Last weekend I spent a lovely few days at the coast celebrating my husband's birthday. We stayed at the Premier Inn on Skegness Seafront in one of their Premier Plus rooms which had recently been refurbished and was really lovely. The weather was bright but cold as is usually the way at the coast and we made the most of it with walks on the beach and around the town.
As always my wardrobe was 99% me-made (a ready to wear denim skirt, shoes and undies are pretty much the only things I didn't make myself!) I didn't want to take a lot of luggage so I packed a mini capsule wardrobe I had made using leopard print jersey and yellow rib knit, both from ABC Fabric. It comprised of a relaxed fit t-shirt, pencil skirt and sleeveless top. I wore the t-shirt on the first day to travel in and have a few cheeky games at the arcade on arrival! I used the Everyday Tee pattern from Ellie & Mac. It was the perfect comfy yet stylish travelling outfit paired with a denim skirt and ankle boots. The pencil skirt and top are my own patterns and made a perfect outfit for going to dinner at Tarantino's Italian Restaurant.
The main purpose of our trip was Tony's Birthday Surprise - a VIP Tiger Experience at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park. To say that Tony is obsessed with tigers is a bit of an understatement - he has tiger tattoos, our house is covered with tiger memorabilia and we even travelled to India to see Tigers in the wild! The tiger experience involved going behind the scenes of the extensive tiger enclosure in the park. It's an animal sanctuary and registered charity and the 4 tigers that currently reside there were rescued from a circus. We got shown their spacious accommodation both indoor and outdoor and told details of their diet and daily routine. Then it was time for the highlight of the day - feeding the tigers! We got to feed two female tigers chunks of raw meat using some tongs! Apparently they used to let you do it with your fingers but health and safety rules don't allow it anymore! The tigers were so tame and gentle. It was an amazing experience being up close and personal to such beautiful creatures and both myself and the birthday boy had a fantastic time.
On Saturday night we went for a special birthday dinner at No 9 Greek Restaurant so of course I made a special dress for the occasion. I used the Sylvia Dress pattern from Made for Mermaids and a gorgeous dark rose print cotton lycra from UK Stretch Fabrics. It was the perfect dress for coming into the Autumn/Halloween season and I felt fabulous wearing it!
All in all we had a fantastic weekend away. Tony got to live his dream of feeding tigers and we had some lovely walks and meals. And of course wearing my me-made clothes on holiday is always a highlight for me. I'm on the countdown now to our holiday to Gran Canaria for my birthday treat and have been making some lovely outfits which I can't wait to show you, so watch this space!!
*This blog post contains affiliate links. Clicking on them won't cost you anything but I may earn a small commission from any purchases made.