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‘Tis the Weekend to get Christmassy

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{A white Amaryllis from our local florist, which will hopefully flower in the next week or so}

The Friday night calm has once again descended over our house and the children are watching a DVD before bedtime. We have started to add the first festive touches to our house, keeping it fairly simple so far, but this morning my husband was dispatched to the loft to bring down five huge boxes so by tomorrow there will be no holding back on the Christmas cheer! We’re hopefully buying the tree on Sunday (a little bit late for my liking…) so that too will be ready by the start of next week.

Have you gone all out on the Christmas decs yet or are you still exercising some restraint?

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{I planted some wintery flowers last weekend which take pride of place on our front doorstep along with a small Christmas tree decked out with twinkly fairy lights}

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{White paper advent stars hanging in the windows. They look beautiful lit up at night}

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{The advent candle holder again, with some red Christmas ribbon tied around two of the candles}

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{The children’s wooden advent calendar sits on the mantlepiece in the playroom and each night a drawer is magically filled with three chocolate coins. Apart from this morning when I forgot and had to sneak the chocs in while they were having breakfast}

This Week’s Favourites

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Finally December is here and the countdown to Christmas has begun in earnest. I have vowed that this is the year I am going to be organised and on top of things – no more frantically running around crowded shops the day before school breaks up or sitting up until 2am wrapping Christmas presents on the 24th. I have one friend who had already finished her shopping (including all the stocking fillers) and wrapped it all by mid November! Well, that is never going to be me and in some ways I think it would take the fun out of the run-up to Christmas to be finished so early on (or maybe I’m just jealous that I will never attain that level of organisation) BUT I am working my way through the mammoth list of presents (every year we say we’re going to cut down on the number of gifts and then still end up thinking ‘oh well, just one more won’t hurt..’) and even plan to do some wrapping this week which is a definite first for me.

Here are some pictures and a brief round-up of the last week of November:

1. The boys are on their best behaviour at the moment, knowing that Santa is watching every move. Cameron was being extra helpful this week and even helped to brush his little sister’s teeth.

2. He also read a bedtime story to both his siblings. Believe me, bedtime is not usually this calm in our household!

3. On Tuesday I went to the Swedish shop in south west London with my mum and Clemmie to stock up on Christmas essentials like saffron, gingerbread dough (so much easier than making your own) and glogg.

4. Just like the September issues of the fashion glossies are a must-buy, I think interior magazines really come into their own in December with each sumptuous cover outdoing the next in terms of Christmas decadence. Living Etc is hands down my favourite any time of year.

5. With two older brothers, I thought Clemmie would turn into a little Tomboy but at the moment it is all about dolls, princesses and pink everything.

6. We had some friends over for dinner last night and couldn’t resist cracking open the champagne while we were waiting for them to arrive.

7. Their daughter is Clemmie’s best friend so she had been asking all day when they coming. I bought this dress for her this week from Zara – so cute, I wish it came in an adult version!

8. The first of December and the first of Advent today so we lit a candle in the Iittala candle holder. Let the Christmas countdown begin!

Have a wonderful evening. X

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

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{I love this quote by Coco Chanel – picture from Pinterest}

Hello! It’s only 4.30pm and it is already getting very dark outside. Time to call in Cameron and his friend who are playing football out in the garden – how they can possibly see the ball I do not know. Pizza and hot dogs for dinner followed by ice cream and hot chocolate – it is Friday after all.

My advent candle holder arrived in the post today (just in time for Sunday, phew!) so I’ve been busy getting that sorted and hanging up our white paper stars in the windows of the conservatory. I will try to take some pictures tomorrow when the light is better to show you. Otherwise, there is not much planned for tonight – just a movie with the kids, an episode or two of Breaking Bad (we have just started the second series) and maybe a glass of mulled wine. My kind of Friday night 🙂

What are your plans? X

 

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas…

Posted in Interior by

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{Winter Fairylight Tree, £65; Silver Spray Wreath, was £70 now £56; Candles of various sizes in The White Company’s gorgeous Winter scent, from £10; Set of 2 Spruce Stars, was £12, now £9.60}

I love The White Company any time of year but especially at Christmas. I was flicking through their catalogue at a friend’s house this afternoon and found so many lovely decorations that I would love to have in my house this festive season. My favourite is the Winter Fairylight Tree in the top left picture which would look perfect by the window in our dining area. At the moment, many items in The White Company Christmas range are 20% off, but I know from past experience that they tend to sell out fast, so hurry if you want to grab a bargain!

The first of our decorations will go up at the end of this week, in time for the First of Advent on Sunday. When do you start to deck the halls for Christmas?

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{Christmas wrapping, from £3.50; Knitted Father Christmas decoration, was £10 now £8; Set of 3 Pine Cone Decorative Ties, was £6 now £4.80; Knitted Christmas Stockings, from £30}

Let the Christmas Countdown Begin

Posted in Family Life, Interior by

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Only five weeks to go until Christmas and I for one Can. Not. Wait. There are so many things to look forward to – putting the decorations up, buying and wrapping the presents, the school Christmas concerts, our village Christmas fair, all the yummy food… I could go on and on, and no doubt I will be doing just that, right here on this blog, over the coming weeks!

The boys have been busy writing their letters to Santa this week. Casper has rather optimistically asked for a Play Station, an X Box and an iPod so I had to explain that it is unlikely he will receive everything on the list. For the first time Cameron has been expressing doubts about the existence of Father Christmas (he is ten so I guess it is to be expected..) but he is under strict instructions not to voice these in front of his younger siblings unless he wants to find an empty stocking on Christmas morning! He didn’t want to take any chances so his letter is also winging its way to the North Pole as we speak…

Nothing beats the magic of Christmas morning even if it does tend to start at the ungodly hour of 5am in our house. This year we’re actually away on Christmas Day (it’s my dad’s 70th birthday on the 25th so we’re going to stay in a country hotel for three nights) but that won’t stop me from decking out the house in its festive finery. I love these inspirational pictures from Danish brand House Doctor, especially the big paper stars and the illuminated snow sign.

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Embrace the Chaos

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{My Crazy Gang: They don’t half drive me mad sometimes but I love them to the moon and back}

This has been one of those weeks when we’ve been rushing around, late for everything, with tempers fraying left, right and centre. I love my three children more than anything in the world but sometimes the mixture of toddler tantrums, pre-teen hormones, sibling fighting and refusal to listen can drive me up the wall (especially when they’re all going on at the same time!)  Both boys left their scooters behind at school on the same day this week (I don’t know how they managed that – obviously forgetfulness runs in the family!) which meant that trying to get out of the house on Wednesday morning was even more fraught than usual. I had to take deep breaths and count to ten many a time this week, but I’m sure that one day when they’re all grown up I will look back and miss all the noise and mess!

But for now I’m just enjoying the peace and quiet that has descended over the house this evening as we all relax after our busy week. My father-in-law and his wife are visiting us from France this weekend so I’m going to dim the lights to hide all the dust, light some candles and put a bottle of bubbly in the fridge.

Happy Friday to you all! X

Currently Coveting #13: The Perfect Advent Candle Holder

Posted in Currently Coveting, Interior by

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With just over two weeks to go until the first Sunday of Advent, the search is on for the perfect Advent candlestick to take pride of place on our dining table. It needs to hold four candles as each Sunday until Christmas a candle will be lit until, on December 22, all four are alight. Last year I bought four chunky white candles from Ikea with the numbers 1-4 stamped on them in red. I tied a piece of red and white gingham ribbon around the base of each candle  and placed them on a silver tray in the centre of the table. It was a cheap and very pretty arrangement but with no trip to Ikea on the cards in the next couple of weeks, I need to find another solution fast.

I’m drawn to the understated elegance and simplicity of this wrought iron Advent candle holder by Finnish brand Iittala. At the moment Royal Design are offering £5 off the original price so it would be a good time to invest in a candlestick that we could carry on using for many, many years. It also comes in a bigger version that can hold six candles, which I would be very tempted by if my requirements weren’t so specific. I like the idea of using different coloured candles to jazz it up a bit – Christmassy red or sparkly silver would look stunning.

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Listen up People – It’s Friday!!

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{I love being a mum but sometimes we all deserve a bit of time off}

We have had a lovely afternoon with my sister and her kids who are visiting from Sweden. When the boys came home from school it turned into a bit of a mad house with five children aged from 2 to 10 running around, but it was great for all the cousins to get together as they hadn’t seen each other since August.

Now it’s winding down time, the children have just got out of the bath and are deciding which movie to watch for their Friday night treat. The rain is pouring down outside but it’s lovely and cosy inside. I’m going to light some candles, have a glass of wine and enjoy the peace and quiet before I cook dinner.

A great weekend (I hope!) lies ahead:  tomorrow night I am going out for dinner with my sister – a rare occurrence as we live in different countries. Then on Sunday I am going an even rarer trip to a spa with a friend. We are only going for one night but we have lots of nice treatments booked and I hope it will be a chance to recharge the batteries before the run-up to Christmas.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! X

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This Week’s Favourites

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{The walk to school takes twice as long when it’s been raining and there are puddles to jump in}

‘Swoosh’ it said and yet another week went by! Seriously, I’m beginning to think that time really does speed up when your kids start school. The seven weeks between the start of this school year and half term (which is this Friday) have gone by so much quicker than the summer holidays did. It has been a quiet week, mainly spent catching up on things that were were put on hold while preparing for last weekend’s party, like completing my tax return and buying the last of the boys’ birthday presents.

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{Clemmie chose her winter hat when we went into Gap during a shopping trip earlier this week. Leopard print is a firm fave of mine as well – like mother like daughter!}

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{I am one step closer to creating my dream home office after buying this print}

The highlight of the week was undoubtely Casper’s seventh birthday today. My youngest son is very much an old soul – wise, thoughtful and kind but, boy, can he throw a tantrum when that way inclined. Today, however, he was all smiles when we woke him up at 7.30 with presents and cake. As both he and his sister had birthday parties to go to today we’ve delayed his party until next weekend. Then the following weekend is my eldest son’s birthday – a busy month but that’s the way I like it!

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{Big brother helps out with the present opening.}

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{A very happy boy. Judging by the smile, I think we got the present right!}

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{It was a bit of a squeeze to fit seven candles onto a very small cake. There will be a bigger one at the party next weekend.}

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{Someone is enjoying having cake for breakfast}

That Friday Feeling

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Yet another weekend rolls around and this week I’ve had to work harder than normal to stay positive. Sometimes bad things happen that we can’t control or fix, but we do have power over our own minds and I really believe that negative thinking creates a downward spiral which is hard to climb out of.

So I’m trying to concentrate on all the good things I have to look forward to and be grateful for my wonderful family and friends. It’s my husband’s birthday party tomorrow, so tonight we will be preparing food, putting up the disco lights and moving furniture to make room for the dancing. But right now, Clemmie and I are cuddling up on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate and CBeebies on the TV. A lovely, lazy morning.

Hope you have a fantastic Friday wherever you are, and remember:

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