Christmas Highlights

I've been busy....but, tonight, with a very full stomach after a Christmas Eve Christmas dinner, I want to show you some of the highlights from the past weeks....

December 8th...

                                           another trip into London and some stunning and interesting windows...

A luxury handbag store...love the foliage framing the window..

Ralph never disappoints...and look at the red door...

not a clue where this was...but it is very clever..

what every well-dressed doe should be wearing this season...

The Cloth House...and it's getting dark...

which means the lights are coming on...

and the stars are out..

just hovering above the throngs of shoppers...

most of which were too busy to look up...but not me...wandering along with my mouth gaping...

Standing on Oxford Circus looking towards Regent Street...was amazing...

December 15th

                                         finally a fully decorated tree...

Although the tree has been up and decorated for a few weeks...I finally photographed some of my new baubles that I have collected throughout the year...this one is from Harrods and was a  gift from a friend...

This little babushka was on sale at Anthropologie after last Christmas...so I snapped her up!

The little dove I purchased from Althorp..in memory of Diana.

A regal figure from Buckingham Palace..

another gift from Harrods...

and finally a fleur de lis from Le Louvre.

December 16th

                                        and we awake to find this...

yes, it's the last day of school and we have snow...

so, what's a girl to do, but put on her boots, grab her camera and take off...

for a long walk around the village...

and start snapping away.

It's amazing what an inch of snow can produce...

stunning scenes of ordinary things...

A touch of red lends a Christmas feel to the church graveyard...

The church itself looked stark against the cold sky and fallen snow...

but the gravestones themselves came into their own with their covering of lichen...

and a snowy backdrop...

a snowy angel looks over another grave...

and my favourite cottage in the village.

December 21st...

                                           a Tudor banquet

I helped plan and cook for our WI Christmas Tudor style banquet...

complete with Tudor costumes...

and a candle lit table for our Tudor menu.

December 24th

                                         an early Christmas Dinner

and the table is set...

for Roast Pork and Christmas pudding...

It went off with a bang!

Merry Christmas!

Flowers at Christmas

Well, I've started decorating...the tree is outside 'relaxing' in a bucket of water before it comes in, my Christmas wreath is made and on the front door... and the shops are full of lovely flowers...

Look at these little beauties...tiny individual poinsettias...

I've plonked them in glass jam jars with a piece of music paper, and sat them in a vintage wire basket thingy...

Red tulips are also making an appearance...

in various parts of the house...

Whilst, over on the windowsill, some pinkish red cyclamens are keeping company in old army ration boxes...

When the sun goes down (at blinking 4 o'clock)...

little fairy lights from Ikea illuminate them.

In the kitchen on the sill a cactus is flowering happily, again in festive pinkish red...

And on the front door...my newly made holly wreath...

A lovely lady in our village does wreath making lessons each Christmas...she provides all the holly from her own garden, with proceeds of the day going to charity...I've kept mine simple this year with some red holly berries and dark blue sloes.

See you next time with a fully decorated tree...hopefully!

Christmas in London

To celebrate the 1st of December, I thought I would post some photos of the gorgeous decorations strung around London...

Carnaby Street in Soho...

Oxford  Street, heading towards Oxford Circus...

Selfridges always looks amazing...the greenery with the blue fairy lights is very effective...

This is the front of  The Montague, a boutique hotel near Russell Square...the photos are difficult at night, but the effect was terrific..

In the daytime, the flower boxes come into their own with bright red cyclamens and ivy garlands...

I'm thinking I might give this a go at home for Christmas, but in a container of some sort...

Anthropologie was looking very festive with innovative displays...

gorgeous tablescapes...

clever and unique Christmas decorations..

presented with their usual flair...

I'm off to explore some local villages, this weekend, to find all things Christmasy!!

Robx