2023 has been wild yet wonderful. Definitely a busy, hectic and in some places challenging… but I would not change anything about it! Here are my 2023 highlights!
January:
We had a really chilled out and relaxing January, with not much going on besides work and celebrating many family birthdays!
February:
This month started off with a really fun and crazy night out for Beths birthday. The two of us went to Liverpool for a drag show… which ended with Beth dressed like a nun and wearing a strap-on…
February was also the start of our wedding venue hunt, with many wedding shows, fairs and open days.
March:
We found our dream venue and booked our big day! This was incredibly emotional, nerve-wracking and super exciting. Then, from signing our wedding venue paperwork, we headed to Hay-on-Wye, a ‘book town’ in Wales for my birthday. I absolutely loved it! It was a really lovely village filled with book shops and cafes…what more could a girl need?
When we got back, we went to Chester Zoo to celebrate my birthday with friends and had a really great time.
This was also the month that I said YES to the dress!!!
Me and my mum went to have look at some different dresses to find a style that I liked… we did not expect to fall in love with a dress there and then! We simply could not walk away from it. I cannot wait to wear it again.
Me and the girls also did a 24-hour Read-a-thon this month which was really fun but soooo exhausting. Next time, we will just do a 12-hr instead!
I also went to see Sleeping With Sirens with Jake, Bekka and Tony this month which brought back lots of memories!
April:
This month brought us wedding cake tasting (The best part of organising a wedding!)
We spent the day at my mum and dads on Grand National Day, placing little bets with everyone, having a few drinks and of course, the usual karaoke.
Me and Bella went to a book signing in Liverpool for Joanna Cannon and Cecilia Ahern. This was a really great event and we may have accidentally have bought more books to add to our never ending collections.
Me and Jake picked out wedding colours and started buying some decorations, as we are doing all of this ourselves!
May:
Me and Bella discovered ‘Book Cycle’, a charity local to us where you donate an amount of your choice and can take home 3 books! There are two of these that are near to us and they are both really nice places, run entirely by volunteers and book donations.
We enjoyed some Artisan Markets at Sefton Park on a really hot sunny day!
Me and Jake took Adam to see Russell Howard, we were sat right at the front and we laughed until we cried.
Me and Jake took a trip to Newcastle for a 5 days. We stayed in a beautiful log cabin in the middle of their countryside. When you stepped out onto the decking you were greeted by a field of sheep and a hot tub. The perfect relaxing getaway.
June:
We went to see Arctic Monkeys with friends in Manchester, this was really fun and once again the weather was amazing!
We picked our wedding party and sent out their proposal gifts… we have 3 bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen. This was really fun and exciting.
I was also re-united with some family members this month.
2 cousins who I was really close with when we were younger! This was really emotional and I cannot wait to spend more time with them going forward.
Me and Jake booked a trip to DisneyLand Paris with Euan and Gemma for October and we are so excited!
July:
We went to see Jimmy Carr! This was hilarious and once again we had incredible seats (I am thankful that we were not picked on by him though!)
We went back to Chester Zoo with friends to experience the zoo by night. This was fun, but the weather was horrendous.
I had my engagement ring re-plated and it looks all sparkly and new again ahead of the wedding.
We asked two of our younger family members to be our flower girls! This was really cute and we cannot wait for them to walk down the isle with me.
August:
Jakes birthday night out – We went for bottomless brunch at Slug & Lettuce. This was really good, we were well and truly stocked up on drinks and also enjoyed some really tasty food, before heading to Roxy’s for games.
We attended the second Crosbie wedding in Portugal (Azores), this was really lovely and the country was truly beautiful.
We also attended the wedding of my cousin and his new wife Jill! This was a really fun filled, basic wedding… A registry wedding, followed by drinks at our local pub with everyone! So simple yet it was a really incredible day, one I am sure they will not forget.
September:
September was a quiet one.
We celebrated my cousin Archies 1st Birthday which was really lovely and enjoyed a couple of family gatherings.
October:
This month was a really jam packed month.
We started it off with a concert in Manchester to see Powfu. This was surprisingly really good and it introduced me to some new music.
We celebrated my little brothers 18th birthday!
We had the most amazing holiday to DisneyLand with friends. We walked up the Eiffel Tower, seen the Louvre, spent a full day at DisneyLand and visited Paris Zoo! It was a fun filled 3 days with the best people and I cannot wait for more adventures in 2024.
We went to Scarecity with Bekka and Tony. This was fun, but was not as scary as we were hoping for it to be.
Me and Gemma relived our childhoods and went to see JLS twice in the space of a week… We had an absolute ball both times and bought way too much merch.
Gemma and Euan hosted this years Halloween Party! It was a weird and wonderful experience.
Me and Jake dressed as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo.
The day after the party, me and Gemma went to Puppy Yoga in Liverpool. This was one of the cutest things I have ever done and I will definitely be doing this again next year.
Me, Jake, Bella, Anthony and Ollie, went to Newsham Park Scare Event with my mum, dad and brother. This was a Halloween event held in the old abandoned insane asylum and ex-orphanage in Liverpool. It was really fun, but the interactive house at the start was by far the best part.
November:
Me and Bella went to another book signing – this time with Kathleen Glasgow. Another amazing evening and more books bought! We also went for a drag show afternoon tea which was very entertaining… I won more free tickets by doing a lipsync battle.
December:
We ordered the bridesmaid dresses! This was super exciting… even more so when they all arrived! The colour is perfect.
I had my wedding make-up trial and I absolutely loved what the artist did for me, and to show off my glamour, me and Jake had our annual Christmas Date night! This was really lovely and the food was amazing.
We attended Bongos Bingo with Euan, Gemma, Tony and Bekka.
We never won anything but we had an absolute ball singing and dancing and drinking… so much so that it ended with me laying on the kitchen floor.
Our wedding rings arrived and I am absolutely in love with them!
Christmas Eve:
We enjoyed our favourite Christmas Tradition by going to Euan and Gemmas to exchange presents with friends.
There was me, Jake, Bella, Anthony, Bekka and Tony who came.
I was absolutely spoilt by everyone, especially Gemma and Bekka! I received tickets to see You Me at Six, a karaoke machine, a tea set, croc charms, mugs, tickets to see Wizard of OZ and Wicked, a cosy blanket, a wedding seating plan sign and much much more.
We also had some lovely home made tacos and cocktails!
Christmas Day:
I really did struggle with a lack of Christmas Spirit this year, but everyone worked so hard to make the day special and I was more than spoilt by Jacob, friends and family.
Jake surprised me with the Shark Flex Hair Styler, a cute personalised sleep shirt with me and Bean on the front and much more.
My mum and dad got me ‘Future Mrs Flynn’ PJs, a JLS limited edition hoodie, a new coat, make-up and more!
Jakes mum and Andy got me some platform crocs which are super comfy and will undoubtedly be going under my wedding dress at our wedding reception.
My brother-in-law, Ollie, got me the Charlotte Tilbury lipstick in ‘Pillow Talk’, the shade I will be wearing on the wedding day!
I could go on and on, I had an amazing day and could not be more grateful for everyone and everything.
We had dinner at Jakes mums and then spent the night at his aunties playing games.
Boxing Day:
We spent the day with my mum and dad, enjoyed another lovely roast dinner and ended up staying there until 2am playing Boxing Day Bingo and Cards Against Humanity.
The Wizard of OZ
On the 27th, Gemma took me to see The Wizard of Oz as part of my many presents from her and Euan.
The show was absolutely amazing and we had such a great time! Although shopping before the show was a bad idea and our bank accounts may take some time to recover…
The New Year:
We are really looking forward to New Years Eve, which will be split between friends and family.
Then, on New Years Day, we will be going to Jakes Nans house for our annual bake-off with the family! What better way to start the year than a bit of friendly competition?
I hope everyone had a lovely year and I would like to wish you all the best going into 2024… and remember, Have Hope Always.
