10/18/2015

Choosing Our Wedding Invites | Just Add Ginger



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Just Add Ginger blog

Around this time ast year, Boyfriend and I, together with his mum and sister, took ourselves off one sunny Autumn Sunday to a wedding fayre at Formby Hall. By this point, I think we had decided on a few things in terms of what we wanted but smaller details - like our wedding stationary - hadn't really received much attention. 

But as soon as we saw The Lost Penguin stand at the wedding fair, I knew I had made up my mind. I may not have known exactly what I wanted, but a few things were for certain. I didn't want any fuss, and I wanted to try and support local businesses throughout the wedding planning process as much as possible. 

Corrine - who set up The Lost Penguin - could not have been more helpful throughout the whole process of ordering our wedding stationary. Once we had chosen the design we wanted, I sent her over an initial email with all my questions, and she soon got back to me, answering all of my questions, and reassuring my stressy side that we had made the right decision. We were even able to order sample invites at a small cost (£5.00 I think,) with details of our nuptials on it, so that we could actually see what our invites would eventually look like.

Fast-forward to late September. The time has come for us to order our invitations. With lots of overseas invites to send, and my lack of faith in the postal service, we gave ourselves ample time for things to arrive at their destinations. With just over five months to go before the wedding, but our numbers having to me in several weeks before the big day, time is running away with itself! I even went to the extent of double-stamping our UK invites to absolutely 100% make sure that they got to their intended destinations. Yeah....I'm so not paranoid!

After sitting down with Boyfriend for the umpteenth time, revising our guest list, and finalising numbers, I sent the order email through to The Lost Penguin. It was a nail-biting moment. Invites are a pretty big thing. It means everything is set in stone, the time is getting closer, and people will be showing up  to watch you get married. Emotions were definitely high as I sat there and clicked that "Send" button. 

Several more emails were sent back and forth confirming details and invite phrasing. At some points, I could feel myself being extra-picky, and was worried I'd come off like a raging Bridezilla, but Corinne tweaked everything that I asked to be altered, and made sure that I was 100% happy before the design was signed off to be printed. 

Waiting for that parcel to arrive was like waiting the birth of a child. I had expected the invites to take at least a few weeks to arrive, but I think in total - including the parcel waiting for us at the sorting office for a week - that everything was delivered in 10 days. And that is just amazing! 

At the time of writing this, not everyone has received their invites. Once they have, I will let you know which design we went for. But let me tell you, I could not have asked for anything more beautiful, or better suited to us as a couple. They are just us. So us. And even when we experienced one little hiccup with the order, The Lost Penguin could not have been more accommodating and understanding. Absolutely outstanding on the customer service front. 

If you planning a wedding up North, and thinking about ordering your wedding stationary, definitely give The Lost Penguin a look. They are super-attentive, the designs are beautiful, and there is something to suit all taste and wedding theme. Not only just offering invites, but with a large range of other wedding extras, I find myself trying to think of extra things we might need, just so I have an excuse to order something else. 

10/11/2015

Stoptober Week One | Just Add Ginger

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StarT Of Week Weight: 10st 5lbs

I thought that the first week of embarking on a pre-Christmas junk detox would be hell. If you read my initial Stoptober post, then you will know just how much I love my food. I thought I'd really miss all the very naughty, but oh-so delicious food I had been enjoying. and find not having the odd glass of wine or can of beer after work a little too much to bear, but actually, I'm rather proud of my progress this first week.

Before anybody reading this starts to worry, I will re-iterate that Stoptober is by no means an excuse for me to lose weight. (I've conquered my past demons, and I would never let them take me over again.) This for me is something I need to do. My wedding dress depends on it. I love Christmas too much to deny all its delights, but I simply cannot risk putting on weight at the weight I am now. There's only so much squashing of my bum cheeks one can do to get me in to my dress, and at the moment it is a comfortable - but ever so slightly snug - fit. 

The one thing that has proved the biggest issue has been breakfast. I am still finishing up a course of medication for indigestion (long story) but basically I cannot eat anything before I have to leave for work. So I've been munching on cereal bars at the train station whilst waiting to start my commute. This is fine, but I don't half miss my morning bowl of cereal and mug of coffee, I have to wait until I get into work at the moment until I can have my little cup of decaffeinated joy. 

Lunch is my most fun meal. I feel like I'm a child again. Packed away in my little lunch-box is a Dairylea and ham wrap, a bag of crisps, and a chocolate bar. This is enough to carry me through until tea usually, and is accompanied by ample glasses of water throughout the day. Sometimes I'll indulge in a second coffee whilst sitting at my desk, but that's only if I'm feeling especially indulgent. Fridays at work may start to be a problem. Everyone has started to bring in snacks and treats, but I have managed to curb the temptation to eat all the things, and have just picked at the odd few treats. Yes. This makes me very proud! 

Dinner has been the more substantial meal, with it having been most pasta this week. But by having something bigger, I've been able to kick my pudding habit. But if I've needed something sweet, I'e had a little of it. This has mostly been in Dark Chocomel and chocolate biscuit form, although yesterday I did treat myself to a pack of Reese's Pieces candy for whilst we were wedding invite addressing (the peanut butter obsession is still strong) BUT I still have loads left. The 'September Me' would not have looked twice to eat the whole box in one, but I had a few, and popped the rest very proudly back in to the cupboard. 

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End Of Week Weight: 10st 1lbs 

I weighed myself this morning to see if my Stoptober plan was having any effect...To my delight I was 4lbs down! This was good news, but not quite progress yet. 10st is a difficult weight for me to break, but I need to in order for those mountains of roast potatoes, lashings of gravy and eleven thousand mince pies over Christmas to be both totally justifiable and enjoyed. 

10/03/2015

STOPTOBER 2015 | Just Add Ginger


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Just Add Ginger blog

Just Add Ginger blog

Just Add Ginger blog

Just Add Ginger blog

STOPTOBER's a takin' over.

Take a look through most of my blog posts, and you'll see a common theme....food. I just can't get enough. There's nothing that brings me more joy than looking forward to a good night out and a meal. But now there is a problem. I have three months until my final wedding-dress fittings starts, and with Christmas in between, I need to lose some weight. As I've gotten older, the pounds have crept on, and over the past two years, I have put on a stone. 

Now, don't get worried, I know that I am a perfectly healthy weight, but because I have quite a voluptuous derrière (which is where all my weight seems to go.) I can't risk putting on loads of Christmas pounds, because, let's be honest, with a January birthday following, there's no way I'm going to lose it. My wedding dress was ordered in a size 14 to account for my bottom, and it only just comfortably goes over it now...

...So if I don't start being good, I'm in trouble! 

So here's where STOPTOBER comes in. Whereas some people use the month as an opportunity to give up smoking or alcohol, I'm going to use it for a goal much more personal to me. 

After this weekend I will be giving up the following for one month: 

   1) Alcohol 
         2) Takeaways 
            3) Fizzy Drinks 
                      4) (Too Many) Sweets
    5) Pudding
6) Bread

If after one month has passed, I have managed to steer clear of all of the above list, I will be donating £100 to a charity yet to be decided. If I don't succeed, STOPTOBER will be turning into STOPVEMBER and the process will start all over again. 

Over the course of October, blog posts will be gong up to track my weekly progress and almost become my official STOPTOBER diary. I really think this will help me stay on track. 

Wish me luck everybody...I think I'm going to need it!