So I pretty much see my life as a pie chart, made up of various slices which, when all coming together in relevant measures, make up a healthy, happy existence.  First off, there’s the family slice, always at the forefront, which pretty much ticks over harmoniously, thank goodness, It’s a multi-faceted area, there are the obvious ups and downs and day to day challenges, but I am very blessed to have a loving family who warm my heart & make me grateful for every day I have with them. Other chunks of the pie are made up with work – which rocks more than ever right now – health – so far so good, thank you God! – and a mixture of spirituality, rest & recreation and the big one – friendships.

My social slice of the chart is super important to me, so much so that my hubby teases me because of the extra bubbly spring in my step which occurs when I’ve had quality time with the girls. It’s so uplifting to be with your friends who get you, who support you, and who you can support in turn. I feel so immensely fortunate to have the friendship of so many smart, funny, inspiring women, who teach me many things about myself and life and help me grow into a better human being. I really value the colourful cloak they make up which envelopes me in love every single day.

Annually, just some of these amazing ladies and I pack up a couple of cars and ride off to a fresh destination for the weekend, Thelma & Louise style and hire out a fab venue for a long weekend where we can just wallow in rest, recreation & rejuvination. In this particular group of my friends, we are all busy, with the countless demands of motherhood, work, home, family and various other issues. We socialise often, sometimes with partners, other times as families and of course, we enjoy fabulous girls nights out. But nothing gets back to basics like a weekend away from all the daily demands and responsibilities we all have as it forces us to down tools and really just ‘be’.

So this year we headed off to the stunning location of Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire which is teeming with Edwardian character and is well known for it’s peaceful and relaxing atmosphere, so where better? Our luxury lodge took our breath away with it’s open-plan living area, huge, hearty kitchen table and most importantly, a hot tub which could easily accommodate all 11 of us!

My glamorous friend Nicky – always first in the hot tub!

We ordered in a huge foodshop, funded by our kitty, as we had lots of cooking plans – its a massive feature of our trips – and brought supplies a-plenty from home to make sure we had everything we needed for a weekend of comfort and indulgence.  Our drinks area is always well stocked and with all of us natural hostesses, no one’s glass is empty for long!

Amanda carrying in her essential supplies in her oversized Jockey bag!

Cooking on these weekends never takes much time, as we slip into our homemaker roles easily and fuse together like a well oiled machine. Cleaning up is also done in a jiffy when all hands are on deck, if only every day chores were this easy!

Lindsey & Sarah getting the food prep started, aided by a glass of wine of course!

We lunched at a quaint local pub en route to the lodge, so now we had time to familiarise ourselves with our lush surroundings & we waited with bated breath for our Tesco online shop to arrive. I was nervous as I’d booked the delivery slot, so it wasn’t until our bearer of yummy produce turned up with a few minutes to spare, that I could finally relax. Could you imagine 11 hungry women and no food in the house??? No, me neither! Mr Munchies came up trumps though and our sizable fridge was filled to the brim with fresh, mouth-watering luxury ingredients, ready for us to create meals fit for Queens.

On we cracked with our mission to whip up the perfect warming chilli with all the trimmings and a pudding to die for, which had me salivating through the preparation process.

Kirsty & I. Kirsty is responsible for introducing us all to the most deadly dessert ever! Well, we couldn’t resist a cheeky pre-dinner nibble!

Ever tried Mars Bar Malteser Crunchie cake? Probably not, but check out the no-bake recipe here and I bet you’ll be running to the kitchen to whip one up!

To the right of the table, we have Frances. Only featured in this one photo as she is responsible for most of the fab pics on this post – thank you so much Frances!

After dinner it was time to dip our derrieres in the hot tub of our dreams. I never used to be a huge tub fan, but the other girls are obsessed with them and the concept has grown on me over the years.  I shy away from it mainly because I’m spray tan obsessed (read all about that here!) and the chemicals in a hot tub strips that away pretty quickly. But as we were going nowhere fancy and it was all about chilling out, I threw spray tan to the wind and joined the others in the oversized pod.

Our essentials in our luxury spa bar, so no having to pool hop to replenish!

We added our own accessories with this fabulous spa bar from  Waterstream, which was central to our proceedings and was perfect for filling with all our favourite goodies to save us getting out of our hot seats to top up our snacks.  Waterstream sell a great range of jazzy bits and bobs, from rubber ducks to colourful salt granules to spice up your spa experience.

Clare & Naina having a girlie goss in their Jockey PJ’s

Once we were all prune-like and had probably overstayed our watery welcome, we retreated back indoors to cheer on England in the Rugby World Cup opening game.  It was time for cosy comfies and we relaxed in some luxury pj’s, courtesy of Jockey, the household name in undies who design far more than just that. Skin-hugging, sleep-inducing fabrics with delicate embroidery and distinctive prints, my ladies loved these.

Our beautiful Lincolnshire backdrop

Next day we had to work off some of the previous night’s tasty treats and exercise came in the form of long walks & bike rides to a gorgeous little bolt-hole for an incredibly long and loud lunch! Yep, more eating!

R-L: Amanda, Lindsey,Me,Sarah G, Clare, Kirsty, Nicola, Naina, Nicky

We do love a chat, us girls, and I felt quite sorry for the other diners’ ears at one point! You can read all about our lovely lunch here, well, there’s only so much I can squeeze into one post guys!

On the Saturday evening, we indulged in some fun in-lodge pampering.

Amanda giving Lindsey a facial

Kirsty, Sarah T & Nicky arguing over who wore it best!

Face masks, hair wraps, foot scrubs and some inner health boosts were in order as we discovered some lovely products which we never usually have time to enjoy.

Naina treating her toes to some TLC

Me getting stuck in to massaging Kirsty’s pedicure!

Superdrug‘s range of exfoliating foot scrubs and soothing lotions eased away the strains on our tired tootsies and refreshed our feet ready for a much needed, relaxing night’s sleep.

Nicola getting her inner glow on with her Vitaglow from Superdrug

We popped some pills and it was all in the name of better skin, as these little beauties help nature on its way with a collagen and copper boost to aid our immune systems and give us a youthful outer glow. Who among us doesn’t need a bit of that, eh?

Buffet night!

Ummm, think we have enough food for all of us?

Nicky’s Dip. A legend in it’s own lifetime. Let me know if you want me to spill the secret recipe!

We are a hungry lot, and it was picky food night! Nicky’s world famous dip took centre stage, and a feast of buffet style food played the supporting cast.

Handmade in GB, Choconchoc for pudding!

With just a little room left, we grazed on some stunning handmade, luxury chocolates from Choconchoc which came in various cute shapes and sizes. The taste was decadent and they are so adorable, we felt they’d be amazing stocking fillers or make for a stunning party centrepiece.

Handbags & gladrags: stunning handmade chocolates from Choconchoc

The downside was they were gone in minutes as we got our greedy mitts on the mouthwatering melts.

We packed so much into our weekend, we laughed, exchanges stories, gave each other advice and support, had many a giggle, made plans and relaxed our little heads off before heading happily home to our families and our diverse and fulfilling lives. Our relaxing girlie break did exactly what it said on the tin. Oh, and my pie chart is full and happy!

Do you and your friends make time to get away? Tell me what you get up to, I’d love to hear all about it….!

The majority of photography on this post was done by my dear, clever friend Frances Shaw. She is available for weddings, parties & Bar Mitzvahs!