Our Amazing Weekend!

I don't often post about what I get up to, but wanted to share some photos of the lovely weekend we've just had at the Atlantis on the Palm that the company Colin works for treated us to.  It was AMAZING - the room, the food, everything!  We've been to the Atlantis a couple of times before, but never stayed overnight with access to all the areas.  Last year when the boys and Nic came to stay we took them fine dining at the Ossiano Restaurant.  That truly was an experience - even the menus were on iPads...lol

This is me sitting in the lobby.
The priceless Dale Chihuly sculpture was created using 3,000 hand blown pieces
that were individually placed to create the 10m high centrepiece.

This was our room and that's the bath just beyond the sliding panels. 

Colin checking out the hotel restaurants I should think...lol!

The bathroom.

I know, too many bathroom photos, but it was lovely!  I couldn't get over the size of it - I've never stayed in a hotel before with such a big bathroom...lol!

Colin and I taken from the back of the hotel.

There were several areas around the ground floor were you could stop and see into the Ambassador Lagoon.  It really was amazing.  We took lots of photos but they don't really do it justice.

View looking over our balcony.

 

View of the Arabian sea from our balcony.

We had a brilliant time, but not enough time to do everything we would have liked to have done as there was so much you could do there, which means I suppose we will have to go back again won't we...lol!

I'm still here!

Happy New Year to anyone who may still be following me, and to any new followers too!  

I haven't finished any stitching, but I do have a quick little crafty project I can show you.  I came across this idea for a wedding invitation ornament on a blog just over a year ago, and thought it was absolutely gorgeous and a wonderful idea for a keepsake.  With Jase and Nic only having just had their December wedding (pictures here) I would have loved to have made one for them straight away, but with Christmas looming, and having to prepare for our move to Dubai, I really just didn't have the time.  Also, all the clear baubles I could find on the internet were sold out, so I wouldn't have been able to anyway.  Throughout the year I've been keeping an eye out for when the baubles became available again, and eventually found some during the summer, so was able to make the ornament in time to give to Jase and Nic for Christmas.  Inside the bauble is Jase and Nic's wedding invitation, with the key details cut into quarter inch strips.  Chota, their little Jack Russell played her part at the wedding too, so I've attached a stirling silver Jack Russell charm.  It was so easy to do, and I was absolutely thrilled with how it turned out.  When I get the opportunity I will definitely be using this idea again.  You can find the simple steps to follow here on Christy's blog.

It's been a busy few months for me, with yet again not a lot of stitching getting done, but I've been having a lovely time.  Towards the end of October and the beginning of November, Jason, Matthew and Nic came out to visit us in Dubai.  We had a brilliant time - sightseeing, cocktails at the Burj Al Arab, and going up the Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building in the world, then staying until the evening for a meal while watching the Dubai Fountain show.  It was so lovely having them here with us, and we missed them terribly when they left to go back home! 

I love this photo that Jason took of the Burj Khalifa in the evening before the fountain show.

Jason, Nic and Matthew at the Souk Madinat, after a fantastic Friday afternoon Brunch at the Al Qasr Hotel, Madinat, Jumeirah.

Colin, Jason, myself and Matthew before cocktails at the Burj Al Arab.

Soon after they left I became very ill, only just recovering in time to make my own flight back home to UK on the 1st December, so that I could start preparing for Christmas.  Colin followed me home on the 18th for our first Christmas together in three years.  Jason, Nic, Matthew and Chota came home for Christmas this year too.  We had yet another brilliant time, and even found time to carry out our family Christmas tradition of doing a puzzle together.  This was a 2000 piece puzzle, not the biggest we've done, we've done one with 3000 pieces before, but this one was a little challenging with a lot of white and pale blue. 

And now here I am!  I arrived back in Dubai on the 7th, and can't believe that by the end of the month I will have been out here with Colin for a year! I'm hoping this year to get plenty of stitching and finishing done.  I know I've said it before, but I really must!  I have all my lovely stash here with me, so no excuse not to really.  So here's hoping to be blogging again soon!

I'm Still Here!

This is just a quickie to say that I'm still around!  I should have blogged sooner but have been very busy settling into our little villa here in Dubai.  It took us a lot longer to find one that we would be happy to rent during our stay here, but we got there eventually, and now after all the scrubbing, cleaning and shopping, the villa is beginning to feel more homely!  The only things we brought with us were our personal belongings, most of which was my stash…lol, so we've had to start from scratch, buying not only furniture but also pots, pans, towels, bedding, you name it, everything but the kitchen sink…lol, and trying not to go too much over the budget that Colin's company has allowed us.  Thank goodness for Ikea, which is where we bought the majority of the furniture.  We've had to be sensible, because apart from a few nice things we've already bought, and others that I'm sure we will be tempted to buy in the future, we're not planning on bringing anything back to the UK with us when we eventually do return home.  With almost all the shopping for the villa finished I'm now ready to hit the huge Malls here and do some serious shopping for me...lol!

With so much going on I've find it difficult to get back into my stitching, but I have recently picked up my needle again.  I've only done a little though, so have no finishes yet to share, and it's probably going to be a while longer too before I do, as I'm popping back home to the UK for a visit soon. DH is going to join me after 4 weeks and then we'll return back here to Dubai together at the end of August.  It's getting far too hot here in Dubai this time of the year so time to get away for a break!

As I have no stitchy pictures to share I thought you might like to see a few of my home here.

This is where I'm now sat blogging.  The empty space on the desk is where I was planning to keep my sewing machine set up.  That was until DH needed somewhere to spread out and set up the company laptop when he's working from home, so I've decided to keep my sewing machine safely out of his way and bring it out only when needed.

This is where I'm hoping to sit and get plenty of stitching done.  Excuse the light shade over the dining table, it was left by the landlord and is awful and will be replaced once I've found something that looks right with the ceiling fan that we've had fitted in the lounge area.

What we look on to from our bedroom balcony.

Thank you for popping by, and if you're a regular visitor thank you for returning and not forgetting me!  :o)