Wedding Weekend

Blimey I didn't realise I had been away for so long.
Not sure where to start really.
I suppose last weekend would be a good place as it was a special and very happy occasion.
Earlier in the year  I had been invited to the wedding of one of my mums oldest friends and someone who has known me since I was a little girl.

I had also been given the honour of making the wedding cake....EEEK!
In between the chaos of making the cake and decorating our little garden room I decided it would be a good time at having a bash at making a dress for said wedding....... I really don't know what I was thinking!
 Anyway our little jaunt started on thursday when we travelled up to a rather blustery Cumbria, the cake had gone on ahead a week or so prior, so no worries there - or so I thought but that's  another story.

The Old Vicarage at Ravenstonedale was to be our home for the next two days.

I can highly recommend this place and the lovely owners were so welcoming and friendly, they even made tea and brought cake for us on our arrival.

The wedding itself was to be an intimate gathering of family and close friends, some who knew each other and some who didn't so Thursday evening the guests met at the couple's home for a little gathering.
I have visited their beautiful cottage  a couple of times before (you can read about it here) so I knew it was going to be a lovely evening. Everyone got to know each other a little which meant by the time the wedding came around on friday everyone seemed to be very relaxed.

This gorgeous vintage bus picked us up along with most of the wedding party to take us to the church.
However my mum and I along with another friend had been asked if we would go back to the cottage and escort the bride down the lane and to the church. This was a lovely moment especially for my mum and the bride's brother who was to give her away.
Unfortunately I had chosen to wear my battered old converse to walk down the lane as not to get my wedding shoes dirty, sadly I didn't get the chance to nip back on to the bus for my 'proper/grown up lady' shoes and ended up walking to the front of the church in my old faithfuls

After a beautiful service we all boarded the bus to head off to the reception, this was kept top secret right up to the very last minute, even the destination on our boarding ticket threw us off the scent

We were kept in suspense until the bus eventually came to a stop in the grounds of the very beautiful Augill Castle,  the most perfect place for a wedding

even the loos were amazing despite being unisex!

As a friend of mine pointed out when she saw the photos, it does actually look as though I was the only guest at a pretend wedding but the couple are very private and I wanted to respect this privacy so no I hadn't gate crashed an empty castle, there were other people there honest!

The celebrations didn't end there because after the wedding breakfast we were taken back to our B&B  for a quick wash and brush up before heading back on our little bus for the very last time back to the bride and grooms village hall for a ceilidh.
I have to say I didn't get up and dance because  a) I had eaten far too much and   b) I hadn't drunk anywhere near enough!

It was a beautiful couple of days but I missed my boys and it was lovely to see them both when I finally returned home. I am such a home bird!

Oh yes remember I mentioned the cake...well despite the fact it was dropped before it even left Sheffield (NOT by me I hasten to add) it didn't look too bad and the bride and groom were very pleased, I don't even think any of the guests saw me whip out my cake tool kit  and do a spot of emergency repair!!!

well that was my weekend

A quick Hello

Things have been very quiet around here of late, the Easter break has passed by in a flash and it's now back to business as usual.
We didn't have much time off together this holiday so didn't venture very far, besides the weather here in Sheffield has been dire, feeling more like winter than spring, much like everywhere I suspect.
 Little H is at an age where he wants to spend time with his friends, doing what typical 12 (nearly 13) year old boys want to do, it seems me and the Mr have to fit around his plans these days!

We did have a run out to Matlock and had a lovely walk around the park followed by a mooch around the shops (much to little H's annoyance) Vintage Living and Rewirks are two 'new to me' places, I knew I was going to love them before I had even set foot inside.
Rewirks is a lovely little place filled with lots of interesting bits and bobs, it's a perfect mix of vintage  and hand made, just the kind of place I daydream about owning one day.
Vintage Living is packed to the rafters with everything you could ever want in your home......

 including the kitchen sink

No day out for us is complete without lunch so not wishing to break the habit of a lifetime we headed to the Old Smithy at Beeley for lunch, followed by ice creams in the car (it was far too cold to eat them outside!!!)

Fast forward a couple of weeks and at last Spring seems to have found it's way to Sheffield and our little plot has finally come to life.

Mr. H  dragged out the deck chairs and we enjoyed a well earned cuppa in our secret garden.

taken last year round about this time

Hope you are having some ☀☀☀ where you are

Very Nearly a Domestic Goddess

I could very easily slip back into the role of full time Housewife.  I  wouldn't go as far as saying I'm a domestic goddess but  I'm domesticated by nature and believe it to be a very important role in the home. I know it's not for everyone but I absolutely love it.
I find I don't get as much time to bake now I work longer hours (even though I still only work 5 hours a day) and to be quite honest when I have been cooking all day at work the last thing I want to do is start again when I get home.
Mr. H requested  politely asked for scones at the weekend but with the cleaning taking priority the baking fell by the wayside.
Monday was also going to be a no no as I had plans to go wedding outfit shopping with a friend (returning home empty handed but somehow with a lighter purse!!!)

Tuesday however saw me  slipping into my pinny (vintage of course!) and knocking up a little batch of plain scones.

I also managed do two piles of laundry which strangely I'm looking forward to ironing and putting away.

I am also baking the wedding cake this week for a family friend who gets married in May.

Hence the wedding outfit shopping.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this spring cleaning malarkey and getting our little home ready for Easter.

 We will have hot cross buns as always on Friday (I have tested them already just for research purposes you understand!)  and I will decorate the house/tree on Saturday I never do it before Good Friday.

I'm also hoping to finish off a few more little projects Iv'e had on the go.

Hope you are all enjoying your week

: )

Snow stopped play

I had big plans for last weekend, a bit of thrifting at a table top sale at my favourite church, a little bit of retail therapy (still have birthday pennies burning a hole in my pocket!) throw in  a spot of gardening/seed sowing and I had the perfect weekend planned.
Alas this was not to be as the snow came on Friday and didn't show any signs of stopping.
This is how my garden  looked when I threw back the curtains Saturday morning.

Oh well I thought - no matter at least I have have next week off work so I can get out in the garden then.
NO CHANCE, it's now Tuesday and the garden is still covered in a thick blanket of the white stuff......Grrrrrrr!!!

So back to the weekend, we did manage to pop out late on Saturday afternoon in search of Eastery  decorations and paint. Again things didn't go quite to plan as there were no decorations to be had and we ended up having to order the paint.
 Determined not to return home empty handed and with spring in mind (despite the snow) these little beauties were bundled into the boot, along with a little glass jar, a new washing up bowl, a rosemary plant and a few chocolatey treats.

Armed with my new cloths and rubber gloves Sunday saw me  set to work on the kitchen (not before time) No stone was left unturned as I scrubbed and polished EVERY nook and cranny.

and my reward for all this hard work..................

The very lovely Mr. Kitchen

I feel the weekend didn't turn out too badly after all!

This and That

 I still seem to be suffering from bloggers block (not sure if that's a real condition but hey ho!)
It's not that I don't feel the urge it's just as nothing interesting seems to be happening in my life at the moment, I'm just pottering along nicely (well apart from a terrible week at work last week but I'm not going to moan about it here)

I'm patiently waiting for the spring to arrive so I can get out into the garden and make a start.

I found a couple of treasures at another jumble last week which I wasn't expecting as we didn't roll up until 10 minutes after it had started.

a lovely little sugar shaker for 10p

and a lovely retractible tape measure for another 10 of my pennies.

I finally got around to pimping my shade!

I couldn't resist the urge to add a few buttons!

better late than never!
It's a lovely old standard lamp that came home with me when the convent closed, one of the many beautiful things I was kindly given and which I will treasure for many years to come.

I also managed to finish the hexie cushion front so only got to make a back for it now, lucky for me Mr. H has been sorting through his wardrobe so I have the perfect solution.............stay tuned!

I'm still enjoying reading your blogs even though I haven't been commenting much, hopefully normality will resume very soon!

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post,  as always they are very much appreciated and  what make this blogging malarkey worth while.

: )