Me on a Monday... Er no a Tuesday!

I know it's late but I had such a busy weekend it only ended late last night and I've been working today so no time to share!  So without further ado this is me on a (cough) Monday/Tuesday...

It started off with a late lunch kind of Friday with the girls at Alberts...

We had two birthdays to celebrate...Tracy's and my own and it was half price champagne on a Friday so that called for a bottle of this...

Lunch over we headed back to the village for a chilled kind of Friday evening with others joining us and husbands appearing (and sitting on a completely different table pretending they didn't know us as we were being very loud and giggly!!)  It was also an "Oh my! I'm sat on my year of birth table!" kind of evening...

We sat and enjoyed the sunshine into the late hours.  

It was an up and out to the Makers Market kind of Saturday with cheeses, breads and home made pates purchased.  Then on to our friend's pub just outside Chester for a cuddle with his new baby boy and a yummy meal kind of afternoon.

It was a lazy, birthday kind of Sunday morning.  Opening cards and a few presents.  (Tony is still not working so I've taken a rain check on the present but it was lovely to get books off the kids, including Mary Berry's latest, and some new cake tins!)

It was a "Oh look the weather is better than expected" kind of afternoon so we headed off to an NT property we'd not visited before for drinks, cakes and a mooch round.  It was a "Wow, the kids actually still find this history stuff interesting" kind of visit as we took a guided tour of the house.  It really is an amazing example of a Tudor Home. It was also a getting the last stamp in the NT passport kind of day for Josh.  That's 30 separate properties he's visited in the last 7 years and he's keen to fill another one.  Best keep up the annual membership then!

It was a race to get the perfect family photograph of the swans between us all.  Tony and Alex had their DSLRs but I won with my trusty iPhone!

It was also a "It's my birthday so I demand a photo of the two of you" moment.  Which had much hilarity as I asked them to stand side by side and they did so with their backs to me, then one facing and one still back turned, then facing but pulling silly faces.  Then eventually this (which is not great but will have to do!)...

Then it was a back to the garden to chill in the sunshine kind of evening with a Pimms (or two!)...

It was also a "I've found two photos for the Summer Scavenger Hunt" kind of weekend but I'll share those in their own post at a later date.

I took Monday off work too and Alex and I went shopping for last bits on her India kit list.  It was definitely an "I can't find any sandals I like/that fit/that are the right size/that aren't too expensive" kind of trip!  But we did tick off the "modest swimsuit" and "Navy smart but cool" trousers!

I also bought a nice pair of wedge sandals in the sales with some birthday money :).  Let's hope this warm weather stays so I can wear them soon!  Then it was off to Brownies to make miniature gardens for the local flower show next weekend.  A rather frantic but fun end to four days off!

So that was my weekend.  How was yours? If you'd like to read about more weekends or join in with your own then visit Sian at From High In The Sky.

Finally thank you to the lovely Gemma for sharing my blog this week.  I'm always on the look out for new followers as I love to get feedback on my posts and my scrapbook pages so if you've stopped for a nosey please do follow me and leave a comment.

Prom night

There hasn't been much scrapping happening around here.  Instead I have been running around after Alex this week and getting her ready for her prom night.  She isn't one for hair and make up usually but was happy to make the effort for this right of passage!

Nails were painted silver and glittery and hair was curled.  She had make up done professionally and nearly fell off her chair when she was offered false eyelashes (that was a no then!)

Soon it was time to put on the dress and shoes and pose for photos in the front garden...

Then we headed off to her friends to meet with the other girls for some pre-prom nibbles and drinks...

"Sandy" arrived with a toot of her unique horn and we oohed and ahhed over her - the owner had restored her himself and done a fabulous job...

Then it was time for a few photos (and lots of laughter) with Sandy and off they went (and yes I had a tear in my eye for my baby girl looked so grown up)...

The prom was held several miles away at Rivington and they had time for an impromptu photo shoot by a reservoir before they arrived (thank heavens for social media so I can nick photos off my daughter's Instagram account!)...

So whilst I said there hadn't been much scrapping there certainly have been some memories made which I look forward to getting on to some pretty paper soon!  

Me on a Monday - the Brownie Pack Holiday edition

Welcome to Monday. It's been an action and fun packed weekend in the Ribble Valley for me and some of my Brownies. It started off with the back seats down and a packed car full of craft activities, a huge first aid box and bags of food...literally. 

It was a "nice to be back in the cottage for our fourth time" kind of Friday afternoon and two spent unpacking all the above and setting up the cottage to how we wanted (a bit of furniture moving and lots of signs up!)

It was a dry and warmish kind of Friday evening so it was off to the playground to burn off some energy...

It was an oh so hectic pack holiday kind of Saturday (a busy Brownie is a happy Brownie!)  Breakfast - making photo frames - crate challenge - elevensies - pin badges - lunch

It was an even more hectic afternoon! Diaries - camp fire safety - grass sledging - making a s'more fondue...

After dinner it was a camp fire and lots of singing kind of evening (loud and fun!) Followed by make your own trifle - into PJs and a few games of Bingo...

Sunday dawned and it was a cottage full of very tired Brownies kind of morning but still lots to do! Breakfast - packing - striping beds - archery - butterfly peg snacks in the sunshine - making decoupage initials and lunch. 

It was a waving the Brownies off at 2pm kind of afternoon and one last look at the glorious view from the front of Waddow Hall.  A brilliant purchase by Girlguiding in 1928 for a mere £9000! 

Then it was a collapsing in the garden kind of Sunday evening with a glass of wine to recover!

A help with revision kind of time (still two weeks of exams left)...

And a play with the cats kind of evening (at just under 2 years they are still very kitten like and love chasing sticks!)...

It was also a roast chicken dinner eating and a Canadian Grand Prix watching kind of evening and a great result for Hamilton (although I've heard the last disaster wasn't all the teams fault and he had a part to play.... hmmmm).

Hope your weekend was good and filled with fun things.  I'm joining in with Sian over at From High in the Sky with her weekly Meme of sharing our weekends. Head on over and see what everyone else has been up to. 

I'm also going to link up with Kirsty today, at a Journal of Curious Things who is writing a brilliant set of blog posts about the joys of being in Girlguiding as this post is very heavily weighted that way! They are a great insight into the life of a Guider and might just whet your appetite to volunteer!

For the love of Pretty Paper NSD Challenge

One of the challenges set by the Facebook group "For the love of Pretty Paper" was a sketch challenge

I'd recently picked up a pack of paper at TK Maxx (As I am running out of kits!) and pulled a load of green, yellow and grey embellishments out of my stash to go with a sheet.  I backed it on a sheet that is actually moustache paper but I like the effect of it just peeking out behind and on the photo mat.

Scrapped a couple of pictures from the Lakes a few years back that have been on my pile for ages. We were out walking to get Alex in training for her DofE expedition.  

I normally struggle to pull my own stash together but this is the 3rd layout where I've gone with a colour theme and it seems to be working!

Right off to pack for Brownie Pack Holiday as I'm away with 8 of my Brownies this weekend.  See you on the other side!

Me on a Monday

Better late than never! Monday's are just so manic with work all day then straight to my Brownies  for fun, games or as in last night learning your name in sign language for their Disability Awareness Badge!

So this weekend started off with a manicure treat and pink sparkly nails...

Then it was an out with the girls to celebrate three birthdays at the local Chinese kind of Friday evening (and getting in at 1am! - I didn't know our local pub stayed open that late!)

It was up early (not sure how I managed that!) for a prom dress fitting kind of Saturday morning 

Followed by a trip to Manchester for another rabies jab and then back for a game of scrabble kind of Saturday evening... This was essentially spelling revision but more fun for Alex who has her GCSE English today. And yes I know there's a word there which shouldn't have been allowed due to the capital letter but we were playing relaxed rules!

It was another cold and wet weekend so it was a taxi service kind of Sunday morning dropping Josh and his friend off at Comicon in Manchester. It was "I'm not sure where the day has gone" kind of Sunday as I did more Brownie Holiday planning, tidied up and paid the bills. It was then time to go and pick Josh back up.

It was a "let's bake a lemon drizzle cake" kind of Sunday evening with a new recipe to my usual from Mary Berry. I may just be converted. Half the tray bake for us and half for my friends family who passed away last year as they face a difficult week ahead. It's a small gesture. 

And finally it was a watching the BGT final on Sunday evening kind of end to the weekend. Who was your favourite? I loved the dog but was sad the Welsh choir didn't win. 

How was your weekend? If you'd like to share yours or read about others then pop over to Sian's blog at From high in the Sky for more