Back From Scotland

 

Hello lovely people!

I sneaked away, but I'm back now.

A lovely week away in Scotland has left me with such a buzz.

If you've never been, you definitely should!

 

Me and Lewis  popped up to spend time with some friends and family, and it was just so lovely!

 

Admittedly, we did shoot ourselves in the foot a bit with travel. Travel is never easy if you're going from one end of the country to the other, but when you've left it too late to be able to afford a flight or a train fare and the only other option is to travel by coach... it's just no fun at all!

Especially when you're tummy's the size of a football!

My advice to all pregnant ladies out there thinking of travelling far, the most important things that you will want will be:

 

~ Leg room!

I've never been so frustrated with the seat in front of me before! Make sure you wriggle your little feet around whenever you can, especially if getting up for a walk on a wobbly, moving coach isn't much of a great idea. (The coach did stop once for a 20 min break, so that is the perfect time to go for a good walk and stretch those muscles).

 

~ Food and drink.

Make sure you have enough water to keep you going throughout the whole journey. It can get quite warm, and keeping hydrated is so important. Especially when you know you can't stop as and when you please. A good picnic stash is great too. We had sandwiches, dried fruit, sausage rolls and a few sneaky chocolate bars. Well you've got to cover all your craving needs ;)

 

 

~ Temperature.

I found that I went from hot to cold quite easily, so wearing layers that you can easily take off and put on is definitely a plus! They do have those little air vents above the seats too - take advantage of these!

 

and of course

 

~Toilets!

A must, and they do have them. They're not great, take a little bottle of antibacterial gel with you, but they are there.

 

 

Just incase any of you out there are as nuts as us, and think that travelling on a coach for 9-12 hours is going to be ok!

:)

 

And then of course, when you get to your lovely destination, make sure you've got somewhere to crash out

 

Bless!

 

(Can you spot the oober cute baby, tartan booties?)

 

 

We had such a lovely time.

Our friend showed us an AMAZING coffee shop.

I would move to Edinburgh just so that I could go to this shop every day!

 

 LOVECRUMBS

 

Their cakes were wonderful.

I chose a Bramble and Lime cake, and I practically melted into the squidgy sofa as I ate it!
Check out their delicious cake menu.

 



Yum!

 

 

And the coffee was delicious, let alone the mugs they came in!

 

I even fell in love with the ceiling

 

The whole café had a wonderful 'mish-mash' feel about it. Odd furniture and cups and saucers that didn't match. They even had an old piano which they used as a table!

So, I admit, I'm a little in love with this place and will be back!

 

Even Jemima loved it!

(Our friend's traveling companion! She comes to all of our little meet ups!)



 

 







We didn't spend the whole week eating cake and drinking coffee though... however much I would've liked to!

 

We took Jemima for a swim.

 

 

 

Found a pub that had Battle Ship and Scrabble!

 



 

 

And got stalked by a squirrel!

 

Evil Squirrel!

 

 

What an adventure!

But far too quickly, it was all over and we had to come home again.

 

 

 

...on the coach!

(We sneakily found some seats with loads of leg room this time! Handy tip for any of you coach travellers out there - find the seats by the emergency exit near the back!)

 

*sigh*

Can we go back please?

 

 

I hope you've all had a lovely week too. And if you're ever stuck for a little holiday somewhere, I would definitely recommend Edinburgh! It's a wonderful combination of city-crafty/artyness.
And it's on our list as the first mini holiday we'll take little bump on!

 

x





Crochet Love

 

 

Sorry I haven't been very bloggy of late folks!

I seem to be having my time zapped away from me lately

How it's the middle of August already is beyond me!

 

I hope you're all having a lovely, summery month!

I've been seeing lots of family and friends, going on lots of little baby shopping sprees and I'll be off to visit Scotland at the end of the week!

I can't wait!

 

 

 

I've also been finding myself diving into the crochet world a little more this month.

I've dipped in and out in the past, seeing all of these lovely creations people have been making with a simple hook a yarn.

I was quite jealous.

I managed to teach myself the very basics using books and YouTube tutorials, but once I'd figured out how it worked, I admit, I became less interested and didn't pursue it further.

 

But recently, I've been venturing back into it.

With little bump getting bigger and bigger, I've been starting to think about things that I would like my little baby to have. Little keepsakes like I have.

And I have 2 very lovely crocheted blankets, made for me by my Gramma.

One of them was my baby blanket, and I want my little wriggler to have one too!

Especially seeing as it'll be a winter baby. I want it to be all warm and cosy, snuggled into a homemade blanket.

 

So - back to the hook I go!

 

I've just been focusing on making a granny square style blanket.

I'm aiming to get 2 done before baby pops

~ One, quite loose using a larger hook, in pastel purples and white.

~ And one, more tightly crocheted, stronger, and more a collection of little, different coloured squares.

 

I haven't got any photos to show you yet, but I will take some soon!

 

 

This is the same granny square idea that I'm going to work with.

I made this small blanket for a family member's new little baby boy.

I think he likes it!

 

 

I have to admit, I'm surprising myself with how much I'm falling in love with crochet!

 

I followed a pattern in my

Mollie Makes

magazine and made this adorable bow brooch

 

And I will be hopping back to their website for more crochet inspiration!

 

:)

 

 

I think I've got the bug.

I'm finding myself wondering what I can attack with my crocheting hook next!

 

 

 

One of my lovely followers on my Facebook page told me about an online crocheting club that I couldn't resist joining too.

 

 

 

slugsontherefrigerator

 

 

And Innocent Drinks are doing their Big Knit!

http://www.innocentdrinks.ie/static/ie/bigknit/crochet-pattern.pdf





Mwahaha, so many things to keep my new crocheting addiction busy!

And, with my sensible head on, it might be a better thing to be addicted to when baby comes along too.

- Less spiky needles involved!

*baby kicks in agreement*

 

 

On a sneaky side note, I couldn't resist a bit of knitting as well.

So many woollen adventures!

 

I decided to try to make a small, very amateur attempt at knitted bunting!

 

With pom poms of course!

 

Not too shabby?

 

Hopefully I'll get better in time to make more fun things for the little one when it gets here.

I just hope the poor little thing likes wool!!

 

 

I would advise anyone and everyone to have a go at crocheting something.

It's very therapeutic, and being able to create something useful/decorative with a simple hook is so rewarding!

Join the Crochet Club for beginners help, they're lovely folk!

 

 

Hope you're having a lovely day all!

 

x

 

 



 



Post Bump Bodies

 

 

Pottering away through my pregnancy, I'm learning lots. I think it's impossible not to, but I do think it's important to take note and pay attention to all of the little things happening.

My body is changing.

It's lovely and terrifying.

Sometimes I wonder if some things are normal and if all other pregnant ladies are going through the same things.

But as they say:

'All pregnancies are different'

The changes that my body is making and going through is its own little way of dealing with the growth of a little life inside me.

 

I trust my body to do what it needs to, to get this little life safely into my arms.

 

 

 

 

 

But there is something that I wanted to mention that I have only recently become aware of myself

 

~ The Post Bump Body ~

 

It might turn out that you all know about it, and I've just been skipping along with my head in the sand... but I came across an article on the BBC website about the body after pregnancy.

I know that you would have to do a bit of exercise to get your 'normal' body shape back, but reading this article really opened up all of the changes that will stay after you've had a baby.

 

'Are women's bodies still beautiful after pregnancy?'

 

 

I'm not the most body conscious person in the world.

I've never been slim, I like chocolate biscuits way too much, I haven't found a sport that I enjoy doing except walking, and I have all those random bumps and moles that I secretly hope every other lady has.

:)

But still, this inevitable body scaring was at first, very scary.

I didn't realise that excess skin that you wouldn't be able to shift would become a permanent part of my body. I didn't realise that the stretch marks could be so dark and large (I have small ones on my thighs from growing hips, but they've turned a beautiful silver/white colour now).

 

So, it appears that after I get my little bundle of joy, I will have a new body to get used to as well.

 

At first - scary

 

It's out of my control

 

But then, after reading through this article a couple of times, dipping in and out to re-read some things, visiting Jade Beall's website jadebeall.com/a-beautiful-body-project, and talking to a friend who has recently had a baby, I've started to feel my opinion towards it changing.

 

'Tiger Stripes' is what she calls her stretch marks now.

It makes me smile and hope that mine remind me of a shape or animal to nick name them by.

They're like a natural tattoo.

A souvenir of a whole 9 months creating life, and bringing life into the world.

 

After all, a human body having to deal with a whole new way of growing and ballooning so much to fit a baby inside it, and then giving birth to that baby and releasing it into the world, all within the space of 9 months, less than a year!

I don't blame it for having a few scars afterwards.

 

 

I've got 3 months(ish) to go and my body's already feeling quite huge.

3 more months of growing, how much bigger can I get?!

 

I wouldn't be surprised if my body did have a couple of scars after the big day! I think I could owe it a few marks and scars for bringing a little life into the world.

You're doing good body, you keep going!

 

 

 

 

I would be so honoured if any of you out there have any advice on a post bump body. I have a feeling it must be one of those things that you can only really understand through experience.

I'm glad that I now know about it at least and it won't be a surprise afterwards, but I think that I won't truly understand it until it's reality.

I'll keep you posted!

 

 

I will certainly look into buying Jade Beall's book when I can. Not just for me, but for my other half, and for my future child. It's important to not cover these things up I think.

 

'Normal' shouldn't be secret.

 

 

 

 

Please visit Jade's website

 

JadeBeall.com

 

Her work is stunning!

And I would like to write a great big thank you for making accessible something that I didn't even truly think existed!

Thank you!

 

 

x