We had a day out at the Christmas markets in Birmingham, with the girls and Joe's parents. Evie and Grandpops had been looking forward to going on the carousel. Mummy and Daddy had been looking forward to mulled wine and some kind of foodie treat!
It's starting to become a bit of a family tradition, to take some time off for a road trip just before Christmas, stopping in Birmingham for Joe's folks, Stafford for mine and Manchester for my brother.
This trip started with Birmingham, the markets, a visit to Santa, and then ... Evie was sick at the table in the House of Fraser cafe. Oh my goodness, every parent's nightmare, surely. I read somewhere, on one of those quotation picture things that floats around Facebook and Pinterest probably, that you can tell the difference between parents and non parents when a child is sick. Non parents move away from projectile vomit. Parents run towards it and try to catch it in their hands, handbag, or in this case, a glass. Nice! So very embarrassing and I really did feel awful for everyone else in the cafe, trying to enjoy a nice pre-Christmas lunch, presumably not as desensitised to the sight of vomit as any parents of toddlers are.
So we made a sharp exit and headed back to the car, passing a sign outside Waterstones advertising that goddess Mary Berry was doing a book signing that very day. What time? Oh, it finished 20 minutes ago. You mean, while I was in House of Fraser cafe, catching sick, I could actually have been in the presence of Mary Berry, just a few metres away? Humph! Obviously I dragged the family through the whole store anyway, just in case she was still there, which she wasn't.
I did work out though, that it wouldn't be too much of a detour on our way back from Birmingham to Joe's parents house, to stop by somewhere I've been wanting to visit for ages ... Guthrie and Ghani. Avid crafters and The Great British Sewing Bee viewers will remember the lovely Lauren, and this is the shop she opened with ther husband. I have been reading her blog and checking out her website for a while and wanting to pay a visit. Well, I will definitely be back. If you are in any way interested in sewing, and are anywhere near Birmingham, take a detour. You will love it.
I loved it even from across the street! I would love to open a shop like this someday. Not only are there lots of lovely things inside, but they are packaged and labelled so beautifully. They have a lovely class space too. If I lived closer, I would definitely be a regular participant.
Evie had recovered from her random sickness very quickly and was running around the shop excitedly, as if it were filled with sweets. She loves a fabric shop. I'm raising her well! Engrossed in my fabric selection, I heard the words that cause a moment of panic to a parent in a shop full of lovely things. 'Mum, look at me!' The whole shop turns with me, to see Evie, with a lampshade on her head. 'Mum, look at me, I'm a lamp' :-). Very funny, and could have been much worse.
Unfortunately, Lauren wasn't in the shop for our visit - the second missed meeting of the day, but the lady serving me was really lovely and helpful. I came away with a couple of fat quarters, some cotton drill for the backs of cushions, and a metal purse clasp, that I have no idea what to do with at the moment, but am looking forward to being inspired by my lovely friend Janet's purse workshop soon.
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