Happy 3rd Birthday!

Three years ago today I started blogging and I say it every year but so much has happened in the time since. My blog started as a personal post-dissertation project. I was so shy about having created it that I didn’t actually share it with anyone until I’d already been writing for a year. Since then, my audience has grown and I continue to get as much, if not more enjoyment, from writing my blog than when I first started out. I like writing these birthday posts as an opportunity to reflect on what has happened since I graduated and looking at how my blog has changed. Being Buttons is still a very small corner of the internet, but I love the opportunity it has given me to write about the things I enjoy and share them with other people.

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Visiting Waterfall Country

I’m still getting used to how close Wales is to where I live now. It still seems like this distant, otherworldly land that people go to for visiting grandparents, or for a summer holiday. In actual fact, it’s just across the River Severn and really isn’t difficult to access at all. When the recent bank holiday was promising the most beautiful weather I knew I didn’t want to waste it, so off we went in the car to the Brecon Beacons to visit Waterfall Country.

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The Clifton Sausage

The Clifton Sausage is somewhere that I’ve passed on multiple occasions, and had always liked the look of it. If you’re a fan of classic pub grub, but fancy going somewhere slightly more upmarket then it’s the perfect place to go for a meal out. It certainly deserves the good reviews it gets!

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Taking the West Somerset Railway to Minehead

I’ve never really classed myself as a train enthusiast. I enjoy travelling by train, and I do find there is something rather magical about steam trains, but I’m not mad about them. However, when I found out that part of The Blogger’s Retreat Visit Somerset trip was a ride on the West Somerset Railway, I did get a little bit excited. There’s something rather quaint about heritage railways that makes them rather appealing. I’m not an expert, but in my experience the stations are usually very pretty, the railway is usually run by volunteers, and it’s a lovely way to watch the countryside go by. The West Somerset Railway certainly fitted that description!

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Chocolate Workshop at The Chocolate Tart

I’m very happy to admit that I am a chocoholic. There is no better treat than chocolate and I will quite happily devour a bag of Cadbury’s giant chocolate buttons or have a small piece of a very dark, good quality chocolate. I’m not a connoisseur and I don’t discriminate (except against white chocolate because truth be told, it isn’t chocolate). When I received the gift of a chocolate workshop for my birthday this year I was really excited as although I’ve eaten plenty of chocolate, I’ve never really worked with it. After three hours with Lisa at The Chocolate Tart I am hardly an expert, but I had a great time and learned to appreciate chocolate for more than just its taste.

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