One in Five Men Think Cellulite is a Battery ..

Early morning champagne and lots of cards and presents!

Laugh out Loud
The above caption was written on a birthday card I received today which made did make me laugh out loud.

The card came from my good friend Caroline, whom I've known since university. She was Matron of Honour at my wedding and I was bridesmaid at hers - the only time I've ever been a bridesmaid. Caroline and I very rarely see each other - busy lives and even busier children contrive to keep us apart - but that doesn't affect our friendship. Whenever we see each other, we simply pick up where we left off, no matter how long the gap inbetween - and sometimes it's a very long gap.

A Very Happy Birthday
Today has been a wonderful day. I've spent it with my family which is absolutely my favourite thing.

I've had champagne and birthday cake with my Mum and received lots of cards and presents, including a beautiful necklace from Joe.

It's been a real day of celebration and that's exactly how birthdays should be!

I Met Brian Froud!

Faeries and Goblins in Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet http://www.forbiddenplanet.com is a shop that I've come to love, mainly because I've spent so much time there, both in Cambridge and London. This is thanks to Calum's obsession with gadgets, action figures, comics, graphic novels and other cultish 'boy' things.

However, Forbidden Planet is not just for the boys. There's loads of cool stuff, including a huge collection of Manga novels and Nightmare before Christmas merchandise (both brilliant for Lola) and a huge collection of fantasy art books.

In our family, we're all very into fantasy art - it's a passion that Joe has had since he started out as a commerical artist over 20 years ago. In terms of fantasy art, Brian Froud is definitely one of the best, which is why people like the legendary Jim Henson have chosen to work with him. You can check out Brian's work at http://www.worldoffroud.com.

If you've ever seen the films Labyrinth or Dark Crystal, you'll instantly recognise the wonderfully comical, yet slightly sinister characters he creates. He also draws beautiful and ethereal (yet very mischievous) faeries, most notably in his Lady Cottingham Pressed Fairy Book, now a collectable classic.

So when we found out he was doing a signing in London for his latest book, The Goblins of Labyrinth, we simply had to go - and we weren't disappointed.

Brian was a very warm, unassuming man who took time to chat to everyone who queued to meet him, posed happily for photographs and was very friendly. Not only did he sign each book, but he also did a little drawing, so I now have a Brian Froud original! Calum thought he was fantastic, too, and we both came away completely thrilled.

As my good friend Clare would say - Brian, you rock!