Bridesmaid Profile #1

So I picked my a bridesmaid for each part of my life so far, it was easy up until I got to Reading and I had issues with so much choice but one stood out from all the rest so it was a no brainer in the end... I'll break down the info on my Bridesmaids into separate post's so you can get to know them and realise why I've kept hold of them in my life!... I'll do it in order of them entering the Crazy life of ME as I'm not really doing Maid of Honour thing as they all mean so much to me.. I honestly have very little memory of most of my time before and after Kyd was born but the times I remember are because they obviously meant a lot to me. The moments which have defined me and the moments why each of these girls are still in my life!


So here goes...

Bridesmaid #1: Pippy

I first met Pippy (not her real name) when I started St Augustine's RC Secondary School, Scarborough. she was a quiet and shy girl, who wore tracky bottoms and airtex t-shirts. She had a lovely mum and dance crazy sister who were so proud of their academically successful Pippy.

Then she started hanging around with me....

I was also a quiet and retiring pre teen who was in the top sets of all her classes and had a very good relationship with my family and teachers.... Then I hit 13 and that rebellion switch in my head became active and here is the exact moment where the madness started.

Pippy and myself had a budding friendship from the early years of Secondary School but in summer 2000 age 14, it became better than ever!... Even now over 10 years later, this is the best and most actively entertaining summer I have ever had.... and I know Pip thinks the same!

We had a group of  friends who were all soooo different it just worked! There was me, the out going thought she knew everything one (nothings changed). Pippy, the shy one just waiting to be corrupted by us. Laura, the crazy alternative one. Amy, the misunderstood one. Amber, the giggly one. Stef, the aggressive in your face one... and to be honest their were many more to come and go but these were the main folks.
We used to have a lovely time having sleepovers and sitting on the field at school chatting about boys and stuff as teenage girls do.... But I think that we got bored with that quite quickly and in between the girly squabbles and snogging of boys we found... BOOZE! Vodka, Cider, Lambrini... whatever we got our hands on really! This soon became our weekend routine, whether we were in Scarborough or Bridlington we would be certain to have a bottle of something attached to our mouths!

This particular summer was to be my last for a few years in Yorkshire as I was moving to live with my dad in Cambridgeshire to start a new school and life... an attempt to fix my outlandish behaviour.... this didn't work as I'll explain in the Bridesmaid #2 post... But I had to make this time count, WE had to make this time count!... and we did just that!

We drank every night we could, We found new 'older' boys to take advantage of and make buy us booze, we watched Big Brother, went on MSN (which was very new then), listened to crap music and spent most of the time on the seafront at the arcades and the fair.... So much happened in such a short time... It would be too much for you all to take in but I'll give you my fave Pippy moment...

Pippy was new to the rebellion scene, She was so sweet and innocent that we almost saw it our mission to make her one of us. We managed to pry her from her beloved airtex t-shirts and trackies and put her in more girly jeans and vest tops. We even managed to get her to swear... sorry Mummy C... We used to go out and Pip would laugh at us all drinking so much but she was always quite refrained and sensible... BUT this one night was different! We were all on the seafront having a laugh as usual. We had conned some poor bloke in to going in the shop and buying a few bottles of vodka by fluttering our eyelashes. We were all supposed to be at each others houses, we had mislead our parents and not for the first time.... again sorry Mummy C.... It was such a good night, but we were all so drunk we had started to get a bit too rowdy. We were laughing and joking around as we always did, until Stef started getting into her angry drunk mode and chasing Amber around the pier which resulted in a few grazed knees... but lots of laughs. Pippy was slowly getting more and more drunk, we had hardened to drink by this point, Pippy on the other hand was a newbie to vodka, meaning she had been getting more and more giggly whilst slurring and falling over. After a lot more laughing we realised Pip really needed to go home. It wasn't that far away but due to the fact she was falling all over the place I remember it took us ages. We had a bit of a squabble as to who was going to take her to the door as Mummy C was quite stern with us and we had got her darling daughter drunk... very, very drunk. I decided that we would leave her at the end of the road, keys in hand, watch her go in and then.... RUUUUUNNNNN!

This lead to my favourite Pippy moment!.... She started walking... dropped her keys... struggled to pick them up... took 2 steps and dropped them again.... this went on the whole way to her door, giggling each time she did it. We were stood at the end of the road rolling around laughing at her. She got to the door she tried to open it and when she did we ran....

Turns out Pippy spent the night being sick, the next day being even more sick and Mummy C having to deal with a daughter with slight alcohol poisoning.... WHOOOOOPSY...

This wasn't the last time we got drunk but it was the best memory that I have... and I haven't even told you the half of it... because I don't remember much more of it and I don't want Mummy C to kill me before I get married!

Pippy went on to be sensible, with the element of fun that that summer had injected, she realised she could have both in her life and still achieve... she's not silly! She went on to pass her GCSE's (so she has 1 up on me there!) and go to uni to become a Primary School Teacher. She had a beautiful baby boy and married a lovely Punny man who she is overly and quite sickly happy with! I am looking forward to hearing more happy stories about her new family as we get old.

Right so there is Pippy, Bridesmaid profile #1. I can not wait to get on the dance floor and do our Bewitched dancing... let's face it Pip we still know all the words and all the dance moves!... We are like sooooo cool!

First Things First... Will you be my Bridesmaid?

So I know this wedding lark is going to be a strain but before I start to get in too deep I need to pick my bridesmaids... I had a good think about it and to be honest I didn't need to think too much. I wanted a person to represent each part of my life... Early School, Pre Rhys, Early Rhys & Now... You see a lot has gone on in my life as my Mummy Blog will explain, but only a few friends truly survived the madness... I know a lot of people and a lot of people are dear to me but these 6... yes 6!... are ones that stand out for reasons I will explain on a separate post for each one...

But anyway I decided as they're scattered all over the country I would write a good old fashioned letter... But that was too hard so I decided to write a poem and send a card. As I want this to be a DIY wedding I made the cards.... just as I am going to make the invites and everything else!

Here are the Finished articles... and the poem I knocked up... Don't laugh!

The Poem...

I know that it is not for ages,

But I am doing this whole thing in stages.

Before the Venue, Flowers or Dress,

The lack of sleep and loads of stress,

I have to pick through friend or foe

To find the very best I know...

So this is the part where you come in

You’ve been with me through thick & thin,

So I’m hoping that you can be swayed

And say YES to being...

BRIDESMAID??

Alice xxx

I have sent these out through good old fashioned Royal Mail post and they made it to the destination the next day... although I handed them over to the 2 in Reading... as that would've been a waste of stamp! LOL

I will update you on my bridesmaid choices in the next few days... BUT just to let you know they all said YES... like they'd say no!! 

Speak Soon...

A Big Engagement Party Thank You...

(Taken from My Main Blog My Life, My Son, My Way)

 Sunday, 25 September 2011

We celebrated our Engagement with a party last night. We saw old and new friends come to join us at The Prince Of Wales, Caversham, to celebrate the joining together of....

...Yeah OK it was just an excuse to get Very Very DRUNKEN!!! We will be holding several of these in several locations and milking it as far as we can, until everyone we know is suffering from liver failure! Because I like to drag things out.

With Thanks to all that made it to either the pub or the AfterDark club and all the staff at both venues ESPECIALLY Miss Sarah Giles who set up all the food and balloons etc because she's a star... to all of you that couldn't come let us know when you are free and, like I said, we can rearrange a different night so you don't feel too guilty! :cheekygrin:

I'd love to show you all the effort and all the hard work that went into it BUT as we were so drunk, we seemed to have ALL forget to take photos... All of us, god knows how many guests we had there and we all forgot... sign of a great night me thinks!!... Well I think I posed for 1... but I am unsure, if you took any let me know! lol. I am a bit sad about this as I put so much effort into my bloody outfit and we have no documentation of it ever happening... other than our hangovers... Good excuse to do it all again though ay???

Right so as we have no pictures this is a photo run down of our night in OLD photos... some people in these photos may not have been there last night.... or they might have been for all I can remember... Enjoy!

From This....

To This....

To This... To This...

FYI this is not me!!... I don't think....

 Then To This...

So there you go... This is the story of our Engagement party in photos from past events.... Hope you've enjoyed them...

...Today Was That Day!!!

(Taken from my Mummy Blog My Life, My son, My Way)

Sunday, 4 September 2011

My love of Alfies Antiques took us on a detour on our random day out to Camden today... I wasn't expecting to come home with an engagement ring on my finger!!! Especially the one I loved so much that I'd already tried on several times before in awe of 'One Day' just maybe... Today was that day!

We woke up and packed Rhys off to his, Once monthly, over night stay at respite and decided we'd make the most of the freedom by taking a trip to Camden as we often do. I got a little distracted on the tube and we decided to hop off at Marylebone and have lunch on the roof at Alfie's then potter down to Camden. I Love Alfie's and on a sunny day there is something lovely about sitting on the roof top in London surrounded by other rooftops, eating your lunch. We strolled around Alfie's, I always pay close attention to the jewellery as I always wonder what the history is behind each piece.... And I always seem to go back to the same stall.... You see Alfie's is an indoor antique market where all the stars go! Kate Moss, Lady GaGa... blah blah... It's not just antiques and vintage clothing, It's modern art and furniture to die for too... To me it's like a Maze of wonders you just have so much to look at you are in there hours!! It's this ever growing maze that sucks you in and you always find new nooks and crannies you have never seen before. I tend to get lost a lot and I feel a little like Alice in Wonderland surrounded by such random surreal pieces of loveliness!... I think it's the surrealness of it all that takes me back there each time... the escapism if you like. Anyway....

We pottered around and I went straight to the lovely man on the Jewellery stall that always has my fave pieces... I had been to Alfies for their Christmas doo a few years back in which the Tarot card reader had said I was going to marry My best friend and at that time Hoff and I were on the brink of crossing that Friend Boyfriend barrier... She freaked me out then I went downstairs and saw this fantastic perfect ring... 'Try it on' the man said 'If it fits it's fate'... sure enough perfect fit... Odd I'd gone from umming and ahhhing about crossing the friendship line to being told I was going to marry him and finding the perfect ring all in the space of an Hour... WTF was my initial reaction but without this I'd prob still be pondering what ifs now!... anyway this same stall man was there today and we had a chat and he showed me his Sapphires... Because I've always wanted an Antique Sapphire engagement ring... way before Kate got Diana's!!!!...It's my Dads Fault he took us to so many Antique fairs as kids we have a liking for the antiques ourselves now!... so now I always look... THE particular ring from before had been sold, which was disappointing but it had been 2 years after all!... I fell in love with one particular ring that I had seen before... all over again... I tried it on and the man said... 'Perfect fit doesn't even need adjusting'... I looked at Hoff in a puppy dog eye way and said 'it's FATE!'... I was of course only joking!... I was quite happy plodding along the way we were. I smiled and took it off... after taking a pic first... just to keep an eye  on it for next time I was there. Hoff laughed and we went up to the Roof for lunch. We had some strange conversations but non that were obvious. We looked round some more then went for a walk towards the posh bit of St Johns Wood... I like to pretend I live there... One Day Maybe!!... We walked around for ages saw a gang fight on the way and everything!.... and then a collection of really posh cars literally not that far away from the fight... the economic difference was so big but was so close to each other... scarily no middle ground!!!... but we ended up back at Alfie's again anyway after walking past Lords Cricket Ground twice!... I think we did one big circle lol... Hoff needed the toilet or something so we popped back in to Alfie's & I went to look at the Vintage clothes and try not to get depressed about not having the funds to buy them all! He came back and met me at Nina's the Vintage hair salon in the middle of the market... beautiful place it is too... we walked (the opposite way this time) down towards the tube and headed to Camden... I like to just Walk around in London and get lost you see so much more than on those dusty minging tubes! 

I Love Camden so much! Anything Goes... Everyone expects to see brightly coloured hair and extravagant clothes and oddly placed piercings and tattoos so nobody bats an eyelid... It's fantastic! We went round the thousands of Market stalls in the Lock and up the High street and decided my feet wanted to kill me.... So we went to a nearby pub... 

The Worlds End... Brilliant name to be fair! We went in got our drinks, found a seat and sat down... not long after Hoff disappeared to the toilet AGAIN... but for a longer period... I just thought the obvious *cough cough*.... but when he came back he looked sheepish.... confused me but like a child I carried on throwing bits of paper at him aiming for his pint!... I'm good at that game!... 

Then It happened.....

He bent down on one knee behind the table so noone could see and underneath the picture of the grim reaper... And started tieing his shoelace... Sigh of relief came from me as he sat back up.... 

Then he did it again!!!!.... 

But this time he had a box in his hand...

He opened the box and said...

Alice Guru Baillie Will You Marry Me????..... then he got back up on his chair so nobody saw him Hahahahaha

It was THE ring, THE ring I had tried on and loved and nurtured whilst at Alfie's.... I was so shocked but instantly said YES!!.... Obviously..... nobody had even batted an eyelid at the proposal! In this packed pub in Camden a bald man had just bent down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend and nobody noticed..... must be the norm around there... like I said anything goes in Camden!...

This may be an odd setting for most but for me... It was perfect... maybe not the Grim reaper on the wall above us, but the very fact we were where we felt comfortable and on a day where we had had so much fun! Even though technically Hoff was saying that marriage was the worlds end... I thought that was funny! Sense of humour is a Big must have in my world!....

Best thing is it was as spontaneous as our random house buying and as random as us getting together after years of friendship... but that's just how we work!... He saw it, decided to do it and did it!... Even better thing is that even in the midst of the spontaneousness he actually had time to ring my Daddy for permission to marry his daughter!... altogether now....Ahhhhhhhhhh bless him!!!..... My dad's reaction... 'Of Course... as long as you pay for it' hahahaha typical Dad reaction... He was so pleased that he had taken the time to ask him first... Brownie Points there I reckon!!.... I phoned my mum to tell her and she was at work so I had to be quick! She was over the moon as any mother would be! I waited to tell others as we were heading to a family gathering (handy!!) for belated drinks for my sisters birthday. I wanted to tell her first before I announced it... I still rung Parr.... as I had to tell someone and as she's practically half of me anyway and far enough away to not tell anyone, she was a safe bet... she had a crying screaming reaction to the picture of the ring... And then So did my sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, I even got a big grinned text from my RAF based Brother, who is just back from Alaska, & close friends that I text to tell flooded my inbox with squeals of delight!.... and finally Twitter & Facebook in which people were overwhelmingly lovely.... so much so, that I couldn't reply to all the messages of Congrats... so If you sent one then, Thank You very much, we are over the moon and we are looking forward to the future!!

I am Sooooooooo Happy right now!! I can't wait for the future... although Wedding plans won't start straight away mind, as we need to save for the Baillie - Hassall extravaganza..... I never do things by halves.... Watch this space!!