Hey! I had a Birthday...

 Not just one, but 2 stunning Fish Women... that is my baby sister folks!

 3 too many Mojitos clearly gave me the powers to eat burning candles...

 The morning after, the morning after and Birthday breakfast with the girls...

 There was, naturally, a great deal more to the festivities than this - but i'd only bore you with all those cakes, gifts, nice food, champagne and prosecco, friends and frolics.

THANKYOU!!!!

Listen, i really do have to go out for a bit now but

i will be back later to tell you about other *new* bits.

I have theeeee most tremendous fun in my life ya know x

As my daughter said to me "ha. you're 36 now"... step by step guide to birthday-ness...

1. make a few calls. send a few emails. get the birthday ball rolling.

2. get waxed. get a haircut. get a babysitter. get your bags packed.

3. book an awesome hotel (good girl Pip)

4. obligatory 'me n my sister in cafe' shot (i could fill a book with our cafe shots)

5. what you see here is a 'baby YO' hand pose. It's a long story...

anyway, chillax in a most bodacious city.

6. gather friends around you. (i am skipping the photos that say: 7. drink wine. 8. drink cocktails. 9. EAT so much good food. 9. talk so much that you looooose your voice - yes, really. 10. run around a hotel lobby in various states of shoe and non shoes)

11. gifts!

12. more gifts?

13. family (now my birthday & life is complete)

14. you don't think i'd fail to list cake, did you?...

CAKE! and plenty of it.

15. another gift... ummmm, 'coz i'm worth it'?

16. he deserves an embarrasing shot of himself on the cyberlink because he is a bad boy.

(brotherfish in old plastic highlights cap that the kids had out as part of their superhero costumes)

17. did i say 'the kids' superhero costumes'?...

make that, the kids and grandma.

18. be home. recover. catch up on work. recover.

shake a little bit during the alcohol withdrawal period.

recover.

happy birthday me.

A very Merry Un-birthday indeed...

I just KNEW you ladies would like an invitation to this special birthday / un-birthday party...
*squeal* i have never seen such a perfect party tea in all my days... ...to begin at the beginning, any 'Alice' fan would see that the Wonderland references are abundant. A Birthday tea for my Mummy, at which no 'tea' was actually served and alot of place swapping occurred.

Flowers from the meadow, tea cups and tea pots, sleepy doormice, cakes and sandwiches...

Cuddles and thankyou's (my mum hugging my pregnant Sister-in-law)

Oooohhh the FUN we had! My Sister and my Brother - his wife and our children, all enjoying the sunshine on Thursday like it was a Summers Day. Putting up the Gazebo - filling sandwiches - hanging the bunting... it was just magic!

Of course, ever the opportunist to display my bunting (tutorial on Alice bunting to follow soon...)

The flowers, the sunshine... these photos are lovely but i seem to have missed so much of the 'detail'.

A shadowy *fish* snapped by mt Sister setting the table (and sneaking the bubbly that i had already secretly opened in the garage, Sshhh)

AND, as if that wasn't gluttony enough... we are surprising my mum in (*checks watch*) 6hrs time with a surprise lunch out with 40 of her friends... THEN we have invited 80 people over to HER house tonight for a "Mad Hatters Cocktail Party"!! why are we so extreme in our family?

You can see why i have been a little busy my friends x

I might be sober enough to photograph a few Mad Hats tonight too....

I am expecting one or two White Rabbit costumes and i sooooo want to show you my outfit...

... Hey, a VERY merry Un-Birthday to us all x x x x x x

Ahhh Birthday-ness!

I want to say THANKYOU for all my birthday merriments and salutations. I am never usually one to 'make a fuss' but it all turned out so pretty!
I had a pile of lovely gifts - don't worry, i won't show you them all.... but very Colourful and Cookery and Cath and Cute...

Mmmmm - Gift Tokens!

Aaaahhh - shopping! Me and the YoungFish under my NEW owl teatowels x PAPERCHASE (on my list of 3 High Street weakness')

Wearing the Tea-towels.... !

Tea and cake at Station Yard Antiques Barn in Chipping Norton. Look at all that lovely crockery!! I was in heaven but ManFish struggled to get his heavy hands around the tea-cup handle (i love him for trying though)

MMMMmm bargain pearl necklace we bought from Past Times for £5

I had my hair cut which is always a nice birthday feeling. My hairdresser doesn't think it looks too red though............. ?! i beg to differ (been trying to cut all that red out)

Blue Wrap Dress has birthday significance as I am wearing it today but it was a thrift find on my birthday travels.

AND - look.... a present to ME from LauraFallulah too! She is a total sweetheart and i adore it!

See you in August my lovely x

Birthday Blogging x

Birthday Fish

I was born on a wednesday ( i think ) at around 9pm.

It was the 12th day of March 1975.

I have been addicted to drugs and alcohol and food and relationships (and cigarettes!)

I have been in and out of hospitals and 'centres' for people who need a little, help...

It is a long and really interesting story.

Tomorrow i turn 34 and i feel such a fool for telling you 2 things changed my life:

The first was becoming pregnant and becoming a Mother (it does that to most women!)

The second was finding out i could earn my living through 'craft'.

Dramatic and as corny as that all sounds - this is true. This is me. Happy Birthday to me x

Spring Chickens

The ladies in my family are feeling the strain...
My Mum is 60 next month! My sister turns 31 this week and I am 34 in March.
We are all a bit tired..... in fact we are EXHAUSTED and we feel like we're 'no Spring chickens' anymore...
Being born in March means I am a Spring Baby! And it suits me 'oh so much'.
Today i walked the dog (and child) for miles.
I cleaned the car.
I cleaned the downstairs windows of my house.
LittleFish made some flowery cakes.
We planted some bulbs and pulled up some weeds.... It is Spring! and this is what Spring makes me feel like. I dislike the addition of an extra year to my age but i love the sense of warmth, colour, scent, beginnings, that all skip alongside the start of Spring x

New badges above. I made up a few packs last night as i have a few Spring Craft Fairs coming up soon.
Flowery Brooch below (as blogged a few weeks ago ) dressing like Spring! ( i draw the line at wearing yellow)

And the prettiest LittlestFish running around in her vest and leggings... i try to resist the urge to kiss her chubby little arms every 2 seconds.

She made these darling cakes (yum yum).... i hope my sister isn't reading this because we have saved one for her birthday on Friday x x x

Happy Spring my friends! Keep colourful, keep in touch x