My Boyfriend Bouquet

It gets more and more difficult to figure out what to get each other for Valentine's Day especially when we set a very tight budget as there is no need to go all out for this day. Every day should be Valentine's Day really just without cards and gifts!

This year I made a boyfriend bouquet! I found this on Pinterest, a bouquet of all their favourite things! This had a t-shirt, socks, nuts, oatie biscuits, beers and a pack of letters to open at different times of the year. I had to tweak it to be a laying down bouquet as the beers were too heavy to hold up! He loved it - but what am I going to do for next year??!!

The Elliott's!!

First wedding of the year, The Elliott's!! Lovely day, especially as the visitors from across the pond were here to share the day too. The weather was good for the time of year but churches are cold! The meal was delicious and the pud was especially yummy!

As with all weddings the day flies by! Before we knew it they were cutting their half traditional, half Arsenal themed cake, the first dance happened and we were boogieing on the dance floor, with a cone of popcorn for the popcorn cart!

This was one of the few weddings we've been to where we were able to get a taxi home which was nice for a change.

Before the Americans left to explore other parts of Europe before flying back we had a last lunch which surprisingly not many people were suffering at, well one person was late and then proceeded to order the biggest thing on the menu! Needless to say it didn't get finished.

So all in all it was a great wedding weekend and The Elliott's I'm sure had a great time!

Christmas crafts

This years Christmas crafts for presents were quite difficult to decide what to do as I was struggling for ideas. There will get to a point where there won't be much left to make! 

I ended up finding a template for a remote control holder shaped like an owl which I thought was cool so attempted to make it. It turned out OK really, the shape of the head part could be a little better but I think it still resembles an owl!

On pinterest I also saw some Christmas decorations made out of scrabble tiles and gave those a go too, not sure how well they turned out or how well they travelled so hopefully they were still in one piece when they were unwrapped!

 The final thing I made this year wasn't a present but for our house. The prevent owners of our house had hooks on the mantle piece, I'm assuming for their stockings at Christmas which look a little untidy if they don't have anything hanging on them so I made a Christmas garland. It was a take on the one Kirsty made in her homemade Christmas programme but instead of hearts I went for bells. I think it turned out OK and looks good hanging from our mantle piece!

Save the date!!

We've booked the wedding!!! After searching many venues and visiting on open days and checking dates that were not too far away we have settled on Park Farmhouse Hotel which has a stunning barn for us to have the ceremony and evening reception in and pig sties for the wedding breakfast. We did see a lovely venue but if the weather is rubbish then there was very little inside space to use so we thought we'd go for the barn option as inside looks great and outside it is surrounded by fields that look great - and the racetrack!

So now it's time for people to save the date and us to get into gear and start looking for everything we need so signing off for now (mainly as we won't be doing much due to the lack of funds to now pay for said wedding) but be assured post wedding ala Arnie - I'll be back!

Holiday Baking

There is only a couple of days left of the summer break and time to think about everything we have done over the past 6 weeks. Obviously you want to do cool things all year and not just cram it into the 6 weeks but I think we have achieved a lot.

Over the summer we have stayed in 6 hotels and travelled to/through 4 countries - here in the UK then France, Belgium and Thailand.

We have finally taken the shed down!

We have been to only the one wedding this year - unlike the other year where we had 7!

Lots of Belgian beer has been drunk along with many a cocktail and an enormous amount of food has been eaten!

I have also made many baked goodies as the Bake Off is back in full swing. This includes cheddar and cheese scones, treacle and ginger tray bake, goats cheese and red pepper muffins, ciabatta rolls, pizza, Mediterranean tarts, double chocolate cheesecake and macaroons!!

Spa F1 - Race Report

Race day!! Wonder what will happen today - and what the weather will be like! We were all kitted up and ready. It was difficult to get a spot as it was busier as predicted but we headed back to our corner and settled there. It was great. Actually people think it's boring to watch cars just going round but because you can't fully hear the commentary or see the screen the whole time you actually lose track of who is where in the race. All we knew was that Lewis and Rosberg was battling it out and we could tell the different by spotting their gloves as they went round the corner! We were watching them go round and round then all of a sudden Lewis comes limping past with a flat tyre - what was going on!!!??? We went and had a quick look at the screen and from what we figured out there was some kind of beef between the Mercedes team mates - not so friendly team mates! Turns out Rosberg had hit Lewis!! The weather held out for a dry race but because of all the drama Ricciardo ended up winning! We'll watch the race back when we get home to see all the ins and outs of what happened and the possible backlash to Rosberg!

Last night in Nemur we headed into the square to get some food - this time we had some Italian Tex Mex - a fusion of some kind! It was good, interesting but lovely and another delicious cappuccino! We wandered a little more round Nemur city then headed to the shop to stock up on beer - as were weren't having to carry our cases, once they were on the coach we didn't have to drag them anywhere so we loaded them up with as much beer as we could!!

Going to our first F1 was great, we had so much fun and as we aren't adverse to camping anyway the weather doesn't really matter or spoil the mood so we loved it!!

Spa F1 - Qualifying Report

So going for the coach option meant our journey from home took forever!! But on the plus side we get on the coach, they drive us straight to the track, at the end of the day you get back on and don't need to think about getting home, it's all sorted.

Upon reflection my qualifying report is split into three sections - they day, the night and top tips.

The day

So our day was great, the journey to the track was good and entry was really easy. We wondered what the deal was once we were in but as soon as we were through the gate the track was right there! Having done some research before hand we decided to go to the Kimmel straight and settled ourselves on the hill for practice 3. It was good there but it was so busy and unless you are there at the crack of dawn it is difficult to get a good spot so we thought before qualifying we'd go investigating and see if there was anywhere else to sit. We ended up at corner 8/9 again on a steep slope but with a great view, not too far from a TV screen and also on the corner they had to slow down quite a bit so you actually see them approaching, round the corner then off again. We were all settled when the heavens opened - luckily we were equipped in full waterproofs! But then the rain turned to hail after qualifying had finished! We tried hiding in the woods with everyone else but this is when the coach comes in handy as you could strip off the waterproofs and just sit there! We had a great day, as did Rosberg on pole, experienced all weathers and saw the cars in their full glory. On our way wandering around the track during GP2 we were near another corner when a full on crashed happened - polystyrene everywhere and car in the tyre wall - luckily everyone was OK but it was a dramatic end to our Saturday at the track!

The night

Our hotel was in Namur so we thought we'd go exploring, grab some muscles and frittes and obviously some Belgium beer! Wandering around we totally felt like we were on Somewhere Street - a Japanese programme that Sarah introduced me too where you don't see the host, they walk round with a hand held camera exploring and meeting people. It's all translated, it's a great show! Namur is totally a place that would be on that show, quiet Belgium back streets with bars full of people drinking the beer. You turn down a quiet street and end up in a square with a grand church and interesting sculptures. We got our muscles and frittes and ended the meal with a delicious cappuccino - different from ours and no milk but instead lots of whipped cream! We then found a pub and had some of our fave Belgium beers - Orval, Rochefort 8 and a kriek. There was a very interesting games machine in the pub, not like an arcade machine where you hit a button and hope, this you needed to think about!! We had a little corner shop nearby our hotel so we stocked up on snacks to take to the race and noticed they had a fridge full of cheap (well compared to the UK) Belgium beer so before we come home we're going to stock up!

Top Tips

•  Take chairs - you never know what the weather will be like and they provide a welcome relief from the floor - camping ones are also easy to carry
• Cover all weathers - we were thankful for those waterproofs
• Suss out where to sit for the race on qualifying day - it will only be busier on race day so best to figure it out the day before
• We didn't do this but we did see people with shovels to flatten out the hill - not sure about that one!
• An over sized poncho to cover you, your chair and your bag for really heavy down pours isn't a bad idea to have in case the weather doesn't let up as I ended up sitting in a puddle
• Get there early for a good seat or go for a very steep hill where people don't get in the way
• Walk past long queues for toilets, food and drink as there will be a shorter one not too far away

Tomorrow is race day!!!