Family Visit...............

Sorry I've been a bit short on posts / comments this week only I have one of my sisters in law over for a quick 4 day visit from Italy, we don't get to see any of them that much, so I'm spending my days taking Gloria and Janice (Angel) out shopping etc.

Normal service to resume by the weekend.

Hope you are all ok and enjoying you week

Hugs to you all

Goodbye Old Friend....................

Well all good things must come to an end, and sadly for me after 17 years of faithful service my poor old washing machine had to go, for some time I've had to spin twice, kick the door to start the machine and finally a couple of weeks ago when I opened the door the handle came away in my hand.  I know I've been very lucky, the one and only time I had to have the engineer call was to retrieve a wire from my bra!

Old faithful has been replaced by this little fellow....................

Let's hope that I get the same service from this one as my last.

Until next time

Birthday Part III.....The Gifts

How lucky was I.  I have received the most fantastic presents a girl could wish for.  Where to begin..........

From my Sister and Brother in Law I received a weekend stay at the Down Hall Country Hotel which includes a 3 course evening meal and a full english breakfast.......

I have always wanted to stay here, Janice and I have been for Afternoon Tea, which was lovely, but a weekend stay, well I can't wait, they also bought me a bottle of my very favourite Champagne, Laurent Perrier Rosé, that I am going to save for the weekend away, and also a bottle of Bvlgari Rose Essentielle, my favourite perfume, there was also a card giving me a baby sitting voucher (to stay with his Auntie) for when we go away.

Next from my Niece Kelly  her boyfriend James my Nephew Lee and his girlfiend Kelly A I received something I have coveted for almost 10 years...... a 28cm Le Creuset Cast Iron Casserole, oh how happy that made me, they also bought me a few other bits and pieces which you can see in the picture, the body bits, nail varnish, 50th glass etc.

From my friends I received a Decleor Facial and a bottle of Prosecco, another friend bought me some beautiful candlestick (which I very badly forgot to put in the photo) and I also received a pair of earings.

My work colleagues bought me an abundance of CK bits, I got the knitting bag, the overnight bag (obviously I will use that when I go away), the manicure set and the pass holder, how great was that, I also received (as I have a bit of a thing for Kris Kristofferson) the dvd Convoy and his CD.

The lovely Victoria bought me the CK purse and key ring, which as she pointed out will be fantastic when I am away on holiday, what a clever girl she is.

I am absolutely over the moon at everything I received and am really very greatful for all the time and effort everyone put into making my 50th birthday extremely special.

THANK YOU ALL

Birthday Part II

This is going to quite a long post with lots of photo's so I apologise in advance......

As my birthday fell on a Monday, not such a great night with work and all, we decided that Saturday evening was to be designated as my night to celebrate with family and friends, so we went to our local noodle bar, a particular favourite with everyone, here are some of the photo's taken...........

This is me with my '50' badge received from my Nephew and his girlfriend Kelly.....(yes it does get confusing)

This little creation was from Kelly.....A huge Lemon cup cake, it was glorious.

I was very pleased with it......................and I did only eat a little piece, honest :-)

And now for some pics of the rest, first is Kelly and our friend Keith, followed by Janice, then Kelly's boyfriend James with his new best friend Master M....................

The next photos are my husband Mr RP, our friend Yasmin and the last one is of her husband John and my brother in law who you can just see on the end.

I really had such a lovely evening, followed by a bit of heavy head due to a glass or two of wine !!

Next installement the presents..........

Birthday Part I and Giveaway Results..............

Well my birthday started 2 days early when I was treated to a lovely breakfast out by my darling sister, we went to the lovely café that she blogged about the other day and had one of our favourite breakfasts, Eggs Benedict.......................

Together with a lovely Latte, we are rather partial to these........

Of course we decided that as this was actually more brunch than breakfast we would finish it off with a cheeky Apple Breugel with Ice Cream and Whipped Cream .......well it was a special occaision.........

Master M, didn't fancy EB so he had this...................

That was followed by Apple Strudel and Ice Cream.

What a lovely start to the day, thank you very much Janice.  Birthday Part II will follow shortly where you will be able to feast your eyes on another of Kelly's fantastic creations.

Now for the results you've all been waiting for, after using the number generator the lucky winner of my

'Baking Day' Giveaway is.........................................Hannah Vanderhart, her blog is lovely and always makes me smile, so Hannah please email me your details and I'll get your goodies in the post.

Thank you all for entering and I'm just sorry you can't all be winners.

Until next time

Happy Birthday to Me...........

Today is my 50th Birthday, I've had a great weekend celebrating with family and friends, and today I am lunching with my work colleagues, will post photos etc later in the week.

I would like to thank my Sister and my Niece for their lovely posts this morning and for making this birthday very special.

Pictures of the Lounge..................

Finally as promised here are some pictures of my lounge.

This is the dining area that we have decided to turn into a bit of a study area and dedicate to the computer, it also makes a nice space for Master M to do his homework, so much better than it was before, and in typical fashion I forgot to take the before photo :-(  I am so rubbish at doing that.)
I am really pleased with how it has turned out, although at some point I will get back to Ikea and get the nice chair that Kelly has.............what do you think?

Here is another picture of my Ikea unit, as you know I am so very pleased with it so I thought you'd all like another peek at it.

 

Here is where we all sit, I really want to change the covers on the 2 seater sofa and the chair, but they are working out extremely expensive so I really need to start saving!

Hope you all enjoyed that little tour of my newly decorated living room.  My next post will be about my birthday and also I will reveal who has won my 'Baking Day' giveaway.

Until then..........

The Big 50 Giveaway....................

Something is almost upon me that I really DO NOT want, next Monday is my 50th birthday, how did I get here so quickly I ask myself.  I can distinctly remember thinking when I was about 10 or 11 how old 50 was, (my Dad was 49 at the time) and how far away from it I was, alas it's no longer something in my future but something very much in my present and I'm not feeling good about it, anyway, I have decided to honour the occaision and have a little giveaway.
The theme I have chosen for this is 'Baking Day', and the lucky winner will receive these lovely goodies.......................

A silicone cake pan, 12 silicone cupcake cases, cupcake oven gloves, a set of measuring cups and a muffin cookbook, together with this......................

Marks and Spencer 'Baking Day' cookery book.

All you have to do to enter is:

1. Follow my blog
2. Leave a comment by Monday 12th April.

All participants names will be put in a hat and my lovely son Master M will draw the winner the day after as we are at the O2 for WWE Raw on the day itself , lucky me eh!!
Hope you all enjoy.

Finally......................

Well, I have now finally finished reading the last book in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, (quietly sobbing)  what a brilliant writer Stephanie Meyer is, now I have to wait for the 3rd film Eclipse to be released at the beginning of July I think, so until then I will have to make do with a Bella and Edward background on my computer !!!

Mr RP and I have decided on the suggestion of the lovely Kelly, to use our garden table for the computer, it is a lovely wrought iron table with a glass top which I have to agree will look fabulous, so I will post a picture once it is painted and in situ, as then the living room will be finished and I can let you all see it.

Hope everyone has a lovely easter, with lots of eggs.......... Here's one from me for all of you. Enjoy.

Until next time......