Life Update: After The Storm Comes A Rainbow!

So a few weeks ago I shared this post: Sometimes The Struggle Is Real! Life had become somewhat overwhelming for a number of reasons and I wrote the post as a way of clearing my head and sharing what was going on with us.

That was a few weeks ago and opening this page to start this post I am in a much better place. Thankfully. Things haven't slowed down but things have become more manageable.

In fact we have spent the weekend singing, dancing and celebrating at Brighton Pride with my Mum, two Aunts and sister. It was an amazing weekend and wandering down Brighton pier I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. I am surrounded by love and support and when things are tough I know my tribe are there for me.

My wonderful wife is the leader of the tribe, the brightest colour in my rainbow and the best support I could ever ask for.

In the last few weeks I have organised and run a conference for the growing sales team I am part of managing - 32 people at last count! We have launched new content in subjects I haven't had time to get up to speed on but have supported. I have been to different team meetings, met lots of new people and joined in with wider company activities in a away to get myself up to speed with things as quick as possible. The new normal is still a away off but I am working towards it.

And then home and Annabelle. Part of my struggle was because I was missing having time with Annabelle but in the last few weeks I feel like this has started to change, culminating with this weekend and today. This weekend I was able to get plenty of Annabelle time even though there were others that she spent time with. She was on top form and an absolute joy to be around. Today I had the day off and it felt so good - although she had a two hour nap which then left be tidying instead of spending time with her I was still able to enjoy her company, and catch up on Bisbee hugs. I guess naps are necessary sadly!

Annabelle has also been sleeping better so I am less tired. It's amazing what sleep can do for you. I always knew it but having the recent evidence has been eye-opining - or eye closing :)

I honestly don't think we could have handled Pride a few weeks ago. With the amount of house projects and stuff going on in life I think we would have felt too exhausted. However Laura really stepped it up and in the last week we had one of our bathrooms finished, the conservatory/playroom is almost completed - including a newly painted wall courtesy of Laura and the last bits will be down to us instead of workmen which is a really nice feeling.

It meant that the timing of Pride was a great celebration, a celebration of how far my Mum has come in accepting our relationship, a great celebration of being a rainbow family and a great celebration that love is really all you need.

We stayed in Worthing, a 20 minute drive from Brighton. we arrived on Friday, after a three hour drive from Birmingham and three hours of my Mum and Aunt Janette entertaining and feeding Annabelle. My Auntie Karen and sister arrived shortly after and we dined on fish and chips before catching up and bed.

Saturday was a fairly early start so we could get to Brighton, get parked and get to the parade route. We were able to find a spot and spread out on the curb so we could feed Annabelle before the parade arrived. It also meant we could rest our legs from the walk down. Much needed as we then spent two hours enjoying the parade.

After the parade we strolled towards Brighton pier and enjoyed the atmosphere, Annabelle loved watching the sea and we enjoyed the time with people special to us. Powered by doughnuts we made it back to the car and then the house for an evening of games and snacks.

On Sunday we explored Worthing and enjoy the beach front and another meal of fish and chips before heading back to Birmingham.

I don't know if it was the sea air, the rainbows everywhere we looked or just the outpouring of love but Brighton certainly brightened how I am feeling.

Onwards and upwards!

Baby Blogging - My First Month Back At Work After A Baby!

Where do I start this post.....

I started it yesterday having just run full out across London Euston train station to jump on a 5.43pm train that arrived back in Birmingham at 7.03pm. I hoped to jump on a local train and be home some time before 7.45pm. Annabelle's bedtime is 7pm. The sprint wasn't just for the train, the sprint was to have some vague hope of seeing Annabelle's face before bed. Even if it is just for a hug. I made it, just.

I saw Annabelle at 6.17am. I didn't think I would see her at all today but due to teething the poor baby woke up at 4.15am - and was settled by Laura - then again at 5 something am and then 6.17am. At that point I abandoned the pumping I had been doing downstairs and raced up to sweep her into my arms and give her breakfast straight from the source.

It was 10 mins I didn't allow for in my morning routine but 10 mins I am glad I took. That 10 minute session will get me through the day and console me if I do miss bedtime tonight. 

After feeding was done I raced to throw my bag together, wash out the pumping equipment and get to the station for my 6.47am train. I made it. Just. And without my phone.....although I later discovered Laura had left Annabelle with my Mum to try and catch me to give me my phone - only to arrive as my train was leaving. 

Thankfully not all days start that way. 

In fact most days we are doing a good job with our new routine. Bisbee has no idea what is going on but the rest of us have found a rhythm. I have been back over a month and unlike when I wrote this post my emotions have balanced out.

So here's a quick run through of how life is running currently:

Monday - if I a lucky I have the day off as I have plenty of annual leave to use OR we are both lucky and there is a bank holiday. I am usually home for bed.

Tuesday - Annabelle goes to nursery and I usually head to London. Either I drive to the train station for the 6.37am train or Laura drops me and I get the 7.46am train. There is no middle ground. Or I work from home and Laura drops Annabelle at nursery. I try to make it back for bed.

Wednesday - is usually a lot like a Tuesday. Except I add netball in after putting Annabelle to bed. 

Thursday - my Mum looks after Annabelle and either arrives at 7.30am if I am heading to London or at 8.30am if I am at home. If I am at home I get to feed Annabelle before naps and spend the evening with her. If I have been in London I don't.

Friday - our favourite day of the working week for so many reasons. My Mum has Annabelle in the morning and Laura finishes at 2pm. I am rarely anywhere but home so get to feed Annabelle for naps and see her in the evening.

My crew picking me up on a Friday

And then we hit the weekend and want to lock the front door and do nothing expect be a family. Reality rarely allows it but we try. We can at least guarantee whatever we do we do it as a family. 

Birmingham Pride was a great event for us. It ticked a lot of boxes that make us happy:

• Family Time
• Supporting the LGBT community
• A chance to enjoy nice weather
• Spending time in our city

We have always loved Birmingham Pride - well the parade part - we have never got to the event part. The city really puts on a great show. This year we stood in a new location - Carr Street - right by a church that were handing out water and love hear sweets to the parade participants. There was space to stand and a Tesco for everything we had forgot - like water!

As the parade came down the street Annabelle would stare, intrigued by all the noise and chaos. Bisbee would prepare herself for fuss - she always does well for attention at Prides.

We just stood there and took it all in. We received occasional hugs from friend we know and photo requests from strangers - a perk of dressing up (Laura enforced :))!

Life may be busy but at least we are busy together - most of the time!

Australia's Same-Sex Marriage Vote - 5 Things You Need To Know!

It's August 22nd 2017 and as of today equal marriage is not a thing in Australia.

It's kinda shocking that the country that hosts the amazing Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is still so behind the times.

Laura is half Australian, our best friend Kate is Australian and we lived in Australia for a year so we know a fair bit about Oz culture. We know that Sydney is by the far the most progressive city in the country but that all of the main cities are not openly homophobic. We know that many Australian's have views we would deem a little out of touch but we also know that the overwhelming majority of Aussie's are amazing, open-minded individuals who see the country's stand on Same-Sex marriage as an embarrassment.

I mean if we are being honest Australia's political leaders have been a conveyor belt of idiots since we lived there in 2010. I mean they are no Trump but seriously this guy got the Prime Minister vote!

So sorry to share something so disgusting

So anyway here are the 5 key things you need to know about the vote:

1. The postal vote requires you to enrol before August the 24th! Click here to enrol (if you're in Oz). You will need evidence of your identity with a drivers licence or Australian passport number. You must be an Australian citizen, over 18 and have lived at your address for over a month. Forms will be sent out after the 12th of September and MUST be posted back by October 27th to ensure they arrived to be counted. Results will be released on November 15th.
2. The vote has NO binding, meaning that parliament do not have to act on the results. If anything this is a move by the current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball to save his neck as the coalition government he oversees is divided on the issue.
3. The vote may not take place! Two challenges have been raised to the high court by the 'Australian Marriage Equality senator Janet Rice' and the 'Public Interest Advocacy Centre.' The cases will be heard on the 5th and 6th of September. The main argument is that  the government doesn't have the right to spend AU$122 million on a ballot not approved by parliament.
4. If parliament were to vote on Equal Marriage now, the consensus is that the majority would vote to legalise same-sex marriage. The hope is that enough people will enter the postal vote that the actual feelings of the country will be represented, forcing a parliament vote. Below are screenshots from a video on news.com.au that shows where the country is on their view of Same-Sex marriage.

5. LGBT individuals are not 100% behind the postal vote. That's not as shocking as you might think. For a start this postal vote, at it's very core, is asking Australians to vote on whether certain people can get married. Imagine (if you are married) asking your social group if they approved of you getting married. The idea is awful! Secondly by allowing a public vote you are inviting the homophones and bigots to have their say. Of course they are ready with their banners and hatred to protest the marriage is '1 man and 1 women' rhetoric that is so old. Thirdly LGBT campaigners believe the vote is open to fraud and as it isn't controlled by parliament. 

I was first aware of the feelings of LGBT individuals when I read this post on Gaybymama: here but the longer the process goes on the more posts I see on the subject. This video shares further examples:

As the world watches on I hope the vote does echo the fact that the majority of the country support Same-Sex marriage. I know for a fact that our friends, straight and gay, living in Australia will be voting. Making their voice heard and hoping that Australia becomes the 9th country, on the UN's most developed country list (of 11 countries), to announce Same-Sex marriage is legal. 

We loved our third (illegal) wedding in Australia and we hope everyone is given the chance to celebrate love in the same way. Even if this vote holds no legal status, if an overwhelming percentage is for Same-Sex marriage it can only highlight the need for parliament to vote and make this civil right an equal right for all. Love is love.

Details are here: Our third wedding and video can be seen on YouTube here.

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#top10LGBTblog

In celebration of Pride Vuelio have put together a top 10 list of LGBT bloggers and we are delighted to be featured again this year at #6! To check out the full list click here.

We were also grateful to be chosen for their 'Blogger Spotlight' and are really please with how the article came out. You can check out the article here. We talk our blogging experiences - highs and lows and

For those of you who have been with us for the journey THANK YOU, for those of you new to our world WELCOME.

Here's a (refresher) run down of what you can find in the world of SarahplusLaura:

• The 'All About Food' section contains reviews of restaurants and recipes for the foodies
• The 'Lifestyle' section is a wonderful mix of experiences we have had, general ramblings and thoughts on LGBT issues old and new
• The 'Wife Life' has posts on days out and our life together
• The 'Travel' section is about where we have been here in the UK and around the world
• Want to find out more about who we are well check out 'Who We Are'

Welcome to the wonderful world of us, we hope you stay a while and if you feel like dropping us a comment or adding us on any social media you'll find our links on the top right hand side of the page. We look forward to meeting you.

The Coach and Horses - New Brewery and Tasting Menu

Before we headed off on our holidays we were invited to the relaunch of a pub we have driven past a dozen or so times but never had the opportunity to visit. When the invite mentioned that we would be given a tour of their on site brewery and a taster of their new menu we were sold.

Set in the gorgeous countryside just outside of Birmingham the Coach and Horses Weatheroak Hill pub and restaurant captures that countryside feeling while offering delicious food and a great variety of beers. It's also been in the same family for nearly 50 years so they obviously knows what works well.

As you know, Laura and I are not big drinkers, so we were checking out the pub more for the food than the drink and we were not disappointed. Seriously - the food is amazing!

If you do like a beer, the micro brewery they have on site makes sure there is plenty on offer, in fact some of their ale is award winning, so if you are looking to impress a beer drinker, this is the perfect place. To go a step further than that they also have monthly tours of the brewery should you want to check it out.

But back to the food! There are two menus available (check them out here)- a Sunday one that has the good olde roast and the rest of the week menu that was jam-packed with deliciousness, whatever your tastes. Thankfully the tasting session we had allowed us to try so much of the menu we didn't have to choose. 

For starter, we got to taste the chicken, bacon and brandy pate - it's as good as it sounds - and the beef, horseradish, garlic and parsley hash browns - I could have eaten the whole tray's worth.

For mains we started with traditional fish and chips and I am pleased to report the chips are chunky and fluffy and, lets just say, I will have more! The crispy pork belly was so tender and flavorful and the lamb shank tagine was cooked perfectly. For us though, it was the crispy duck salad that won us over. Never ones to pick salad over a cooked meal, I don't think we would have ever chosen it on the menu but we would have missed out. I have never eaten duck that tasted SO good. 

We will have go back and try the roasted butternut squash and melted goats cheese pie next time - how good does it look!

By the time the sides arrived we were....almost.... too full to try them but thankfully we made room for the yummy sweet potato fries as they were a great addition. 

As dessert was delivered we were so stuffed we could only manage a few spoonfuls of the chocolate and caramel tart, although the Devon toffee ice-cream seemed to disappear without me trying. And we couldn't leave without trying the extensive cheese board - always a great way to end a meal.

The Head Brewer made sure we were well informed about beer!

The best thing about the tasting menu is that it is actually available if you book on to the Tour, Talk and Tasting session they run on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. As well as the delicious food, you also get advice on what beer goes best with what food and get samples to enjoy as you eat. The tour part of the evening is hosted by the Head Brewer who not only knows everything about the beer he brews, he also knows everything about beer in general! He even has a slideshow to help those of us not paying full attention keep up. I think we may have been distracted by the food :)

 

 Things we thought it was good to know:

1) It has gluten free and vegetarian options

2) The Coach & Horses is dog friendly

3) It has a pretty big car park, so if you do drive you won't be left parking in the road

So if you are heading to South Birmingham or fancy a detour on the way to the Cotswolds we recommend checking out http://www.coachandhorsesinn.co.uk/ and if you love it as much as we did, let us know!

Delish Pride Cocktail Recipe - Getting Merry with Barefoot Wine on a Wednesday!

We've made it to Friday!

Pride London is tomorrow, and in celebration, Barefoot wine sent us a bottle of their Bubbly Pink Moscato and a request to try it in the Stride of Pride cocktail they created. Coincedentally, their moscato is our go-to wine, so of course we jumped at the chance! So on Wednesday that's exactly what we did - gathered together the ingredients, made it and had a lovely cocktail while watching Love Island (guilty pleasure, sorry we can't help it!)

Of course, it made our day to find out that our favourite wine company has a long history of celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ community - we go out of our way to support companies who support people like us! Extending its appreciation to wine lovers everywhere no matter who they are or whom they love, Barefoot is raising a glass to toast the LGBTQ community across the globe. Celebrating diversity with splashes of passionfruit, juicy pear and sparkling Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato – no Pride party should be without it this summer!

If you're heading to London tomorrow, you can check out the Stride of Pride at The Cocktail Trading Co. (London EC1A 9EJ), or you can make your own like we did!

Follow these simple steps to add a touch of sparkle to your life!

Ingredients

70ml Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato

10ml Passion Fruit Syrup 

10ml Pear Liqueur  

10ml Lemon Juice

Method

1.    Combine well-chilled Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato with passion fruit, pear liqueur and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker

2.    Pour over crushed ice into a cup

3.    Top off garnished with some fun!

Serves 1

We replaced the passionfruit syrup with coulis, as per The Cocktail Trading Co.'s recommendation - we used Tesco's Finest Passionfruit Coulis, another LGBTQ-friendly company!

We'll be drinking this all summer, so cheers!

Happy Pride everyone!!

#4 Top LGBT Blog in the UK, Youtube's Pride month video, and Other Pre-Pride London Musings

As it's only 3 (!!!) days until Pride London, some awesomely 'gay' things are happening this week that we wanted to share with you.

We are gutted that we won't be attending Pride London this year - it is our 'first' Pride, as we have been attending every year (except 2010, when we were in Sydney, and 2014 when we were getting married!) since we got together, over 7 years ago! Last year, we were honoured to be there for our first year wedding anniversary, and were featured in this beautiful video from Youtube in the wake of gay marriage being legalised across the USA:

This year's video to celebrate Pride month is about Identity - and it is beautiful and moving as always:

We have differing opinions on Identity - I have always liked labels, since I was a high school student, labelling myself as a choir geek and part of the 'second smartest group in my class' - as an adult, labelling myself a lesbian has helped me become prouder of that part of myself, and has helped me be a part of an amazing lgbt community I personally might not have had the courage to seek without my identity. To clarify, I only like self-made labels and identities - I'm not pro- people putting others into boxes where they don't want to be.

Sarah, on the other hand, doesn't like labels - she finds them derisive and restrictive and is way too picky to be defined by just a few descriptors.

Anyway!

We were notified today that we have made it to number 4 (!!) on Vuelio's Top 10 LGBT UK Blogs! This is fantastic news, and we are in great company - you can check out the article and the write up on us and our fellow bloggers here - make sure you check them out!

Photo courtesy of Barefoot

Finally, Barefoot wine has sent us a bottle of their pink muscato (coincidentally our favourite ever wine, we love a bubbly pink!) to make a cocktail they dreamed up specifically for Pride London this weekend. We've bought pear liqueur, passionfruit coulis, and we can't WAIT to have our own little celebration this evening! Look out for that recipe so you can try your own!




Happy Pride to our friends in London, have an amazing, safe time, and don't do anything we wouldn't do :)

Love is love,

For Orlando. Stand proud, Keep Dancing.

We didn't plan to write a blog post on the atrocity that took place in Orlando. Social media is filled with better written passages than we could ever create and stronger images than we could envisage. However over the course of today the united in love messages are giving way to something awful and we didn't want to stand by and not say anything. For taking no action is still taking an action - for letting the hate and support for the shooting take over and doing nothing is allowing negativity to win. Therefore we hope this post goes some way to pushing a negative post out of the way.

Before work today scrolling through comments on a number of Instagram posts we were horrified to see things like this on posts sending love to Orlando:

There were so many more but I don't want to give them any further publicity

It was only weeks ago that we wrote a post asking are gay rights still relevant - not because we don't think they are, but because so much of the battle seemed to have been won - at least in the Western world. These very comments we see posted on social media prove in fact that gay rights are still very relevant. While this one awful act does nothing to undo the work already done, what it shows it that changing hearts and minds is still very far from over. 

It is clear that people STILL do not understand that being gay is NOT a choice. 

Gay people are not perverted.

We are not an abomination.

Two people of the same sex holding hand is not a reason for disgust.

Two people of the same sex kissing is not a reason for anger.
 

Did you know in France in the 16th century there was no word for homosexuality or being gay?! That is because it was described as just a man loving a man - it was not judged or talked about in disgust, it just was. Love is just that - love. It shouldn't need a term to describe who the love is between, it should just be called love. 

Our marriage is just called marriage.

Our love is just love. 

'It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love' - John Lennon

To us this sums it up.

So while there are many in this world who are so ready to hate something they don't understand, those of us evolved enough to realise that love is a chemical reaction that can take many forms, we must be the bigger people. While awful, senseless individuals will find any excuse to hate we must do the opposite. While race, gender, religion and sexuality can all be reason to divide us surely love, peace and happiness are bigger reasons that could unite us?

Our hearts, thoughts and sympathies go out to everyone in Orlando and to anyone effected, while we may not have lost anyone we know, we know people who have. That is one thing we will take away from this - the world is really, truly, a small place, so the kindness you show to someone really can change the world. 

To anyone who is heading to a Pride this year, stay safe, stay proud, keep dancing, and never ever forget that by standing strong, by being 'out', we being brave. We are helping make things better for the next generation of LGBT people. Just as those who came before us risked their lives so we can attend these amazing Pride events, we must stand up in unity against the hatred and show that one individual cannot destroy the great work of many.

   

We are heading to a candlelight vigil at the Gay Village in Birmingham, tonight at 10pm. There are many similar events happening today around the world - if you can spare some time, head to one, remember the heroes that we've lost, and let's support one another.