41 Shades of Gutted

This afternoon after school, I took the Princess for tea at her new friend's house. He is a boy (obvs, that's why I just referred to him as a "he") and there was another little girl, age 7, who had been invited there too because her mother was working late. All was going swimmingly, and the boy's mum and I were having a lovely chat in her amazing kitchen.
But then the seven-year-old suddenly asked me how old I am. I asked her to guess. And grinned, waiting for the flattering response that kids normally give.
ERROR. Massive mistake.
"Hmmmmm..." she studied me, pondering with a wistful gaze, before saying:
"Well, my mum is 40 and you look a lot older than her. I think you are at least 41. Yes, at LEAST."
By this point I (yes, all 37 years of me) was naval-gazing and pointing my toes into the wooden flooring, pretending I wasn't bothered. After all, she is seven. What does she know?!
"What makes you think I am 'at least' 41?", I asked casually.
ERROR. Massive mistake.
"Well, my mum looks so good for her age so I think you are much older than her, probably because of your clothes. Definitely."
By this point, the boy's mum (who was looking after the little girl) and I exchanged mortifying glances of embarassment and I make a mental note not to wear jeans for a while.
Then the girl said (possibly realising that my reaction wasn't exactly filled with elation): "Oh, but your hair is ok," before running off to play Moshi Monsters with the others.
Charming. Midlife crisis, here I come!
Anyway, what's news......oooh had a wonderful morning with Sarah of Annaboo's House fame earlier this week. We met in a coffee shop where she gave me some lush belated birthday presents and then we spent two glorious hours in every cherry tree shop we could possibly spend time in. We found bargains galore.

Would be rude not to!

We get on well, we never stop talking, never have enough time to do all that we want to do and I feel very blessed to have found her.  She's a peach. She's Annaboo. And this is what I found!

Quite literally, a cherry tree treasure! Didn't buy it though.

These are normally £1!

80p for Sindy. I didn't buy her.

I am seriously regretting not bringing her home:-(

My mum has this and I remember her cooking from it all the time
when we were kids

£1.40 for this quirky cake stand. Cute!

£7 (a bit steep) from H&M originally.
What a terracotta scene (now can you see why I am going to be so busy decorating?!!)

50 shades of rust!

£4, originally Cinnabar

Still boxes galore... gah!

Uttam London (one of my fave labels) £3.50

Asda be cheap at £3!

I like the flouncy sleeves!

Monsoon £3 - the Princess loves it!

As pretty as a picture. LOVE girls' clothes in Monsoon!

Onto other things, did many of you watch the Ryder Cup? My brother Rob lives in Chicago and my dad flew over so they could both take part in all the golf shenanigans. They absolutely LOVED it.

It was particularly poignant for my dad, because his late father was the press officer for the Ryder Cup, something I am very proud of,  and when I was born, my grandfather was over in the States for the Ryder Cup and so wasn't there when I arrived. So pleased Rob and Dad had such a nice time together. I really miss my brother and can't wait to see him when he comes home for Christmas.

Also I have taken the Princess to the cinema this week to watch Brave. It was so good. We ate our own body weight in Haribo Fangtastics and popcorn.

Such a drama queen!

We went to an End of Summer festival which was wonderful. There is nothing nicer than drinking gin and eating hotdogs while basking in the sun on deckchairs.

Scoffing a hot dog! Ha!

Drinking a "glass of Nem-Nade"

There's a little bit of heaven somewhere out there...

 And I spied the wonderful actress Liz Smith (AKA Nana Royle from The Royle Family) and one of the bedridden grandmas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the Johnny Depp one) last weekend.

She was enjoying coffee at the cafe on the beach and you have to take my word for it, but that is her in the wheelchair.

"Michael Crawford!"

Half an hour later, she turned up at the End of Summer festival and I decided to pop over and say hi and ask whether she crocheted her lush hat. Turns out she did! She told me that she also made the one she wore in the Johnny Depp film and that she has been crocheting since she was a little girl.

I chatted with her for a bit and then left her to it. Wish I'd taken the plunge to get a pic of us together but I only had my crappy old mobile on me and as she is a regular feature in these parts, I hope I might see her again.

Oooh the weather is so grim. I shall batten down the hatches this weekend and do very little I think. I've been working in the evenings all week and am really tired now. It's time to take a breather!