Do-lally-me...

Just pondering and having a quiet night in after all the excitement of the weekend.. ;-) x

Oh Xmas Tree...

Oh Xmas Tree... how lovely are your branches... ! Well, they used to be but now I've chopped them off to save having to keep finding pine needles in my knickers throughout 2008! No pain, no gain, so they say... thankfully, even though I managed to get rid of everything else green and garden-like, I did save the secoteurs.. I must have had a premonition because I can't imagine why else I would have rescued them from my giant garage sale.. so twinkly tree is now very bare and branchless and destined for the big dustbin in the sky.. bless.. x just in time too...

Mums...

Lois has the right idea... she's definately a Szabo! Oodles of charm and a right smiler... yeah, fits the bill perfectly... us Szabo's just celebrated another fantastic birthday party at Birches Park! Full marks for attendance with 100% Davenports, 60% Wingfield's and 80% Matthews's... how knacked was I after arriving in the morning, helping with the buffet, smiling my way through the afternoon and then driving home... everyone had a great time though and it was lovely to see all the family.. here's to my birthday.. woo hoo! x

a bit of a pub crawl...

Well what are Fridays all about if you can't go out and have a drink.. or two... ?! I do love a challenge and packing and then making sure I had everything for mum's birthday party before I set off to Chelts.. phew.. it's more like a military operation than a friday night jollie! Me & Dom decided to 'Do Chelts' so we landed at the Wine Bar early evening, went over the road to Strada for something to eat, then had drinks in HDV before meeting up with the lads and girls in Morans! Best bit as always, HDV... my most favourite hotel, and then went back to Doms for a long sleeeeeeep zzzzzzzz

Happy Birthday Mum... x

Today is my mum's birthday.. 75 years young and she says she still feels 39! I love my mum to bits... we holiday together, craft together and most importantly, she keeps my dad smiling and never grumbles or complains about anything.. she's a bit of a looker... loves a glass or two of something alcoholic.. plus the odd cup of tea of course and will put anything between two pieces of bread... my mum loves to whistle and thankfully, my dad just loves her doing what she enjoys.. she never stops stitching and is the number 1 canvas queen... she has given so many little children a great start in life... loves having crunchie fridays... can make a mean paprika chicken... her favourite colours are red, green and blue... never wears black... has walked the cotswold way.. still doesn't mind staying in youth hostels... has very green fingers... is mum, grandma, great grandma, sister, aunt, wife, cousin and good neighbour... but best of all she's my mum... and I love her.. xxx

above and beyond...

Massive brownie points to the very nice man in M&S this lunchtime who helped me in my search for cheese sauce. Yes, I did think of making it from scratch but as I've bought the readymade version before and it's been yummy, I just thought I'd ask... He couldn't see what I needed and was so very apologetic, so I put my cauliflower and leeks back on the shelf and went to find a readymade version for tonight's supper. Low and behold, 10 minutes later I'm still trying to choose between the aubergine parmigiano or the cauliflower cheese when I'm accosted by none other than 'my man' waving a jar of cheese sauce at me. He'd been and found it from the other side of the store, asked the ladies opinion of it, which was good, so how could I disappoint him. How lovely that someone will still go the extra 10% above and beyond to help a customer. Which just goes to prove that if you smile at boys, they will smile back and if you challenge them... they will more often than not, rise to that challenge! Motto of this story is... smile... and make life more challenging... !

Happy New Year...

I have a tinkly little tiara and a bit of party spirit to see in 2008! Out with the old... in with the new... forget the tiresome ones... keep in touch with the live wires... take up the new challenges... make friends with radiators and ditch the drains... trust your instincts... think wise thoughts.. plan more holibobs... scrap more... eat colourfully... drink as much as you did last year... dance your way through 2008 and all will be well... x

Rising to the occasion...

36 little cup cakes later and thankfully there were enough early risers to butter up with lemon curd and take downstairs to the party! Naomi came for the day and we had a fab time. We went to Sainsbury's searching for ingredients and bun tins. The search continued in Nailsworth where we found a measuring jug too.. oh, how sad my life is that I'm excited about buying a new measuring jug! Had lunch at Hobbs and wandered round town before coming back to bake cup cakes. Thank goodness little missy N was awake and noticed I hadn't added any baking powder! I thought fairy cakes just rose on their own.. who invented plain flour anyway... it's useless for making cakes!±@ Hey ho & anyway, the afternoon was delightful, we watched Devil Wears Prada dvd, Tash arrived & we had mum's christmas cake, and I made more cup cakes.. & this time remembered to add that all important ingredient... baking powder... he he... where would a girl be without baking powder hey?!

I saw the New Year in with my lovely neighbours... the mad, the bad and the certifiable... we ate, drank fizzy, formed a penny whistle band and sprinkled star dust on more neighbours at midnight with a few well chosen and very long sparklers! As befits the occasion and as always seems to happen on these occasions... they all tripped round my place for a guided tour just before midnight... they loved it.. but not half as much as I do! x

me and the girls...

I took the girls to OPA in Bath and we had a fantastic time! The buffet was amazing, the food was lovely and the staff were so friendly. Naomi loved the Tiropitakia - triangles of cheese - so much that she brought some back home with her. The Papoutsakia - stuffed aubergine with mince topped with bechamel sauce was my favourite and Tash, I think just loved it all... there were 12 individual dishes with two served of some, there wasn't room on the table for more! Their father really doesn't know what he's missing... mfh x

My 1st girly party...

The girls came around tonight... woo hoo! It was an experiement really... just to see how many girlies I could fit into my apartment and guess what... there's room for so many more! Angela came with Dom & Lisa and Nix came too... we dined on scrummy butternut squash, chestnut and blue cheese, my fragrant indian spiced baked salmon and lovely gruyere cheese and chive baked potatoes.. we drank cocktails and topped it off with Dom's banoffie pie... yum! Angela was doing tarot... very interesting... but a secret... x

It's a wonderful life...

Fi, Rob & Ellie came today... it was just so lovely to see them. Fi, Rob and me went to the Britannia for lunch. Rob brought crackers, Fi bought me some fabulous bowls and chop sticks and we planned 'time out' for 2008.. woo hoo! Great friends are such a precious gift. Fi & me have been friends for over 30 years. We first met on a pavement in Dudley and spent the next two years living in an attic room on Lingfield Road. We decorated every spare inch of that room with posters and here we are today and nothing much has changed. We still feel 19, we're even better friends but the challenges have got much greater. We're now trying to decorate the entire world with bits of paper and take photographs along the way so that we can remind ourselves where we've been! We've come a long way since those days in Dudley, some of us have travelled to more continents than others (I'm not bitter, honest!) being great friends is what really matters.

This holiday has been as wonderful as the friends and family I have around me, they all mean the world to me.

The BIG day!

Happy Crimbo... what do you get when you combine Liz and presents?! Excitement, rustling and a flurry of feverish unwrapping!
One happy bunny!
Make that two happy bunnies!

before and after...

here's the happy couple... before and after... there is only one way... x x

Phew.. home ... break open the pink champagne!

A taxi from Greg's house... a very quiet train from Lancaster... picked up by Rich in my sparkly, clean car! We dropped mum and dad off first then I managed to prise my son from behind the wheel of my mini so I could drive back to chez-anna. I flew home, literally, then armed with a bottle of plonk and chocies...

I headed to neighbours Chris & Fiona's for that much needed drink! Pink champers, woo hoo... and lots of interesting and wacky neighbours to chat to, fab! People are so interesting, don't you think? The mad ones are the best, the most fun and my neighbours are certainly an entertaining bunch! A few glasses later, a few nibbles (and I'm not joking there!) a guided tour of two properties and we were celebrating the dawn of Christmas Day 07! Around 1:30am I was ushered back to my door and although I didn't see Santa, or his sleigh, I was smiling and happy... .x

Lancaster bound...

Home sweet home... that is in Greg & Rachael's pad in Lancaster along with all the menagerie... had an eventful journey up there with mum and dad, oh how I love trains... not! The Bay Horse is a treat and had a lovely singsong at the carols and readings xmas service

It just had to be real...

Real... artificial... real... artificial... ? It just had to be real and little me struggled with it all the way up the stairs and it looks very twinkly now. It adds just the right kind of light to the room and has just enough space below for santa and his presents...

chestnut and stilton quiche...

This one's for you Greg! Who could resist this fabulous Hobbs quiche? Not me...! Makes the Xmas shopping so much easier to swallow.... !

HDV + OPL

Welcome to Vegas... well, it was in Bristol, but it was a good effort! Another year over and another Origin Party, though this time I arrived on my own and left with a date. Last year, as I recall, it was the other way around! How random is my life when it's spinning around planet singledom. It put a smile on my face anyway... which is exactly where my smile should be. There was plenty of glitz, champagne on the door, spirits flowing all night, got quizzed by another AM (gosh, I didn't realise he was another one!) and we danced until the small hours until my lift arrived. And, of course, HDV - just perfect x

my fav xmas thingummy

i just couldn't resist this very cute silver reindeer to hang on my xmas branches... it has to be my most fav xmassy trinket this year x

I love photoshop... my new 07 bling xmas cards...

Solved the 'make your own xmas cards' dilemma that I seem to be having this year. If you receive a card from me this year you might recognise this.... he he... x if you don't get one of these, you could get one of my world famous triangular creations... if you don't receive either of these, it means you've slipped off my xmas list... whooosh... or perhaps you were never on it.. ! it's amazing what you can do with a photo, courtesy of my fab but chilly day out at Westonbirt with 'my wonderful parents' a bit of playing around, courtesy of my very own personal photoshop guru - DAD and a couple of little gems... one being the glitter, the other being me! x I've realised that the secret to true happiness comes in an orange box, guess what that is?!

surreal...

Last saturday morning I was swimming in the outdoor pool at the hotel under glorious blue skies listening to Andy Williams 'It's the most wonderful time of the year'.. beat that! The pool was as hot as a very warm bath and stretched from inside the hotel out to the infinity pool which overlooked the city of Barcelona and the sea beyond. Sun... sea.... and solitude! x and what am I doing this morning... nothing quite so glamorous, I have some very special xmas cards to make for family and friends, I'm going to schmooze into town to peruse the bookshops and tonight I'm taking my new hair out to dinner! x

what can i say...

Gaudi...

I'm in awe of this guy. Here I was sitting on a bench admiring the sheer scale of one of his masterpieces. The curves, the ironwork and the creativity are beautiful and all the more amazing being here in one of the main streets of Barcelona. Try getting planning permission for this in the UK!

church chairs...

Would we all be standing up in cafes if we had carried on going to church? Every cafe and restaurant these days seems to have its fair share of church chairs. Sitting in a cafe in Barcelona on a church chair and looking around, I could see chairs with an obvious religious history. Who knows whose bums had graced these seats, if seats could talk hey! On second thoughts... x

water sculptures...

there was plenty to sit and watch whilst relaxing.. from the corkscrew water fountain to the wall of water that cascaded down the side of the pool... the screens of patterns on the side of the pool were also pretty cool...

amazing light sculpture

this dazzling light sculpture decended through from the top floor all the way down to ground...

announcing annabananas arrival...

a bit OTT i thought but very nice to let everyone know I was coming, all the same... x

woo hoo...

all I can say is that someone had to do it... champagne cocktails... that is... what a fantastic place to relax amongst the xmas trees, comfy sofas, coffee table books and just enjoy a champagne cocktail, or two. Beats rushing down to the beach, sitting on the top of a tour bus and made me feel home from home.. x

What a view...

It was tough waking up to this view and I had to try really hard to beat the one I wake up to every day...! and that's not the ugly mug of some 'rat'.. it's the view of the lake which is unquestionably more stunning, reliable and pleasing. Barcelona is fantastic! I admit, it took me a while to get over being there on my own but with such a stunning hotel, lots of air miles between me and home and such lovely people, by Friday I was starting to chill.

Leopards... and their spots..!

Success... and I love it!
Don't you love getting to the part with the BIG brush.... that's the easy bit!
What a pain having to concentrate for so long... phew... but, it will be worth it!
Leopards might not change their spots but I can change the way things look. A tin of paint, a couple of brushes and I have a feature wall in my bedroom! FAB!