Bucking the trend .......

Well we have safely got to the other side for another year ..... I love the build up to Christmas but always feel somewhat deflated on the big day itself.  Why I ask myself ????  It could be because it has no religious significance to me as although I try to live a good honest life I am not a church person ..... or is it the anticipation and anxiety or fear of disappointment ???  I will find the answer one day I am sure and this year I was determined not to get dragged into the turkey and sprout fest that the supermarkets and TV chefs keep ramming down our throats.  Am I just being awkward .... please tell me there is someone else out there who feels like this??

Having prepared a traditional Christmas dinner every year since 1979 this year it was time for a change and I threatened the family with the local Indian restaurant much to their dismay.  I just couldn't face hours in the kitchen and then sitting down and looking at a plate full of food that I wasn't going to enjoy.  A couple of days before Christmas my daughters announced that they had indeed booked a table for us at the Indian and off we went at three thirty for something completely different.  I did have a giggle with an Indian lady and her husband at the market on Christmas Eve when she mentioned turkey ..... I said you'll never guess what we are having and when I told her it was curry she grinned and said she was having turkey as they have curry every other day of the year!  So perhaps it wasn't just me who fancied a change.

 

The restaurant was all lit up with Christmas music playing in the background and it was packed!  We had a lovely relaxed three course meal with coffee for £20 a head ..... compared with the £60 that some pub restaurants were asking on the day that seemed the real deal to me.  It was delicious and I am so glad we made the break with tradition.

I can't believe it is nearly Thursday already and tomorrow I am off to enjoy one of my pressies .... a trip to London to the theatre to see Million Dollar Quartet ... better dust off my blue suede shoes coz there will be some walking around Covent Garden to do too!

Getting ahead of myself .....

Blimey I have excelled myself this weekend and have got the tree and most of the decorations up a day earlier than planned.  Seems strange though this year without the snow outside to give that festive feel.  Yesterday on my walk with the dogs I did some foraging .... some branches for spraying gold, pine cones and some sloes to make some sloe gin .... nothing like a drop of mother's ruin !

I didn't realise till I downloaded the photos that there is a ladybird on the pine cones if you look carefully ... heaven knows where she is now.

I made it to the car boot this morning and did find one lovely bargain .... a set of pretty 1930s pink glass bowls - large fruit bowl & six serving dishes

Can't wait till it gets dark later and I can turn on all the twinklies ready for a peaceful Sunday evening.

Hope you have all had a good weekend x

Looking back ......

Can you really believe this was happening 12 months ago?

Apart from a frost this morning it is gorgeous out there now with blue sky and sunshine and I even saw a live wasp on my way back in the front door after dog walking.

December already and hopefully this weekend will see the decorations go up if I can get myself organised and into the loft.  Space has to be made downstairs first though and I feel a little freecycling coming on later .... I've been feeling restless lately and in need of a change so for 2012 it may be a case of out with the old/in with the new (or newish because almost everything I acquire is secondhand and I'm proud of it).

Talking of acquisitions this little beauty was delivered this week .... a Fleabay bargain and the seller is based about 5 mins away from me so how good was that!

It is painted with F & B Calke Green and now I have seen it there may be some colour changes ahead .... green is my favourite colour

I decided against buying crappo wrapping paper that tears as soon as you look at this year and I'm using good old fashioned brown paper with Christmas ribbon and homemade felt reindeer heads .... I have embroidered names on the back so the littlies have a dual purpose tag/tree decoration.  Gonna use some Christmas stamps for the grown ups I think.

I hope to find time at the weekend to make some more vintage book paper chains .... these books are ex-library so are well used and not really fit for any other purpose so rather than have them sit in a box I think their new lease of life will be around for a few more Christmases yet.

Stir up Sunday

Here is a link to the Wiki definition of Stir up Sunday and even though I am the only Christmas pudding and cake eater in the house it hasn't stopped me today.  There was a really quick and easy pud recipe by Jamie Oliver in yesterday's Mail Weekend magazine and as I had all of the ingredients in the store cupboard there was no excuse!

I used the ramekins that supermarket desserts come in to make individual ones and one large one .... the smaller ones are steamed in the oven for an hour and I have to admit to scoffing one already .... it was delicious and not too sickly and rich like shop bought puds and yes you aren't seeing things there is Guinness in the recipe.

I've been out this morning stocking up on animal feed for our menagerie which now includes two goldfish and another bantam ... she is a Bantam Quail and is currently acquainting herself with the other chooks.

Hopefully I have enough supplies to last into the new year which is frighteningly only 7 weeks away .... how did that happen!

We took a team of OH's canaries to a show in High Wycombe yesterday and with time to kill we hopped onto the M40 and headed north to Bicester Village .... I have neither the dosh, inclination or patience for shopping centres and much prefer my usual second hand shopping haunts but there is a Cath Kidston outlet here and I wanted to see what fabrics they had.   My goodness you would never believe that we are in the grips of a recession after seeing how full the car park was at 9.00 am and the masses of people chucking their credit cards about.  I am strictly a cash only type of girl now and very careful about how I spend it .... the CK fabric here is £12 a metre which I can put up with but I would never pay full price or the stupid money that some people seem to do on a well known online auction site.

I had to rub my eyes when I saw the price tag on this lovely sewing box .... only £10 reduced from £40 ..... now that's what I call a bargain.

The purse was a special treat to myself as I have had another very good sales month at Country Matters and I was in need of a new one.

The whole place is twinkly with all the Christmas stock on sale and there is something new every week.  Based in an old village hall in Hexton it is open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday and has a gorgeous tea room with home cooked food and a lovely fire to warm your cockles whilst sipping tea and eating cake.

Now where was I????? Going off on a tangent again .... after CK I couldn't stomach any more of Bicester so we headed off to Brackley Antique Cellar which was only about 15 mins away.  We haven't been here for years and it was nice to see how it had changed and expanded.

Debbie over at Vintage Wants Not Needs and Annie of Vintage at the Corner House have units here and I really did missing seeing them and all the other lovely sellers/bloggers/visitors at the 2nd Market Harborough Vintage & Handmade Fair yesterday.  Can you spot a certain baby picture?  I already have this one otherwise it would have been coming home with me.  My one purchase here was some gorgeous glass chandalier droplets .... I have been collecting these for years and they make perfect vintage decorations for the Christmas tree and at only £1 each for the tear drop shape and £2 for the multi-drops they are terrific value.

Found this strange object growing in the garden this week too

Looks like Molly wouldn't let her share the kennel and not wanting to get her bum cold this was the next best thing!