Did anyone notice I was gone?

No? Oh. Well if you did, I thought I'd just give you an update on what's been going on in the world of Dixie Lou. Mainly, work and travel are the two things that have kept me away from the blogosphere and my sewing machine. Although I have missed crafting and being knee deep in fabric and pins (ouch, perish the thought!) it's also been quite a nice break.

My first trip was an annual team meeting that my work organises in Munich. We have an office based there so we plan our October meeting around Oktoberfest, not bad eh? We all have to wear dirndls (or lederhosen if you're of the meat and two veg variety) and after a couple of days of meetings, we get to relax and let our hair down with steins of beer. Um...... YUM.

Fortunately for me, I got to borrow a dirndl. They're pretty expensive to buy, but with better planning I will definitely make one for next year as they're so fun and pretty. Here's me and my lovely colleague, Danielle.

From Munich, I then flew to Vienna where I met up with Mr S to drive to Budapest. We decided to spend the weekend there as I had never been. I'm so glad we went as I completely fell in love with this city. I didn't expect it to be so beautiful and accommodating - so, if you get the chance, go, it's fantastic!

We walked around for ages just taking in the sights and the beautiful Danube. We also spent a portion of Saturday evening just relaxing in one of the outdoor thermal spas. Such a civilised way to spend an evening sipping beer, talking to people while basically sitting in a huge bath. Fab!

I of course hunted out some fabric shops. These were quite an experience. In the first shop I got into trouble as you're not supposed to touch the fabric. What?! Oh no wait, you have a sample wall? Ooops, okay I'll just finger that then. Communication was zero here as they didn't speak English and despite my surname, I can only say 'thank you', but we got there in the end. I did love this shop though because once your fabric was cut, it got sent down a little chute to the till at the bottom where another lady wraps your fabric for you. Talk about service!

The following weekend after Budapest, we jetted off again to Belgium. Mr S was already there for work so I took the Eurostar to meet him. We stayed one night in Brussels and then spent most of the weekend in Bruges. Before we left for Bruges, I went to THE best fabric store I have ever been to. Okay, I didn't get the star struck chills that I get in Mood, but in terms of shop design, fabric display and choice, this wins hands down. Sorry Mood, but you need some planes and boats in your store, oh and your cutting tables should be old pool tables too!

If you're ever in Brussels then go to Chien Vert. It's absolutely stunning inside and the choice is incredible. Even Mr S said we can make trips back just for this shop. What a guy!

This is also why I love him.

So now, I'm back home for a bit and ready to get stuck into some projects. Tomorrow my latest Minerva post will go live - I'm excited about this one and have already worn it a couple of times - I hope you like it.

In other big news, I have an awesome giveaway planned to celebrate reaching 500 followers on Twitter. I have a surprise collaboration for this, so look out next week for the blog post announcing the giveaway. Until tomorrow!

<Playlist: Mind Your Manners - Pearl Jam>