We've had such a lovely weekend!
I wish I could do it all over again!
Saturday morning started out as usual doing a few chores. Simon had to run some errands and we had planned to go out later that day so I kind of wanted to get most done.
When he got back we all got in the car and headed Canterbury way.
It's a twenty minute drive from us taking us on winding roads and past fairy tale houses and its a drive I always enjoy.
It was quite a windy day but luckily we were sheltered from the wind in the busy shopping street.
The boys decided to stop off at a Thai noodle stand while Emily and me walked on to go visit Cath Kidston and Lush.
I wanted to buy a new mug but then I remembered how cramped our kitchen cupboards already are..maybe later this year when we have moved. Look at that pink dotty one though.
Emily also fell in love with this shop and I don't think there's one (breakable) thing she didn't touch.
We passed a Hardy's sweetshop so naturally we had to go in.
It took Emily a good ten minutes to choose a small treat, constantly changing her mind. I also found this big selection of tea's in cute tins. It's funny really because over the Christmas break my family visited us and we were looking for some English tea in nice packaging they could take back home to Belgium. Typical isn't it. At least now we know where to go.
Lush was just as inviting as always. It's one of those shops I just have to visit, and if I'm honest it's the reason we went to Canterbury. Shhh.
Simon always jokes we've been in there for hours, when really it's just ten minutes or so, hahaha.
Emily has become a real little Lush addict as well and we each picked out two new bath bombs/ melts. I chose the unicorn horn and my favourite rose jam. Emily chose the french kiss and big blue. She always chooses big blue as it reminds her of a funny moment from a few years ago. You see it's packed with small pieces of seaweed and I was in the bath having used this bomb and when Emily walked in, she took one look at the water and said "eww what's that, did you shave your legs?!" I had to reassure her it was seaweed and I was in fact not a gorilla!
Another place we always visit is Patisserie Valerie.
Their cakes are just heavenly.
Emily opted for a Belgian waffle with ice cream drizzled in chocolate sauce, Dylan really fancied the chocolate and blueberry ice cream and Simon and I both had a gateau slice.
Delicious.
With our tummies all full we decided to slowly head back.
Even on blustery cold winter days Canterbury still manages to look pretty.
Simon had to babysit our niece and nephew on Saturday night so we had our dinner quite early, a really tasty curry. The kids had a game night which meant I had the TV to myself but typically I couldn't find anything I wanted to watch. Instead I ordered a groceries delivery for Sunday afternoon.
Sunday was a fairly quiet day which started out with sunshine, a bit of a change from the previous day.
I pottered around the house for a bit doing some chores and then we headed out to do some shopping.
I needed a new collar for the cat and some fresh bread for our lunch.
Emily can't get enough of all the animals in the pet store, bunnies especially are on her "can we have one" list. I must say that little guy on top is quite a cutie.
In the afternoon my little niece came over to play with Emily. They always play so lovely together.
Dylan was x-boxing with some buddies and Simon went out to meet up with one of his friends.
I took the opportunity to read through my Sainsburys and Asda magazines. They always have the nicest recipes in them don't they!
Once my grocery delivery arrived and was put away I made some maltheser blondies. The kids were going to help me but in the end they were too "busy". Soon after baking it was time to start preparing dinner which was gammon with roast potatoes, red cabbage and leeks. It was rather nice, but dessert, dessert was epic!
Right now Emily is reading her book (she's reading Harry Potter at the moment) and Dylan is in the shower. It will be their bedtime soon.
For Simon and I the weekend will most probably end with a few episodes of Orange is the new black, which we have been watching for the past few weeks, and maybe another slice of maltheser blondies.
I'm so not ready for it to be Monday tomorrow.
So this weekend was the one with all the cleaning.
I tend to do ninety percent of my housework over the weekend anyways but this Saturday I did a bit of a deep clean, tackling the kitchen and bathroom in particular. I scrubbed, bleached and polished until everything sparkled and shone. In between all that I also put in some washing, folded clothes away, received and put away a shopping delivery and mopped the conservatory.
I never realised how fast time goes when you're cleaning until a rumbling stomach made me look at the clock and I was surprised to see it was nearly two!
Simon had left quite early that morning because he had to work and the kids had made themselves comfy on the sofa's. When their programmes had finished they had both migrated to their rooms but they too had rumbling tummies and came down asking for lunch.
These little milkshake drinks were quite the hit!
Milo remained very unfazed by all the cleaning and crafting going on, spending his Saturday afternoon "cat style".
This weekend it was Dylan's turn to go for a sleepover at his friend's house. We packed a little bag and he left just before three leaving just me and Emily. Emily had been very busy crafting. Last weekend she made a house for he Littlest pet shop animals and this weekend she made a new improved version.
How amazing does this look!
She's such a crafty little nugget.
We ended up having a movie night while munching on chocolate. I love cuddling with my girl.
Over the past few months Dylan has entered that stage here he thinks everything I do is uncool or embarrassing so it's nice to still have Emily cuddle up to me and think I'm pretty amazing. I know one day she'll feel the same but hopefully by then Dylan will have realised that mum is actually not that bad...or so I hope. Teenagers eh!
Sunday was a lazy day, which was welcomed after the busyness of Saturday.
Dylan came home just after nine and he was exhausted. His first words when he walked through the door were "I only slept for three hours".
Needless to say he kept himself quiet all day, spending most of the time on his bed listening to music or watching videos.
My sister in law, niece and nephew visited us in the morning and we had a lovely catch up. They are moving away to Oman in a few weeks time so it's nice to still be able to spend some time together. My little niece when straight up to go and play with Emily and she ended up staying until mid afternoon. It was so fun to hear the girls play. They started of playing pet shop but then they made up a game called mailbox and husky dog. They had taken over all the rooms upstairs and the hall was where the mailbox was. It was actually hilarious to listen to.
It all got a bit too hectic for the cat so he decided to go and hide in the only peaceful room in the house.
Simon headed to the kitchen and started rummaging around. I went to have a look at what he was doing and it turned out he was making cheese and bacon bread rolls.
They were beyond delicious!
After Simon had taken Nina back home I headed up to help Emily tidy up and I wish I had taken a photo! Yes, it was that bad.
Soon after it was my turn to rummage around in the kitchen and we had a roast followed by strawberry and cream meringues for our dinner.
It was all very good.
As usual the weekend went by way to fast.
Monday is just one sleep away.
Boo.
