Wedding update - 3 days to go!!

Cupcakes today - 100 of them. I really need to start being a bit neater in the kitchen, either that or a new house with a much bigger room to work in.

A few hours later.... actually the colours are brighter than the pictures show, white, green, pink and chocolate.

At 4 it was off to the nail bar for a relax, get our nails done and have a bit of fun. Rhiannon decided it was too cold though to even get her coat off. But then sadly she is a bit poorly today, oh dear!

But she seemed to enjoy herself anyway.

Emily decided it was more fun to spin around on the chairs.

But finally she did get round to having her nails done and unfortunately for her she got a bit of a miserable man to work with. He was definitely on the rough side and poor Safana ended up with him too, she actually had blood!

I managed to redo the cake ribbons too.

All sorted now, no more making to do for the wedding. Tomorrow is packing, bathing, plucking and going to the hotel for a girly night with the bridesmaids, then thats it, Friday is the big day. What we haven't done, it will be too late. What we haven't got, we will have to do without. 

Now i'm sure there will be a few hitches on Friday, but so what, as long as we all get there, everyone enjoys themselves, and the bride and groom have the day of their lives. It will be worth it, worth all the work, sleepless nights, sore fingers, stress and irritability. 

But what will I do with myself afterwards?

Wedding update - 5 days to go!!

Its been another busy couple of days, but today I needed to get on with decorating the cakes.

Now although I have done what I set out to achieve, I am not really happy with the results. For some reason that I can not understand I cut the icing incorrectly and now the ribbon does not sit properly. I'll have to think of a solution tomorrow, when I have a few more working brain cells.

But for today the cake looks like this......

For the top of the cake we had made some flowers to match Rhiannons bouquet, but i'm not sure about these either now. I might suggest we make some more like the bridesmaids bouquets to add colour.

What else have we done today.... We made the table names.

I also cooked a shepherds pie, only to find out that Jourdan would be working tonight and not home for dinner. I think I may turning into a house wife, I even got up this morning and cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast before school. I'll soon be making jam and wearing a nice house coat, with rollers in my hair if i'm not careful. Maybe not, I think the novelty of not going to work will wear off soon enough, at least before I get to the rollers stage.

Hair trials

Its 5 days until the wedding and we still don't know exactly whats happening with hair. Rhiannon had one trial a little while ago and the back was lovely, Perfect, but not the front.

So last night my niece Holly came over again for another go. This time the front looked great and actually so did the back, but it not want Rhiannon wants. She doesn't want the American prom queen look, just something elegant, which the first trial did give her at the back. Its Rhiannons big, big day and it has to be perfect and to be honest I do agree with her.

So thats Rhiannon sorted to a point - a mixture of the two trials.

Then it was my turn. Now my hair is a bit of a problem, one I don't know what I want and two its going quite grey. Now a lot of people have asked me if I am dying my hair for the wedding, yes I have actually had phone calls especially to ask me about it. Does no-one like my silver streaks, my twinkly bits, my sparkly highlights? Do they not think that in the evening I will add that certain something when i'm glittering in the candlelight?  But the answer has to be no, I cant dye it. I have stress skin and I don't want to put chemicals anywhere near it and anyway personally I am far more worried about my face than my hair. The grey hair might make me look older but at the end of the day I could colour that, I cant do a thing about my face and that looks far more tired, faded and old...

I know everyone just wants me to feel and look fabulous and I think a lot of sleep may help that, but sadly sleep is one thing I am definitely lacking at the moment.

Anyway Holly had a go and I liked the end result. It will go well with my dress, it hides the grey up to a point and I do want curls. Obviously it will be neater on the day.

My first week not working!

So this week was my first week not working. Well actually thats not a true statement, I have actually been working very hard, some might say harder than I worked for a paid salary. So what have I done this week...

Monday - I put the marzipan on four layers of wedding cake. Made a frittata for lunches. Made a lot more buttons for the cakes. Worked on and more or less finished one bag for my Folksy shop.

Tuesday - Cleared up the front garden, well both Roy and I did. Had my hair trimmed. Made more buttons and pearlised the lot. Finished a second bag, except the lining.

Wednesday - Iced all the cakes, although I did actually finish these as 6.30 a.m due to not sleeping, I am going to count it as part of my days work. Dug over an allotment bed. Oh and finally sorted the seating plan and about time too as the wedding is in one weeks time!

Thursday - Baked a banana loaf and then the real work began. I decided that it would be a good idea to spring clean the kitchen and adjoining dumping ground.  It makes me feel so good to get sorted in the house, especially when I haven't been finding the time previously and had actually got to the point where I wouldn't allow anyone in.  At the end of the day, or evening as it turned out, I had at least made a bit of a dent in it.

Friday - Went to the garage to get out my dresser that I put in there some time ago. I thought it was funny  carrying it back from the garage to the house (my garage is down the road) but Roy didn't see the funny side of it. Probably he didn't as I do seem to remove and bring back the same bits of furniture each time and its also funny how the bits I want to move are always at the back of the garage. Went to town to meet Jody and do a bit of last minute shopping for the wedding. Came home and carried on in the kitchen until finished.  I really like the dresser back in the kitchen (for the time being at least), even though its not yet complete. I've put all my jars of pulses on it, so at least I know now what i've got (they were hidden in a cupboard before) and they also add a bit of colour to the room. I might even get around to cooking with them.

I'm looking forward to finding other nice bits and pieces to add to it, hopefully we can find some at auctions, or I could always look in the garage at all the other previously packed up objet d'art.

I've done it....

Last Friday the 19th of March was officially my last day at work.  No more stressing every morning about going in, no more work stress at all actually, at least until I need to start making some money. Finally the dark circles under my eyes might start to fade, but I think that might be too much to ask.

Anyway, it was a strange day, one that i've been waiting for forever it seems and although really happy about going, there were still brief moments that I had little pangs of sadness. Saying goodbye to friends that I have made over the four years, even one I haven't actually met face to face, was the only regret I had about leaving.

I got some beautiful flowers delivered, with a lovely card.....

I got a lovely bouquet from Jody

And at lunchtime I found these and really had to have them for my future days on the allotment. The trouble is I really don't want to get them dirty.

I also got a lot of vouchers for WH Smiths for books and paints and I do love my books.

So to finish the day I went to Vicki's for a quiet drink, which unfortunately wasn't as quiet as it should been, especially for women our age. Kim, being sensible had a cup of tea and went home at a reasonable time and sober. But Vicki and I managed to drink our way through far too much red wine. I could add here a picture of later on in the evening, or it might have been Saturday morning for all I know, but I'm not going to, especially as I had no recollection of even taking my camera out, or getting home for that matter.  Still i'm teetotal again now, or at least definitely off the red wine forever.....

Rhiannon's hen night poem from me!

Its been a big build up
to get where we are,
lots of work, we've come really far.
We've been crafting for months
from cards to cake,
its nearly all done, very little to make.
Everything's ready
or more or less so,
only three more weeks and then its all go!

Rhiannon's hen night
is finally here,
lots of wine to drink, champagne and beer.
Everyone coming
will look rather silly,
eating and drinking and all very chilly.
Girls dressed as men
in turn dressed as girls,
lots of makeup and wigs with big curls.

Will we all make it
all evening and night,
getting back home as its getting light.
Who will be standing?
Who will be ill?
Who's head down the toilet, or who's awake still?
Who'll be up for breakfast,
all greasy and hot?
Will it be Rhiannon, no I think not!

The Hen Night

So Saturday night this weekend was the hen night. Theme? Drag queens and boy did some of the girls go for it.  Rhiannon didn't get a choice though, her dress, hair and makeup were sorted for her, all she had to do was sit there and let it all be done.  The result...

Emily had worked so hard on everything, from the arranging of food and drink, to constantly checking that everyone who was due to come did turn up, probably checking up on them a little too much actually, but hey they were all there in the end and finally she could relax.  

Everything about the night was supposed to be a surprise for Rhiannon, however, its people that are the problem, first one slip up about where we were going, next about the theme, but one thing remained a surprise, at least that was until Abbey arrived at the house and asked Rhiannon 'What time is the limo coming?' 

Below: Emily with her drink and finally a smile on her face.

  

Emily had arranged for everyone to bring a poem with them, which was a lovely idea. Rhiannon now has things for her keepsake box. 

Check out these eyelashes....

And these....

             

At 10.30 the limo turned up to take us all to Brighton. A disco come karaoke and very very noisy, apparently there were speakers on the outside so that although the M25 was fine, we did make an entrance into Brighton town centre.

    

Into the nightclub and lots of dancing and a lot of camera flashing...

We arrived just after midnight and kept going until the club shut at 3am and by then we were getting a bit peckish too. But we were in Brighton by the sea, so what better than some chips.

Back in the limo and it was all too much for some....

                  

                

No sleep for Emily though, she carried on serenading everyone all the way home, with very loud singing, until we arrived back at 5.30am!!!! How they could sleep through that i've no idea.

Buttons and Pearls

Its been quite a busy weekend and I seem to have spent most of it in the kitchen.

Yesterday morning was given up to collecting bridesmaids dresses, having three dress fittings and alterations made, including mine and ordering the last piece to complete Rhiannons bridal wear for the big day.

When I came home I finally started having ago at making the cake decorations I have been putting off, even though I bought the bits for it weeks ago. So pearls first, what a boring monotonous job that is. I gave up after a couple of hours rolling the balls and tried to pearlise the first lot. Not very happy with them actually, as they just looked like the had been dipped in glitter.

So today I had another go using some vodka and mixing the pearling power in it and they do look much better than before. I made a lot more too, not perfectly round but they are more or less the some size......

I'm not sure if many will be used at all now but at least they are done and dusted, literally ha ha, if we do need them.

Onto the buttons and I think these are going to be harder than I envisaged and much more time consuming. But they don't have to look perfect do they, after all they are edible not wearable?

 

Rhiannon has also made the little bouquet to go on the top of the cake, so finally really on a roll now with everything.

Oh and I have also today made a lemon drizzle loaf and another banana loaf - crumbs i'm turning into a domestic goddess.  Just as well as only two weeks left at work.