10 reasons to love January...

January, first month of the year and for me it's a month which I'll be honest, isn't my favourite month of the year. I don't mind if it snows, in fact I quite enjoy a snowy ramble with Holly Bobbins but you can keep your dark, wet, dank and damp and give me some sunshine in return.

Now there are reasons you might love January so I've compiled you a little list - 

1. You got engaged and you're planning your wedding, believe me I would love January too, well if you've happened upon my blog because you're looking for quirky places to get married in the North East of England or you're just looking for a wedding photographer in Newcastle you should probably read my post about my favourite Doctor Who themed wedding I shot last year and you should also contact me especially if you are just planning a smaller wedding.  I don't shoot a lot of weddings now but I'm looking to take on about 4 more this year so get in touch before everyone else does.
2. A lot of what I do now entails being commissioned to write about and photograph holidays, travel destinations and dog friendly places to stay so January is always a good month to start planning adventures even if it's a little while before you can actually escape, I'm always looking for new commissions so if you have a particular hotel, guest house or interesting holiday you would like me to review, photograph and write about do get in touch, I take on commissions from publications as well as the actual holiday providers themselves.
3. January is the best month of the year to have friends around for dinner and I've just heard today that if you (like me) have seasonally affective disorder then you'll find that hugs are a great help and can even work better than a SAD Lamp, although I'll be honest I've just got one of those too, I am determined to defeat it this year even though I don't think it's ever got light this week, even Holly Bobbins seems to think it's perpetually nap time (I know how she feels, I might just hibernate).
4. Speaking of hibernation, really if you are going to do that then doesn't January just have to be the best month of the year for duvet days? I'm thinking cosy bed socks, duvet or knitted blankets on the sofa and a pile of your favourite heartwarming movies.
5. January has to be the best time of year to visit a cosy coffee shop, particularly if it's dog friendly, then you can say you've taken your pet for a walk and warm up with hot chocolate and a slice of your favourite cake, I'm quite spoiled living in Heaton as we have Teasy Does It, Heaton Perk, BLK Coffee and Heaton Ingredient which are all dog friendly, Holly Bobbins is a big fan of them all.
6. Find your word for the year, every year I have a theme for the year and this year it's Adventure, it's been a long time coming and I plan to have as many as possible, I'm not entirely sure where they'll all take me or what they'll involve but for me 2016 is most definitely the year of adventure.
7. I've been thinking for a while that I really have a lot of things I want to do in my home, a grand decoration plan that might just happen, especially because I have lovely helpful friends, I'm planning total redecoration although it'll be on a budget but I really want to have a home I can entertain in as well as just feel excited to be in, after all it's nice to have somewhere amazing to come home to in between my travels and adventures, I think I need to start getting to grips with Pinterest!
8. If ever there was a month for getting the photos of your computers and cameras and printing them and putting them on your walls it has to be January.  I have a ton of photos I haven't printed yet and I'd love to get as many as I can into photo books and frames and onto canvases, it's a quick and easy way to brighten up any room and my own picture wall is ready for a makeover.
9. They say that January is the best month of the year for starting diets and exercise plans, well I'm not a fan of dieting but I do try to live by the Slimming World plan, it's been a Godsend to me and I've lost over 3 stones in weight, I also try to get out most days and do 10K steps, if you can do this in January you'll find you can do 15K easily by April.  I'm happy to say that I've been at my target weight now for over 6 months.
10. Box sets, box sets, box sets, if ever there were a time to catch up on all of the amazing TV you've missed whilst you were out being social in autumn it's got to be January, I can recommend Jessica Jones on Netflix if you need a suggestion.

Whatever you do this January, don't be beaten by the grumps, lets all just plan to make 2016 the best most fun filled year ever!