It’s been a whirlwind of activity since I returned from Spain in the the early hours of Friday morning last week. We were home almost a whole day, I unpacked and then repacked for a weekend away, well we’re not the sort to let the grass grow under our feet. :)
Our weekend away was absolutely lovely, the weather had turned cold in the U.K. while we were away but I’ve arrived back to glorious sunshine, who knows, maybe I brought it with me.
I absolutely love this outfit. I bought the blazer in London a few months ago but it’s been so hot I couldn’t wear it till now...not a bad thing seeing as it’s September! I’ll settle for not being able to wear something in exchange for a real summer any day. Hahahahaha
Blazer from Ralph Lauren, Top from Tommy Hilfiger, Jeans from Topshop, Shoes from Ralph Lauren, Bag from LV.
Our weekend away was to Oxfordshire, if you’ve never been then I thoroughly recommend it, it’s a startlingly beautiful county, full of chocolate box houses in quaint villages. Day 1 of our weekend away was a trip to Bicester Village, an outlet shopping centre that I’m rather partial to. It’s a fantastic place and only bested by Woodbury Common outlet near NYC.
I love shopping, no shock Sherlock... hahahahaha, but I love shopping for bargains even more, of which I bought a few. ;)
Day 2 was meant to be a day out for Chris and I and Matt and Kim but sadly Kim wasn’t able to come, so Matt’s Daughter Abi came instead.
We attended a Supercars show, part of which was a celebration of 70 years of Porsche, where people were invited to bring their own Porsche’s along to exhibit them, which Chris and Matt decided to do as they have matching cars.
It was a great turn out and fantastic weather but once you’d walked round and seen all the cars on display you were pretty much done and dusted in a couple of hours...but to display our cars we had to arrive between 7-8am...hence us staying in a hotel near by as it’s about 2 and a half hours drive from home, and we weren’t meant to leave the display area before 6pm...we had to scrap that idea due to exhaustion, nigh on heat stroke and boredom. I love supercars, really I do, and so do Matt, Chris and Abi, but nearly 12 hours of looking at stationary fast cars is a step too far for all of us. Especially as there wasn’t anything else to do there.
I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before I had to buy a picnic rug from the gift shop at Blenheim and have a little nap on the grass by the cars. Don’t you just hate it when you know you have to get up super early it stops you from actually sleeping. I woke at 2am and stayed awake till we got up. Arghhhhh!
Our Friends drove up on the day and met us there, which was really lovely (a far better idea, we should do this next time and give displaying the cars a miss).
Blenheim Palace where the show was held is incredible, if my memory serves me correctly it was the childhood home of Winston Churchill. We didn’t get a chance to go around the house as once our friends joined us there were 3 dogs in our party, so we went for a walk around the grounds, well part of them anyway, it’s a massive estate and I nearly cried on the hours walk we went on let alone going any further round hahahahaha.
We will return to do the house tour as it’s so beautiful there and well worth a visit.
My outfit was chosen without realising the weather would be so hot.
I chose it for the fact I knew it would be a long old day and I wanted something I could easily undo my jeans but still cover up.
Jeans are fine, but a whole day in skinnies? Not exactly comfy even for the unbagged.
Top from a boutique in Norfolk, Jeans from Topshop, Shoes from Ferragamo.
It would have been a perfectly comfortable ensemble had the weather been just a bit cooler. The long tunic is ideal for being able to undo the button on my jeans for long periods of sitting and eating.
*photos below by our friend James, always good to have a trip photographer with the party. Hahahahaha
With all the gang minus Kim, I was hoping to get her photoshopped in hahahahaha.
I chose my next car while we were there hahahahaha...this one comes with the bargain price tag of £750,000! :0
One good thing about arriving at such an ungodly hour was we got to sit in this little beauty, later in the day the cars for looking not touching purposes only.
It was a lovely day out but next time I think I’d rather be a viewer rather than an exhibitor. ;)
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On a decidedly different note and a slight Segway from supercars;
Do you know the hardest aspect of treatment for cancer? It wasn’t actually the rotten chemo and radiotherapy, although that is pretty crappy at the time. For me it was the damage that it left in its path.
When Sam, my son, who was 13 years old at the time went through chemotherapy and radiotherapy he suffered massive collateral damage. Hearing loss, mild cognitive delay (not that anyone would notice, it’s merely problematic during exams etc), damage to his head and neck muscle structure and damaged his teeth, stunted his growth due to pituitary gland damage, it also destroyed his thyroid, which requires medication for life. All very irritating but liveable with things. The one thing that was like a knife twisted in mine and Chris’s heart was the damage the chemo did to his fertility, I know from very personal experience how tragic and empty feeling the loss of fertility is as I lost my womb and ovaries to the bowel cancer age 36, but I was exceptionally blessed that I had 2 gorgeous children before hand and therefore my pain is negligible compared with others not so lucky.
The thought that if he did get better this rotten disease would rob him of the chance to one day be a dad. We were very gently informed of this aspect by Sam’s oncologist (He was 13 and was considered too young for sperm freezing).
When we had to sign all the consent forms for treatment it was the one thing that killed Chris and I, amongst all the other stuff this was the one painful evil legacy of cancer.
But like the great Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park “life will find a way”. With the chances of fatherhood stacked hugely against him, life really has found a way...Sam is going to be a dad!
Chris and I couldn’t be happier, we’re overcome with emotion and beside ourselves with excitement.
And for those miserable ney sayers. “They’re too young”, “they’ve got no money”, “they’re not married”.
I was 22 when I got pregnant with Sam (the same age Sam is now) Chris and I got married when I was 6 weeks pregnant and we had literally no money.
Chris was black listed from mortgages and was in huge amounts of debt. Do you know what though, life is what you make it!
Even through all of our financial problems we were blissfully happy because we knew we had more riches than gold. I had what to me felt like the pinnacle of success...my husband and my babies, I was lucky, blessed and truly grateful.
We struggled and scrimped, we at times over spent and acted recklessly with money too. We often relied on handouts and food parcels from our very kind parents. But the most important thing is we had each other and our boys and we loved every damn minute.
And now with all that in the past we get to live a lovely life, still happy, but now more financially stable life because Chris worked his nuts off. And Sam will no doubt do the same. Because, for me, having a family is far more important than living an Instagram existence of possessions, parties, and exotic locales.
(I’m 45 now, I get to do all those things I couldn’t do in my 20’s now. I’m finally getting to live the other dream, in February we’re going to India for an incredible trip.
Having children when you’re young and poor doesn’t stop the dream it just delays it a bit).
I have never seen anyone cry because they haven’t got a career they want or a gleaming sports car on the drive but I have seen the utter devastation that not being able to have a child causes.
For some there is an unquenchable longing that nothing but a baby can salve.
So for Sam and Milly to have this miracle baby coming along, seems like a dream, a beautiful, wonderful dream come true. They are devoted to each other and will now share that devotion and love with another little person, and even though he was a nightmare baby and screamed 23 hours a day for 2 years they will love every minute of their precious miracle too. Hahahahaha
I wish them every happiness, it’s incredible!
For me being a parent has surpassed any of my expectations and I’m sure it will for them too.
My boys are my life’s work and my legacy on the planet...and now Sam gets to make his own...
I’m going to be a granny in February! A gran! :)
Congratulations Sam and Milly! We’re so happy for you both!
Ok so I don’t look like I’m enjoying motherhood that much in this photo, but I promise the good days outweighed the bad even with my little screamer hahahahaha