12/07/2026
This week has honestly been one of those weeks I’ll remember for a very long time. ❤️
My uncle Tony came to stay with us from London at the beginning of the week, and seeing how much Elijah absolutely adores him has been so lovely. We spent the week fitting in family meals, catch-ups and making memories before he headed home today.
Then came our little birthday weekend away. ❤️
As Jack’s birthday is 20th June and mine is 3rd July, we’d booked ourselves a little treat months ago. It was going to be our very first full weekend away together in a B&B and, after six and a half years, our first ever full weekend away without Elijah.
We started the journey with a little shopping trip to Trafford Centre (our second home 🤣), followed by Costco to stock up on snacks before making the 3+ hour drive to County Durham.
On the way we realised we were driving past one of my closest friends, so after a very quick FaceTime call of “PINT?” 🤣 we made an unexpected little detour to surprise her and her husband before carrying on. Those spontaneous moments are often my favourite.
The drive itself was absolutely stunning. Beautiful countryside, lovely little villages and views for miles. By the time we arrived it was around 7pm and, after travelling all day in the middle of a 33°C heatwave, we were both an absolute sweaty mess! 🥵
The Airbnb itself was beautiful. Tiny, cosy and exactly our kind of place. And yes… owning a specialist cleaning company means I immediately start inspecting everything! 😂 Honestly, I struggled to find anything to pick at other than one slightly smeary chrome light switch and a cobweb that was probably made after the cleaner had left. That’s always a very good sign! The outside space just needed a little tidy and some TLC, but overall it really was lovely.
We made some noodles, Jack washed the pans, then went upstairs to run the gorgeous copper bath… only to come back down a minute later saying there was no hot water.
Surely not…
We tried every tap, every sink and the bath again, but nothing.
The owner replied almost immediately despite being away herself, talked us through everything she could remotely, then sent someone over to investigate. Sadly, after waiting and hoping, we found out the boiler had failed and couldn’t be repaired during our stay.
She was absolutely brilliant throughout and very kindly offered us a full refund if we chose to leave the following morning.
It was such a difficult decision.
After travelling over three hours in that heat, we desperately needed showers. We’d specifically booked somewhere with both a beautiful bath and private spa facilities, but the spa rules required everyone to shower before using it, which of course we couldn’t do. Without hot water for the whole weekend, we realised we’d essentially just be paying to sleep there, and as heartbreaking as it was, we decided it was best to head home.
But here’s the thing…
We didn’t let it ruin our weekend.
Instead, we kept our plans, visited High Force Waterfall, took the scenic route home through some beautiful little towns, enjoyed one of the best Hickory’s restaurants we’ve ever visited, laughed loads, talked loads and simply enjoyed being together.
The unexpected bonus? Because we came home early, we got one more evening with my uncle before he returned to London today. We all went to the pub together, spent another evening chatting, watched the England match and made even more memories.
Today we took Uncle Tony to the train station.
Watching Elijah burst into tears as the train pulled away absolutely broke my heart. He loves his family so deeply and never wants them to leave. We just reminded him that the lovely thing about saying goodbye is that it means we’ll get to say hello again soon… and I have a feeling we’ll be making a trip to London during the school holidays. ❤️
Looking back, yes, it’s a shame we drove a 6½-hour round trip to eat noodles, sleep for one night and come home. 🤣
But do you know what?
I don’t think that’s what I’ll remember.
I’ll remember the laughs.
The scenery.
The surprise pub stop.
The peaceful walk.
The family time.
The extra evening we unexpectedly got together.
Sometimes life doesn’t go to plan, but somehow it works out exactly as it should.
What a wonderful week it’s been. ☀️❤️
I hope you’ve all had a lovely week too, and here’s to making the most of the rest of the summer. ☀️