18 :: Oh, Christmas Tree...

My tree is up, at last, having been in the garage since Wednesday.

It looks nice and twinkly in spite of my decorations being slightly sombre in colour.

It's not much fun putting it up on my own, to be honest, but No2 just shrugged when I suggested that he might like to come and help.  He doesn't seem to get Christmassy these days which makes finding the motivation to get it all ready for our guests a little difficult to come by sometimes.

I think I will call it a day with the decorations now. It is time to concentrate on the menu planning and ingredient buying.

17 :: Christmas pudding cupcakes...

I made Christmas pudding cupcakes for my craft ladies. They were delicious!

Easy peasy - you just add some mincemeat to a cupcake recipe then ice with brandy buttercream and sprinkle with red sugar crystals.

They were incredibly light, but still nice and moist.  I made them smaller than my regular cupcake size because I wanted to use the gold liners and so I have another dozen in the freezer for Christmas tea.

Recipe found here.

14 :: berries...

I am taking advantage of the profusion of berries on the bushes this year and bringing them indoors to add to my festive decorating.

The ones on the ivy are particularly impressive and add drama to a bunch of supermarket roses on the kitchen table.

I bought the tree today and was unable to resist a bunch of mistletoe too.

13 :: M&M's...

I had fun today, shopping with my sister. Something we don't do nearly often enough.

There was some present-buying for No2 in Selfridges (my favourite of the big London stores) and then the day ended at M&M'sWorld in Leicester Square.

Tacky, I know, but sometimes these things need to be done because I need just green ones for my Christmas table. As you do.

12 :: Not my favourite part of Christmas...

I write so infrequently with a pen now that I have found it to be quite a chore and so doing my Christmas cards is by far the worst part of the whole festive season for me.

It doesn't stop me wanting to buy gorgeous cards though. I bought this lovely box from Jen Rowland when I visited Cockpit Arts Open Studios a couple of weeks ago. They are for my special people! I have to be careful as there are only 10 in the box!

I also made some using some of my photographs and some brown paper cards from Paperchase. I cut the photos out to look like little polaroid shots and added a little bit of type.

I'm' all written out now and have spent the afternoon learning how to mail merge on my new desktop, so I'm feeling a tad headachy. I know ... I'll go do some more knitting.

11 :: a little bit more...

...decorating happening here.

I'm still embracing the little by little approach and finding it very relaxing to make it part of my daily goings on.

Time now for some knitting while the smell of roast chicken fills the house with its wintry goodness.

10 :: Revealed...

This is what I was up to on Thursday! Making some Christmas decorations from Scandinavian Stitches.

They are very addictive and perfect for making use of offcuts and scraps of fabric.  I also love the excuse to rifle through my button tin, so it's win-win project for me.

20 :: Not part of the plan…

I don’t feel very well.  My throat is sore and so is my head.

 

No2 has been to see the doctor and she thinks he may have glandular fever.  It would explain quite a lot as he’s been ill for over two weeks now.

 

I’m going to bed.  N’night.

19 :: Twinkle…

My shopping arrived at 1am, on the dot.  I felt so sorry for the driver – he must have had a horrendous day but he was still smiling as delivered my shopping!  No2 and I carried it into the kitchen, put the fridge and freezer stuff away and left the rest until this morning!

In case you are interested, I did the ironing, made the tiramisu (I must post this recipe one day.  It was given to me by an Italian lady who lived next door to my friend when she lived in Warwick.  It is heavy on grappa, but oh, so good), wrapped a few presents and did some hand-quilting to while away the hours!

 

My Christmas tree is now in the living room and I spent a leisurely afternoon decorating it after clearing the car and drive of 8 inches of snow.  That’s a lot of snow for London.

 

At last, I have some twinkle.

 

When my parents moved house they gave me a couple of boxes of old books that belonged to my uncle’s father.  I decided to use them to decorate my fireplace.  I had put a couple on the mantle a couple of weeks ago and so added some more to the hearth.

 

 

Some of the titles are quite intriguing.  I think I might read them and better myself.

 

I am enjoying sitting here by candlelight, listening to my latest teenage tendency that has been on repeat for some time now.

 

 

I have lit my orange and clove candles and the room is filled with a Christmas aroma.  Just wish I’d made some more mince pies… perhaps tomorrow.

 

18 :: Cards… done…

At last!  It feels as though I have actually done something productive for Christmas.

 

My cards have been made…

 

From the scrap basket…

Inspired from here…

 

 

We had snow.  A lot of snow.  In a very short space of time.

My plans for a weekend of carefully planned festive preparation are verging on disaster!  I have felt very pleased with myself by organising my Christmas food shop to be delivered tonight… but I have just had a call to say they are running THREE HOURS late and they should be here before 1am.  1am!!! 

My Christmas tree is currently snowed in the garage instead of making the living room twinkly. 

Perhaps tomorrow, I can plead with No2 to help me clear a path so I can bring it in then… but to be fair, he is feeling very under the weather and has been for almost 2 weeks now.

So now I've got three hours to kill.  I could do my ironing or wrap some presents or do some embroidery or make a tiramisu or some mince pies for the freezer…

15 :: Bling…

Have you heard about Heston’s bling for Christmas?

I thought… why not?

 

The teenagers will approve when it is on top of the Christmas Pudding!

14 :: Hurry up…

…and grow!  You’ve got 10 more days to get there.

Pretty please?

13 :: Anemones…

I’m not sure why, or if indeed, it is normal, but the anemones in my garden are still flowering.  Only a couple at a time and they are very small.  Rather than let them be wasted and unseen out there though, I have been bringing them in to enjoy.

 

12 :: Bokeh…

I have a fixation for capturing this type of blur and my Christmas lights are the perfect subject.

 

 

 

 

11 :: A start…

The box is out of the loft.

A quick check through sees everything I need to make a start.

Little by little, I think, this year.

Memories have been stirred.

Mince pies have been made.

For sustenance, of course.

 

Have you started?  Or finished, perhaps?

10 :: Irresistible…

…I couldn’t help it.  It was the perfect card for No2 but possibly the naffest thing I have ever bought!

 

It gets worse!

 

 

His reaction? Sick.