Good weekend.

A pretty good weekend is just coming to an end. Nothing particularly spectacular, but a combination of family time + friends time = lovely!

Mr Moo had a friend over for a sleepover on Friday, and he's one of those kids who is an absolutle pleasure to be around. They entertained each other nicely, managed to let Little Legs play along with them without tears, and ate huge portions of toad-in-the-hole despite it turning out flat and under-cooked. They were quite excited as school had taken them to a book signing by Julia Donaldson that day, and what kid doesn't love meeting their literary hero! We indulged in some wine in the evening and let all the kids stay up late - and not a single complaint when they were eventually told to go to bed.

Saturday was a mix of grocery shopping, cooking, kid's party at softplay and a spot of shopping. Fish finger sarnies for lunch were just the job, and then knackered kids went to bed early while we had friends over for dinner. For once, we got every single dish perfect! The starter/nibbles were baked mushrooms stuffed with ricotta and chilli, beetroot and walnut humous, garlic bread, salami and olives; main was spaghetti carbonara made with Italian fennel and chilli sausages turned into meatballs, and dessert was Nigella's no-churn coffee ice-cream served with shop-bought madelaines - and you all must try the ice-cream, it's to die for!

Then today was a lazy mooching day, complete with a honey-roast ham for lunch, F1 and the X Factor on the tellybox, and normal stuff like kid's homework. It was a bonus to wake up this morning without a hangover, unlike most evenings when good friends come for dinner the night before! We've also spent some time this weekend sorting the house out as the estate agent is coming to take photos tomorrow - yikes, we're going on the market!

Oh, and the weather was nice enough to get the washing dried outside - this is October, isn't it meant to be raining? My chilli plants are having a late surge outside although this year's crop has been bitterly disappointing, so much so that I've had to buy some fresh ones. Oh well, getting both kids to voluntarily try them this summer made up for it!