December is ...

December is ...
Frosty mornings, a chance to festoon rooms with diamante bejewelled gorgeousness, when we bring the outside inside from Holly and Ivy to Mistletoe, twinkly fairy lights shining through cosy winter windows, singing along to The Fairytale Of New York and spending quality time with family and friends sharing gifts, tonnes of food and laughs.

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 I love the pretty presents that fill our shops and the imaginative window displays that draw me inside at this time of year.

Who could resist one of these beautiful boxes above containing posh treats? Not me!!!

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Here's part of my Christmas doodling on our Kitchen chalk board ...

It currently has the kids after school club info and boring blah sensibly written on it, it was crying out for festive Crimbo doodles!!!
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Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful

Author Dr Norman Vincent Peale.



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Candlelight for me is a must during December and I burn a tonne of candle wax during this dark winter month. Below is one of the quickest and easiest ways I create a sweet tea light holder to illuminate our porch. A jam jar filled with dishwasher salt (this to me looks like teeny tiny balls of snow) then finish with a ribbon around the top.

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 The above is currently in our porch along with ...

 our lil collection of autumnal delights which have been found during walks hither and thither and our Halloween munchkins who are both still in their prime, happily firm and ripe.

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Sorry y'all, in typical 'me' stylie heres one of this weeks bargain buys!! Below is a beautiful wrap I picked up for a mere £1.00. 
I'm going to use it as a table runner during this festive season as I'm thinking a selection of silver mercury leaded glass tea light holders will look really pretty against the silver crushed silk. One item with two purposes, I'm all up for that :)

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 My lovely daughter and I have made personalised gift tags this week ready to adorn Christmas presents.

We found this really fun and my daughters favourite part was being able to print her friends nicknames making them extra personal and special. They are currently drying in the airing cupboard and we both can't resist peeking to see if they are dry yet (a watched pot and all that). We used DAS modelling clay which is really easy to use, just take it out of the packet, make your creation and leave to air dry for several days cookie cutters. Perfect for a quick crafty projects.

 

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I treated myself this week ~ shhhh.

I splurged on posh things that, to me are a real, real treat. I bought a Danish, dip dyed candle that is one of the most elegant candles I have ever seen. The whole display of candles were attached and I chose the one I liked and it was cut free from the others ~ that for me was a novelty factor in itself. I then bought a matching holder and to finish the ensemble off nicely a meter of the most pretty and perfect ribbon known to man. In fact I love this ribbon sooooo much I think I'm going to use the colours as the theme in our bedroom when we re-decorate it next year.

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It was our Bessie Bear Puppy Dogs 1st birthday this week and to celebrate this special occasion a doggie birthday tea was in order. Bessie and her brother from another mother (Bertie) enjoyed a birthday tea party together (sadly we don't know when Berties birthday is so he celebrates on the same date as Bess) . They each enjoyed a salmon starter followed by a bowl full of fried minced meat then finished off with human biscuits for desert ~ to dogs these clearly are the holy grail of biscuits and taste much better than their own expensive doggie biscuits! All of this was washed down with a bowl of milk. Their tails nearly wagged right off!!!

 

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And finally, December just isn't December without advent.

 I kinda made a rod for my own back with our advent. It all started when I fell in love with a set of advent tiny rusty buckets, I could just picture them hanging up looking all festive and appealing. They ended up coming home with me there and then. That year the relevant lil bucket had two chocolates poking out of the relevant day/date and the first of our two children to wake would race to see if they could pick the biggest, roundest, plumpest chocolate (they were all the same size but they lived in hope). For some unexplainable reason, other than one year I must have been really into Christmas, I decided to alternate between a chocolate one day and a small novelty present the other. BIG mistake! Now, added to my 'never ending things to do at Christmas' list is ' buy 13 small, cheep presents for one child and 13 small, cheep presents for tother child, wrap said 26 presents and add name tags to avoid a potential horrendous start to the day, hide really well then remember to fill relevant bucket with treats before going to bed to save being woken up at silly o'clock the next morn by a child with a very big frown and tightly folded arms glaring at me.' This years advent has all 26 presents 'present' and correct along with yummy treats and is strung up much to the delight of the kiddywinks.

 

 

 

 

December has finally arrived and the count down to the Christmas festivities has begun ~ yippee.

 

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Until next Sunday, byeeeee y'all XX