Rejoice! For 'tis the end of Sober October, may ye all drink wine and be merry once more

Okay I know it isn’t *technically* the end of Sober October, but my friends and I started two days early so we can *technically* have a tipple or two tonight, right?

I have mixed feelings about Sober October. On one hand I actually enjoyed it (yes, enjoyed it! Shock, horror!) Over the past few weeks, I’ve had really productive weekends (which I need right now, what with planning a wedding and all). AND I lost a few pounds, hurrah!

On the other hand, however, it was kind of dull. Tom and I practically became recluses for the month, which again, was good for the wedding planning side of things, but not so good socially-wise.

It was also strange/awful not having a glass of red with red meat. We had steak a couple of times, a lamb tagine one evening and spaghetti meatballs another, and I was really, really, REALLY craving a nice red. We tried grape juice as an alternative, but no… just, no.

We’re bidding farewell to Sober October properly tomorrow evening and having a Halloween party with booze a plenty. I know I’ll probably miss that smug Sober October feeling on Sunday morning when I’ll just want to spend the day lying on the sofa in my PJs, eating popcorn and watching re-runs of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

I do think I’d be up for another sober month at some point and would encourage anyone to give it a go if they fancy a bit of a detox because you definitely do feel better for it. Unfortunately (?) I’ll be missing out on Dry January because my hen party is on January 16^th which I am so excited about! My closest friends and I have booked an apartment in Liverpool and we’re going to have such a fun, mad, definitely-not-dry night! x

My not-very-Sober-October-appropriate coasters

Rugby match and Sunday lunch – the two challenges of Sober October: Week One!

Golly I feel so guilty for neglecting my blog! I can’t believe I haven’t posted since July, but things have been a little hectic with wedding planning, house sorting and work. I’m going to make sure I post more regularly now however, because I do love me blog I do.

SO! Tom and I have been taking part in Sober October with a few of our friends and we’re just about to venture into our second alcohol-free weekend. We decided to do it partly because we’re ‘shredding for the wedding’ (only five months to go now!) and also because cracking open a beer or a bottle of wine on a Friday night was becoming a bit of a routine.

Our first Sober October weekend came with two challenges. Firstly the England v Australia Rugby World Cup match, which was a mix of sulking and celebrating. While I wanted to drown my sorrows with a glass or two, Tom was all set to crack open the champers and celebrate our woeful defeat, being the proud Welshman that he is.

Our second challenge was Sunday lunch. We booked a table at The Sun, which is one of our favourite restaurants. The food was absolutely divine as always. The only thing missing was a nice glass of red with our roast beef… but we settled for elderflower pressé (in wine glasses!)

Despite those two situations which definitely warranted a tipple or two, I’m actually quite surprised how much I’m enjoying Sober October (so far anyway, it’s early days yet!) But it is quite nice waking up on a Saturday or Sunday morning with no foggy head, not wanting to sleep-in or eat junk food and having a productive day instead of slobbing out on the sofa. Let’s see how the second weekend goes!

Are you taking part in Sober October? Let me know how you’re getting on! 

I would like this waiting for me on 1 November please.