Today was mum's 2nd birthday celebration ... she's obviously getting a bit like the Queen in her old age and now has to celebrate her birthday twice!! We had a lovely evening at my sister's house ... nice food and a cake Sis made by herself!!!

And it was good to see a real smile on Mum's face too!!

We went for a walk along the beach in Littlehampton where Sis lives and it's the first time I've ever been down there. I was quite surprised at how NICE the beach was! It's very much an "unspoiled" area of beach with sand dunes and real sand! Certainly worked up an appetite for CAKE anyway!!

The kids had a great time - it was good to actually get them off their backsides and out into the fresh air!

Candles, photos and a BBQ at Sis's!

Today started off as a great day ... I got a ton done at work and that always makes me feel good! I pity my poor courier come Monday morning - 42 steps (2nd floor) isn't so bad the first time you do it ... or on the way down ... but the second, third (etc!) time it's a back breaker especially with heavy boxes or sacks of wax!!

It turned into a great evening too as we went over to see my sis and her hub in their new place for a bbq and it was such a nice evening! Good food, a nice atmosphere and a pretty garden! Our mum and her hub's mum had been working hard in their garden planting and repotting - it looked fabulous!!

I'd arranged in advance to take a few photos while I was over there as inspiration for a main shot for my website ... so I took some candles with me. I didn't get exactly the shots I was after, but these are a couple of my best ...

I'm working hard on bringing the website up to scratch ... i.e. really emphasizing the lifestyle factor of what I do, and the best way to do that is through photography. These are just a couple of my best shots that I took at my sister's place this evening.... I wish I'd had more time and more "stuff" with me!!

I have had another brilliant idea though! My sister is a fantastic photographer. She and her hub both are ... and I'm going to ask her if she'll spend some time taking photos of my candles around her house!! Sis has some very "quirky" stuff in her house and really good taste - and they are both very inspired by angular / eccentric / unusual photography of very normal every day things... which is exactly what I am looking for!

It's weird because I'm not even jealous that my sister can do a better job at this than I can - and it almost surprises me that I am NOT jealous! I take really good photographs of things that inspire ME ... and that pretty much comes down to photos of my children! Sis and her hub take amazing photos of "stuff"!!

I think between the two of them, they will come up with some great pics for me! Besides, if I make a list of everything I give them for the photography, I can mark it off as deductible too, so it's worth it tax wise - and she / they will probably get FAR better shots than I ever could anyway!

I really enjoyed spending time with them this evening. They are such a great couple and I'm so glad Sis and I are closer.

Me & my lil sis

I have just spoken to my sis on the phone and decided that it was time to dedicate a blog post to her!

This is us with our mum taken in New York last year (May 07) a few days before Sis's wedding. I'm on the left, Mum in the middle and Sis on the right.

Sis and I have had a weird relationship over the last few years (until recently), and I guess weird is probably the best way to describe it! She and I are VERY unalike as people (despite the physical resemblance!) and I'm not exactly sure when we stopped being close ... but somehow we did. We had a couple of years of really just losing touch with each other as people and our relationship as sisters suffered naturally as a result.

The thing is ... out of almost nowhere really it has ended up all coming so naturally (our relationship I mean), and all uncoincidentally timed with her move back to the area instead of being over an hour away which means that I can see more of her and she's closer literally as well as emotionally!!

She moved just a couple of weeks ago, but I would say for at least the last couple of months we have got on SO well! We are closer than ever before and it has been so natural! Instead of worrying about what we'd talk about on the phone, I call her just for a chat when I've got nothing major going on just to find out what she's been up to over the last few days (because I AM really interested in her life!) ... and she rang me while I was at the show the other day to let me know she'd been out and about and drummed up some interest from a couple of shops that are now interested in stocking my candles!! I was so utterly surprised that she did that for me out of nowhere ... but it wasn't really out of nowhere ... it's just the natural relationship that we have now!!

It's been so terrific to have a new "friend" as well. I'm really not sure what switched our relationship back on again, but it's been terrific. I love it and just know that going forward, Sis and I have a whole new friendship to explore!

I can also finally reveal to the general public that we also have a new "thing" together!! Sis discovered she has a very natural talent for scrapbooking! A few weeks ago, I put aside the entire weekend to spend with Sis working on a gift for her husband as a first anniversary present. We pretty much did a whole entire scrapbook over those two days ... and this is what Sis did all by herself ...

Know what? It was most definitely the best page in the whole album!! I may have created a monster!!

Ugh, I should really get back to my paperwork!

I just wanted to say ... Sis, if you are reading this then I love you to bits and I am so glad that we are back on track. In just the last few months, I truly feel we are closer to than ever before and I'm glad you are back in my life properly :-)

Ack okay soppiness over ... back to the paperwork!

A totally delish day!

Today was just as beautifully warm as yesterday but there was at least a nice breeze in the air so the wax was hotter than I was today *grin*

God I want a holiday!! I was thinking about it today while I was stood there packing up votives! I never ever have T-I-M-E for me ... and just for me. Where would I go? What would I do? One thing I do know is that I'd love to go just completely by myself! Somewhere hot ... somewhere with blue skies, no clouds and a beach.

Bliss!

Nice thoughts especially after a long drive around the M25 this evening! I went up to visit my sister and brother in law in London ... it was only a quick visit as they are off to New York tomorrow morning (their wedding anniversary) and then they move house two days after they get back from their trip! It was good to see her and spend some time with them both.

I did find my mind drifting while I drove home especially ... thinking about getting away from it all... maybe even just a couple of nights in a spa would do me the world of good!! Maybe that's what I should buy myself for my birthday this year :-)