the Excel, it was a camp old time. I spent the day with Hannah and Michelle and met some of my favourite UK drag queens. The following week, Sophie messaged me and asked if I fancied bottomless brunch at The Big Easy in Covent Garden, and well, how was I going to say no to that, being the way I broke dry January?! Catching up over a vegan burger, cocktails, and Prosecco? Oh, heck yeah! A very well-needed girlie day, which, as always, was full of laughs and catching up on the last month or so.
The Monday after, my mum and I headed to Paro Indian in Covent Garden (full review here!). Finally, I finished the month up with the Vegal Gang. Taking over the top floor of Tofu Vegan in Golders Green, we had gorgeous food and lots of laughs with the karaoke. The perfect end to the month!
February
February is always a bit of a busy one for me. It’s not only my birthday, but it’s both of my parents ‘ and a good few of my friends too! I always joke that I am keeping my Lola’s Cupcakes in business for the month for just that reason. If my birthday happened to fall on a weekend like last year’s, I’d normally have plans. But without going too much into it, I didn’t for my own hopeful naivety, causing me to leave it a bit too late. Thankfully, my mum and dad were both free that weekend we went to Battersea Power Station for a few cocktails in Control Room B and a Dishoom. Gorgeous!
Next up, it was time for February’s Vegal Gang meet-up! We went to Club Mexicana for their Taco Tuesday and 2 for 1 margaritas, heavenly! Lizzie even made the most incredible cake for the occasion, on which, if you fancy one of her insanely gorgeous cakes for yourself, she’s at Heart of Cake.
My friend Katie and I are always birthday buddies, so the weekend came around and I was off to Leeds for the day. We played darts at Flight Club and had a few drinks before I caught the train back and instantly regretted my choice to get in after midnight. (30-something problems right?!) But alas, I needed to get home as it was my mum’s birthday and I wanted to take her out for a spot of dinner.
Finally, I rounded a very jam-packed February with a girlie day out with Sophie, Gemma, and Jess! We went for a bottomless brunch at Shackfuyu and to go test our speed skills at the F1 Arcade on the simulators. Needless to say, I am not going to be the best next Max Verstappen, but did anyone really think I would…
March
After a busy, busy February, March brought me down to earth with a big ol’ crash. I managed to have another flare-up of an ongoing condition, which for most of the month left me not really wanting to leave the house. But, I did finally get a doctor to confirm a diagnosis and *touch wood* the methods and treatments they’ve given me seem to have stopped it coming back as bad since!
At least I managed to squeeze in the annual tradition of going to see The Apprentice – You’re Fired with Isaiah, Stuart, and Tenneil. And I guess it’s a blessing that even if I didn’t want to, I got plenty of rest that month!
April
If March was a bad month, I don’t quite know where to start with April. The beginning, well, it started off well enough. I was feeling well enough to go out more, hitting my groove again at work and getting back into cooking… Then at the end of the month, I lost one of my dearest friends, Hannah. Someone who to this day, I still think is going to pop up and message me about something or reply in the group. It feels a bit weird to think of anything fun that I’d been up to that month, because whenever I look back on that month, that’s pretty much all I think of.
May
May started off with the entirety of the group chat we were in with Hannah (plus Nova, Olympia, and Char) getting together in an Airbnb in London to just process things together. We cried a lot, but we also made bracelets (as she always did for any gigs, etc!), watched the old vlogs she’d posted, and generally just reminisced over all the good times. Also, a side note. The fact that we ended up booked into the “Hannah Building” that night without looking up the finer details will still never be lost on me.
Towards the middle of May, I finally felt like smiling again. It was Sophie’s birthday, and we went to Dishoom before some chaos at Hijingo. If you’ve not heard of Hijingo, it’s a unique take on it with a lot of flashing lights, pretty much designed for celebrations and bottomless brunch. And I mean that in the best way! None of us won the holiday (or the flashing umbrella…). So, obviously, we were gutted, but we went to Simmons for two-for-one cocktails before the train home!
June
Oh my, well, June. Happy Era’s Tour memories to all those who celebrate. Or for me, who went with Josh in place of Hannah, had the most magical evening, albeit with a big old cry during her favourite songs. It was also lovely for Josh to meet my friends Sophie and Jess while we were in the crowd singing our Swiftie hearts out. Towards the end, when we had rain for one song and it just felt like everything was going to be okay.
On which, the weekend after, Sophie and I were off to one of the happiest places on Earth… Disneyland Paris! We got on the 6 am train to Paris and headed, much like on Sophie’s Hen, to Val De Europe to drop our bags, freshen up, and get our Disney vibes ON! I don’t know what to say from this that isn’t going to be its own post at some point, but we lived the dream. We rode some of our favorite rides, ate Mickey-shaped foods, and generally just enjoyed the sunshine.
We also spent the majority of the following day in Paris. I’ve not been to Paris properly since I was a child, so seeing the Eiffel Tower again is just a testament to how impressive it is. We also got a giant croissant the size of a small child and named him Phillipe, because he was very regal and deserved a name.
July
With the sun shining, I started the first Thursday in July on a work team day. While the morning focused on work, we finished early in the afternoon and headed to Market Halls for a spot of lunch and a few drinks on the rooftop. I went for a vegan Banana Leaf Meal from Gopal’s Corner, which is pretty much my go-to whenever I visit. We celebrated two of my colleagues’ birthdays, and generally was a bloomin’ lovely, slightly unexpected day. Generally, the next week or so was just enjoying the sun and doing a little baking.
The following week, Sophie and I had a few plans. Starting off, I joined her at a screening of Twisters, which was a fun night and a really enjoyable watch. After this, we both booked a day off to have a bit of a girlie day in the city. We went to a pop-up promoting the release of Deadpool & Wolverine and the collaboration with Actiph water. A super cute start to the day with tandem swings near Tower Bridge. (Although, possibly not the best day for us both to pick to wear dresses!) After this, in a shock to no one who knows us both, we went for a Wagamama’s and ordered our usuals. With lunch done, we wandered to Oxford Street to check out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection at Lush.
Finally, I ended the month with a family barbecue with my parents. It also gave me an excuse to make some homemade salsas and potato salad. Yum!
August
August rolled around, and it was time for Katie to come down and visit. So we both headed to Battersea Power Station to one of our favourite spots, Megan’s. Located right on the river and with a great selection of dishes that fit with both of our dietary requirements, while being super yummy and doing a banging sangria? Always a winner in my opinion! We caught up on all our upcoming plans and enjoyed a spot of brunch. So needed. After this, Katie and I headed to our usual haunt, the F1 Arcade in Bank. Katie’s a huge F1 fan, and her enthusiasm always rubs off on me when we’re there. That, and I wanted to get better on the simulators…
The following weekend, it was time to head up North to Lincoln. Nath had convinced Cat, me and Millie, and her partner Judd to come up and visit for Lincoln Pride. We rented an Airbnb near his and headed to see the parade, followed by some of the performances. A cute, glitter-filled weekend!
Finally, I finished the month off with a catch-up with Stuart at Market Halls. We had a lot of laughs, a few too many wines, and decided to plan a trip to Benidorm that never came to fruition. You know, one of those kinda nights? Great fun all round! Oh, but on the subject of holidays, I did end up booking my first proper solo one for later on in the year in August…
September
As the first of September fell on a Sunday and my dad was out at the football, I took my mum out for a wander down at the Paddington Basin. The canals in Paddington are arguably one of my favourite places in London, and normally we go to Little Venice. So it was nice to head to the other end for a change. Later that week, Sophie invited me along to go and see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at a screening with her. It’s always a lovely time catching up with her, and the film was good fun too!
Later on in September, it was time for some surprise birthday shenanigans for James’ 35th birthday. We intended to semi-ambush him in Eataly, and while we managed to do this and load him up with all sorts of birthday badges and inflatables, I almost rumbled us by being unknowingly spotted by him on the tube. *doh*. We went to Hijingo, had a great laugh and a few cocktails, before going on to an arcade bar to finish the evening. Super fun, and I hope that we made sure he had a fantastic birthday!
With a holiday planned for the next month, the rest of the month was pretty slow. I restarted playing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and did lots of cooking. Oh! & I learned how to make homemade salt and pepper chips. Total game changer!
October
October got off to the best start. The first weekend Sophie, Jess, Gemma, and I got together for a well overdue girlie day. We started off at Inamo, for their bottomless brunch. What’s great about this is not only is it unlimited prosecco for the 90 minutes, it’s also unlimited sushi and asian tapas dishes. So, needless to say, we went for it. Unlike last time we went, I hardly got any photos of the food as we were all too busy yapping, eating, and laughing.
After this, it was time to head over to Swingers, West End, just off Oxford Circus. The venue is home to a crazy golf course, an indoor carnival, and street food vendors. As well as a bar serving up a great selection of cocktails. Considering I have pretty much zero coordination, I couldn’t get over how much fun the carnival was. I mean, I was in great company after all!
Finally, the 10th rolled around, and it was time for me to put my out of office on and head to Bodrum in Turkey for a week. (Thinking about it, I will probably do a post or two about the trip and what I got up to at a later date…). But while it was one of the most daunting things I’ve done, it was one of the most rewarding. I booked into a gorgeous all-inclusive resort with its own beach, the Selectum Colors. A week of swimming, reading by the pool, and soaking up the sun was exactly what I needed. (Oh, and a day trip to Kos in the mix!) While I have some things I would have changed about the trip, I’m merely using those as lessons learned for when I book another trip to Turkey in the future…
On getting back to London, Sophie took me as her plus one for the Really dinner and a seance celebrating their Paranormal Nights and the spooky content. An absolutely gorgeous night, and truly the cherry on top of a fantastic month.
November
While Katie normally comes up to London to visit, we decided to swap things around and in the first weekend of November, I went up to visit her. We went out for a pizza and then home for an evening of playing Switch and having snacks. Oh, and meeting her gorgeous kitten, Max. The next day, we headed into Leeds to meet up with Katy. Katie had been telling us both how much she’d enjoyed playing shuffleboard at Electric Shuffle, so it was only right that we spent Sunday doing just that. A very wholesome weekend!
The weekend after it was Luisa’s birthday, and she invited me along to celebrate with her and a group of her friends over at Saint Monday in Hackney. With a vegan smoke house, of course, we all just had to get involved, right?! I went for the Brisket sandwich, served in a brioche bun with homemade beans and mac and cheese. Absolutely gorgeous food, but even better company! Immaculate vibes.
Finally, as we didn’t really get a chance to last year, I’d promised to take my mum to go and see some of the Christmas lights. We went to check out the lights around Oxford and Regent Street. And, while we were there popped into Liberty for their Wicked the Movie display. After this, it was on to Carnaby. To be honest, we were a little disappointed with their lights that year. However, it was a great excuse to take mum for a glass of wine in Cahoots. I just knew she’d love it! Finally, we went for a rather cheeky pizza at Pizza Pilgrims before heading home.
December
Every year for as long as I can think back, Sophie and I have a cute little festive day. We normally book annual leave (so the city won’t be too packed compared to the weekend!) and make a point to hit all of the festive photo ops we wanted to see. 2024 was no different, with a very cute day all around. We started in Covent Garden. Partly as they always have cute Christmas displays, but also as we’d planned to go for lunch at Ave Mario. She’d been before and been raving about but honestly, it was an absolute 10/10, no notes. Gorgeous venue, gorgeous food, and gorgeous company! The rest of the day was spent checking out some of the Christmas lights around New Bond Street and putting the world to rights.
The final big social event of the year was for the one and only Isaiah’s birthday. We headed over to the Southwark Playhouse in Elephant to catch a performance of A Very Naughty Christmas. It was camp, it was slightly crude, and it was hilarious. It really set the vibe for the rest of the evening and truly broke the ice between anyone who hadn’t met before! After this, it was on to Megan’s for a spot of dinner and a few drinks. Absolutely gorgeous evening, and as Isaiah is someone who always makes such an effort for people, it made me so happy to see us all get together to celebrate him!
The rest of December, as it normally is for me, was fairly quiet. Christmas was spent at home with the parents, having far too many snacks and watching lots of Christmas movies. Then for the New Year? We went for a glass of wine at the local pub, played some Monopoly. Then it was home for dinner, watching Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny and bed pretty soon after the bells.
Genuinely about halfway through writing this, I thought I was going to give up. Not because it’s long, but because I’d thought that 2024 was all in all a bit of an awful year. But, going back and looking at all these positive memories as well as some of the bad ones has made me realise something very important. While it’s not always going to be good times and smooth sailing, I’m truly blessed in terms of having some of the most wonderful friends and family in my life. To anyone who made my 2024 special, you’re bloomin’ wonderful. ♥
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