Stuff and nonsense

I have purchased these for the princely sum of £1.26:

From this guy. He's basically selling bits of scrap paper on etsy. Good on him.

They WILL have a purpose. I'm just not sure what it is yet.

That goosey head is the sweetest.

Sticky Stuff

I swear to God, I'm getting obsessed with this stuff.

japanese washi tape

Click on the link at your peril. You will be conned into thinking you're the CRAFT MEISTER and you NEED this stuff to fulfill your mission to CRAFT.

I love it. I bought the coloured spotty one to seal the invitations and now I've just gone and spent $40 on a random assortment with the vague notion that I'm going to use it to make place settings.

No definite ideas for now. But if you buy the washi tape, the ideas will come. I reckon.

Today

Bedders is on his stag do.

I have spent the day doing the following:

- Picked up my car from Headingley before the traffic wardens come on duty at 8:30. Got there at 8:33. Realised the sign read 'No Parking from 8:00am'. Not 8:30. Didn't get a ticket though. Woop.

- Spoke to my sister about potential bridemaid dresses at length (for her wedding, not mine). Looked online at a Laura Ashley number. Recalled a Laura Ashely denim pinafore of my youth with much fondness.

- Walked into town. Bought a lovely top in Joules. Browsed in Oxfam Books.

- Spoke to a hungover Bedders. Spoke to my mum. Spoke to Bedders' mum. Spoke to dear Alex.

- Charged my phone.

-Bought sushi. Ate sushi. Realised M&S's new long packaging is a con. Exactly the same amount of sushi as before but it LOOKS LIKE MORE.

-Thought about doing work. Discarded thought.

- Kate came over. Discussed her (very exciting) love life at length. Drank tea.

- Ran five miles. Grr. Machine.

- Realised the oven is broked. Hmm. Made scrambled egg and salmon on toast. Realised my day has been quite fishy, what the sushi and whatnot. Ho hum.

-Bought paper. Read paper. Laughed out loud at Caitlin Moran's Royal Wedding Run-Down.

"Later in the show, presenter Andrew Neil asked if he, (Richard) Madeley, would "get rid of Charles and make William king. Madeley replied, "Well, if he was gaga, obviously," with the kind of breezy certainty that suggested that, should our heir apparent actually "go gaga", Madeley would step up to the plate and finish Charles off with a spade, as if he were an old badger knocked down by a car."

Never had so much post in my life.

I heart RSVPs.

Especially good 'uns like these.

All these holidays, man. I'll endeavour to write summat longer soon.

Bunting

The hen do really was super :)

Hen Dos

So I had a hen do.

And it was properly fantastic.

Like, really, really fantastic.

We rented the rooftop bar in the Central in Nyerrcassle (technically Gateshead, actually). T'is a lovely place. Same shape as the Flat Iron building in New York, except mini and in the North East. It's owned by the same folk who own Head of Steam opposite the station in town, but it has two major advantges in that it's infinitely more aesthetically pleasing as a building and it doesn't reek of smelly farts. Always a winner.

We hired the rooftop terrace, which was wonderful. We were up 'midst the rooftops of Gateshead. Every so often a train rattled by. It was hot. We drank shandy up on the roof. I got a Drifters' song stuck in my head.

Myself and bridesmaid Alex had debated what activity to do for some time. You see, I had this inexplicable desire to do some life-drawing. As long as it was a fat, old bloke, you understand. Preferably with a beard. I loved the idea of it.  A bit-tongue in cheek, a bit Benny Hill. Brilliant dress-up opportunity in that we could wear berets and fake moustahces.  

But the fella at the college was a bit slack. And I'm an organisation freak. Not a good combination. So we went back to the drawing board. And Alex came up with contacting the ladies at Made in Newcastle - a super-cool little shop in the toon that specialises in all things crafty and kitsch.

Let me tell you: The Girl Done Good.

We decided on getting the gang to do some felting and make some bunting. You know, felting. To felt (not "to felch" as Katy Tew said. In front of my mum). Basically, stuff a load of candy-floss-type wool into a frame with a barbed needle and make a keyring or brooch. Or a 'Creature', which was what AP managed. And bunting - heck, you're reading a wedding blog,. You know what bunting is, don't you?

I was so ridiculously excited. I saw the mini ironing boards and went into spasms. Then I spied the sewing machines and the button box and nearly died. Then out came the cupcakes and that about finished me off...

We went oot on the toon Newcastle-stylee, i.e. Not Wearing A Coat. I wore a fancy dress and drank raspberry mojitos. Never has more fun been had.

And to think the weekend before I'd had a major "I don't even WANT a hen do!" stampy-foot-temper-tantrum with Bedford. Hen dos? Do 'em. It'll reaffirm your faith in friends and family and their infinite wonderfulness. Honest. And that's not the mojitos talking. Hen don'ts? Don't get stressed. It'll be reet, as they say in Newcastle.

Residentials

Remember those? Residentials? A.K.A. School trips where y'all sleep over?

Dorms. The air heavy with the scent of Impulse bodyspray. Copious amounts of salt-and-vinegar chipsticks. Midnight makeovers with a poor selection of cosmetics pilfered from mums and sisters. Conversations about which boys you fancied the most. Yup. They were ace.

'But I thought they didn't exist any more!' I hear you cry. Didn't they happen back in ye olde happy days before where-there's-blame-there's-a-claim and health and safety went bonkers?

Well, you're wrong. I'm on one. With Year 8. Destination: Ullswater, the Lake District. Objective: tucker those little so-and-sos out.

Yesterday we walked ridiculous numbers of kilometres with heavy packs on. It took 7 hours. Then we camped, cooked some hideous packet food and slept. Woke up in the pissing rain. Got dressed and packed up in the pissing rain. Sang happy birthday to Kirsten (aged 13) in the pissing rain. Walked for 2 hours in the pissing rain. Clamboured up a gorge. It'd stopped raining but I was up to thigh-depth in freezing water so it didn't really matter by that point.

But who am I kidding? I'm loving it. It's ace. It's a bit like Stand By Me up here. The kids are coming-of-age and growing up and going through emotional turmoils and enjoying the outdoors and gaining confidence and learning stuff. Woah. Seriously, I might shed a tear before the week is out. Lying alone in a tent with no mobile signal or light or book (it got soaked through) allows you just to... think. And mebbes get a bit philosophical. I might post more on that later.

Oh yes. School trips are just as good as they were. Even though these days the minibuses have seatbelts - no more cries of 'link arms, kids!'. And the teachers aren't getting blotto on wine like they were back in the day. Well, not completely blotto anyway.

The picture: lo! The view from my tent this morning. Getting a brew on, inniiiiiit.