Daddy's little girl

This weeks gallery theme (check out Sticky Fingers for all the details) is FRIENDSHIP.

A no brainer. The last 17 months I have witnessed a blossoming and heart warming friendship developing.

Mr Scruff and Little Miss P have so much fun together. Everything he does Little Miss P watches in awe and everything she does, he looks on with the proudest smile I have ever seen.

Daddy's little girl

In the early days...the start of something special....

 

Through tears...

...and laughter

Playtime....

And hard at work....

Out and about.

 And at home....

 The best of friends!

My life in shoes...

This post has been inspired by several different bloggers.

First up the lovely Metropolitan Mum and her Seven Shoes post. Reading it (as well as lusting after her beautiful Bally Mary Janes), reminded me of a meme I was tagged in ages ago by Emily at Babyrambles, inviting me to show and tell my shoe wardrobe. It's something I never got around to doing. And finally this weeks Gallery prompt (check out sticky fingers for all the info) is titled 'Self Portrait'. So I have combined all three.

I occasionally fall foul of trying to be someone I am not.
It's easy to be influenced and change the ideas of who you are. I am happy. I do occasionally get my knickers in a twist but I have found a place where I can smile. But there have been times when I have felt lost and allowed myself to get swept away with an idea of who I think I want to be, rather than who I really am.

Graffiti shoes: I loved the idea of graffiti printed shoes...so 'fly girl'. I imagined wearing them with skinny drainpipes and a serious attitude. Yet Posh Spice I am not. Gold shoes: I have blogged about these before (read: These shoes weren't made for walking). In a nutshell, I wore them to the Baftas, but ended up walking along the red carpet with them tucked under my arm. That says alot about me. Pink shoes: Oh how I lust after these but alas they are too big. I try to tell myself "don't want for what you will never have" as this only leads to disappointment and dissatisfaction. If something is not right learn to walk away.


I seek comfort and an easy life
Despite a good heel wardrobe, I am and always will be a flat shoe girl. I like to be quick on my feet, comfortable and at ease. I don't want, and purposely avoid, confrontation and unnecessary anguish.

loafers: I admit it, I bought these on a fashion whim. I put them on and felt like Morrissey (that's a good thing!). Ballet pumps: What can I say - purple, patent and with a bow. Chanels: I'd love to say I swanned into Bond Street flexing my credit card, but these are a perk of my job. *sample sales*. My eye for a bargain is renowned.



I'm a city girl at heart
Despite a huge desire to up sticks to the seaside or to run a small holding, I am a born and bred Londoner. I spent my youth hanging out at the skate park on the Southbank, buying silver jewellery in Camden Market and drinking pints in Covent Garden and a little piece of her will always be in me.

My beloved trainer collection



I'm prone to contradictions

I have an obsession with Mary Jane shoes, yet also with boyish brogues. I work on a glossy fashion magazine yet my buttons are always done up wrong and I leave the plastic tags on my clothes labels. I write about beauty yet my nails are always chipped and my hair always disheveled. I am painfully shy yet can speak in front of a room full of strangers. I am full of love but struggle to open up. I love to cuddle yet keep everyone at arms length.

One minute she's all about the girl....

....the next she's rocking her lace ups!


The real me
These are the shoes I wear every single day.

My slippers: because I love nothing more than being at home. The three bears (plus cooking bean)... My sensible trainers: No, I don't go to the gym, but I walk everywhere. No matter what clothes I put on, I will always wear these to get to where ever I need to be because they fit well, they feel comfortable and they ensure a spring in my step. My wellies: Being outside muddling around in the garden at Fairy Cottage is my dream destination, my special place.


As the owner of the most fabulous pair of shoes ever once said, "There's no place like home...."

28 weeks....

size: Huge and stretching. Comments this week include a charity shop worker shouting across the road at me "There are quads in there." I have also caused two jaws to drop when I announced I still have over two months to go.

Temperament: Like a yo-yo. Mr Scruff yet again has taken the brunt of my hormones this week when he dared try to go up to the loft "to sort out a leakage" when we were running late to get out of the house. Bare in mind, Little Miss P was running around the house nappyless and my belly would not fit past the loft ladder. I feel justified in unleashing some wrath.

Stretchmarks: I am putting on my happy face but inside I am screaming. I have a new stretch mark to join the merry old gang. I will still persist with the daily dosing of oil and prayer. This week L'Occitane Almond oil is getting the thumbs up because of its delicious smell but all hopes are pinned on Decleors combination of Stretch Mark Cream and Aromessence Sculpt oil and Balm. 

Sibling reaction: Little Miss P has started to pat my belly and say "baby". Sweet, but then she did it to daddy too so I think she assumes all bellies are actually called baby. But, BUT she did lean over and give my belly a kiss. And yes my heart did melt.

Name: No more to add to our current list of one.

Wardrobe: The jeggings have been cast off. I said it in jest at first but now they really do make my legs look like stuffed sausages. Tent dresses it is.

Midwife appointment: Still haven't had one...thats seven weeks now. Feeling neglected.

Movement: The ripples have started. So much for him being a quiet little lad!

Sleep: Lack of. There are high hopes for a newly acquired Dream Genie pillow (thanks teawithonesugarplease)

Feeling: Tired but excited.

A few honest words

A huge thank you to the lovely Magic Mummy over at The Diary of a Frugal Family. She has nominated moi for this award...gee whiz, I'm touched. I must apologise Magic Mummy for the delayed response, but life keeps on getting in the way of my blog writing!

All she asks is that I tell you some honest things about myself...mmmm. EEk, could my confessions mark the end of our friendship? Will you see me in a different, not so shiny light? Will my bow unravel and my gloss appear smeared? I do hope not.

1. I don't like cats. I'm sorry. I know this revelation will upset the trillion cat lovers out there, but I am scared of them. I blame my mother - she has a terrible fear of them and this has rubbed off on me. It's something about the look in their eyes and the way they do as they please.

2. I cannot spell. I mean I really cannot spell. I get my bears and bares, my theres and theirs, my affects and effects all muddled up and when it comes to typing 'the' it always, without exception, comes out 'teh'. For a journalist this is a sorry state of affairs.

3. When it comes to tax credits, allowances, bills, pensions and benefits my mind completely and utterly shuts down. I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

4. I am terribly shy around boys, well men. I'm married so its not that I am shy in a coquettish way, far, far from it. I just don't know what to say....it's a good job Mr Scruff and I were both tipsy when we met otherwise the ice may never have been broken.

5. And on a similar tip, if I ignore you or pretend I haven't seen you, I am not being rude or aloof, just paranoid and self conscious.

6. The lines across my forehead, the stretch marks on my belly, the dimpled cellulite on my thighs, the moles and freckles across my skin, they bother me.

7. Sometimes I wish I was more Margot than Barbara.

8. I have seen Britney Spears in concert. Twice. I want to be one of her dancers.

9. I pick my nose. Sometimes.

10. And dear Mr Scruff, it was me that scratched to top of the froggy chair, scrapped the car along a car park post, spilled the soya sauce on the carpet and ate the last hobnob. Sorry.

Now I have opened up my closet, it's only fair that you spill the beans too....go on, I dare you!

WARNING! Open my kitchen cupboard at own risk.

Ever feel like you don't know which way to turn?

I'm having one such moment. I've pulled up to the roundabout and now I am going round in circles. You see there is so much to do in our house that when I start to think about it my brain aches.

The thing is I am not talking about the big jobs, of which there are many. The bathroom, carpets, curtains etc, these will all be planned and put into place as and when the funds arise. It's all the little chores that are niggling me.

Take my kitchen cupboard. No, please, take it, for I cannot bear to look at it anymore. My excuse for it getting into this state is it is too high for me to reach so stuff tends to get 'thrown' in. It's an embarrassment. I have absolutely no idea what is lurking in there. Mr Scruffs obsession with wrapping everthing in little elastic bands does not help. I have argued for the storage tin option but he is a Virgo and when it comes to, cough, cough, organising things, Virgos perdantic nature always wins.

What I need is an afternoon, a bottle of pledge, a damp sponge, some lovely new storage tins, a step ladder and the will to sort out my shelves.

It's that or a lighted match!

Are you in a pickle like me, or are you blessed with domestic goddess-like tendencies and have every box of cereal and jar of sauce neatly and easily to hand? 

26 weeks....

Acceptance: Still in total and utter denial.

Bump growth: Ever increasing. I feel like a balloon that you dare someone to blow up until it bursts.

Sleep: A pain. I keep finding myself sprawled on my back awoken by heartburn. Plus Mr Scruff keeps shifting over to my side..."give me and your baby some room husband".

Indigestion: Burp. There is no room in the Inn for food. Well, maybe the odd craving....

...cravings: Avocados - weird. Why? My last pregnancy the very thought of these made me physically sick. I am also partial to cheese. I don't even like cheese.

Stretch marks: None new - yet. I barely gave the old ones a chance to recover so they are still there flashing their purple smirks at me.

Temper: Under control - just. I did launch a crazed attack on Mr Scruff because he told me to shush. I mean really. I may be carrying a child, but don't treat me like one. Yes, he was at work and I was ranting very loudly, but still.

Aches and pains: The old chestnut, my lower back.

Hospital: Feeling a tad neglected. Having had a doctors appointment at 21 weeks my next one isn't until 28 weeks. I know it's my second time around, but seriously, talk about being left to your own devices.

Names: One contender. My suggestion. It's a bit out there, but after several months contemplation Mr Scruff has given it his approval. Could be 'the one'

Well being: Despite my disappointment in its failure to work the first time around I have rekindled my relationship with Dr Motha and her Gentle Birth Method. I am dipping into the diet (I've cut down on sugar and wheat, rather than completely eliminating them as she suggests) and have started to listen to her tapes telling me how my pelvis is like softly set jelly.

the house: Still in a state of re-decoration. It is now 5 weeks since Mr Scruff entered the spare bedroom with a pot of white emulsion. Quite what he is up to in there is between him and those four (not yet white) walls.

Movement: A quiet little chap, but the odd thump in my side and sudden pressure on my bladder reassures me all is well and kicking.

I've written this post inspired by http://englishmamma.wordpress.com/. I have been following her pregnancy throughout and she has now reached 40 weeks...good luck!

Cowley Manor - what a treat!

The Scruffs have had a ball. There are beaming smiles on our faces. A holiday for us this year is unlikely - baby number 2 and a house to renovate means plans to whiz off to fairer isles have been put on the back burner. But we did manage to snatch a night away. And boy has it recharged our batteries - glorious weather and a beautiful hotel was just the tonic we needed.

 Cowley Manor

Cowley Manor is in the heart of the Cotswolds, near Cheltenham. It's one of those places which from the outside looks like a big stately home set amongst acres of amazing gardens but inside the design is just the right side of contemporary - think quirky art and sculptures, lots of inviting furniture and beautiful luxurious and modern rooms, but without a whiff of pretentiousness.

 The view from the terrace over the lake

As soon as we pulled into the blossom lined drive at Cowley Manor, we felt relaxed. The staff - everyone - is incredibly helpful, friendly and welcoming. We started off with lunch on the terrace overlooking the beautiful lake and rolling Cotswolds hills. Cowley isn't a childrens hotel, in that it's very quiet, but it is very child friendly. They are fully equipped with Stokke (naturally) high chairs, a lovely childrens menu (think smoked haddock or home made chicken nuggets) and even plastic cutlery. There are also giant games set out on the lawns - Connect Four, Jenga and Snakes and Ladders, but I think these are there for the adults more than the kids!

 Playing Connect 4!

Our room was big and spacious with a fabulously huge bed which in Little Miss P  eyes was the best soft playground she'd ever been on! The bathroom too was as big as our lounge at home with a walk in shower, double sink and free standing bath. In fact, it was so big, we actually set up the travel cot for Little Miss P to sleep in there. I mean, where else could we put her - there is no way she would have nodded off with us in the same room! She didn't mind at all. In fact she had one of the best nights sleep she has had in ages!

Located in a separate building is the C-Spa, with a gym, treatment rooms and a black slate tiled heated indoor and a heated outdoor pool. With the weather as fine as it was it was cossies and armbands on and straight into the water! Ah, we could have been in Spain it was so warm. Little Miss P had a whale of a time. she is usually a bit nervous in water but not here - we had to hold her to stop her swimming off!

 We could have been in Spain..but this was better!

That evening, Mr Scruff and I were booked into the restaurant for dinner so we hired a babysitter recommended by the hotel. The company, Elf Sitters were great. Our sitter, Sally, phoned me a few days before hand to introduce herself and I was very assured Little Miss P was in safe hands. So whilst she settled in, we headed down to the bar for a champagne Cocktail (Mr Scruff) and a Virgin Mojito (me). The menu here is one of those where you just cannot decide what to eat as absolutely everything looks mouthwatering. I had wild nettle soup (picked from the grounds), followed by Gloucester black spot pork belly and Mr Scruff had crab salad and then guinea foul. Dessert was pressed pear with mini doughnuts and the best looking cheese plate I think I've ever seen. A hot chocolate by the fire rounded off a lovely evening.

Next day after a lovely breakfast, we went for a walk around the grounds. There is a huge lake and we fed the ducklings and swans.  Little Miss P chased butterflies whilst we sat and enjoyed the sunshine.

 Some cows walking past the lake - as they do!

I treated myself to a Coming Soon treatment. The spa uses its own range of natural products, Green and Spring, which are made with locally sourced ingredients. I got to choose what tunes to play in the room and waited on my huge puffy pillow for the therapist. I was then treated to an hour of blissful massage. All my pregnancy aches and pains melted away as she gently pummeled my back, legs and arms and even gave my face and scalp a massage. It was heavenly.

 Looking for insects!

Our lovely break away concluded with a pub lunch at the Green Dragon, about a ten minute walk from Cowley Manor.

Even though we were only away for one night, we felt as good as we do after a weeks holiday. When you find little gems like this, who needs to travel abroad?

http://www.cowleymanor.com/

Mummy Bear - where have you been?

If you have popped by for a cuppa and a slice of cake and found I am never at home, I apologise. Last week I posted how I had been a bit slack lately. Well I have not pulled my finger out have I.

I love filling you all in on my news and thoughts, but these past two weeks seem to have just slipped through my fingers. Usually I sneak a post in during my lunch hour at work or when I am settled in front of the TV at night, but I ask you - just where is time going?

You see I have been plotting in my mind what to write and I am extremely excited about a few changes and improvements I would like to make to shewasnotatalldomestic. But it's no good in my head is it. So I promise to put fingers to keyboard.

Last week The Scruffs enjoyed an amazing mini holiday - a night away in the Cotswolds. I have been itching to tell you all about it and will write a post with all the stories and pictures.

And of course there is the baby on board. I am nearly 26 weeks now, so what's happening with the hormones, stretchmarks,  bump? Ah, where do I start?

So there is lots to look forward to and now I am back in the swing, I will make up for being so lackadaisacal.

I will go and pop the kettle on right now and warm the teapot, so do keep popping by and there will be lots of gossip and chats waiting for you.