Stuck in the Mud!

Evening one and all,

Following on from the festivities I have quite some to share with you all. Apologies for the absent nature, unfortunately with writing once a week, there would have come a time when the dates would have lay on a Christmas and New Years eve, both of which were spent drinking alcohol and eating copious amounts of chocolate and calorific foods that will probably lead me to death sooner or later. Nevertheless I have had a wonderful new years and Christmas, hope that yours also was pleasant? Mine was eventful, as it always is, lots of presents and gifts, family and friends to see and mingle with. Oh and my Dad got engaged to his girlfriend of eight years. How I feel about it? Lets just say I am taking a rain check and will be back with you soon ... 

The first few days of the New Year and my Christmas break from work have been heavily occupied with Wedding Planning (and not of my Dads'). Finally we have booked a venue, a beautiful 'T-shaped' converted old school
in a small village (smaller than the one I live in now) near to the Church we plan to marry, Mr. Warehouse's family church that everyone in his family all bar a handful have declared they're vows. In all fairness it would have been nice to have it in my family church, you know since I am the one christened and all, however with Mr. Warehouse referring to it as "The Asylum" and its less than perfect track record of my parents divorce, I struggled to find its importance to have it there, especially with the 1970's styled outside - See here! 

Now we have booked the venue the most important things come next. The Bar - Booked and we have even been able to book a free drink for everyone on arrival and even better; No charge for hiring! I suppose Mr. Warehouse and I now need to clothe ourselves, feed our guests and give them something to dance too! 

With still so much left to plan and organise, Mr. Warehouse thought we would kick off the New Year in style and after meeting with old family friend Miss Bride about her hopefully securing us a beautiful and tasty wedding cake, my fiance and I hopped in the car and headed for a wedding fair we were given free tickets too at the very grand and beautiful Knebworth House. However with the invites and tickets being about as clear as mud (we'll get onto that later) Mr. Warehouse and I drove around for ages trying to look for this place. Gate after gate after gate after frigging access gate we got too was all shut up and closed off. Searching in vain for an alternative route just lead us to another closed off access through road and with one final go of it I was determined to find this fucking place! 

However what I did not realised was that the postal code Mr. Warehouse had taken down from a sign nearby to the venue was literally in the middle of fucking no-where! going from a tarmac road with markings to a concrete  with potholes for days. Following this and our "trusted" technology lead us to a a gravelly farm track with lumps and digs I thought the car would fall into. Poor Viv had more to contend with though as soon dirt lanes turned to barely-able-to-squeeze-through boggy tracks. With the middle of the road (if you can even call it that at this stage) high enough for me to feel the car scrapping its insides as we slowly pushed through the grassy mud, I could feel the car slipping and sliding, barely able to keep a grip on the boggy track. I thought at one stage we will be sat in the car, middle of feckin' no-where, teetering on a tractor made verge in the middle of the road. 

After making a forty-point turn and scratching the paintwork no end, we ignored the blasted GoogleMaps Shite and headed towards civilisation, not before passing walkers with strange looks as we continued and squeezed down lumpy mud tracks with dips and ducks aplenty. 

Arriving at the posh concreted road, winding through the beautiful countryside estate we had just been fucking around in for the last two hours we were certainly glad to arrive and was looking forward to the free champagne and cake tasting on offer. However on arrival there was barely enough time to even look at suppliers let alone get some much needed information from them before the fashion show started. 

Sitting down and enjoying the show was lovely and with a Fanta in hand and Mr. Warehouse by my side I couldn't be happier and realised that this would soon just turn into another anecdote about that time we nearly got stuck in a field. Lots of white dresses and formal wear later we left the show to be greeted by most of the suppliers shutting up shop or stall and going home. Ha Ha gutted and disappointed were not even the words. And because of all of the fiasco earlier both Mr. Warehouse and my phones had died and so we had to try and navigate our way home and cancel the plans to pick up some much needed wedding essentials. Oh the drama, but maybe something to add to the grooms speech. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx 

Country-Bumpkin Here I am!

Bonjour Mon Ami! 

We. Are. In. And apologies for last weeks missing post as I am sure you were all gripped onto your screens just waiting to here when and what was happening - Unfortunately Country Bumpkin life means signal is poor and Internet is poorer! 

Ahh Yes - The moment has come when Mr. Warehouse and I are now fully moved into our new home! I am officially broke and terrified of Adulting! Shit just got real! After multiple handover's and changes and problems galore, including a whole mess up with our housing plans, dimensions and specifications, we are finally in. Nevertheless, after receiving the devastating news that our entire property had been mis-sold, Mr Warehouse and I received an email from the Housing Association detailing that nearly a week earlier than planned, they had taken handover of the property and after consulting our solicitor we finally agreed upon a date! Five days on from then we would be picking up the keys and becoming home owners for the very first time! 

Now I am hardly going to lie to you and say that the move or dismantling and remaking of furniture was difficult and fraught with arguments aplenty. I am sure that IKEA has been cited as a cause on many a divorce paper for failure to evoke pleasantries between loved ones! Mr Warehouse has continued to stress out throughout the entire process of moving home and is not making it any easier for himself when it comes to finding an item in particular. Buried under boxes and boxes of furniture and worldly possessions for the last few months I was certainly glad as I thought that this day would never come but I am so I am incredibly happy to be in my nice new, clean home with straight walls and no nooks or cranny's to try and keep clean. No pot smoking neighbours upstairs with their scatty ratty dog and barking at all hours of the day and night. No more living on one level with only a few steps between the whole property. No more patio or grubby garden. Thank the heavens for heard work and determination for I was laughed at the beginning of the year when I said to Mr Warehouse that I would buy a property in 2018. And you know what. I fucking did it. 

We have been in the house now for a week or so officially and still have yet to put up a few more shelves and lots of pictures to make it feel more homely. I am positive that this will happen within the coming days as I am in preparation for mine and my Husband-To-Be to host our very first party. The first of many I hope - Although don't tell him that, he'll have a shit-fit. Ever since Mr Warehouse proposed to me on a cold autumn afternoon walk with Pooch in a wooded car-park I simply couldn't wait to tell everyone so they can share in the news and celebration of our engagement together. But on top of that we have just moved into our first home and would like to also show this off too. The Babe said that I was not allowed to have either party let alone two of them so I have combined them together to give us an Engagement Warming - Half Engagement Party, Half House Warming. 

And so here we are. All settled into the idyllic countryside estates of Cranfield! Just dress me in Wellies or Tweed and call me a Country-Bumpkin! 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx