The old ones are the best.

Evening all. HOW cold is it tonight? Blimmin' arctic.

I've been a busy bee bumbling around the charity shops recently. I bought a pink coat originally from Boden for £4. It was one of those "I'm not sure" moments but I haven't worn anything else since and can't imagine life without it. I love charity shop purchases like that.

Only problem is that everything from the high street then seems so over priced when you are used to a bargain. I saw a dress today for £20 and I was like "Twenty quid? It's daylight robbery is that..." which of course it clearly isn't.

Here is my coat. Ooh, and the shoes are from the Scope charity shop, Bertie brogues, £5.

The sea is my happy place as you can clearly see above. Thank the good lord you can't also hear me shrieking! The waves do that to me.

I shrieked on Saturday when I stupidly turned my back on the ocean for a brief moment and got two brogues full of icy salty sea water.

I can't stop wearing my new (old) coat...

In other utterly boring news, I feel so tired at the moment, I am seriously considering hibernation until late spring for future years. I don't do this weather, it makes me weary and grumpy. Meh. I haven't been running for over a week, I just can't muster the energy. I need to give myself a sharp talking to (alone, or otherwise I'll look like a right weirdo.)

I also think I'm having a midlife crisis. I've started watched The Inbetweeners and finding it far more hilarious than I should. I keep tittering and I think the Husband is finding it slightly irritating. He wants Question Time. I want to know when Will will finally get to bed a woman.

But on the flip side, I'm also maturing because on a Monday I hang out with a lovely group of people. The average age is 85. We have such a laugh but it's so refreshing that none of it is the smutty humour I get with some of the mums on the school run.

A few things I've learnt from my older friends, is that none of them are scared of death, they all drink very anaemic tea, they all believe in God, they are all exceptionally bright, they all feel 35 mentally and none of them drink alcohol. The downside of these firm friendships with a large age gap is that I am scared about them dying as I can't imagine my Mondays without them, and I can't discuss the merits of Bon Jovi or gin cocktails. But you know what? I'm happy with that. These men and women are a breath of fresh air!

Right, I am so tired I'm going to sign off now and go to bed but I'll be back soon.

In the meantime, support the circular economy, keep things out of landfill and buy more items from charity shops. I'd love to hear about your fab purchases.

Bye Bye Noo Noo, Noo Noo bye bye...

Had a lovely relaxing weekend in Whitstable, staying with friends. It didn't last long though. The relaxation I mean. Does it ever when you have children?!

It started so well. I totally rocked the cherry tree shop look and as you will see from the below pic, I am in a 100 per cent cherry tree outfit. The skirt, top and cardie. The glasses were £1 from Primark and my bangles were Sainsbury's. I think the entire outfit cost just over a tenner.

The Princess is wearing a t-shirt her uncle sent over from Hawaii and some cherry tree shorts which were originally Boden.

We walked past my favourite beach hut in Tankerton.

 And then walked past the one the Princess prefers.

 The Prince tucked into an ice cream after falling on his face. Oh such dramas. Again. It got worse for him later though. Sob. Sniff.

And then I fell in love with this gorgeous, quaint cottage on the seafront in Whitstable.

 My friend lives in Tankerton and we walk a mile on the beach to Whitstable which is one of my favourite places ever. It is quirky, cool, vibrant and full of vintage shops, cherry tree shops, clothes shops and lovely one-off shops filled with all my favourite things.

My favourite shop is Vintage on Sea. Two mums run it as a joint venture and sell stunning vintage dresses, jewellery and bags.



That's my lovely friend browsing the dress section which were made from fabric with vintage print



I bought this vintage ra-ra dress. Love it.

I also bought the one in the middle. Oops!

 Then we went to the below sweet shop and spent a fortune (or rather my friend did) on the Princess. If she has any teeth left by the end of the week, it will be a miracle. We ALWAYS go to the sweet shop in Whitstable. It's the law. We scoff chocolate covered honeycomb, fizzy cola bottles, Wham bars, all the old-fashioned boiled sweets. Delish.

And this is such a pretty shop below which sells the hugest cupcakes I've ever seen. Utterly stunning too. The window display is to die for.

The Street was visible when the tide went out. It is one of my favourite things to walk on. It amazes me every time and the kids love it. I feel a bit like Moses, is that weird?

Then disaster struck. Shortly after the below photo was taken, the Prince lost his beloved Noo Noo, seen lying on the table in front of him. My boy loves that cuddly rabbit comforter more than I love Jon Bon Jovi.

  

Last sighting of Noo Noo. Very much missed. Anyone out there in Whitstable??? Please look for him. Our home isn't the same without him...

 It is one of these blue rabbits from Jojo Maman Bebe (see below link). We have a duplicate but it's not the same as the old, raggedy one. I actually feel really upset about it too, something the husband doesn't understand.
http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/sp+Baby-Toys-Rabbit-Comforters+B6497

I have emailed all the nearby pubs and am so annoyed that I can't just nip over there to retrace all our steps. It happened when my friend and I were in the vintage dress shop and the husband kindly took the kids for a stroll. But now I understand he retraced all footsteps except the ones when it was just him and the kids. You know, the CRUCIAL steps. It's when he lost Noo Noo. I have deduced this from the photo above. Noo Noo was lost soon after we left the restaurant.

The restaurant staff are on to it for me, but I don't hold out much hope. Their Lost Property box is empty.

I feel utterly bereft. This is as big a deal for me as it is for the Prince. I'm obsessing about it. It's all I am thinking about. I am so frustrated. WHY didn't I notice Noo Noo was in the pic then I could have worked out when we lost him. Grrr.

The Prince and Noo Noo were best friends from day one

Kisses for mummy whilst still holding Noo Noo

Any time the going got tough, Noo Noo helped him through

On a brighter note, the sea was warm enough for the kids to splash around in. I didn't want to leave as I watched the late afternoon sun beating down on the sea. Can't wait to go back. I bought some cherry tree treasures which I will blog about tomorrow as time is ticking on tonight!

Guess who was still in the sea at 6.30pm on Sunday night. A school night. NAUGHTY!!!!!