Valentine's Day Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Monthly Round-up – February 2017

March 13, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Watching: This month I watched Maze Runner, Sharknado 4, Anastasia, Sing, Batman Lego Movie and Green Lantern. I also watched Bitten, Helix and started Riverdale. As usual there was Dance Moms, Bones, New Girl, Big Bang Theory, Grimm, Blindspot, Casualty, Holby City, Let It Shine, Suits, Jane the Virgin and of course The Walking Dead started again.
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): February has been crazy busy with orders but seems to have gone in spurts. I listed Moana ears and bows in the store on January 30th and so that caused the first wave of crazy. February 1st was also the last day for my 2K giveaway box, but I also launched a new monthly giveaway later in the month which was Beauty and the Beast themed (not to mention a loop giveaway I had been participating in finished too). I fiddled with some new bows, got some of Megan’s artwork printed on postcards, tried out some candle designs and generally ploughed my way through orders. I made a duvet cover and pillowcase, then bunting to match. I tried to work on new ideas for dresses but never seemed to find time – but decided to look for boy models, so I might list boys clothes. All in all, it was hectic and that’s not even mentioning when I sewed my finger!

And in other news…
– This month we have definitely spent more time being sociable. One night we had our friends Jon and Becka around for games and ended up staying up till 3.30 in the morning. Another night we have Jon and Becka, plus Nat and Dan around for dinner and though Chris headed to bed early, we went well past midnight.
– Amy and I booked to go to Beauty and the Beast afternoon tea at The Kensington Hotel in London. It’s not till May but I’m already looking forward to it.
– Lily chopped her hair short! The decision came out of nowhere and luckily she hasn’t regretted it since but I couldn’t believe she actually decided to go through with it.

– Valentine’s Day happened! The night before, Chris and I had a M&S Valentine’s Meal because it was our one night without the girls in the week. Valentine’s Day itself I spent the day with the girls and my mum, playing board games. Then when Chris got home we all exchanged gifts (that’s a sort of new tradition we have now) and then we headed out for some food and the cinema to see Batman Lego movie.

– I treated myself to a new lipstick and nail polish from the L’Oreal Beauty and the Beast range. I had to order from Amazon Italy but I actually had some euros left on my travel card so it worked out well. The Beast lipstick that I picked is perfect, but I haven’t tried out the blue polish yet. Hopefully I’ll do a review!
– For Galentine’s Day I sent Amy and Liv a gift, plus gave Nat something when she came around later that week. In return Amy sent me a Gaston Pop Funko and I love him.
– I booked to go away for my birthday weekend and I’m so pleased I have. I’m desperate to get back to the Harry Potter Studios, especially now they have the Forbidden Forest though a bit sad Chris might not be able to come. I’m still hoping to throw a murder mystery the night before we go away though.
– Lily and I worked on and off on her chocolate project, largely through half term. When Pippa’s birthday came around I used everything I’d learnt about making ganache and baked an amazing (even if I do say so myself) chocolate cake for her.
– I reformatted my laptop as it was dying fast and I honestly thought I would need to buy a new one. However it seems much better and much faster now so hopefully I can last out a little longer!
– Got a letter from Megan’s school, commending her on her hard work (this is the second one I’ve had since September. She’s also up to 16 certificates, which she needs 10 merits for each (so 160 merits in total!).
– Finally came Pancake Day and in true form we had pancakes for both dinner and dessert. We had stuffed pancakes with chicken, followed by sweet pancakes with various toppings.

Looking forward to in March:
– Can’t really think what March has planned to be honest but I know it’s a fairly hectic month. There is Lily’s birthday to begin with, followed by Amy’s, followed by Chris’ and then finally Mother’s Day. Lily has a school trip and a school play in March, plus her chocolate project is due so I imagine that will make things even busier.
– Amy is coming to visit for the weekend of 17th-19th. I haven’t seen her since we went to DLP so it will be nice to catch up. We’re also seeing the new Beauty and the Beast movie which I’m excited but nervous about.
– As I mentioned, Chris’ birthday is this month and we’re going out for dinner with friends and then doing an Escape the Room game. I’m quite excited about that too but I have to admit I’m worried it will be creepy!

Our Valentine’s Day

February 15, 2016 by Bel 1 Comment

As I mentioned in my Wish List post for Valentine’s Day, February 14th has always been so much more than about couples for me. Ever since Megan was born, I have always bought a gift for her on V Day and when Lily was born, her too. It’s a silly thing really I suppose, but I love them just as much as any partner I’ve had – generally I love them a lot more!

This year, my mum – my go to babysitter – is away in New Zealand and so I knew there would be no me and Chris time anyway. To be honest, we find our own time to spend together – usually Monday nights or the odd trip away. In fact tonight we might be heading out to see Deadpool! Anyway, when I knew that the day would be spent as a family, I decided it would be nice to really spend it as a family and spread the love around amoungst us.

About two weeks ago, we decided that for Valentine’s Day, we would each buy each other a gift. So I would get for Chris, Megan and the girls (as I would anyway), but they would each buy a gift for each person too. Megan has her own bank account now so this was really exciting for her. She picked out Lily and Chris’ gift all by herself, then her and Lily chipped together (though Megan purchased it) for mine. I helped Lily pick out something for Megan and she was cheeky with Chris’ and pinched something from a Nerd Block we received, knowing it was something he’d like. Chris got it easy – already knowing he would buy for me, he picked up a box of chocolates for the girls (at my suggestion) and so really he didn’t have to use much brain power! To be fair, I know he struggles enough for mine.

On Valentine’s Day morning, we got up at normal (relaxed) time as part of the enjoyment of the day was not to feel rushed. We opened our gifts from each other and said thank you of course!

I bought Chris a pair of Star Wars pj bottoms, but also a new copy of Burgle Bros (a game he’d bought on Kickstarter and I’d accidentally split my tea on an ruined half the cards). Megan bought Chris a Star Wars Deathstar ice cube maker and Lily got Chris the White Walker figure from Game of Thrones.

Chris got the girls Ferrero Rocher as I mentioned before and he got me a photo frame and a really cute Me to You bear that’s a) a bee (I love bees, being nicknamed Bee by close friends) b) a blue nose friend and Chris has always bought me those and c) it says Bee Mine on it (lame pun but I still love it).

For Megan I got her a Pop Funko figure of Disgust (I think Megan pulls some similar faces!) and Lily bought her a Ravenclaw coaster and some Ravenclaw socks. For Lily I got her a Mulan Pop Funko (apparently her new favourite Princess) and Megan got her some Lego (Wyldestyle) since she seems to be into this again! The girls together bought me a really awesome Mickey Mouse Disney Tradition, which is funny because the Minnie was on my wish list last week!

There were nice cards, plenty of hugs and kisses and it was really lovely! Next up came breakfast – well more like brunch! We had all our favourite things, including; turkey rashers, croissants, pain au chocolat, cheese topped baguettes, real butter, chocolate crepes and prosecco (the girls had chocolate milk). The croissants and pain au chocolat were freshly made and they were amazing!

After brunch we played board games. First was Chris’ new copy of Burgle Bros – we played twice and lost both times. Next was “Say Anything”, a game that Megan has been dying to play for years and it was pretty fun. Afterwards we headed into the lounge and watched Tron Legacy. This was “boys” pick for movies and although Chris and I had seen it before, the girls both surprised themselves by enjoying it too.

After the movie it was actually dinner time. None of us were especially hungry but we knew we needed to fit it in, as we had plans for another movie after dinner. We had planned a three course meal, earlier in the week, and each taken responsibility for a course. Megan picked to do garlic bread slices topped with cheese, while I made Beef Stroganoff and Lily chose chocolate fondue for dessert. Chris was in charge of drinks so he bought us a bottle of rosé and the girls were allowed some strawberry and lime cider.

Finally, completely stuffed after dinner we headed back to the lounge again and this time it was “girls” pick. Though Lily wasn’t convinced, Megan and I chose Moulin Rouge and though no one but me had seen it, I think it went down fairly well. Of course its a bit of a strange movie but its also amazing too. Both girls cried at the end (like me) so I think that’s generally a hit!

After this it was Lily’s bed time and so she headed up while the rest of us just relaxed. Megan went to bed an hour later and we weren’t long after that either. All in all it was a really lovely day and something I would definitely consider doing again.

Tomorrow I’m planning a belated Galentine’s Day for all my favourite girlies and I’m really excited for that too. February is turning out to be so much better than January and at least the year feels like it’s off to a good start!

7/52

February 14, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

So last week I missed 6/52 and looking back I don’t even seem to have any pictures I can add late. Lily was in a school assembly but that fell into this week and last week I only had a Lily pic too. Sadly I’m just going to skip a week but I suppose it won’t matter in the long run!

This week’s 52 Project is from today – Valentine’s Day. We’ve had a lovely family day (which I will post about tomorrow) and this picture was taken at breakfast. I couldn’t be prouder and more in love with my two beautiful girls and today has been a perfect celebration of that.

Wednesday Wish List – Valentine’s Special

February 10, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day by diaryjourneys on Polyvore

I’m not a massive fan of Valentine’s Day as for the most part I know it’s just a commercialised holiday. However I’ve always seen it as a day to show everyone that you love them, not just a boyfriend, husband, partner etc. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always bought the girls a gift, as well as my partner – now this year, we’re all buying each other gifts and having a romantic family meal for 4 in the evening. The following day is affectionately known as Galentine’s Day – a day to show your female friends that you care and although I’ll be a day late, I might well get my best friend’s some gifts too!

Anyway, despite the fact I don’t think I’ll get any of these gifts, I figured I’d share a few bits I’d like to get. Starting at the top is Lush. There aren’t many Valentine products I’d like from Lush this year, having previously tried both. However the Unicorn Horn bubble bar was a firm favourite last year and I’d like to give Lover Lamp bath bomb a go too. Next is a Disney Tradition – I have a whole ton of these but Minnie with a heart? Seems like a good one to get for V Day! Of course my wish list wouldn’t be complete without a Pop Funko and who better than Hook? If I had to pick someone to spend my imaginary Valentine’s Day, Captain Hook from OUAT would definitely be my top choice!

Next up is Ferrero Rocher, in a heart shape box of course. These are one of my favourite chocolates and even though I know Chris has bought some for the girls, I secretly hope I have a box too! Since we’re spending the day together as a family, a board game would be a great idea. I love Ticket to Ride and since the new United Kingdom version was released just before Christmas, I’d love a copy of this. Finally, last but not least, some Haagen Dazs. Strawberry Cheesecake is the big recommendation for Valentine’s Day this year but I’d happily take any flavour! Bailey’s has always been my all time favourite and I’d love to give Salted Caramel a try too!

Week 7 – Monday Round-up

February 16, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Some weeks I really hate the fact I do this round up thing – haha. I honestly right now can’t remember what I did yesterday, let alone a week ago. I’m going to try though, but it might be brief! On Monday Chris had the day off and the girls were at school. We had a very lazy day that started with bacon butties and moved on to cheese toasties at lunch. I spent majority of the day on my computer and then rang my car insurance to add Chris to it. After that he drove us to Saxilby – which was probably the most scary experience of my life. We picked the girls up from school and this time I drove home. When we got back Chris had offered to get us Indian for dinner and since I knew the girls wouldn’t want that, I ordered them pizza and a chicken burger from takeaway instead. During the day time my order for Ravenclaw material had finally arrived and so I spent the early part of the evening, cutting out the pattern pieces. Before putting the girls to bed I read them some more of the Never Girls book and then Chris and I watched the next few episodes of 100 before then watching the new Walking Dead episode. Not long afterwards, we headed to bed.

On Tuesday I have less of a recollection for the events. I know I took the girls to school and then headed pretty much straight home. I started to sew Amy’s Ravenclaw skirt and watch TV at the same time. After I finished that, I finished my T-Shirt Tuesday project which was the Game of Thrones handbag and finally after that I took a bath, knowing I didn’t have to pick up the girls from school. Honestly I don’t remember much more of the day, though no doubt blogging about my handbag was part of the day! Wednesday I was off to London, to see the Game of Thrones Exhibit at the O2. I took the girls to school and then headed to Newark where I would be parking the car for the day and catching the train. I headed off to London and went straight to the O2. The exhibition was pretty good but doing it alone just wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped it would be. After I’d looked around the exhibit, I caught the tube to Oxford Street and did some shopping. I went to the Disney Store, Primark, H&M and Lush. After all that I popped to M&S to grab a salad and then headed back to Kings Cross. I caught my train around 6pm and was back at Newark for about 7.30pm. I then drove home to Chris who was home by then too. I snuggled up on the sofa with him but was pretty tired so we headed to bed about 10pm.

On Thursday I managed a lay-in as the girls had stopped at Grandma’s and she was taking them to school. However as Chris wasn’t at work till late as well, it meant I didn’t get much of a sleep as sadly he wakes me! We eventually did get up and lounged around for a while, before heading out to take Chris to work. I was due to go around to my mum’s to get our electronic registration for visas done but as she wasn’t in, I popped into town for an hour first. After that I went to my mum’s and spent the afternoon there until going to get the kids. We then came straight home and hung out together for the evening. Just before bedtime, Megan started to feel unwell and so it was decided if she didn’t feel great the next morning, she wouldn’t go to school. I also realised that if Megan didn’t go, Lily probably wouldn’t want to either. Anyway in the morning neither girl felt well and so they didn’t go to school. Chris went out on his driving lesson and then straight to work afterwards and so the girls and I spent the day together. We popped out to the shops to get a few bits and pieces but for the most part we spent the day chilling out. We did have to make some Disney inspired food but that was pretty good fun. After the girls were in bed I spent the evening on my computer, watching TV and waiting for Chris to come home. When he did get back though I was so tired that we pretty much went straight to bed.

On Saturday morning the kids woke us up at about 9am with cards they’d made for us. We all got up and got dressed, heading out for “all you can eat” breakfast. After that we dropped Chris at the station and headed home. The girls got changed into fancy dress and we all watched a movie together as our Valentine’s treat. At 3.30pm the girls got changed again as Lily was heading out to a party. We dropped her off at the leisure centre and then Megan and I got some dinner and went for a coffee. Afterwards we went for a wander, in and out of shops, before heading back to get Lily and then go home. We then settled down to watch another movie together before the girls went to bed. On and off during the day I managed to sew Megan’s Ravenclaw dress and a Villains skirt for Lily too. Chris was home for 10pm and we watched a bit of TV before heading to bed. Finally it was Sunday and we had another fairly full day planned. We headed out to take Chris to work at 11.30am but we had to have so much stuff with us, that we spent most of the morning getting organised. We dropped Chris off at work and headed into town for a while. Lily bought a Tsum Tsum as they were released in the UK that day and then we all went to BHS for lunch. It was a bit of a bust AND we were late back to the car and I got a ticket.

We then went to my mum’s for the afternoon and despite planning to watch a DVD there, that didn’t work out either. At 3.30pm I had to take Megan to a party and then pop to Grandma’s to pick up a bag I’d left earlier in the week. I got caught chatting for a while but then got back to mum’s. The girls’ dad let me know he would be having them overnight and so I went to pick Megan up from her party and when I got back to mum’s, he was just arriving there too. I saw both the girls off and then stayed at mum’s for the evening to save on petrol and picking Chris up from work. At 9pm I went to get Chris but we popped back to mum’s as I’d offered up Chris’ services for fixing the pipe under her sink. After a quick look and removal of a few pipes, we headed home and sat together to watch some TV. We eventually headed to bed, to end our week!

That sums up my week haha. I’m sure I missed stuff but that’s the general jist. As usual these days, it was a good week and I look forward to the next one!

7/52

February 15, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Two beautiful pictures this week. Lily’s taken in the toilet (whoops) when we all went out for Valentine’s breakfast and Megan’s taken in the new Ravenclaw dress I’d just made for her. My little girls are growing up and they are so beautiful. I’m so proud of them both.

Cakes Recently…

May 4, 2014 by Bel 1 Comment

As you know, last year I sort of got myself into a bad habit of making people birthday cakes! It was definitely accidental and I both love it and hate it all at the same time. This year so far, I’ve made about 6 cakes already, though I’ve only really posted about two of them here.

The first of the year, was for Lily’s birthday party on 1st March. She loves Frozen and so I made her a Frozen themed birthday cake.

Obviously I started Lily’s birthday cake in the last week of February. During that week, very last minute, I was also informed it was someone I work with’s 30th birthday. Of course it was then somehow my responsibility to make the cake! As it was only a colleague and not a friend of family member, I didn’t feel obliged to make some huge masterpiece. Instead I settled for a simple chocolate caramel sandwich cake.

In fact, I say Lily’s was the first of the year, but I actually ended up making a Valentine’s cake too in early February. I’m not really classing this as one of my cakes though, as Megan was the one making it and I just helped out. That said, I definitely had a major hand in its creation, so I suppose that should feature in this list.

Anyway, after Lily’s Frozen cake at the beginning of March, the fun began (I say fun in a very loose way…). Amy‘s birthday was next, in the middle of March. For that I knew I wanted to do something special, not only because she is my best friend but also because she didn’t get one the year before! In the end I settle on doing a Peter Pan silhouette cake.

Despite many disasters, I got there in the end. It wasn’t exactly how I’d pictured it, but it was okay all things considered. Amy liked it and ultimately that was the main thing. You can see my whole post about this cake here.

After all the work and effort I put into Amy’s cake, I was genuinely exhausted. The last thing I felt like doing was making another cake, but in less than a week it was Chris’ birthday. Though he insisted he didn’t want a cake, I didn’t have the heart to not make him one at all. Chris is a bit of a geek and so I decided on a very simple idea (it was actually Megan’s idea) to do a Minion – from Despicable Me. I originally made both a rectangle and a circle cake, but in the end only used the rectangle one. I rounded off one end, covered it in chocolate buttercream and then iced it with blue and yellow. It didn’t turn out too bad, considering it didn’t take very long and it was definitely low maintenance.

Finally, I got a break from cakes for a while. I knew my mum’s was towards the end of April, but otherwise nothing! Okay, so its only a months break, but honestly I was glad for it.

When the week of mum’s birthday swung around, I asked her what kind of cake she’d like. She isn’t the sort to want something in the shape of something, or a certain theme, so I at least knew it would be fairly simple. She said she didn’t mind, something with fresh cream. I know she was just trying to make things easy for me really. I went away to think about it and even have a bit of a google. For some reason Tiramisu came up under one search. I then had this crazy idea to make a Tiramisu cake, knowing that she would love it and so would Chris, my brother and I – all the people who would be there the evening of her birthday.

I plan to post properly about mum’s cake, including the recipe so you can try it yourself – so make sure you look out for that post soon! I’m really pleased with how it turned out and it tasted delicious!

Last but not least, my brother’s girlfriend Erika, had her birthday this week and her party yesterday. I couldn’t let it pass without making a cake. I was originally going to make her a Big Bang Theory cake but changed my mind.She is a huge sweet fan, especially Haribo and especially Golden Bears.

I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be a box, a bag or a bowl when I first started off. However it ended up as a sort of bowl I guess. I actually ended up putting the lid of my cookie jar on the top, making it look like a cupcake which was pretty cool! Anyway, inside it was pink and white stripes and I was very pleased with it!

I’m hoping my next cake won’t be until the beginning of June. The only birthday in May is my own and I think Nat will be dealing with that cake (current plan is a set of boobs.. don’t ask!). My brother’s birthday is June 9th and I imagine we’ll be having a Superhero murder mystery. As such, I would think a superhero cake will be in order!

Do you make cake? What’s your best creation so far?

Valentine’s Murder Mystery

March 20, 2014 by Bel Leave a Comment

So this post is well overdue, but I do like to document all our Murder Mystery parties in some way or another. The day after Valentine’s Day, I hosted a couples Murder Mystery. It was just for 6 of us, 3 couples. The murder mystery that we chose to do was one called Sour Grapes of Wrath and I’d downloaded it from the internet for free, some time ago.

The party was made up of myself and my partner Chris…

… my brother Chris and his girlfriend Erika…

… and my best friend Nat and her partner Tom.

The first thing that stood out about this murder mystery game, was that we didn’t have to dress too over the top for a change. I don’t think anyone spent anything when it came to costume.

Also, because it was only six of us, cooking was so much easier. I did breaded camembert for starters and then for mains we tried out an oil fondue. This is basically the same as any other fondue you might have tried, cheese or chocolate etc. However in the fondue pot you place boiling hot oil instead and you serve small slices of uncooked meat, prawns, mushrooms and onions etc. We had so much fun cooking our own food, using the various dips and more importantly, stealing each others dinner as it fell off our forks!

As for the murder mystery, this was our scenario and characters.

The Scenario:

One year ago, Robert Killingsworth bought the farm. Six months later, he was dead – leaving his widow, Elizabeth, to tend to their fledgling winery and vineyard on the outskirts of California’s wine country. With mounting debts and no clue as to how to run a business, Elizabeth is desperate to sell the farm and recoup her losses. The fierce drought and shaky economy, however, have left the Killingsworth Farm on the market for far too long.

One early autumn day, six people passed through the gates of Killingsworth Farm to see Elizabeth – one of them, a cold-blooded Killer…

Those Present at Killingsworth Farm:

Michael Nightshade: This real estate developer from New York arrived unannounced with plans to buy Killingsworth Farm and develop it into a low-cost housing community. His boss ordered him to obtain the Killingsworth land at any price…

Dr. Chelsea Barren: After suffering a nervous breakdown, this psychiatrist and best-selling author moved to Northern California to relax… but she moved next door to the Killingsworths instead.

Vicki D’Adly: Elizabeth’s estranged sister from New Jersey, she and her husband were traveling on vacation when Vicki decided to drop by Killingsworth Farm for a visit… a surprise visit.

Norman D’Adly: A real estate broker from New Jersey and husband to Vicki, Norman is trying to salvage his job and his marriage while traveling across the country on vacation.

Kathryn Lawless: Best friend to Elizabeth, this local librarian and historian has a flare for the eccentric. She lives down the road with her 15 cats and loves true crime – especially the mysterious, unsolved death of Robert Killingsworth

Enrique Graves: This young drifter wandered onto Killingsworth Farm just as Robert and Elizabeth were moving in. Elizabeth took a liking to Enrique and he has lived on the farm ever since – tending to the fields… among other things.

We had a huge amount of fun and although the murder mystery itself was fairly average, we’ve definitely done far worse. While I love the huge big murder mysteries we do, there was something to be said for a nice small one too.

Watch this space for more of our murder mystery party updates!

Week 7 – Monday Round-Up

February 17, 2014 by Bel 1 Comment

I can’t believe that another week has passed by! 7 weeks of 2014 gone by in a flash! It’s been a busy sort of a week, but at the same time I’m pleased its gone by so fast as its been the last week of work/school before half term (which we’re now officially in – woohoo!).

Monday it snowed! For quite a while too, though it didn’t end up settling for long. I was at work but I took out the bins, just to dance in the snow! My friend Nat came around in the evening and we discussed a Blog that we are thinking of starting together! Tuesday we had decided to try out the new KFC in Gainsborough. The kids, Chris and I all got a 10 piece bucket and munched away on it at home.

Wednesday I took part in my first ever LBloggers Twitter chat! It was a lot of fun and I’m hoping to participate again soon! Chris and I also decided that we would buy each other fence panels for Valentine’s Day (not even joking!). The terrible wind we’ve had these last few months has caused absolute havoc.

Thursday we went to buy said fence panels, only to find out that the standard panels for sale at B&Q wouldn’t actually fit! We did however buy an M&S meal for £20 and enjoyed that the same evening. I also tried to re-ombré my hair, but guess what… it didn’t work again! My blog hit 300 followers that day too! On top of that my Blogiversary Giveaway ended and I announced the winner the following day!

Friday was Valentine’s Day, which I wrote about here already. It was the last day of work and school (a celebration in itself), the kids and I had takeaway and a movie night, it was a Perfect Day. Saturday we had a small, couples only, Murder Mystery. It was called Sour Grapes of Wrath, a Murder Mystery for 6 people and it was free to download. It was really nice to get together with friends, the murder mystery itself was pretty good and it made a refreshing change not to have to go all out on costume!

Also, we actually got ourselves fence panels! As it was so windy earlier in the week, we’d only lazily measured the panels. I got off my butt and measured them properly on Saturday, so Chris and I headed to B&Q to buy 3 new ones. At some point we’ll have to replace the other 5 but at least that’s not such a rush.

Noticed as I was taking the pic that one of the panels is the opposite way around to the other two!

Sunday I managed a sort of lie in (the kind where you force yourself back to sleep every half an hour). I then picked up the kids from mum’s, bringing them home only to end up cooking endless cakes all afternoon. The kids then headed off to their dad’s for a few days and Nat came around again to discuss our blog!

I love this picture of the kids on Sunday – a beautiful sunny day – as we walked to the local shop for eggs.

I had a lovely week and I’m looking forward to this one to come. It’s half term now and I’m looking forward to catching up with friends, working on my blog, spending time with the kids and Chris, relaxing and enjoying some time off! I hope you all have a nice week!

My Perfect Valentines

February 14, 2014 by Bel 1 Comment

So it’s February 14th and that means its Valentines Day (amoungst other things I’m sure). For me, Valentine’s Day is a strange mixture of emotions.

Source

When I was younger, teenager and older, Valentine’s Day was always a little bit of a disappointment. Would you get a card through your door? Would it be from a handsome stranger or just your mum? If you had a boyfriend, your card would of course be obligatory… so really, Valentine’s Day wasn’t really as big as all the hype.

I’ve had some nice Valentine’s Days over the years. With my first husband we would always go out for dinner on the day. With my second husband, we could never go out on the day, because one of us (or both of us) were working, since our trade was Hospitality and Catering. However, we did actually get married on Valentine’s Day (a whole story in itself!). When we split up, I celebrated anti Valentine’s Day with my GBF and that always involved a lot of wine!

I’m not officially divorced yet, but my ex and I have been separated for nearly four years. Its technically still our Wedding Anniversary but of course that doesn’t really mean anything any more. Now I have a new partner and we try to celebrate… but for both last year and this year, Chris has been working on Valentine’s Day.

As I said before, I have very mixed emotions about the day itself, so I don’t tend to let it phase me that we can or can’t celebrate Valentine’s. In fact, this year Chris and I even agreed to not do presents, only cards (even though he brought me a present anyway!). We joked about buying some much needed fence panels for our house, that as you can see we desperately need…

However, my Valentine’s Day celebrations have run over two days in the end. Starting yesterday, Chris and I bought an M&S meal (as I seem to do every year, no matter whether together with someone or single). For £20 we got a starter of Breaded Camembert, followed by Mains of Ribeye Steak and Side of Chips (we were naughty and got a second side of Garlic Mushrooms too). For Dessert we got Salted Caramel Profiteroles and of course bought some cream to go with them. Finally we got a bottle of Rioja and a small box of chocolates.

The food was amazing, as would be expected from Marks and Spencer. Chris also surprised me with a DVD gift, even though we’d said we wouldn’t get each other anything. We didn’t do anything other than that, no movie night or special plans. It was just nice to share a special meal and sort of mark the time of year at least. At midnight we exchanged cards and then went to sleep!

Today has obviously been Valentine’s Day itself. I made the girls a card each (well I printed one out for them from this site) and left it on the table for them to wake up and see this morning. I made heart sandwiches for their lunch boxes. We have then all spent the day at school/work etc. though it was nice for me at least as I got to make cookies all day.

After picking up the kids from school, we came home and got changed into our PJs (we got soaked in the rain!). We then settled on the sofa to pick an adequate chick flick for the evening, finally ordering take away before we began the movie. Though the original intention was only to get stuffed crust pizza (this was their Valentines Meal request, earlier in the week), at the last minute Megan decided she wanted chicken nuggets too and Lily asked for doner meat! We settled down to watch the movie, food arriving about mid-way. Under a duvet we snuggled up, ate our food and enjoyed Ella Enchanted.

By the end of the movie, we were all stuffed. The girls both enjoyed the film choice and we’d had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Lily went to bed pretty much straight away and Megan an hour later. Though I spent about 2 hours by myself before Chris came home from work, I haven’t felt lonely. As always, time with Chris and time with the girls is perfect. My Perfect Valentines.