Another month has gone by like the blink of an eye and as always I am going to take a moment to reflect upon the past thirty days and to highlight some of the many things that I have ‘Liked and Loved’ during June.
Sports Day
It’s the almost the end of yet another school year and as the summer holidays draw ever closer there is once again a sudden surge of activities which the kids are to take part in from trips, residential visits and days out to sports days and presentation afternoons.
It’s all go just as the children were the other week on the sports field. Unlike previous years the children were given stickers rather than rosettes and whilst this didn’t seem to bother J in the slightest his stickers have since been misplaced which seems a shame given his collection of rosettes from past years.
J gave it his all and seemed to do fairly well on the field although there were times when I’m sure I saw him casually bodding along chatting to friends rather than stretching his legs towards the finish line as should have been.
All in all though it was a great day, E took part in her first ever race along with the preschoolers and despite coming midway she firmly believed that she had won and who was I to disagree? They are all winners right?
Sunshine Days
We have had one of the hottest Junes on record and as a result my shoulders are no longer milk bottle white. Following feeling the burn for a few days I am now sporting a rather healthy looking tan which I have to say given that I’m a redhead is a fairly mean feat!
I may well be pale to a point of luminosity but I flipping love the sunshine. Days spent dozing on the decking whilst the kids run amuck in the garden are my idea of heaven.
Fathers Day
The kids and I got together to write cards and wrap up parcels for the Dads earlier this month. Fathers Day is always a difficult time of year as I’m useless at buying for blokes, it’s either beer or Amazon vouchers both of which are equally as dull yet seem to raise a smile. I guess it’s the thought that counts so I should quit stressing but still I feel I’ll never truly nail Fathers Day no matter how hard I try.
Paul certainly seemed pleased with his new London Grammar CD which the kids I got him and although I ended up working for the majority of the day he seemed to enjoy himself with the kids which is what it’s all about!
Loving Lego
Following a lengthy holiday in Africa my parents returned with gifts for the kids, rather large gifts which most likely cost them more in shipping than the items alone. Two rather large Lego sets were handed over to our starry eyed children, J was given the Lego ‘Silent Mary Pirates of the Caribbean Ship’ set to build and battle with whilst E was given the Lego ‘Frozen Castle’ for me to put together not once but twice thanks the slimline shelving which it fell from.
The kids adore Lego and whilst I am a fan myself I’m well aware that each and every set they collect only means one thing, more shelving and more mess! That and endless hours of bashing bricks together in the hope that the end result may resemble the cover picture.
Wardrobe Update
Having lost a fair amount of weight over the past few months I’ve finally been able to update my wardrobe with a few added extras one of which I am totally besotted by. As I once wrote, I am not a label girl but on this occasion I have chosen to turn a blind eye to the branding as I cannot resist a dungaree dress.
Said dress (and matching top) arrived earlier this week much to my delight. I was half expecting for neither item to fit due to being forewarned upon sizing issues with this brand. Low and behold both the dress and top fit like a glove (a slightly tight fitting glove but still) and I have found myself wearing it like my second skin.
Paired with tights and my new boots I don’t think I look half bad if I say so myself! Although looking at the above photo it appears my tights need changing, actually the mirror could just do with a blumming good clean!
Garden Makeover
After months of huffing and puffing whilst hard at work Paul finally completed our garden makeover. We now have a beautiful back garden with a new trampoline, swing set, playhouse, sandpit, water table, picnic bench and decked area all of which looks stunning.
I avoided any heavy lifting or hard work because DIY and I don’t get along but I made damned sure that the troops were well fed and hydrated throughout the project. It was only once the men moved aside that I added a few finishing touches such as pot plants, pin wheels, wind chimes, bunting and a garden clock to complete the look.
Making More Room For Molly
Our beautiful basset hound Molly is getting on now, she’s twelve years old this year and given that her walks are now limited in terms of distance we’ve redesigned our kitchen ever so slightly to offer her some extra room to relax.
I have finally removed the baby dog gate from the utility room and have replaced said gate with a much larger gate between the kitchen and the living room. Our kitchen seems to feel larger somehow without the safety gates, the dog seems far happier too.
I am well aware before you tell me that my kitchen is in much need of a blinking good update but unless you fancy sending £15k our way then just keep it shum!
Ladies That Lunch
As humans we tend to be creatures of habit, I sure as hell am. It’s all very well doing the same thing day in day out but there comes a time when we have to break the habit of a life time and rejig things a little.
Each and every week my good friend D pops over for a brew and some banter which usually comes to a close at precisely 11.45am when I have to leave to collect E from Nursery. This week though I said ‘sod schedules’ and told D to hop into the car whilst I got our girl and grabbed some goodies to lunch upon.
Having being ‘birds that share a brew’ for almost a year now we have recently evolved into ‘ladies that lunch’. As a result my Tuesdays are no longer a rushed affair, I am now able to kick back, relax and enjoy some quality time with my bestie.
Fun Run
It may have been Sports Day last week but my sons School seems to have a passion for pushing it as the kids were once again out on the field for a fun run today, a different field but still a field… Whether I would ever term a run as ‘fun’ is debatable but my son seemed to enjoy himself despite pulling a muscle in his neck which required a Freddo fix.
It was great to see the kids cheering each other across the finish line, there was a real sense of team spirit! J came in far from being first but in my heart he will always take first place.
London Grammar
Almost four months ago I was notified by email that London Grammar, one of my favoured bands would be releasing a new album following which they would be touring Europe. I fancied buying tickets for Manchester but having already committed myself to two gigs and a wedding all within a fortnight of the London Grammar dates I didn’t see it as a possibility.
Two months later and having heard a few tracks from the new album I was beginning to regret my decision but it was too little too late and as the gigs were sold out and I was left wanting whilst watching live coverage from Radio Ones big weekend and Glastonbury. It wasn’t a great feeling but you can’t do everything right?
Anyhow to cut a long story short my parents have been asking me for months now what exactly it is that I would like for my birthday. I suggested that if they should happen to fall upon any London Grammar tickets going spare that they would go down rather well but knew fine well that this wasn’t really an option or a possibility.
Somehow though my Dad’s managed to pull it out of the bag and come October I now have three gigs and a wedding to attend one of which will indeed be London Grammar live in Manchester and I for one cannot wait!
Thanks again for reading my blog and I hope that you enjoyed reading what IÂ #LikedAndLoved in June.
If you fancy sharing some of your own #LikedAndLoved points from the month then why not join in either through your own blog post or by leaving a comment below, I would love to hear what you #LikedAndLoved this month!
4 comments
Wow so much great stuff this month!
I love your garden!! And congrats to “E” to winning the race. You look fantastic and I love the outfit! Hoping I can lose some weight myself here 🙂
thanks Teresa!
Ahhh, what a cracker of a post! I’d love to see London Grammar <3 Also loving the dungaree dress! And I totally want the Frozen Lego…
It sounds like a busy but great month! Your garden is looking so good 🙂 Thanks for joining in with #LikedandLoved
Stevie x