Goodbye January, Hello February: Monthly Recap

by BeckyBecky
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It doesn’t seem like long since I did one of these… Oh wait, it hasn’t been, because I did my December review halfway through Jan!

In some ways January seemed to last forever, but I’m still pretty shocked that we’re already over a month into 2018. 35 days down and 330 to go. And January has been busy busy busy. Here’s what happened.

What BeckyBecky Did

This year started the way it’s going to continue, and I received the invites for two of the four weddings I’m going to this year. Two of my best friends each have their weddings this June, and I’m maid of honour for one and giving a reading at the other. I already know I’m going to cry buckets.

Wedding invite - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Wedding invite - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

I’ve also been very busy planning the hen do. I’m sure I’ll do a blog post about it afterwards. But for now the details are all hush-hush because it’s a surprise for Keeleigh. I’d like to go on record now though, and say that planning a hen do is seriously challenging… and I love organising things!

Although Christmas already feels like it was a decade ago, we went to see a Panto just a couple of weeks ago. Tim’s family have a tradition where they go to the same Panto in Oldham every year on the last night of the performance, when the cast “start to go off script”. I can see why they go there – the Dame was absolutely hilarious.

Dick Whittington panto in Oldham - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Blogger events have been pretty rare recently, but I’ve made it to Blog At The Beach, a day of talks and mingling with bloggers, some of whom had traveled from as far as London and Scotland! It was a really fascinating day and great to catch up with some of the bloggers I know.

Blog At The Beach - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Blog At The Beach - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Blog At The Beach - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Finally, I had my sports massage from Graham of Revive Sports Massage. It was a great way to finish off a busy busy busy month.

Sports massage - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Where BeckyBecky Ate/Drank

Out of Leeds

I went to visit my bestie Keeleigh for a little bit of wedding prep, but mostly a girly catch up. She took me to one of her favourite spots in Sheffield, the Great Gatsby, for tacos and cocktails. And I sure loooove fish tacos <3

Tacos at The Great Gatsby, Sheffield - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Cocktail at The Great Gatsby, Sheffield - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Eating Out

Our big date night in January took advantage of one of the many January offers. We went to Chaophraya, somewhere I’ve been dying to go ever since I moved to Leeds, and believe me, I wasn’t disappointed.

Tamarind duck at Chaophraya - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Ready for food at Chaophraya - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

We tried out a new brunch place one unlikely Friday when we both happened to have the day off. It’s Olive & Rye, sister cafe to Hepworth’s where we’ve been a few times. The menu was a little more unusual than your standard eggs benedict and full English – this eggs and salmon dish featured “spicy hollandaise”, and I’ll be going back for their French toast sometime soon.

Eggs benedict at Olive & Rye - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Towards the end of the month, Tim’s school friends arranged a meal out at Piccolino in Ilkley. Tim and I had visited the roof garden restaurant there back in September on our staycation, and the food was just as good. Unfortunately the service wasn’t up to par though, and if I revisit I’ll definitely pick the roof garden again.

Asparagus and egg at Piccolino Ilkley - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

On our way home, Tim and I popped into Vice and Virtue, another place which has been on my must-visit list for a long time. And can I just say, WOW. We only stayed for one drink, but the place made a massive impression on me. The super knowledgeable and friendly bartender, the varied and unusual cocktail menu, and the smooth speakeasy atmosphere… If only I’d know about it when I did my Prohibition themed birthday party back in 2016!

Cocktails at Vice & Virtue - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

What BeckyBecky Gamed

Megagames

We had our first megagame of 2018, much earlier than we are used to since the season tends to start in February. This was “Watch The Skies Lite”. It’s a re-written version of the alien-filled classic, which Jim Wallman has created to target non-gamers. The attendees were members of his friends and family, and Tim and I had been called in to run the press team. We received tons of compliments on our performance, and the newbie-megagamers did a fantastic job themselves! It was nice to go back to WTS – the last time I played it was back in 2016.

Papers from Watch The Skies Lite - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Tim has his megagame “The Shot Heard Round The Universe” coming up in April, so we’ve been spending a lot of time planning and discussing his game. It’s based on the American Revolution, but in space, and truth be told has diverged massively from that foundation. It’s going to be a super amazing game, and if you want to find out more, head to the Facebook event.

I’ve also been thinking about my own megagames. I’ve got Everybody Dies 3 coming up in September, and I’ve been speaking to various people in other countries who would like me to take it on tour… which I’m not too sure about yet. It’s incredibly exciting and flattering to be asked though.

But I’ve also been thinking about running more games, and if you watch this space you might find out more…

Boardgames

We’ve played absolutely TONS of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective this month. We’ve finished the Jack the Ripper campaign, and started on the West End Adventures. While the Jack the Ripper campaigns were somewhat unsatisfying, I did manage to successfully catch the Ripper! And the first case after that was incredibly enjoyable, and I’ll hopefully be writing that one up into a blog.

Crime solving in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Our map in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

Reading the paper in Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

We’ve also managed to lure our friends Ellie and Callum over to the darkside… aka, got them playing boardgames. They received a few for Christmas, and we played Camel Cup with them. It’s a betting game where you bid on which camel is going to win the race. I did atrociously but it was lots of fun.

Video Games

Since I’ve been thinking about Everybody Dies 3, it’s only natural that I’ve gone back to the Game of Thrones mod of Crusader Kings 2. I’m trying out the Dance of the Dragons era, and I’ve had some very odd run-throughs. We’ve had Hugh Hammer on the throne, the Karstarks and then the Manderlys in charge of the North, and the Leffords as Lord Paramount of the Westerlands. And I’ve ended up with this nickname as Rhaenyra. Weird AF.

Playing the Game of Thrones mod for Crusader Kings - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

I’ve also been lured back to Game Dev Tycoon. It’s a fun little simulation game where you make games in your garage and eventually progress to being a world leader in gaming. After a lot of hard work and really crap games, my Airplane Action-Strategy game, To The Skies 3, managed to get an 11/10 from my toughest critic.

What BeckyBecky Watched / Listened To

I think I mentioned this last month… but The Greatest Showman is still amazing! I’ve now been to see it twice and I’m still listening to the album on repeat.

I also went to see The Post with Keeleigh. I wasn’t 100% sold before I went in, tbh. But it was really well done, and moments like Meryl Streep constantly being spoken over in her own board meeting, being badmouthed by her own board members where she could hear it, and being instructed to not make the decision she just made… let’s just say it all felt very real.

What BeckyBecky Blogged

The hottest blog from last month was… actually my Moulin Rouge Secret Cinema blog post from last February. I’m guessing that since Secret Cinema has just released details of its next event, people are scouring the internet to find out info of what it’s like. This post is actually my most popular one of all time, with over 18,000 views.

Moulin Rouge Secret Cinema - January 2018 Monthly Recap by BeckyBecky Blogs

What BeckyBecky Insta-ed

I’ve been super slack with Instagram lately. But my most popular post from Jan shows that everyone loves Christmas presents…

Next Month for BeckyBecky

February is always short, sweet and very very cold… but it features both Valentine’s Day and my anniversary with Tim. I’ve also got the Cockroaches Copper & Cows megagame, bridesmaid dress shopping… and Superbowl Sunday to look forward to tonight!

February should be awesome. What have you got coming up?

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