Photos, photos, everywhere

This is pretty much just a photo post as I've got lots to share, so I shall apologise now to Acci and the likes who don't have net connections technologically advanced enough to view posts such as this without great difficulty ;-)

Saturday night saw me getting ready to attend a Casino Royale themed Cocktail night for our work social club. It was being held in the city and there would be a Bond look-a-like competition, martinis and cocktails on arrival plus Black Jack, Roulette and several Money Wheels.
Everyone at work had been looking forward to it for months and I was very excited as at my old branch we would never have done anything like this. I'd bought a new dress for the occasion, spent way too much money on it, but I'd never done anything like this before and thought I'd splurge. Besides, I'm sure I can wear the dress out to a wedding or something so it'll see the light of day again.

I am hopeless when it comes to doing my hair in fancy arrangements but I was very lucky as I had several offers of help from Barb and Kat so I didn't have to go and waste money getting a hairdresser to do it for me. Kat ended up doing it and bloody hell, she was good! In about two minutes, using only bobby pins, she had whipped my hair into the style as pictured below. I was amazed, it was fantastic!

Ok, this is me in the dress. First if all I always get all self conscious in photos and never know quite what to do with my hands, the behind the back look is never good but it's what I usually end up doing...
Secondly, Barb says the dress is actually much more flattering in real life. It makes me look very ... hippy in the photos I have of it. But all in all, I was very happy with it :)

We picked up Jess (far right) on the way and then met up with Heather and Rachael at their hotel just down the road from where it was being held. I absolutely loved Jess's dress, it was gorgeous!

This is Jess and I again. I'm getting slightly better at taking these types of shots as my new camera has a screen that flips around so you can see what you're doing. They're still not the most flattering photos, but they're the most fun!

And this is the whole gang from my branch who turned up. Clelie (next to me) was very, very drunk. She had drunk two bottles of champagne before coming and after the fourth time of falling on her arse, her partner deemed it necessary to take her back to the hotel room so she could sleep it off. She won't live that down for a while!

After that finished up, Jess, Dan(third from left) and I had had plans to head to the casino for some real gambling. Jess wasn't feeling quite up to it though so we dropped her off home and then Christian, being the most wonderful and fantastic husband that he is, dropped Dan and I off at the casino and then went to hang about at Mike's place so he could take us home again after we'd finished.
I'm rather crap at gambling - it hadn't taken me long to lose the 'money' we'd been given to spend at the cocktail night by way of some dodgy decisions at the Black Jack table. I do however rather enjoy Keno. Maybe it's because it's a mix of lotto and bingo, or the fact you can sit down, or even because it's an old lady game, whichever reason it is, I will happily play a couple of games. Dan had never played Keno before and so I proceeded to explain the game and after the first go, he was hooked.
That was all we did the whole night. Keno. Gotta love it.
I didn't win anything, never do but I didn't lose too much so really, what more can you wish for?

By the time we'd walked over to Mike's and then dropped Dan off, it was half four before my head hit the pillow and I tell you, I was looking rather zombified the next morning when I went round to Barb's place to help with the prep work for Chiara's fifth birthday party.
Lucky for me, fairy wings, a wand and a tiara can really make that look vanish!
As you have no doubt guessed, it was a fairy party!

This is Caleb and I. Caleb was Spider Fairy! Mikey even made up a song about him to the tune of Spider Pig...

This photo isn't really lit enough for you to see properly but I'd knicked Barb's wings. I felt rather like the tooth fairy...
Mikey trying to keep Will occupied so Barb could finish running around trying to get everything done in time.

The birthday girl herself, after her beauty bath.

The kids had been banished outside several times as they were getting in the way more than they were helping. After one such banishment, Caleb stood at the door howling for Mama and after a while he was joined by Darcie.
I am such an evil Auntie...I was laughing so hard when I took this photo that I'm surprised it isn't more blurry.

Barb make another one of her famous cakes, this time a fairy garden. I thought it was wonderful but got into trouble for saying it wasn't as 'elaborate' as the last couple she'd done. All I was saying was that she usually builds 'up', in that her cakes are mainly 3D structures. But I thought this one was very, very pretty and as usualy, it was delicious.

A close up of one of the fairies.

Finally, Chiara blowing out her candles.

All in all it was a very fun day, even Uncle Christian showed up after soccer was cancelled, much to Barb's surprise.
I left before most of the kiddies and didn't stick around to witness just how many diabetic comas eventuated. There was that much sugar being consumed I think the tooth fairy will be very busy in the coming weeks! But I guess that's what kids parties are all about :)