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Harry Potter Ball – take two

August 30, 2016 by Bel

As you may remember, I posted a little while ago about a Harry Potter convention and Ball that I went to with my best friend and two daughters. It was a little disappointing to be honest and left me feeling like I could have done better myself. Having talked it over with Nat (or maybe ranted in the car on the way home) we decided that maybe we should plan our own – perhaps for her 30th next year.

This got me to thinking about what I would wear – the changes to what I wore this time and what I could improve. The largest change of all, would be to lose some weight. We’re hoping in fact that this may motivate us! She got so many lovely compliments in the dress she was wearing, that I really want people to look at me and say the same. For that reason I would definitely pick the same dress. I have worn it twice now and I love it. However I definitely think I could do with some accessories so I’ve been doing some research.

Gryffindor Ball
Gryffindor Ball

I love the idea of a heavy piece for a necklace – something like this beautiful Victorian necklace from Berganza. I also love this cuff bracelet from House of Fraser and these ruby earrings from India Times to really give the Gryffindor vibe (I’m sorry, but I love red far too much to not be a Gryffindor). The ring probably isn’t that necessary to the outfit but I love to pull a bit more of the ruby in and this would be a nice subtle touch.

Since the girls are Ravenclaw and Slytherin (Lily is like me, torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin), I decided to look for some ideas for them too. They won’t be going to Nat’s 30th but just in case we find another decent Harry Potter ball to get invited too, I thought it would be nice for them to have accessories.

Ravenclaw accessories
Ravenclaw accessories

Megan is quite delicate so all the pieces I picked are delicate too. They all feature sapphires as I figured this suited Ravenclaw colours. Of course no ball outfit would be complete without Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem too.

Slytherin accessories
Slytherin accessories

Lily likes to be fierce in everything she does so I know she’d rock the brightness of the emerald pieces. The snake earrings (despite the fact her ears aren’t pierced yet) and the snake bracelet are by far my favourite choices. She also has a huge amount of hair so this beautiful comb would look great. Finally the necklace is nice and solid so it would hang nicely around her neck.

Sorry Hufflepuff but you lucked out. No one in our house is interested in being from Hufflepuff so I decided not to do one for you! Besides, really not a fan of Amber or yellow coloured stones either.

What would you pick if you were supporting your favourite Hogwarts House to a Yule Ball?

Filed Under: about me, lifestyle Tagged With: accessories, Berganza, bracelet, earrings, fashion, Gryffindor, hair comb, harry potter, Hogwarts, House of Fraser, hufflepuff, jewellery, necklace, Ravenclaw, rings, shopping, slytherin, Yule Ball

Week 30 – Monday Round-up

July 27, 2015 by Bel

This week has been a fab week and I’m hoping there are more to come! I’ve been very well behaved with my diet which is giving the motivation to continue and that in itself makes some days easier! Also the kids broke up from school this week and that has been so nice, spending loads of time together but more importantly, not even needing to get dressed on some days!!

On Monday Megan didn’t feel very well and so the girls didn’t go to school. Sure it was a little naughty to keep Lily off too but we were all wishing we were on Summer Holiday already that we probably needed a day! We were incredibly lazy and did nothing all day. It was actually very nice. However I did manage to get some sewing done and finally finished the Briar Rose cosplay outfit I was working on for Amy.

On the Tuesday, the girls went back to school and Chris was off work so we had one of those days when we got all sorts of little bits done. We took his drum kit to a friend’s house as he was selling it, we went shopping, we went out for lunch and eventually we headed back to pick the girls up from school. It was a nice day but I’d hoped to get loads more sewing done and that didn’t happen! I did however manage a lovely long bath in the evening, a read of my book and an early night.

Wednesday was the girls last day at school, so we headed out with presents and cards galore. Chris was at work all day and I had website training for the Saxilby School website, round at my mum’s house. The training took all morning and then after everyone left, Mum and I had lunch. In the afternoon we headed down to storage to sort it out, as we’re hoping to hand the keys back next week. It didn’t take half as long as we expected so I headed back to mum’s for another cup of tea before eventually going to get the girls. Once I picked them up we popped to the post office, to get petrol and then eventually to Pizza Hut. This is fast becoming our end of term/summer tradition as we’ve now been to Pizza Hut every summer for about the last five years!

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When we were finished, we headed home and it was still pretty early (especially since the girls were now on holiday time bed time) and we all settled down to chill. Lily went on her computer, Megan her iPad and I sat down to finish off the book I had been reading on Kindle. When it was time for Lily to head to bed we read some James and the Giant Peach which was the current bedtime read. Megan went a while later and eventually Chris got home from work and we headed to bed not long after.

On Thursday we were all wanting a lazy day (though Chris was at work) and so we did a whole lot of nothing till midday. However we got lunch, got dressed and headed out in the afternoon to get Megan’s ears pierced. She was incredibly brave and I was honestly so surprised. I bought her some extra earrings for when her ears are healed and she is allowed to change them, and also some magnetic ones for Lily so she didn’t feel left out.

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Since we’d paid for parking anyway, we went to get coffee from Costa. Megan had a Mint Choc Chip, while Lily had Belgian Chocolate, mine was technically the only coffee as I had a Caramel Latte. We shared a mint choc chip cake too and it was delicious. After we finished out coffee we walked around for a little bit but then headed home. Once we were home we unpacked some boxes from my car and started to go through them. They were a mixture of photos, scrap books and cuddly toys, as well as a box of my old memories, dating right back to school and including school reports and letters I’d received from friends.

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The rest of the day was just spend doing out own things, relaxing or getting work done etc. Next came Friday and that started off fairly lazy too. However both the girls needed showers as they were going to their dad’s house and we weren’t sure what the situation was with showering there (they just moved house!). We grabbed showers, packed a bag and then their dad arrived to take them away. Next came a message from Amy to say her and Liv were on time with train and since Chris was going down to catch the train they were getting off, I walked down with him and waited at the station.

Once Amy arrived (and Chris left), we went to Aldi on the way back and then came home. We didn’t do an awful lot with the day, just occupied Liv and chatted to catch up on the last few weeks. Eventually Liv went to bed, we had jacket potatoes for dinner and then chatted some more. The wine came out and Chris arrived home with even more for us. We all sat watching YouTube videos for Five Nights at Freddy’s and it was really nice.

The next day I woke up because Chris had a driving lesson. I got up and started to make some bows for the girls to wear to the cinema that day, but sadly it didn’t work out! The day ended up a bit rushed – heading out to get the girls from their dad, mum getting a flat tyre, coming home to get changed and heading out to the cinema again. However in the end it all worked out and we made it to the movie on time!

Everyone loved Inside Out and I was so glad we’d booked to see it early. To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up going to see it again! Once it was done (we stayed till the end but there was no extra clip!) we headed out and went for a walk around Scunthorpe. It wasn’t somewhere I had been before and I was curious as to what shops were available. We popped into Primark (and Chris did CEX) and then wandered back to the car. Even better it was free parking all day Saturday so I think it’s somewhere we would go again.

Picture taken from @livvybirdadventures Instagram

We came back home and once we’d settled, ordered takeaway. It was our one weekend treat but it was so good. There were burgers, chips, pizza, garlic bread and donner kebab. I was stuffed afterwards and knew I’d have put on several pounds! In the evening once everyone was in bed, Amy and I relocated to the dining room and I made the finishing touches to her Briar Rose dress (the zip and hem). After that we were all tired and so headed to bed.

In the morning, the kids all got up and since I stirred I figured I would get up too. Amy and I sat chatting as always and Chris went upstairs to play on his computer. Eventually I had to get the girls ready for going back to their dad’s for the day, so we left around 10.30am. By the time I came back, there wasn’t long before Amy needed to go, so we measured out the Wendy dress pattern so I could get on with that and figured out what else needed doing to her Snow White dress. After that I took Amy and Liv to the station, it was pretty miserable as it was raining. Once they had left, I went to Tesco and did some shopping, coming back and getting myself upset about how empty the house was!

Chris humoured me for a while so I wasn’t lonely but in the end I settled down to do absolutely nothing and just mong on my computer. The girls were back earlier than expected, so I had to figure out dinner for them. Chris went for a bath and the girls and I just spent the evening together. Finally the girls went to bed and Chris and I watched TV (well he did and I continued to do nothing on my computer). It was a nice end to a nice weekend but I’m looking forward to continuing on these nice days, for the next six weeks!

Filed Under: Monday Round-up Tagged With: Amy, Briar Rose, cinema, Claire's, cosplay, costa coffee, costume, Disney, ear piercing, earrings, Five Nights at Freddy's, friends, iced coffee, Inside Out, Liv, Pizza Hut, school holidays, scunthorpe, sewing, storage unit, summer holiday, vue

Hi, my name is Bel!


I’m a forty something, mother of two, self-confessed geek!

Here on my blog you’ll find;
books I’ve read, clothes I’ve made, movies I’ve watched, cakes I’ve baked, products I’ve tried, places I’ve been, pictures I’ve taken… plus lots and lots of DISNEY!!

I’m a lifestyle blogger – covering a little of everything I love <3

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