I feel as though we barely touched on July - it absolutely flew by and here we are in another new month already, even closer to baby and our lives changing. We're very much in a weird lockdown but not lockdown limbo at the moment - as I'm in the later stages of pregnancy and unvaccinated it's a bit riskier for me as cases rise so we're still only dipping our toes in. If we've been out we've stayed as far away from people as we can and we're still wearing masks and being careful.
To be honest, the mask thing will probably stick with us for some time especially on public transport. It's a shame it's viewed the way it is in western society when it's a sign of respect when ill in eastern society - anyway... that's a conversation for another day!
We're still making the most of our smalls wins. little memories and happy moments where we can - they don't have to be a huge, momentous thing, they can be just about anything - be it a chocolate bar you treated yourself to or a long walk listening to an audiobook.
Child-free brunch
With our son having his last session at pre-school before the summer holidays and Arran on annual leave, we made the most of a day alone and grabbed brunch in a new spot in the city. We grabbed iced coffees and had a walk around the park with parakeets flying overhead before heading to our reservation. It was such a lovely morning, the food was delicious and we still had a few hours of nothing before the little one finished for the day when we got home too.
Pass me the frozen drinks!
With each passing heatwave, I've got into the habit of whipping up some sort of frozen concoction in the Thermomix and our latest try was a non-alcoholic sunrise margarita. I say margarita, I'm not sure there was anything in them to justify calling them that but here we are - that is what the recipe was called.
July Heatwave
Well..... that was a hot few days, wasn't it? I was okay the first couple of days but by Sunday I just wanted to lay in front of a fan with cold flannels over me and cry. I've done summer pregnant before and said never again but you can't always plan these things so I spent most of July in front of a fan or in the paddling pool. Very thankful to past Alice for ordering a paddling pool big enough for the whole family to lounge about in.
Dinners out with friends
With restrictions lifting, I had a few foodie reviews come in so with my friend in tow we headed off to fill our bellies. We did two reviews over a few days and were very much spoilt with glorious food. One restaurant had views of the marina while the other was set in the New Forest so they were in beautiful locations too. I'm hunkering down until I have the baby now but I can't wait to get back out there and show more fabulous restaurants across Southampton with you.
An exciting morning with Hamleys
We spent the last day of July with our son in Hamleys! The store opened three months ago in our main shopping centre in Southampton and we were invited for a private experience before opening where our son was able to shop to his heart's content. He was so excited, bounced around the store on a space hopper and walked away with the most generous gift bag of toys. I'm not sure we'll top that for a while!
How have you spent July? Tell me what made you smile this month!
