emerging from xmas madness

well christmas has certainly been a hectic one this year for m.r. and i but most definitely a wonderful one - full on family, food, fun (and then some more food)!

the only downside was that every member of the family fell ill at some point during the holiday. my mum tells me thats what happens when you switch off and your body starts to wind down for the break.

everyone battled through it though and we still managed to enjoy all the festivities - i find champagne often helps the immune system ;0)

we spent most of our time playing games with the babies, watching movies and eating the most delicious christmas dinner made by my mum. the perfect holiday. oh, and my nephew got his first tooth!

in addition to all of this, father christmas was ridiculously kind to me this year so i had every reason in the world to be smiling....

m.r. treated me to a fantastic sewing machine and his family bought a whole bunch of beautiful accessories to get me started.

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i have already ordered two dress patterns (mainly inspired by the 50s-esq dresses worn in 'pushing daisies') and i cannot wait to get going with them....... if only the postal system in london was a little more efficient!

my parents, unbelievably, bought me a pair of christian louboutin shoes. thats right. i can hardly believe it myself but i appreciate how lucky i am to have received such a wonderful present - my parents most definitely rock!

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exact picture to follow as mum and i are off to harrods on the weekend to choose the style we think i'd wear the most - with shoes such as these, i think this decision should be taken very seriously!

all the family, including m.r., swear that all my presents were bought before my 'if father christmas' post below. it would appear that they all know me far too well!

well, i'm just about to start catching up on everyones elses christmas stories. i'm so looking forward to hearing about how you all spent your holidays and what made your christmas wonderful this year.....

see you on the other side....

before i disappear for a couple of days into the world of family, seasonal get-togethers, i wanted to wish you all a very

merry christmas.

i hope you all have a truly wonderful holiday and i look forward to reading all your festive stories on my return!

if father christmas......

was a millionaire or a miracle worker, i would ask him for these christmas presents:

1. every pair of shoes that christian louboutin has ever designed
2. a brand new laptop that doesn't take a lifetime to connect to the internet and can cope with photoshop, so i don't have to keep 'borrowing' m.r.'s
3. a sewing machine and every sewing accessory i can think of to make pretty, pretty things
4. a blackberry. i am not interested in the iphone. i need functionality, not apps.
5. a winning lottery ticket
6. my grandad back - if only for my wedding day

not that i'm asking for much....

in reality, christmas this year will be all about family for me and m.r. - his and mine, that is "ours". (i still love saying that!)
it will be a first christmas for my new nephew and niece and my eldest nephew actually understands whats going on for the first time.
i'm so ridiculously excited.
even if the babies enjoy the wrapping paper more than the things inside it, i can't think of a better christmas present than watching them smile all day.
their laughs are contagious.
no other present will beat it.

shaking with excitement

starting a new job is bound to be fairly daunting.
but yesterday, i attended an away day with the team i'll be joining in january and boy, i am a happy lady today.....

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you know when things all sort of fall into place? well, i feel as though i fell into place there, with these people.

i feel as though i 'fit'.

i think this change is going to be a great one.

last night, as i was telling m.r. all about how fantastic the day had been, i was literally shaking with excitement.
that can only ever be a good thing.

without wanting to wish away christmas.... bring on january!

saved from the monday blues

i had the monday blues today.

no special reason. although, i guess i'm so ready to be at my new job now, the last few days here are passing slowly.

but then i received this wonderfully cheerful email from my mum and my blues faded away:

Just had another look at the photos of your wedding dress and it is absolutely beautiful.

Luv MUM xx

isn't it lovely how the little things can make all the difference!

p.s. sorry i can't post any photos of wedding dress in question - i'm being very secretive about the dress and don't want the wrong people to catch sight of it!!

party season

christmas party season kicked off last night with a 'razzle dazzle' 20s event.

m.r. freelances for the company my dad started earlier this year, looking after their i.t., so we were technically invited as employee and partner, but i was just pleased to be there, supporting my dad at his first company 'do'.

we all had so much fun.....

we were treated to a fabulous cabaret show

we spun the wheel and played some roulette

 

and we ate a delicious meal
(please note-glasses here are m.r.'s and i am borrowing them to watch the cabaret! saying that, i'm strangly tempted to get a pair...)

in addition to all of this, there were dodgems!!!!!!

this photo was taken a moment before we hit my brother and sister-in-law, in car number 3, straight up the bum.

as far as i'm concerned, any party that has dodgems, is undeniably awesome.

so thanks mum and dad - we had the best time! xx

my new obsession

right now, i absolutely adore mustard.

the colour. not the condiment.

i am by no means a fashionista, so please forgive me if mustard was 'so last season', but it is my new obsession.

 

 

 

all images from yes style.

christmas sales are approaching - i'm pretty sure my wardrobe will soon be full of mustard.

the colour. not the condiment.

the wanderer returns

on returning to the real world after a weekend of debauchery i think it is safe to conclude that i am definitely not as capable as handling late nights, drinking games and sleeping in beds that are sized for children as well as i perhaps once was.

the christmas annual reunion went a little something like this:

as we reunite from all over the UK, everyone slowly trickled into the cottage throughout friday evening.

if i'm honest, this is my favourite part as, although there is often initial awkwardness (the 'how have you been?' and 'how's work going?' kind of questions) within five minutes, we're in the lounge laughing and joking as though our uni days were only yesterday.

it gives me a warm feeling inside to know that regardless of the length of time that passes between catch ups, our friendships are as strong as ever.

saturday morning was spent undertaking some serious shopping at the local supermarket and getting this stocked in the kitchen, ready for cooking the christmas meal later that day. when buying for 21 people, its extremely easy to overestimate........

at this stage, we took a long walk to the nearerst pub where we are usually stared at by 'locals'!
nonetheless, the boys crammed themselves around the tiniest tv in the corner to watch the rugby and the girls were left with some free time to finally have a good old gossip.

once home, the production line begins!

the girls chopped and peeled. the boys spent ages discussing the best way to cook the meat.

typical!

while the food was a'cooking, we all retired to the lounge to watch xfactor.

intense debate regarding perceived level of talent followed.

and then we ate.

the rest of the evening, i'm afraid should and will remain photoless on this blog.

images of my friends reverting back to their 18 year old former selves are never going to be pretty - i fear it may give you the wrong impression of them.

instead, i will leave you with this:

the annual reunion was amazing.

my friends are incredible.

every year, this is the start to my christmas and that makes me very happy indeed.

reunion comes but once a year

i am off to the countryside today for my annual christmas uni reunion weekend.

this annual weekend away is one of the highlights of my year - full of christmas festivities, reminiscing, good food and friendly banter.

countryside adventures, however, equate to no computer, no wifi and therefore, no blogging!

bye bye blogworld - although i will only be gone for 3 days, i will miss you. although, i promise some juicy posts and pictures on my return.

work-wardrobe revamp required - URGENTLY!

i start a new job in january (i am almost bursting with excitement!).

but i am attending a 'christmas away day' with the whole team - all 25 of them - in a couple of weeks and i am desperate to find the perfect outfit.

i want this to be a new beginning. my current job (well, my current company) is extremely corporate and my outfits have evolved over the last few years and become 'appropriate' for my position. but soon, i will be a buyer in retail and i need to re-find my mojo.

somehow, very quickly, i need to reinject my personality into my work wardrobe......

which is where you lot hopefully come in!

from my wonderful blogger friends, i have discovered the incredible modcloth.com. WOW! i adore dresses and boy, are these dresses adorable.

i was hoping that you may hold more of these secret hidden gems that i am completely unaware of?

please, please share if you do - i am in desperate need of a work-wardrobe revamp!