The day I won the lottery

When I started my new job I got asked to join the syndicate, now I've probably only bought two or three lottery tickets in my life but I thought I'd kick myself if I didn't join and they went on to win. And luckily I did because after just three months of joining this happened...

It was early morning when I heard the cheers and noticed everyone had gathered around Chloe's desk, I heard the word lottery then heard £145. With thirty of us in the syndicate I didn't bother moving, £145 was the most we'd ever won but not something to report home about. Then I heard the word 'thousand' and before I knew it I was moving very quickly to Chloe's desk. We hadn't won £145, we had won £145,000. Someone very quickly did the maths, £4,500 each! (Their maths wasn't great it was over £4,800)

Within seconds everyone was on the phone to their loved ones. I quickly wrote in my sisters and best friends whatsapp groups about the win as I rang David, quickly followed by my dad. My mum's phone kept going to her answer phone and so not to panic her after three attempts I just sent a text, "I've won £4.5k".  I wasn't to know that mum didn't know that K stood for thousands and so she thought I was getting incredibly excited over £4.50.

Quite quickly people were talking about how they were going to spend their thousands - holidays, mulberry handbags, wedding funds, artwork. I figured I'd put the majority towards our honeymoon, give all my family a treat and take David away for a short break.

It's going to take at least a week till the money finds it's way into my bank account, so I've got plenty of time to dream about what I want to do. For the moment I've decided on a trip to Venice next April, a visit to the theatre with Jackie to see Les miserables, indoor sky diving with Jackie and Fiona and finally a tip to Go Ape with the little sis. Once baby Charlie is born I think I'll take Kathleen for a spa day. I'm still working on something for the parents.

The best thing about this win is not the fact I can spoil my family, although that's a huge bonus, but that I won with so many other people.  Sitting at work and seeing the excitement and buzz around the office, knowing that for some people it will help them pay their bills or make Christmas a little easier this year is really quite special.

You really do have to be in it to win it. And I'm so happy I was.

Saving the date

I've always wanted a September wedding. The weather is usually warm yet not hot, and normally the rain stays away. In England you really can't guarantee the weather so I'll be purchasing an umbrella just in case.When we found the right venue there was just one day left in September, 16 months away on a Friday. We quite liked the idea of a Friday wedding as haven been to a few in the past we enjoyed that it felt like a mini holiday.

It was then a case of letting everyone know the date. Our inspiration for our save the dates was a vintage style postcard, with an image on the front and their address on the back. Here's a few that we found on pinterest.

It was then a case of deciding on the photo for the front and what to put on the back. I saw a lot of photos that included the date written onto bunting and a few with couples walking through fields which I thought were stunning. So I decided to combine the two. I surprised myself by making my own bunting and then we got dressed up and walked through the fields by my parents house. Here is the final result:

For the back we opted for a short poem and then a silhouette of a man proposing to a women that we'll be using throughout our wedding stationery. I put this together in photoshop using a postcard template which included the stamp icon and address lines.

We then got these printed with Overnight Prints and decided on rounded corners with a glossy effect on the front. I absolutely love the final result and it makes me even happier that we did it all ourselves.