Christmas Gifts

Christmas is always a great opportunity to catch up with family and I was treated to some gorgeous gifts. I'm excited to take on some more knitting projects to make things for myself, friends and for my cousin's baby which is due to arrive in a months time. Knitting by Design by Emma Robertson has exciting contemporary knit designs and already I'm adding new projects to my list. I got a sweet little handmade pie bird, a jam book from 1939 from The Attic and The Kinfolk Table - I've already been trying out receipes. Oh, and the Jo Malone Orange Blossom perfume is possibly the most delicious scent I've had.

Looking back on 2013, it has been full of achievements: surviving Part II and graduating in the first half, then starting a new job in the second half; incredible trips to Cyprus and Italy; and moving into London in our fab Brixton flat. So what about next year...

Ginger Biscuits

When we were little, Mum would give us chocolates to hang on the tree, and if we were peckish after school, Al and I would sneak into the lounge and nibble away at one. Every tree needs something edible and so I made some gingerbread decorations over the weekend. I used this recipe with some adaption, adding more golden syrup instead of black treacle and replaced the separate cinnamon and cloves for ground mixed spice. The finished cookies have a lovely ginger flavour and aren't too spicy. I tried out cooking batches for different lengths of time; the longer the better (though don't let them burn) as they biscuits crisp up nicely and don't go soggy and fall off the tree... I've got some dough left over in the fridge so I'll make another batch later on in the week.

Festive Foliage

Now that we're in our own place, and I have my evenings and weekends free (unlike the dear days of student hood) I can spend time getting ready for Christmas. The tree is up laden with a mix of hand-me-down decorations and hand made ones... more of those soon. I have been super inspired by one of the blogs I regularly read, reading my tea leaves. Being green fingered Erin Boyle has brought the outside nature indoors, so I'm planning to add more to our flat with pine branches from a tree in our back garden, visiting a local garden centre to get some mini cypress trees, finding some pine cones to string up and making garlands of dried fruit. Head to my Pinterest to see more of my Christmas decor inspiration.

Images by Erin Boyle

For Me

Father Christmas was very kind to me this year. With money I was given I bought a lovely new pair of tan Chelsea boots and D gave me what I was planning to save up for myself - a Le Creuset casserole pot! We christened it on Saturday evening with this cassoulet by the Hairy Bikers and it went down a treat.

Dee Lish

I love Anthropologie. Brother D gave me a voucher for there for Christmas, and I came away with this most delicious smelling candle by Voluspa. Whatever goji tarocco orange is  (cold-pressed tarocco blood orange blended with sun-dried goji berries, according to Anthropologie)  - it's incredible! I've got into scented candles recently, and I was lucky to be treated to a few for Christmas... this is the newest addition. YUM!

Image from Anthropologie

Paper Icicles

In December, Helen, Lucy and I went to a paper cutting workshop as part of the Paper at the Cutting Edge exhibition that we had visited the previous month at the Manchester Art Gallery. The workshop was run by Andy Singleton and we created icicle-like forms, using the scalpel like a pen cutting and scoring shapes in the white card. I planned to make a garland of icicles as Christmas decorations but maybe next year!

Merry Christmas

Ho ho ho! Merrrrryyyy Christmas! The season is upon us but the big day itself has come and gone. It was a lovely day with my family; eating, drinking, playing games and watching the Downton Abbey Christmas special. I was treated to a wondrous selection of kind gifts - Santa delivered in the night without me even noticing! My favourite of these I hope to post about soon. 

I am ashamed to realise that this is my first post in December - what has happened? Life, well no, work. University work. I aim to update with what has gone on over this over the next few days...

Christmas Trifle

For Christmas lunch, I was in charge of a couple of puddings including the Trifle (yes, capital T is required!) It's a Nigel Slater recipe that Ma had seen on TV a couple of nights before, which caused me to rush along to the supermarket to buy some physalis as other people would have seen the programme too and now they might sell out!!

It's Mincemeat Trifle and, though it took some time to prepare, it was enjoyable to make and those who tasted it liked it very much. It had a mincemeat and orange sponge base, custard, orange and lemon curd, topped with whipped cream, physalis, chopped pistachios and orange zest. I was very proud, quite a spectacle to behold!

FYI

...Christmas is coming! I have a lot of love for these!
Image from Anthropologie

Patch Work

My big Christmas present this year was a duvet cover me Ma made me. It's patchwork from a selection of Cath Kidston fabrics like these above. I didn't ask for anything, so when Mum said she was making something I was very intrigued. What a fab surprise!

Fabric swatches from Cath Kidston

Ho Ho Ho

 

I really didn't feel that festive until I got home from work this afternoon - yup, working on Christmas Eve isn't my idea of fun either! Then again, when I think about it this Christmas time has been fun so far: work Christmas parties, mine and Emma's lame attempt at potato printing, above, (it took at least a week to dry!), dinner with the Lynton and Nonsuch school girls, and chatting to people today on the bus - now that wouldn't happen at any other time of year!

So roll on tomorrow for food, family and surprises - Merry Christmas!!

Jam Jar

This weekend I spotted a recipe for rhubarb, apple and passion fruit jam. I love passion fruit! Any recipe -or cocktail- with pash-and-fruit (as my cousin apparently used to call it) in it has to be tried. I think jars of home made jam would be a sweet Christmas gift.

Image from Saturday Telegraph magazine

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

It's Christmas Eve! The house is all decked out and I'm excited tomorrow to be seeing the entire family (we'll be doing a mini road trip road Surrey to see the little cousins and the new baby!) I find it so funny how the sparkle of Christmas isn't the same now that your're older but it's great to be with the family.

The other evening, my school girls family got together for Christmas dinner as we do every year, a time for catching up on all the gossip and escapades we have been up to in our different corners of the country- as you can see we get deeply caught up in conversation! I baked a cranberry and passionfruit pavlova as I'd seen Nigella Lawson make on TV the night before and Ma happens to have the recipe book! I used cranberries instead of raspberries as clearly everyone had seen the programme because the supermarket had sold out! Also Jamie Oliver has had a Family Christmas programme. I find he is so funny and charasmatic, plus he was being helped out by his nan and little daughter, all of which are the sweetest!

Anyway, Merry Christmas! Eat, drink, relax and be merry!!

Christmas in Canterbury

Today we woke to a proper coating of snow on the last day of term before Christmas - a week today! Here is the hill on campus with views down into the city (you can just see the catherdral) and in Pizza Express in town, a beautiful old building on right on the river.