Jennie Landels

WOW!

2011-11-14T13:42:00.000Z

Am I really almost a year behind in my blogging!!

This year has been the fastest of my life. I can hardly believe we have almost been married for 6 months. That time has been consumed by work, work and more work. I have hardly seen Nathan at all as he has been so busy with his own new job and Clan Fitness. But I have been loving my job and projects. I feel I have grown so much professionally in this last year.

I am however looking forward to getting back to having a little bit of work life balance and doing the things I have been wanting to do for so long.....like cooking homemade meals, exercise, crafting and generally taking care of myself.

I have even booked a week off work at the beginning of December. So if I don't manage to update my blog before then I will definitely be doing a MASSIVE update that week. Then I am off again fom the 22nd of December to the 4th of January... perfect bliss!

Winter day with Mum

2011-09-19T14:51:00.000+01:00

Can you see a pattern emerging here? Christmas homemade cappuccinos.

My Mum headed round for the day between Christmas and New Year. We made soup and had meats and cheeses for lunch. Which was very tasty.

The weather was rubbish so we then spent the afternoon going over wedding bits and pieces so I could bring her up to speed.

In the evening I then made roast chicken, garlic and rosemary potatoes and green beans with shallots and bacon bits. It was so tasty.

We then watched the Belleville Rendez-Vous as recommended by John Armitage. Nathan had watched it before but enjoyed it again with Mum and I. It was a lovely lazy day that didn't involve leaving the house once!

Visiting the Armitage Family in Glasgow- 27th December 2010

2011-09-19T14:43:00.001+01:00

Lena, John holding his daughter Velia and Hannah all admiring the Christmas cake with the 'babies' on the top as Velia called them.

It was so lovely to meet Velia, who I had seen lots of photos and video on flickr.. (Auntie Hannah is very good at sharing her loveliness!) she was even cuter in real life.

Jamie and John playing games with Velia.

My Mum and Lena looking at John and Lydia's wedding album. The two Mum's used to spend a lot of time together when Hannah and I were younger as Hannah and I were the same age and my Sister and John were a similar age. Lena and my Mum were at art college together and my Dad and Jeremy were in the same architecture class at the same University.

It was so lovely to spend time with the Armitages. I love this photo above. (It makes me sad that my Dad isn't there too..) but then I can't help but smile as Velia is in the background waving to herself in the window!

Jeremy then got out their old photo albums to show Nathan and Dougie all of us when we were Velia's age (and younger) we used to go on family holidays together and have such fond memories of those holidays.

I need to find an old school photo to match with these. My camera colour is a bit funny but it was so lovely to have us all together again. We definitely have to try and get together more often.

Top row: Hannah, Becky, Dougie, Nathan. Bottom row: John, John's wife, Lydia holding their daughter, Velia, Jamie and I.

Hannah and I. Hannah is one of my bridesmaids for our wedding. I have known her longer than anyone in my life (excluding my immediate family) there are some great photos of us over the years.

Becky and Dougie had tickets to the Glasgow vs Edinburgh rugby game that evening so we left the parentals to it and we headed off to the game. It was pretty chilly but a fun atmosphere.

Nathan, Becky and Hannah.

Dougie and Nathan.

A few shots from the game. Glasgow won 30-18 but it was still a fun evening. We headed back to the Armitages after the game and then headed home on the icy roads back to Edinburgh.

After Christmas

2011-09-19T14:22:00.000+01:00

I always love left overs. The day after Christmas we were still at Becky's house so we enjoyed some tasty left overs of cheese, salad and turkey... (I can't remember if this picture was taken the evening of Christmas or the next day) but whenever it was- it was tasty!

I loved my wee cappuccino frother which was in my stocking. I also was given a milk jug which helped make the froth. It tasted so good and is much cheaper than store bought coffee. We used our filter machine and the frother for holiday cups of coffee. I even sneaked in some Starbucks gingerbread syrup!

The frother in action!

Christmas at Becky and Dougie's house

2011-09-19T14:12:00.002+01:00

Our final destination on Christmas Day was Becky and Dougie's house. They were hosting Christmas as they had done the year before. As always Becky's tree looked beautiful and magical with all the generous presents underneath. I love all the different wrapping paper. (This makes me excited for this Christmas already!)

My Mum and Becky cooked this gorgeous turkey for our meal. It looks so golden.

My Mum raising a glass as she finishes prepping in Becky's kitchen.

Becky and Dougie's Australian friends Andrew and Dan joined us for Christmas dinner which was fun. Minus Becky here was our group for Christmas. Loving the santa hats!

The table was very pretty with Becky's linen in white and silver.

Dougie and Becky

Andrew and Dan

Nathan and I

Christmas Dinner.... (you can't see my turkey as it's smothered in bread sauce!)

Dougie, Nathan and Becky.

My Mum with her lovely pile of pressies.

Me and my stocking, which my Mum made me for my very first Christmas in 1979.

Nathan looking very dapper in his waistcoat.

Becky and her rabbit slippers that I bought for her.

My favourite wrapping was the black with coloured Christmas lights.

I made Christmas pudding again this year which I always love lighting. (using brandy) This part of Christmas will always remind me of my Dad.

He was in our thoughts for the whole of Christmas. It seemed very surreal that the year before he had been sitting on Becky's couch reading the JR Tolkien book he bought for Becky and I. Christmas will never really be the same but it was lovely to spend time with those we love and be reminded of all that is still good.

I had expressed an interest in knitting in the run up to Christmas so my Mum bought me this starter set. I was enthralled.

The beginnings of my scarf.... which has made about as much progress as my blog in this last year!!

Visiting my Grandma

2011-09-19T13:42:00.000+01:00

After all our visiting on Christmas morning we all meet up at my Grandma's care home and joined her to celebrate Christmas. She was dressed up in her red dress looking very Christmassy.

Santa Clause had already been to visit the care home and my Grandma found Becky's hat very amusing.

I really like this photo of Nathan, me and my Grandma Ellen. She always looks so well put together and I love that with time she has not lost this. The nursing staff always look after her and ensure she's had her nails done and she goes to the in house hairdresser every week. I hope I keep my sense of self when I am my Grandma's age.

More updates

2011-09-19T13:29:00.002+01:00

Well I am not doing so well on the updating of the blog! It seems very surreal to be updating aboout last Christmas when I am starting to look forward to this Christmas.

But here goes........

The Walker Stuart Household on Christmas Day

2011-08-09T18:55:00.000+01:00

It was realy enjoyable to go visiting on Christmas Morning. Ed gave Nathan a great t-shirt which said 'Pikey Just Nicked It.' as a take on the Nike slogan. It has become a firm favourite!

As part of a bit of Christmas fun Nathan's Dad bought a talking monkey which mimicked everything you said- which a lot of the guys in his office were getting for their kids. Ed and Nathan were having great fun with it.

Wendy's sister, Lisa with Wendy and baby Katie in front of their Christmas tree.

Lisa reading Katie a story.

Wendy opening presents with her Dad, Phil holding Katie.

The Stuart Clan with Nathan. (l-r) Jamie and his wife Tere, Tom and Nathan. Charlie was in Argentina with the boy's parents.

John and Lisa.

Ed with baby Katie, who was trying to drink from his bottle of beer.

Nathan's Parents House on Christmas Morning.

2011-08-09T18:45:00.001+01:00

The Pike family tree looked beautiful in their bay window with all the snow in the background.

More pressies.... we were so spoiled with lovely presents.

Nathan's Mum always has her house decorated beautifully.

Nathan and I in his parent's front room on Christmas morning.

Nathan's family. His sister, Meghan. Mum, Lily and Dad, Neil in their front room on Christmas morning.

Christmas Morning in Cathcart Place

2011-08-09T18:35:00.000+01:00

Each year on Christmas Morning Nathan is usually hungover from his boys night out but this year was different.... which was very nice. We got up and made a cup of tea and our traditional cheese and ham croissants with orange juice. Then we opened our presents.

Nathan with his pile of pressies.

A couple of years ago we started a tradition where by we only by each other 5 presents. The first year there was also a budget limit but this year we just stuck with the 5 present categories. They are:

-Something to eat

-Something to wear

-Something to listen/read or watch

-A Christmas decoration

-A surprise.

My lovely pressies.

Me opening my surprise present.

This gave Nathan and I lots of amusement on Christmas morning. Because I always complain about how cold our flat is in the winter Nathan bought me a snow suit. It has pads on the feet so you can walk around in it. You can also zip your arms out or in depending how cold you are! Much fun and also cosiness!

Christmas Eve in Cathcart Place

2011-08-09T18:20:00.000+01:00

After we returned from my Mum's house for Christmas Eve we put our angel on the tree and also lit our candles. I love having real candles on the tree. Nathan kissing our angel before he puts it on the tree! (Crazy!)

Nathan putting the angel on the tree.

When we came home I was so cold I didn't take my jacket, scarf or hat off. (It is funny posting these photos in August when I am warm and our flat is hot.... such polar opposite in the winter!)

Some festive decorations!

The real candles being lit on the tree are one of my favourite parts of Christmas! I love how pretty they look.

The view from our couch just before we blew out all the candles and went to bed.

Christmas Baking

2011-08-09T18:10:00.000+01:00

There is nothing I love more than baking up a storm in the kitchen over the Christmas period. I especially enjoy when Nathan helps in the kitchen! Above he is pictured with the Yule log for dessert on Christmas Day.

It was really difficult to roll the Yule log up but it was so tasty (and logs are never 'perfect' anyways!) The filling was cream with orange addded in for flavour and cranberries for colour, texture and taste. Yum!

As gifts to take to family and friends houses over the festive period I made little truffles. Some were covered in coconut and some in coco powder. Everyone's houses were so warm due to the freezing temperatures outside so they had to be kept in the fridge incase they melted!

I put them in Christmas decorative tins that I had in my supplies for some time. I really liked the ponsetti tins.

My Christmas gift this year was a personalised mug with ingredients in the mug to make the perfect hot chocolate.... including a chocolate peppermint spoon to stir into the hot chocolate. I made these by melting chocolate and dipping plastic spoons into the chocolate and then sprinkling with crushed peppermint candy canes.

I then tied up little bags of marshmallows and little bags of hot chocolate that I made from a Susan Branch recipe where I combined cocoa powder with a few seasonal spices. It tasted yummy!

For dessert on Christmas Day I made my Christmas pudding recipe (we still have the second pudding in the cupboard for this coming year!)

Lighting the brandy on the top (and vodka as we used this year) always reminds me of my Dad at Christmas time.

Before Christmas we purchased some Christmas Starbucks blend to put into our coffee machine. I also got a milk frother for Christmas so made some homade holiday cappacinos! (I love my stencils from Crate and Barrell.)

The aero milk frother has been a big success!

Updating the blog

2011-08-09T17:50:00.000+01:00

Okay... well I have just downloaded over 2,000 photos from my camera so I can start blogging again..... yikes.... it is going to take a while but I am determined to get it done before we head off on honeymoon.

It is a little more difficult to blog this month as we are on our yearly sabbatical from our flat which is being rented out for the festival. I SO could not be bothered with the stress this year but somehow was convinced or more coerced into moving to my parents to rent out our flat.

It is lovely having the garden at my parents but it also makes me sad as it constantly reminds me that my Dad isn't there.

So we currently have no Internet and the TV doesn't work all that well so I figured I will stay late at work and start up dating the blog.

Always late......

2011-07-11T12:51:00.000+01:00

Well somethings remain consistent throughout life and my lateness is one of those things.... although I do try!

I even ended up late for our own wedding..... I was so disappointed as I was ready a full 35 minutes before with only a mile to travel but the transportation arrived late and we had complications with the transport so I ended up as always late.

We had a wonderful day and I can't wait to blog all about it. I am waiting for all the professional photos to arrive and the video which should come in the next few weeks.

For now though I have had so many requests for updates to the blog that I promise I will get myself organised and start updating this blog... I can't quite believe I am as far back as Christmas.... eeek! There is a lot of updating to do!

I am looking forward to it. x

Christmas Eve at our family home

2011-04-16T09:04:00.001+01:00

Christmas Eve is always a big deal in our house. To be honest the tradition of celebrating most holidays is inherited from my Mum so I am sure you can imagine how many little things are done to celebrate.

In Scandinavia they celebrate Christmas Eve more than Christmas day and in our family home we celebrate both with as much effort. My Mum always cooks a beautiful meal and this year was no exception.

Christmas Eve was tough though as my Dad wasn't there and you could feel this hole and everyone was aware of it. On Christmas Eve growing up, and still recently, he was a huge part of events. It was always his role to place the fairy on top of the tree at the end of the evening before we lit the real candles and marvelled at the candle light. He would then read Becky and I 'T'was the night before Christmas' and was so good at it... he read it with such drama. (I can still hear him now.)

The next morning it was always him and Fluffy (our ginger tom cat) who would go downstairs to check if Santa had been. They would always go first and I now know he would switch on the Christmas tree lights, open the patio door (which Santa used to get in to the house) and whilst my Mum looked frazzled (due to being up till some ungodly hour wrapping) he would be wide eyed and sprightly- laughing and smiling with us about the presents we had been given and he would have always bought my Mum some crazy gift as part of his present to her (usually only purchased on Christmas Eve and almost always from Studio One, Paper Tiger, Habitat and Inhouse.) He never let us know what he had bought her and we always couldn't wait to see what it was. They would open their stockings to each other after we had opened all of our presents from Santa (and we did the present opening in this way till a few years ago). It was always just as exciting to see what they gave each other. There was always giggles at the stage of Christmas Day. It was a wee insight into their relationship- like when you see your parents be affectionate to each other.

I look back and my Parents were such a good team at Christmas. My Mum was the grafter and did a lot of the hard slog.... the foundations and the little touches that don't always get the credit but it wouldn't have been Christmas without and my Dad added the humour and the finishing touches.

So many of my family memories centre around Christmas.... so it was never going to be easy but we made new memories and had a lovely time.

The week before my Dad passed away Becky heard my Dad tell a nurse that we were a family of 4 when this all started in 2001 (when he first was diagnosed with cancer) and now we are a family of 6. He thought of the boys as family and we couldn't have gotten through the Christmas week if it wasn't for them (or the last year!). We are still a family of 6 but sadly only 5 of us were there to share Christmas together.

I loved my Mum's funky table cloth and it made me smile that the soup echoed the circles of the pattern

Becky and Nathan, who has always been at his boys Christmas Eve get together in past years came to dinner as they had moved their boys evening. A lot of the guys have children now so the Christmas Eve get together is less possible. We had still had a great time with all his school friends at Katie and Hector's wedding and Hector had had a mini stag so they got some of their boy testosterone out then!

Me and Dougie... I didn't have a chance to take any photos of my Mum as she was dashing back and forth from the kitchen to the dinning table.

Love this photo.... we had a good giggle over dinner.

Becky took on the responsibility of Dad's Christmas Eve role and she placed the fairy on the top of the tree. This was a poignant moment for all of us and a sad reminder of our loss.

Thinking of Dad as Becky placed her fairy on the tree.

As Mum lit the candles and we watched them flicker in the dark of the livingroom we remembered all the amazing times we have had together as a family around our Christmas trees. All the stresses to get everything done for guests arriving, all the laughs, the fun...... I was so glad Nathan was there to cuddle into.

Apologies

2011-04-16T08:16:00.002+01:00

So I know I have been religiously writing this blog for over 3 years now.... actually it is pretty much spot on 3 years....how funny I just checked and it is exactly 3 years. My first post was the 16th April 2008..... I love it (I am going to add an image to celebrate the fact!) It makes me so happy to look back at the last 3 years and it reminds me of the little things I have forgotten and the sad & happy times I will never forget.

It has grated me in the last 4 months that I haven't had time to update my blog but really I have had no time to catch breath with anything. Work was CRAZY in January and February (60 hour weeks are no fun!) wedding planning has been full on and amongst many other responsibilities I have been looking after my Grandma's affairs and trying to sell her house. So it's not been easy.

However I don't know what it is but this past week I felt like I've come up for air. Work is still very busy but it is manageable. I even found time to exercise (I need to do so much more as I want rid of those bingo wings for the wedding!) and have been loving Nathan's Clan Fitness early morning sessions (can you believe I have been working out at 6.30am!! (who would have thought it!) I am loving the classes and can see results already (bonus!)

It is my hen weekend this weekend and I am now sitting on the Saturday morning (I should be in bed building up my sleep for tonight) but I am so excited. The girls throw me a beautiful shower last night... I can't wait to post photos. It was fantastic. I feel so much love from friends and family and am so looking forward to the future.

So the plan is to update the last 4 months... I'm a stickler for everything being chronological as I want to turn this into a printed book for me to keep.

Then hopefully I will be up to speed in 6 weeks time. Because 6 weeks today I will probably also be up extremely early due to over excitement because it will be our wedding day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it has flown by so fast. For a while the 18 month engagement seemed long but since Christmas we haven't even caught breath.

Nathan has asked that in the run up to the big day that I don't post anything about the wedding as he feels it will spoil it for all our guests and I can see his point. As the new Mrs Pike I plan to move my blog to a new web address.... for a new chapter. So watch this space.

But for now I hope you enjoy the posts from the last 4 months and here's to the excitement of the next 6 weeks!! x x

Family Christmas Tree

2011-03-29T10:55:00.000+01:00

In the run up to Christmas we had a huge amount of snow. More than I can ever remember. It meant that it was not so easy to get around but it did make things look very pretty!

We still mananged to hold our Accies girls lunch the same Sunday as the boys had their Christmas Carols Lunch event. Pictured above is Becky holding little Katie Stuart.

We went to Hamiltons for lunch with the girls and while there we bumped into Caroline and Chick, who we were on holiday with in Cypres. We were telling them about the problem with getting Mum's tree since the Saab estate was off the road and we didn't have a car big enough. But by a happy considence the two guys they were having lunch with run a Christmas Tree company. They had a spare tree in their van that they hadn't yet delivered and it didn't have a home. We were a bit concerned but they assured us it was not a little scrawny tree. So we agreed to have them deliver their remaining tree to our Parents' house.

Once we left Hamiltons Becky and I went down to our Parents' house and when we arrived the tree was already there. So we worked for a few hours to set up the decorations in my Parents house.

The finished tree.

Decorations close up.

Hector and Katie Cook's Wedding Celebration

2011-02-15T20:42:00.000Z

Back in December we were honoured to attend the celebration of Hector and Katie's wedding. Hector went to school with Nathan. They are both from Edinburgh but over the last few years have worked abroad. They are just such beautiful people- attractive with great personalities to match.

They were married earlier in 2010 on the beach in Malaysia where they are living and working. (They both work as teachers in Kuala Lumpa.) It was just the two of them on the day they were married and their photos look amazing... (I pinched a few from facebook!)

I love this shot and I love that even though it was warm and on the beach- Hector still wore his kilt (a true Scotsman!

I know Katie reads my blog back in KL... there is a large red dot in Malyasia on the counter at the bottom of my page... so I promised I would put up all the photos. (Sorry it's taken me so long!)

They hosted the wedding celebration at their old school hall. I was so very impressed. I had been in the hall once before to watch a play but set up for a party it looked brilliant- especially with the Christmas tree and all the lanterns Katie had brought back from Malysia to decorate. It is a great space perfectly set up for an evening of celebration. In traditional style speeches were given by Father of the Bride, the Groom and the Best Man.... My favourite was Hector's gift to his Mother... no flowers as is traditional, as his Mum views them as a waste of money... so instead he bought her bones from the local butcher to make stock.... and she was thrilled!! He clearly knows her so well. (She's quite a character!)

Katie and Hector's first dance.

Before the speeches and dancing we had a very tasty curry ... the theme was a ceilih & curry celebration evening. Again another room in the school was used... it looked fantastic (my camera flash doesn't do it justice) I didn't realise the school rented the rooms out.

The bar was self service and I had to laugh when Nathan and Stu were behind the bar in their matching shirts- looking like they belonged there!

Duncan was up from London but Rebecca his wife didn't travel up as she had given birth to their son Rory a few weeks before. Pictured above: Duncan, Benji and Catriona.

Benji (who had already been out to celebrate his brother's engagement) with Catriona.

Colin and Jarrien

Rosie and Donnie

Ian and Sinead

Rozz and Geoff

Boccers and Sally

Annie and Finnie (who get married a month before Nathan and I) ... the countdown his started!

Shelley and Stotty, who announced they are pregnant for the second time... so exciting!

Nathan and I in front of the dance floor where there was some crazy dancing going on.

My favourite part of the dancing was when Hector's Dad took us through the elimination game in couples- brilliant! We used to play it at balls and dances when we were younger! Nathan and I got knocked out on the second last round. We had to put one hand on the other persons earlobe and if we both had our hands on the right earlobe we were out. (Or something to that effect!)

In the last round was Colin and Jarrien and another couple. They had to make the longest line with their clothes. Jenny, Hector's Mum was appreciating the view of Colin in his boxer!

Every year on Christmas Eve Nathan's friend's from school have traditionally had a get together. This year as there were weddings and events happening they saved their activity of 'Cards of Christmas' for Hector and Katie's wedding. These are 12 Christmas cards that have a dare/ task inside that the recipient must preform. In the above photo one of the boys had a card where he had to chin a drink with all the boys.

The majority of the boys- back row: Duncan, Boccers, Benji, Dave, Hector, Stu and Nathan. Front row: Geoff, Finnie and Ian. Missing are Colin and Donnie.

Colin and Dave

Sally and I

Katie changed into a beautiful black dress for the later part of the evening. I loved dancing so much at this wedding. It was great fun.

The dance floor was packed for most of the night.

Ian, Boccers, Duncan, Stu and Nathan.

Duncan, Finnie, Stu, Nathan, Jarrien and Colin.

It was so lovely to see everyone and catch up on their news. I loved how much fun and relaxed this event was. I adored the Chinese lanterns and Katie gave us all the tassels from the bottom of the lanterns to take as favours. Nathan had a novel way of using them but we now have them hanging on our door handles to bring us luck!

Congratulation to Hector and Katie! x

Christmas Decorations

2011-01-09T22:48:00.002Z

The last two years we have had white, silver and glass decorations on our tree. This year we went back to the decorations we used the first year we were in the flat together. Red, white, wooden and natural. I put up the same decorations around the living room with a few new additions.

I love the little fox decoration that my sister bought me last year. We also, as ever had real candles on the tree, which we lit on Christmas Eve.

The last three years we have had trees that are over 7 foot. They have taken over the living room as have been so wide. So although they have looked gorgeous Nathan asked that this year we bought a smaller tree. So we went for a 5 foot one... and it worked really well with the more natural decorations.

All the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve.

View from the couch in the living room. I loved the net of twinkly lights.

We moved the little coffee table into the window. Tucked underneath in the basket is my Santa Suit from the Santa Run... just encase anyone felt the need to dress up over the holidays!

I am loving bon bon jars at the moment. My sister bought me the one in the front for my birthday. It looked lovely filled with baubles.

Decorations on the shelves.

I loved the candle decoration I made for the coffee table. I bought a birch wreath and put artificial berries, christmas tree sprigs and pine cones into the wreath. I then placed a round vase with a candle in the middle. It worked well with the colour scheme.

Countdown Begins

2010-12-20T14:21:00.000Z

I bought this cute board for my sister from a wee shop at the weekend. I thought it was very fitting as she gets very excited about how many 'sleeps' are left till Christmas.

I took a day off last week to take my Grandma Christmas shopping with her niece, Anne. It was a lovely day out but we didn't get much done in the way of shopping. We had a tasty lunch and enjoyed window shopping. We had really good conversations and enjoyed each others company. So now I need to do lots of catch up shopping for my Grandma.

Nathan and I are pretty much there with our own shopping. I need to get a few things in the next few days... and worryingly there are a few presents that seem to be stuck in the mail which we ordered online. Due to the weather I am not sure if they will get here before Christmas.

But putting it in perspective I am thankful that my Mum came up early - she flew up on Wednesday. If she had left it till this past weekend she never would have got here as most of the London airports are closed due to snow and ice.

And at the end of the day... it's not the presents that matter- it's the people.

New Camera

2010-12-20T14:12:00.000Z

My new camera arrived last week! Hooray!

I am still getting used to it and there are a few things that I am not sure about. It is battery run- so lots of AA batteries will have to be purchased. I made a mistake and got the wrong ones so my camera didn't work on Sunday when we went to brunch with the girls. (gutted!)

The zoom is amazing and I think once I get the hang of it I will be happier.

To read more about it see here.

Surgery all round!

2010-12-20T13:57:00.000Z

The car isn't well!

2 weeks ago when we had horrendous snow I had a horrid skid and then when I drove into my office car park I went over a large lump of snow and ice. It knocked my steering out so last week I managed to get the car into the garage so they could have a look. Derek, the mechanic is a lovely man who my Dad has used for many years. He was so busy and backed up due to the weather but he made time for me. Sadly it wasn't good news. I had damaged the steering rack on the inside of the passenger wheel and it is going to be a costly job to fix. To buy new it is crazy money so Derek is looking to find a second hand part. Fingers crossed we find one. Even if we do the problem is the weather has now gotten worse again so TNT and other delivery companies are not promising deliveries to Scotland due to the weather... so it looks like it will be January before we can get the part!

Lesson learned.... next time it snows that bad I am leaving the car at home... it's just not worth it!

Dental Surgery

On Tuesday the 14th I had dental surgery, which wasn't particularly pleasant. I had an abscess 14 years ago and it caused one of my teeth to die. 5 years ago I got the tooth bleached but now it is getting dark again I want to get it veneered... saving me from bleaching it again and again. However when I am run down my gum and the area above the tooth (where the abscess was) gets a bit sore... so we decided to open it up and check the tooth and gum were okay. Thank goodness we did as there was a little bit of infection in it. I have lots of horrid stitches in my gum now and it is pretty sore but I should be on the mend in a couple of weeks.... and in 3 months, as long as it all settles down, I should be able to get the tooth veneered. Not the nest just before Christmas but at was a necessary action. (hey it might even curb the overeating at Christmas- unlikely though!)

The Santa Run

2010-12-20T13:41:00.000Z

On the 12th of December Hillary and I took part in the Santa Run. I have wanted to do this run for a couple of years but have always realised to late when it was happening. So this year we were organised and booked in. However the weather had other ideas and we weren't allowed to run. Due to the snow and ice and the events health and safety policy we had to walk the whole route... it was still fun to dress up as Santa and also catch up with Hillary.

Hills and I in our Santa gear! The beards were very itchy!

We weren't the only crazy people who were taking part... there were many families taking part... and lots of cute kids dressed as elves and also mini Santas.

These two little dogs were very cute... dressed in lil' Grinch outfits. Although the salt that had been placed on the ground to help with the ice was hurting their paws- poor things!

Nathan and his parents came down to cheer us on. We then went for coffee and a catch up.

Later on in the afternoon of the 12th we went to lunch with Hillary, Emma G, her husband Sean and Emma B and her new fiance Ollie... it was a great celebration of Emma and Ollie's news. I didn't take any photos- missing my camera lots!!

Long overdue projects

2010-12-20T13:31:00.000Z

Over the 2 weeks holiday we have off for Christmas I am looking forward to completing and also starting and finishing projects I have had in mind for a while now.

On the weekend of the 11th of December I took advantage of some time and put together this wall hanging. I bought this gorgeous wall sticker from my new favourite website- not on the high street. I have been following them for over a year and I LOVE all their different ideas. See the wall sticker here. I didn't really want to stick it directly on the wall so thought it would be a better idea to buy a canvas from this website (I got two in the set so still have another to do something with!) and then paint the canvas the same colour as the wall.

I am really pleased with how it turned out and feel it really adds something to the space without overpowering it. So now I only have 2 more walls in the room to figure out what to do with!... I am thinking small floating shelves for one of them and a big mirror for the other.... but before I do that I have promised myself I will sort out all the paperwork in the spare room so it is tidy and organised.

It's Freeeeeezing!

2010-12-09T19:36:00.000Z

Can you believe this photo above? It was taken by a satellite of the UK this week. We have been completely snow bound. There is no going anywhere without there being a lot of snow. I had thought that it was thawing this past weekend but then on Monday morning the whole of Scotland was gridlocked as there were fresh blizzards of snow. The main motorways were ground to a halt and some people had to spend 12hrs + in their cars.

Thankfully we were lucky and we were safe and sound. I had driven to work at rush hour on the Monday but I had been skidding all over the place so I left the car safe at work Monday night and got the bus home. Some of the buses had been cancelled earlier in the day but my bus was okay... till we got to my stop and they couldn't let us off as health and safety wouldn't allow it due to the mounds of snow! So I had to walk 1/2 mile back from the next stop in the snow.

So with us now in our second week of crazy freezing weather we have a bit of cabin fever. I say we... more me.... Nathan has still been attending rugby training and also taking Clan Fitness... in several feet of snow 4 people still came down to the outdoor class... what lunacy! I however have snuggled up in doors and have been baking away. I made homemade marshmallows for the first time. I had a stock of brambles from Nathan's Mum and Dad in the freezer so this added a nice twist. I was pretty proud of my first attempt. I love that they aren't perfect... it gives them character. I might try and make more but do plain ones this time so we can add them to Hot Chocolate. See the Bramble Marshmallow recipe here.

On Saturday I had a lovely day with Becky and Hills (no photos as my camera is still out of action- although I ordered a new one! hooray!) We had a great time... first we went to get my wedding dress measurements taken (more about that later!- so exciting!) and then we went for Starbucks (yum!) and did some Christmas Shopping. I have missed Hills and Bex loads recently. Work commitments and hectic schedules have meant we haven't seen a lot of each other. We went for lunch to the Scottish Cafe at the National Gallery at the mound. I really enjoyed the food although it is a little pricey for a quick bite- great location though. Afterwards we all went for mulled wine to the German Market. Hills, her other half Connor, their two friends, Becky and I. Nathan also came up later and had a wee glass before we all parted ways. Nathan and I then had a lovely date night.

We walked around the market some more and took this cute picture above. We had one of our first dates on the ice rink behind my left shoulder. (I haven't been able to get him on the ice since!) After the market we went for an early dinner at Tex Mex where I had a lovely frozen Margarita and Taco Salad.

We walked home from the restaurant trying not to skid everywhere. It was so nice to spend a Saturday night the two of us and we were home in time for X factor and then a Michael Buble special... what a great night of entertainment TV (and it made up for all the cricket Nathan has been watching over the last week!)

As the weather got worse our pipes froze! It was -11*C on Tuesday night (which is 12.2 *F) Living in an old building is not good in winter! The pipes freezing happened last week as well and is a total nightmare. Nothing was draining away- not down the sinks or the shower- in fact all water was coming up the shower tray! (yuck!)

So Nathan's Mum thankfully came to the rescue and let us shower at their home on Wednesday morning. (I had a client drinks reception that night so didn't fancy going unclean!) We had lots of kind offers from friends and family to stay with them too (thank you!)... for now the pipes are okay as it has thawed a little today but the plumber comes on Saturday.... that is the first slot they could give us!! We think there is a blockage which is stopping the flow of water and causing the water to be prone to freezing so hopefully the plumber can advise us.

I took these lovely photos on my blackberry camera of the view from Nathan's Mum and Dad's house when we went on Wednesday morning. You can see the Pentland Hills in the background all covered in snow.

Don't these trees look stunning in the early morning sunlight with all the snow and frost on their branches. It does look so pretty I just wish the weather didn't make travelling and life in general so difficult!

Seasons Greetings from the Landels Pike Household!

2010-12-09T18:52:00.001Z

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

2010-12-02T14:24:00.000Z

This was the view outside our bedroom window on Sunday morning. The snow now is much much more... it just isn't stopping.

The beautiful view from Princes Street of the castle. I love Edinburgh. It look wonderful in the snow.

Looking up the mound. At nightime this is really picteresque with all the twinkly fairy lights and the Christmas tree at the top of the mound.

The Castle with more of Princes Street Gardens in the front of the picture.

I used my Dad's car on the Monday in all the snow and I was so proud of getting it to the office. However on the way home it broke down and I had to get rescued by Green Flag. Nathan also came to my rescue with a Fish Supper to warm me up! Thankfully Green Flag got the car going again and there was no costly parts to fix.

Nathan has been helping me most mornings with the car. Passers by have also been really helpful and there has been a good sense of community. Our street is not cleared by the council. It is only the main streets which have been snowploughed and gritted, which makes getting out of our street really difficult. I used the car on Tuesday and then have left it yesterday and today as it is getting crazy out there. I have just been getting the bus which has been fine as the main roads are clear.

Stir Up Sunday

2010-12-02T14:12:00.000Z

I borrowed the photos above from the blogs Apple and Spice, Pea Soup. and from the Billington's website as my camera is still not working.

What is Stir Up Sunday?

The Sunday before Advent, which this year fell on 28th November 2010, is known as Stir Up Sunday. This day is traditionally the time to make your Christmas Pudding, Christmas Cake or your Mincemeat for Mince Pies.
Making your pud or cake early means it really does benefit from all this maturing. The flavour of the spices mellow and deepen, the fruits plump up and soften.

Family Sharing
Once you’ve got all your ingredients together, and as you are creating your masterpiece, get each member of your family to take turns in stirring the mixture. As they do, they can each make a wish. Don’t forget to add your old six pence or a silver charm (wrapped in a piece of greaseproof paper)

Nathan and I have done this tradition for the last few years. Although last year we were a little delayed as we were in New York this time last year. So we made sure we didn't miss it this year and we made both our puddings and have now tucked them away ready to take to my sister's on Christmas Day.

Nigella Lawson's Star-topped mince pies

2010-12-02T14:04:00.000Z

For the last couple of years my sister has made this recipe and it is delicious. I thought that since it was snowing so heavily outside and we were not planning on going anywhere all afternoon on Sunday I would indulge and try to make the mince pies. (The trick however was that once I made them I couldn't eat anymore than one wee mince pie! I kind of broke that and had 3... with custard!- see above!)

I really should have rolled my pastry thinner as the pie's pastry was too thick.... next time.

Recipe: Star-topped mince pies

Serves: 36

Ingredients

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

½ stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter

Juice of 1 orange

Pinch of salt

Approximately 2/3 cup mincemeat

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Get out your 12-hole mini-muffin pans along with a 2¼-inch fluted, round cookie cutter and a 1¾-inch star cutter.

2. Measure the flour into a shallow bowl or dish and, with a teaspoon, dollop little mounds of vegetable shortening into the bowl. Add the butter, diced small, shake to cover it, then put in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is what will make the pastry so tender and flaky later.

3. Mix together the orange juice and salt in a separate small bowl, cover and leave in the refrigerator to chill.

4. After the 20-minute pause, empty the flour and fat into the bowl of your food processor and blitz until you've got a pale pile of cakelike crumbs. Pour the salted juice down the funnel, pulsing until it looks as if the dough is about to cohere; you want to stop just before it does (even if some orange juice is left). If all your juice is used up and you need more liquid, add some iced water.

5. If you prefer to use a freestanding mixer to make the pastry, cut the fats into the flour with the paddle, leaving the bowl in the refrigerator to chill down for the 20-minute flour-and-fat-freezer session. Add liquid as above. I often find the pastry uses more liquid in the mixer than the processor.

6. Turn the mixture out of the processor or mixing bowl onto a pastry board or work surface and, using your hands, combine to a dough. Then form into 3 disks (you'll need to make these in 3 batches, unless you've got enough mini-muffin pans to make all 36 pies at once).

7. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

8. Roll out the disks, one at a time, as thinly as you can without exaggerating. In other words, you want a light pastry case, but one sturdy enough to support the dense mincemeat. This is an easy-going dough, so you don't have to pander to it; just get rolling and patch up as you need.

9. Out of each rolled-out disk, cut out circles a little wider than the indentations in the tart tins. I use a fluted cookie cutter for this. Press these circles gently into the molds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of mincemeat.

10. Next, cut out your stars with your little star cutter - re-rolling the pastry as necessary - and place the tops lightly on the mincemeat.

11. Put in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, as they really don't take long and ovens do vary.

12. Remove from the oven, prying out the little pies right away and letting the empty tin cool down before you start putting in the pastry for the next batch. Carry on until they're all done.

13. Dust over some confectioners' sugar by pushing it through a tea strainer, and serve the pies with one of the butters.

MAKE-AHEAD TIP: Make the mince pies up to 1 week ahead and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container layered between sheets of parchment paper. Pop into a warm oven for 3-4 minutes before serving, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

FREEZE-AHEAD TIP: Make and pack the pies as above and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on a cooling rack and reheat as above.

Starbucks

2010-12-02T13:58:00.001Z

Back in 2000 I went down to stay with my Mum in London for Christmas. My Dad joined us just before Christmas but my sister stayed up in Edinburgh. The weeks in the lead up to Christmas my Mum and I would go to Starbucks most days and get a Christmas Cup of Coffee. We always tended to have the Gingerbread lattes. I have really fond memories of getting the red London bus into Tottenham Court Road with my Mum drinking Starbucks Christmas coffee.

So every year since then we have always text each other when we have had our first Christmas coffee as a sign that Christmas is near. We usually try and race to see who can get there first. I can't believe that it is 10 years since our Christmas in London. How time flies... I feel very old!

The photo that I text to my Mum earlier in November.

Thanksgiving dinner

2010-12-02T13:47:00.001Z

I invited Becky, Dougie, Wendy, Ed and baby Katie around for Thanksgiving dinner last week. We made our living room into a little autumnal snug with lots of candles, pumpkins, leaves and made sure the fire made everything nice and cosy.

I love when we have lots of candles on. I used some of the decorations I had bought last year when we were in the States just before Thanksgiving. I bought the candle decorations in Cape Cod 2 years ago.

I was very pleased with my Thanksgiving table as I had purchased the slate table mats and coasters in a wee cheap £1 shop in Alloa the week before. They were £1 (surprise) per mat and a £1 for 4 coasters. I saw them in John Lewis the weekend after I bought them for £21 for 2 table mats and £15 for 4 coasters... now that is a bargain!! ....and John Lewis is meant to be 'Never Knowingly Undersold.' The photo doesn't look great but they were taken on my Blackberry as my camera is still broken.

We had Spicy Thai Pumpkin Soup but I made it way to spicy as I used chili paste from the Thai Supermarket rather than just Supermarket bought- Nathan loved it though! So I also made Carrot and Coriander Soup, which I had never made before and loved. So easy and I used Lily and Neil's carrots from their allotment... so tasty. We had 2 x whole chickens... turkey was too much work as I was working that day and to accompany we had more carrots, parsnips, potatoes and cabbage and leek.

To finish off I made this delicious pudding that I got from my friend Heidi's blog. It was delicious. I did cheat slighty and I didn't make the brownies- I just bought them from Sainsburys but it looked lovely and tasted really good. I was also delighted I got to use my new Pampered Chef trifle bowl!

I never got any snaps of people as my blackberry wasn't really playing ball... but we had a lovely time and it was so nice to enjoy every one's company and to eat tasty food. Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Launch

2010-12-02T13:33:00.000Z

Our friend Pete Burns launched the book that he has written with David Barnes earlier this month. Nathan had Clan Fitness so wasn't able to attend the launch but I went with Becky and Dougie. Pete and David were good enough to sign a copy of their book so I could give it to Nathan. There was a good group of Pete's friend's there along with his wife, Annabelle and their families.

Nathan has really been enjoying the book which tells the stories behind Scottish Rugby since the War. It is all from the players themselves and is full of great tales which give you a brilliant insight into the goings on behind the scenes of great rugby moments. Nathan has read a few of the stories out loud and they are brilliant. They had me laughing out loud as the players the guys interviewed (especially the older boys) are such characters.

You can read more on the book and buy it here.

Girls night out- too much Vodka, Champagne and Redbull

2010-12-02T13:02:00.005Z

Becky's friend's Ali and Tori were up from London for the weekend so Becky planned a girls night with Hills, myself, Tori and Ali. The drink of choice was Vodka, Fizz and Red Bull (mmm... in hindsight not the most sensible idea we've ever had!) It was a great night and I loved getting to spend time with the girls.... I felt like I hadn't had girl time in a while and with work stresses I needed some down time.

Hillary and I getting ready.... there is photos of us both in our rollers earlier on but with no makeup on we really do look like a before shot!

I love this part of girls night, when everyone is getting ready and doing their make up and hair.

Becky getting the party started.

Ali, Hillary and Becky tucking into our drinks.

Hillary, Ali, Tori, Becky and I.

Some one commented on facebook that we look like a girl back... all styled in variations of black!

We then headed into George Street- which is when my night went down hill!- a bit too much overexcitment meant I needed to head home... but not before I ensured the girls know how much I loved them!! ;-)

Miserable November

2010-12-02T12:59:00.000Z

This past month has been tough.

Work has been crazy. I have been working 12 hour days and anything that could go wrong seems to have headed that way, despite my best efforts.

I have to say being 31 has been no picnic thus far!

I am also missing my camera loads.... but my lovely Mum gave me money to buy a new one so I am on the hunt at the moment and can't wait to make my purchase in advance of Christmas.

There have still been some good (non work related) highlights- Lunch with the girls in Tempus, Catch up afternoon with Hannah, Xfactor night with Wendy and Katie, fun girls night with Hills, Becky, Ali and Tori. A haircut and colour... and booking my wedding hair appointment at my hairdresser, Cheynes (with only 6 months to go it is getting very exciting!), Hog the Stage- a work event we attended with Arnie and Loreen. It was a Battle of the Bands for the chance for the winning band to play at the New Years party in Edinburgh. My favourites- Kitty the Lion won, which I was pleased about. Thanksgiving dinner with Wendy, Ed, Katie, Becky, Dougie and Nathan. Mother of the Groom dress shopping with Nathan's Mum in Auchterarder at the well known, Bear Necessities Fashion shop followed by lunch with Nathan's parent's and Nathan at Corrieri's Cafe in Stirling near to where Nathan's Mum grew up. Accies Curry night and then last night I had a lovely evening with a few of the Accies girls in the local pub in Cannonmills, The Orchard. Warm Soup, lovely wine and good chats... which were much needed after a difficult few weeks.

The biggest news however is the SNOW.... the piles and piles of snow that we have received since Friday night.. it isn't stopping.

It feels a bit like groundhog day... but on the plus side it is only 21 days till my Christmas holidays start and I will be off for 2 whole weeks!! I will be found sleeping, reading, relaxing, eating, exercising, spending time with family and NOT working!

My 31st Birthday

2010-11-18T23:13:00.000Z

My company kindly gives us an extra days holiday every year on our birthday. It is really lovely to have the day off so for the last 2 years Nathan and I have made a deal that we would do something we wouldn't usually on the day.

We pre planned the day so we could make the most of it and it worked out great. Nathan put a lot of thought into what I love and enjoy doing. It was also just so lovely to spend the day with him. (Our holiday already seemed like a distant memory as we had both been working so hard.)

Breakfast in bed.... which consisted of coffee and cupcakes... (the diet went out the window- it was my birthday after all!) Nathan also brought me some lovely wee, well thought out presents... (the best kind!) There were cards and gifts from all my lovely friends and family too.

As we had the year before we got the train to somewhere we hadn't been together. The train is so much more pleasurable than driving as we could both relax. We picked up two Pike's Place Roast coffees at Starbucks on the way to the train.

Riding down the east coast to North Berwick was a 30-40 minute journey. The train was so quiet as we were going against the commuter traffic.

My Sister, Mum, Dad and I used to come to North Berwick a lot when we were younger. My Grandparents also used to take us here on the bus or for a Sunday ride so it has lots of good memories. The day had started off grey but ended up beautiful! Not a cloud in the sky! It was great to be beside the water even if it was a little chilly.

Although it was the 2nd of November the shops still had some of their Halloween decorations in the window. I think this is what I need. A window that I can do a display every season! I loved the window here at Gulp. Later in the afternoon I went back in and purchased some faux autumn leaves to make into a garland. (more about that in an upcoming post.) They were so friendly and helpful... if their store was a little closer I think I would be spending all my money there! Although they are online.

There was so much detail in the window. I loved the black and green. I have some lime green in my living room that I might make more of next year for Halloween. It looks more modern.

When I was younger and we would come to North Berwick as I family I always said I wanted to stay in this little cottage when I was a grown up. The photo I took of it for scale didn't come out but you can see from this picture that it is not big (Nathan might not even fit in the front door!). It is nestled between two larger properties. I would love to have a look inside one day... and who knows I could maybe one day own it as my little coastal bolt hole!! I sent a photo on my phone to my Mum and Sister to remember 'Puffin Cottage' .... I love memories like these.

After we walked around North Berwick (there are some lovely, lovely shops!) Nathan had organised for me to have a pedicure at the local hotel. The Marina Hotel is owned by the McDonald hotel group so it is a great standard. Whilst I had my pedicure he chilled in the lounge and then we had lunch in the bar looking out onto the Links Golf Course. It was a great day for a game.... although as always on a links course very windy. I was glad we were tucked up inside. Whilst my toes dried we ate Pumpkin Risotto and Fish Pie... yum!

Looking out at the gorgeous view. I loved the big couches too. So snugly and warm.

We could see the Bass Rock from the window behind where we were sitting. There was also a gorgeous outdoor mini pool/ jacuzzi below the bar window. We will have to come back for a wee overnight stay. The hotel really did look lovely.

After lunch we walked around more and visited lots of little gift and home stores. I walked into one store and could have bought everything. I loved it! They don't have online yet but when they do- watch out! For now I will have to contend with a wee trip back to North Berwick during the Christmas holidays. We stopped and had hot chocolate and Nathan had some tasty cake before we headed to the train station.

The town has a lot of Victorian buildings and decorations to it. Even the railway sign has history.

Waiting for the train back to Edinburgh after a lovely day in North Berwick.

Nathan clearly had had too much fresh air and fell asleep on the train. So I caught up on all the lovely facebook messages, e-mails and texts people had sent to wish me Happy Birthday- thank you to everyone for the good wishes....as you can see I had a great day! ... but it wasn't over yet.

After a quick turn around (thankfully our flat is only 5 minutes from the train station at Haymarket) we headed out again. Nathan had booked us in for an early table at our favourite local Northern Chinese restaurant Chop Chop. I L.O.V.E their dumplings and green beans. Nathan was actually sent a gift voucher from them for being one of their most valued customers... he he! It pays to be loyal!

I bought a new top from Laura Ashley to wear on my birthday night out. I love the sparkly shoulders and it has shoulder pads too...( I should have been 31 in the 80s!)

After dinner we went to the Lyceum Theatre to see 'The Importance of Being Ernest.'

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read”

I loved the costumes and the stage sets... and the acting was good too. I used to really enjoy going to the theatre with my Dad so it was nice to have gone again. (I also used to go to see dance and ballet with my Mum- I need to do that again soon too.)

Nathan and I never got interval drinks though as we were too full from dinner (One of my favourite things about going to the theatre, when I was younger, was pre ordering drinks at the bar to be ready for you at the interval. I always felt so special when we did this.... not sure why!? maybe amazement when they got our order right. Or feeling very grand!?)

Hopefully we can go to the theatre again sometime soon as it was really good to do something different.

I had a wonderful birthday with Nathan. It was filled with so many things that I love. Adventures, boutique shops selling shabby chic items and Christmas goodies, the beach, pedicure, lunch snuggled up on a couch, Chop Chop and then the theatre.... but most of all I loved being with Nathan.

I feel that we well and truly celebrated my last birthday as Jennie Landels.... for on my next birthday I will be Jennie Pike!

Camera Disaster!

2010-11-11T21:44:00.000Z

At the Halloween Party my camera got damaged and is beyond repair! BOO!

To be fair it was on it's last legs... I would say I use it much more than the average person.

However this poses a small problem with my blog.

For my birthday- at the beginning of November- we borrowed Nathan's Dad's camera. I don't have the lead to download the photos so hopefully will get to do so this weekend.

I had such a fun birthday with Nathan and had some lovely presents and cards from my friends and family.

So I know what I will be asking Father Christmas for this year!

Accies Halloween Party

2010-11-11T21:39:00.000Z

On the night of Friday 29th October Nathan and I went down to the clubhouse to set up for the Halloween party. Loreen and Vicki came down too and as a team we set about making the clubhouse a venue fit for a spooktacular event on the Saturday night.

I bought the decorations online from a company called Party Packs. They were really good and I got all the decorations (excluding the table decorations and pinata which I also bought) for £25. It came as a pre packed box and I was really impressed. They had 100 feet of spiders which we put along the top of the walls. There was hanging bats, skeleton garlands.. they thought about all the spaces within a venue. I will definitely be using their packs again.

I really liked the scary silhouettes that were in the packs... we teamed them with the cobwebs and spiders that were in our pack. It looked really good with the old paintings/ pictures in the clubhouse.

Nathan and I as Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein. I loved our costumes... although Nathan had a little trouble the next day getting his green face off! Even though when we got home we both jumped in the shower and scrubbed the face paint off... there were still traces of it the next day!

All the boys at the party before the girls arrived. Most of them had gotten changed after their rugby games. There were guys from all the Accies teams there.

Two face, Superhero, Frankenstein, Viking and one half of Jedward! The boys certainly went all out on the costumes.

Wendy dressed as a Mummy with baby Katie as a Pumpkin... so cute all snuggled up.

The girls. Helen, Lucy, Loreen, Emma, Lorna and me.... I loved that all the girls still looked so cute in their costumes but I was... well I went for a different type of look!

Arnie on guitar and Kenny singing along to known

Zara, Loreen and Emma watching Arnie preform.

Me and Emily... my face paint looks quite scary!

The girls- Top row: Zara, Loreen, Emma and Lesley. Bottom Row: Leona, Emily, Me and Lorna.

Two Face and Bride of Frankenstein. We won the prize for best dressed male and female at the party.

I loved Jim and Arnie's costumes. They looked very much the part as Jedward... two Irish 'popstars'.

Nathan running proceeding. Everyone who had come in the same costumes had to do a boat race against each other. So it was the bunch of bananas vs the Sumos. I liked the fact they were encouraging everyone to be unique and creative with their costumes.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Accies Girls Night October

2010-11-04T20:46:00.000Z

Zara hosted this month and it was so lovely to see the girls. Zara made tasty lemon squares which I loved and Vicki made chocolate rocky road (which everyone knows is one of my weaknesses!) So it was safe to say that ladies night was part of my 20% naughty food for the week... it may have in fact made up all of the 20%!

Baby Aaron and Emily, Loreen and Wendy with baby Katie. I love that the babies are a new addition to ladies night. They are all growing up so fast and we were all commenting on Aaron's strong legs and his ability to stand and Katie's head control is getting so much better... she is so interested in everything that is going on around her.

Leona, Me, Vicki and Zara. I can't get the photo to zoom in any without being really pixelated. Cute snap though. I love cosying up on the couches and catching up with these ladies... good times!

Domestic life

2010-11-04T20:31:00.000Z

It has been a bit of a shock to the system arriving back from Cypres to what feels like winter. We have however had some lovely crisp autumn days- those are my favourite. They make me want to wrap up warm, go for a long walk and eat cosy winter food.

Nathan and I have been trying to be good and continue, as we were on holiday (mainly) eating healthy, as natural as possible food. We have a del at the moment that I will be good 80% of the time. (more about that later!)

Above I made tomato and pesto soup (which I made a few years ago for Christmas day) it was delicious and I forgot how much I liked it (as did Nathan!)

We have also been back to the trusty croc pot.... This is the best invention for us. If Nathan has training and I am home before him I can tuck in and then he can eat when he gets in or if I am working late I don't have to feel guilty that there is no dinner made and I have to rush back to eat with Nathan. He can help himself. Nathan is the king of the slow cooker... he is much better than me... he seems to just know how much seasoning will work, a bit of stock.... I follow the recipes I have and they still don't taste as good as his guestimations!

I have also been taking fresh made coffee to work every morning. I love drinking my coffee on the way to work. (Cheaper home made with Starbucks fround coffee than bought from the shop) However my favourite travel cup (it was gold and sparkly from Starbucks) broke the other day so I am currently taking the travel cup above. We have 3 the same and they all seem to leak! So whatever I do I am always covered in coffee by the time I arrive at work! Time to invest in a new Starbucks travel mug I think!

I have been trying desperately to keep up with the housework. Doing the dishes before I go to bed rather than waiting till the morning.. or even worse the next night when I get in from work. What I would not give for a dishwasher.. but first I'd need enough space for a dishwasher!

I have been failing miserably at the household jobs... however help is at hand. My sister had a cleaner organised to help my Dad when he was not well. After he passed away my Mum asked her to stay on every two weeks to keep the family home clean... but now no one is really there apart from my Mum visiting occasionally. She has cleaned everything- she even ironed items that have been at the bottom of the laundry pile for years- including Girl Guide and Brownie Guide Uniforms!! (They have probably been there for 20+ years! he he!)

So my Mum asked if my sister and I want her to come to our homes for the month of November as my Mum will be back in December for Christmas and will want the cleaner back at the family home. I loved our answers... Becky said no, she was okay as no one can clean her home better than she can (Her and Dougie are so good. They are so clean and tidy and there house is always beautiful) I said " yes, because anyone could clean my home better than I can!!"

I can't wait!!! I am so excited as it will mean this weekend I won't feel guilty all weekend that I haven't cleaned or I won't spend time cleaning when really I should be sorting through all the stuff I have been throwing into boxes! (I need a winter clean... never mind waiting for a spring clean!)

Cypres to Portobello

2010-11-04T19:56:00.000Z

The day after we came back from Cypres I was down at Portobello for a creative briefing afternoon. It was quite a contrast in temperatures.... 30* in Cypres to about 14* in Edinburgh (and that's mild for this time of year!)

It was still very pretty though. I love living near the water. I hope I always live close to the beach (however cold it is!)

Bye Bye lovely villa!

2010-11-04T19:48:00.000Z

This is the view from the side of Benji's parent's villa. It has such lovely gardens and I don't think it is until you are about to leave somewhere that you actually walk round all of your surrounding area and realise how much more there is to see. The villa was lovely and we were so grateful to have been able to stay in Benji's parents home away from home.

Nathan and I's bags all packed ready for the airport. We did two runs so that we could fit us and the luggage in. With Chick's Wind Surfing gear and Benji and Nathan being so tall we didn't fancy our chances trying to all get in together!

We met back up at the airport and after a delayed flight and a journey back from Newcastle to Edinburgh we got back home at about 2am with work in a few hours.... reality again!!

Final day of holiday

2010-11-04T19:27:00.000Z

Me, Catriona and Caroline at the beach restaurant having lunch on our final day. We went down to the beach so that Chick could get in a little more kite surfing. It was so pleasant as it was lovely and windy at the beach and the facilities were great.

Chick and Benji waiting for their lunch. I loved the cream and aqua curtains... and the pillows.

Nathan laying on the sun lounger near the beach restaurant. We had to pay for the sun loungers but the residents and guests of Aphrodite Hill (where we'd been for the Spa) got them for free.

Benji and Catriona chilling out on the windy beach.

Catriona and I in the sea waving to the guys on the beach. I usually just swim in the pool and paddle in the sea but I made a wee exception as it was the end of the holiday!

Dinner in Pafos

2010-11-04T18:45:00.002Z

After all our Come Dine with me nights we let someone else cook for a night. We all went to an Italian restaurant that Benji and Catriona have been to before. It was very tasty and we had delicious wine.

Pictured above is Catriona, Caroline and I in Pafos harbour with the Fort in the background.

Come Dine with Me- Take 3 (the drinking night!)

2010-11-04T18:40:00.000Z

On the Sunday night Chick and Caroline hosted the 3rd and final Come Dine with Me evening. It was a great night and was by far the drunkest night of the holiday (as photos later in this post prove!) The night began with a treasure hunt. Each clue lead you to another location in and around the house and often the clue cards were accompanied by keys that opened various boxes/doors etc around the house. It was so much fun- we were like little kids!

Clue no3 was outside beside the massive satellite dish that we couldn't get to work all holiday (so no X factor watching for us girls and the boys missed the last day of the Ryder Cup!)

One of the clues was attached to a can at the bottom of the pool. Nathan was very gentlemanly and jumped in the pool to get the clue.

I worked out the last clue and had the key to open the door of the balcony to claim the prize but Benji jumped through the balcony window and snatched it before I could open the door. Very cheeky!

The treasure hunt was by far the most fun entertainment- although I did very much enjoy the 'I'd like a pound of bacon please' game the night before... future villa holidays should definitely involve similar activities... loved them!

Caroline and Catriona with the cocktail of the night- Gin Fizz... it was delicious (I love my Gin) and we actually made a batch of it for the rugby club Halloween party this past weekend. Great recipe! So I have two new cocktails up my sleeve- Gin Fizz and Espresso Martinis.

Caroline and Chick did a great meal of Grilled Hallomi cheese and prawn, cream cheese topped crostini starter followed by delicious Steaks with great veg to accompany... however I was clearly most impressed with the fact that they had bought cones, sprinkles and chocolate for the ice cream. Everyone had had ice-cream for desert but it was not due to be marked so those who had hosted before had not gone to as much effort. I think I loved it most because I had had no chocolate all holiday (almost a week by this point- a miracle!!)

After dinner the drinking games got underway. We played Ring of Fire and certain cards meant you had to swap clothes (as demonstrated above) eat as many marshmallows as you could fit into your mouth, drink shots, drink from your own drink, preform and so forth... it made for a very entertaining evening!!!

Looking good in my black bolero. Stuffing his face with marshmallows!

Caroline trying to beat the previous record set.

Catriona correcting us that she had in fact got 5 marshmallows in her mouth not 4 as we suggested.

More clothes swapping!

Chick drinking his drink in Caroline's dress.

Preforming a dance so I could go to the toilet!

I believe this was a Rocky routine to gain entry to the bathroom.

Oh dear! It got very messy! I think I went to bed not long after this shot was taken!

The aftermath! We had such a good night and lots of giggles. When we came down stairs the final forfeit dirty drink (in the large goblet on the table) was still there.... obviously it all got too much!

The local area now do great recycling.... which is really good... but not when you don't want to be reminded how much you have actually drunk!

Baklava

2010-11-04T18:20:00.001Z

Most of what we ate in Cypres was Greek but there was a little bit of a Turkish influence in the area we were in. I tried not to eat a lot of deserts when we were on holiday but I loved the Baklava. Yum!!

Baklava (Ottoman Turkish: باقلوا) is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia.

Come Dine with Me- Take 2

2010-10-26T18:54:00.000+01:00

Each evening we would usually be back from adventuring or be ready to watch the sun go down with a glass of Gin and Tonic or a beer. It looked so beautiful from the villa as you could see the sun disappear into the sea.

Some evenings Catriona and I and then Caroline as well would do Clan Fitness training whilst the sun went down. The coolest part of the day. We really enjoyed this activity and with Nathan's fitness instructor guidance I felt I made a good start to getting fit for the wedding... and beyond!

The picture does it no justice but Benji and Catriona made delicious fish stuffed with a breadcrumb mixture and also yogurt... it was very tasty.

For main they made a traditional Greek dish of Roasted Lamb, Red Onion and Lime accompanied by cous cous and Greek Salad.... it was really good and much better than the lamb I had in the restaurant on the Friday night.

My favourite part of Benji and Catriona's meal- in fact any of the meals was the espresso martinis that they made for after dinner. They were AMAZING! I will be making these a lot I think!

For Benji and Catriona's entertainment they did a drinking game called 'Can I have a pound of bacon please.' I had never played this before. First they put 18 (3 each) pieces of paper into a pint glass. Each had an international accent written on it- 'Irish' 'Norwegian' 'Italian' 'Cockney' etc.... The idea is that each person pulls one out and in the accent that is written on your piece of paper you have to say 'Can I have a pound of bacon please.' It was so so funny! The group then judge if your accent was passable... which most were not! After you have done it 3 times each and if we were anything to go by have drunk a lot of shots! Each person writes 3 more... the catch this time is you have to write your initials on top of the paper with your chosen accent on it. So if someone picks your chosen accent and can't do it you have to say it perfectly or else you do a shot as well.... I think this will be being played many times again!

Benji and Catriona with their Espresso Martinis. A very successful 'Come Dine with Me.'

Every time Caroline attempted 'Can I have a pound of Bacon please' in any language it sounded like she was Pakistani..... this was a really fun game and once you got over the initial embarrassment and realised everyone else was making a fool of themselves too the game really gets going.

Kite Surfing

2010-10-26T18:15:00.000+01:00

Catriona, Caroline and Benji standing on the beach where all the kite surfers set up their kit. There were a few classes happening when we were there as it was a Saturday afternoon.

It was great seeing all the kite surfers out on the water. There were about 8 out on the water. My camera couldn't take great shots of them but Benji and Catriona took some good pictures on their camera.

Chick with Caroline who was helping him to get his kite in the air. Chick brought all his kit with him in a big black travel sports bag (like you see the snowboarders have) it was really cool to watch him speed along the surface of the water. Unfortunately it isn't something you can just have a go at- you need instruction for a couple of days. I would have loved a shot. I love waterski-ing and it would have been great to try.

Chick speeding along the water. He went really quickly and I couldn't believe how far out he travelled from the shore.

The instructor who was taking the class along from where Chick set up. He could do some impressive jumps.... not that many good landings though but to be fair it looked very tough!

Chick's kite and board with the pebble beach and kite surfers in the water in the background. I was really glad we went down to check it out as I had never seen kite surfing before apart from on Red Bull promo videos. It was pretty cool.

Friday night

2010-10-26T17:53:00.000+01:00

On Friday night we headed into Kouklia (I think- Benji or Catriona will have to keep me right) to a traditional Greek restaurant. As it was Friday night they had entertainment on. In the photo above of Caroline and Catriona you can see the guy balancing glasses on his head!!!

Nathan and I at dinner. Caroline, Benji and Nathan had an amazing mezze meal of lots of tasty dishes... in trying to be healthy I ordered a lamb dish but had food envy the whole meal!

Chick and Benji.

The music all got a bit too much, loud and far too traditionally Greek for Chick's liking! He put Pitta Bread in his ears but it didn't seem to drown out the sound!!

Relaxation Day- Friday

2010-10-26T17:39:00.000+01:00

In the neighbourhood across from Benji's parents villa is a lovely resort called Aphrodite Hills. We ate at their Restuarant Bar the first night we were in Cypres and they have great facilities.

On the Friday it was due to rain so we scheduled a group day at the Spa in Aphrodite Hills. See it here. It was really fun to be with the boys too. Nathan and I had a Duo Destress massage. We weren't in the same room but it was the same treatment based on an aboriginal massage technique. It was really good.

Nathan after his massage. In the obligatory spa robes.

Part of the deal was that we could use the infinity pool and other facilities before or after our massages. We had to be careful not to sunbathe afterwards as we had massage oil on our skin. The picture above shows Nathan laying by the pool.

The girls at the end of our Spa day. We all had lunch at the Golf Club too.... the girls had wanted to stay and have healthy wraps at the Spa but it just didn't cut it with the boys.... so club sandwiches and wedges were ordered at the Golf Club. The Spa were good enough to let us go away and then come back after lunch. It was such an enjoyable day.

After the Spa day we played tennis at Aphrodite Hills in the evening. I was very impressed with Nathan's serve.... very fast indeed... I think we might have to play tennis together more next summer.

Caroline and Benji playing tennis as the sun goes down over Aphrodite Hills.

Me umpiring the game! It was a great spot in the Umpire chair as you could see over the hills to the sea and the setting sun.

Nathan smiling up at me. We actually took 2 tennis rackets with us all the way to Cyprus in Nathan's suitcase but Chick went down to check out the kite surfing situation at the beach and drove off with them in the car! So we ended up having to pay to rent rackets after all and only ever played the once! Oh well we had a good time when we did play.

Come Dine With Me- Take 1

2010-10-25T20:15:00.000+01:00

We decided that to add a bit of fun to our evening meals... and a little bit of competition into the holiday we would do a 'Come Dine with Me'. Each couple would have to cook for the other 2 couples and we would be scored out of ten for our meal. The categories were: Cocktail, Starter, Main and Entertainment.

Nathan and I were first up. Tried and tested Nathan made his Paella dish that he had made for friends the week before... this time however the veggies were bigger and better as we were in a warm climate.

I made jugs of Sangria as our cocktail and it tasted so good... Brandy, Wine and Fruit... what could be better!? (Actually the other couples cocktails were much better) but I enjoyed our Sangria.

For starter I made a dish my Mum makes... fresh figs, blue cheese and parma ham.... my Mum usually drizzles truffle oil over but Nathan often thinks this makes it too rich... so olive oil did the trick. It was a hit and worked well... although was not too much effort to impress our judges!

Nathan's Paella... always a triumph! The prawns tasted so so good!

Team Landels Pike ready to serve dinner.

After dinner as our entertainment we did a quiz on Spanish facts... I got loads of info off the Internet so was able to put together some fun questions. Chick and Caroline won the coveted prize of Shamu the Whale.

The winners with their prize.

Benji and Catriona. It was quite chilly at night time so we had to wrap up warm when sitting outside.

Benji and Catriona doing their forfeit- a shot of black Aftershock! as they lost the quiz.

Nathan and I at the end of our evening of hosting 'Come Dine with Me.' our night ended up being the most tame as the others was much more alcohol fueled... clearly there wasn't enough brandy in the Sangria!

Day 4 in Cyprus

2010-10-25T19:55:00.000+01:00

One of the things I love most about being on holiday is eating outside. In Scotland you can maybe eat outside a couple of weeks a year (and even then you have to wear a sweater and wrap up.) During the day in Cyprus when we were at the house we would always have a sit down lunch together.

Greek Salad, Chicken Ceasar Salad, Mango Salsa, Pitta Breads make for a very tasty lunch!

In the afternoon on our way to the supermarket we went for a closer look to Aphrodite's Rock. On the beach were hundreds of hearts people had created out of the stones on the beach. It was lovely looking at all the different heart shaped sculptures people had made. All to mark their love at the birthplace of the 'Goddess of Love' Aphrodite.

Not only was Aphrodite the Goddess of Love but also of beauty. Legend says that if, on the night of a full moon, you swim around the middle (larger rock) you will look a year younger for every circle of the rock you swim.... we didn't try it but there were a few brave soles who swam around it.

Nathan and I at Aphrodite's Rock. Nathan went for a swim in the sea but I just had a wee paddle.

Our group (minus me) Left to right: Caroline and Chick, Catriona and Benji and Nathan. They had all been for a swim in the water by Aphrodite's Rock.

I closer look at some of the heart shaped sculptures people had made on the beach to show their love.

Nathan and I made our own wee heart... pictured with our feet.... it was so lovely being on the beach at this time of day when the sun was setting... there was the most amazing sunsets in Cyprus.

More Day 3 in Cyprus!

2010-10-25T19:30:00.000+01:00

When we were in the Troodos mountains we went on a short walk up to the Caledonian Waterfalls. It was lovely and peaceful until a bus load of British tourists arrived!

After the tourists were gone Nathan and I went for a cool down in the waterfalls... it was freezing!

At the waterfalls was a female cat and her 4 kittens... 2 of them are pictured here. They were much cuter than the other stray cats in Cyprus (and there are many!) so I was convinced they were like the Disney Aristocats- lost from the Presidents Summer Residence which was close by.

Benji and Catriona were sensible and stayed dry! It was good to get out and stretch our legs on the walk.

The landscape did look very similar to that of Scotland (just the temperature was quite different) My least favourite part of the walk was when Benji saw a snake and then Nathan scared me by pretending to be the snake and frightened the life out of me as he brushed past my leg!! eeek! I don't do reptiles!

BBQ in the evening. We had loads of tasty salads, cooked meats and spicy potato wedges. A good group effort for dinner on Caroline and Chick (the 3rd couples) first night.

I loved all the fish we grilled on the BBQ. On the Tuesday night we had Tuna Nicose with Tuna Steaks grilled on the BBQ. Yum!

Updates coming soon....

2010-10-21T08:45:00.000+01:00

We have been back from Cypres for a week and oh my has it been a crazy week!

Nathan has started taking paying customers for Clan Fitness.... so Saturday morning, Monday night, Tuesday morning at 6.30am, Wednesday night and Thursday morning have been Clan Fitness. He has also still been attending Rugby training on Tuesday and Thursday nights and playing on Saturday.... so I might actually get to see him again... mmmm... on our wedding day!

I went along with my sister on Monday night and really, really enjoyed it.... it was hard going (I hate cardio) but loved the weight exercises. £5 for a small group of personal training is such a bargain. I am going to try and go along at least twice a week.... maybe three times (but I won't get too ahead of myself!)

I feel so much better exercising and I need it.... work is uber stressful at the moment. I have 2 projects going live at the beginning of November. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines at the moment....

So I will try and update everything this weekend.

Day 3 in Cyprus

2010-10-10T15:25:00.001+01:00

After 2 lazy days by the pool we ventured further a field on the Wednesday with a trip to Petra tou Romiou, the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite (the goddess of love, beauty and fertility) On this visit we just looked down from the main road at the three large white limestone rocks known collectively as the Rocks of Aphrodite.

Nathan and I with the scenic coast line in the background. It was such a beautiful day.

Benji with his fancy camera taking some shots of Catriona.

Catriona and Benji with the Rocks of Aphrodite sticking out behind Catriona.

We then drove for an hour up into the hills to Troodos. Nathan pictured from near the top of the mountain with the coast in the distance. It was much cooler up in the mountains (as you'd imagine) with temperatures dipping to 18*C. (We were about 30* on the coast)

We stopped in Troodos for a picnic lunch and I had a wee play at the kids playpark. Troodos is on Mount Olympus which is 1,950metres above sea level- Our ears popped as we went up in the mini van.

Cyprus

2010-10-10T07:19:00.002+01:00

Nathan and I are in Cyprus for 10 days with our friend's Benji and Catriona. We were invited by them to stay in Benji's parents beautiful villa along with another couple, Caroline and Chick. The first 4 of us arrived on Sunday the 3rd early evening. That night we went to Aphrodite Hills resort for dinner and then the next morning we went for a wee wonder to the supermarket and also for a look round the local town Pafos.

In Phafos Catriona and I decided to purchase a new sun hat each. The sun is pretty strong here and for the first 3 days there was not a cloud in the sky! Bliss. I could definitely get used to the 30 degree heat!

After looking round Pafos including a quick snoop into the Medieval Castle, Lusignan castle we headed off to buy up most of the supermarket- I wish I had taken a photo of our massive trolley. We returned to the villa for lunch. Greek Salad, pitta bread, cold meats, houmous and tzatziki- yum!

Greek Salad in the sunshine.

The rest of the day was spent laying in the sunshine reading our books, swimming in the pool and lounging around- exactly as a holiday should be!

That night we cooked very tasty BBQ including grilled fish and meats that were so good with great salad.

Clan Fitness

2010-10-07T07:56:00.000+01:00

The last few weeks I have been assisting Nathan in setting up his new venture- Clan Fitness. This is a dream he has had for a while now and with the help of his own personal Dragon (not from Dragon's Den but a professional Edinburgh business man) and with alot of hard work he is making it happen.

Clan Fitness is about getting and staying fit. Exercising outdoors in the fresh air doing mostly functional fitness exercises. Nathan held 3 introductory classes last week at Raeburn Place, where he will be carrying out the regular classes. All the sessions were really well attended which was brilliant. And really pleasing as I had helped to flyer and spread the word the week before. The picture above is of Nathan whilst we were out flyering in Stockbridge.

We were out in Stockbridge and the surrounding area and spoke to the shop owners and businesses to get their support. Nathan has also employed a creative agency (not my work!) to do his branding and artwork for his business. I have to admit it looks good and I like his logo. This has enabled him to go onto facebook and twitter and send out messages. The Stockbridge facebook page that has 3,000 members even put up some info!

So it is off to a good start. I am really proud of him for what he is doing and after going to one of the sessions on the Saturday I will definitely be going again. It was really good, tough but also a fun workout. I felt I'd been able to work hard but it wasn't boring. I really liked being outdoors too... which I never thought I would.

For more info on what they do there is a landing page on http://www.clanfitness.com/ which will be developed with time.

Raeburn Place laid out with the 10 circuit stations. My favourite was the sledge hammer and large tractor tyre. I also loved loved loved the TRX system (but more about that later!)

Nathan and one of the fitness trainers Rachel, who will be working with him and also giving one to one sessions with clients during the day using the same space and equipment.

So please do come along to one of the sessions to try it out if you live in Edinburgh and please do also become friends with Clan Fitness on Facebook.

Join the Clan!

Logo Board Game

2010-09-22T17:58:00.001+01:00

After dinner we decided to play a board game. I LOVE LOVE the logo board game. It is all about brands and logos. Anyone can play- it is amazing the amount of brand knowledge that we all have. (a bit scary also!).... I guess it just proves the industry I work in does it's job! You can play online by clicking here.

Ramin and Fiona- she won hands down!

Ed and Wendy

Baby Katie snoozed in her cot all through dinner and board games.... such a wee angel.

Nathan and I after hosting the dinner party. It was such a lovely evening. I adore being with friends who you are comfortable with and can just relax and enjoy their company. We definitely need to do it again soon and hopefully next time Andrew and Roxanne can come too.

Spanish Themed Dinner Party

2010-09-22T17:51:00.000+01:00

When we were out in the summer with one of Nathan's best men and his girlfriend we said we would plan a best men evening. Kells & Roxanne and Ramin & Fiona. Roxanne requested it be Spanish themed and she would bring the Sangria and Nathan said he'd make Paella.

Well sadly Roxanne was really not well last week so one of our ushers and good friends Ed and Wendy with Baby Katie in tow came and joined us for dinner instead.

I was in charge of the decorations and the puddings and I loved coordinating all the red and yellow with the red spots- I think the napkins looked like a flamenco dancers skirt.

I bought these red Martha Stewart Pom Poms back in November in Florida... I knew they would come in handy one day! They look like the flower that a Flamenco dancer would put in their hair... well I thought so!

The yellow roses and red carnations were a nod to the Spanish flag!

Our candle lit living room awaiting the arrival of our guests.

Nathan cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

Mussels fresh from the fishmonger that morning.

lovely fresh prawns.

Paella ready to be served. It was SO good! Chef done good!

My panna cotta and orange chocolate mousse dessert. I had never made Panna Cotta before nor used gelatin in any desserts and it worked really well. Thankfully no vegetarians round the table! The chocolate mousse should have been brought out the fridge to get to room temperature to be the right consistency (but I'll no for next time!) the orange essence made it taste really good!

I poured red berry compote on the top of the Panna Cotta- yum!

Dieting and losing weight

2010-09-21T13:59:00.000+01:00

Well I am being rubbish at the moment.

With my Grandma only now moved into her home and her two houses to sell I am still unsettled. Work is not that stressful at the moment yet I have no energy or enthusiasm for going to the gym or for doing much of anything if truth be told.

I need to get fit and healthy... but I feel like I need a wee push to kick start me so I thought I'd have a wee nose at the Internet for some celeb pics that might inspire me (I know they are air brushed but hey it could be a good start!)

Nathan always refers to my body shape as being a rubenesque figure. (He loves my figure so no issues there.) and to be fair I think he is pretty spot on. This photo is not the best for demonstrating it but it's the most modest for my American friends.

Above is Venus in the Mirror by Peter Paul Ruben's in the 17th century. All Ruben's women have a rather sizable rear end as do I.... but even when I was 50+ lbs lighter than I am now I still had an ass to rival JLo and Kim.

Kim Kardashian

Jennifer Lopez

So I was looking around and after having watched the Notebook the other night I thought I'd look at Rachel McAdams. A very kind friend told me I look like her when she is in the Time Travelers Wife. Too kind and I wish I did!

There may be a wee bit of a resemblance but not enough for my liking!

Now this is the figure I would like to have (although I do think she looks too skinny on her top half at times.) but her legs look so lean and fit... not too skinny just healthy. I don't know how much truth is in these celeb diet websites but I read the below info:

Rachel’s Diet

Rachel’s been on many different diets in the past, but recently she did the Master Cleanse Diet where you drink a concoction of freshly squeezed lemon juice, grade B maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and filtered water that is free of fluoride. This diet is excellent for anyone wanting to lose some extra weight fast because you only do the Master Cleanse Diet for about 10 days. Now this diet is not for everyone, so make sure you consult your doctor before starting anything.

Rachel’s Exercise Routine

Rachel says she loves incorporating everyday activities into her workouts such as climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator/escalator. She also loves running and does a lot of yoga and pilates. Although Rachel does work out a lot, she says she does let herself indulge in some of her favorite snacks once in a while.

So maybe that's a start!! But then I looked up Drew Barrymore, who has lost weight in recent years and is looking really good.

From another Celeb Diet Blog:

Drew Barrymore is America’s sweetheart and she knows how to keep in shape! Although being a vegan for years, Drew has now gone back to eating meat, but she’s still got some of the best diet and exercise secrets in all of Hollywood. Find out what Drew does to stay in shape!

Diet

Drew’s diet varies from organic veggies to small meals throughout the day. She also follows a low calorie diet and a low carb diet. She also enjoys coffee and allows herself a little low-fat snack now and then.

Exercise

Drew likes a boot-camp style workout to keep the boredom away. She sticks to exercise about 3-4 times a week and also incorporates dancing, swimming and jogging into her routine.

Drew Barrymore’s Tips and Tricks

“I wish I could say there was a miracle cure, but it’s all really quite boring. I’ve always hated those people who say that eating right and exercising is the only way to lose weight, but now I’m with them, I’m one of them.”

“I use a StairMaster, go to Pilates classes and run regularly. I run as far as I can. I don’t cook, so I get all my food from healthy takeaways in Los Angeles. You can order really delicious, fresh steamed fish or chicken with steamed vegetables. The difficult thing is that now I’ve lost the weight, I’m trying to maintain it.”

“Losing the weight has given me confidence and a sense of pride, but I’m not about to go down to a size zero. Don’t worry about me because I would never fall prey to all that bulls**t.”

I think she might be a girl after my own heart.... so that's what I have to do... 8 months + of exercise and eating right.... just as well I have Nathan on hand, who is starting his fitness company.

I also love Christina Hendricks from Mad Men- she is so sexy....

At the end of the day I do love my curves... I just want them to be a little less bumpy and not quite so wide. I want to be fit and healthy. I am never going to be skinny in the way that some girls are... but as one of the wedding dress assistants said to me- there will be girls paying large amounts of money for breast enlargements to fill their dresses... you don't have to worry about that- if you've got it flaunt it!

Manolo Blahnik Accessories for Liberty

2010-09-21T13:00:00.000+01:00

I have just seen on one of my favourite blogs where they have posted about the new Manolo Blahnik for Liberty accessories collection — it’s a shoe lovers dream. Nathan and I are thinking of maybe doing a wee trip to London around about my birthday. Maybe they will still have some of these in stock when I am down there.

Kilted Sherpas Ball

2010-09-20T13:30:00.000+01:00

The beautiful chandeliers in the main room at the Assembly Rooms on George Street.

On Friday night after visiting my Grandma in her new home (more about that later) we rushed home and got changed to attend a ball for The Kilted Sherpas. They are a team of six aiming to raise an impressive £21,000 in aid of the Prince's Trust. In November 2010 they will be taking part in the Himalayan Challenge – a seven day, 320 km circular race into the heart of the mountain kingdom of Nepal. As part of their fund raising, the Kilted Sherpas held a traditional Scottish ceilidh at the Assembly Rooms on Friday night.

Nathan's friend Jo, from University, goes out with one of the Kilted Sherpas and she was helping out so we thought we'd support too. There were a few people we knew there but not on our table. We still had a fun time dancing to the Scottish ceilidh dances..... well until I got knocked sideways by a guys' elbow on the dance floor! (my wee face is still a little tender!)

It was fun to be dressed up and spend an evening with Nathan. He was driving as he had rugby the next day so it wasn't a late one... which was just as well as we were both knackered from the working week.

Cake Decoration

2010-09-17T13:12:00.012+01:00

It's national cupcake week and I have still not baked a single cupcake.... maybe this weekend.... although saying that it is lining up to be a VERY busy weekend.

I thought I would post (more so I remember about them) these cute cake decorations....

I have never seen this before but I really like the idea of cake bunting!

They can be bought on Etsy from this seller. or to be honest are probably easily replicated. Cute idea!

4 years since we met.

2010-09-17T08:53:00.020+01:00

Yesterday marked the day that Nathan and I first met 4 years ago. We didn't start going out until the October but first met on the 16th of September. When putting our wedding website together we did a little section on how we met. So I thought I'd re write it here.

‘Good Pants, Bad Pants’

September 16^th 2006- We were introduced by a mutual friend, Hillary (who is one of our wedding party) in Poo Naa Naa, a nightclub in the centre of Edinburgh. When the nightclub closed we all headed back to an after party at another mutual friends (at what was known as the 'Carlton Club'). Many gin and tonics later in the wee small hours Nathan suggested playing ‘good pants, bad pants’ (competing to see who had the best underwear!)– standing in the middle of the room he displaying his tropical fish boxers to everyone…. Allegedly good pants…. Jennie then followed (the only other to play the game ) as her underwear matched her top… (although for the record she only flashed a modest section of the top of her underwear!) and that was it… Nathan had found his match.

A month went by and after a few communications on Bebo we bumped into each other again in the Opal Lounge on George Street. At the end of the night Becky, Jennie’s sister encouraged Nathan with a nudge and a wink (although Jennie had said nothing to her… sisterly intuition perhaps!) so a date was arranged for Montpellier’s the following Friday and the rest as they say is history!

Back in November 2006 when we had just started dating.

At a friend's wedding in September 2010.

New Home for my Grandma

2010-09-16T13:21:00.002+01:00

On Sunday after spending the day at my Grandparents house I went to set up my Grandma's room in her temporary home. She was due to be living here until her 1st choice home was available and she was at the top of the waiting list.

I set up her room with some of her ornaments and favourite photographs so it looked nice with them all in place. All ready for her to move on Friday. I only took a few things as she wasn't planning on being there long.

However on Tuesday I was phoned to say the 1st choice home now has a room available and so she will be moving there on Friday instead. Which is great news as we can get her properly settled. Her new room is also much bigger than the one pictured.

I however need to get her new room set up for her with all her belongings. I will also be able to move more of her things to her new home this weekend as this will be her final room. I can't wait till she is all settled in.

I also went at her request and bought her a new outfit from Marks and Spencers. I really hope that at 83 I still take as much care of myself as my Grandma does. (I don't think I even do now!) I bought her new trousers, a top and a lovely red cardigan... she was delighted with it. I loved how much it made her happy. She is getting her hair cut and permed today and I brought in some colour (rouge and lipstick) for her to wear when she leaves hospital after almost 10 months. I was joking with her about her 'going away' outfit but in all seriousness she just wants to look good and feel confident when she moves to her new home and meets the staff and her fellow residents.

Saturday at the Rugby Club

2010-09-16T13:20:00.000+01:00

Now that Emily has had the twins- Aaron and Olivia and Wendy has little Katie being at the club on a Saturday is a bit like a mini creche!

After the game on Saturday (which the boys won- hooray- against Gala, who are also at the top of the division 2 league) Ed feeding Katie, Emma getting a cuddle from Aaron and Bernie feeding her Granddaughter Olivia.

SAVE THE DATE

2010-09-16T13:16:00.001+01:00

Posting Save the Dates

2010-09-16T13:06:00.002+01:00

Nathan went to the post office and bought 100 stamps to stick onto our postcard save the dates.... they were meant to be 2nd class stamps but hey ho- it's his money! We also had a number of save the dates being posted abroad to the States, Norway, Australia and Kuala Lumpur.

On Saturday morning we went to Maxie's Bistro for breakfast.... (as you can see the wedding diet is going well!) I had french toast, bacon and maple syrup.After breakfast we fixed on each of the stamps.

After sticking all the stamps on to the cards we took it in turns to post a batch into the post box across the road from Maxie's. (It was lovely and sunny on Saturday- should have had my sunglasses on!)

Posting the save the dates into the letter box!

Sketchbook themes

2010-09-10T12:15:00.000+01:00

Following on from my previous post.... what do you think the theme for my sketch book should be?

Choose a random theme for me
Help!
Jackets, blankets, and sheets
Things found on restaurant napkins
It's raining dogs and cats
Revenge
Trading forever
Dirigibles and submersibles
Capture the flag
... you'd be home by now

Sketchbooks

2010-09-10T12:08:00.002+01:00

When I was at art college more than anything I loved my sketchbooks. I always loved the sketches and drawings I produced in my books- they were filled with creativity and I often wished I could put them on display at the end of the project.

Well this project caught my eye and I plan to join in.

It's like a concert tour but with sketchbooks.

Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view. Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project. Once you apply and pick your subject they will send you out your sketchbook and you can get started. Love it!

One of the fabulous things about The Sketchbook Project is that it encouraging all types of people to bring out their inner artist.

I have been thinking a lot about getting back to life drawing classes and enjoying drawing and painting again. This could be a great start.

I pinched the below images from Wiley Valentine who will be taking part in the sketchbook project. Please see their blog for all image credits.

11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school

2010-09-09T17:43:00.001+01:00

I think this is really interesting...I obviously don't have children but I think I myself maybe need to read this from time to time! On the internet it says it is a speech from Bill Gates but it is also said not to be from him but is an excerpt from the book 'Dumbing Down our Kids'
Either way it worth a wee read.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Kloe Russell and meow

2010-09-08T14:08:00.001+01:00

Is this not the cutest picture. I hope Heidi doesn't mind that I pinched it from her blog... it was just too adorable.

The cat that Kloe is holding was a toy I gave to her big sister Paige 5 years ago. Paige loved her cat which she called 'Meow' and now Kloe has taken it as her own.

Look how loved that little cat looks. Heidi also mentioned that meow's tail has been chewed by their dog Roxy... and I agree it definitely gives her character.

I am so glad that this gift has given so much joy. I love the jelly cat collection. See here for more of meow's friends.

Pike Place Coffee

2010-09-08T14:04:00.000+01:00

Back in November when we had just gotten engaged we had Starbucks Pike Place Coffee. See here for that post. When Nathan was in the other day he spied it in our UK Starbucks coffee shop. So yesterday I went and picked up a bag for our coffee machine at home.

Is this the coffee we should serve at the wedding?

Homegrown from the Allotment

2010-09-08T13:57:00.000+01:00

Lily and Neil gave us another lovely veggie box this past weekend so now we are back in the flat and have a cooker again I got back to work making some tasty -from scratch- food. Last night I made my favourite spicy butternut squash soup (I have put the recipe up here SO many times I won't bore you!) using some of the allotment potatoes and carrots.

I thought I would take a few snaps of the carrots as it demonstrates one of the things I love so much about home grown veggies... they are 100% natural. Look at that earth and green... they look fab!

This just makes me smile. A supermarket would not let this little nugget of carrot through it's packaging plant as it doesn't look 'perfect' enough.... but who needs perfect- I think this is what allotment veg is all about- this little carrot tasted delicious and that is what counts.

End of Festival Fireworks

2010-09-08T13:48:00.000+01:00

You always know it is the end of the Summer and start of Autumn when you go to watch the end of festival fireworks. On Sunday night after working down at my Grandparents house we dashed to a BBQ at Vicki and Stu's house and then all walked down to Inverlieth Park to watch the fireworks from the bank above the pond. It wasn't great as we couldn't hear the orchestra music and I didn't think the fireworks were as impressive as usual. It was still nice to see everyone.

Top picture: Wendy holding Katie, Ed, Jimmy, Vicki, Samson, Stu, Loreen and Arnie.

Nathan and I snuggled up watching the fireworks.

The fireworks over the castle and reflecting in Inverleith pond.

My Mum joined us in the park to watch the fireworks.

Hydrangeas

2010-09-08T13:43:00.000+01:00

Hydrangeas that I brought back from my Granparents garden to our flat sitting in a wee vase on our side table.

My Grandparents House

2010-09-08T13:41:00.000+01:00

My Grandparents detached bungalow near Portobello that they have lived in since my Dad and Aunt were young children. I have so many found memories of this house it will be hard to say goodbye but at the same time sorting through everything for my Grandma has been nice. To look over things once again and smile at the memories associated with it. This weekend I will be sorting through the final stages of clearing so that we can get the house on the market. Although one of the family has first refusal, once we have had it valued.

I thought when I was down on Sunday I would take a few wee photos before I have to pack everything away. Above is the back living room and dinning room which the kitchen joins on to. There used to be a sheepskin rug in front of this fire that as children we always used to sit at. There is an armchair either side of the fire and whenever we stayed with my Grandparents we would get up early and have a cup of tea with my Grandma and dip a rich tea biscuit into our tea and feed it to Kirsty, my Grandparents collie dog (who is depicted in a drawing above the fireplace.)

Their formal sitting room at the front of the house where my sister and I would sit and watch 'Mary Poppins' or other movies on VHS. My Grandparents recorded so many movies off the TV- mostly James Bond movies.

The view from the window of the front sitting room.

In ever corner there are photographs. Amongst their belongings are so many letters and cards my sister and I have written them over the years which is so lovely to see. That small effort was clearly appreciated. I love that there is also a photo of my host family and I from my time in America. I must have sent it in a Christmas letter 13 years ago and it still remains in the frame.

My favourite little corner in the front sitting room is like a shrine to my family. My sister and I's picture, when Becky was a baby, hangs on the wall with my Parent's wedding photo underneath. To either side are my Parent's University graduation photographs. Clearly my Grandparents were so proud of my Dad and his life.

I love this wee drinks trolley and all the cocktail nik nacs that sit upon it. I said to Nathan I am so glad he has gotten to help with my Grandparents house and can see how much my Grandma loved a gadget... and that it is not my fault I am a hoarder- it's in my genes!

I will miss the hydrangea bush at the back patio too. As they are all starting to turn I snipped a few off to take back to our flat. I should have also taken a snap of the garden as it is so spacious. I will before we sell the house.

Lesley and Ross Browne's wedding

2010-09-06T13:38:00.000+01:00

This weekend has been really hectic- I don't even feel like I had a 3 day weekend.

Straight after dress shopping on Saturday I ran down to our friend Loreen's flat to get changed to go to Lesley and Ross' wedding near Perth. Nathan was driving a few of us over so I was able to have a wee drink but I didn't go too crazy as I knew I had a very busy day on the Sunday.

I managed to snap some great pictures of all the couples from the rugby club that were there but my red eye wasn't working so apologise for making everyone look like they have devil eyes.

It was a really lovely night and Lesley looked very pretty in her dress. I also loved Ross' song at the end of the evening.

The newly married Mr and Mrs Browne... Lesley and Ross

Our Accies table at the side of the dance floor.

Fiona and Ramin (who will be one of Nathan and I's two Best Men)

Emily and Dan (can you believe she had twins 3 months ago!)

Zara and Mark.... she looked brilliant in her blue BCBG dress (loved it!)

Loreen and Arnie.

Bambi and Jenny Broatch

Leona and Matt (who didn't want his photo taken!)

Ed, Wendy and Baby Katie. She was so well behaved at the wedding. Ed looked very smart in his new kilt and I loved the grey of Wendy's dress... warm grey seems to be sneaking into the wedding palette even more!

Hendy and Lorna

Stu and Vicki (every photo I have of them at a wedding he has his hands on her derriere so we made him move them to a more demure position!)

Nathan in his new Walker Slater suit (more on that in a later post) and me.

All the Accies girls together (minus the bride sadly) Wendy, Leona, Emily, Lorna, Vicki, Me, Zara, Jenny and Loreen.

Dancing the night away- Jenny, Vicki, Bambi, Dan, Emily and Stu.

At the end of the night Ross sang Caledonia (always makes me cry) Everyone was in a big circle round Lesley and Ross singing along...very touching.

2nd round of dress shopping.

2010-09-06T13:18:00.001+01:00

We stopped for lunch at Vin Caffe in Multress Walk between appointments and this was my DELICIOUS lunch, Scallops, black pudding and cherry tomatoes.... not really in keeping with the diet but so tasty and I needed my energy. I must have tried on 35- 40 wedding dresses on Saturday between my 4 appointments. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Hannah, Me and Emma at lunch. We were a much smaller group this time as everyone was so busy. Committing to 2 full days of dress shopping is a big ask. Hopefully the girls still enjoyed themselves as I loved having them there.

My Mum was up from London for round two and was delighted that a dress we'd seen 3 weeks before but I'd not tried on (and that she had a good feeling about) is now in the running.....decisions, decisions!!

Lunch with an Old Bag

2010-09-06T13:10:00.000+01:00

Dressed up in my blue tea dress and pearls outside the marquee where the cocktail hour was held. It was a gorgeous sunny day. I really wish I'd snapped a picture when I was coming up Prestonfield's drive when I arrived as all you could see were 500 women all standing in the sunshine, sipping cocktails, the riot of colour was fantastic. My outfit was very tame and a little old fashioned compared to some of the gorgeous dresses that were worn. But then I don't have a millionaire husband or a substantial income of my own.

Lulu preformed a couple of songs and also took questions. She looked great and is so tiny. She kicked off her huge heels so she could jump around to 'Shout!' She really is a legend. (She mentioned her beauty range- which we all good samples of and I have to say her hand cream is really good....See here for more details.)

Can you notice the floral displays either side of the stage? Beautiful! James Thomson who owns Prestonfield foots the bill for all the food and decor to support the Princes Trust. The stables, where we ate our lunch, were beautifully set up with accents of pink and gold- So much work must have gone into organising the day.

Grant Stott ran the auction which was AMAZING. I would have loved to be able to donate money to charity and receive any one of the prizes in return. They were so opulent... maybe one day. The silent auction was also very good and each table had a chip and pin machine and each person had their own card to bid (dangerous).... in total all the funds raised came to approximately £120,000!! Brilliant.

My Dad's good friend, Anne Ferguson who invited me to be part of her table. All the ladies on her table were so lovely. I was being given great advice on married life and hearing some great tales of their lives. It was such an enjoyable afternoon. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to attend next year.

Lunch with an Old bag

2010-09-02T14:02:00.000+01:00

I am really excited as tomorrow I have the day off work to attend a charity lunch.

My Dad's wonderful friend, Anne invited both Becky and I but sadly she can't go. So I will be venturing to Prestonfield House (such a beautiful hotel- have a look on their website if you have a chance) to the charity lunch cheekily called 'Lunch with an Old Bag'.

Lunch With an Old Bag is a fundraising lunch with all proceeds going directly to The Prince's Trust Scotland, who work with young people to help them move their lives forward into education, employment or training. Last year they helped 4000 young people across Scotland, with 82% going on to succeed.

Such a good cause and it sounds like it's going to be great fun. Below are some of the details that were sent through to us:

"On Friday 3rd September there will be 500 women (and a few brave men) attending this lunch. They will have debated over hemlines, worried about their tailoring, checked in for a colour catch up and the perfect blow dry. They will have droned to their partners incessantly about 'saving that date' and warning that any potential conflicts will not be tolerated. They will have changed their mind about their 'look' at least 3 times, shelving the impulse purchase and opting for the classic piece already in their wardrobe. All in pursuit of the required 'glamorous old bag' look! They will bear one thing in mind as Arthur Miller once said: "A beautiful woman can turn heads but real glamour has a deeper pull. Glamour has the power to rearrange people's emotion to control one's environment". That's exactly what all these wonderful ladies will be doing that day, supporting with all their emotion and strength The Princes Trust - oozing with glamour of course."

Now.... what on earth am I going to wear!!!

Accies Girls Night- Bridal Theme

2010-09-02T13:15:00.001+01:00

(l-r) Loreen, Jenny, Vicki, Lesley, Emily and Leona. Front row: Wendy and Baby Katie.

Loreen hosted this months Accies girls night with a Bridal Shower theme for Lesley's upcoming wedding this Saturday.

She went to so much effort with cupcakes, sweets, tasty food and had bought Muriels Wedding to play in the background. I love that film. We didn't watch much of it though as we were too busy chatting and hearing the finer details of Lesley's plans for the week.

Loreen had also ironed 'Bride to Be' on the back of a lovely black t-shirt and had a matching L plate for Lesley to wear.

We did manage to play a few fun games too. The wedding alphabet game and how well did we know the bride. It was a good way to find out more about Lesley and ourselves.... lots of stories to be told.

Young Katie Stuart also accomapied her Mum Wendy to join us for her first Accies girls night.

Elie and Anstruther

2010-08-30T14:28:00.003+01:00

Earlier in the week Paul, who plays rugby with Nathan had e-mailed to say his cricket team were playing at the Ship Inn in Elie on the Bank Holiday Sunday. The ground the cricket team in Elie use is the beach (which is tidal!) so it starts early and then as the afternoon wears on their boundaries have to be moved in as the sea approaches. It was a lovely day and although there were some clouds when the sun was out it was so nice. Jackets were still required at Elie as it was pretty windy.

Lily and Neil came up for the earlier part of the game and then went on a long walk along the beach and cliffs.

I love that in cricket they stop for tea. Paul brought us these tasty homemade merguines down from the tea that was laid on for them. They were so delicious. I could definitely be a cricket WAG if it involves baking!

Stu and Vicki's dog Samson was up for the day with them. Zara and I took him on a wee walk along the beach and for a play in the sand... it was so funny watching him as he is still a puppy and experiences are all so new and exciting. At one point he had an entire crab in his mouth.... oh dear. He is getting so big.

The cricket was very calming and Loreen (Paul's girlfriend) had also brought magazines for us girlies to read. Paul is batting in this picture at the far away wicket.

The girls- Loreen, Zara, Me and Vicki.

Mark, Stuart, Nathan and Paul.

Nathan sitting in the sunshine on the wall. You can see the tide coming in behind him.

Zara took this photo of Nathan and I sat on the wall looking out to what was the cricket field only 2 hours before. It was so relaxing sitting there in the evening sun.

Ed, Wendy and baby Katie came and joined us on their way down from Aberdeen in the early evening.

Looking out to the lighthouse and back across to Edinburgh and East Lothian.

From the carpark to where we had spent the afternoon. Elie is such a beautiful village.

Vicki, Stu, Arnie (showing how full he is!) Loreen, Nathan (making more faces!) Mark, Wendy (at the back) Zara, Baby Katie and Ed all at the Anstruther Fish Bar after we had a very tasty dinner.

The Anstruther Fish Bar is really famous. Only 5 miles from Elie we all drove up to sit in and have dinner. They were the fish and chip shop winner of the year for the UK in 2008/2009 so that shows you how good they are! The fish is fresh from the boats that work around the local areas.

Anstruther harbour with all the sailing boats moored up for the night. It was the perfect way to end a great weekend. If only we had today off too for the Bank Holiday!

The last festival weekend

2010-08-30T13:54:00.001+01:00

Well it's Bank Holiday Monday and I don't have the day off- I hate being stuck inside on sunny days especially when it seems the rest if the world are enjoying themselves. (Nathan isn't off either so we both found it difficult to get up today!)

We did however have a great weekend.

Friday night we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens (near to where we will get married in 9 months!) and we got nestled under a tree to be told old Scottish stories and listen to a few wee songs from these two lovely septuagenarians Bill and Georgia. I would definitely recommend any one with wee ones going to one of their regular storytelling sessions. Our event was for about 20 adults but they do kids events too.

We then went up to the Royal Mile to pick up our tickets for Jim Jefferies that evening. The High Street was so busy as it was Bank Holiday weekend and the end of the Edinburgh festival (only 3 more days till we move home- hooray!) So we had a Starbucks and then soaked up the atmosphere. (I also tried on a beautiful Barbour jacket in one of the Scottish stores... it may well be on my birthday list! I can't find the exact one online but it looks something like this but it has paisley patterned lining.)

Later we met our friends Finnie and Annie for dinner at the Outsider. This used to be my favourite restaurant and I still did enjoy our meal but I am thinking they maybe need to refresh it a little. I had a very tasty chunky healthy line- lamb kebabs. Yum! It was good catching up and comparing wedding planning (they get married a month before us.)

We then went to see Jim Jefferies who is said to be the most offensive man in comedy. Annie and I were warned but to be honest he was not as bad as I thought he would be. Don't get me wrong he was not PC at all but I think I had envisioned much worse!

On Saturday morning I went up to get my hair done early. Just a little trim, a bit of colouring and lots of advice on how to get it think and healthy for next year. It also turns out that the hair piece I want to wear is the exact same as my hairdresser wore at her wedding (so maybe that could be my something borrowed!)

After I had my hair done I went up to Raeburn to watch Nathan's team play their first home game. Not a great first half but the boys pulled it back and we won against Biggar. It was a lovely day and Nathan's friend's Andrew, his wife Moyra and their son Alexander came down to watch too. It was great to see them and Alexander was so enthusiastic- shouting loudly for Nathan and Accies. He even went to the mini rugby the next day and loved it.

I also caught up with some of the girls. Actually we stayed in the clubhouse till 7pm! Much longer than usual. We then went down to my friend Herculine's house where we babysat for her niece and nephew.

We also rewrote all our Save the Dates (but that's another story!) So we have been busy, busy all weekend.

Sunday was the best day but that deserves a separate post all to it's self!

Bake Sale for Pakistan

2010-08-27T17:44:00.000+01:00

When my Mum was up from London a couple of weekends ago the oven (which is about 29 years old) gave up! So my plans for cooking from Good Food has been put on hold as we can only have salads and hob cooked meals. (We don't even have our crock pot at my Dad's as we left it in the flat for our festival letters.)

So when it came to baking for our office bake sale I was slightly stuck. I could not do cupcakes, whoopies or any adventurous cakes like I had planned. Instead I had to make Nigella's rocky road.... and try and remember the ingredients as I left the recipe at home too... (I forgot the butter...oops!)

My rocky roads with little stars added in for a bit of extra decoration.

There was a lot of treats made for the bake sale and I managed to only have one wee cupcake... and nothing else (that is discipline- especially from me!)

I loved these little cakes that my colleague Bob's wife and kids made- I love the stencils. (they cut out Bob's business card to make the stencil- love the creativity!)

This looked so tasty... as I didn't eat any cake I can ogle at it.... beautiful!

Loved this heart Victoria sponge.

I would have loved to have a piece of this pavlova.

We raised £150 selling cakes and it will be put towards the Pakistan relief effort. Good work by everyone in work.

Pashminas

2010-08-23T14:25:00.000+01:00

I found these lovely pashminas last week and am in an internal discussion with myself.... If the bridesmaids wear pashminas should they all be the same colour or a mixture of wedding colours? Mmmmmmmm?What do you think?

Back to work

2010-08-23T14:21:00.000+01:00

Well after being off work for the last few weeks to sort out my not sleeping, general anxiety, grief and fatigue I have returned to work today. I am so glad that I took that time- I really needed it!

Today has actually (thus far) been really nice. I have enjoyed being back. Chatting to my colleagues and catching up on all the exciting projects we have coming up.

Before I went off I had a really good appraisal but as part of that I said I wanted to step up at work and as I felt I needed to dress the part.

In my work we can wear jeans and dress casual so it is so easy to go to the lowest requirement. But as they say dress for the job you want, not the one you have... so I did a bit of shopping.

I feel a bit like it's back to school today with my new clothes!

I bought 2 jackets that are relaxed but smart and a lovely long blouse/shirt. I will be teaming the jackets with jeans or in a month or two cords (so still casual but the jacket smartens it up!) currently I am wearing smart , simple vests under the jackets and flat pumps on my feet.

I have had lots of nice comments today so I am happy with my new attire!

what a great weekend!

2010-08-23T14:10:00.001+01:00

I had such a good weekend... mostly because it was unexpected.

On Friday night I was babysitting for a really lovely family who have 2 cute little girls. There Mum had bought them a fashion kit to make outfits for 5 miniature cardboard cutouts. We had so much fun making the outfits and they both did such a god job- I was pretty impressed and you know me and my crafting! In my element working on a crafting project with little ones.

Then once they were tucked up in bed (they are angels and go straight down!) I got to writing our Save the Dates! They have arrived back from the printer and I could look at them all day- they make me smile thinking what that little card means and all of our loved ones that it will be making it's way too. We have done simple postcards for most people and then magnets for our parents and the wedding party. My poor hands ached afterwards but they pretty much done and will be mailed later this week. (It would be nice to go together to the Post Office in Stockbridge on Saturday morning to mail them off as it will be exactly 9 months till our wedding on Saturday!) So excited!!!

Then on Saturday morning I joined Nathan and his Dad, Neil on the driving range early at 9am. I was a bit rusty but eventually I was hitting them straight. Not far but one step at a time!

I plan to try to do lessons this winter so by next spring I can be playing well. (I am also going to try and go back to art classes but one thing at a time.)

After golf we then went for coffee with Nathan's Mum in Stockbridge and Nathan left to go to Aberdeen for his first rugby game of the season. Nathan's Parents planned to drive up to support and I was going to go to my Grandma's house to do more cleaning. Half way through coffee I decided I would join them on the journey. I am so glad I did.

We had a great day. The journey is 2 1/2 hours north and we chatted most of the way- about the wedding and more about the wedding..... Lily and I were in our element.

The rugby was great... it was very sunny (I got good colour for Aberdeen!) and we won!! HOORAY! I loved that the new 1st team coach Simon was wearing a smart suit (he looked like a football coach) and he was wondering around the sidelines watching, not just stuck on the bench. The boys played well and there were great moments of really good play. Stuff to work on but I was so pleased for them.

Sadly for Nathan his boot split half way through the second half so he had to go off as no one else has the same size of feet as his giant boats! He looked very frustrated sitting on the bench not able to contribute. So this week he will hopefully be buying 2 pairs of boots! (keeping one spare in his bag just in case!)

On the trip back down from Aberdeen we stopped at the Bervie Chipper- a wee roadside cafe and it was so tasty! I have never noticed it before but it was so nice sitting in the sun by their window with Lily and Neil. (Nathan meanwhile was on the bus with the 2 teams on their way back to Edinburgh drinking all the way home- oh dear!)

The lovely chip shop roadside cafe with Lily and Neil to the right hand side.

My tasty (although calorific tea!) Sooooo good!!

Then on Sunday I dropped Nathan off at golf and drove to my Grandparents house to get on with the clearing and tidying. I feel that I accomplished a huge amount and felt very pleased at the end of the day. Nathan came down after his round and helped move some heavy bits and pieces so hopefully in the next few weeks we should be in a position to get the house on the market.

Sunday Evening

2010-08-16T18:49:00.000+01:00

After a busy day of family activities- My sister and I visited my Dad's storage facility and then Nathan and I visited Nathan's Mum and Dad and caught up on their news and sat in their garden in the sunshine. (yes, we actually had good sun this weekend!)- Nathan and I went to Sainsburys and bought dinner which we took round to Ed and Wendy where we cooked them Sunday dinner. We also took round some of Lily and Neil's allotment veggies as part of the meal. So new Mum, Wendy had lots of good vitamins to boost her system.

Nathan and I made lamb with Mediterranean vegetables, potato salad with tatziki and houmous on pitta breads. Just 'cos we didn't have enough food we also made tricolour! It was very tasty and we were all very full at the end of the meal.

Ed, Nathan and new Mum, Wendy. (Little Katie was having a wee snooze.) They are both doing so well and I loved seeing them with their little cute bundle of joy.

Hopefully we can do this for them again sometime soon as they are always hosting us for BBQs. I also love their kitchen- oh to have a kitchen like theirs! (one day!)

Saturday Evening

2010-08-16T18:35:00.000+01:00

After a long day dress shopping I joined Nathan at his friend Ian (Snoopy's) 30th birthday BBQ. Nathan was a big hit with his friend Andrew's 5 year old son Alexander. Alexander loved being up so high and looking down on everyone else. Nathan was also teaching him exercises to do like burpies to help his parents tire him out! He was such a lovely little boy and so well behaved.

Pamela bringing Ian his cake after we'd had a sing song in the garden to Ritchie's guitar.

It was really lovely to catch up with a number of Nathan's friends from Uni that we haven't seen for a couple of months. Hopefully it won't be so long next time.