September has been the month where I’ve properly adjusted to no longer being a student and, instead, being someone who works a handful of jobs and can do so without complaining unnecessarily. It took me a while but I think I’m there. However, because of how much I’m working, when I socialise and get up to fun things I’m no longer selfie-obsessed and actually just enjoy a good catch up without feeling like I need to Instagram it to let everybody know. Wow, I really am a grown up now. I began these “monthly scrapbook” posts after feeling inspired by Anna’s “Five Highlights From The Month Of…” posts (for example: August). As I don’t have any photos to share that I haven’t already on the blog, I’m going to Anna up this post and talk about five highlights from September.
A trip to the theatre – Going to see Flashdance at the beginning of the month was a well-needed night off with my mum. Merely spending time with my mum in the way we spend time best (eating food and going to the theatre) was fantastic. As a graduate, though, it was nice to be able to do this. I’ve been so used to feeling tense about money in the last few years but I felt pretty proud that all of the hard work at uni and hard work with my handful of jobs is paying off. Being able to buy my mum tickets to one of her favourite stories was definitely a highlight of September. As was the prosecco we drunk.
A staycation-esque day off – Aaron and I had a mutual day off at the beginning of month where I decided to plan a day off full of fun. I wrote up little rhymes that sat in envelopes that told him what we were doing: from badminton to baking to cooking dinner together, I released my inner Keats and created a silly but lovely day with the help of some terrible brilliant poetry. I bought him a disposable camera and told him to document the whole day. It sounds unnecessary but, with all of the working, it was a really fun day that we can now really remember with the help of these photos.
London – Although I’ve spoken about it a fair bit already on the blog (three times to be precise: HERE, HERE and HERE!), London has to feature as a highlight of this month. From drinking gin to eating the same steak as the Queen to spending a few hours with one of my best friends who has recently moved to London, my weekend in London with Aaron last weekend was far too notable to not fangirl about again. It was fabulous.
1 Second Everyday – 1SE is an app that helps you document your whole year just like a diary would. Instead, though, you video a second of each of your days and by the end of the year you’ll have a compilation of your year. I totally recommend this app. Not only do I love taking a funky video from my time off, but it hands me a slice of humble pie. Even on days where I’m working a split shift or until midnight, 1SE will show me I’ve had time to stroke Aaron’s dog, go for a walk or see a friend in the morning (there have been a couple of foodie dates with Honor that have made my day of work more fun!).
Blog every day in September – This final highlight and paragraph of BEDIS marks the end of my silly idea to blog every day this month. Although I sometimes wanted to shut past Kat’s mouth when I expressed I would blog every day in September, I was surprised at how organised I was. *Gives self pat on the back.* While I did write up a blog post at just before midnight on the night I returned from London, I enjoyed updating Binging on Beetroot every day this month. I do love my little slice of the internet.
*Sighs happily with a hint of nostalgia as the final post of BEDIS is completed.*
~ Kat ~
We were like children on Christmas Eve as we sat with our bubbles at 11am on Saturday morning. As I admired the decor─it’s so fairytale-like─I almost had to pinch myself. I was in hotel heaven. Beforehand each member of staff that dealt with us chatted to us; asking how we were, what we were up to that day and if there was anything else they could do for us. Over the weekend they definitely learnt about our love for gin and we felt extremely looked after from the word “go.” Even though we were too early to check in (which we did know!) they happily kept our bag for us as we informed them we would be heading back out for our gin making experience.
When we returned from a few too many double G&Ts with three new bottles of gin in our hands, we were shown to our room where our bag was waiting for us in the, if you like, lobby (!) of our bedroom. If it wasn’t obvious already that we didn’t belong in such a stunning hotel, it certainly was at this point. Wide-eyed and goofy smiles, we explored the fanciest room I have ever stepped foot in. With an almost Paris meets London vibe─I could be totally wrong about this description─I fell in love. On what-I-like-to-call the “Putting on your shoes area” (so very fancy) we were gifted with little lovely treats and a slice of Happy 21st Birthday cake for Aaron! 
That evening we headed to the executive lounge in our fanciest clothes for the three course meal that was included in our stay. We ordered a bottle of Bouchard Finlays Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc and I ordered the prawn and crayfish cocktail to start. We both ordered sirloin steak (medium rare) or what-I-like-to-call Royal Steak (the Queen eats the very same steak- eeek!). We both also opted for a creme brulee and each and every part of the meal was de-licious. I watched Aaron take his first bite of his steak (less creepy than it sounds) and I watched him not believe his tastebuds. We adored our meal and finished off the evening with a nighttime walk around Buckingham Palace as we felt our bellies order us to move off some of the scrumptious food. Without a doubt it was the best meal my tastebuds have ever encountered.
After the best night’s sleep I’ve had in months, I was excited for breakfast. As a foodie, I knew I was about to experience something pretty special and that I did. With the most incredible continental buffet I have ever seen in my whole life, I chose a few cold meats, some salmon, a pastry and some fresh fruit. Waking up the next morning was wholly disappointing without this display of yummy food. Both Aaron and I ordered the full English and it was just the best full English in the world. We were even asked how we would like our eggs. Now that is a 10/10 breakfast experience.
Upon arrival, we met Alfie, our awesome gin experience tutor who poured us our first double G&T. We explained that we’d already been greeted at our hotel with a complimentary glass of champagne and, after he asked us if we’d had lunch and we told him no, he said, “Good luck.” We admired the gins and funky interior as other gin lovers filed into the bar, ready to try City of London dry gin. This was paired with tonic and a slice of grapefruit and was definitely up my street. I adore grapefruit and maybe sipped this too quickly as we waited for the session to start.
After a brief but detailed introduction to gin (what it is, how it’s made and why it’s such a competitive industry), we began measuring out the core ingredients. Depending on the kind of taste you are going for depends on the amount of each ingredient you pop in. After noting down each measurement, we began developing our own flavours. I knew I wanted a summery, fruity kind of gin so alongside green tea and liquorice (doesn’t smell how you’d expect it to!), I added grapefruit, lemon and orange. As we did so we enjoyed their sloe gin which was, again, delicious.
We headed into the lab, the third and final complimentary drinks in hands. This time we enjoyed the Square Mile London dry gin. We chose our stations which were named after the seven dwarfs; I lovingly chose Dopey. We attached the components and waited for our gin to work, firstly filling up a tub with the rubbish stuff before switching to a jug to catch all of the good stuff. We were filled in on some history, being told how gin came about. We learnt that gin evolved from the famous Dutch drink, jenever. Us English watched Dutch courage come alive and decided we need our own. We, however, couldn’t spell jenever so instead created gin. We told our tutor the names of our gins and they were made into labels as we watched our gin pour from the copper device. I named mine The Palace Gin since our hotel (41 Hotel) was round the corner from Buckingham Palace. Aaron named his 2141 as it was a gift for his 21st birthday and 41 Hotel was where we stayed.
We sealed our gin (which I royally messed up) and got to make our own G&T from our remaining gin. Both Aaron and I really liked the tastes of our gin and we enjoyed them from the comfort of the cosy bar. I highly recommend this experience. There was a lovely atmosphere in the session and our tutor, Alfie, was fantastic. As we said goodbye I (maybe with the help of the plethora of double gins) exclaimed it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was a truly brilliant experience and Aaron and I have excitedly chatted about it since! If you would like to check out this experience on their website, you can do so 
Sixteen year old Gemma is at Bangkok airport, grabbing a drink. A little charmed by the stranger she meets, Gemma is soon terrified for her life when she finds herself in the Australian Outback. Ty has spent a disturbing number of years building a life for he and Gemma; a life he can’t wait to share with her… for ever.
binging on beetroot 