As some of you may know my lil brother (He's not that little hes actually part gorilla) randomly lost the use of his legs over 2 years ago and they never came back. Along with this he also gained muscle spasms (sometimes make it look like he twerking, however this is no laughing matter, okay maybe a little bit funny). Anyway he now uses a wheelchair full time and I'm a little bit jealous that his wheelchair is cooler than mine and he can do wheelies and I'm too scared but that's not the point.

The point is Ollie is doing the Cardiff Half Marathon in his wheelchair on Sunday and yes I agree he is probably a little bit crazy. This is made even more incredible by the fact that he only came out of hospital after a week long stay on Friday due to horrific full body spasms (he looked possessed & I was going to rent him out to horror films). I don't think he has a brain but he is extremely determined. He is so excited and is attempting to finish the whole thing. I however will be on the sideline, possibly with pom poms if I can find any (where can a girl get some green pom poms?), cheering everyone on and enjoying the feeling of actually being able to get oxygen into my lungs.

I would also like to point out that my dad who tries to do the bare minimum of exercise also signed up in a moment of weakness. I'm a little bit concerned as the word lycra has been thrown around a bit which may be a tad traumatic.

They are raising money for Whizz Kidz as they are an amazing charity that support young people in wheelchairs providing them with the skills and confidence needed to navigate life on four wheels. They also provide vital equipment to make living life possible.  

So if you could donate even 50p I know it would make my brothers day as well as a lot of other disabled young people that the money would go to help. You can find the just giving page here and it would be awesome if you could leave an encouraging note for Ollie and my dad Dave on there to let them know you donated and spur them on that little bit more.

Also if you're in cardiff look out for the girl with bright pink hair rocking a neon green top. Colour clashing at it's finest.

If you have never heard of Jewellerybox where have you been? Also get yourself over to their site pronto. They have so many gorgeous items. They also just happen to be the loveliest company ever. I've been having a pretty rough few months with the last few weeks being the worst. I just happened to tweet saying I was going to treat myself to something from them to cheer me up and to see if anyone had any recommendations. The super lovely Gemma then sent me these two gorgeous pieces, I am so in love with, just to make me smile. They honestly made my week so much better and I cant thank them enough.


First of all, how cute is their packaging. The simple brown boxes are just too cute. Jewellerybox have something for everyone with a huge range of prices and gorgeous affordable gold and silver items. I  have to have good quality jewellery as cheaper costume jewellery irritates my skin but this usually means my purse suffers. Not any more. I can see myself buying a lot more from this site.






So if you want to treat yourself or if you are stuck for gift ideas (they also do mens jewellery) I highly recommend them. They even offer free shipping on orders over £10 and postage is super quick.

You can have 2 posts today to explain why you may have noticed that posts have been seriously lacking recently. Sorry about that. My life has just been crazy hectic recently. I actually have so many posts to write up but zero time. I ended up going on holiday to different places 3 weeks in a row which although amazing took its toll on my body and I'm not even sure if I'm still alive any more. I need a holiday from my body to recover.


 I had the best time in Barcelona with my friends which actually seems like forever ago now. I then was home for one day before I went away in the caravan with my family and we stayed in Pembrey. I managed to carry on working on my tan and work my way through some of my to read list and it was nice to actually get to spend time with my family. We were then home for one more night before we rushed off to Manchester for my brother to compete for Wales in the Sainsbury's school games Wheelchair Basketball (Proud sister alert).

I've now been home for 2 weeks but I've been volunteering with Whizz Kidz, attended a blogger event (which I will get around to posting about), went to the rubgy and tried to rest so that my body didn't die on me. Then Friday we had to get an ambulance for my lil brother and I have spent every day since then in the hospital rotating with my parents so someone is always with him. He's still not out and we still have no idea what's wrong with him but fingers crossed we can get some answers soon.

Sooo that is my hectic life and why I haven't been around as much as I would like. Once everything get's back to normal (well as normal as my family can be) hopefully I can start posting more regularly. Buuut my body may crash and burn for a bit first because the queen of over doing it is struggling on.

If you're ever passing Zizzi and have a craving for the best pasta or pizza ever followed by some delicious gelato then I would definitely recommend popping in.

As you can see by my blog recently I have moved to the more lifestyle side of blogging, which seems to involve a lot of food. I also have some epic outfit posts featuring my mum that should be coming soon.

Anyway back to the Red Lion. The Red Lion is a Hotel that has opened up in a Village near mine, Llangadog. The new owners have gone with a Medieval Wales theme for the whole place including the bedrooms. There are fabulous chandeliers, coats of armour and the rooms have massive four poster beds. A lot of thought has been put into all the little details including slate coasters and wooden covers for the menus.

Now onto the food. The food is pretty damn gorgeous and the portion sizes are huge. The second time we went I had the meatballs and pasta as a main and I had to ask for a takeaway pot (which I filled). Wasn't gonna waste it though.

Everyone wanted in on the food picture action though so you get to see what everyone in my family ate. Picture heavy and it will make you hungry #SorryNotSorry (I'm a little bit sorry for that hashtag though)

Starters

Sweet Chilli Chicken Skewers - These are absolutely amazing. Im addicted to sweet chilli sauce anyway but mmmm.


Mussels - I hate fish (except tuna mayo and fish fingers but they don't really count) but the rest of my family love mussels. Apparently these were pretty good and they get served in a pot with a lid that you can use to put your shells in (I found that pretty cool)


Scallops - Another dish I did not try. My dad said it was good though so we'll go with that


Spaghetti & Meatballs - This was my starter. Yup this portion is a starter. And let me tell you, this is the best spaghetti & meatballs I have had. It was soo good. The meatballs are amazing and the sauce is delicious. I did not, however, enjoy trying to eat the spaghetti like a lady. It's not possible. I had to slurp and I got it all over my face. Worth it though

As some of you may know I have been doing a work placement and volunteering with Whizz Kidz. Two weeks ago we had a massive day out to Staylittle Outdoor centre for a Sailability event. After copious amounts of coffee (I dont get along with early mornings) and getting lost once *cough a few times* we made it to the gorgeous Clywedog reservoir. It was an eventful but stunning journey. I would also like to thank my taxi driver (my lil brother) for getting me there in one piece whilst I sat clutching my coffee and grunting in response.


Sail ability provides the opportunity for disabled people to have a go at sailing and canoeing. They have accessible boats and hoists and an amazing attitude. The staff are so lovely and extremely helpful, making the day that little bit more enjoyable. You are provided with all the equipment you need including very fetching wetsuits and life jackets. I looked fabulous but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. Such a shame. They also have an accessible toilet and shower.

I would have to say that for an accessible event there are a few things you need to be aware of. The ramp down to the water is extremely steep so power chairs may skid and cause issues. It is also super steep for manual chair users. Even my brother with his massive arms had to be pushed up (seriously I think he might be part gorilla). You have to take a fully accessible power boat to the jetty to then transfer to the sailing boats where they have a hoist to get you in.

Unfortunately for us even though we went in August the weather was not great. It was a tad on the chilly side yet when we got on the sailing boat the wind disappeared and the rain joined us. We still had a good time though. We went on a trip on the power boat and learnt all about the history of the reservoir which was so interesting. Then we went sailing and talked a lot about pizza. After lunch the people with more hardcore bodies (not me and my brother) went out canoeing whilst we huddled around the heater clutching more coffee trying to get our joints to function. Everyone seemed to love the canoeing.



Despite the beautiful welsh weather and a slightly broken body everyone still had an amazing day. We got to catch up with friends made at other groups and make new ones. The staff made the day go smoothly with no injuries, which is a pretty major achievement with my brother around.

I love that Whizz Kidz makes activities that wouldn't normally be open to disabled young people possible and provide the support needed to have as much fun as possible

"Atlanta, 1974. As a brutal killing and furious manhunt rocks the city, Kate Murphy wonders if her first day on the police force will also be her last.

Kate isn't the only woman on the force who is finding things tough. Maggie Lawson followed her uncle and brother into the ranks to prove her worth in their cynical eyes.

When Maggie and Kate become partners, and are sidelined in the search for the city's cop killer, they decide to pursue their own line of investigation. But are they prepared to risk everything as they venture into the city's darkest heart?"

This book is set when it was super sexist in the police force (more than now). Two women are fighting to work in the male dominated police force with no one taking them seriously. There is a cop killer on the loose and no one will listen to what the women have to say.

I'm not really sure why I found this book so hard going but I probably wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't Karin Slaughter. It seemed to take forever for it to actually go anywhere and I really didn't gel with the characters. I did want to find out who the bad guy was but I got a bit bored until the last chapter where it all finally came together.

This book is no where near as good as the Sara Linton and Will Trent series

I'm going to start this post by saying The Fforest Inn is honestly my favourite place ever to eat. Seriously, I am in love. I think this place may actually make the best burger I have ever tasted. Its so good that I have eaten here 3 times and I have ordered the burger every time. I don't even bother looking at anything else on the menu. I can't resist a good burger.

The staff at the Fforest Inn are the nicest people you will ever meet. I don't think I've ever had such good service, especially when the first time we went in they had just finished serving and we looked so rough they took pity  on us and let us eat. They are seriously so lovely.

Their food is so reasonably priced and it is all home made and oh so delicious. I've only ever had the home made beef burger with bacon & cheese but my mum loves the Hunters Chicken and my brother inhaled the steak in about 2 minutes.


The burger may be delicious but their puddings are out of this world. I am a huge huge cheesecake fan and this cheesecake is heaven on a plate. I have tried the Lemon and the Vanilla cheesecake so far. I think the lemon may be my favourite but as a scientist I may have to do some repeat tests to get a fair result. I mean its for science. My mum usually hates cheesecake but she cant get enough of this one.


Also sticky toffee pudding *heart eyes emoji* Seriously this is so delicious. The toffee sauce is like heaven in your mouth. I just can't describe how delicious this is. Honestly this is the best sticky toffee pudding I have ever tasted. I would also like to point out that these puddings are actually smaller than what you would normally get because I couldn't choose and they got fed up with waiting for me to make a decision so gave me half and half but shh don't tell anyone.


They also introduced us into the world of Panna Cotta as none of us had tried it before. It is amazing. My brother now nags me every day to drive 45mins to pick him one up.

So if you are ever in Llanfihangel Nant Melan stop by and tell them that the crazy panna cotta family sent you. They'll know who you mean