Filling in the blanks

It's hard, when you take a blogging hiatus, to start up again after so much has gone on in between. So much has happened that I've missed out reporting on - it was probably the most exciting time of my life. But I promise soon it will be as though I was never gone ;)

Seth is 4 months old next week and keeping me busy every day from dawn til dusk and the hours in between. I'll be blogging soon about how it took a while to get into my groove but nowadays I am enjoying every second of being at home with my boy. 

It's hard to believe that I'm nearly half way through my maternity leave, but we are definitely making the most of it. Our days are filled with long walks, baby groups, family visits and lots of play time to help Seth's development. 

I've made some great new friends through several groups and met some of the loveliest ladies ever that I can definitely say are now friends for life. It's amazing how babies can bring so many people together that you never would have met otherwise. 

So the blog is definitely back and I have so much to talk about. After all, I need something to keep me occupied during the night feeds ;) 

Dans x

7 months later....

Time flies...

So I stopped running after injuring my knee back in November and was out for around five weeks. I know I should have kept blogging but I had lots going on at work that threw me off track. 

And then this happened. 

I got pregnant!

I had a lovely trouble free pregnancy but ran into complications at 36+2 and this little man was brought into the world at 9.50pm on Friday 18 July, weighing 5lbs 7.

Seth Stephen Caldwell

I knew I should have started blogging again way before now as my pregnancy was so exciting and it's a real shame that I didn't. But I think it's finally time so here I am and I'm ready to introduce Seth's life to you all. 

Dans x

Christmas is a'coming

Every year my sis and I take my mum into town to give her a chance to do her Christmas shopping. Because she's not very able bodied I didn't want her to have to do all of her shopping online, so we make a day of it and try to get as much bought as possible. This said, because she only sees the shopping mall once a year, half of the day is spent with her saying 'oo I didn't know that shop was there' and 'where has that shop gone?' which is really funny. 

We spent about a zillion hours in John Lewis before going to the new Turtle Bay which has just opened in our food quarter. DC and I wanted to go for our anniversary but it always books up really quickly and  lots of friends I know have always had a problem getting in because its Caribbean food is so popular. 

I had curried goat and it was sooo yummy. It was pretty spicy but really filling and only £6.50. I will definitely go there again and again because there's so much on the menu that looks tempting. 

We helped mum around to gather up her Santa gifts and then it was my turn to rummage through Topshop, I was obviously not going to miss that opportunity. 

I've had my eye on this since it came into the New In collection at Topshop at the start of the week:

I didn't think they would have it in store because sometimes new things online take a while to come in but here it was and I fell in love. 

So into the basket from Santa it went. I also picked up some dark acid wash Leigh jeans as the Leigh range fit me soooo well. And I picked up the Runway Coral lippy from Clinique too as I fell in love with it in July after buying it for my friends. The only bad thing with choosing Christmas presents early is you have to wait forever for the Big Day to come around, so I'm really excited now. Thanks mum and dad I mean Santa. 

Here's me and my sis enjoying a coffee and half a muffin. Love this lady. 

We had such a lovely day and I think mum will definitely sleep well tonight!! 

Dans x

Time flies when you're having fun

I had such a jam packed weekend I didn't get a chance before now to tell you what I have been up to (or time to do any exercise but I'll list that as an excuse more than anything;))

I was glad when Friday was over as last week was a mega busy one at work. I love being busy but am not particularly fond of the mental exhaustion that comes with it. My bestest friend ever came round on Friday and we drove to Sainsburys to stock up on Christmas decorations. I have completely failed and gone against everything I believe in as I caved I to temptation and didn't wait until 1 December to add to my Christmas collection. But I haven't bought my presents yet so at least I'm doing well there. 

We cooked a prawn korma curry from the November weightwatchers magazine and it was completely yummy. 

It was so simple to make. In a pan went some green beans, shredded carrots and korma paste, before in went a can of lighter coconut milk and if you simmer it for a little while it should start to thicken. It didn't. So we left it a bit longer worrying that we would have a curry soup but once we added the prawns it thickened up lovely. I dry fried some desiccated coconut and sprinkled it over e top before serving with rice. Quick and easy. Not mega cheap, but nice for a one off although I'd definitely cook it again. DC doesn't like korma so maybe I'll do a spicier one for him. 

Saturday was DC and my 5 year anniversary. 5 years, wow. 5 years since DC rocked up in his old car with a plaster on his head from splitting his head open and spending hours in a Sheffield a&e. I kid you not. He also told me he only smoked 1 a day. Yeahhh ok DC!

I was quite upset because DC didn't get me a card. He said he "thought we weren't doing cards any more" which is funny because a) that conversation never took place and b) we have always bought each other a card. 

We went to visit my grandparents as we do every other Saturday and when I got out of the shower these were waiting for me:

Otherwise known as guilt flowers. 

I love how DC was obviously panic buying because he bought me a card that says "on YOUR anniversary" but it's the (late) thought that counts, right?

We went into town that evening to celebrate, went for meatballs and pasta at Ask (after being turned away from 3 full restaurants - so busy and it's not even December yet!) and then went to watch The Hunger Games. It was brilliant. Not enough love stuff in it for me but less gore than the first one which was good for me because I don't like that kind of stuff. 

Sunday I went for an hour long walk at our national park with my sis, which we have turned I to a weekly thing. It was lovely and fresh but you soon warm up after a while. We walked 5.5km and I love catching up with my sis. 

DC and I drove to Dunelm to buy some blinds - we have thought about it for so long and I just said stuff it, let's go. We were going to buy made for measure blinds but weren't too fond of he cost, so we bought 3 blinds for our lounge window and it came to £50 - not bad at all and not too much to be mega gutted if we went wrong on them when trimming them down. 

DC's brother had done the same for him blind so we knew it was doable but my word I did not envisage DC's cutting skills to be so completely dire. Even with the blinds bound and a straight line drawn down for the cut, he couldn't stick to the line. So I took over... And then the hacksaw broke. So we recruited DC's friend from around the corner who brought him hacksaw round and proceeded to cut his thumb open with it. By this point we were a little bit stressed. When they were cut we started to drill into the ceiling - after an hour of measuring - to find that there was a metal plate in the ceiling stopping up from drilling where we needed to. Cue another half an hour of re-measuring. 

It only took 4.5hours...

But now they are done and they look amazing!!! (If you see any uneven lines then it is your eyes and not my cutting skills ;)) we are so pleased with them. We can keep our curtains open now so we don't block the heat plus we can have our candles on all night long. 

We finally finished just in time for 9pm and shared a huge Caramel Sutra Ben n Jerrys ice cream pot and settle down to watch the new Star Trek movie......and I fell asleep 15 mins in. 

Perfect weekend!

Dans x

It's the season to go dress shopping

So I know I did a whole post complaining about Christmas coming early but I put dress shopping for the season in a completely different category. You wait til 1 Dec to start Christmas shopping, but you can start dress shopping whenever you want to. I give permission. 

It usually takes such a long time to find the perfect dress for your work Christmas do, and New Year's Eve, that it's normal to start scouting early. I wanted something different, fashionable and relatively cheap. I know, I know... Hello Topshop. 

But first I checked out Zara online and came across some of the most beautiful prints I've seen all year. 

The problem with my body shape is that I can't buy one size online and guarantee it will fit. Because I'm bottom heavy I tend to fit easily into 8s for flowing or a line dresses, although anything remotely snug and I could go up to a 10 or have that not fit either. The other problem is that our Zara store never seems to stock anything that I spot online. This was the case with all four of these dresses, and it was really disappointing to not find even one because I was so excited about trying them on. Maybe when I go to Birmingham in December I can scout a few out. 

So naturally, I went to Topshop. 

First I tried on this dress and LOVED it. The fabric, the style, the look... But I didn't like the way it looked on me. 

The front looked lovely but with my body shape when you turn to the side, the ruffles make you a) feel like big bird from Sesame St and b) look 6 months pregnant. So for £60 I didn't want to buy it and not feel completely comfortable. But I really did love it. 

The first dress I spotted was the one I ended up purchasing. I looked at it on the hanger thinking it wouldn't fit me but took it in with me because I loved it. 

It's VERY different but that's what I wanted. It's quite snug at the bottom and my lack of squats all throughout my life has led to a 95% chance of me buying some pull me ins and ups to help my bum pull up and body look more streamlined. Nevertheless I am in love with my new dress. It is velvet with a fringe bottom and looks darker without the camera flash, almost a plum colour. It's quite thin but I will team it with black tights and some trusty Topshop boots which will casual my look down a little. 

For £38 you can't go wrong. They also do this in a teal colour without the pattern, which is a great colour as well for the party season. 

I really didn't think DC would like this dress but he loved it when I tried it on. I'm really looking forward to my work Christmas party now on 5 December. I just hope I don't find something I love more in the meantime!

Dans x

How many Christmas crackers would it take to...

...blow up my house... The cul-de-sac... The city??? 

No really, I'm kidding, before this post gets flagged up for the word 'bomb' and the FBI turn up at my house. Honest, no blowing anything up here, move along. 

However, my question does have a point because I rushed to m&s in my lunch hour yesterday to grab some of their Christmas crackers I had spotted a. Few weeks ago. I know I promised to hold off on the Christmas shop but I really didn't want them to go out of stock, because for our bake off Christmas dinner that we host every year it has become quite a tradition for me to bring along some lovely m&s crackers that have a fun game inside that will keep us occupied for an hour after dinner with a stomach full of early turkey and mince pies. 

Last year the crackers included a game of Ludo where you all made a paper Christmas character and played away to your heart's content. 

This year it's the naming game where you write a famous person's name on your headband and have to ask questions to find out who you are, with everyone else only being allowed to answer yes or no. 

Sorry, I still haven't got to my point have I?

Well here it is. 

Me, Dani, aged 25 and 3 months, was ID'd for these crackers. 

Yes, you heard that correctly. Before being allowed to purchase these crackers, I had to hand over my driving license to prove I was "of age". 

I'm assuming the age limit is 18. Who knows. All I know is that I laughed, asked "are you serious, I'm 25" and then handed my license over to the apologetic self service assistant. 

Come on m&s. The only damage I am going to do with these is hit my sister over the head with one if she cracks open the colouring crayons and I end up with the leaping frog. 

Dans x

The name's Bond...

I spent my Friday afternoon on a three hour train to Bristol and spent my Friday evening in a £48m manor house equipped with casino tables, dodgems, and wine. Perfect? Definitely. 

This night was in aid of Whizz-Kidz, our company's charity partner who provide electric wheelchairs and other mobility equipment for disabled children up and down the Uk. They are an AMAZING charity and as charity coordinator for our company I absolutely love ousting the fundraising for this charity. 

But this James Bond themed night was something I couldn't take an ounce of effort for. It was all arranged by our Bristol branch manager, who organised everything perfectly right down to a tee. The venue was Grittleton house in Chippenham, belonging to the family of one of our Bristol colleagues, who very amazingly kindly let us use their home for the evening. 

 

I arrived around 5pm and was shown to my room, which are all converted stables on the grounds about a 5 minute way gravel paved walk away from the main house. The rooms were basic but held all of the original features. My rooms was super warm and had a bunk bed plus 2 single beds, as the grounds feature a private school where a lot of kids come over to England throughout the summer to learn and stay. 

I got all dressed up and we were driven down to the main house in time for the night to start at 7pm. It started with a drinks reception (wine and more wine) before we were seated ready for a three course meal. 

Butternut squash soup, veg lasagne and mascarpone cheesecake = my idea of a three course meal. Can you believe our branch manager organised all of this for 140 people? And even the fact that 140 people paid to come to this event all suited and booted in their black ties and cocktail dresses all for a Whizz-Kidz. 

Here's the super man himself. Between the courses I helped him gather raffle ticket sales, these were the only profit for the night as the ticket cost covered everything provided on the night, and I'm happy to say we raised almost £1,000 - amazing!!!!

An entertainment company were busy setting up casino tables in the balls while we were eating, and once the raffle was over we used the voucher each person got on their dinner table to get some chips and have fun (the chips were all handed back at the end and no money was used, so it was definitely all in the name of fun). I had no idea how to play any of these games and after half an hour I was a champion;)

Then it was time for the DODGEMS. 

As it's been about 10 years since I've been on these I completely forgot how much fun they are. Everyone had a great (slightly tipsy) run around them and no one came off without a smile on their face. I was a bit apprehensive at first about my dress and shoes (must check my borrowed dress for marks later) but I just went for it and I can't remember the last time I laughed that much. 

Here's me and my partner in crime Sales Director. 

We got to bed around 2am and were greeted in the morning to a freshly cooked hot breakfast. 

These cafe bars are the original horses' stables - such a great idea to convert it into a different room without affecting the original features. 

My colleague dropped me back off at the station for a 10:15 train and I made it back home for 1pm. It was the best work event I had been to a long time and was made even better by adding to our annual fundraising amount for Whizz-Kidz. 

Dans x