A Very Vintage Birthday

Cousin's Eve and Jago going through jewellery at Lou Lou's Vintage Fair, Bristol

I've had an lovely, long weekend for my birthday. It kicked off on Friday with a day off work; what better start could there be than that?!

The pale winter sun shone down from a light blue sky that morning, as I walked over to Stokes Croft to a drop off point with a pair of Sam's boots for Calais refugee aid. (Please see the bottom of this post for details).

From there, I looked around the shops in Cabot Circus, before getting the bus over to my sister's house in Southville. 

When I arrived Claire had set up a wonderful treat for me. She is a trained masseuse and gave me a back massage in their lovely, airy attic, which has fantastic views of Bristol. Afterwards we headed downstairs for a dairy free afternoon tea with prosecco. The afternoon tea was divine. My favourite sandwich is tuna fish - she had made tuna fish on apple cider sour dough bread (Mark's Bakery, Bristol) - they were incredible. We spent a few hours together, just sitting on her sofa, drinking herbal tea and chatting. It was so good, and I feel thankful that my sister is just down the road, so that we can spend more time together.

My birthday was on Saturday, the weather was bright but really, really cold. When I put Eve in her high chair for her breakfast, she looked up at me and said, 'I love you, Mummy.' This was pretty much the best birthday present that I could have wished for.

Daddy came downstairs and sang 'Happy Birthday' to me, then we got ourselves ready to head down to Lou Lou's Vintage Fair at Temple Meads. We're really lucky as Temple Meads is just a few stops from our house by bus.

We queued outside in the cold for a bit, but were pleasantly surprised when we finally made it inside the Passenger Shed. As we had arrived at opening time it was quite quiet and we had space to look around some of the stands before it got too busy - this is always a bonus when pushing a pram.

My sister and her little boy Jago arrived to meet us, so we treated ourselves to cream teas.

Lou Lou's Vintage Fair - http://www.thevintagefair.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/760972970713295/

Me and Eve looking through the jewellery

I've never gone to something like this on my birthday before, but I must say it was really fun and we all enjoyed it. Eve and Jago loved looking through the jewellery and generally had a great time. My sister and I both bought some jewellery which were 'quite different' and appealed to us.

We made it all the way there and back home without any 'accidents', so Sam and I were proud of Eve. I was slightly nervous, as she did drink a lot when we were at the fair, but when I took her into the ladies bathroom to try to use her portable potty, she got very upset. So we bailed on that idea.

The Passenger Shed is such a fantastic grade I listed venue. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as part of Temple Meads train station (built 1839 - 1841). 

I've been there quite a few times over the years; when the sun shines down from the skylights it feels ethereal, it's so beautiful.

Sam and Jago

The Passenger Shed, Temple Meads

On Saturday afternoon when we arrived home, the online photo album that I've been compiling throughout last year had been posted through our door. The iphone ban for Eve is still going strong, but she still wants to look at photos multiple times a day.

When I set up the new album for printing last week online, I added a super gloss finish to the entire book. It looks almost laminated and is very shiny, but already we are seeing the benefits. It is more durable than normal printed paper, which means that we can leave Eve flicking through the pages, without the worry that she is going to tear it. It can also be wiped down, which is very useful against sticky little fingers. Whilst Eve enjoys looking through photos of family and friends in this album, I'm already beginning the next one, for 2016.

Mummy and Eve looking through photos of 2015

After putting Eve to bed on Saturday evening, I drank a dirty martini with Sam and then jumped in a taxi to meet Jilly and Claire for dinner. Unfortunately Laura couldn't make it as she was ill, so we missed her, but had a good time chatting about our little ones and drinking cocktails.

This was our first evening out together in over 4 years - aye caramba!

Eve was a wonder of the world on Sunday morning. When she woke up she sang for maybe half an hour to 45 minutes whilst I dozed in bed. I got up with her just after 8am - the longest lie in for a while - if only I had gone to bed earlier though I could have felt the rewards; thats always the way isn't it?

I felt rather worse for wear throughout Sunday, but very happy for spending time with family and friends over the course of the weekend. 

It poured with rain all of yesterday, so we spent the time playing with Eve at home. She is such a funny thing and had us laughing throughout the day. She ate really well all weekend, had no accidents and surprised me by telling me all the 'action' words on the intro to 'Show Me, Show Me,' which is one of her favourite tv shows. These were really our big achievements of the weekend.

If you are in Bristol please donate before 7th February - it's easy to drop off walking boots and hardy shoes at the reception inside Hamilton House (The Canteen).