colchester Archives - Lamb & Bear

September 30, 2014 by lambandbear Leave a Comment

Bryony – a beautiful bride

Well, another one of my closest friends is married. Which means only one thing, i’m next! All year there has been a countdown to many weddings of my nearest and dearest, making mine seem so far away. However, those weddings are now over, and i’m on the 3 month countdown to our wedding.

All dressed up for Bry & Tim’s wedding.

I’ve known Bryony since secondary school. We went to college together, then off we all went to separate universities, but stayed close throughout. I feel so lucky to still be in touch with so many friends from school. Not everyone has the opportunity to keep old friendships going strong. We all truly love each other, and I couldn’t image my life without friends like Bryony in it.

The ceremony was beautiful (of course). I got to see my maid of honour strut her stuff up the isle as bridesmaid for Bryony too! She’s a popular girl! Bryony looked stunning. She has a figure to die for (always has), and couldn’t have picked a more perfect wedding dress.

It’s been so long since we were all together. Bryony and her husband work on a yacht sailing the world (I know, jealous too?) We probably see them a couple of times a year at the most, so being able to celebrate their wedding was precious. Unfortunately not everyone from the group was there. Alice (my sister-in-law) is currently living in Australia and wasn’t able to fly home for the wedding. But we all had a drink (or two) for her!

Besties.

Would you believe me if I told you Bryony organised everything from the ocean? Well, she pretty much did! Whenever and wherever she picked up wifi she was planning, and I can’t fault it. I think my fave part of her wedding had to be the home made bunting. She printed photos from her sailing rally and made bunting to decorate the whole barn! It was am-a-zing.

Bryony and Tim – if you’re reading this, I want to say a huge congratulations on your perfect wedding. It was an honour to be a part of your day, and I wish you a lifetime of fun and happiness. Love you guys.

Alex xx

September 28, 2014 by lambandbear Leave a Comment

It’s my birthday – I’ll relax if I want to.

This month was my 28th birthday. Yep, I said it, 28. That’s only 2 off… Let’s not go there.

Each year I find choosing presents more difficult. I just don’t know what to ask for. Vouchers are usually the obvious choice. There’s no rush or panic to get anything, plus I get to shop!

Being a new mum, who has the tendency of getting rather stressed, has very little sleep and no time to herself, I’ve finally come up with the perfect present- a spa day.

So this is what I asked for from Daddy Lamb. I haven’t booked anything yet, but I think I will be going to The Lifehouse Spa next month. I’ll keep you posted.

However, to my surprise, Mummy Bear bought me a massage and cream tea voucher for my birthday- best present ever – and that’s what we have been up this weekend!

The Dads are on Daddy Lambs stag do, so what better time to book our massage?! We shipped the kids off to their grandparents and off we went to The Holistic Retreat in Assington.

The Holistic Retreat is situated at The Barn in Assisngton. A really lovely place to go for lunch and a walk around the gardens, and certainly family friendly. As we had never been before, we didn’t know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. There a few animals for the children to look at, the Holistic Retreat for us mums who could do with a bit of pampering, a lovely cafe selling home made food, a play area for the kids, shop, garden centre and farm shop! It’s not a huge place, but certainly somewhere to plan a family day out to.

We were both booked in for a 30 minute back massage, and cream tea. Vicky was spot on with her gift this year. I seriously needed a day out with no men and no babies! Lamb has been a bit difficult recently. His bedtime routine has gone completely out of the window since our holiday, and he is up until 9pm every night and point blank refuses to sleep in his cot. There will a post all about this soon.

The fact I was able to lay down in silence for 30 mins, plus chill out in the relaxation room while Vicky had her massage was beyond bliss. The woman who owned the Spa was lovely and gave a great massage! We both highly recommend a visit if you are local to the area.

Chillin’ in the relaxation room!

After our massage we walked over to the cafe for our cream tea. The menu had a really yummy choice for lunch – all home-made, which gets a thumbs up from us. We had soup and fresh bread followed by our scone and tea. Luckily for us the sun was shining, so we sat outside in the fresh air and soaked up some of the last few rays of the year (although I’ve heard we are having an Indian summer?!)

For any of you who struggle to think of gifts to ask for, a massage and cream tea is perfect for any new mum. Time is the one thing we have the least of these days. In particularly, time to ourselves. Every once in a while it’s essential we get some ‘me’ time, to unwind and relax. If, like me, you have a tough time with your little one, days can roll into the next and life can become pretty tiring. There’s nothing wrong with asking for a bit of ‘time’ for your birthday. I have!

Thanks again Mummy Bear 🙂 xx

June 9, 2014 by lambandbear Leave a Comment

Little Lambs 1st Haircut

I recently took Jaxson to my hairdresser for his first proper haircut. His hair was out of control! I kept putting it off because I wanted to grow his hair long like his cousin, who really suits the surfer dude look, but it was just so messy and irritating him. Plus, this hot weather was giving him a very sweaty head!

Unfortunately daddy thought he might give it a go before I had chance to take Lamb to the salon… Here are the results. A very wonky fringe!! I was not amused.

I took him to Aimez-Vous where I have my hair done. Charlene did a fab job and managed to cut around his wriggling! What a pro 🙂

I’m so pleased with the results. He’s even cuter than ever, which I didn’t think was possible!

Advice for those taking their baby for a first haircut. Be armed with plenty of distractions! Toys (luckily Charlene had toys at the salon), snacks, juice and most importantly your phone! Lamb was happily distracted watching his fave show Yo Gabba Gabba on my iPhone.

Let me know how your baby’s first hair cut goes!

Alex x

April 30, 2014 by lambandbear Leave a Comment

A Very Wonderful Wedding

On the 5th April this year Joe and I attended the wedding of one of my best friends. One of us have finally tied the knot! There’s plenty more weddings to come this year, including our own!!

I have known the bride since we were 10 years old (we will always have a strong connection as our birthdays are only 2 days apart!) I moved from Yorkshire to Essex and joined the same primary school as her, and we have been friends ever since. Watching someone I have known for so long get married was really emotional. I held back the tears as best as I could (I paid £30 to have my make up done at MAC, and didn’t want it streaming down my face!)

The service was stunning, the bride looked amazing and the groom held it together. What more could you ask for! Our wedding is going to be a civil ceremony, so it was great to experience a church service. It was just beautiful.

The Reception

The wedding reception was stunning. Amazingly decorated, the most beautiful venue, fab food and a free bar! A recipe for a fun night.

As I’m the only one in of this group of friends with a baby (apart from Maddy, but she lives far away), it was one of the first nights out with them in a very long time. All of our partners were there, and we all get along really well. So I treasured every moment.

There’s not much more I need to say, the pictures show it all. A beautiful wedding, a beautiful couple, celebrated with my beautiful best friends.

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Cole xxx