On the Thursday after we arrived I enjoyed a shopping trip to Solihull with Maggie Moon where we couldn't resist the sale in M&S and so Master Read's UK wardrobe began! He was also treated to his first little teddy bear from John Lewis & a brilliant Teddy Bear Factory 'Patch' the puppy dressed in surfer dude gear & put together with love by Lydia & Freya.
On Friday I discovered the joys of New Look's maternity range & picked up a very nice blue & white top & some white 3/4 length jeans for when Spring/Summer arrives. In the evening we headed over to see Mark, Lisa & Dani who had put on an amazing mini Baby Shower with a feast fit for a king including these cake pops & beautifully-decorated cupcakes:-
On Saturday we headed to Wales where I was very excited to meet my Cousin Jane's baby Erin for the first time - it was also her 2nd Birthday so time to party! We had a lovely time, lots of cake & countless renditions of 'Happy Birthday to You'. After the festivities were over Master Read had a 'blow' around Porthcawl which was very windy indeed but coupled with beautiful blue skies & even a spot of sunshine I do believe!
On Tuesday it was time to meet up with Adam who had been away on Pat's stag weekend in Valencia and spend some time with the Read family. Again - another baby to meet - little Zac - Kelly & Lee's 3rd boy who is a little ray of sunshine. Speaking of which we managed to sit out in Kelly's garden for a bit in the afternoon & soaked up a few rays with a Cornetto - yum! The boys - Finn, Jake & Zac - are absolutely gorgeous & it was so nice to spend some quality family time with them although they all ended up with chickenpox or 'chicken spots' by the end of the week bless them.
The rest of the week saw lots of lovely meals out - posh brekkie at the East Sussex National golf course, pizza & pasta at Prezzo in Hayward's Heath with the whole family & a brilliant all-you-can-eat Chinese meal for just the adults one evening. We also managed to fit in a trip to the movies to see the last of the Harry Potter series & a BBQ at Kelly & Lee's before we headed up to London for the main event - Pat & Anna's wedding.
We arrived in London on the Friday afternoon and unbeknown to me until Dad told me a week or so later, stayed at the same hotel that my grandparents honeymooned at many many moons ago - The Strand Palace Hotel. After unpacking we met up with Mike & ducked off to Smollensky's across the road for some happy hour cocktails - I had a 'No Gin Sling'! Then we had a nice dinner with the bridal party before the boys headed out for more drinks & goodness knows what?! I headed up to bed with a hot chocolate - bliss!
The morning of the wedding was quite hectic - collecting the cake, setting up the table, putting together the wedding cupcake arrangement & we found ourselves getting ready in a bit of a rush... I think Adam was still in the shower at 1:45pm when, as one of the Best Men, had to be at the Royal Society of Arts by 2pm - d'oh!
Here's a pic of the three of us - Adam looking very suave in his wedding get-up & me sporting a nice navy blue lace dress from ASOS' maternity range!
The ceremony was lovely - very emotional - and the drinks afterwards were held in the Vaults in the basement which were very cool. By this time, however, my new wedges were KILLING me & so I was very relieved when Adam had to run back to the hotel to pick up something he had forgotten for the speech & brought me back some flats!! New shoes = worn for approximately 2 hours!!
The meal was lovely - especially the cupcakes with fresh strawberries & cream for dessert - & Adam's best man speech went down well although some of it was a bit rude - ha ha! In the evening there were many costume changes for the boys - one minute Arab sheikhs, the next morph suits - but a good night was had by all & I even managed a boogie with my bump in tow!
On Sunday we headed up to North London to stay at a hotel near Adam's UK office & had a fabulous roast dinner in a local pub - roast beef & Yorskhire puddings - nom nom nom!!!
Monday morning dawned bright & sunny & I made my way to Waterloo with my overnight bag ready to spend a day & a half with my wonderful bestie Rachie A. First stop coffee & almond croissants then a wander round the shops where I was thrilled to pick up a jumper from Baby Gap that I've been coveting for Master Read for ages (for his trip to Canada next Feb) & a cute t-shirt from H&M which is a surprise for his Daddy - pics to follow - & a maternity blouse for me. We also stopped off at Rachie's fave store Anthropologie which is a true treasure trove of beautiful, chic fashion & homewares. Here is the aforementioned jumper - isn't it cute?!
In the afternoon we went for a lovely high tea at Number Sixteen in South Kensington and whiled away many hours chatting over tea, sandwiches, scones & cake - yum! It was a beautiful day & we had so much to catch up on... can't believe it's been over 2 years since we saw each other. Here's a pic of Rachie - a bit obscured by our tea tray!
After tea we headed back to Epsom where Rachie lives with her fab fiance John in a gorgeous house - I got the guided tour & it was so good to finally see where her famous 'A Chi Chi Affair' blog is written from! To check out Rachie's blog please click on her name earlier in this post.
I don't know how we managed it after all the cakes in the afternoon but we went out for a lovely pub meal with John in the evening - I had traditional fish & chips - why not - it was my last night in the UK after all!
On the Tuesday - our last day - we went first-glance wedding dress shopping and oh my goodness it was so much fun... I won't give too much away but needless to say Rachie looked stunning in everything she tried & I hope our trip will give her some inspiration for her big day which is next July & I will be back in the UK for - I have the honour of being a bridesmaid!!! Last stop Pizza Express - somewhere Rachie & I used to frequent a lot back in our London days - and then a sad good-bye as I headed back to North London to meet up with Adam & make our way to Heathrow for the flight home.
It was such a lovely trip, jam-packed full of wonderful times with our family & friends & we were so spoilt - we even had to borrow extra hand-luggage from Kelly & Lee to cart all of Master Read's new wardrobe home with us... I will finish up with a pic of some of the beautiful clothes he has been given & the cutest little shoes ever from Mark, Lisa & Dani - he is going to be the coolest baby in Oz!
Hope you've enjoyed Master Read's UK diary... can't say much has happened in Oz since then but I'm sure I'll think of something for another post soon...
p.s. sorry the pics are the wrong way round - I can't fix them for some reason & it's SO irritating!!!
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