By far the best thing I did during August was the Newcastle in the Sky event with Artisan. Having a really good meal hanging from a crane over looking the city was something I won’t forget in a hurry, and although the event is over for this year I would really recommend giving it a go in future when it returns.

Another event which I really enjoyed was the Gin Masterclass at The Botanist. Being a big gin fan I found this experience very useful, and I learned a lot about various gins and how much fruit can change the taste. I’m not really one for cocktail masterclasses or things like that, but this one is worth every penny if you like gin, I took loads of handy tips away from it.

Restaurant Week returned to Newcastle at the start of the month, so six of us went along to Dobson & Parnell on the Quayside to try out their menu after hearing good things. Our meal was very nice, the mussels in white wine were amazing as were the chips! Cocktails were good too, and the restaurant itself was lovely, but it isn’t cheap so one for an occasion or a lunchtime special!

Due to busy lives and two of the girls living in London, it’s pretty difficult for my friends to all find a night when we are free. So it was a pretty rare event that we managed to get together for restaurant week and a Friday night in town all in the same week. We met the London girls in Central Oven & Shaker opposite the station for cocktails, and went on to have a pretty old school night out.

By old school I mean we were necking back shots in Revolution like it was going out of fashion. Awful. But it was a really good night and I would definitely recommend the Coconut Espresso Martini and the Lady Marmalade I think it was, from Central Oven & Shaker.

Another very memorable drink I had last month (and there were a few), was my Auntie Linda’s creation for her 60th Birthday. The ‘Lindypops’ went down a treat at her party at Jam Jar in Jesmond!

With the football season back in force, we’ve spent quite a lot of time at the pub again. I suppose you need to when you’re a life long Newcastle fan, to numb the frequent pain we have to endure on a Saturday afternoon.

There are some great local pubs near me, all that serve excellent pub food. I’ve been to the Beehive, which is such a cute country pub and my local the Red House quite a few times. If you go get the prawn tapas and the meatballs, both pretty good!

Bank Holiday weekend was fairly quiet for the first half, pub visits and sitting in the garden, but on the Sunday I went up to Jesmond to try Navaho Cafe’s famous Rose Petal Latte. Yes I’m a marketers dream, and no I didn’t ‘do it for the gram’ (DIE), but I did thoroughly enjoy it, and the chocolate brownie I devoured with it.

The Sunday night of bank holiday was spent sat outside of Pitcher and Piano drinking gin and tonics. It was like being on holiday!

Travel content has been fairly light through August, mainly because I’ve been nowhere. Peak time in the summer holidays, not always fun with all the kids about. I did massively regret not booking up for Vegas with some old friends though, they went off to Sin City and as much as I tried to get a last minute flight it was just too expensive because of the STUPID boxing fight.

Instead I watched their incredible trip through InstaStories, and wrote a few blogs on my past Vegas experiences. Take a look at 10 Reasons You Will LOVE The Cosmopolitan, A Tour of the Neon Boneyard and What to do in Vegas that isn’t Gambling. I will 100% be going next year.

My last post of the month came about after I spent some time helping Nige & Viv (the parents, for any new readers) plan their trip to Santorini next year. I felt that there were some things I needed to warn them about, that aren’t obvious from the beautiful white buildings and blue rooftops that cover the pages of travel brochures and online sites. What You Need to Know Before Visiting Santorini came from this, and while yes it is breathtakingly beautiful, there are some less luxurious aspects to it as well. Can’t wait to hear how they navigate the airport next year…

When it comes to the blog itself, it just keeps growing and I can’t believe how many people visited in August, it was my highest month of visitors yet. It’s almost a year since I started taking this seriously, and it’s incredible when I look at the opportunities that have come my way because of it. Who’d have thought I’d be eating oysters while hanging from a crane above Newcastle?!

Through September there are a few things coming up, it’s the Northern Blog Awards night, where I’m a finalist in the travel category. Thank you again to everyone who voted for me! It’s also my birthday, and definitely more exciting than that I’m finally getting on a plane and heading off to Florence. I can’t wait to stuff my face with Italian food and ice cream! If you’ve been please send your recommendations – would love to hear them!

Have a great September, enjoy your pumpkin spiced lattes and knitwear shopping!

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