Silent Sunday

Engagement Party

I had a couple of blogging topics in mind for this week including one (that I'll get around to writing eventually!) about inspiring teenagers, but when I was looking back through the posts I've written so far this year I discovered that I didn't actually ever blog about our awesome engagement party.

A few people have questioned the point of an engagement party (which is kinda rude but whatever!) However we thought that it would be a lovely idea to get some of the wedding guests together for a pre-wedding knees up. As neither of us has much money the wedding won't be until the end of next year so what better way to see all of the people we love, especially the ones that live miles away.

We decided to keep it really informal and have nibbles and a lot few drinks at my Uncle's pub, just around the corner from home. Lots of people came along and much to my surprise bought us lovely presents and cards, we even received presents from the US of A :-)

I was expecting to have lots of time to hang out and talk to people that I haven't seen for ages but I was lucky if I got more than a couple of minutes with each person. I've since been told that this is par for the course with weddings. The only downside to the party was that it was over waaaay too quickly! I imagine the wedding will feel like that too!

This is me and my husband to be:

Yes I do have legs!! Lol! 

My family are now spread all over the UK so it's not very often we're all in one place. Thankfully my Mum and all three of my brothers were able to attend. Yes, I am the short one of the family......which is hysterical when I'm actually just under 6". Must remember for the wedding to keep my high heels on to have the family photos taken:

The girls outfits are from New Look including this awesome bodycon dress that my Mum is wearing. My Mum always looks impossibly glamorous!!

We also managed to tell people the date of the wedding:

Now back to the wedding planning!

This is a sponsored post but all words and pictures are mine :-)

Cheeky Shoes Giveaway

As most of you probably know, I'm a huge fan of shoes. I have rather a large collection for all manner of events.....birthday party shoes, wedding shoes, everyday shoes, restaurant shoes.....you know the type that are so high that you can only wear them from the house to the car and from the car to the restaurant table??!

 Imagine how thrilled I was then to get an email from Cheeky Shoes co-creator Macin asking if I would like to review a pair of flat, bright, happy shoes. With Summer just around the corner I could hardly say no! I was directed to the website to pick the shoes that I wanted and was met by a gorgeous array of bright colours:

I ummed and aahed for ages over which pair I might pick as to be honest I liked all of the colours. Taking into account that the majority of my wardrobe is black with some purple thrown in, I decided that I would go with Sumptuous Cerise.

With the colour decided I headed to the next step which was picking a size. I have to say that I did find the sizing on the site confusing. In my experience an English size 8 is normally a European 42 and an American 11 which isn't what is listed on the site. They do have a size guide that you can print off and measure your foot against but in typical lazy fashion I just went with an English size 8 and hoped for the best.

The shoes arrived in the post a couple of days later and because they are flat and compact were able to be posted through the letterbox. This is a real bonus for me as usually I'm knocking on neighbours doors or stuck at the sorting office for hours trying to pick things up!

So the shoes look like this:

I had LOADS of comments on the first days of wearing them asking where they were from, commenting on the colour and asking how comfortable they were. So you know where they are from, the colour is amazing and I'm definitely going to have to try out more colours.

How comfortable are they? To be honest they feel like slippers. They are uber comfortable! There is a proper sole and because the fabric is so soft there was no rubbing at all,even on the first full day of wearing them when I thought I would test them properly during a nine hour work day!

Size wise they are ok. I have mahoosive feet so if I honest then another half a centimetre of fabric and sole would've genuinely meant that I could never be parted from them. As it is the top of back of the heel starts feeling tight after a full day at work but that would be my only complaint!

For a cheery, lightweight Summer shoes I would say that you could do much worse than spending £19.99 on a pair of these. Now which colour to choose next........................

Marcin has very kindly offered me three pairs of shoes to give away to my lovely readers. To enter all you need to do is sign up for the cheeky newsletter here and then leave a comment below letting me know that you've done so. The closing date is Tuesday 21st May at 5pm. 

Guides and the Community

I think I've mentioned before that Chick part of the Guides and absolutely loves it. On Saturday she completed a 7 and a half mile sponsored walk with the Guides to raise money for water in communities in Zambia (if anyone would like to sponsor her then please let me know :-) This is her at the half way point when I met her for lunch having already hiked through rain, sleet, hail and sunshine:

Yes she is looking very happy and proud of herself! She didn't look much different at the end either just much dirtier!

When I collected her she told me all about the day and then mentioned that she was a little disappointed that her 'team' had finished last. When I asked her 'why?' she said it was because she stayed at the back to walk with and encourage one of the smaller girls from the Brownies that has a learning disability and who was less able than the rest of the walkers who strode off in front.

We had a good chat about why she should be extra specially proud of herself and why looking after people will always be better than being a 'winner'. 

It's exactly this that I love about the Guides and why I'll encourage Chick to participate for as long as she is interested in it. I feel that Chick's generation is really missing out on a community spirit. We live in the ghetto and are surrounded by people who find life difficult and have drug or drink problems. Because of this we don't have the cohesive community spirit that I grew up with.

I think it says a lot about the strength of my girl that not only is she grown up and willing enough to do a long hike for charity but she also cares enough to help those that are different, slower, not as able as her and do it without being asked. I really hope that she continues in this vein as she grows up and away from me. 

What things do your children do that surprise you in a good way???