December Inspiration

How did we get Christmas sorted before the days of Pinterest?? There are so many fantastic ideas over on my Christmas board that I would need a whole lifetime of festive seasons to use them all....but hey, it's fun just to window shop!

I am preferring a far more parred down look this year, more emphasis on sparkle than colour, and a good hit of Scandi because lets face it, you can't go wrong! I actually have only just begun decorating my house so pictures of that will have to follow next time, I have been so hectic at work I am behind schedule!

Please do follow me over on Pinterest if you are a fellow fan, I hope you enjoy having a peek inside my idea of Christmas!

Thanks for dropping by,

 Katie

Beginning of December

Welcome December! The month when Michael Buble comes out of hibernation to croon Crimbo tunes, novelty knitwear is dusted off with pride, and port and mince pies are part of your five-a-day, hurray! And of course if you happen to work in retail, your sanity is put through its paces from noon until night - it can only make you a stronger, better person right? RIGHT??? Ok I'm calm.

Outside of work, things are looking rather beautifully festive already! The holly does actually have some rich red berries this year, could "snowmageddon" be on the horizon after all? Mia has been loving the bracing walks, nearly being blown off her feet with the windy weather, but she relishes the fresh air! She has been practicing her climbing after the squirrels, making it half way up trees sometimes, they need to climb faster! But luckily for me, she also loves coming home and snuggling in front of the fire, like anyone sensible, wish I could do that more too! 

There have been some late night Christmas crafting sessions in the shepherds hut (rock and roll I know!) as I attempt to get all the cards made and wrapping paper stamped, wrapping the presents themselves is a very different task and I will need to start that soon too, or I'll end up a flustered ball of sellotape with gift tags stuck in my hair, weeping under the tree...

To get in the festive spirit I've been reading my collection of Charles Dickens Christmas Tales which I received last year, I've been very much looking forward to settling down with it and a mug of something warm, highly recommend it as a present for a bookish loved one.

Have you got your decorations up already? Presents done and dusted? Or are you choosing the BAH, HUMBUG approach this season, I can see the appeal of all these!

Thanks for reading,

Katie x

Early December Days

Glad to be back! I've been without a laptop for over a week now due to my charger going up in smoke and then the snail mail delaying my new one, but I must admit, I have been getting plenty done without it! The withdrawal was not too great!
The house and Shepherds Hut are now almost fully decorated for Christmas (pictures coming in next post) with plenty of emphasis on using natural decorations. I think most who have driven past me whilst I stumbled back from the woods with bundles of sticks, mossy branches, pine cones and lastly a dog on a lead, thought me quite mad! This time of year we are treated to some amazing light, and this week, we even got fog which did cause it's usual chaos across the country, we can never win with our weather! It still doesn't feel quite frosty enough for Christmas but I'm sure I'll be eating my words on that very soon, there have been some beautiful glittering spiders webs this week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'm off to a Christmas Fair tonight to hopefully finish the shopping, back with more merriment next week!

Also, Friday 13th of December is Saint Lucia Day, which is celebrated widely across Scandinavia. Todays celebrations are a reference to life in the the past lifetime of communities: darkness and light, cold and warmth. Lucia is said to be a bearer of light in the dark winters, hence the importance of candles in the processions. The traditional candle headdresses make today a very beautiful winter celebration indeed, and if you have never tried a delicious Saffron Lucia bun - you're missing out! Here's the recipe! 

Thanks for reading!

Katie