Tagged: Christmas
Christmas x
The chandelier is decorated. Tick.
New mirror inserted. Tick.
Large star in kitchen? Tick.
Christmas tree? Done. Finally got the damn lights to work.
Elves? Here. Every day. When we remember..normally in bed at midnight..
Christmas to do list? Still long – buy presents, wrap presents, hunt holly, find mistletoe, find stockings, clean chimneys, make gingerbread houses, ice cake, plant carrots. It’s still reading like something the sorcerer would leave for his apprentice except without the hope of any magic. So what am I going to do today? I’m going to add a bright pink trim to the side of our kilim stair carpet.
Just because I can.
Laters, Kate x
It’s Started..
Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat. Except it isn’t..but the insidious creep is appearing on my peripheral vision like the ink from a frightened octopus. I bought my first stocking fillers today…and faced head on the yearly mental anguish of the inner childs excitement for presents versus materialistic waste and the accumulation of useless stuff. I still haven’t got a solution to square the circle – how to appear less Ebenezer, more Mathew Cuthbert? Except possibly to buy less, buy better, buy clever. With this in mind I found myself on this site – Life of Jay – which, though I didn’t realise it at the time, caters primarily for men which they don’t presume to be all sports mad. It genuinely has some interesting stuff..(though does it work if it’s still classed as ‘stuff?’ Sigh)
But who can say no to good stylish storage?
Or a retro notebook for the jottings of the block buster you know they want to write.
But then I see a silly tin toy rabbit and want to pop it in my basket. Why??
They have these which are clever – a retro tin..
Containing the bits you think you need. Except I’d pay more if the interior wasn’t made of plastic..
This appeals: A reusable teabag robot. Who doesn’t need that on a cold morning?
And I love their lab style storage jars.
(All pictures Life of Jay)
Then side tracked by a cunningly designed pizza cutter…
And I’m failing and falling already..
Laters, Kate x
Happy New Year! xxx
But before that..did you have a lovely Christmas?
We did. Ignoring the fact it’s the first fake one ever to grace this house, we even managed a Christmas tree of sorts.
Decorated with everything homemade..
From reindeer dioramas and cotton yoyos,
To felt snowman,
And special handmade gifts.
Then on the big night itself we laid a cunning plan with Bella and Charlie to catch the red man in action. We sneakily stuck a mobile phone to the wardrobe door….and set it to timer…and blow-me-down…(with a little help from capture the magic)…it only went and worked!!
And look what I got in my stocking!
Then it was a quick glass of champagne by the tree before being whisked off to a feast at Auntie Ali’s..in a London black cab. How civilised?
Father, daughter love..
Cousin love.
Fairy love.
(Spot the odd one out) (it’s harder than you think..)
Then to top the festivities off..Charlie lost his first front tooth..it hails a whole new dawn..
Laters, Kate x
Transforming teatowels..
Thank you to Kerry for my fabulous vintage tea towel, as model by Bella in our temporary kitchen!
I won my teatowel by getting the nearest guess to how many of these Kerry had made in a jar. She’s making 3,000 of them to turn into a bedspread…she’s that kinda gal – articulate, dextrous, imaginative..and can just make the most beautiful things, from hand woven blankets to mouth watering chocolates..and she also runs her own Etsy shop selling vintage linens. She truly is one in a million…if you click on the link now, there’s even a recipe for toffee which I can guarantee to be utterly delicious.
We’ll be turning these (an extra thank you!) into decorations for our first fake Christmas tree EVER. It’s in the garden right now…but when the builders leave us, it’s coming in, if only for a few days. And covered with all things home made.
As for the tea towel..I’m almost loathed the use it. It’s in such glorious shape/colour/nick, I feel, it’s like a much loved sheep dog or dog for the blind, that after a hard, fulfilling life it needs a good retirement. I’m tempted to turn it into a cushion, a bit like Julie from VintageAttitude did for me with my Grandmother’s tea cosy..(and yes..it will be complete with pom poms Dievca!) I can just see it as an elegant, refined bolster on our bed.
The two cushions I bought from Julie also started life as tea towels…
Food for thought hey…
Laters, Kate x
Divine Decs…
If you don’t have the time to make your own, then Graham and Green have the best vintage-style-glass-bauble-bling for your ker-ching.
Or you could just see them as beautiful inspiration and an incentive…
Laters, Kate x
A Cultured Christmas..
It’s the first of December (gulp) so our two elves on shelves, Jessie and Heinrik sorry – Pinkadou – he’s just been renamed by Charlie (‘Did you know Pinkadou is an old Italian name, Mummy??’ and there was I thinking it was made up. Silly, silly) have made their first appearance. Spotted them?
There they are sitting quietly on our giant loveheart.
Which, without the children, would make them horribly open to very childish abuse…
Which would be a very, very terrible thing….
Laters, Kate x
Dog Days x
Dog days…or perhaps the title should be: Cycle of Fat..the story of a mother’s waistline?..
Y’see every term starts with good intentions…healthy eating, increase of exercise and determination. And every time it all slips then slides away…why??
1. Because the start of every term requires unblocking the dam of jobs that have been stored up throughout the holidays..to the term time..when of course you’ll have time..hoho
2. It takes a while to crack the routine again: Early mornings, new after school clubs, hockey sticks, gum guards, out-grown shoes, lost PE kits.. but you do and it gets there..so you take the plunge and add in the exercise..adapt to the new routine and wait in hope for the endorphins to kick in (exercise equals endorphins equals happy mum equals not shooting the kids..or so they say) it takes it’s time – no pain, no gain..but you get there.
3. You take pride in the transforming you. Almost back to pre-second baby weight. Yay!
4. Then disaster strikes: School holidays..back to cooking through the day, no walking to and from school, cupboards now over-flowing with kids ‘stuff’ and temptation, meals out, no time to go to pilates or a run – no babysitters, everything is slower now you’re working as a pack, and generally there’s a festival of sorts: Christmas, Easter, Summer Holiday which means much much more alcohol and calories are tripled doubled..
5. So in the time it takes for the holiday to end…you’re back to where you started..
I was talking about this, trying to pin the butterfly down with a friend who’s a personal trainer: She’s got all the stuff in her house to do 15 mins a day to keep the dogs at bay (we’re talking fat cells..)..but she can’t make that mental/physical jump either. On these child-centric weeks it’s incredibly hard to focus the mind and do exercise ‘properly’ so the brain says, why bother, we just want to enjoy this time? We decided it made a difference when you could do activities with your kids, like tennis..but that means waiting till they’re of an age when it becomes worth while. Mine are a bit young and without the stamina, and you really don’t want to book a court just to adjudicate a fight. But we agreed that the problem is, if you don’t even try, the middle-age waist-line just builds up..and so does your age..I can confirm, the older you get, the harder it is to shift..
The truth is, heart on sleeve and tits on a platter: Exercise at this stage of life isn’t for improvement and a parade of rude health, it’s just to standstill..otherwise when the time comes to finally be able to play a genuine game of tennis with the kids…I’ll be the one oozing gently on my mobility scooter..
Food for thought..
Laters, Kate x
Spotted! The Elf on the Shelf…
Who said American’s don’t understand irony? It’s thank’s to them we’ve bought our very first Elf on a Shelf to further promote the fantasies of Christmas..The idea is simple: During the day he’s Santa’s eyes and ears, then at night he disappears through his very own door, back to the North Pole…
(Yep..we got one of those too now stuck on our skirting board!) to report back on the children’s behaviour, before returning and reappearing somewhere else the next day..
As it’s the first of December, he made his first appearance today and was quickly spotted. Charlie is a believer and was in awe. Bella was more sceptical: ‘He’s plastic’ was her first comment, before sneaking off to find a long pole to poke him with. ‘Arrrrrrrrrrrr,’ says I, full of knowing..just remember that all toys are inanimate until you’ve gone to sleep..otherwise they’d be caught and put in laboratories and genetically bred to takeover the world’s workforce..and then where would we be?’
‘At Christmas?’ suggested Charlie..
Touche, my child, touche.
Now all the husband and I have to do is to make sure we move him every night ready for the morning, which with the number of festive nights out in the diary, could prove interesting…and we must, must, must resist the temptation of introducing him to Barbie..just think of the potential mess…
He may be little (and plastic) but we’re hoping he’s going to be greater than the sum of his parts…watch this space..
Laters, Kate x
Chutney and Oat Cakes..
The joy that is Creative Coffee – wholesome and happy with stunning aromas and rich rewards, like the incredible (honestly, some of the best I’ve tasted.Ever) mango chutney and melt in your mouth oat cakes (why haven’t I made these babies before??).
I took away two things from the session:
1. To invest in a pan like Sophy’s (she’s kindly sent me a link) which not only holds an extraordinary amount but also has delights such as a spout for pouring and an extra large handle. Genius.
2. To buy the book by Annie Rigg we often use at Creative Coffee.
The recipes make your mouth water just reading them and – just as good – always work.
I’m thinking jars of spiced cranberry with edible glitter as the perfect cupboard gift for unexpected gifts this Christmas….
Laters, Kate x
Tis the season…
You know it’s Christmas…
1. When a mince pie becomes an acceptable meal substitute..and egg nog equals a portion of protein.
2. When the inbox sends out it’s own SOS due to spam overload.
3. When you go out to buy a party dress and come back with a fire engine.
4. When you search for your heels and find them in the dressing up.
5 When you find yourself multi-ing the multi-tasking..writing the shopping list on the toilet whilst texting the plumber.
6. When the kids suddenly start acting nice.
7. And as a result they fool you into taking them Christmas shopping and just when your impression of an suppressed, repressed, depressed packing mule has reached it’s limits someone always needs a wee.
8. When the list of things to take to school is representative of an expedition to climb Everest..white plimsoles, black plimsoles, red trousers, red top with tinsel, baked bean tin, bottle of wine, raffle tickets, jar of sweets, tray of cupcakes, nativity dvd return form, another tray of cupcakes, cards for the entire class…winning lottery ticket?
9. When you get undressed at night and you find multiple smiling Father Christmas stickers attached to your bum.
10. When you point out a cloud that looks like a snowman with a funny hat. To a stranger.
11. When the dvd player stops working because there’s a snow globe inside it.
12. When sorting out the laundry is classed as ‘me time’.
13. When you realise sewing on tinsel to a red top is a nightmare and the red is actually your blood.
14. When you tell yourself that a hangover with children is just not worth it. Again.
15. When you realise a trip to the hairdressers is a spa day.
16. When you realise that amaretto with mulled wine should be classed as an A1 drug.
17. When you walk round the supermarket singing carols. Loudly. And out of tune.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 
