This week is a half and half post, I write Monday to Sunday so the school week is included and the first part of our little break. To be honest, the weekdays aren’t that exciting so I always need my weekends to brighten up the post!

1. A new wall. Finally after years of deliberation, months of finding a carpenter and weeks of waiting for our slot we have a new dividing glass wall between our lounge and hallway. Our main aim was to create a cosier room whilst maintaining the light. We cannot believe the immediate effect it has had on the space, the lounge is toasty now, previously being a very cold room as it was so large. We haven’t really lost any space as it wasn’t used as an extension of the room and I have a few ideas about creating a more pleasing and functional hallway. My next job is to decide on the decor, we want to differentiate the rooms as they were decorated the same. We’re looking at a feature wallpapered section and complementary paint colours in the lounge and then colours to move upstairs to the large hallway there too. I feel a Pinterest board is needed. I love a new project.
2. Valentine’s Day. My husband and I are not big Valentine day fans. TW, this was our baby son’s due date and it always feels so sad and empty. No matter how hard I try to distract myself, I always find myself wondering what he would be like, this year would have been his 16th birthday. I did have a little cry on my way home from work, just taking the time to remember him on this special day is still very important to me. Despite the sadness, I did make a little Valentine’s Day table scene and we all had a chocolate heart on our placemats at breakfast. At work we had a Valentines disco. I did embrace it and was dressed up in pink and red and wore my heart glasses we bought for ABBA voyage. It was a lot of fun and a lovely distraction.
3. A weekend break. Our weekend was affected by rail works but rather than be frustrated and annoyed we changed our plans and added a night in Southampton en route. The bus replacement service was rather luxurious and went direct to the airport where we were staying in a hotel overnight. In the afternoon we went into Southampton and West Quay for a little browse and coffee and then went out for tea. A very pleasant day and I even managed to fit in a parkrun before we left.
4. Wembley. We had very carefully planned our break in London and chose to stay at Wembley on Sunday night because of its proximity to the stadium and then planned to travel into central London the next morning. Wembley has changed so much since I was last there in 2008. It was a brilliant place to be on Sunday, so many attractions, bars, cafes and restaurants and pretty much pedestrianised everywhere . I loved the vibe of the area. When we got into our hotel room and opened the curtains we could not believe our view. There was the Wembley arch in all its glory, spectacular!
5. Wembley stadium tour. For the boys, the trip to London was to tick off some more football stadiums on their new quest to visit as many as possible. The Wembley tour is brilliant and well worth the money. It was so interesting to see the history and then to learn about the new stadium structure. Wembley is mighty impressive. The tour included a trip to the changing rooms, the Royal box, onto the pitch etc.. There were also posters and memorabilia from other events. I totted up that I had been to Wembley, five times, I attended mass celebrated by the Pope in 1982, Reading FC in 1988, Bon Jovi in 1995 and Bristol City in 2000 and 2008. The Bon Jovi in concert is up there as one of the best night’s of my life, I will ‘always’ love Bon Jovi and their music.

There will be more of our London trip next week. I loved having a little mini adventure in the school holidays.