Ahem

So.

Apparently I haven't blogged since August 20th. Ooops. I happen to have a very good reason. Or several very good reasons, actually.

Most importantly, one of my best friends got married this weekend.  I was her bridesmaid, and we had a blast. It meant that we were all super busy for ages though. Admittedly, she was obviously more busy than I was, what with moving house as well, and all. But even still. I have been wedding occupied for days and I have loved it. We had a hen night:

I made cake for all the guests to eat.

I made a book for all the guests to sign.

 And we had FUN!

Me posing in my *beautiful* wedding gown - look at the garter!

This was the wedding dress competition; one of many games we enjoyed. It involved white bin bags, toilet roll, selotape and staples. What with the bride being on our team, and her also being the judge, obviously we won. Woo!

We also played this awesome peg game. We were given two pegs when we arrived. And then were given a list of 'banned' words. When we heard someone say any of the banned words we were entitled to steal a peg. Such fun! Banned words included: The Bride's Name, her husband-to-be's name, wedding, married, and then eventually we added the word 'peg' - this was how I lost my stash. Bah.

As well as being busy having lots of fun at hen nights, I've also been busy having fun making cupcakes...

Red velvet cupcakes with white cream
cheese frosting, with dark chocolate hearts.

...210 of them to be exact. It took about 6 hours to bake them all, and another 4 to decorate them. The colour scheme of the wedding was cream and poppy red, so these cupcakes seemed like a natural choice. They went down well. We even managed to bring some home.

(...and we also found a tray of them still in the oven 5 days later.... oopsie!)

The wedding was incredible. I was secretly quite jealous. I would have loved to have thought of all the things that these guys thought of when I was planning my wedding two years ago. It was just stunning. Every aspect of every bit of planning was beautiful. From the hall decorations, to the table layouts, to the timing of the day - everything was just brilliant. They got married in a standard school hall, but halfway through the frist day of decorating, this is what it looked like: 

excuse the terrible quality - I was using my old point and shoot

And once it was all finished, it looked incredible. I can't wait to show you proper photos.

It was such an honour to be involved so intensely with the wedding. Their story, both as individuals and as a couple is filled with  ups and downs, sorrow and joy, but most of all their stories show the ultimate power of trusting in God's plan. It was such a pleasure to share in the happiest of days with them.

I shall post pictures of the wedding when a) I get permission from the happy couple, and b) I find some one who has pictures - what with being a bridesmaid I didn't have my camera on me.

As well as all of the above, I have been trying to learn how to do my new job. It hasn't been all that successful so far, but I'm getting there. I was plagued by IT problems over the summer, meaning I couldn't do any of the learning I had planned to do. But I've had two training days at work now, and it asll starts properly tomorrow, so I'll see how it goes. I cannot express how happy this job makes me. I have responsibility, I am surrounded by people I like, I have an office that I share with a friend, and I have a ten minute walk down the hill to get there. I love this. I think I could quite happily do this job forever.

I've also been busy getting more stuff done with the site - little maintenance bits and sending off orders. I'm really enjoying researching who visits the site, how long they spend there, where they've come from, etc. I hope one day, when I have more time and a bit more know-how, to use this data to my advantage.

I've also been making another quilt. A real cheat-quilt, actually. I've basically sewn the top half of one duvet cover to the bottom half of another duvet cover, put a double duvet inbetween, and am now sewing all three together by quilting lines diagonally over it all. It's not a masterpiece, but it'll do it's job, and look pretty enough. I'll post photos when I'm home long enough in the day to get decent light.

And amidst all of the above it has been my Boy's birthday. Our good friends very kindly hosted a birthday dinner for him, as they knew his birthday would be overshadowed by the wedding (being on the same day!) - and it was such a lovley evening. It was so good to be treated to dinner, and to hang out with good friends.

My Boy. With a ship. Happy Man.

And so I shall leave you, with the promise of a forthcoming ethicality post that I started and didn't finish (sorry Andy!) and the thought that in three days I shall have my kitten home with me. EEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Sherlock. My 'other' boy.

x x