Tom and I headed up early to surprise Laura and get the farmhouse looking fabulous. The place we were staying was on the far East side of Anglesey, the island in North Wales I spend endless blog posts discussing, in a farm house in Plas Uchaf. We had been in touch with the incredibly helpful people of Sage and Sea, who had happily allowed us in early to prepare. We were greeted by Paul, who came with keys and the essentials; instructions on how to use the hot tub and a giant chocolate cake. The house itself was spectacular, a four bedroom farmhouse complete with outdoor patio and hot tub, an open plan kitchen diner, and a secondary cottage attached with a further kitchen and living space and double bedroom.
Once Paul left it was time to decorate and prepare for the arrival of the birthday girl
The cottage was totally decked out with everything we could possibly want, but there was no harm in adding a few diamonte, confetti and all things silver and sparkling.
The gang finally arrived that evening and it was so good to be reunited. Laura was totally surprised by the effort that Tom and I had gone to and it was so good to surprise her as I miss her incredibly while I'm in London and she's studying away in Bristol.
We wasted no time picking out our beds (Laura and I quickly took the master on the ground floor) and getting ourselves some dinner. Everyone arrived laden with treats for the weekend festivities, with flowers and candles, champagne, wine and a Cheshire weekend essential... shot pheasant ready for Saturdays dinner. But more on that later.
After dinner Tom and I gave Laura the gifts we had bought her, Swarovski crystal engraved champagne flutes and a cubic zirconia halo necklace. She has been such an incredible friend to both of us and I was thrilled with how much she loved them.
After dinner and copious amounts of wine, it was most definitely time to check out the hot tub, so we raced outside in the freezing temperatures to continue the evenings festivities. And that, we certainly did.
There are many times I have considered these friends to be some of the truest I have, and this night most definitely proved it. We enjoyed midnight sparklers (I only wish I had taken some photos!) before one by one dropping off to bed, paracetamol in hand!
The following day Laura and I woke unusually early and decided to take a walk to the beach in the hope it would beat our rather sore heads. Giggling about the antics of the night before we set off down the picturesque costal path towards the beach.
A pair of destroyed Chelsea boots, several fields of sheep and a hundred pheasants later we finally reached the sea... and couldn't tell if we were happy...or not.
We arrived home to some equally sore heads and the boys making breakfast to laugh about the evening before.
I slept off the hangover I had been cursed with while the boys watched movies and discussed who was the biggest lad... or something sports related. The girls and I weren't really listening.
Later that afternoon I took a few of the gang down to the beach I had spent so much time at as a child for the best ice cream in the world...and the sun came out for us too!
With the sightseeing box successfully ticked, it was time to head back to the cottage to prepare for dinner. Now I'd like to say I'm up for trying anything once, but when it came to plucking and dressing a pheasant, I'm afraid my inner city girl overruled my sense of adventure. The others seemed to be having a great time though...
As George began slaving over dinner, Tom Yates and I set about the table, after all, a centre piece should never be used more than once. Hundreds of diamonte, rose petals, and the worlds most powerful floating candle later, the table was looking fabulous, and it was about time we all did the same.
With The Spice Girls blasting, Laura Vicky and I got ourselves made up while the boys donned their tux's and smartest suits for an evening that would at least begin with class.
We gathered in the Lounge for a glass of champagne served by the birthday girl, and a heartfelt speech from Tom... before ensuring we had enough photos that we would never forget our weekend, not that we could.
With emotions running high it was time to sit down for dinner, and chef George had done an incredible job! We tucked in to delicious food, with delicious company and a delicious centre piece and it was just delicious.
Proud parents of the decor!
The proud chef
And then it was time for the birthday girl to blow out her candles... or ice fountains, which are most definitely 2013's answer to candles, before we all headed out to continue the party in the hot tub!
We all awoke the next day to incredibly sore heads and a long journey home ahead of us. As always it was horrible to say goodbye to the wonderful friends I have back at home, but it was definitely time to return to London. It won't be long until I'll be home for Christmas and I'll probably have just about recovered by then...
All information on Plas Uchaf can be found on the Sage & Sea website: http://www.sageandsea.co.uk
