Happy Halloween! Much fun was had at the Ross' Halloween Party on Friday, and a quiet weekend ensued, which was greatly welcomed. Have to say that I am not loving X Factor this year, really can't warm to any of the acts or the judges - so for me it is all about Strictly! We are all fans here, and are hoping Holly Valance (and the lovely Artem) walk away with the glitter ball this year.

Some things that I am loving at the moment are Laura Ashley's Jasmine and Fresh Linen fragrance sticks (they are beautifully scenting my downstairs loo) and H&M's nail varnish in Nerd (a nudy pale beige) such a bargain at £2.99 and has much better staying power than a similar one that I have by MAC.

Halloween is nearly here, one of my favourite times of the year. I love the dark evenings drawing in, the cozy fires, wrapping up warm, the dressing up, the pumpkins, the sparklers, well baked jacket potatoes, homemade soup, hot dogs and the general fun and nonsense of it all. Each year we go to Janet and Matt's for a party and this year is happily no exception! The kids all have a ball, everyone makes a huge effort and we always make sure that the party goes on well in to the evening with food and fireworks, and the odd glass of wine or 3.

I have carved my pumpkin this afternoon and it is all ready to take along to the party with us. Here it is next to my Halloweeny flowers;

Zach had his first taster session at his new nursery today, he was up at 5am anticipating it!! After the initial excitement there were a couple of tears but they dried up the moment I drove out of the car park and he had a super session. Phew, there is nothing more heart wrenching than leaving a howling child at child care and having to leave someone else to comfort them. The lovely thing about Pirbright Day Nursery is that 3 of the staff there (out of the 6) are the same staff who looked after Teya from 2 years old! Considering the usual churn at nursery schools I think that statistic is hugely impressive. The fact that it is next door to the school is also a huge bonus for me, it makes the transition up to big school even easier for them.

Also this morning, after a few fights with the horrendous website, I have managed to book our tickets to see Santa at the Selfridges Winder Wonderland. We are going up on Tuesday 22nd December with Saf, Ram and their kids and we will make an afternoon of it, taking in the lights and the general atmosphere of London at Christmas time. Countdown has truly begun!

Half term is here! Was lovely having a leisurely morning, we didn't get out of our pj's until gone 10am, bliss.. Today is going to be a quiet one and the kids are off to Granny and Granddad's again this evening as we are hosting our Italian Evening at home later. Matt (cousin) is coming down from Leeds and Steve, David and Amy are also coming over for an Italian night, a reunion from our holiday which was 2 months ago! So, my menu is as follows;

Bruschetta with peppers and goat's cheese

Spaghetti Carbonara

Scallopini di Pollo with mini baked garlic potatoes, fine green beans and arrabiata sauce

Profiteroles

I am making everything from scratch, except for the profiteroles, I can't be doing with the stress of choux pastry! Really looking forward to it, we also have some Corini wine to accompany and of course prosecco for aperativo. Happy weekend everyone xx

Finally got home from Glasgow at 11.30 last night - had been stuck at the airport since 1.30pm too so was rather shattered to say the least. Still home safe, successful presentation given, and the CAM roadshow has now moved on to Manchester, and I am back working at my kitchen table. All is well. So, after all of my jet setting, I wanted to share a few things that I have learned over the past week;

1) Having to leave your family at the weekend, for work, really sucks
2) It is possible to cook a full roast dinner in under an hour
3) If you drive in to the back of a fiat punto at approx 3 mph, which, as a result hits a vauxhall insignia - the fiat will crumple
4) BA only fly from Gatwick North, not South
5) The assistants at the Valet parking at Gatwick are very kind and helpful
6) It is illegal to drive without a front number plate and could lead to a £60 fine (happily this didn't happen, the fine that is - the missing plate did - see point 3)
7) If a stranger on a plane asks me whether I am scared of flying, I will irrationally burst in to tears! Cue a crowd of air hostesses around me and everyone trying to reassure me that despite the turbulence, we were not all about to plummet to our death. God the shame. I blame tiredness.

It has been quite an eventful time!! Happily my crash wasn't bad, but it was sadly all my fault - I saw the lights change, the two in front weren't in such a hurry.. result = nice insurance claim and having to wait even longer until I can sell my car, grr. But, thankfully, no one was hurt. Well aside from my pride...

It's oh so quiet... kids have gone off for a sleepover at my Parents' house, husband is out on his bike with David and I am all alone with just the dogs :) have done the ponies, cleaned up the house, had a bath and opened the fizzy - and its only just 6pm!! Really tempted just to stay in this evening and have a takeaway with the fire on, but really we should make the most of the childfree time and go out for some dinner. I am quite fancying the idea of Greek this evening and we do have a super restaurant only a few miles away, so I may be tempted in to dolling myself up and embracing the evening, but equally I am cozy in my dressing gown, clean and make up free and the sofa is calling ha ha.

I did nip in to town earlier to do some errands and I picked up a fab teal and navy tunic dress from good old Primark, £15 and it is really lovely, so I may give it a run out. I only went in for socks and hair clips! Primark is a funny place, I love their socks/costume jewellery/kids pj's/ hell, my PJ's/ kids fitted sheets; but I don't always find clothes that I am willing to pay even a few ££ for. But, it is worth a frequent check because sometimes they have great items - things that you couldn't get any better elsewhere. I will post a pic of my tunic regardless of whether it gets an outing later, it looks much more monsoon, but I have saved myself over £100!!

It is all about comfort food this evening, Teya came home from dance club STARVING and FREEZING (!) so I was very glad that I had made them Cottage Pie for supper. I make mine with a bol mince (softened onions, beef mince from local butcher, 1 tin tomatoes, red wine, 1/2 beef stock pot, garlic puree, tomato puree and mixed herbs with some extra oregano - salt and pepper) then a layer of baked beans (1 tin) followed by a hearty layer of cheddar and then topped with mashed potato. My lot don't like 'crispy' cheese so I find the layer inside works best, all gooey and delicious between baked beans and mash, yum! Served with a corn on the cob and of course, tomato ketchup ;)

Wednesday already! Seems as though the weekend was ages ago - such a fun weekend that it was. On Saturday we dropped the kids off at Mother in Law's just before lunch and headed up the M1 towards Leeds for my Uncle's Retirement Party. We arrived just before 3 and found a pub/restaurant near to JC's house for lunch, quite by chance. The 315 turned out to be a fabulous choice, it is owned by an ex head Chef at Le Manoir and was absolutely fantastic, we just had bar food, steak and onion sandwich with chips for Him and Cajun chicken wrap and onion rings for me, but wow it was just superb, and all washed down with another great Marlborough Sauvignon. Here is a picture of my onion rings, the best I have ever had anywhere bar none! It was very reasonable too, big thumbs up from me. Oh, and there wasn't an under 18 to be seen ;)

Then we headed over to Groom Cottage at Fenay Hall and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and chatting (with more wine) in the autumn sunshine, it was lovely - but so quiet without the kids! It is a strange thing being away without them, much as it is lovely to just relax and have a good chat without worrying about high chairs, nappy changes, colouring pencils etc, it just feels so empty when they are not around. Anyway they were having a ball with their granny so that was lovely in itself. Parents joined us at around 6 and we all got ready and headed over to the party in Wakefield. Was really lovely to see JC and Matt and meet Becky (new girlfriend) and a very amusing evening was had by all. Lovely to celebrate JC's time as part of the Armed Response unit for Yorkshire Police, and to toast all of his Army achievements too. I do feel however that despite the fact that he is 53, his retirement is going to be anything but quiet.. watch this space!

A year ago today I said a final goodnight to my darling pony and best friend of nearly 20 years..it has been a weird day for me today, I miss Dusty immensely and so much of me wants to take all that I am living with and just feel sorry for myself, and to crawl up and cry. But, that is not me. I had a good day at work today and achieved all that I set out to and then went over to the pub with my Mummy friends and had a very fun evening lamenting with them and drinking bloody good Sauvignon, was perfect and very fun. I raised a glass to my beautiful friend though, as I miss her every day. She was amazing and has left a hole in my heart. The 29th of September, the birth date of one of the first loves of my life and the date that I lost another. Happy birthday Fred, and goodnight Dusty xxx

I am very happy to inform you that it is only 88 days 'till Christmas my good people :) woohoo, I am ridiculously excited about that, as I always am around this time of year, summer over, nights drawing in, heatwaves.. WTF is that all about?! I actually sat in our Pub garden with my colleagues today, and it is the end of September - total madness, but rather pleasant.. Anyway back to Xmas, I have started my shopping already and am feeling very happy about that, I need to keep the costs right down this year as far as gifts go - let's face it we all have far too much already so I am going to be inventive and shrewd, well that is the plan anyway. Best news is that my sister and Andrew and her husband Andrea are all coming home this year, we missed them so much last year. It will be magical, I am trying to restrain myself from too much planning but I am happy at the thought.

Operation Hen Night is going swimmingly, have found a beautiful cottage for us in the Cotswolds for the first weekend in January - all 20 of us! Should be great, only trouble is trying to get some of them to reply...

Brr, anyone else feeling a tad chilly now? I have the 13.5 tog duvet back on the bed and we have the fire on most evenings too - am still too tight to put the heating on mind you, am going to hold out until October at the earliest.. stocked up on new PJ's for us all at the weekend, Primark do the best bargain kids' traditional wyncyette PJ's, £4 a pair and they last/wash really well. On the subject of autumn wear I found these biker boots from Next (no Jimmy Choo for me this year, boo) and I am really pleased with them, they are comfy and the leather is good, they look much more expensive than the £60 that they were. I have worn them practically every day since they arrived. What is it with Next and their huge shoe sizes though?? I had to get a 38 and I am a 6-6.5 so pretty much a standard 39, bizarre. Now I am just trying to decide on what should be my priority A/W purchase, I am trying to be good as I bought quite a bit at the end of last season that I haven't worn yet (bargain Twenty8Twelve jeans from The Outnet for example) and I am determined not to buy and cheap and cheerful clothing that won't last - so if I buy anything it will be quality and I will have to love it, well that is the plan anyway! I am loving the Isabella Oliver collection this year, and lots from Hush too, but the prices of everything have just shot up, again, I am not loving that.

Yesterday afternoon over 300 people packed in to our village church to say farewell to Trevor Cobley. Trevor lost his fight with cancer on the 31st August, his 37th wedding anniversary, just 2 months after his diagnosis. He was only 64. It was an amazing service though, really emotional but so very well done. I was truly astounded by his wife Catherine, she was so composed throughout the whole service and spoke beautifully about her darling Trevor. As the pallbearers carried the coffin to the graveside the strong autumn sunshine broke through, Trevor would have been very happy.

I had only known Trevor for just over a year, he was one of my fellow governors and a really lovely man with great presence and immense passion for everything he undertook. He loved our school, and all his friends, and was so welcoming and fun to be around.

So, today I have been thinking about life's small details that give great pleasure;

• Freshly cut grass - I know it is an old one but I love the sight and smell of the grass when it has been freshly cut


• Hearing my children laugh


• Cuddling up in front of an open fire with my kids all clean and warm from the bath and all in our pj's.


• The greetings that I receive from my dogs and horses, they don't speak but they show so much love


• Sharing a catch up and bottle of wine at a friend's kitchen table


• Brand new towels


• Clean bedding


• New lipgloss


• Phone calls with my sister


• Long lunches with all of my Family


• Seeing photos of my friends' children as they grow up

• Laughing with my friends

Please share your favourite simple pleasures!

Thank goodness the wind has died down - it was crazy yesterday and we weren't even in a badly affected area. Dogs and horses were going crazy in it so I can't imagine what it must have been like in some places. Zach and I took a walk down to the local toddler group yesterday morning, something that despite being a parent for nearly 8 years, I have never done! It is just NOT my scene drinking cups of tea and chattering to badly dressed, unmade up, harassed women about bowel movements and breastfeeding, so I have always avoided those places like the plague. *disclaimer I know that not all women who go to toddler groups fit my description, but that was always my perception ;) I have never done an ante natal/ NCT class either - but actually it was OK, Zach enjoyed playing with the toys and I got talking to Suzanna, who has a little boy of 18 months and I am happy to say that she was quite fun and normal - we were talking about male strippers at hen nights after 20 minutes, and she wasn't wholly whinging about the trials of motherhood, so quite a result all round. Zach doesn't start at his new nursery until November so I think it will be nice for him to socialise with more children than just our friends, and it is only once a week, oh and it is FREE!

Toothless is doing really well, on the last of her antibiotics now and vet very happy with her. Fingers crossed that there is no more trauma with her. Cal settling in brilliantly too - we took him to school yesterday to meet all of Teya's friends, 45 minutes was how long it took to get us through the playground and out! He was impeccable though, I was very proud.

Tonight we have Jay and Jude coming round for dinner, fresh from a week in Spain the lucky beasts! I am making a lamb buhna from Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry bible, not done it for a while so hoping it be OK, I love that the slow cooking of the lamb makes it so tender - have sent husband off to the halal butchers for the meat this morning (our local Halal butcher is amazing for value if cooking in bulk, 500g of chicken breast is approx £3, fabulous!) very much looking forward to catching up with them, it has been ages!

I didn't end up doing the MJ recipe as my book has disappeared?! But I found this James Martin one, which was brilliant and easy! I left out the coconut milk, yogurt and pomegranate and added 1/2 tbsp of cumin and 2 potatoes, it was delish but needed an extra hour cooking time (and the potatoes!) to thicken up the sauce.

So, my Bells shall from now on be known as toothless! Poor darling had to have 16 teeth extracted yesterday, looks as though she got something (most likely broken tooth) stuck in her gum which made way for food etc to get in a fester. Bless her, it happened so quickly, the infection was very nasty but thank god I took her in, it could have led to blood poisoning and potential kidney/ heart failure :( but we did catch it quickly and she is now recovering well, she is 100% happier already love her.

Off to take Cal out on his first walk this morning, yay!

Have a great weekend everyone xx

Happy Friday everyone! This morning my little Bella is going in for an operation on her mouth, she is so tiny I feel very nervous about her going under general anaesthetic. When we got back from holiday I noticed that her breath was beyond offensive, tried to look in her mouth and she visibly recoiled in pain, not good. Took her to the vet and she has contracted some horrendous infection, she has been on antibiotics for the past 3 days and they are going to look at her mouth this morning and check that all is healing as it should, they are concerned that she might have broken a tooth! Fingers crossed for a smooth op and quick healing for my little lady.

Cal slept in his crate last night for the first time, shut in that is. I got up at 6 to let him out and he was brilliant! Straight in to the garden and then back in for his breakfast, no fuss, no mess WHOOP! V chuffed. Off to take him to meet the horses and Janet's Poppy this morning, should be very exciting for the pup.

I have fallen in love with a wallpaper! I really need to get the fireplace in my snug sorted and I have been thinking of papering part of some of the other walls, to compliment the F&B Rectory Red that my chimney breast is painted currently. This is the paper; I know it won't be to everyone's taste but to me it is exactly what I am after

It is fab, but sadly £57 a roll, so it will have to remain on my wish list for now..

Ah back to school for my little lady today, in the thrashing rain! I cannot believe that she is in Year 3, first rung on the Key Stage 2 ladder, seems very grown up. Indeed she looked grown up skipping off this morning in her new school shoes (NOT Lelli Kelly ones I add, that was one battle I refused to back down on) in to her new classroom. Any moment she will be home and I cannot wait to hear all about her day, although I fully expect to be shrugged off.


So the new man in my life is doing very well, little Cal born 27th June 2011 came home to live with us last Friday. He is a black lab with big ears and gorgeous eyes and we are all smitten (in spite of his rather dodgy belly for the first 24 hours!) Even Bella seems pretty accepting of him so far, which is great - long may that continue. He is a right wind bag though, jolly stinky, I hope he grows out of that, mind you, my husband hasn't! We live in such a fab place for dogs, great walks on our doorstep and of course we have the horses, so I am sure he will be very happy. I know that I am looking forward to autumn walks (not so much to those in the freezing rain and wind) and watching him grow up with our children. Mind you that is IT now, family definitely complete, not so much as another goldfish, I am done..

I am back! Hi all, after a lovely few days in Italy with my darling friends and family I am back to a bloody cold Pirbright and for the first time ever I genuinely wasn't ready to come home. It was amazing being back at Casella, although we did miss the absentees - we forgive Damon and Kitty though as Baby Reggie was born only 2 weeks previously *melt* huge congrats to them. Whilst away we relaxed by the pools, wandered in the countryside, drank prosecco in the piazza, ambled around beautiful Orvieto, crashed an Italian wedding by the Duormo (in more ways than one) swam in lake Bolsena, went to Corini wine tasting and danced fully clothed in the waterfall pool at midnight! One thing that was so special was that the 3 toddler boys were absolutely fantastic. Yes, each of them had their moments (hell they are all under 3!!) but overall they were just so so good, so content and no trouble at all - I was so proud of them all.

Teya and Andrew playing in the volcanic sand at Bolsena

My darling Droo has been diagnosed with ASD, it is still in the early stages of the diagnosis, and there is a long road ahead, but it is great that he is now going to get some extra help to enable him to flourish, and that I know he will. One thing about my poor Sis having a broken leg, it has meant that Andrew has bonded so much with Kevin and I and our friends too - he is just so delightful and he has done brilliantly well at forming new relationships, and I am immensely humbled and proud of him, he has been wonderful in the past 3 weeks of being with us all, I am quite bereft that I have had to leave them behind, I miss them all so much it aches. Love, wow it is one powerful emotion.

Anyway, here is where we stay every year for those who are interested - the place is amazing, staff lovely, food and wine amazing and it is all self sufficient, truly escapism. From the moment you reach the end of the 6 kilometer drive you relax, you have to, and that is all you really need from a holiday!

http://www.lacasella.it/

What an eventful time! It was so wonderful having my sister and Andrew home, well aside from the fact that on day 5 she broke her ankle.. Nightmare - we suddenly found ourselves sourcing wheelchairs and reading the small print on airline T's & C's. No she didn't have travel insurance and yes my Dad had to fork out for 2 extra flights, one to send Mum back with her last Friday, and one to bring Mum back home next week (BA won't honour the return flight if you don't use your outbound one, apparently!) So, it has been a tad stressful but we did have a great time, and it was just lovely having them here.

So, today is the last day before we fly out to join them in Italy, it is almost 40 degrees in Orvieto at the moment, at least 25 degrees hotter than it is here right now, I even had the fire on last night as it was so chilly. We are all packed, just the kids carry on to finalise and Teya and I are booked in for our mani/pedis later (well she is only having a paint) oh and Steve is having his hooves done too - then it is an early night before a 3.45am start with our buddies tomorrow, Heathrow T5, here we come..

FINALLY FINALLY at 1am this morning my sister and Andrew arrived home, safe and sound!! I am working like a loony this morning to get everything done so that I can spend from 3.30 with them - they are all coming over to mine for a play in the garden and kid's tea, no doubt there will be some fizz for us and a great long chat, I am so so so looking forward to seeing them.