A weekend of weddings (part one)

Way back in March Mum came to stay and we spent a blissful weekend exploring, shopping and talking all things wedding.

As much as the wedding is top of my thoughts most days I'm keen for Lost and Found to remain truly as it is, a rambling collection of musings about my life in general - never fear this won't become a purely wedding based blog space.

That being said, I did want to share with you some of the images from this particular weekend.

I took the afternoon off on Friday and ventured down to Knightsbridge to meet Mother. I tried on a few dresses and we drank a glass of fizz or two but generally the experience wasn't quite what I'd hoped and I came away feeling pretty down on the whole thing. It's amazing what trying on dresses next to a size 6 girl, while all the dresses in the showroom are a maximum of a size 8, can do for an average size girl.

To compensate we headed for an early evening wander around the V&A followed swiftly by a cream tea. I was feeling so rubbish about my waistline by this stage that there was no holding me back. Bring on the clotted cream.

The Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny so we headed for Kensington Olympia as I had bought us tickets for the National Wedding Show. Still reeling from the changing room meltdown which took place the day before I was in no mood for trying on dresses but some kind words from a lady on the Berketex Bride stand had me in a gown in no time. Although it didn't turn out to be the dress of my dreams this experience immediately put me in a happier place for the day ahead.

Mum and I had arrived early so took our seats in the front row for the fashion show which was pretty amazing and really showcased all the different types of dresses there are available these days. Mum had the chance to get some inspiration for her MOTB get-up and there was even some Suits for The Boy.

It was a lovely morning and we came away with lots of leaflets to peruse over lunch. I must confess we only lasted a couple of hours as the venue had started to fill up and there's only so much Wedding paraphernalia two women can take before needing a cup of tea and a sit down.

We strolled along Kensington High Street, stopping off at My Old Dutch for a pancake and Zara for a bargain before resting our legs in Hyde Park near Kensington Palace.

We even stopped off at Reiss to do a covert store visit and for Mum to see the original Biba fountain which takes pride of place on the womenswear floor.

It was a lovely day, full of laughs and giggles and really got me excited for all the wedding planning ahead.

The Love list

As I've mentioned in some of my recent posts I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest of late. 

I've always been a fan of scrapbooking and I guess websites like Pinterest are only the natural online progression of this interest. I find inspiration for so many areas of my life on this site it's unreal - but I do sometimes find it difficult to actually put anything that I've found to good use. Because of this I've decided to start up the Love List again, a regular post where I can have the chance to show you what I've been finding, what I've been loving and what I've actually been doing lately.

So lets get started with...The Spiralizer
Hold the phone: this kitchen utensil has CHANGED MY LIFE. 
That's right, capitals.

Although this piece of equipment takes up a ginormous amount of room in the kitchen cupboard, it is so so worth it. I've used it at least once a week since I bought it and my daily intake of vegetables has definitely increased, which can only be a good thing.

LOTD
There's been a severe lack of outfit posts on the blog of late but now that Zsa Zsa and I don't work together, I am yet to find a suitable alternative photographer to take my look of the day images. Zsa and I have some dates planned specifically for this purpose but it's not really the same to not have my lunchtime companion for a wander in the city. I can't wait to get some of my latest ensembles up on the blog so watch this space.

Honeymooning
Naturally, I've found myself thinking a lot lately about honeymoon destinations over recent weeks. After extensive research, I've sort of got my heart set on Burma. Only problem is, we're getting married in rainy season so we may have to settle for a mini-moon followed by the actual honeymoon later in the year. That is, if I can persuade The Boy that this is the honeymoon he wants too!

Hen Do (Not Hen Don't)
I've also been busy hen do planning with the girls (naturally, I already have a plan) which will obviously include some sort of fancy dress. Not sure on the theme yet but some form of Romy and Michelle/Clueless/Desperately Seeking Susan fashion mash up would be amazing. Fancy dress doesn't have to be tacky, throw in a spot of planning and some creativity and it can actually be great fun.

So there you have it, lots of daydreaming and planning and some real, live cooking! Who would have thought it, there is life outside of the realms of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Bridesmaid brunch

A few weeks ago the day finally dawned when I was to ask my chosen girls to be my bridesmaids.

Having sent them all texts telling them to meet me at my flat at a specific time it was with great excitement that I spent Friday night and most of Saturday morning cleaning the flat and setting the scene.

I wanted to create the feel of a party or celebration with food and drink to match that I knew they'd all love, so I settled on a variety of cakes, scones and clotted cream, gallons of tea and some fizz (although clearly not enough).

Obligatory mini Welsh cakes

As usual, I over-catered and we ended up with food to feed at least ten people. Having gone through three bottles the girls were unanimous, next time there needs to be less cake and more fizz. Even though it was only 11am, clearly my cake to fizz ratios were all wrong.

I made the girls a photo frame each as a gift using pictures of us together that I edited and had prints made of on Zazzle. They turned out really well and I'm thinking of doing one for myself with a group picture of all of us.

We've got many a dinner/shopping spree in the diary but mostly I just can't wait to spend the next 15 months planning (and laughing) with these four weirdos.

The proposal

So.

On Christmas Day The Boy asked me to marry him.

And I did not see it coming!

You would think, after months of secretly hoping he would pop the question, I would spot it coming a mile off but The Boy did good and managed to pull the whole thing off without a hitch.

He asked me whilst we opened presents, in front of my family and with all of his unsuspecting relatives on Skype. It was lovely, perfect and more than I could ever deserve. 

The past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind of engagement drinks and get-to-gethers, whilst also fitting in going back to work, but we've already been thinking about venues, compiling our guest list and just generally figuring out what on earth kind of day we imagine it to be. For me, it's been so much fun. Finally I can put all those Pinterest boards to good use.

To be totally honest, it's more overwhelming than I'd originally thought - but I'm still loving every minute. The Boy? Not so much. Wedding planning/planning in general is not really his thing. As long as his nearest and dearest are there, there's good food and drink and a spot of dancing, he'll be happy. To be fair that's all I really want too.

Here's a few pics from the occasion - you can expect plenty more updates on how the planning is going over the coming weeks.

2012, the year gone by

2012 seemed both long and short at the same time, filled with spectacular moments of joy and sadness - but mostly, I loved it. Better late than never, here's a recap of some of my highlights.

Clockwise from top left: A trip to Dublin - Going on an egg hunt - A blustery day in Brighton - Climbing to the top of Glastonbury Tor (which I hope to do again this year) - The Hobbs AW12 press day - The Boy's birthday - The Nelly launch party with my wonderful girls - My very first homemade trifle

Clockwise from top left: Anti-gravity yoga (the most hilarious form of exercise ever) - Drinks on the rooftops of London town - All things Jubilee - A sunny day in Richmond - Rollarcoasters with Zsa for The Boy's birthday - Canoeing with family and friends - A trip down the river - The work Jubilee lunch

Clockwise from top left: A gorgeous wedding in France - Ballgowns at the V&A - A fantastic family holiday - Seeing the Swans of Wells - Sunrise over the gardens - Picnics in the park - Olympic fever comes to London - Welcoming the Olympics with drinks and dancing...on a boat

 Clockwise from top left: Miss Kimber becomes Mrs Holloway - A sunny trip to Bicester - Another amazing wedding - The Shining in West Brompton Cemetary - The most amazing birthday cake ever - Bobby and Caroline tie the knot - Afternoon tea for my birthday - A disastrous (but hilarious) cocktail making class

Clockwise from top left: Running the Royal Parks Half Marathon - Sheep on Oxford Street for Wool Week - My last night with the Hobbs girls - Wells carnival - Christmas in Manchester- The gift I've waited all year for - Grandad's 90th birthday - The Boy and I, ready for our close up

Sorry for all the pictures but 2012 had so many magical moments it was hard to narrow it down to only a few!

Wedding number 5: Sweets for my sweet

On Thursday night The Boy and I escaped the madness of London and headed west to Somerset to go to our final wedding of the year, that of Tony and Nicola, in Clevedon on Friday.

Clockwise from top left: The happy couple - The gorgeous church - There are no words - The newlyweds travel in style

Tony and The Boy have been friends for years and it was really nice that we could both go along and share in their special day.

On Friday morning, as we nipped along the motorway crammed into Michael's sister's car, I was more than a little apprehensive. Dressing for a winter wedding is tricky enough but with storm clouds overhead there was more than a possible chance rain could stop play. Or at least ruin my shoes. Luckily, although it was drizzling when we arrived at the picturesque St Andrews church, by the time the service was over the sun had made an appearance just in time for photos (although it was still freezing). The reception was just down the road at the gorgeous Clevedon Hall, an amazing venue that used to be a school. It really took my breath away and was not at all what I was expecting.

Clockwise from top left: The gorgeous Clevedon Hall - Cheers to the future - The sweetie room - Gemma and Brad

Both Tony and Nicola are teachers and although there were few children in attendance you could really see the couple's sense of fun in the many surprises and treats that greeted guests throughout the day. There was a Sweets room we were encouraged to help ourselves to a cone full of our favourite childhood sweets, a play doh competition for guests to create their own sculpture of the day (mine won most original idea, naturally) and even a quiz to take part in over dinner. Even the wedding favours were bottles of Tony's favourite sauce, Heinz tomato ketchup.

Clockwise from top left: My ensemble of choice for wedding number 5 - The Groom, The Boy and his friends, don't they scrub up well! - Cute wedding favours - The gorgeous cake - Would you like ketchup with that? - The Bride and Groom - Beautiful blooms - The happy couple

The day was truly wonderful and it was nice to get to spend some time getting to know some of the people The Boy holds dear. 

I've only ever met Tony and Nicola a handful of times but in his speech Tony mentioned a story about when he and Nicola were exploring London and helped rescue some baby ducklings from a drain and it was at this point that it became clear that these two really are my kind of people.

 Clockwise from top left: Greek Meze - Priddy lamb and chedder mash - Ketchup on everything, no really - Anyone for cheese? - The play doh competition got very competitive - The first dance - My competition entry - Belgian waffle with ice cream, delicious!

Congratulations Tony and Nicola, wishing you every happiness for your lives together.