Five Years Old and Happy! + Win 1 of 5 Copies of This Beautiful Framed Illustration

I never anticipated writing this little Friday lunch time feature. It was supposed to be a month long of online celebrations, a series of blog posts to mark and shout about our 5th blogging birthday. That’s half a whole decade since I took my first tentative steps in to the unknown lands of ‘blogosphere’ – a thrilling and enticing world of the unknown back then – a world that would end up changing my life, career and the way I now look at everything.

But then life happened and my Grandpa got really, really poorly, and to be honest, I didn’t really feel like celebrating at all. Those of you who follow Love My Dress on Instagram may well have picked up on this in recent postings.

It’s been a difficult few weeks to be honest, culminating in the sudden arrival of December and sense that I just wasn’t ready to embrace the festive period in all it’s tinselly glory and that actually, I had better get my groove on and sort my ruddy Christmas list out. Panic. Plans to erect a tree were hastily brought forward and yesterday lunch time was spent Christmas shopping online whilst simultaneously slurping on my warming winter soup.

Enter our Instagram competition to win one of 5 of these framed illustrations
to celebrate Love My Dress® turning *5* years old!

As the usual commotion and buzz of christmas tree decorating ensued last night, I found myself pausing, statue like, as the children were lifted up to the top of the tree by their Daddy to add the decorative fairy. Everything around me seemed to grind to a halt and The MTV Christmas music channel sounded like it was echoing out the Slade anthem in slo-mo dramatic movie scene style. All of a sudden, my mind came in to sharp focus. I could feel a tear welling as I realised that Christmas just wouldn’t be the same this year, or any year after this. But whilst I felt momentarily sad at this thought, I realised that this was an opportunity to grasp at that moment, breathe, and be aware just how lucky I was, to be decorating my tree at all with my two gorgeous little girls and husband. Life can be horrible at this time of year for so many others.

Sometimes the saddest things can give you reason to find new happiness and appreciation for all those things you took for granted or overlooked before, can’t they? Cancer is a truly vile disease and just because my Grandpa is elderly doesn’t make it any less difficult for us to all accept and bear. Age doesn’t diminish love. Love is eternal. And seeing someone suffer when they are old and ‘had a good innings’ doesn’t make it any less bearable.

When I last saw my Gramps last week, I had prepared a short message for him, which I had written over several pages of a little note jotter that my daughter had brought for me at a Christmas fair. I knew Grandpa would struggle to hear me if I tried to ‘tell’ him my message, so I thought that in between his long bouts of sleep, I could try to get him to see the message if I held the notepad really close to his face. I am beyond thankful that I got to share my message that day and let Grandpa know what an influence and inspiration he has been to me, and how grateful I am for him passing his entrepreneurial spirit on to me. When I find myself facing difficult decisions around my business, I think, ‘what might Grandpa have done? He was a smart business man!” – and it comforts me to feel his presence at these times. It was a really emotional experience for me but one that fills my heart with gratitude when I think about it.

After remaining awake just long enough to read and acknowledge my message with an almost unregisterable nod, my Grandpa looked at me and whispered“Be happy. Be happy.”

December is surely to goodness a month to be happy if ever there was one and I am intending on embracing this festive feel-good factor and remembering what my dear Grandpa said to me last week from here on.

I am so happy that we are in a position to celebrate our fifth birthday. How amazing! I have so very much to thank this blog for and I don’t want to let this wonderful milestone pass without acknowledging all the positive changes it has brought in to my life – a career I adore, new friends, colleagues, experiences, perspective, collaborations and travel opportunities, and best of all, the knowledge that what we share every day is inspiring so many of you out there – making you smile, discover amazing new things and re-think the concept of marriage.

If there is anyone who could be shouting from the roof-tops about this if he could , it would be my lovely, wonderful, adoring Grandpa.

To celebrate turning 5, I’m running an little Instagram competition here to give away five fully hand-taped, mounted and framed copies of the very beautiful ‘lady Love My Dress’, who makes up part of our branding by the uber-talented Helen Simms.

If you’d like to win one of these illustrations, please like this Instagram post and be kind enough to leave a word or two next to the image – perhaps just to say hello, or why you’d like to win the image, or perhaps why you love visiting Love My Dress. Because hearing from our readers and followers makes me so happy – I love to hear from you all.

Thank you for joining me in celebrating our 5th birthday – I hope you have the loveliest Friday afternoon and a very happy weekend, whatever you’re up to.

I feel I need to sign out with a little rendition of song I recall so fondly my Grandpa singing to my sister and I when we were young. Join me, won’t you? All together now…

I’m H.A.P.P.Y
I’m H.A.P.P.Y
I know I am, I’m sure I am,
I’m H.A.P.P.Y!

Hehe!

Love Annabel x