Life on the farm...

Spending this week in the heart of Wiltshire, on a lovely farm, enjoying the outdoor life...

Days so far have been spent collecting fresh eggs from the chickens, feeding a baby lamb, visiting the donkeys, riding on the tractor and getting acquainted with the new ducks. It's quiet, relaxing, rainy (can't have everything!) and the kids have total freedom to run around and explore. The food tastes better being cooked on wood burning stove, we're all sleeping more soundly with all the fresh air and there's nothing better than that quiet time once the kids are all asleep, sitting outside the tent with a cold glass of wine and enjoy the idyllic setting. Bliss.

Be back home soon to share news and photos but for now there's a gorgeous evening to enjoy...xx

Forgive me Bloggers for I have sinned...

Well, it's been a while to put it mildly! June was a really busy month with lots happening at home, school and Paul's new job but to be honest, my heart really hasn't been in it when it came to posting on my blog since the last entry almost a month ago. I've barely even looked at anyone else's blogs either and for that I apologise but now the kids are on holiday and things seem to have calmed down I thought I'd take some time to review the last month...

Molly was fine after her operation - she's certainly trying more words and there has been little differences in the way she pronounces things but it hasn't been the 'dramatic' difference that the doctor said it would be. She now sounds like Harry used to before he got his hearing aids so our gut feeling is that she has an underlying hearing loss too. Back to the ENT clinic on the 26th of August and Audiology are doing a hearing test that day too so we'll wait and see... Thanks to everyone who got in touch via text, phone, email, in person and with comments on the blog - it was so awful not being able to be there but you all helped me so much through the day. This is the little trike and trailer we got her for being so brave...

My social life is like a No.26 bus...nothing for ages then they all arrive at once! June was one of those months with lots nights out - a big thank-you to my Mum and Dad for being the best babysitters ever!! Here's a quick rundown in pictures...

Caledonian Ball, Caledonain Thistle, Aberdeen - a great night out every year. The best bit is the getting ready in the hotel room. we bring a load of food and drink and beautify ourselves for the afternoon while the boys go off and do boys stuff (this year they went mountain biking). We get a group photo taken, have a lovely meal, stop our other halves bidding for stuff at the charity auction then dance till we can't stand up anymore. Fantastic.

Before...

...after

...and after still!

Murder on the dancefloor...

Trend Magazine Awards, The Marcliffe at Pitfodels, Aberdeen - about a year ago a fabulous dress shop opened here in Inverurie. It's called Vanity and it stocks lots of small, up and coming labels as well as established brands like French Connection and Mina. Cheryl who owns the shop is so lovely and has such a great eye for what suits her customers. I love going in there - they are great with the kids while I try stuff on and everything I have bought there has been worn time and time again. Vanity was nominated for an award by Trend Magazine and Cheryl invited some of her customers who had supported her through her first year and I was so proud to be one of them. We had a fabulous night at the Marcliffe, all wearing Vanity dresses, and the icing on the cake was when Vanity won!! I think we were easily the loudest table there and we were all so proud of her for putting Inverurie on the fashion map! I only knew the girls from the shop and one other fellow customer but they were a lovely bunch of girls and we had such a great night.

All ready to go...

Cheryl with her award!

Mixology Lesson, Orchid Bar, Aberdeen - Michelle organised a girly night here the night after the Trend Awards (!) and it was so much fun. Ben, our teacher for the evening talked about the history of cocktail making whilst making us some amazing drinks. It was so good that I arranged to take Paul for a private lesson this Friday followed by a meal at a Japanese restaurant right across from Orchid - he deserved a special Father's Day present and this was perfect. We learned a lot (and drank a lot!) and afterwards went for a bite to eat then on to see Sex and The City 2...well, SOME of us went to see Sex and The City 2...!!!

Really looking forward to Friday after looking at those photos again - that had to be the best Cosmopolitan I have ever tasted!!

I'm going to sign off there for the moment...there's lots more to come but I think we need a break first!! xx

Today's the day...

It's been quite a week. Harry and Molly both had a stomach bug (caught at a kids party they had been at on Sunday - so far there have been around 20 cases of gastroentinitis) Harry was worse than Molly in that he was up every hour between 10.30pm and 5am Monday into Tuesday. Molly was sick once and seemed to bounce back pretty fast. Then on Wednesday night, it was my turn. Woke at 1.30am with my heart racing and that horrible feeling...by 7am I felt like I had been in a fight and come off worst. Spent yesterday sleeping on and off, aching all over and generally feeling pretty terrible...

The worst part is that today is the day that Molly goes into hospital to get her grommets fitted and I can't be there now. We spoke to a nurse on the ward yesterday who said that because I would still be contagious up to 48 hours after the last time I was sick - so 7am tomorrow - I would have to stay away.

I know it's only a minor op and she'll more than likely be home in the afternoon but the thought of waving her off this morning is heartbreaking. Paul will be there of course and will keep in touch to let me know what's happening but I can't believe I won't be there.

So, please think good thoughts at around 11am and fingers crossed all goes well. xx

Work in progress...

...works in progress actually - got a few projects on the go that I thought I'd share!

Molly's Room

Last week we gave Molly's room a bit of an update. Out went the cot tidy, the nappy stacker, the cot bumper and the co-ordinating curtains and bits & pieces and in came some new things and a change about of the furniture to make her room more fitting for an (almost!) 2 year old...

Still have a canopy to put up over her cot and the built in cupboard needs a serious sort out but it's looking good so far and most importantly - Molly loves it!!

Garden Furniture

We've had this set since I was pregnant with James and I have spent a lot of hours over the years sanding it down and re-staining it to make it last another summer... Although I bought a lovely new outdoor dining set a couple of weeks ago, the deck is big enough for two areas - eating and seating, so there's still a place for the old stuff - just not in it's current state!

Starting to look MUCH better now! Doing the 2 benches in Willow and the 2 seats in Country Cream. Planning on making some seat cushions for them too...Ellie's helping paint which is a huge help!

365 Challenge

Here's the May pages all completed. It was a bit of a rush getting this one ready and I kinda wish I had done a background before I painted on the square frames but never mind... Here's a sneak peak of June - well, the main body of it anyway...

Furthering my love of all things Union Jack-y right now I thought I'd celebrate the start of the great British Summer and represent June with with some red, white and blue!! When I was at AFTH a couple of weeks back, Dyan and I were talking about how Union Jacks were everywhere right now...she had bought herself a vintage flag and some Union Jack bunting for her lounge and I was talking about an umbrella stand I had seen in James Brindley's in Harrogate...which brings me onto project No 3!

The Front Hall

The umbrella stand arrived this week!! Dy's daughter sent it up for me (along with my cardigan!) and it's gorgeous!! Needs a couple more brollies though...! And it's set off perfectly with...

...my fab new wellies!!

That wee cushion looks lonely...it definitely NEEDS a bigger companion, Dy!! Still on the lookout for bits and pieces to finish off the walls in there but I'm loving the splash of colour our flag brings!!

The Family Room/Craft Room Changeover

This week we got a step closer to getting the family room changed over into my craft/study area as we finally found a new home for the sofa. We were visiting friends last weekend and they mentioned they wanted a new sofa for their family room...a few days, some emailed pictures and the hiring of a van later, it was on its way to Laurencekirk to its new family. So happy that it's somewhere being used and loved...and we can still visit it!! Above is a picture of the last piece in the room before Paul loaded it into the van...

...all packed and ready to go.

The room feels much bigger now and it's been nice getting used to the space whilst planning out the new layout. Still have a few pieces of furniture but they can be stored in the garage until we have takers for them. So excited about getting the new room started - it's come to the point where I have WAY too much stuff for my current space...especially since that last haul at Dyan's...!!

Off to a ball tomorrow evening - all kilts and fancy frocks - can't wait!! Meeting the girls there in the afternoon for hair, make-up and drinks while the boys go mountain biking then it's formal photos, meal, charity auction then dancing!! Face painting all day Sunday at a Beaver Scout Fun Day though...that WILL be fun!?! xx

I made it...finally!!

I'm finally here...sitting down at the 'puter in (relative) peace to, at last, post on our gorgeously sunny visit to Harrogate last weekend! It was fantastic...

We were staying at The Old Swan, close to the centre of Harrogate and known as Agatha's Hideout as this is where Ms Christie hid for 10 days in 1926 while the world and it's press hunted for her and speculated on what might have happened...she checked into the hotel under her husband's mistress's name (possibly partly explaining why she had ran away?!?) and when she was finally found, she kept her husband waiting in reception while she dressed for dinner...quite right too!!

The setting was perfect - like being transported into one of her novels - just the right amount of shabby decadence to set the scene. There was a wedding taking place on the Friday and a Murder Mystery going on the whole weekend - how cool would that be?! We met some of the actors and they were hilarious, all very 'lovie, dahling!' The only downside was the obvious lack of air-con and the fact that every surface in our beautiful bathroom was heated - the floor, the mirror, the wall (thanks to the huge heated towel rail) and since the lovely big bay window only opened a crack, it acted like more of a greenhouse than anything! The bedding was a bit strange - two sheets with a thick nylon fleece type blanket sandwiched between acted as our duvet and if Agatha lasted 10 days there then she must have taken her own pillow...!! But, the staff were friendly and helpful, the food was gorgeous, the G&T's were cold and the lovely Sandra and her husband Andy were staying there too, meaning that I got some bonus time driving to Dy's with her which was so nice. The addition of an electric fan helped make our stay more enjoyable too!!

We had arrived there late Thursday night, stopping off at Ikea in Edinburgh to do a quick recon on furniture for the new craft room...I ended up buying garden furniture much to Paul's disbelief but what's the point in having a lovely big van if you can't buy a table and benches on a whim?!? On Friday morning we set out in the sunshine to do some shopping and spend some time together before the 'hard' work started that evening! Harrogate is very pretty, especially with all the trees and flowers in full bloom...

Love the dappled light in this cobbled street

Before long (and before even hitting the shops) we had to stop for a drink...with the sun blazing and it feeling so Summery, it had to be Pimms...

Spent a really chilled out day, wandering about, stopping for lunch at Betty's (you just have too!), making a dent in the stock levels at Cath Kidston and exploring the vintage shops...

When we got back to the Swan, laden down with bags (I went kinda crazy in Paperchase too) there was time for a quick freshen up and a bit of a phone makeover...

...off with the old...

...and on with the new!

Much better!

After a G&T in the Cocktail Lounge we made our way to Art From the Heart aka Dy's place. I was the last to arrive and it was so nice to see Dyan, the new shop, meet Jay for the first time and be greeted by all the familiar faces from AJ1 - and a few new ones too! For the next few hours we chatted, folded, laughed, ate, drank, sewed, chatted and all too soon it was time to go...but not before getting lovely pressies from Virginia and Mel - an inspiration jar from Ginny, full of little prompts for journal pages (I had been talking about struggling with what to journal about earlier, so it was the perfect gift!) and a gorgeous bracelet that Mel had made which was worn most of the weekend!

We were all raring to go on Saturday morning and Dy set about showing us how to create different lettering for our journalling in her own unique style...

We doodled borders, created borders using Dyan's Downloads, picked a colour and cut pictures of that colour out of magazines to create another border. Ooh, and we finished off the day with 3d balls!! Here are the results...

Sandra with red...

Anne Marie with yellow

Ronni with orange

Carole with green

Me with pink (thanks Ronni for taking over the photography!)

Mel with black (of course!)

Virginia with purple

Valencia with green

Vanessa with blue

Steph with aqua

Ann with yellow

Birthday Bee with blue

Emma with pink

Janet with orange

Michelle with grey

Liz with blue

Chris with pink

and finally Dyan with black!!

Here are my pages for the day...

Doodled border

Dy's Downloads border

Pink border

3d balls!!

Dyan and Sandra were off to a Northern Soul night - Dy was suffering with her back so didn't expect to be doing much in the way of dancing...Paul came to meet me and the Roffrum lot and we headed to the Premier Inn beer garden for some much needed lager shandy. The gorgeously funny Anne Marie and her hubbie joined us (he likes meeting people from foreign countries!) and we all had a good natter and a laugh in the sunshine. Paul and I headed back to our hotel to get ready for our night on the town. I got changed into my new frock and heels...

...then promptly changed out of them when I decided that the floaty number I had been wearing that day would be WAY more comfy (I don't normally do comfort over style - THAT'S how hot it was)

Better...

View from the terrace (on Hipstamatic)

Headed to Hotel du Vin and enjoyed a couple of cocktails out on the terrace. It was such a beautiful, still evening and we decided to get a table there for dinner later instead of heading further. Paul disappeared into the bar to get some more drinks and snacks and came back with...

Perfect.

Such a good night...

Dinner was so nice and afterwards we strolled back for the night...toying with the idea of visiting Virginia and Mel but once I'd taken my boots off there was no going back...!

Sunday was spent playing - inking, painting, distressing, mixing, spraying and generally having a free reign to create and use whatever we liked to finish the books we had sewn together on Friday evening. Oh, and Dy's back was much better thanks to all the dancing she did!!

Mini book using spray inks and stencils with gesso, doodling and the gorgeous Stampotique stamps.

Using the leftover spray ink on the stencils in my Moleskin.

Distressing, masking and faux bleach effect.

Paul had ended up going to the cinema with Anne Marie's husband, they were back at the hotel having a drink on the lawn when I called at 4pm so he headed over while I headed through to the shop...the plan was to leave a bit early to get home earlier...

...but I had so much stuff that I kept letting everyone else go first but that was nice as I got to chat to everyone as we were queueing! Dyan's till skills are hilarious...the best one being when she and Valencia between them managed to charge £114,500 onto Val's card. Paul said "Was it declined?" to which Val replied "I bloody hope so, I'm only a pensioner!!"

So much for my mantra of "No more paper, no more paper..."!!

In crafty retail heaven...

Soon, it was time to say goodbye as the lovely ladies started to filter out into the sunshine...

Sandra, me and Dyan

My Roffrum sisters

...and then there was just us!

I got changed for the journey - honestly that dress was a Godsend! Been trying to find ones for Mel and Dy and not having any luck - they were still around about a month ago but have disappeared!! Will keep looking ladies...

Jay and Dyan

We headed off on the long drive home - listening to The Beatles, Plan B and Paloma Faith, realising as we reached Berwick that I'd left my cardi behind, chatting about our weekend and planning the next one! I managed to get a photo of the Angel of the North as we were passing through Newcastle...

Really want to visit it properly next time. I did some doodling till the light faded as we were crossing the Forth Road Bridge...

We arrived home just before midnight, tired but happy and glad to be home safely. Thanks Dyan, Jay, Pam, Katie and all the ladies who made the weekend so much fun - can't wait to see you all again real soon! xx