Nailed it

My attempt festive DIY nails - not the best but I'm kind of digging the subtle Christmas vibes.

Happy hoho!

a xxx

Saturday Selections

Watching: The Christmas movies have started...love actually, the holiday, the grinch etc etc - YAY!

Listening: Christmas music all the way! Buble is a fav

Reading: Emails and Christmas cards - there has been ZERO time for books!

Wishing: That I can maintain the 'not getting stressed and enjoying fun things' - it's getting harder!

Loving: Christmas lights - and really to be honest the entirety of England in the festive season. I LOVE IT!

Doing: Last minute everything, wrapping up at work, wrapping presents, baking, cooking, shopping...busy busy but loving it.

Making: Mostly food at this point...I have a few homemade gifts to finish up but more or less getting the baking and Christmas food prep tied down so I can be blissfully chilled out on Christmas Day.
 
Eating: All the time it feels like - had a super fun dinner with the girls this week, ate so much drank so much and laughed so much...

Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

a xxx

Photo Friday

watching the world go by on the Chunnel

beautiful Christmas tree in France

this beach kills me - so beautiful

Tiny human had his first go on the merry-go-round

Amazing way to end my 30th year

sitting in the front seat (of a non-moving car) is the best

Tiny Human as pig in blanket

winter beach walks

delicious little fuckers

ending with tequila...unsure if this is a good or bad idea! 

a xxx

Saturday Selections

Watching: PANTO's! Well, A panto. Went to see Snow White at Richmond Theater and it was fab.

Listening: Christmas music all the way!

Reading: The Honest Toddler - hilarious and mindless, exactly what I needed this week.

Wishing: For health! Being sick the first two weeks of the month has totally put me a few steps behind where I wanted to be in December!

Loving: Festive Google - found this today and think it's totally brilliant!

Doing: Working a lot at the moment...everything is so busy right now that there doesn't seem to be two minutes spare...bring on Christmas break!

Making: Christmas presents, cards, lists and notes. It's all systems go!
 
Eating: Made a killer lasagne this week - comfort food is happening big time.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

a xxx

Photo Friday

Christmas windows at Harrods

December 1st = banging headcold

decorating the tree for the first time!!

catching up on the classics

in search of the perfect tree

Saturday Selections

Watching: Life Story with David Attenborough - love him and this show. 

Listening: Lots of top 40 this week - makes the Tiny Human happy and to be honest, me too!

Reading: Lots of kid books this week - revisiting some of my childhood favorites and loving it.

Wishing: For some more clear, crisp, blue sky days. We had such a mild autumn and winter has come crashing in with darkness and damp and I've missed those glorious in between days.

Loving: Soup. All the soup. Chicken noodle and butternut squash have been consumed in ridiculous proportions this week.

Doing: Crafting and building and shopping...trying to get on the ball so I can really enjoy Christmas this year

Making: Lists. So many lists.
 
Eating: Soup...see earlier note! And lots of veggies - feeling like I need the nourishment this week.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

a xxx

It's almost DECEMBER

Can you ruddy believe it.

It's Friday afternoon and when I'm back at my desk on Monday it will be DECEMBER.

My most favorite and also most stressy month.

We usually don't do the Christmassy stuff until later in December, with me being a December baby and all and my mother refusing anything Christmas oriented until the 16th.

However as I've grown older I've slowly started letting Christmas seep in to my life earlier and earlier each year...and this year, with the Tiny Human not understanding why exactly, but know that something very exciting is going on...I'm going full hog as early as I can (so much so, we even went to see Santa/Father Christmas last Monday...in NOVEMBER!)

I have plans, and things are happening. There are pantos, and baking and tree picking out and decorating, and seeing Christmas lights, and present buying and wrapping said presents, and card writing, and crafts. Not to mention seeing friends and family, going for meals, and drinks and just SO MUCH FUN AND LOVE.

Weekends are full but not overflowing allowing for plenty of movie watching, naps and chilling...we're making plans, but not too many. The goal this year is ALL the fun, with limited stress.

Christmas baking starts in November this year, and if this means I can stay up reading Christmas books to the Tiny Human, or watch Christmas movies (hello Love Actually) and drink mulled wine with the hubs and have no guilt about all the things I should be doing to make everything perfect, I'm ok with it.

I'm going in to December striving for balance, organisation and calm (but exciting) enjoyment of the season.

Bring it on, deck the halls, be merry and bright and all that other great stuff.

a xxx

Photo Friday

dark wet cold nights waiting for a train and taking selfies

pretty sure you need to be a bit older to drive this thing

Christmas windows are the best

Reading very important things in bed

These two!!

Saturday selections

Watching: Top Chef America...two seasons old though so no link because I don't want to risk the spoilers! Love the show so much...SO much drama.

Listening: The CD mixes from our wedding...some great tracks and lots of mems

Reading: Mostly just fashion mags, blogs and tumblr at the mo - need to get a new book!!

Wishing: I really want an amazing 2015 diary - Kate Spade is sold out, as is Ban.do - so I'm on the hunt again!

Loving: Coffee and red wine. Wouldn't have made it through the week without these two bad boys.

Doing: Long wintery walks...it's starting to feel properly cold out so bundling up and going on lots of adventures...also went and explored the Winter Festival - although most of the time was spent in the Rekorderlig Cider Lodge.

Making: Still working on those Christmas gift DIY's and does making Ikea furniture count?
 
Eating: I have only eaten one proper meal this week (so naughty) lots of nibbles happened. Tonight is for spicy chorizo pasta on the sofa with Top Chef and Gogglebox

Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

a xxx

Photo Friday

this gorgeous creature is my new neighbor...i love her

First croissant! Went down well...SO messy

Birthday parties ahoy

Moc's and leaves and so much Autumn

London being London

Grilled CHeEEEEaaaSSSSEEE

Saturday selections

Watching: Walking Dead...lots of storylines...not sure if I'm loving or hating it right now.

Listening: Grace Helbig, Not Too Deep podcast...hard to not LOL at work, but worth the risk.

Reading: Gone Girl - everyone has read this book by now (if you haven't - get it sorted this weekend!)

Wishing: House stuff is taking over right now - here's a few pieces I really really want! This calendar is top of the list, this fireguard is ahhhmazing...and I have a wall that is begging for a whole bunch of these guys to hang out on it.

Loving: Cozy plaid scarves - this one, this one and this one

Doing: Hunkering down, doing some serious nesting, and making space for new flat packed goodies

Making: Christmas presents...got a great idea for some (hopefully) fab homemade goodies for people I love

Eating: Comfort food ahoy! Chili and pasta and drinking ALL the red wine.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!!

a xxx

Photo Friday

Tiny Human - loves penguins (real or fake) like his Momma

Hubs asked for this for dinner...

And this happened! Go me! Making English food.

Feeding the ducks...well trying to, the Geese are taking over!

In my handbag waiting for a night with the girls

a xxx

Photo Friday

Breakfast view in Cornwall...work trips have been uglier.

Plaice - SO GOOD

Sand pits...fun and MESSY

Running around dried out swimming pools. Living life on the edge.

Future musician...or future migraine.

Sorry for the late post...busy busy!

a xxx

Birchbox - November edition

I was gifted Birchbox for my cough 30th cough birthday and I loved it so much I continued the subscription...there are months when I wonder if they even looked at my profile...but more often I get boxes like I recieved yesterday and totally LOVE.

I'll write a note later in the month once I've had the chance to try some of this stuff...the hangover helpers for 'healthy people who like to drink' sound awesome, I needed a new moisturizer and bronzer...and I have been searching for the perfect bright red nail varnish...here's hoping this is it! 

a xxx

Halloween round up

I know it's ages past the day - but life has been busy and so time for blog posts has been scarce!

We had six families this year...which is six more than last year! I miss the big swarms of people we used to get at home, but I think for this year (with the Tiny Human being early to bed etc) that we had just the right number of people.

We watched Walking Dead and Gogglebox...scary and hilarious. Ate lots of leftover candy and I may have had some wine (let's be real. I defo had wine). It was a cozy night in, which was just what we wanted as we had a Halloween party the next day at a friends house.

Here's a few pics from Halloween and a Halloween party for the littles.

Hope you had a spooky one!

a xxx

Trick or TREAT!

Happy Halloween!

I love any reason to decorate the house, my tiny human, my nails and of course to bake!!!

Even though it is no where near as big of a deal here as it is at home I still celebrate every year.

For round one of my Halloween nails see here.

I did three different things to bring it to work for Halloween this year, my first time baking for this job...the pressure was ON!

Rice Crispy Pumkins...a la pinterest.

Witches fingers - bloody and oozy

Halloween inspired Nanaimo Bar

I think they turned out ok...although seems like I should have made more of the pumpkins!

I'm really hoping we get lots of trick or treaters tonight (we had NONE last year!!) So really, I'd be happy with one.

We're watching scary movies (well not too scary as the Hubs is a proper wimp) and eating soup and probably a lot of treats tonight...what are you up to?

Hope you have a spooky evening, whatever you're doing!

a xxx

Nailed it!

Went seasonal and did some blood spatter nails for Halloween...

SCARY!

a xxx

Photo Friday

Breakfast in bed and a five year wedding anniversary!

The Tiny Human got his first hair cut! GAHHHHH

He was much braver than I!

Lots of long walks

Autumn is winning right now!