Last week was my sister’s 30th birthday, so we made plans to meet up as a family for lunch yesterday. As my sister lives 100 miles away, I got the train up north on Saturday and stayed at her house. It was also the perfect opportunity to spend some time with my brother-in-law and Squidge (my niece) who is now 5 months old.

As always, traveling up in the afternoon is always busy, and it didn’t help that my train was severely delayed, but by the time I arrived I was met with this gorgeous face, which made it all worthwhile. Her hair is beginning to grow so she is looking less like Grant Mitchell from Eastenders now, which is always a bonus!

Saturday night was fairly relaxed – the delayed train and the awful traffic meant that we didn’t get home until late – and my brother-in-law was out with his own siblings so after Squidge had been put in bed my sister and I over-indulged on the snacky treats and watched our favourite chick-flick – Only You – while catching up and generally talking nonsense. To save her the time and effort of setting up the airbed I stayed on the couch (which happens to be the world’s comfiest) and enjoyed the luxury of Sky TV, which The Bloke and I don’t have.

The next day we were joined by my other sister and went to the Trafford Centre. We decided that while we were all together we would take the opportunity to check out the bridesmaids dresses available, and by sheer luck we managed to find two in Occasions in Debenhams which were the perfect colour and near enough the perfect sizes. They were the last available in that colour, and were almost half price in the sale, as if it were meant to be. Of course, we then needed to find accessories and so managed to find matching hair clips and handbags, and my sister realised that she had two shawls left over from her own wedding a few years ago that would fit the colour scheme. My sister also decided to go to Swarovski and purchase a pair of earrings, and managed to find a pair that matched a necklace that her boyfriend had bought her.

We then went to Wagamama. It was the first time that I had ever been to one, so I sat back and let the family do the ordering. It all seemed a little bit complicated for me, but I enjoyed the steamed dumpling stuff and the prawn stuff  (no, that’s not what they were called on the menu). However, I wasn’t impressed with the seafood ramen – it tasted like leaf – so my sister helped me out by eating her own food and then finishing off mine too. Squidge managed to have a tantrum as soon as we walked in to the restaurant, so I was very impressed at my sister’s juggling skills, successfully managing to eat a meal one handed with chopsticks while balancing an 18lb baby with her other arm.

And now I have the bridesmaids dresses sorted, the accessories sorted, and as an extra wedding present I am off to London tomorrow in preparation for the Adele concert with my middle sister on Wednesday! What a brilliant week!

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