Relaunching The Blog!

Howdy! Hi! Hello?

After such a long hiatus from writing it's difficult to know how to start once again. Do I carry on like you're all old friends and we simply lost touch? Start fresh as I'm sure there's no one checking back for new content anymore? Should I apologise for my absence, pretending for a moment that anyone really noticed or cared? Or just brazenly carry on like nothing happened and the last year didn't really exist? I've gone with ramble on like a mad woman, so nothing has really changed in all this time has it?

You can guess from the title why we're here; I've decided to revamp the blog and breathe some new life into it. There are a million different reasons I stopped writing in the first place, but there's one main reason for restarting it: I've moved to Belfast! In fact, it was just a week ago.

Crazy right?

Hold Up...

So I should probably rewind a bit and explain for those who actually have read the blog before, or for any crazy people who have gone through the archives and want to understand the big jump in time, location and situation. (I doubt anyone other than me does this, but you never know..)

Earlier this year I split with my fiance Tom and moved in with my grandparents while my parents got my old room ready for me - a new paint job, a new bed, just to make it feel a little less like a backward step, y'know? I won't go into the details - this isn't a gossip blog after all. All you need to know is that it was for the best for both of us and we remain friendly, if not friends.

A huge amount happened during that time - a big family trip to Arizona, health issues that I'll discuss in another blog (I picked up a new chronic condition!), new friends were made and old ones were lost, and then there's Chris. We've been friends as long as I can remember (okay, 9 years if you want specifics) and he's always been incredibly supportive and generally awesome to me. You can tell where this is going can't you? I'll save you the rom-com style girl-falls-for-best-friend story and skip to the obvious; we are now together and you guessed it, he lives in Belfast. And now so do I.

"But Ami!" I hear you cry.. "Isn't that a bit fast?"

Why yes, opinionated stranger, it is a bit fast. But hey, life's too short and all that right? I mean, we've known each other 9 years so it's a new romantic relationship but not a new relationship in the slightest. And having spent my entire life living in the very small bubble of Bath & Bristol, I thought it was time I went on a little adventure and spread my wings. Belfast seems as good a place as any for an adventure if you ask me!

What This Means

Essentially it means I'm blogging again, but there's a little more to it than that. I'm not just picking up where I left off, I'm working on all new topics and trying to make things a lot more interesting for you guys than they were in the past. There will still be elements of the old stuff - I still love cooking and want to continue bringing you recipes that are endometriosis-friendly. I'm still planning homemade gifts, so you'll still get guides on those (if they turn out well at least..) and of course I'll carry on updating you with the more interesting elements of my life.

New elements will be related to travelling as that's one of our major goals this year: we're gonna be saving up over the next 18 months and then setting off on some kind of soul-searching adventure hopefully in 2018. So expect savings tips, planning tips, musings on the philosophy of travel and all those other obnoxious posts that people who travel share, because I'm nothing if not a stereotype!

I'll also be sharing my experiences of moving to a new country! Even though I've only moved within the UK you'd be amazed at all the things you need to think about and plan for and the things that aren't as straightforward as you'd think. Example: did you know you can only have a Tesco current account if you have a mainland UK address? I only found out while trying to switch to them (clubcard points, yo) that I can have their online saver account, but their current account will be forever out of my reach. Random, right?

I'll still be writing about my experiences with Endometriosis, fundraising for Endometriosis UK and all the wonderful things that come with it, along with new topics for my newly diagnosed condition (I really will leave the big reveal to another blog, this one is getting long!) and musings on living with chronic illnesses in general.

Summing Up

So that's all there is to it really. I'll probably aim to post 2-3 times a week at first, aiming for every day always falls short and I'd rather surprise you with bonus posts than disappoint. Hit me up in the comments if you have questions, suggestions, things you'd like to see? Just to say hello even! It's been a while after all.

Much Love,
Ami
xx