Anyway, to make things less painful hubby and I had a few days in lovely Krakow, while DC spent some quality time with Grandma and Grandad. Krakow's Old Town is choc-ful of beautiful buildings and brimful of restaurants, cafes and shops, so we had a high old time just wandering around, taking in the sights, eating, drinking, and generally relaxing. Best of all, we had afternoon naps - something which is unheard of at any other time due to a combination of work and a small child - and I managed to read an entire book (400+ pages no less!) and 4 magazines in the time we were away - total and utter bliss!
On my birthday eve, I indluged in a 'little' cocktail at lunchtime - such decadent behaviour! 
On my birthday I started the day with my favourite breakfast - American pancakes with maple syrup - fantastic!
For lunch I had a Polish sausage from a stall at the Christmas market in the main square. A decision I lived to regret that night as it turned out to be the sort of gift that keeps on giving, if you catch my drift...
In the evening we went to a fancy restaurant and kicked off the meal with a glass of something fizzy.
And the evening before we headed home I discovered a VERY aptly named little place - Coffee Heaven, which could also be called Cake Heaven. Deeeee-licious.
As for the shopping, we were lucky enough that our trip coincided with the annual Christmas market where we bought: a wooden spoon (you can never have too many!)
Some fabulous lazer cut snowflake Christmas decorations - I may spary these white at some point, but for now they're hanging in all their wooden glory from cotton in the windows next to our front door
And a tree-shaped decoration that I thought DC would like to paint (when I have the energy to cope with a 32 month old + paints)
And there was a stall selling chocolates - how could I resist?
And a stall selling 'glass' decorations in all manner of shapes - we bought this one for DC since he loves guitars so much (yes, I know it's a cello [or similar], but I'm hoping DC won't notice)
Oh, and there was a lovely chocolate shop selling choc by the slab/chunk. I can't show you what was inside as I've already eaten it. Suffice to say it was delicious and I'd like to go back and buy more. Lots more.
And while we were in the old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, we stumbled across a little flea market and picked up this little old glass bottle, perfect for our growing collection which lives in/clutters up the ensuite.
And while we on the subject of bottles - here's another specimen which hubby bought me for my birthday. Can you see what it says? 'F. Christmas & Son. Haverhill'. How cool is that?!
So, after the important food, drink and shopping photos, here's a few of the Old Town. This is the approach to Wawel Castle, set on a hill at the opposite end of the Old Town to the Market Square (Rynek Glowny)
This is the Cloth Market and Tower in the Market Square.
Inside the Cloth Market, which was ABSOLUTELY freezing, as it seems to act like some sort of wind tunnel and gets very little sunlight. BRRRRR.
Another view of the Tower. Note the gorgeous blue sky. We were extremely lucky with the weather - blue skies and sunshine all the time we were there. A Polish colleague of hubby's who we met whilst out there said it would usually have snowed at that time of year, so I was thanking my lucky stars that while it was cold enough to need a hat and gloves (and a thermal vest in the evenings - glamour!), at elast we weren't trudging through slush.
And all lit up at night
One of the many small parks that lie around the outer walls of the Old Town. As hubby said, if you squint, you could almost be in Central Park.
Back to the Market Square, and St Mary's Basilica, where every hour on the hour a trumpet signal is played from the top of the tallest tower. It breaks off in mid-stream to commemorate the 13thC trumpeter who was shot in the throat by an arrow while sounding the warning of an invading Mongol army - gruesome historical 'fact'.
All in all, a lovely birthday trip, made all the more special by a card from my darling boy and a fairy cake that hubby had secretly taken in his luggage. Ahhh!
we called in at the Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair on our way back home.
We wanted the sledge, but weren't too keen on the £65 price tag.
There are quite a few things on our 'want' list that we are hoping to pick up sometime soon from an antiques/junk shop, fair or auction, for example a farmhouse-style kitchen table, some wall shelves for the kitchen, a small chest or cabinet to put a tv on in the snug, bedside cabinets, storage for the main bathroom, 
the list goes on. Luckily we were able to strike one thing from the list at Shepton Mallet on Sunday when we spied a wooden box which we thought would work well for storing our first aid stuff/medicines in the space above the loo in main bathroom. Obviously the ceramic white and yellow check handle is hugely out of place, but that's easily replaced, but the size of the box and the lovely wood were just what we were looking for do we snapped it up for £15. 
First two holes were drilled in the back of the box and then two more when hubby realised he'd drilled the first two on the bottom rather than the top - oops! Then the box was held against the wall to decide where exactly we wanted it, and hubby used a pencil to mark through the holes in the box onto the wall so he knew where to drill the corresponding holes. 
Once the holes were drilled and rawl plugs fitted it was simply a job of using two screws to fix the box to the wall. Et voilà, storage in the bathroom. 
Now I just need to find a new knob to blend in with the decor rather than stick out like a sore thumb. I have something in mind and I'm sure eBay will come up trumps.
and one in the bathroom 
to hold towels whilst in the shower or bath. Until now when having a shower in the ensuite we've had to leave our towels on the floor outside the cubicle and when using the main bathroom it's a case of draping a towel over the edge of the bath. But not anymore. Now we have towels to hand at the perfect height thanks to these pretty 'crystal' hooks snaffled during a 25% off promotion at Laura Ashley. 
So now it's just a case of tracking down a little 'crystal' knob for the bathroom cabinet to tie in with the hook right next to it and all will be well.
And we also wanted to fit our much-loved, auction find, wall-mounted cupboard in to the ensuite somehow and this was really the only workable space. Clearly, something had to give.
So, after I cleared off the toiletries, hubby and DC man-handled the overbearing unit out of the ensuite and downstairs into the garage. 
Then it was time to set to work with the wall cupboard. First holes were drilled, then the little "helper" popped in some rawl plugs.
But what about all the other toiletries that were once stored on the hunk-a-chunka wooden unit? Hmm, where to store them? A-ha - lightbulb moment!! Since the wooden unit fitted in the space so neatly apart from heght-wise, why not saw it in (sort of) half to make it into a less obtrusive, but still very useful little item?
and a bit of sanding there
Ta-da!!!! Two useful storage units/tables, for the price of one!
The taller unit shows some saw marks to the corners, but as we're undecided what to do with it in the long run - paint it, add a solid top, put a tray/basket on top - we're not too worried for now.
The smaller unit has fared better since the saw marks are on the bottom of the feet and don't show at all.
The all-important magazine receptacle for easy access to reading material when on the loo! It's an enamel box of some sort that hubby and I picked up some years ago from an antique/junk shop somewhere in the Cotswolds when we were scouring the area looking for somewhere to live. We didn't find a house, but we did find this extremely useful item.
But what of the second storage unit/table I hear you ask? Well, fear not, it was put to use immediately in DC's room replacing the side table where his bedtime books live. Lovely table though it was, it wasn't the most practical for the enormous stack of reading material DC likes to have at his disposal:
