Christmas in Abu Dhabi 2019

This year due to moving jobs and apartments once again we decided to spend Christmas as a year in Abu Dhabi.  We were originally going to travel to a more wintery destination but as we moved apartments again in early December we decided it best to stay put.

We did Christmas in Abu Dhabi in our first year here - our children were very young and we hadn't had long to settle into our new life.  Our first Christmas here was a strange one.  I remember crying on Christmas Eve, longing for the sort of Christmas we were used to.  But when Christmas day rolled around we did have a really lovely day.  We did the fairly typical expat thing and went to Christmas brunch at the Westin.  It was a great experience and I am really glad that we did it but it was easy to forget that it was actually Christmas day, sitting outside at a brunch with everyone eating at different times.  Christmas in Abu Dhabi that year could be found with lots of Christmas tree lightings and with a visit to see Father Christmas in the Abu Dhabi mall but it was still very much something that you had to look for as, after all, we live in a country that doesn't actually celebrate Christmas.

Fast forward to this year and what a change! Christmas has been all around this year and we have had a super festive December.  I am so pleased and so appreciative of the fact that Abu Dhabi has embraced Christmas this year.  With Christmas songs playing in the malls, copious festive events and Christmas markets it really has been so much better than our first run up to Christmas in 2017.  We have taken advantage of many of the Christmas events that have been happening in and around Abu Dhabi.  Some highlights include the Yas winter carnival and the Galleria mall winter wonderland (so if you're here next Christmas you should definitely check those out).  We also threw in a trip to Ski Dubai (about an hour and 40 minutes from where we live) which was so much fun! We played in the snow and paid Father Christmas a visit.  We were already in the festive spirit so this was the cherry on top!

After playing in the snow and popping into iHop (The international house of pancakes for those of you that don't know) we headed over to stay on the QE2 which is now permanently docked in Dubai.  The children absolutely loved the experience of sleeping on a ship and the following day we watched the Peter Pan pantomime on board!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were fairly quiet affairs; just us, delicious food and lots of present unwrapping!  We bought lots of delicious food from Waitrose but got our actual Christmas dinner from Jones the Grocers here in Abu Dhabi. Apart from the dodgy gravy the dinner was absolutely brilliant - really tasty and there was turkey left over for Sam and the children for days! Sam made his very own turkey curry!  The days following Christmas involved more fun, more playing, the odd delicious cheese coma and lots of slow walks around the mangroves and to the park... bliss!

Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful Christmas... it was the quiet Christmas we wished for; filled with lie ins, family time, playing and plenty of food! We missed friends and family at home of course we did but video calling helped with that. :)

Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas,

Unicorn Cafe: A review.

If you have a son or daughter who loves unicorns (and you live in the UAE 🇦🇪) you need to read this post. 

Recently we visited the Unicorn Café on Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan St in Abu Dhabi.  Our daughter Posey is all about that unicorn life at the moment and we felt that both the children deserved a little treat.  I had heard about the café  a while back but had been told to hold off as they weren't quite set up yet and that their menu was still very limited.  Fast forward a couple of months and we were dying to give this place a go!

When you arrive at the café you are greeted with an array of pink and gold goodness.  It is definitely ascetically pleasing and it is easy to see why it is so instagrammable.  So if you are heading there for the 'gram' you won't be disappointed. 

The menu is only small and but there are some delightful unicorn treats to sample.  From a unicorn milkshake to a unicorn milk cake there are a fair few options.  If you are someone looking for a slice of savory with your sweet then there are a couple of options but if come on, if you're heading to the Unicorn café indulge yourself in all the sweet goodness.

When we went to the café we happened to be the only ones there - which was fabulous.  The café is very small however if you get there when it is quiet it is a pretty delightful place to visit.  Your little ones will definitely leave on a high (a sugar high) and you have the chance to take some lovely photos sitting on the café's indoor swing or sat in front of their beautiful flower wall. 

It is somewhere you would head every week but it is definitely worth a visit and would be a lovely place for an intimate baby shower or little girl's tea party. 

If you go and check it out let me know what you think :) 

You can check the café out on instagram - just search unicorncafe.ad  

Thanks for stopping by, 

Another new start.

 It is October... how is it October?!  I am sat in my bed typing this and feeling good that I am finally picking up my blog again.  The last few months have been a little bit manic to say the least. 

We have now entered our third year of our adventure in the land of sand.  Posey is in year one and Lochlann is in FS2 (reception).  My husband and I had settled well into teaching out here and spent last year leading our year groups; responsible for the curriculum and progress of eight classes each.  Fast forward to now and we are in another new apartment, in a different area of Abu Dhabi and have changed schools too! Like I said the last few months have been somewhat challenging!

Although it had many ups and downs we did enjoy our time at our last school and we learned a lot but we felt it was time for a new challenge and hoped that this new school would be the school we stick at.  We have moved homes 5 times in the past 4 years - I would like to stay put for a while now (I have a serious distaste for packing).  I want our children to continue to grow their friendships and have a chance to feel settled.

We now live on Al Reem island which is much closer to the city than we previously were. A delayed apartment meant we spent a few weeks living in a hotel in the city which was far from ideal but these things tend to happen as an expat teacher (everyone seems to have a similar story).  Although I am not in love with the new apartment, we finally have a home again, we have three bedrooms now and we do have amazing views over the water.  It is taking time for us to get used to being in a new part of Abu Dhabi however now the weather is finally cooling down we are getting the chance to explore a little more.  Al Reem has a great communal park with a skate park which my husband and our two littles were very excited about when we decided to move.  We brought two skateboards back home from the UK with us so the children are eager to get out on those.


Changing schools has brought with it lots of positives but I am not going to sit here and say it was easy. I really dislike being the 'new girl' and have struggled to relinquish control.  My confidence was definitely hit as year group leader last year but in many ways I did really enjoy it and I believed in what we were trying to achieve.  It was always going to be a challenge to come to a new school and learn their approaches.
Posey and Lochlann however continue to astound me.  Yes we had tears and talks about missing their old school but overall they have coped amazingly well with the change. They are making friends, they talk to us about their day and their teachers are pleased with their progress.  For a while I was worried that we had made the wrong decision and that they needed the security of staying put in one school but our littles are tough and they've proven me wrong! :) I am honestly so proud of them both.

We are now coming to the end of October half term but it has been amazing to slow down and not think about school for a while.  To just be mama and daddy.  I won't say I am excited to return to work (who ever is?!) but I am feeling more ready to tackle this new half term.  I am not new anymore, I know my little class and I know my own children are thriving.

Look at how grown up they are now ... Holly and the not so littles should perhaps be the new name for my blog! :) 

If you're still here, thank you for reading my waffly post... I am definitely a little out of practice but it is good to be back!

Stronger not skinnier.

For most of my adult life I have had an interesting relationship with food, with my body and with my mind.  So many of us do, am I right? My body is never something I have been proud of, I have never really made it a priority to love it and to take care of it.  Same goes for my mind really, I let it overthink and obsess far too much never really taking care of my mental health.

Growing up I learned the basics of nutrition and exercise but I don't think that our generation were really taught about taking care of your mind.  Mental health was something that was almost scoffed at.  The word, 'stressed' was banded around a lot but nobody really seemed to take mental health very seriously.

If you've come across my blog before or know me personally you will know that my mum has suffered with anorexia nervosa for most of her life and therefore I grew up witnessing her daily battles.  This disorder also meant that although she tried her best to protect us from it, I developed an unhealthy outlook on eating and my body image.  I have never been anorexic, it just meant that over the years I treated my body utterly disrespectfully and allowed my mind to tell me I was fat, ugly and unworthy.  This in turn meant that I was never motivated to learn about the ins and outs of nutrition and only ever exercised in the pursuit of a flat stomach.

By 2012 I was living alone and was well versed on surviving on Diet Coke, sweets, the odd block of cheese, cucumber and a few other things in between.  I loved all the 'bad' foods and would deprive myself all day long so that I could eat that pizza on Friday night with my boyfriend.  In my head I was surviving and fitting in size 8 clothes so all was grand.  Looking back my mood swings were horrendous, my self confidence was non existent and often all I wanted to do was think about food or sleep.

Falling pregnant in 2013 meant that I had to start taking better care of my body in order to grow our beautiful daughter.  I was hungry/ HANGRY pretty much ALL of the time and boy did I eat.  Finding Sam and having our daughter did stop me from abusing my body and I began to at least respect it for taking care of my daughter for 9 months and delivering her safely into my arms on December 31st 2013.

Again, if you know me or have read my blog before then you will know that I quickly fell pregnant with our son 3 months after having Posey.  This meant that getting my body ready for our wedding went out the window and again I focused on eating 'well' for our unborn child.  We were blessed with our little boy 9 months later but it meant that I absolutely hated myself on our wedding day and unfortunately struggle to look at most of the photographs that were taken on the day.  - I feel it is important to point out here that our wedding day was still one of the happiest days of my life, I married the man of my absolute dreams with our daughter by our sides and our son in my belly.

Fast forward to 2019... I have just turned 30 and my husband has recently started hitting it hard at the gym.  He has always been active but has become seriously motivated to eat well, nourish his body and train like a beast.  I am so proud of him but it also turns out I am quite competitive... so I started following him to the gym.

The gym has seriously awakened something inside of me (so cheesy i know but it is true).  At first I was absolutely terrible at it and attempting to work out having not had time to eat much at work or drink much water.  I found myself feeling inspired to train harder and make my body stronger.  I am motivated to learn more about food and nutrition.  I want to know about foods to improve my skin, my mood, my fitness and my energy levels.  I want to learn about HIIT sessions that can improve my stamina and my strength not that can make me 'drop a dress size' or gain a beach body within a week!

The shift in my mindset is honestly incredible I am less frightened of food and far more willing to learn about my body and take care of it.  Instead of cursing it and hating my IBS I am trying different ways to appease it.  Instead of reaching for alllll the Diet Coke to get me through the day I am starting my days with a hot lemon water and drinking so much water - now don't get me wrong I am still me and I still love Diet Coke but there are changes around here and I am bloody happy about them.

Do I love my body now?  - no, it would be silly to say that I do but I am working with it now and trying to take care of it.  I want to be a mum that my children are proud of and one that has energy and good mental health.  I love to train with Sam and I honestly think it is working wonders in our marriage and basically I am just a happier, more motivated person.

I actually think that this change will stick too -  going to the gym is now something I really look forward to, I am enjoying learning about nutrition and bringing our children along for the ride -  and look, I am motivated to write again so I must be onto a winner.

If you are looking to change and become more in tune with your body's needs and your mental health and sincerely recommend you look up Sarahs_day - she is an Australian holistic health blogger and YouTuber.  She is massively motivating and has so much knowledge to share with daft sods like me who really didn't know a thing about taking care of my body and mind.

side note: thank you Sam for also being massively motivating and supportive - not only does he big me up and support me but he also bought me an Apple Watch and air pods last week to show me how proud of me he is! I mean #husbandgoals or what?!

Sorry for such a long winded post - I am just feeling motivated and actually possibly maybe just a little bit proud of myself!

Thanks for stopping by,

A little life update...

It's the end of May, how is it already the end of May?! ... I know it is a cliché thing to say but the past two years have literally flown.  We are coming up to two years of living in the Middle East and our lives have changed so much.

When we decided to move out here we made a pact that love it or loathe it, we would stick our two year contract out and then see where we were at and how we were feeling.  Now we are reaching that first set of goal posts and I am actually very proud of us.  We left our friends and family in search of a better life for our children and that is what we achieved.  I mean don't get me wrong the #expatlife is far from perfect but when I sit back and look at our daily lives now I am pretty impressed.

Here is a little round up of what makes me most proud;

1. We can afford to pay for our children's music, ballet and rugby lessons all on our own

2. We have been able to ignite a passion for travel in our children.  Before we moved here the most exciting trip Posey and Lochlann experienced was a ferry trip to Ireland for a family getaway with my lovely in-laws (which was lovely by the way) but in the past two years we've lived in Abu Dhabi, visited Copenhagen and Bali as well as traveling back to the UK! - Posey and Lochlann now have places like China and Italy on their bucket lists!

3.  Our children have friends from around the world.  They are getting to learn about and experience many different cultures.

4.  Not only has our marriage survived, I honestly believe it has now begun to thrive - it took time to settle and to get used to being with each other basically all the time but honestly now I think we are stronger and happier than ever!

5. We have started to take care of ourselves a little better - eating better, having a healthier mindset (me) and working out together at the gym.


When reading those things back they all seem pretty normal, mundane things, things that I am sure many people take for granted in their daily lives.  But they're not small things to me.  When our children were very small our family helped us to provide for our children and give them all they need and whilst there is nothing wrong with that - we wanted to be able to do these things for ourselves.
I hated the guilt of knowing I couldn't always afford things for our children - only holidaying in Wales because we were fortunate enough to use our family's caravan.  The children only wearing the nicest of the cheap clothes because that was all we could afford or them having things bought by our family - I was so grateful but I yearned to do things our way - to take them to places we wanted to visit and for them to wear or play with things that we had chosen for them.
I am struggling to put this across in a way that doesn't sound like I am totally only interested in the materialistic side of life but I just mean that I wanted to feel like we could do things for our little family all by ourselves.  I guess I wanted to show what we could achieve even though we got together quickly, got serious even quicker and became parents within 18 months of being official.
I wanted to show that Sam and I were strong together, that we were meant to be despite it all seeming so rushed.

I mean between 2011-2015 we got together, fell pregnant, bought a house together (with help from our parents), welcomed our daughter into the world, fell pregnant for a second time, got married, welcomed our son & then moved house AGAIN!

Fast forward to New Years 2017 and you found Sam and I in our beautiful detached four bedroom home, the home we stretched ourselves for in the hopes it would become our forever home.  Sadly we fairly quickly got bogged down in nursery fees and mortgages repayments.  We have some really wonderful family memories from our time in our house but I vividly remember sitting down together in the New Year just after Posey's and Lochlann's birthdays and deciding that something needed to change. We knew our home wasn't what we wanted for our forever home. We were sick of working our butts off for little pay off and money always seeming tight.  Something needed to change.  We wanted to made our children's lives fulfilled with two happy parents, family adventures and a little spare cash to make life easier and that is what moving to Abu Dhabi has given us.

We arrived with two toddlers, one still in nappies and 8 rather large suitcases.  Two years later we've had two successful years in our current school, our children have both started school and really love it.  Now we are getting our little family ready for our a new adventure in a new school.


                               Us not long after we arrived...

                                Our first trip to Dubai

                                Posey is 3 here and little L is only two

                              On a desert safari for Sam's birthday

How long we will be here?  - In honesty I don't know.  Sam and I stick to our decisions and see them through. Our new contract is for another two years therefore we will be here for at least that.  It gives us two more years to save money and will see us move to another part of Abu Dhabi with new places to explore.

I do worry about the children not experiencing their childhood in England surrounded by our family but the opportunities we can give them here mean that they can spend summers getting in that quality time and the rest of the year living where our weekends involve guitars lessons, the beach and trips to the pool.  We definitely couldn't say that when we lived in Warrington!

                                                            Us now...

I am aware this post has been a ramble fest and possibly doesn't even make much sense but as these first two years draw to close I wanted to get my thoughts down.  There are honestly still moments daily where I still cannot believe that this is where we call home.

I am so glad we started this adventure, I love my little family so much.
💛

If you've reached the even of this long winded post then thank you. 🙏

48 hours in Kobenhavn with Kids

When we stepped off the plane at Copenhagen airport early on cold December morning, with the littles in tow, we weren't sure what to expect.  We were excited and hoping for a charming, festive 48 hours but knew that it might be a stretch with the children.  Perhaps Copenhagen would be beautiful and fun; maybe it would simply be freezing and the children would be miserable - we would soon find out.

As soon as we landed we headed to the train station and people were more than willing to help us figure out which ticket would be best for us to use.  We were pleasantly surprised to find out that children travel for free on the train!  We bought a single use ticket as we wanted to soak up the atmosphere and take in as much as possible whilst walking along the Copenhagen streets.

The train ride from the airport was relatively quick and easy and our hotel was just a few minutes walk from the station, which was brilliant.  We stayed in the Axel Guldsmeden Hotel Colbjørnsensgade 14, Vesterbro, 1653 Copenhagen, Denmark 
which was absolutely stunning and we literally only scratched the surface of the hotel due to our short stay.  I urge you to check it out and look at staying there, the location was great and the hotel was just beautiful.  If and when we return to Copehagen we will certainly be staying there! We had an adjoining room and the children were overjoyed to find their room had bunkbeds!
We ditched our trolley case and headed straight out.

// soaking up all that is festive

Of course we wanted to find anything and everything festive and handily found a map in the hotel which contained directions to some of the lovely markets that were on during our visit.  We walked everywhere which Lochlann struggled with at times but overall it wasn't an issue.  The markets were everything you wanted them to be.  The stalls were so sweet and so christmassy we bought some traditional tree decorations that are made with glass using.a kiln.  If you go you must warm up with a traditional mug of hot Glogg: sweet mulled Danish wine with raisins and almonds.  If you fancy a stronger tipple of Glogg, you can add some rum.  A great thing about the markets in Copenhagen is that they are quite small and easy to move around with small children.  When we visited they really weren't overcrowded at all.  It isn't like visiting the markets in say, Manchester UK.  The overall feeling was much more traditional and relaxed and Posey and Lochlann were really excited by how festive it all was.  

// strolling down Nyhavn

If you have ever google Copenhagen you'll have seen the Nyhavn.  Copenhagen is famous for its colourful port.  I think you could visit this place at any time of the year and think it beautiful but in December, wow.  It was just glorious.  The buildings are of course beautiful alongside the harbour but in the winter the boats and the streets are decorated with Christmas decorations and the street is littered with little wooden huts also selling a steaming mug of Glogg and festive treats such as waffles on a stick, which P and L enjoyed immensely.  

My only regret about this part of our trip is that we didn't stop and take a rest at one of the many bars and cafés that line this gorgeous part of the city.  Each place had little tea lights burning, blankets lining the chairs and fires burning to get warm by.  I really wish we had taken the time to soak this place in just a little longer.  It was simply beautiful. 

// a whistle stop trip to Christiana 

Before heading back to the hotel for a rest, as we planned to head out in the evening, we pushed on and headed a little further out to visit Christiana.  Christiana is known as Copehagen's, 'hippie free town.' We literally just strolled through it to experience it. It was great to show them the graffiti art work that was on display as P is really into her art at the moment.  

// Christmas magic at Tivoli Gardens 
address: Vesterbrogade 3, 1960 Kobenhavn V, Denmark | Entrance 110dk per person (this does not include cost of rides). 

One of the highlights of our trip has to be Tivoli gardens... It was most certainly the highlight for the children.  They absolutely loved it.  I can't express to you how beautiful this place is; it honestly is magical and most definitely a winter wonderland. 
Tivoli is the world's second oldest amusement park and can be found smack bang in the midst of Copenhagen.  It was so close to our hotel and is literally across the road from the central train station. During the winter this amusement park is transformed into destination Christmas with a wonderful Christmas market and the chance to meet Father Christmas is a location that honestly rivals Lapland for its magic. 

We headed over to Tivoli in the evening but had we been in Copenhagen for longer we definitely would have spent a whole day there and gone back in the evening after a rest in the hotel.  I won't lie to you the rides aren't exactly cheap but with one of a kind old fashioned car rides and majestic, ornate carousels you really don't mind so much.  
I would love to spend more time there just wandering around.  We took some photos but honestly they don't do the place any justice.  It is simply stunning.  

After lots of fun at Tivoli gardens we decided to just grab some dinner quickly and head back to the hotel to thaw out.  

The next morning we enjoyed a little lie in followed by a delicious breakfast in the hotel.  It had a great selection and we filled up before heading out to soak up as much of Copenhagen as possible before our evening flight home.  

// ice skating at Frederiksberg Runddel | skate hire 50dk 

Frederiksberg Garden was around a 25 minute walk from our hotel.  We didn't have the time to explore the gardens but at we knew the entrance to the garden is transformed into a wonderful ice rink each winter season so after breakfast we headed there.  We enjoyed strolling round the Danish streets and taking in the sights although I have to say if I had my time again I may have rented a bicycle with seats for the children as they were ever so slightly grumpy about walking for a second day.  Admission to the ice rink is free and everyone is welcome.  It is a lovely little rink and you can hire a pair of skates as well as penguins for the children to skate round with. 

Despite some apprehension both the children throughly enjoyed this experience. Neither of them have skated before but the atmosphere was lovely and the penguins really helped them.  It was really cold so once we had finished skating we had warmed up with hot chocolates and Sam and the children enjoyed a Danish hot dog from a traditional stand.  
It was such a simple activity but in such a lovely place, with a great family atmosphere. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip!

// a taste of hyyge 

After a ice skating we headed back towards the hotel as we only had a couples of hours left before we needed to get to the airport.  On route back we decided we would visit a Danish bar/ café off the beaten track as it were, so that we could really experience hyyge.  
I don't know about you but I have always loved the idea of hyyge and love the Danish for educating the world about it.  In case you don't know, hyyge is a huge part of Danish culture and it is all about getting in touch with the calm, peaceful and cosy side of you.  
So on our wander back we stopped off at this little place that had benches with tables outside.  There were a trio of danish women sat snuggled up with blankets and warm drinks happily chatting away beside us and it was just lovely.  Sam opted for a festive danish beer and the children and I cozied up with yummy hot chocolates and blankets. 

If I was to visit the city again I would really like to check out the Hygge and Happiness Culture tour which is a child friendly tour and includes a complimentary hot drink and a Danish pastry.. yum! 

// in love with Denmark 

So in case you hadn't realized from this post I am basically in love with Copenhagen and desperate to explore some more.  48 hours with children in many ways was just not enough time.  Having said that we did a lot of memorable and extremely festive things that we all really enjoyed and all four of us (including the 4 year old) would really love to head back there some day soon. 

It is my master plan to head back there during a different season so that we can experience a different side to the city and also tick off more things in my travel must see list such as the fairy tale castles such as Kronberg Castle and the world's oldest amusement park Dyrehavsbakken, which is only open in the warmer months and is about a 30 minute train ride away from the city. 

This place is definitely somewhere to visit with your children, don't be put off by the walking just make sure you plan in some stops to relax and enjoy some hyyge in one of the many wonderful places along each street. 

For more information on visiting Copenhagen visit: 
Visit Copenhagen

Thanks or tak (as they say in Denmark) for stopping by,