Autumn Favourites

September has begun. The leaves are turning orange and crispy. Starbucks has bought out their pumpkin spice latte. Days are getting shorter and the weather is getting colder. This can only mean one thing folks.

Autumn has arrived! (well depending on which seasonal calendar you follow.. but we can argue about that later!) 

 Its time to start finding those cosy jumpers, that have made their way to the back of your wardrobe and put the summer stuff away (*cries*). All jokes aside though, as much as I love summer, autumn is a gorgeous season. Its aesthetically pleasing to the eye but also a time for new beginnings; to start fresh whether that means a new school year or just forgetting how the last few months have been and starting with a clean slate. Therefore I thought I would share some of my favourite things to do in Autumn with you all.

1. Get outside.
Whatever the weather, if the sun is shinning or even (and probably more likely) it is pissing it down with rain, get outside and go for a walk. Exercise is good all year round however when the weather starts to change, us fair weather walkers can often feel very reluctant to move from the cosy shelter of a heated house but I promise you, its worth the effort.

2. Sitting in a coffee shop with a friend.
Sometimes you just need a change of scenery - to read a book, do some writing/studying or just catch up with a friend. If you haven't, branch out and try a pumpkin spice latte (be warned it is very sweet) because they are to die for.


3. Halloween!
I don't know about you, but Halloween is one of my favourite holidays. Its an excuse to have fun, dress up (If your a little'un or just because you can!) and crack out those scary movies. Or, If your like me and the closest you get to watching a scary movie is watching Hocus Pocus then there are also plenty of other activities. What I love to do and can't wait to do this year is visit a pumpkin farm, pick out the perfect pumpkin and spend the afternoon with a glass of pumpkin spice baileys, harry potter in the background, carving said pumpkin into a weird but wonderful face or pattern. - It never gets old.

4. This one is for all you females out there (and males, no sexism here) - autumn fashion and makeup!
 Its time to crack out all those colourful orange/red/brown/smoky eyeshadows and those bold darker lip shades (although possibly not together!) and get creative. This definitely isn't for everyone but I enjoy just spending a bit of time mixing and blending different eyeshadows and perfecting (or trying to) the winged eyeliner. Sometimes even just going simple with a bold plum lip, can make all the difference. Fashion wise, we can dig deep in that wardrobe and find those flannel shirts again (yay). Or even just a jumper dress and rock it with some swede black boots, yes please. 

Image Source: Pinterest

5. Berry/apple picking!
The satisfaction of picking, baking and eating berries or fruit that you have picked yourself is great. Blackberries can be found from August till around Mid October, so pick up a container and fill your boots. The best part is once collected you can freeze them until you are ready to eat them or bake with them. Apple's on the other hand, great to pick (from a neighbour maybe, if they don't pick their own!) and throw in a crumble, easy and delicious.

6. Last but definitely not least, autumn is the best season to just grab a hot chocolate, a blanket, light a few yankee candles or put on the fire and just relax.

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/shannon__lang/

I hope this has made you as excited and nostalgic for autumn as it has me. Please feel free to comment your favourite autumn traditions or activities below!

Hannah

❤

8 weeks post op update (Spinal fusion)

Hello everyone,

Long time no see! Apologies for the lack of posts, I have found myself in a bit of a rut the last few weeks, however I really want to get back into writing here and what better way to do that than to update you all on my progress. Its now been almost two months since I had my L5-S1 spinal fusion - crazy how time goes so quickly!

At 6 weeks post op, I went back to hospital and had some scans to check on my spine and fusion. Unfortunately due to my surgeon being ill, I did not get to see him until Monday (4th of september) this week. I am pleased to say that everything is looking good and 'text book' as my surgeon would say. It was really great to get to see him and chat about how everything is currently going, my limitations and any questions I have.

Keep Looking up

Exercise wise, I am still trying to do as much as possible, even though I am still feeling exhausted the majority of the time! Walking is my main focus as I have been told that this is the best form of exercise for me, due to keeping my spine from stiffening. I am also keeping up with my physio-therapy, which is pilates based and works on strengthening my core muscles to ensure that when Im walking or doing any form of exercise, I am using the correct muscles to do this and not putting any additional pressure on my spine. Hydro-therapy, I have now increased to once a week - I do enjoy this a lot as I love swimming and many of the exercises enable me to move in a way that I can't outside of a pool. For this we are concentrating on my flexibility, in addition to building up strength. I would recommend hydro for anyone as although it is hard work, its also fun. I would love to say that I am doing swimming outside of my hydro but unfortunately this is still something I am building up to - I am hoping in the next couple of weeks this can be something I will try.

I have turned into a Fitbit fanatic despite saying I would never want a Fitbit! I find it is great for making sure that I do almost 10, 000 steps a day and gives me the motivation to do so. As I have been borrowing one for the last few weeks, I have since decided to purchase my own,  choosing the Fitbit flex 2 - which I will be able to use for swimming too! (Look forward to an update on that one!)

Despite the fact that I am much better pain wise than before my operation, I am still struggling to get to a place where I am pain free. The reality is, I am not sure if I will ever get to that place and at times I find that difficult and upsetting. Speaking to my surgeon on Monday, I was told that sitting and standing for long periods of time will forever be an issue for me - Im not sure how much of an issue. At the moment I can sit for around 2-3 hours before feeling uncomfortable, however unlike the average person, If I don't get up and walk around, it can then feel very painful.

Onto a completely different topic, one of the questions that I really wanted to ask my surgeon (although it is a long time in the future!) is about child birth. One thing I kept reading online is that after having this surgery, I would not be able to give birth naturally and would be forced to have a C-section - as apparently my vertebra above or below my fusion could be forced out of place. I was very pleased to find out that this isn't the case and people are talking bollocks! I am not too posh to push (lol) , however I may have to do without an epidural (or atleast not a very effective one) as this would go where I have had the fusion and for obvious reasons it now cannot be placed there. Like I said, for me this is a long time in the future and I will cross that bridge when I get to it but for anyone who is in that position or thinking about it, definitely speak to a professional because much of what you read online is complete sh*te :)

Last but definitely not least, my scar is looking much better than it was! I am now able to wear what I want without the worry of itchyness or the material rubbing and becoming painful. It is lovely and neat (thank you Mr Davies!) and healing really well.

Crikey, I have written for England here - forever amazed if you have made it this far!
If anyone has any questions, please message me or post them below.

Much Love, Hannah

❤