It has been over a year since I last posted anything on this blog, or even checked my Typepad account, so you can imagine how amazed I was when I logged in today to see that I still had 30 people drop by the other day. I fell out of love with blogging for a while, mainly because of a total lack of time to make/ create/ take photos/ write etc etc. The truth is though that I have still been reading many blogs and realised recently that I missed the focus that blogging gave me. I like having a record of the mundane (and not-so mundane) aspects of my life, so even if no one else read it, I have decided to dip a toe back in and test the waters.
So, where to start? So many things have happened recently. It has been party season in the Pink Green household, starting with my sister's wedding in May, which was an amazing day. The girls and I were all bridesmaids (anyone who suggested I was matron of honour got a very frosty stare I can assure you!). Rachel looked absolutely gorgeous, and a few tears were shed by one and all at the exchange of vows. Graeme is a fantastic addition to our family, and the girls love their Uncle more than they do the rest of us put together.
As you can see by the brollies the weather was typically British Summertime, but it didn't spoil things, and we had an amazing day. By the way, that is me in the green dress on the left. The girls were wearing ivory beaded dresses and had their hair curled for the occasion. I know I'm biased but they did look gorgeous! Sarah, my sister's best friend and I were wearing vintage green dresses from Coast which had satin bodices and floaty chiffon skirts. My heels lasted about 45 minutes after the ceremony and I couldn't take any more. Fortunately I had some ballet pumps to hand too!
After the wedding party (and hen do before that, which is a story in itself!) we have had several birthday parties, including Andy's 40th, Grace's 10th and Ruth's 8th. Andy and I had a fabulous weekend away in Bristol at the Food and Wine festival to celebrate his, then Grace had a cinema trip and party tea. Poor Ruth misses out by having her birthday at the end of term when we are all exhausted and lack-lustre about party-throwing, but we did manage to have possibly the best night out we've ever had to celebrate her's this year. We went here...
We sat spell bound for the entire performance, and had I been offered a place I would have jumped into one of their fabulous caravans and joined the circus like a shot! I have no idea what I could have offered to the company, my skills in tightrope walking, horse training and playing the recorder through my nose being somewhat limited, so I haven't applied for next year just yet. It was like going back to the1940s, and the women were so glamourous in their vintage costumes, the band were incredible, and the whole spectacle was breath-taking. I will take the advice of one friend though and take a cushion to sit on next year!
After that it was Rachel's 30th, and she had a party at my parents house, which was fab. The girls have stayed on at their house for the week, and I have been painting, painting and more painting. We have had our kitchen extended and a new bathroom since I last wrote anything here, and although the kitchen was finished weeks ago we ran out of steam and the bathroom had been left untouched. I have made the most of a week without children to paint the whole bathroom (including masses of panelling), our new laundry in the basement, and I have stripped out the girls rooms and had a mass decluttering session. It has all been very therapeutic, but exhausting.
So, do you want to see some photos of the new kitchen? It has revolutionised our way of life - we sit here of an evening with a glass of wine, chatting while the tea is cooking, and we are watching so much less crap TV! The girls come and sit here to talk to me while I'm cooking too, whereas before they could barely get in the kitchen. I don't have any before shots I'm afraid, so you'll just have to make do with some after ones!
Please excuse my gardening basket and trug in this one - they are usually kicking around at the moment, although the garden is suffering a bit from being trampled on by builders for months, but that is a project for another day! The lights are vintage jelly moulds from RE, which handily happens to be near my sister's house, and all 3 are different. They and the cupboard are my favourite things in the the room.
The shelves came from out of Ruth's room, and the plate rack from one of my favourite shops. The cupboards are painted in Farrow and Ball French Grey, which is a real change for me - usually I go for brighter colours, but I am loving the black and white floor, black cupboard and grey units. The armchairs in the 'conservatory' bit both came from our sitting room, so we are now looking for replacements. I was going to have a breakfast table in there, but put the chairs there while I was searching and liked them so much I decided to keep them there. I've just noticed how much I've used "I" for this passage. Andy loves the kitchen too, and he had choice of the oven and the fridge to keep him happy and involved!
Well, I've droned on enough for now. Hopefully I won't leave it as long until my next post!!
Cathy XX