The Jersey Boys At Christmas

Hello my lovelies and a Happy Tuesday to you all. I can't quite believe it that 2015 is almost over and we are in reach of 2016. I'll be honest 2015 has been a very bumpy ride for me so I'm looking forward to the New Year for a fresh start. What I will say is that I have had a totally magical Christmas just me and Mum with our cat in our new home and it has been total perfection. I thought about continuing my Blogmas posts on Christmas day and after Christmas but Christmas is such a special and magical time I wanted to keep the memories just for us. 

Yesterday I had a very special day and outing which I thought I would share. Months and months ago me and Mum thought we would treat ourselves and had a spontaneous splurge and purchased a couple of tickets to see the Jersey Boys in London Piccadilly Theatre. Going to see a musical has aways been a treat for me and we aim to go once a year although this year I have felt very spoilt and we have gone twice. 

Life is never simple and Southern Rail being the efficient service they are decided that they wanted to do rail servicing over the Christmas period. Brilliant. Polegate trains are never on time yet they were now to be expecting to take two and a half hours with rail changes and a replacement bus service. Eww. Not to be defeated my Mum came up with an alternative getting an Uckfield line which was cheaper, quicker and more direct. The trains were nice and empty and quiet and it's the first train I've been on to play music. Even the tube lines from London Bridge were quiet, clean and spacious it was the most relaxed journey I have had in a long time. We treated ourselves to a coffee and snowy road bites from Costa for the journey and enjoyed the beautiful winter countryside. The toilets were even cheaper in London Bridge; it's the little things in life that count. 

We hopped on the Jubilee line to the Baker Loo line and got off at Regents Park for a gorgeous winter walk in the park where we walked around the gardens. You could feel the warmth of the sun on your back it was gorgeous. The park was so quiet and we saw some gorgeous snow white police horses. I think Regents Park may be one of my favourite London Parks. 

I don't know how it started but it has always been a tradition of ours to go to Pizza Express for Lunch or Dinner before going to the theatre. We found a Pizza Express along Baker Street which was decorated beautifully with Christmas decorations. We had a cheeky glass of Prosecco; well why not it's Christmas. We both had a goats cheese, red onion, black olive and spinach pizza which was heaven. All of my favourite foods on a pizza, boom. They also gave us vouchers and free chocolates at the end and any restaurant that gives you free chocolates is a winner in my eyes. 

Seeing as we had time and we were in Baker Street we thought it would be very fitting to pop along to 221b Baker Street for a cheeky photo. Spontaneous decision or what. 

We were treated to a Nespresso machine for Christmas by my Gran which is incredible as we are both massive coffee lovers so we thought we could proudly return to the Nespresso shop as Nespresso owners. We purchased a couple of the limited edition varieties which included an Amaretti one. We then found an amazing health food shop which we went a little crazy in with the most random purchases from candles to cereal bars, chocolates and a grapefruit. Best not to ask on that one. 

It was then time to head to the Jersey Boys which looked so pretty decorated with the Christmas lights. The performance was incredible. I previously didn't know anything about the Jersey Boys so it was really interesting to learn their stories. The performance was so slick and I was amazed by how many songs I recognised; many I never knew that they were responsible for. We were so lucky with our seats I felt so posh sitting in the centre of the front row of the Grande Circle. Mum even treated us to an ice-cream during the interval I felt so civilised. I had a Strawberry one which was so refreshing and Mum opted for a Stem Ginger one. I can't remember the last time I had ice-cream at the theatre it felt like such a luxury. 

Both buzzing from our day we headed home and curled up on the sofa in our pyjamas and watched Made In Chelsea New Year Special with some marmite on toast. Perfect. 

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Blogmas Day 24 - The Night Before Christmas

Hello my lovelies and a Happy Christmas Eve to you all! I can't believe it we are almost there only one more sleep to go. I have really enjoyed writing Blogmas again this year it's almost therapeutic typing away about my day. I might be spontaneous and carry it on after Christmas for the rest of December as I am a great believer that Christmas isn't just on the 25th but I like to appreciate it and make it last for as long as possible. Who knows we shall soon find out. I don't think I will write a post on Christmas day as that's a very special day but perhaps I'll update you all on Boxing Day who knows.

After finishing my blog post last night I curled up on the sofa and watched my all time favourite Christmas film - The Greatest Store In The World. I have watched this every year ever since I was little so it holds so many childhood memories for me, it is a very special film for me with great sentiment. I then did my Christmas Nails which are by Elegant Touch and they are called Christmas Jumper. This year I used a nail glue as supposed to tabs and it is so much easier and quicker I would highly recommend using nail glue. I love the design and I can't stop staring at my nails I'm tickled pink with them.

This morning me and Mum finished the last of our Christmas decorations. We put greenery above the dresser and mantle pieces which consisted of holly, ivy and berries. We also dangled decorations for the festive touch continuing our traditional red and gold theme.

We then went to my Gran and Grandad's house to exchange presents before Christmas. My Gran had provided macaroons and almond cakes which were gorgeous and very moorish. I would love to attempt baking both of these. It was so sweet they know I love candles and had gone candle crazy and lit candles all around the living room. This was even more pleasing by the fact my Gran had chosen one of my favourite candle scents ever. We indulged on our goodies and had a good old catch up and a right old laugh with coffee. I was treated to one of my favourites of a Vanilla Coffee from my Gran's Nespresso machine. I wish we had time to do this more often so I will make the most of it over Christmas. I do love them to pieces and I feel me and my Mum have a very strong bond with them especially from living with them for a year.

We got back and put all of our Christmas presents under the tree which is a family tradition for Christmas Eve. I can't believe it, it feels like Christmas is almost here now. Another family tradition of ours is for me and Mum to open our Christmas cards to each other on Christmas Eve. My Mum gave me beautiful cards with a gorgeous message which really touched me and even chocked me a little. My Mum is so special to me she's my best friend and I love her to pieces.

Me and Mum went for a gorgeous walk on the Downs after lunch which consisted of a gorgeous couscous and blue cheese salad that we created together. Another family Christmas tradition of ours is a Christmas Eve walk. We were so, so lucky with the weather we thought it would be windy and rainy with this weeks hurricane featuring hurricane Eva yet instead we had a gorgeous, sunny winter walk.

We got back and put the last of our fairy lights up in the sitting room and prepped the table ready for tomorrow. So that is it I think we are all set now. We are going to chill out with a gorgeous butternut squash and spinach risotto and indulge in some Christmas TV with some chocolate. I can't believe our advent chocolates are practically finished they feel so light and empty now. I hope you all have a magical evening and Christmas my lovelies. It's weird to think that for some of you reading this it is now Christmas Day. The last thing to say to you all is Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! With lot's of love,
In Her Own Little World

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Blogmas Day 23 - Baking Mince Pies

2 sleeps to go now my lovelies, I can't believe it we are nearly there. It's so nice both me and my Mum have finished work now and we have 12 days together now which we are calling our 12 days of Christmas - very fitting indeed. I'm so excited, it's been so hectic and go,go,go recently I can't wait to stop over Christmas and have a whole lot of indulgence.

I have had a very festive day today. I went round to my friend's house to exchange presents and we made some mince pies together. I won't lie but I don't actually like mince pies but I love the smell of them baking in the oven. I also really enjoy making them, I used to bake them with my Mum for my Dad when I was little so it's always a special and festive occasion in our household. I find it very therapeutic making pastry. Even though I don't usually like mince pies I did try one of these once they were freshly baked from the oven as I couldn't resist the smell and I actually enjoyed it - I know shocking I was surprised as well. It's always traditional to make mince pies every year. I felt so festive these baking these with Christmas music playing. I thought I would share the recipe with you all my lovelies incase any of you fancy giving these ago to get you in the festive spirit. They would make a great family bake to do on Christmas Eve and they are so quick and easy to do, even making your own pastry. Even those of you who like me passionately say every year that they don't like mince pies as like me you may be pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients - makes 12
250g plain flour
75g icing sugar
150g cold unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp water
350g mincemeat
50g dried cranberries
50g dried cherries
1 egg

Method

1) To make the pastry add the flour, icing sugar, butter and egg yolk to a bowl and make breadcrumbs. This is the most therapeutic thing to do in the whole wide world. Simply rub the butter lightly in-between your fingertips incorporating the butter with the remaining ingredients. Be patient, the lighter you are the better your pastry will be

2) Once you have your breadcrumbs add the water and combine the mixture all together using your hands to form a pastry ball

3) Once you have a pastry ball, kneed it between your hands and then wrap in cling film to chill in the fridge for half an hour

4) Pre-heat your oven to 200°C/ 180°Fan and very lightly grease a cupcake tin

5) Add the mincemeat, cranberries and cherries into a bowl and mix together

6) Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll to about the size of a £1 coin on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. Using a cutter, cut out 12 discs to form the cups of the pies and add one to each cupcake holder

7) Fill each case to 3/4 full with the mincemeat mixture, I think I used about a heaped teaspoon for each pie

8) I then used a smaller cutter to make the pie lids. I used one from lakeland where you can cut out different festive shapes such as snowflakes, gingerbread men, christmas trees and candy canes. I looked on the Lakeland website but unfortunately they seem to be sold out now. You could instead cut stars for lids or stick to tradition with a simple smaller lid

9) Top each pie with a lid and lightly brush your pies with a beaten egg for a golden finish

10) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Once golden and crisp remove the pies from the oven and allow to cool on a wire wrack and indulge on the festive scent wafting throughout the house

I used an alternative recipe for mince pies last year which you could see by clicking here.

I indulged on coffee and mince pies for the rest of the morning before meeting my Mum in Starbucks for lunch. She had picked up the Duck, sausages and bacon from the local farm shop ready for Christmas day as well as picking holly, ivy, berries and greenery ready to finish decorating the house with tomorrow which I'm really excited to do as that is a little family tradition of ours. We had butternut squash, mushroom and chestnut stuffing flatbreads for lunch and ginger loaf cake both of which are from their Christmas range and something else we can tick of our coffee shop list. After lunch we went for a gorgeous winter walk on the downs and were lucky enough to miss the rain. I was going to have a bath and use one of my Lush products but the water hadn't heated up fully which I only realised after I had run the bath. So I gave up as I physically have no patience. Intensely irritating. So I'm currently curled up on the sofa typing away with the candle, fairy lights and Christmas tree lights all lit watching Hairspray - bliss. It's little things like this I cannot wait to do over Christmas that you don't usually have time to appreciate or enjoy when you're working. I might even do my Christmas nails tonight who knows.

I hope you enjoy you're evening's my lovelies and I shall see you tomorrow for Christmas Eve.

XXX

Blogmas Day 20 - All Wrapped And Ready To Go And Gingerbread House Success

5 more sleeps to go, 5 more sleeps till Santa. I've had the Heart FM Christmas jingle in my head all day today that they used to play in the mornings that I would hear on the school bus on the way to school. I can't believe that we are into the twenties now the time is whizzing by and my Thorntons advent calendar is feeling very empty.

I've had such a productive day today I'm currently feeling a great sense of accomplishment. This morning me and my Mum had the mother of all wrapping up sessions. We shut ourselves away in separate rooms and wrapped up each others Christmas presents. This took over 3 hours, yes a whole 3 hours and more of my life dedicated to wrapping up. Heaven! I personally love wrapping up presents. I find it so satisfying seeing all of the presents together and looking at them and thinking yes that was a good buy. I had Christmas music, Christmas lights and a Christmas candle and it was sheer perfection. My Mum handed me a coffee through the door and I covered presents in blankets and bags to let her escape to go to the toilet but we made it work. Smudge loved the whole experience and was running around chatting to himself and stomping over all of the presents.

After lunch we went for another gorgeous walk on the downs, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

We returned and made the house all Christmasy and cosy; curtains shut, lights on, candle lit and Christmas music playing - boom! We then had a second attempt at our gingerbread house. Praise the Lord our make-shift supports for the roof using moisturiser bottles and tubs worked and the icing had set and the house felt solid and secure. This meant that we could do the fun part of decorating the house. I'm not the most artistic of people yet I really enjoyed releasing my inner creative side. I loved doing this with Mum as we've never made one before. I'm hoping it will turn into a tradition and we'll make one every year. I want to admire it yet at the same time I'm dying to eat it so at least we have the pictures to remember it by.

All I have planned for tonight is another cosy night in watching Christmas TV. The Christmas radio times is highlighted and the TV recorder is programmed so I'm all ready to go. Enjoy your Sunday evening's my lovelies and get ready for that last little push before Christmas. 5 days we can do this.

XXX

Blogmas Day 19 - Gingerbread House Fail

Hello my lovelies, 6 days to go now, who else is on countdown? Today was the last Saturday before Christmas and it went by like a flash. When I was little, the days seemed to really drag in December. I would be so excited for Christmas each day felt like a year. I am just as equally as excited yet I feel I can't keep up the days which are flying by. Even though I'm really organised I don't feel it. Maybe it has something to do with working rather then going to school I don't know.

Me and my Mum both had a lovely girly morning in Lewes having our hair cuts. My ends were feeling so dry and damaged I find it so satisfying to see them all cut off and to have a good old tidy up. Whilst Mum had her hair cut I did the last big food shop before Christmas and forgot the bananas damn it. I then wondered around the Christmas markets and listened to a local band playing Christmas carols. You can't beat hearing the Christmas carols it really warms me inside and childhood memories at Christmas come flooding back.

Mum treated us to Costa for lunch, we have tried all but one of the Christmas drinks now and all of the lunches are complete. Today we tried the 'Pigs in Blanket' panini which was so satisfying I loved it. Needing a chocolate fix I chose us the Caramel Fudge hot chocolates and the Chocolate Cake for pudding. Just look at the gold glitter on both, Costa have certainly gone to town on their decorations this year. The hot chocolate was incredible as the chocolate lattice melts into your drink it makes it feel really luxurious and indulgent with thick chocolate oozing down your drink, yes please thank you very much so kindly to you. It went very well with the chocolate cake too may I add which was gorgeous, light and very chocolaty. What more could you want? Is it naughty having two Costa's in two days? Nah it's Christmas and the time for indulgence.

In the afternoon we went for a gorgeous winter walk on the downs - heaven. We then came back and started to attempt to make our gingerbread house that we brought from John Lewis. All going smoothly except we were having major construction issues with our roof that kept slipping. After thinking we would be standing there all night holding the house and waiting for the roof to set we propped it up and left it in the downstairs bathroom over night, crossed our fingers and quickly ran out and shut the door. Neither of us have been to check on it since, we're both too scared.

We made a really cosy dinner together which was really fun. I love cooking and baking I find it very therapeutic. We baked a mushroom, leek and chestnut pie together which was a Jamie Oliver recipe. Me and my Mum snuggled on the sofa with Smudge (our cat) and watched Home Alone which is a really Christmas classic. It was the perfect night in together.

XXX

Blogmas Day 18 - Christmas Festivities In London

Hello my lovelies, who can believe it there is only one week to go until Christmas! *Squeals uncontrollably* I am so excited I feel just like a little six year old kid again. Me and my Mum decided to treat ourselves and go to London to see the Christmas lights. Neither of us have been to London at Christmas before so we thought why not. I guess we've avoided it before in fear of the manic crowds possessed because they've forgotten the cranberry sauce or a little robin to sit on top of their yule log. As expected it was crowded but it was so festive and feel good it didn't matter. 

After a very painful train journey - thank you Southern Rail. It was going so smoothly until the train decided to just stop in random places for 20 minute slots for no reason what's so ever. That journey should not have taken two hours. I don't know what the issue is. Before moving to Sussex I used to live an equal distance from London yet it would only take 40 minutes to get there, good old First Great Western. Anyway, in fear of sounding like a train freak we'll move on sharpish.

Both of us needed re-energising so we popped to Costa to continue our coffee mission. A very special lunch was needed for a special outing so we went for the drink that I have been longing to try for two years now! A white chocolate hot chocolate with cherry sauce - hello to you my friend. White chocolate is my favourite type of chocolate so this was pure heaven in a cup or tall glass we should say. This was accompanied by the white chocolate snowball which was incredible. Definitely a white chocolate kind of day. Shortbread, marshmallow, passion fruit, coconut and of course white chocolate - what's not to love? We also tried the 'Turkey and the Trimming's' cheese toastie for lunch which was gorgeous. It definitely set us up for our London adventures. 

Re-fuelled and reenergised we started exploring Covent Garden. It was decorated beautifully they had certainly gone to town. Giant Christmas trees, sleighs, mistletoe and lego trains filled the area with Christmas vibes. There was Christmas music, Christmas stalls and markets - one big Christmas extravaganza.

After exploring Covent Garden we started walking along Leicester Square and Piccadilly. The weather was so nice, it wasn't cold and the sky looked like snow even though it's 14 degrees in December it couldn't snow but it looked festive anyway. I prefer walking around London to getting the tube as I find you see so much more. Some of the shops had really splashed out on their decorations.

We had a nosy around a few shops. We first got very excited in Nespresso seeing all of the coffee machines and tasting areas. Both me and my Mum are coffee lovers and would love our own machine but there is so much choice it's hard to know where to start I find it mind boggling. We also popped into Fortnum and Mason. We couldn't afford to buy anything but there's no harm in looking. I know it sounds weird but I love a good old department store at Christmas it's so Christmasy and feel good. They had decorated the store beautifully and we both enjoyed people watching seeing people genuinely doing their Christmas shopping there. There were spinning bottles of gold glitter champagne, massive gingerbread houses costing over £100 and Christmas trees galore. I won't lie but they also have really nice toilets so a quick loo break was very much appreciated and enjoyed. Mum has never been to Selfridges before so I introduced her to that. For those of you who don't know, Selfridges is a massive department store with loads of luxury shops together. Imagine walking along the highstreet with designer shops yet you don't leave the building. Selfridges was absolutely heaving so we did a quick sweep and scuttled out feeling slightly flustered. I love looking around properly when it's not so busy and a week before Christmas.

Neither of us have been to Winter Wonderland before and it was one of the reasons for going to London. The scale was incredible it pretty much filled Hyde Park and that is a hell of a lot of space to fill. To be honest it properly wasn't what I was expecting however I am still so pleased that we got the opportunity to go. In my head I thought there would be more traditional cute and quirky Christmas markets however a lot of the market stalls were exactly the same just jotted around the park. It was a bit more theme park then I was expecting and I've never been one for fast rides so that didn't really appeal. It was really nice to look around and see so much Christmas enjoyment in peoples faces. It must have taken days and days to construct as they had certainly made a huge effort with the decoration. It's a great place to visit with children for a family outing.

We were going to go out for dinner but to be honest we were both shattered so we came back early, this time on a smelly Southern Rail train and a had a cosy Christmasy night in watching Nativitity 3. I do love a Christmas film.

I hope you're all feeling excited for Christmas and that you're plans are coming together, not long to go now my lovelies!

XXX

Blogmas Day 13 - Mass Wrapping Up

Hello my lovelies and a Happy Sunday to you all! I hope you've all had a festive and relaxing day. My festivities have certainly continued today where me and my Mum undertook a mass wrapping up session. Friends and Family are now all done. I've never known us to be so organised but it is so satisfying. The only presents left to wrap are ones for each other that we will do next weekend. After mass wrapping up we also went for a gorgeous Sunday afternoon walk on the Downs which was heaven.

Many weeks ago on Black Friday me and my Mum did our yearly tradition where we do the majority of our Christmas shopping and we picked up a few of these decorations from Tunbridge Wells. We had been eyeing them up for weeks but caved in and purchased some. They are sweet decorations that you could hang on your Christmas tree or around the house. The lady who lived in our house before us must have had a lot of pictures as we have a lot of spare hooks which have come in perfectly for hanging these around the house. They honestly smell incredible; zesty and spicy. These are made of dried oranges and limes and cinnamon so I'm sure you can imagine just how good these smell. They also fit with our Christmas colour scheme perfectly. These had got buried with a load of our Christmas presents so we re-discovered these whilst wrapping up which excited us immensely and they are now proudly on display in our sitting room. I would love to have a go at making these. I'm sure they would be quite easy to make as you could just dry roast some thin slices of oranges in the oven with some spices at a low heat for a long time to dry them out. I might give it ago and I'll let you know how I get on with it.

I am now overly excited as to my left I have a pack of highlighter pens and to my right I have the Christmas radio times. Yes it's that time of year again where I get overly excited about Christmas TV and highlight everything that we will want to watch over Christmas. This will include Christmas films, cooking/baking programmes, murder mysteries and Christmas Day specials. Heaven! This is a tradition in our household and long may it continue.

Enjoy the rest of your evenings my lovelies. I'm sure I have many a blog post to come this week as I have lot's of festive excitements occurring this week.

XXX

Blogmas Day 12 - The Tree Is Up!

Hello my Lovelies and welcome to Blogmas Day 12. I cannot believe how quickly Christmas is coming, although I'm feeling super organised I still feel that it is creeping up on me very quickly which isn't a bad thing I suppose. Something very exciting has happened. The three is up! Decorating the Christmas tree is one of if not my favourite things to do before Christmas and this year I feel so organised that it is up and it is only the 12th of December. I know many will have put their tree up weeks ago however previous years buying the tree was always a bit of a last minute job that was done after I'd broken up from school for Christmas during the last weekend before Christmas at around the 19th of December. My Mum used to justify this to me in the fact she felt sorry for the last trees to be chosen so she wanted to chose one of them; this does not sit well with a six year old Ellie or a sixteen year old at that as well. So the fact our tree is up makes me so happy as we now have a full 25 days to enjoy it. I'm not one to hoot my own trumpet but I think between me and my Mum we have done a pretty good job.

The day started off with our weekend Saturday shopping trip to Lewes which of course wouldn't be complete without a heavenly Costa coffee treat. As I mentioned in a previous post we have been very dedicated to trying the entire Christmas ranges from Starbucks, Cafe Nero and Costa. Now let me tell you Coffee wise we are now complete, it is just the hot chocolates and odd lunch and cake to go but I'm sure we can manage that. Our last coffee to try was the Tiramisu Latte and I personally recon that we saved one of the best till last. The latte contained a Tiramisu syrup and was topped with chocolate cream and silver glitter icing sugar that looked like snow leaving a very pretty glittery coffee to finish. This heaven in a cup was accompanied by a Caramel Cookie Stacker - hello to you my friend. Chocolate chip cookie topped with caramel cookie dough which was then topped with a thick milk chocolate layer. Hands up I am a massive chocolate and caramel fan so this was sheer perfection. For those of you now dribbling you may want to grab a tissue before you finish off your reading. This coffee break was incredible. My Mum makes the best Tiramisu pudding it's a staple in our family that is always requested at Christmas so this was a very festive drink for us. I will definitely be writing a coffee post once our challenge has been completed for those of you who are interested.

We then headed off to our local Garden Centre where we purchased our Christmas tree and some festive Christmas house plants. The tree is the perfect size for the corner in our sitting room it is the perfect tree for us. After lunch in the garden centre we finally managed to get a winter walk on the Downs which was heaven after weeks of being defeated by numerous hurricanes that only seem to pop up at weekends - typical. Although Desmond decided to make a u-turn we were not defeated and it was a gorgeous walk.

Our walk was followed by mass decoration. I've put some fairy lights around my bed, I did want to get a warm gold shade but I'm actually quite liking the multi-coloured stars instead.

Our Christmas cushions are now out.

Cinammon pot pourri is now out in our red dish. I believe we got this from Laura Ashley and it is called Mulled Spice. The gold looks very fitting in our sitting room where our colour scheme is composed of red, brown and gold. I'm a sucker for spicy scents this year so I'm loving the cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, almonds and oranges. It looks and smells like Christmas especially with the pine and fir cones.

We have also dangled our fir cone garland around the banister which are decorated with gold glitter.

I'm not sure what to call this but we've also done our berry and fir cone display. This is composed of twigs, berries and frosted coated fir cones which look nice and festive in the tall red vase. It makes an appearance every year. You can purchase these from supermarkets or I would recommend looking at Garden Centres as well.

From the Garden Centre we also purchased two Christmas house plants. We brought a white Christmas cacti to accompany our dark pink one from previous years. This was also the case as we had a spare pot from when my cat decided it would be a clever idea to jump on a Begonia plant - it wasn't a good idea. We also brought a white hyacinth plant for our sitting room in a golden basket. It fits our colour scheme and I think white plants always look very pure, gentle and effective. White as snow for Christmas. Fairy lights have been our theme for this year so we managed to find some golden beaded fairy lights that we have woven around the cabinet. I'm a sucker for Christmas lights and candles I just love seeing the house lit up by these as supposed to normal lighting, it's very comforting indeed. If it gets colder we'll be able to light our fire which I'm very excited about indeed.

Of course the decoration wouldn't have been complete without decorating our tree. Of course we have stuck with our traditional theme of red, brown and gold with warm gold lights. Very traditional but very festive. It's just perfect for the three of us and our house and I couldn't be more chuffed by it. I love gazing at it. The presents will look perfect underneath on Christmas day. Whilst our mass decoration was going on we had Christmas music and candles lit it was just perfect. I may do a completed house tour before Christmas featuring all of our Christmas decorations. My cat also enjoyed it madly running around. I'll give it one more day before he attempts to climb the tree and breaks dozens of decorations. Who knows you may see a different theme on the tree by the end of Christmas or a very naked twig, we shall soon find out.

XXX