Moving on

by Roz

Firstly, sorry for the lack of posts recently.  Both Bex and I have been a bit pre occupied over the last couple of weeks, for good reasons, but the blog has suffered as a result. Thanks for sticking with us :)

 

This is a bit of a weird post for me to write...it's official our flat, and home for the past 7 years, has gone on the market.  We are finally making plans to move in to our Forever House.  It's all a bit surreal if I'm being honest.

I'm not sure I can find the words to explain what I mean in this post, clearly I've written a fair few posts about the forever house and I knew we would be selling the flat...but it all feels so odd.  Our flat is amazing, it holds so many memories for us, it's safe and predictable and it's just about to be Baby Star's first ever home.  I already know there will be tears when it comes to moving out.

I've never really shared much of out flat on the blog, but given the effort I put in to tidying, de cluttering and cleaning it at 39 weeks pregnant(!) I thought it would be nice to shamelessly share some of the photos with you.  I'm not sure our flat has ever looked so good!

Our flat is an upside down duplex, by that I mean you come through our front door on the bedroom level and have to come downstairs to get to the living room and kitchen.  Our building is one of the oldest in the West End (verified through a painting that was found in the basement of the hotel by the builders) and used to be a large private home before being turned in to The Wickets Hotel (it over looks the West of Scotland Cricket Club) and then further extended when the property was converted to flats.

As we bought off plan, we managed to pick the fixtures and fittings and play about with the internal spec of the flat.  To this day I still love our ultra modern, high gloss kitchen, even though I know the colour scheme is not necessarily a popular choice.  I will be so sad to leave our black mirrored American fridge freezer behind and the glass, glitter brick wall tiles.

I also adore my gallery wall in our dining room.  I started adding items to it after seeing the kitchen wall in my friend Clare's house grow with photos of her life and kids.  The pictures, painting, signs and posters on the wall have been added to and changed around so many times and the latest addition (the Killers LP) was only finally put up last weekend!

Our bedroom is lovely and spacious and has a big en suite.  It's funny looking at these pictures and knowing the plans I have in my head for the Forever House...the flat is quite plain decor wise (lots of magnolia that we never really got around to updating) we did paint a blue feature wall in the second bedroom and paint the hallway yellow but that's it.  In fact we were in B&Q on Saturday bulk buying white Crown emulsion that was on offer - we bought 12 of the 10 litre tubs, having already used up 8 of these tubs!! - and B asked me if we should get some tubs of the magnolia paint, I snorted and said no and he was genuinely a bit shocked.  Apparently he didn't know that the Forever House was going to be painted ALL THE COLOURS!

For the eagle eyed amongst you...that's the thistle bed throw I made at screen printing with Bex all those years ago :)

The photo below is the view from our living room window.  It is so pretty to look out on the cricket pitch all year long.  The space is used for everything from cricket to kids sports camps to outdoor fitness classes.  There is always something going on and I love being nosey!  It really comes in to its own during the summer though as it's a lovely place to sit in the sun, catch some rays and enjoy a cheap pint of cider from the cricket club bar :)

And our back garden is pretty fab too.  It's communal but well landscaped in to separate areas, that means you can always find a wee corner to enjoy a bottle of chilled vino in relative privacy.

I guess all that's left to say is...anyone fancy buying our flat?!  Ha, only joking, we already have viewings lined up from before the flat actually went on the market and whilst I will be delighted if we secure a sale, I will miss living here.  Hope you've enjoyed the wee tour.

Roz xx

 

20 fingers and 20 toes...

by Bex

... growing inside me right now!  Along with 2 strong, healthy heart beats (we saw the heart beats, not the fingers and toes!).

Although I am planning lots of posts in my head right now - holiday posts, bra shopping, more of my pregnancy diary - I have not been feeling up to writing.  I haven't even opened my laptop for days and have been tweeting from bed via my phone.  Luckily today I am feeling a bit better and more energised as I just couldn't resist writing more about this latest development!  As most of you now know (if you follow me on instagram or Twitter), we found out today (Monday) that we are expecting twins!

I have been convinced from the start that it was twins and have been constantly referring to 'the babies' making me feel sick when talking to Nik.  His panicked face cheers me up at my most nauseous times although I did manage to convince him to start researching double buggies so he was starting to come to terms with the fact it may well become reality!  His face at the scan when the nurse confirmed, "yep there are 2 in there" was still a picture though!  I wish I'd been prepared with my camera!  ;)

Image Source

As scary as it is, with thoughts of double trouble, hands full and even less sleep than with a single new baby, we are absolutely delighted, so excited and quite a bit terrified.  Of course it means we have a higher risk of miscarriage and complications, early labour, etc...  But it also means that if all does go well, we'll have our family and we won't have to go through the angst of IVF again (which we might have attempted again for a second child).  Given the difficulties we've had, there's no guarantee they would be able to successfully navigate my cervical canal again (maybe a birth would straighten it out a bit though??) so the fact we have our little 2 for 1 in there is just a dream come true.  Having gone from thinking we'd never be pregnant to having two little precious bundles growing inside me is just mind blowing!  We feel so lucky right now.

It does also explain why I've been struggling with so much nausea!  I suspect I've actually been pretty lucky as I am not physically sick every day and from what I've heard of hyperemesis gravidarum, it could be A LOT worse!  I do think the heat and then the jet lag were making it worse though so hopefully it will continue to improve as our wee babies grow.  In hindsight, we wouldn't have gone as far for our holiday, or for as long, but then we really, really weren't expecting this to work at all!

Anyway, I'm getting pretty tired again now, it's been another emotional day!  :)  I better get ready for bed if I'm going to make it through my first full (and long 9-7) day back at work tomorrow!!

Home Safe

by Bex

After our epic 20 hour journey home, I ate a ham sandwich, slept, ate more ham sandwiches, watched Grey's Anatomy x3, slept some more and have been awake since ridiculously early this morning (and had another ham sandwich for breakfast).  The flights weren't as bad as I anticipated, bascially as I just ate almost constantly.  With the exception of having to use my blanket to breathe through to avoid the smells of everyone's plane food on our first flight, I had no nausea, yay!  Thanks for the salt & vinegar tips folks, I ate a massive bag of crisps during the journey along with lots of cola bottles, mentos and dry Special K.

I have a few plans with people today so am about to go back to bed for another nap before getting up properly and unpacking!  I really need to go for a proper food shop as well and am desperate for some new bras as mine are now all very uncomfortable.  Bear with me as I settle back into normal (pregnant!) life and I will be back writing all about the fun parts of our holiday soon!  :)

What I wore in Phuket - boho outfit post

by Bex

Just a quick outfit post today, I'm writing this just before we leave for the airport and I have to admit, I can't wait to get home now.  We've had a lovely time here but I've struggled when it comes to eating and the heat now that pregnancy symptoms are here with a vengeance.  It will be nice to be back in my own bed and more in control of what I can eat!  :)

Anyway, as I am running out of time (and free wi-fi) here are a few pics I'd edited from our week in Phuket.  I haven't worn any of my planned outfits this week, I've been living in my denim shorts or grey cropped trews and a couple of vests while in Khao Lak.  Meh, sometimes that's what holidays need to be - no effort.

Luckily for the first few days in Phuket I felt great, here's one of my favourite outfits...

Dress - Primark
Bag - H&M
Ring - Debenhams
Flip-flops - Malaysia
Necklace - H&M (from Mahj)
Bikini - George at Asda
Bracelets - H&M, Accessorize, Dorothy Perkins

Gleneagles Spa Day - a review

by Roz

Last Tuesday I went along to Gleneagles for a spa day and it was utter bliss!  I've been lucky enough to go to Gleneagles a number of times, a few through times through work, and have both visited the spa before and stayed a few times.  I'm not exaggerating when I say it absolutely love everything about this hotel and it's one of my favourite hotels in the world.  However, it's an expensive visit, whether you are there for food, an overnight stay or a day spa visit but for me it's definitely a case of you get what you pay for.

The hotel is set in large, beautiful grounds and has three adjoining golf courses, which I've played, and is hosting the Ryder Cup this September which tells you how good the golf is! There are lots of activities you can do here including gun dog training, horse riding etc. but I love just going for a walk around the grounds, especially when the sun is shining.

The spa day package I chose cost a total of £155, so at the top end of the scale for a day of pampering but honestly the whole experience was perfection.  I was lucky enough to have some vouchers which were bought for my birthday in January by one of my besties, Clare, and my mum and dad, so a big thanks to them for their generosity :) This price included two specially tailored pregnancy treatments, a 55 minute body treatment and a 55 minute facial, and a two course lunch.  When you arrive at the spa, you are checked in and shown round by one of the lovely staff, you get a giant locker with your robe, slippers, towels etc. and the different areas of the spa are explained.  There are saunas, steam rooms, tropical showers (where the water is scented!) and the loveliest relaxation room ever.  It has adjustable beds with giant pillows and fluffy throws, with snacks and refreshments on tap.  It's difficult not to doze off in there but then that's part of the chilled out experience.

 

I stayed away from the steam room and sauna, but enjoyed floating in the hydro pool and enjoyed the feeling of almost lying on my stomach.  Pfffft how I have missed lying on my tummy.  The pool in the spa is not big enough to actually swim laps in, you can go to the main pool to do this (which is just a short walk from the spa) and also has a large outdoor jacuzzi pool, but I was quite happy to stay chilled in the spa.My treatments were excellent.  The perfect balance between relaxation and working out some knots in my tired pregnant lady body!  The therapist started my treatments by chatting through any skin / body concerns I had to incorporate the correct oils / products in to my treatment.  I still got to chose, by doing a few smell tests on the back of my hand, which ones I wanted to be used on me, which I like as the smell of the oils etc. play such a big part in the enjoyment of the treatment for me.  It was a little bit strange getting a massage lying on my side and not my front, but my therapist did a great job and working out my back muscles.

At the start of the facial, they analysed my skin with what looks like a black light (I'm sure it has some posh name, maybe a wood lamp??) but the therapist says it shows any areas of dryness or skin damage so that the facial can be tailored to what your skin needs.  Mine showed a little bit of dryness (Baby Star has been causing a lot of dryness in my skin!) and a bit of sun damage around my eyes.  The facial itself was perfect.  My skin felt pampered through out and I enjoyed the hair and scalp massage whilst my skin mask was at work.

After my divine treatments it was time for lunch, which was honestly some of the best food I've eaten! When I sat down I was brought some warm seeded bread with sun dried tomato butter (yum!!) whilst I waited on my drink to arrive.  They bread was so good, I ate the lot.

For my starter I ordered a nice healthy salad of orange, walnut and pomegranate.  Just look at what arrived....

It was massive!  Still super healthy and very, very tasty but I was genuinely shocked at how large a portion it was.  I couldn't quite finish it and left a bit of spinach, still happy in the knowledge that I'd got three or four of my five a day.

Then my main course arrived...

You'll see there's quite a bit more spinach on my plate!  This was on the menu as part of the dish but I had expected a side salad portion with the chicken, ha!  The chicken, cooked in their tandoor oven, may be the best chicken I have ever eaten.  The flavour was simply amazing.  They way you wish chicken cooked on your own BBQ tasted.  Really juicy and full of flavour and the roasted apple, with a hint of cinnamon, went perfectly with it.  Mmmmmmm, honestly I could go back tomorrow for that chicken salad.

All that's left for me to say is I can't wait to go back, who wants to come with me??

Roz xx

Phuket - Kamala Beach

by Bex

Basically just some random pictures of our time in Phuket.  This was an evening we went down to the beach for sunset and checked out Skyla's Beach House for the first time (Nik found it on Tripadvisor).

This wedding had kilts!  I so wanted to go and say Hi!

I love how the cloud seems to mimic the shape of the tree

Wish I had my tripod to capture awesome lightning shots!

Apparently Nik has a much steadier hand than me!

Sometimes!